Alastair

Hot running water and radiators. (MrsC bought a barge with no heating apart from one reflecks-type heater and only a cold water supply.)

I've lived on a string of moorings that were largely 'crusties'. Most of them had no idea how to handle a boat (or moor a boat). We were forever fixing things for them and dealing with problems when the river flooded. Heck, I was having to help them out before I moved onto a boat. Was very glad to move away to another mooring.

I agree about the difficulty of handling. The sheer weight of a large barge is a major consideration. If you need to fend your boat off, or bump a lock gate with a 50ft narrowboat - it is no big deal. Not going to cause much damage and judicious use of a barge pole can move the boat. Try doing that with a 70x12 boat and it is a different story. The momentum of that large a boat is high, you will smash things if you bump them (or leave dents in your boat). You can't fend the boat off. Long boats are difficult to handle in crosswinds, and mooring takes care. When we looked at moving back aboard, I set a max size of 50 (widebeam). Did not want to be on a boat that was so difficult to move, it became just a floating caravan, as said by the Nomad.

How many of the people commenting have lived aboard with children? I have, and would recommend going for the largest boat you can afford and that is practical. Living aboard with kids isn't like taking a holiday. They all need their own beds, private space (even more so as they head into the teenage years).

I'm a fan of not putting all the wiring and plumbing behind the joinery. Living aboard puts a lot more load on both (and you might want to change lighting). If it is all boxed away, then it is a real problem fixing issues or making alterations. Make sure that all plumbing runs and wiring is accessible without ripping out tongue and groove or cupboards.

Remember that any object is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. Compare like with like; look for similar boats on the market. Are they at a similar price and if so, have they been on the market for long? That is an indication that they are overpriced. Details like hull condition, last blacking, make a considerable difference to the price. Listen to the surveyor's report. It won't tell you the value, but will indicate if the boat is sound and how long before it will need work.

Worse, actually. There were times I was concerned the nb would come down on the pontoon.

Given the variety of responses, I'm surprised someone hasn't suggested just using adult nappies. 'used' nappies could stored in bags on board and taken to the tip when convenient.

tehmarks, you were lucky (fortunate?). In summer, we would get an 'inappropriate speeder' several times a day, Sat and Sun. I'd call it inappropriate when the wash is so great, it passes *over* your pontoon, and your narrowboat rears up so much you can see daylight under the hull.

I have extensive experience of a composting loo. A good one actually does compost down the waste. However: You MUST have a powered vent. Occasionally the composting with 'go wrong' and start to smell. If you have a powered vent, this smell will not fill your boat. They are much bulkier than cassette or pumpout. The small, slim composting systems don't really compost, they just store and dry. When we had a composting toilet, we were moored up at a farm. The composted output could be buried in a trench. That isn't an option for a cruising boater. If I were a cruising boater, I'd probably go for a cassette system with several spares. A cassette can be put in a bike trailer and taken to a caravan park or BW disposal point. That adds a lot of flexibility.

A pair of aluminium scaffold poles are dang useful. Poling off a bank when you don't want to use the motor. Rigged to hold your boat out when mooring on a waterway that is tidal (or flooding). Repelling drunken boarders (I've used a barge pole for that purpose, just had to heft it and tell them to sod off. They left when I picked up the pole.) Rig a temporary cockpit cover. Loads of uses.

Sod the bss, adding an rcd is just about personal safety

Are you sure there isn't a consumer unit with circuit breakers? If not, you really must fit one. Something like this screw fix garage consumer unit

That was very naughty of them. They should have overtaken on your port side. ColRegs. When we lived on the river there were issues with cruisers going too fast. Local regs put a top speed of 6knots. Some would come down the river at closer to 20. We did have a laugh when one bunch of drunken yahoos did that and hit a mudbank, stripping their prop. (They lost the boat, insurance refused to pay out and they earned a lifetime ban from CRT waterways.) The wash kicked up by some of them was similar in size to the pic put up by Scholar Gypsy - when a boat passes 3ft away kicking up that much wash, no roping stops your boat from flying about.

You don't need a gas engineer if you are careful. I'd urge you to have a bubble tester fitted (if you don't already). Use your phone to photograph every connection. Use a sharpie to label pipes at both ends. Don't over tighten mechanical compression joints. Get some Fernox LS-X for all wet joints (not gas).

Just an observation; the amount of wash produced varies hugely between boats. I train in a very tippy (think of sitting on a basket ball while waving your arms about) kayak. Sunday, nice and sunny. Passed a few narrowboats (this is on the Cam). One boat kicked up quite a wash and I had to be careful. Next boat, going similar speed. Almost no wash. Similar size boats, similar speed. Huge difference in wash. I used to own a 50ft dutch barge. High bow, which always had a 'bone in its teeth'. Fishermen seeing me coming would shout for me to slow down; then they'd look at the wash after I'd passed; minimal.

No, I haven't. However I have had the experience of water freezing in pipes that were run below the floorboards on a boat. So I'm saying "don't count on water not freezing in your pipes". If you are not going to be aboard, arrange for some heating or completely drain the pipes.

Ha ha ha You know that water freezes, right? It has been a few years, but in the last decade the river ouse froze thick enough to walk on. I had a few split pipe joints because I hadn't drained out everything. If a boat is sitting in ice, then it is entirely possible that the base plate and interior of the boat will be below freezing temps.

I concur with Alan. If your shower hose is flexible pipe, you can try this: Get two Stainless Steel jubilee clips. Very hot water. Chamfer inside of hose a little with a sharp knife. Soak end of hose in hot water to soften it. Use a large philips screwdriver or similar (warmed up in the water). Put in end of hose, work it round to stretch the hose opening. Warm up the copper pipe. Re-warm the hose. Put the jubilee clips on the pipe. Work the hose over the pipe end and past the olive - about 1cm more than the combined wide of the clips. Tighten clips over hose.

I don't think that is a fitting. Looks to me like someone swaged the end of the copper pipe down to 10mm OD. The swaging cracked the copper and it has collapsed. What is the inside diameter of the pipe you had clipped on there? What type of pipe is it?

That isn't a good fitout for a liveaboard. No storage to speak of.

You've just learnt one of the first, important lessons: you will drop things. They will go into the water. If a boater has an expensive wrench, you won't see them using that on deck. Maybe in the engine bay. Or they'll tie some floating string to it. Knives . . . they are disposable (a yacht delivery guy I met said that serrated veg knives are the best thing for cutting rope. So cheap you don't hesitate to use, they cut well and only cost £2 each).

Agree with many points, particularly space for 2. Living aboard, you need space to store *all* your possessions. All your clothes. Books, bedding, towels, electronics, tools; everything. It is well worth trying to pack up everything you want, looking at how much space that takes up and considering where you would put it on a boat.