A decommissioned Belfast Citybus has been transformed into a working boat and is currently sailing along the River Bann towards Portadown, having already docked at Coleraine Harbour and made a stop at the Kilrea Fairy Thorn Festival in Portglenone. The vessel, created by Belfast-based artist Paddy Bloomer, combines the shell of an old public bus with a hull fashioned from a scrapped wind turbine mast.
Bloomer, who describes himself as an artist, inventor, explorer and plumber, said the scale of his projects has grown steadily over time.
"I'm interested in cobbling stuff together out of bits of junk and my scale has been increasing recently so things have been getting bigger," he said.
What inspired the project?
Bloomer says the idea traces back to bus journeys he took as a younger man, which he remembers as unexpectedly social experiences.
"A bus was a kind of social space," he said.
"You went for a trip and your friends were on the bus and you looked out the window and you met people. I met some very weird people on buses I suppose, but also had plenty of craic on them."
The bus itself began life in the mid-1980s as part of the Citybus fleet, the forerunner of Translink's modern Metro network, before later being sold to a County Donegal company and used for sightseeing tours around Belfast. Bloomer found it in a scrapyard and began converting it into a floating vessel as part of the Belfast 2024 festival of creative arts.
How was it actually built?
According to a regional business report, the build took roughly two years to complete and grew out of an earlier experimental floating structure called The Lagan Lighter, which Bloomer created on the Titanic slipways in 2024 as part of the WATER WORKS project. The finished craft, now named Bus2554 after its original Belfast Citybus fleet number, measures 14.2 metres in length and weighs around 11 tonnes, the same report states.
Bloomer said the process of engineering the vehicle to float was, in his mind, straightforward, even if the scale of the task was considerable.
"The reason I did it was because I had the idea in my head and I had to get it out," he said.
"It seems like a very simple thing doesn't it? Make a boat and set a bus on top. It's just a boat and a bus, it's only two parts, it seems simple enough."
Reporting also describes the interior as an open-plan space fitted with a small dance floor, a basic kitchen and a sleeping area for the captain, according to the same outlet. The boat was moved from Belfast to Coleraine in September 2024, where much of the remaining fitting-out work was carried out.
Bloomer's project sits within a wider trend of enthusiasts across Northern Ireland preserving old buses for new purposes. Elsewhere, a 22-year-old has spent close to £10,000 restoring two classic Ulsterbuses with a combined mileage of more than a million, using them for weekend outings with friends and family rather than converting them for water.
What has the reaction been like so far?
After the Belfast 2024 festival concluded, Bloomer moved the vessel away from its original home on the River Lagan and repainted it in its former red-and-white Citybus livery before beginning the journey up the River Bann, via Lough Neagh, toward Portadown.
"I want to see some sights along the way, meet some people and I'm looking for somewhere to park it up over the winter," he said.
"The best way to do that is get out and about and see where the wind takes me."
The unusual craft has drawn attention from onlookers along its route.
"People are excited about it, some children cheered and some adults came to talk buses, tell me their bus stories and have a look."
"Everyone's really, really enjoying it."
"We're getting a great reception on the Bann and just cruising along."
What happens next?
Bloomer says he eventually hopes to use the boat for organised events, envisioning it as a mobile gathering space where people can socialise. In the meantime, the same report notes that the immediate plan is to continue sailing south toward Portadown while he searches for somewhere to store the vessel over the winter months.
For now, Bloomer says there remain practical jobs to finish before the boat is fully liveable.
"There's still lots of jobs to do, all of the systems that make the bus work as a boat are good but I'm just trying to get some luxuries inside, get my phone charger in the right place and maybe a wee shelf to keep my teabags on," he said.
"I'm going to take my dungarees off shortly and maybe put on some deck shoes and have a G&T."
Key Facts
- The vessel, named Bus2554, is a converted former Belfast Citybus fitted with a hull made from a scrapped wind turbine mast.
- It measures 14.2 metres long and weighs approximately 11 tonnes, according to a regional business report.
- The build took around two years and evolved from an earlier 2024 project called The Lagan Lighter, created on the Titanic slipways.
- The boat has already stopped at the Kilrea Fairy Thorn Festival in Portglenone and is now sailing toward Portadown via Lough Neagh.
- Creator Paddy Bloomer is searching for winter storage for the vessel while continuing the journey.
