Mark Dexter

Hi Tracy, My current leave pattern is 10 weeks on my ship 10 weeks off at home so we would be looking to work around that to start. When I retire if we stay in NZ then we would spend the summers in the UK and then back to NZ for their summer. So the boat would be moored up over winter. That was the plan until COVID caused a rethink whether we retire back to the UK.

Why do you think boats are more expensive at the moment?

Hi, We are Mark and Debbie Dexter from Christchurch New Zealand. We have been in New Zealand for around 15 years now. I drive a cruise ship for a living so I guess water, be it salt or fresh is in my blood. As I write I am on my way back to Tenerife to rejoin her although I'm stuck in a hotel in Brisbane right now as my Qatar plane is kaput we are delayed two days. Came from the UK and loved our times cruising the canals on holiday rentals with our kids. So much so that we are looking to buy a boat to spend time and time about between the UK and NZ once life gets back to normal. Plans have been rather stuffed at the moment but hope to get back on track in the months ahead. Eventually we will retire back to the UK and spend more time on the waterways. I am more used to rather larger locks such as the Panama Canal (same principles) but have already learned so much from this forum so thank you.

Thanks for raising this topic Daniel. I'm an expat living in Christchurch New Zealand and drive a cruise ship for a living. Well I will do again when Covid is over. We want to split our time on a narrowboat in the UK and our home in NZ when we can, living for 6 months on a narrowboat and 6 months at home in NZ. Questions as to where to keep an unoccupied boat for periods when we are out of the UK are relevant to us as well. Still deciding whether to buy or take long term rentals especially as the plan is to return to the UK when I retire in around 5 years but really want our own boat.