phantomlady

Ok, this is the story so far. We definitely want to live on the inland waterways. We can't decide what to buy and where to go There is much hand-wringing going on in our household at the moment...... We both love the idea of the space on a widebeam dutch barge - say 50'+ x 12/13' - where you could actually have 'normal' furniture from home. But, and it's a big but, I in particular feel we are going to miss out on so much not being able to navigate on lots of the canal system in England. And I really love the idea of exploring the north of the country, being a native of thereabouts....... However, we also have plans to do the European waterways at a later date and it's a definite 'no' for us on a narrowboat. Are we restricting ourselves uneccessarily (spelling?) by going for a widey or can we pop in and out the coastal bits to access almost everywhere? Is it a bit harder to just moor up a bigger (wider) barge on the side of the canal wherever the fancy takes you because you may be blocking it?? Is there anyone on this forum living on a widebeam barge? What are your experiences please?? Any thoughts from anyone would be gratefully received. Maybe it would be possible to buy a narrowboat and do the UK in it for a year then sell it on and buy a dutch barge. Is this feasible or would you lose too much time and money in the changeover? Oh, decisions, decisions. Who would have thought it could be this complicated....(and we've got to sell our yacht first - aaargh!)

Wouldn't mind checking out his bow thruster.....

Guy Martin? Ooooh now if only I was 20 years younger!!!

We will be taking our two cats with us when we become cc'ers. One of our cats lived on board our sailing yacht with us for over a year and actually crossed the atlantic so don't expect any problems with her!!

Happily, yes

Not quite sure what you mean....are you saying that the house you are selling (in theory) is not your main residence?? In which case you may be liable for CGT. If it is your main residence then you are not liable for CGT My understanding is that if you move out of the property classed as your main residence to live or travel somewhere else for up to three years (and rent out the property for the period) you can still sell the property (within the three years) with no CGT liability. If you exceed the three year period then you must live in the property for 12 months before you can then sell it and have no CGT liability. I am speaking from our own personal experience and advice received from our accountant.

Is anyone really worried about the cost of diesel and the effect even more price rises will have on living on a boat?? Will anyone actually be able to afford to go anywhere eventually? Or run generators... Do you think that fuel prices will have/are having an effect on the used boat market? As a sailor the wind is free but if we move onto a barge (as is our plan) will we get a nasty shock? Just wondering what percentage of peoples budget needs to be allocated for fuel.

Sorry, I have not made myself very clear. I was thinking more of a Dutch barge widebeam. As you know, some of these are about 100 years old. My concerns about engine size are - 1)it needs to be powerful enough to motor in European rivers 2) bearing the above in mind it also needs to be as economical as possible on fuel

Yes I was thinking of a widebeam and from what I have read about 75hp is about right for a 16/17m. What would be the minimum thickness of plating that would be acceptable to forum members when buying a boat? And how long does it last? How much does overplating cost? Sorry to sound so ignorant but I'm used to dealing in GRP !

would you believe it? there's actually a second hand one for sale on ebay and it's in my home town!! But I don't have the boat yet to put it on

You say you use a lot of leccy...do you have any other means of generating it than the engine/generator? ie solar panels or wind generator? If so, what is your experience of this please? wow that sounds good. Harris you say.....must look them up on ebay. Do you mind me asking what sort of cost?? Have to say, this forum is proving an absolute mine of information so far. Thanks to everyone who has answered my questions so far Another query... What about security? Do you have to worry about locking up bikes on deck, for example, and are you happy to leave your barge unattended on the canal side for the day. Or does it depend on where you are? At least you don't have to worry about pirates on the inland waterways

Haha life sure does slow down. That's why we want to give up fighting the sea and settle for a more leisurely pace 2.5 litres an hour? that IS a nasty surprise! There again, I don't suppose you do hundreds of miles on a regular basis like we do in our yacht.... What mileage do most people clock up a year? or is that a loaded question

Would anyone care to give me a rough idea of fuel costs for running a barge with say a 80hp engine. I know it's a bit like saying how long is a piece of string but I could do with an idea of what to expect. Obviously fuel costs are a major concern when you are on a limited budget and who knows where prices will end up in the present world climate. When sailing the wind is free :)so we don't really factor this in at the moment.

Just to get off the subject of toilets for a minute......how do you manage to CC with a car??

Hmmm the Thetford sounds like a good compromise.