Keith Powell

I live in Liverpool and I am interested to read these comments, ty . BTW iof your in Liverpool, drop me a line and if I'm free I'll happily meet you, would love to see what a narrow boat is like, I'm still learning, TY for the link to the pic. Keith

HI all, This is encouraging as Im new to the Forum, its good to see all the posts. This one is one of the first Ive come across, but were about 2 yrs off gettin on the water. However we are planning it, and thats part of the fun too. Im just trying to get an idea of things that I need to be on the lookout for and aware of. Thank you, all, as you make it sound like an adventure with some trials, but then we are up for the task I recon. Keith

Hi all, I don't have a boat yet, but my partner and I are planning to live aboard for a few years or longer. We have wanted to do so for a while but up till recently, it wasn't a possibility. So that being said, we are now looking at making it happen. So, why am I here? Well, I have sailed before but my partner hasn't, so a few questions if I can? I have sailed a small craft (20foot), on the canal for a few years as a young man with my partents in Alrewas to Fradley, (trent and mersey), but now I'm much older, and also I am thinking of a much longer craft, basically a 55-60 foot narrow boat. I live in Liverpool now aswell. Could you maybe offer any thoughts on this? We did wonder about hiring a vessel next spring to get a feel for it. It will be around about two years before we can afford to buy our own boat, but in the meantime, there is a lot to do, to get there, that is why I have started to look into this now. I didn't have to do any of the mechanics on the engine, or worry about the day to day maintenance, but as I'm pretty handy I can learn to do most of that I think. I am keen to find out all things that people found out and were possibly a bit suprised by after taking up a life on the canals. I am so looking forward to it, the fact I can sail around the waterways of the UK, for a couple of years is something I have wanted to realise for a long time and its almost here, so any help would be greatly appreciated. I have no idea about laws, licences, fees, gas, what fuel is best, how much to run.. etc. All these things I would need to find out so Im pretty clear about the facts. Thank you. And I'll continue to browse the forum for information but nice to be registering here at long last. Thank you, Keith & Steve.