Work and cruising

[Sade]

Hi there!

 

Just a quick sweep really. I wonder what many of you do work wise and how easy it is to hold a job or get work whilst cruising?

 

I'm thinking something creative, photography is my main passion and hope to start some sort of blog etc but obviously would need some other sources of income.

 

What do you all do - or do you need to be moored up and local to a permanent job off-boat?

 

Dean (husband) won't be as much a problem, he is a carpenter and can turn his hand to pretty much anything maintenance-like (that doesn't need some sort of safety certificate attached to it!)

 

Ideas / suggestions ?

[oarfish]

I'm a contractor software developer so my commute and any accommodation for work are tax deductible. I can also sometimes work from the boat. My partner is studying for a Phd, so we are both lucky when it comes to being able to move around.

 

Spent most of last year within an hour or so's distance of Manchester, where we were both working. Much of the canal system round there matches up neatly with railways, we were rarely more than 1/2 an hours walk from a station and an hour's train ride from work.

[Dave_P]

If you have a job in a fixed place and want to cc within the rules, it can be pretty tough. I did it for a while but fairly soon you run out of places to go within commuting distance and risk breaking the rules. Many boaters simply flout the rules and that's for your conscience really but my concern would be that we currently have enjoyed a fairly easy-going enforcement approach which seems at risk now of being tightened up. IMO this is because of those boaters who flout the rules - we all end up suffering.

 

The part of the country you're in also makes a difference to working and cruising. I was working in the centre of Birmingham while cc'ingand there's a LOT of canal within an hour's communte or so from there. Somewhere like Bristol, for instance, is very different. There's the Kennet & Avon, and that's it.

 

You also need to consider logistics if running a car and moving about.

 

After a while I bit the bullet and got a permanent mooring and I don't regret it.

 

Your question also seems to be asking about actually finding a job. Do you mean in terms of discrimination against boaters? If so, I'm not aware of it happening to me but I am aware that it does. Many cc'ers use a friend or relative's address for post, bank accounts, car insurance etc. I would advise you to do the same (even if it's not entirely ethical), that way a prospective employer need not know you live on a boat unless you wanted them too. I suspect that the type of industry you work in has an influence here, with some much more accepting of it. Living on a boat clearly helped me get a once since the interviewer was clearly very taken with the idea when i mentioned it during the interview!

[Sade]

I'm a contractor software developer so my commute and any accommodation for work are tax deductible. I can also sometimes work from the boat. My partner is studying for a Phd, so we are both lucky when it comes to being able to move around.

 

Spent most of last year within an hour or so's distance of Manchester, where we were both working. Much of the canal system round there matches up neatly with railways, we were rarely more than 1/2 an hours walk from a station and an hour's train ride from work.

 

Thanks for your input Oarfish - working from the boat would be ideal in an ideal world for me

 

If you have a job in a fixed place and want to cc within the rules, it can be pretty tough. I did it for a while but fairly soon you run out of places to go within commuting distance and risk breaking the rules. Many boaters simply flout the rules and that's for your conscience really but my concern would be that we currently have enjoyed a fairly easy-going enforcement approach which seems at risk now of being tightened up. IMO this is because of those boaters who flout the rules - we all end up suffering.

 

The part of the country you're in also makes a difference to working and cruising. I was working in the centre of Birmingham while cc'ingand there's a LOT of canal within an hour's communte or so from there. Somewhere like Bristol, for instance, is very different. There's the Kennet & Avon, and that's it.

 

You also need to consider logistics if running a car and moving about.

 

After a while I bit the bullet and got a permanent mooring and I don't regret it.

 

Your question also seems to be asking about actually finding a job. Do you mean in terms of discrimination against boaters? If so, I'm not aware of it happening to me but I am aware that it does. Many cc'ers use a friend or relative's address for post, bank accounts, car insurance etc. I would advise you to do the same (even if it's not entirely ethical), that way a prospective employer need not know you live on a boat unless you wanted them too. I suspect that the type of industry you work in has an influence here, with some much more accepting of it. Living on a boat clearly helped me get a once since the interviewer was clearly very taken with the idea when i mentioned it during the interview!

 

 

Thanks Dave, much appreciated. We definitely won't consider cruising unless its within the rules and at the moment we are unsure which way to go, cc or permanent moorings. Just looking at practicalities etc so all input is valuable at this stage. I'm not worried about discrimination and already looking at c/o address options etc. Hopefully will be able to use parents address as its round the corner from where we live on land at the moment so will keep our own doctor / vets etc for sporadic visits back.....

[oarfish]

Just looking at practicalities etc so all input is valuable at this stage. I'm not worried about discrimination and already looking at c/o address options etc. Hopefully will be able to use parents address as its round the corner from where we live on land at the moment so will keep our own doctor / vets etc for sporadic visits back.....

 

 

Where are you planning to live aboard? The northwest is also probably easy to be a 'genuine CCer' while working near a major town. I don't know enough about the situation around Oxford / Reading to be much use, but I'm pretty certain it would be very difficult to do without also using the Thames.

[Sade]

Where are you planning to live aboard? The northwest is also probably easy to be a 'genuine CCer' while working near a major town. I don't know enough about the situation around Oxford / Reading to be much use, but I'm pretty certain it would be very difficult to do without also using the Thames.

 

 

Not entirely sure yet if I'm totally honest but would probably want to stay more or less anything from Oxford down really.....I guess at some point I'll have to do some other research into this and not just glue myself to this forum all day Although its a very cozy place to stay surfing heheheee

[Arthur Brown]

It's easy to do work from a boat if it's typically e-work Some things really don't matter where or when they are done as long as the client gets the job on time. It's almost impossible to "go to work" from a position of CC'ing as after a while you have to move back to moorings that you have only recently vacated. OK in some place and Brum comes to mind, you could get a job in the centre and commute from many different moorings.

 

As a photographer you could do landscape and waterscape work from the boat wherever BUT you would need to be well established for an image agency to keep sending you leads and taking your images and sending the all important cheques. If you go into serious photography then look for a really special deal on an internet connection as you will be uploading HUGE files which the usual ADSL cannot cope with.

 

( the A in ADSL is for asymmetric, meaning that you are allowed about 1% upload and 99% download. Send a wedding album like that and it will grind to a halt very quickly. -it's now typical to take digi images show digi previews then email the files to a print house for the album prints. so HUGE uploads are needed)

 

In my photo days calendar pics were always 5x4 large format transparencies. You may still need large format image quality which doesn't come from cheap cameras sadly

[Sade]

It's easy to do work from a boat if it's typically e-work Some things really don't matter where or when they are done as long as the client gets the job on time. It's almost impossible to "go to work" from a position of CC'ing as after a while you have to move back to moorings that you have only recently vacated. OK in some place and Brum comes to mind, you could get a job in the centre and commute from many different moorings.

 

As a photographer you could do landscape and waterscape work from the boat wherever BUT you would need to be well established for an image agency to keep sending you leads and taking your images and sending the all important cheques. If you go into serious photography then look for a really special deal on an internet connection as you will be uploading HUGE files which the usual ADSL cannot cope with.

 

( the A in ADSL is for asymmetric, meaning that you are allowed about 1% upload and 99% download. Send a wedding album like that and it will grind to a halt very quickly. -it's now typical to take digi images show digi previews then email the files to a print house for the album prints. so HUGE uploads are needed)

 

In my photo days calendar pics were always 5x4 large format transparencies. You may still need large format image quality which doesn't come from cheap cameras sadly

 

Thank you Arthur that is really useful info! Especially the internet connection and uploading files as I already do upload a huge amount. I don't suppose you know of any agencies that I could look at sending my images to?

 

I have no idea where to start with virtual assistant type of online work really.....its all new to me so will have to start trying to find reputable / recognised agencies for that sort of work if I need to fill in gaps with admin or accounting type work ...which I'd much rather not do but needs must

[DanBR]

This topic is in line with some of my thoughts recently and leads me to this question:

What is the best job to have to allow you to make the most of narrow boating?

 

At the moment I’m changing careers and training to be a teacher, I hope to use the holidays to get out and about on the canal system a bit more. However, thinking a bit more I was wandering if there are any jobs which are fairly universal (nursing or teaching for instance) where you could move and live on the boat, do agency work for a bit and move on again? Or maybe jobs where you can work remotely from the boat?

I’m feeling like ditching the marina and becoming a (legitimate) continuous cruiser.

[Jerra]

In theory a teacher could move about doing supply work at schools as needed. In reality I doubt it as schools tend to reuse supply staff one they get to know them and a supply agency might not cover a sufficiently large area. As a result you might not build up a local reputation as you move on regularly. Also many schools now (particularly since Gove removed the need to be a qualified teacher) employ unqualified cover supervisors.

[boathunter]

I'm sick as a pig. I spent 15 years working in a shed at the bottom of the garden designing Mobile phone radio sites. I could have been anywhere and it would have been ideal to do from a boat. Wife wouldn't consider it. Now she's boogered off anyway, but I do a place based job. Things sometimes just don't work out.

 

TBH I'd forget the photography as a way of earning money. In the old days you had to be very good, now you photoshop and anyone can make a picture look nice. My son recently completed a photography degree but he's a chef now.

 

When I finally get to a boat, I will be a roving mechanic, but it's going to take a while to get to the jobs.

It's obviously going to be a better outlook if you're semi-retired and really earning only looking for some beer and food money.

[jim and pat dalton]

We have just moved permanently onto a boat..

 

I used to be in IT up to 2004 but then ran a fireworks display business until last year. To fill in sometimes with the slack periods I would take on driving jobs, first as a test driver for GM at millbrook, Then it occured to me that HGV agency driver was really fexible and dead easy.

 

thats what Ive been doing ever since. My intention is to stay self employed cruise the system and stop to work whenever I feel like it (with the exception of jan/feb when its thin) making the most of the busy periods during the year. Its a great way to get out on your own without a boss behind you and its a great way to find space think about (and research during waiting periods) other things too whilst being paid

 

From meeting a lot of drivers, many of them use driving to support other careers and opportunities

 

 

Jim

[Grace and Favour]

Gigolo.

[carlt]

It depends where you are based and how far you are willing to commute.

 

I worked in Rugby and, never straying further than an hour's commute, ccing within the rules was easy with literally hundreds of miles of cruising to choose from.

 

The main problem was moving the car around but, back in those days, I was very fit so cycling back was no hardship.

[Cloudinspector]

probably no help but we both work and cruise during the summer. As long as we are within an hours drive to work we're ok. I'm a HGV driver and my wife works in the transport office. It can be difficult sometimes logistically but it's a lifestyle choice.

[Timx]

Bit weird but pay for a mooring, or continuously cruise,option three is do neither and do as you please and pay nothing into the system, why should you...

[Lady Muck]

It depends on what Im working on as to whether I need to go anywhere for meetings or not. If I'm cruising I make sure I'm going to be near a station if I need to do this. Currently only have one client anywhere near where the boat is moored, most are up North or abroad.

I only need a small business case for my stuff for working and can work from anywhere - splitting our time equally between our in-laws (who are elderly and need our attention) or the boat.

I could quite easily cc but I love our mooring and our neighbours - they are the best.

[junior]

 

This topic is in line with some of my thoughts recently and leads me to this question:

 

What is the best job to have to allow you to make the most of narrow boating?

 

 

At the moment Im changing careers and training to be a teacher, I hope to use the holidays to get out and about on the canal system a bit more. However, thinking a bit more I was wandering if there are any jobs which are fairly universal (nursing or teaching for instance) where you could move and live on the boat, do agency work for a bit and move on again? Or maybe jobs where you can work remotely from the boat?

 

Im feeling like ditching the marina and becoming a (legitimate) continuous cruiser.

I work at Calais port in France for a UK government agency. I work 7 days on/7 days off. I reckon this is brilliant for cc'ing. I travel to and from France on Tuesdays so all I need to do is make sure I plan my routes so it puts me near a train station on a Monday evening/Tuesday morning.

 

Also if I put in one weeks holiday (of which I get 6 per year) it actually gets me three consecutive weeks off at a time due to my work pattern. This will give me plenty of time for a longer cruise should I want one.

[bargemast]

I work at Calais port in France for a UK government agency. I work 7 days on/7 days off. I reckon this is brilliant for cc'ing. I travel to and from France on Tuesdays so all I need to do is make sure I plan my routes so it puts me near a train station on a Monday evening/Tuesday morning.

 

Also if I put in one weeks holiday (of which I get 6 per year) it actually gets me three consecutive weeks off at a time due to my work pattern. This will give me plenty of time for a longer cruise should I want one.

 

Your job sounds like the ideal job, that allows you some serious cruising if you want to, jobs like that will be very hard to find (get), and will only be for the lucky few.

I hope you'll manage to keep your job as long as you like it.

 

Peter.

[jenlyn]

I work at Calais port in France for a UK government agency. I work 7 days on/7 days off. I reckon this is brilliant for cc'ing. I travel to and from France on Tuesdays so all I need to do is make sure I plan my routes so it puts me near a train station on a Monday evening/Tuesday morning.

Also if I put in one weeks holiday (of which I get 6 per year) it actually gets me three consecutive weeks off at a time due to my work pattern. This will give me plenty of time for a longer cruise should I want one.

If you owned a boat, it would indeed be ideal :-P

[tree]

When I was living in Wales I easily ran my Support Business from home, but then realised that once I moved onto my boat this would be a bit of a difficult option as I need to use my car daily for work related activities. I then did some research and worked out 3 options which are available for me.

 

1. Get a residential mooring and re-set up my business or :

2. Do 'living-in support' , one week on and then one week off, or 2 weeks on and then you have 2 weeks off ( ideal for then crusing and mooching about)

3. 'Living-in support' work means you work and live in someones home supporting them, and you get all your food and lodging accounted for as well as a decent wage averaging from £65 - £80 a day pay. It also gives the option of working all over the UK and abroad.

 

Since I am 53 and 3/4 not working is not an option till I get my pension lol and anyway with my over active mind without working I would easily get bored. While I re-fit out my boat I am looking for a temporary p/t post to keep my hand in so to speak and once my boat is finished and back to her beautiful self then I will review my options as it also depends on where I am going to eventually be based, which will probably be North Wales/ Shropshire area

 

So it really depends on what your occupation is or if you are willing to change career directions.

Edited May 4, 2013 by tree

[Arthur Brown]

Classically a photographer would research agencies according to their market area (All Sport do not do boat and countryside!)

 

You may need several thousand good images well researched with detailed captioning with some theme ( or a few themes)

 

One agency I used to know had shots of every aircraft that each airline used with the correct livery for each period, he also had berthed and sailing shots of most ships sailing and made a LOT of money for the image of the Achile Lauro ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achille_Lauro_hijacking ) when the media needed it for 5PM news.

 

These days quality image transmission is easy and instant but you still have to have LOTS of well indexed pictures to start with.

[PhilR]

Bit weird but pay for a mooring, or continuously cruise,option three is do neither and do as you please and pay nothing into the system, why should you...

 

Is that tongue in cheek?

[Ange]

Bit weird but pay for a mooring, or continuously cruise,option three is do neither and do as you please and pay nothing into the system, why should you...

You can cc whilst having a job in one place (see Carl's post for a good example) which is what the OP is asking - I have no idea what you're trying to say.

[mattlad]

Work is the curse of the boating classes........