cost of livaboard

[brickie]

Ok,i've had enough of working,40years in the building trade.So my wife and i have decided to buy and live on a narrow boat.Were keeping our home so have limited funds,our hope is not to permanately moor but to make use of the weekly or daily mooring available and cruise the canal system.Have tried to calculate the cost anually including insurance,lincence,fuel,maintainance ect,but have yet to find someone in the same position.Can you!!! help.

[deletedaccount]

You'll get vastly different estimates from different people. Some consider saving up for a new paintjob as part of maintainence, others would never dream of paying someone 5k to paint a boat for example. Some run diesel heating, others coal or wood. Some boats just require more work than others too.

 

Sorry, that's probably not what you're after

[brickie]

You'll get vastly different estimates from different people. Some consider saving up for a new paintjob as part of maintainence, others would never dream of paying someone 5k to paint a boat for example. Some run diesel heating, others coal or wood. Some boats just require more work than others too.

 

Sorry, that's probably not what you're after

ok.thanks.thats why its so difficult to get an etimate.But i'm onlylooking for a general etimate.

[deletedaccount]

ok.thanks.thats why its so difficult to get an etimate.But i'm onlylooking for a general etimate.

 

I'm so bad with my money I've no idea how much it costs.

 

You've got blacking + batteries every 2-3 years. That's about 800 quid total, so 300 a year or so.

You've got licence. That's about 800 year.

You've got insurance. That's about 200 a year iirc.

You've got coal. That's about 40-50 bags imo. 500-600 quid.

You've got gas. That's about 100 quid

You've got general oil/filters etc. That's about 50 quid maybe.

You've got diesel - depends on electricity usage and distance travelled.

 

Then you've got things like broken taps etc that you'd get in a house too, general stuff.

Edited September 19, 2012 by deletedaccount

[Robbo]

Ok,i've had enough of working,40years in the building trade.So my wife and i have decided to buy and live on a narrow boat.Were keeping our home so have limited funds,our hope is not to permanately moor but to make use of the weekly or daily mooring available and cruise the canal system.Have tried to calculate the cost anually including insurance,lincence,fuel,maintainance ect,but have yet to find someone in the same position.Can you!!! help.

 

I would budget around £5000pa, moorings tend to be the main cost but if your CCing you'll spend roughly the same on diesel.

[Flocal]

Me personally...for a year

 

£670 Licence

£250 Diesel

£170 Insurance

£150 Two services a year

£100 Gas for a year

 

=£1340 would be my rough yearly boat expenses.

 

Ontop of that there is general maintennance, blacking, surveys.

[deletedaccount]

Me personally...for a year

 

£670 Licence

£250 Diesel

£170 Insurance

£150 Two services a year

£100 Gas for a year

 

=£1340 would be my rough yearly boat expenses.

 

Ontop of that there is general maintennance, blacking, surveys.

 

How do you heat your boat? Free wood?

 

Also, I spend way more than that on diesel just generating electricity, let along moving.

[Flocal]

I roughly buy £40 worth of diesel every two months. The tank is always over half filled but i keep it topped up.

I drive my boat like a car, gentle acceleration, light braking and dont go over 55mph.

 

I use wood 95% of the time and yes i get it for free.

[GoodGurl]

Ok,i've had enough of working,40years in the building trade.So my wife and i have decided to buy and live on a narrow boat.Were keeping our home so have limited funds,our hope is not to permanately moor but to make use of the weekly or daily mooring available and cruise the canal system.Have tried to calculate the cost anually including insurance,lincence,fuel,maintainance ect,but have yet to find someone in the same position.Can you!!! help.

This is about what we use per year CC'ing.

calor gas x 3 £81.

diesal/petrol £1500.

coal £800 plus free wood when available.

licence £800 depending on size of boat.

insurance £230 depending on coverage.

blacking d.i.y £350 every 2 years.

plus a contingency plan for things that go wrong or need replacing.

[Scooby]

Goodgurl's estimates look realistic to me. Sounds a lot of coal though that would make over 80 bags of coal. We use about half that with free wood when available. Diesel would be biggest cost, try 1.5 litres per hour for most boats at 5 hours per day would roughly be 1.5x5=7.5 so roughly £7x 365.

[deletedaccount]

I run my engine about an hour a day most days and probably about four one time a week. 10 hours a week imo.

[Keeping Up]

This is about what we use per year CC'ing.

calor gas x 3 £81.

diesal/petrol £1500.

coal £800 plus free wood when available.

licence £800 depending on size of boat.

insurance £230 depending on coverage.

blacking d.i.y £350 every 2 years.

plus a contingency plan for things that go wrong or need replacing.

 

Don't underestimate the size of this fund There are a lot of things that go wrong or need regular replacing (a new set of batteries every 2 to 3 years at £3-400 for example, not to mention the cooker/fridge/TV/stove/boiler/inverter/generator etc which all have a finite lifespan). Maintenance is more than just blacking too, there's regular engine maintenance (oil and filters etc) too, plus all the various things which can just suddenly go wrong. If you neglect all these things for a few years, they have a habit of suddenly all jumping up to bite you at once.

[Theo]

I roughly buy £40 worth of diesel every two months. The tank is always over half filled but i keep it topped up.

I drive my boat like a car, gentle acceleration, light braking and dont go over 55mph.

 

I use wood 95% of the time and yes i get it for free.

 

At 55mph you must be using an offshore power boat!

 

By the way. It sounds as if you are dipping your toe in the water, so to speak. Do make sure that you have done as much as you can to make sure that you like boating: hiring for and extended period, understanding the privations of small living space, no mains water supply, drains or electricity, muddy towpaths and all the rest.

 

I have only lived aboard for a about nine months at a time but one day...

 

 

Ask the questions and someone is mound to give you some answers and maybe you will like the answers and maybe not.

 

Welcome to the forum BTW.

 

I repeat: ask the questions. As many as you like and as seemingly stupid as you like. No one seems to mind a silly question.

 

Nick