huymog

Going wide is tempting for the extra space, but then we would have to decide North or South for wide canals and rivers. We will want to explore but there seems to be enough to keep us happy both in the North and in the South. The North would tempt us more if it were possible to get into the fens through the Wash, I believe it is, but how difficult is it? Anybody like to weigh in on the pros and cons of going wide, apart from the obvious space advantage. We did want to move around and explore, so apart from the obvious impossibility of going from North to South are there any factors we should consider before deciding on a widebeam. Topics such as running costs, ease of handling, width restrictions (10 foot or wider still) come to mind. huymog

Once again thanks for all the tips. Taking the advice I will look for a boat with a solid fuel stove, and try a trad. I had a cruiser stern in mind but can see the advantages of a trad as a Morgan owner. I drive occasionally in below zero temperatures, not a problem at all with the heater at full blast keeping the lower half warm, the top half is kept warm with a flying jacket and a silly hat. By that you can tell it is a newer model (bear in mind the model first came out around 1935), the heater didn't heat on the old one. I'm assuming there will lower body warming when steering a trad boat. We will likely use winter moorings with electricity and water if we are positive after the trial, so mooring in a marina or two on our trial weeks will be part of the plan. I was surprised that a "hook-up" is not standard equipment on hire boats, and will check that the boat has one before booking. I have looked at the hire boat pages mentioned in your posts; it looks like we will be able to find a boat well equipped for winter cruising. huymog

Thank you all again for the useful advice, and I will keep in mind that canals do have shallow ends. Our intention is to live aboard for a couple of years, our major concern at the moment is our ability to cope with life in a corridor. Two weeks in winter where the great outdoors is not so hospitable and available for relief seems a good way to test this. We both are used to cold weather, I've lived a long time in Switzerland, and my new better half is from New England (it snowed over there yesterday) so are used to cold winters and have the gear. It is the cold damp grey English winter I remember from my youth that worries me more rather than the colder clear blue sky winter days we're used to. But as has been said, solid water may cause some problems in a really cold spell. From what I gathered reading all the words of wisdom on this site, I suspect that it is unlikely a hire boat will have the battery capacity to last even a couple of days without extended use of the engine. My thoughts are to have a word with the hire company to see if they would allow us to moor up and hook up at their base should we be unlucky and hit really bad weather during our test weeks. Thanks for the reminder that hooked up to mains on a mooring is a viable winter alternative. Thank you all again for your advice and tips, and the words of encouragement and the warnings. We want the sense of adventure of living on a narrowboat - reading extensively on this site has not put us off, with descriptions of the many ways of sinking the boat, narrowboat neighbours from hell, and malfunctioning equipment notwithstanding. We will also use our test time on the canals to look at a few boats for sale to get an idea of what you get for the money, and how the various boat layouts look in real life. We have budgeted around £40k for the boat with another 5k reserve if needed to add the extra creature comforts (preferable not as a recent divorce severely dented the bank balance). I'm thinking we should be able to get a boat well suited as a liveaboard in good condition for that money. I will no doubt come back on here for detailed advice on the finer details of equipment and boat purchasing if need be, although I am impressed at the amazing amount of information already on this forum. huymog

Thank you for the reply. We are the adventurous types but do need to have some confidence we can take the winter before we dive in the deep end and buy our own boat. Umm - do canals have deep ends? Any suggestions for good areas to cruise in winter, and are there any must have pieces of equipment for winter survival? I mean anything less obvious than a well fuelled functioning heating system, rations and a good supply of beer and wine for those long dark nights. huymog

Hi all, I've just registered but have been reading up a lot on here about buying and living aboard a narrowboat. A lot of good advice and even more I don't fully understand. Anyway, to my question. We are a couple recently and about to retire and are contemplating going liveaboard on a narrowboat for a few years. There are many of you who advise trying it first. Sounds sensible to me. As we would be aboard all year I thought it would be a good idea to do this in the winter, with the idea that if we like it then we should enjoy be OK for the rest of the year. One way to do a try out would be to hire a boat for a fortnight. Do any of you know a hire boat company who hire out boats well equipped for winter cruising in february? We will not necessarily need to move very far - but would wish to experience some cruising and mooring on the cut for a few nights at a time. If there is choice of hire boat bases, which area would you advise for the test. Thanks for your help. huymog