Hello all! I'm currently living aboard a yacht on the Norfolk broads and have been thinking recently about moving to the canal network for a number of personal reasons but I'm struggling to find definitive answers for some of the issues this move would present. My plan is to stay exclusively on the northern parts of the system with York, Liverpool and Leeds being areas I want to spend most of my time around. And so I have two main questions for you wonderful folk:
1. Are the dimensions of my boat practical for cruising the canals? She's 26ft long with an 8.2ft beam and a 3ft draft (her sailing days are long gone so I'm going to remove the mast and use her as a cruiser, as such she has max 8ft air draft), I'm aware that this would prevent me from accessing many of the narrower canals but would the draft restrict me from using some locks or shallower passages? Looking at some "widebeam maps" has reassured me that I would't be too restricted by the beam but I have no idea how deep these waterways are.
2. How do I get from here to there? By land or by sea seem to be the two options and if possible I would want to do it by sea for money reasons but finding specific info for either of these options has been surprisingly tricky (or maybe I'm just a bit rubbish at looking for it) so if anyone has any experience with either of these, or links to helpful websites, or any vaguely-related info please throw it my way! A few dilemnas I'm anticipating are: do I need specific experience to take it around the coast, would it even be possible to take a mastless yacht with these dimensions around the coast (long keel, heavy displacement if that helps), where would it be from and/or to (would Gt.Yarmouth to Boston be sensible/possible), how much would it cost to take it overland (any rough estimate would be very welcome), etc?
I know I'm asking a lot here, literally more than figuratively perhaps, but I'm after as much info as I can get my eyes on so many thanks in advance and I look forward to your replies!
P.S, obviously with covid and whatnot I wouldn't be attempting any of this for at least a few months when things have (hopefully) calmed down a bit, in case anybody was concerned.