A STUNNING houseboat has been listed for £200,000 by estate agents Lamb and Co providing a lucky resident with the opportunity to own a piece of history.

The houseboat in Mill Street, St Osyth, was previously known as the MS Brightlingsea, a former passenger ferry which operated for more than 70 years, carrying passengers from Harwich to Felixstowe.

Since being taken on by the current owners, the boat has undergone complete redevelopment and has been transformed into a three-bedroom static houseboat with a home cinema, 25 inch lounge diner and rear sun deck.

A spokesman for Lamb and Co said: “It was built in 1925 in Rowhedge for the North Eastern Railway to supply Harwich Shotley and Felixstowe waters as part of the major transport system.

“After this, it was brought privately to use as a link between Harwich and Felixstowe as a passenger ferry offering trips to fishermen and school parties.

“She was licensed at one point to carry 150 passengers and in 1990 it was fitted with a new Gardner engine, one of the best maritime engines of its time.”

The current owners, who would like to remain anonymous said they were not sure what happened in between the boat being a passenger ferry and their purchase of it.

The boat went into disrepair for a few years before the current owners saw it listed on eBay in June 2016.

To renovate the boat, the owners learned how to re-cork the deck as it was constructed of teak decks that have been fully restored.

Soon after the boat was purchased, it was taken out of the water to check what was underneath before it was scraped, filed and painted for a month and returned to the water.

Since then a new top dec sourcing was built, re-claimed from old ships to keep the character of the boat.

The complete renovation was done by the current owners re-using every scrap of wood from the boat.

The kitchen is also hand crafted from some of the old planks, restoring this small part of maritime history.

For more information on the houseboat visit bit.ly/3BJBxIi.