The houseboat turning heads in St Julian’s

For the past three weeks, a houseboat has evoked a lot of curiosity ever since it appeared in the water three weeks ago in the heart of St Julian’s Bay. The houseboat is the current home of its owner, Alan Agius, who has been planning it for about three years.

“What made me go for something like this is the comfort of it. You don’t get this on a normal boat where everything is tight and narrow. I have 60 square metres of flat space, plus it is 98% green and totally off the grid by solar power,” he says as he ferries us from the shore to his houseboat on a dinghy.

As we circle the boat we are immediately struck by the size of it. He ties up the dinghy and we step onto the deck area of the boat, named Taralola, after Alan’s two daughters.

Alan Agius loves living in his houseboat.

As we settle onto the outdoor sofas, Alan recounts how it all started when he came across the concept of river boats. It sparked off an idea: why not build one for Malta?

Alan, who has owned speed boats over the years, always had a passion for the sea. So he started doing some homework. He came across a German-designed hull patented for sea use. So he bought the hull and the aluminium structure from a...