If you only have 30k to spend and want to try living on a boat for a year, is buying and converting a lifeboat a terrible idea? I see them on the canals sometimes, and they they always look depressing. However, the fact that they can go offshore, is attractive, and I imagine if you only spend 10k on such a boat and then put another 20k in it, maybe it doesn't have to look like a crusty homeless shelter. Alternatively, there are rather aged 30-40 steel boats at that price point, which I imagine I'll find a lot easier to sell if and when the novelty of boat life has worn off.