Off-grid dad who spent life financial savings on £66k pirate ship home might lose it

Sam Griffiss, 35, bought his unique home’s frame for just £500 off eBay and spent a couple of months building ‘The Daisy May’ – he is now fighting the council so he can keep it

A dad who spent £66,000 to live in an off-grid pirate ship house is facing having to tear it down after building it without planning permission.

Sam Griffiss, 35, sold his house in July last year before buying a £500 boat frame from eBay to create an “off-grid paradise” by the River Severn in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

The former construction worker spent two months and most of his life-savings completing the bizarre ship-shaped structure in January, which he believes is the only one of its kind in the UK.

But now he fears the prospect of losing his home – named The Daisy May – if he cannot get retrospective planning permission from Wyre Forest District Council.

Dad-of-one Sam forked out £25,000 converting the former fishing boat into a liveable ‘pirate ship’ and a cabin dormer on stilts as well as splashing out £11,000 on a moveable wood-fired sauna. He hopes one day the site will function as a community centre for outdoor activities as he awaits the council decision which he says will “make or break him.”

Sam, previously of Worcester, said: “There aren’t too many pirate ships in the landlocked Midlands and I think what I have here might be the first-of-its-kind anywhere. I feel like what I’ve done is quite creative and beautiful and I’m trying to do a good thing for the community on top of that.

“I’ll be damned if they try and make me tear it down. I have plenty of people who will come and stand with me if that occasion ever comes. I’ve spent every bit of my money on this. I really need to get the planning permission so I can have an official address and make it a permanent home.”

Sam lives completely off-grid, harvesting rainwater and getting power from generators and solar panels on his 100sqm plot. He added: “I’ve been into the outdoors for years and the off-grid lifestyle always appealed.

“Since Covid, life has got really expensive and I realised I was living to pay the bills. When I split from my partner, I had a bit of equity from the house, so I decided to use all my savings to build my off-grid pirate ship, the Daisy May.

“After the house sold, I just decided to go for it. I found this old 1970s day fishing boat on eBay which a guy in London had started refurbishing but never finished. It’s known as a clinker and was used on the Thames Estuary. We travelled down to collect it with a trailer and bought it back up to the land which I bought a few years ago for £28,000.

“I had intended to build a canoe shack, but the council wanted a lot of details, so I never got around to it. I chose a boat as I was told you don’t need planning permission.

“I got a digger from a friend to clear the site of all the rubbish and built the banks up to protect the boat from floods. The Daisy May has been here for seven months now, but I’ve only been living in it since January.”

Sam heats his home and cooks using wood stoves, camping stoves and a diesel heater and has a shed for a toilet and bathroom. He added: “You just figure it out as you go along. The only thing I miss is having instantly warm water, instead of having to use a kettle, but other than I wouldn’t change a thing.

“I built it without planning permission because I didn’t have anywhere to live essentially. I knew they would say no to start with as well – but I have built everything by the book in terms of moveable objects and agricultural buildings.

“I also needed a fixed abode so my daughter could stay with me. That is why I now need this to happen, I need an official address. I’m not a rebel or a criminal, although I guess what I am doing is quite pirate-like, fighting the system.”

Sam said he told the council in January about what he had built, but is urging a planning officer to come down and see the Daisy May for themselves. He said: “I’m a dad to the most beautiful little girl, and I want this to be her legacy – she will look back and remember it was her dad who was the man who built a pirate ship on the river.

“I think it’s inevitable that the council will want me to tear it down and won’t be on board with it, but I’m going to stand my ground and fight for my home. If they came down and had a look in person, then they would see that I’m a good guy trying to give back to the community.”

His future aim is to use the space to create a new wellbeing hub for the public called the Connection Club. Sam went on: “I have archery sets, throwing axes, fishing rods and canoes.

“There’s something for everyone as I want people of all ages to come and experience the outdoors. Too much time is spent in front of a screen, so people really don’t know what they’re missing.

“I set up some trail cameras and I’ve already seen so much wildlife, including muntjacs. It’s incredible. I want to share this experience with others – it could really benefit the community.

“This is why I’m so worried about what the council will do. It’s so beautiful being close to Wyre Forest and I can even hear the lions roaring from West Midlands Safari Park.”

A Wyre Forest District Council spokesperson said: “This property is currently part of an active investigation case. As details of ongoing cases are confidential, we are unable to provide a comment at this time.”

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