ScottBolton

Thanks for the replies, I understand that about the kids which is why I was now thinking more of buying the boat, and then moving onto it once they have flown the nest so to speak. Because if this, I wouldn't necessarily need 3 bedrooms on the boat like I would if I intended on moving aboard right now. With regards to the business case, I wouldn't need to make a huge sum of money to make it work, as long as it paid for itself and then had money to help me to pay towards my day to day living. I hadn't thought of buying an ex rental boat, that would make so much sense in terms of all of the legislations the boat would have to meet etc.

Hi ladies and gents, I have just joined so please be gentle! ? OK, so I am currently going through a divorce and due to the way the law is in this wonderful country of ours, I am going to have to let the "other" take much more than myself. Because of this I am left with either getting a huge mortgage or think of alternatives. I live in Warrington, so the Bridgewater Canal would be my nearest canal. Initially, I did think about going down the widebeam route. This being because my kids are 14 and 17 and are with my 75% of the time, so the extra space etc would be vital, as I would need 3 bedrooms, and then us living permanently on board. But having read several posters getting advised not to do this I had another idea. What if I rented a house, and bought a narrowboat with my share of the equity of the house? My thoughts being that if I could rent out the boat during the months of say March to September, I could possible pay the rent for my house for me? Then once my kids have gone their own way, I could move into the boat full time. I have no idea about boating etc, and I totally understand that I would need to have a few weeks aboard at least before making a decision. But my thoughts are genuine, as the lifestyle really really appeals to me, so it's not just for the sake of dodging the stupid mortgage costs. I would be extremely grateful to hear what people think about this idea. That would be involved licence and insurance wise, other costs to be taken into consideration etc.... I would be looking to spend in the region of £50,000-£60,000 on the boat itself. Thanks in advance. Scott