Minimal
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Posts posted by Minimal
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1 hour ago, Tony1 said:
This is a bit of a left-field suggestion, but I wonder if it might be worth looking at a GRP boat of about 30ft or so?
About a year ago I got talking to a work colleague who asked about living aboard, because his son had shown a strong interest in this lifestyle and was keen to get cruising asap- but he only had about £20k.
My advice to him was to give some thought to a GRP boat (preferably one with a stove, if possible). As a 20-something the lad would probably be more tolerant of a slightly cramped space and fewer domestic facilities, a smaller water tank, having to fetch petrol from nearby petrol stations, etc etc, and by going GRP, he would be less likely to buy a money pit that would need another 10k spent to make it safe and reliable.
My thinking was that the son really wanted to get cruising, and a 20k steel narrowboat would need a fair few jobs doing (and maybe a few more thousand spending on it), and he might be stuck for a few months just getting it canal-worthy.
Shortly afterwards he actually bought a 32ft Viking GRP cruiser (the viking 32cc), and his dad called a couple of months later to tell me he was absolutely over the moon with it, and had done loads of cruising,
If you buy carefully you'll lose very little, it being GRP it wont need £800 for blacking every 2 years, plus it can U turn in places that 50ft boats cannot (so a bit more freedom of movement), and it might just have the minimalist feel that you are looking for.
In all honesty I dont know enough about GRP boats, The layout on them are typically really nice and more to what i would like and personally i would prefer a diesel engine of some sort as it would just be easier to upkeep on travels, i just get the feeling that they would be a bit too light? Im unsure, but also they look kinda tall for the canals that are local, unsure if ill just bump into somewhere with a really low bridge or something.
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Okay my bit on the living stuff, And ill just add some things to build the picture.
Basically I was in a relationship, Engaged for 3 years, We had a house lined up and Was actually gonna get married before the pandemic happened but thankfully didnt for a number of reasons, From my viewpoint though I did not have the energy to be the best i could be with the ex's Psychosis. So basically im sitting on my own with 2 modern cars that i cant use at once (obviously one will go soon)
Yes the house prices are silly regardless of what area i look at, but to get something that ill be happy with i.e not a flat and i would like a garden and a garage preferably out of town somewhere, Yes im picky, but i would put my cash into something that will be good for me instead of feeling like i need to move somewhere else a year later, and lets say i get it, i would still live my life on the last £100 to spare and i would probably feel like i need to do overtime just so i have food in my belly, Its not like ill have the cash to go on holiday if i were living in that scenario.
I cant tell what my future will hold, But right now i know that i want to just chill out and do things that i find cool, extremely simple things like siting in the rain on a boat is a selling point to me, I do feel that the freedom is what im after, I dont have any ties to anything and i dont see that changing for a long time, And say the difference after costs is £200 in my pocket instead of £100, i would still find it worth it as i would be less stressed upkeeping a boat than a house, if i wished to move on then it could be sold at one point that will go towards wherever the future goes.
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Yeah so i seem to fit more to the hobbyist / weekender sorta lifestyle, basically a calm place why i sort my future out, I realize that i dont need to just keep it in the marina for however long as ill use it of course, it gets me out and doing things in one way or the other, but its if i felt that i needed to ill probably put it in for the odd month and im just keeping that in mind, And im good at doing my own work with stuff, i do feel that is kinda required anyway to consider owning one.
Right now ill keep my eyes on just getting on one for a day, Im not in a rush
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4 hours ago, Slow and Steady said:
There is a guy moored near me who bought a 30ft boat new. He wanted new and 30ft sucked up his budget. Now he's skint and the boat is too small. If he sold it he'd be even worse off. It has almost no storage, expensive to run blower heating, no wood/solid stove, etc etc.
New boats are fine if you have a lot of money I guess, but I don't think I've ever come across one that didn't have a ton of teething problems starting with inadequate paintwork. I'm sure you can avoid most of that if you get your wallet out, already know what should be what and keep a stern eye on progress.
Another couple I know with a new boat they intended to live on went through all the teething, had to have it repainted after which the paint failed again, the windows leaked etc etc. 3 years later they still hadn't moved on and the mister never wanted to in the first place! Lost track of them now but I imagine they threw the towel in and took the financial loss on the chin.
Boat next to me has been moored for 6 years, the retired owner has spent ONE night on it. It's suffered - he's got it booked in for a repaint and new windows. So that's £60k to buy + 6 x £2k mooring + about £9k repaint/windows = approx £80k for one night. Meanwhile he's getting older and older and more doddery - I hope for his sake he eventually gets some use from it.
Meanwhile at the other end of the scale people have bought wisely for under £20k, are happy as Larry and would probably make a profit if they sold.
Conclusion - do your homework, be realistic, tread carefully and things work out fine. Above all do not be in a hurry.
Really appreciate this post, It gets me to think about "Why do i want a boat" instead of "What can i do with it" and i dont think i ask the first question enough to myself.
And to answer that i just like a lot of the boring things in life i guess, I like the rainy weather most the time, I really want to go and explore more pubs (CAMRA Member) and i dont think there is anything much better than chilling out with a good ale at a country pub, Especially if its beside the canal, and just the freedom to explore a bit, Im someone who has never been abroad in my life and dont really have an intention to as it does not interest me, but the canals do, I just dont know if ill get heavily attached to that life or not, And on that note ill likely try and take some time out on one when possible.
And well the reality is im gonna have to go to work that i have fixed shifts for and plenty of time off to enjoy myself, Also i forgot to note i have easy reach for basically most marinas within 8 miles of Lichfield.
Like i look at the fact whilst in my case i would like a washing machine, If im checking in with my parents often I could just do it there, but of course it would be preferred to have one, and the main reason i would like a smaller boat is basically ill just save some cash and it just seems likely ill go and stay with one of my parents during my work days and go to the boat after when its not the greatest idea to go and travel somewhere.
I think i just want to do something different with my life than sit on my backside saving for an ideal house (In a village somewhere with a pub on my doorstep) feeling bad that whatever i aim for in that regard i would not acquire enough, And then when i eventually do ill not have the time to actually spend in the house, I at least get a taste for what i want this way if i know i can deal with having a boat.
I dont expect it to be a cheap way of living if im going to use it, but lets say if owning one based from my income is the difference between having £200-400 at the end of the month to £0-200 if i were to live in a house, Its like the difference of actually having the ability to save money for whatever i do in the future wherever that leads 😕
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Okay so i know there is some confusion, Im not the best at explaining what is on my mind.
So price i dont really know, I say that because whilst some of these small boats are reachable to buy new, i dont think i should go that route as for my usage i dont know how easy it will be for me to adapt to the style of living, or to be frank maybe ill end up having a change of heart at some point? or just want to move on to other things? I have no idea, I might just want a small boat to travel to places every now and then, Im probably trying to come up with a mix between the two.
the boats i would look at would be something like what the little boat co make, (and they have a good idea of layouts but even i find that excessive, My idea is to have thin storage across the top for misc items, i want to have a nice sofa bench similar to the pubs on one side only, and for the bed i actually want a double, but where it would be placed that would basically be ontop of a wardrobe if it were on the floor, Think something like Tatami mats? I dont like sleeping on a matress in all honesty.
I Do have a vision for what i want, Im probably just trying to understand what i need as i could just go and buy something new easily enough, but i personally think ill be safer to have something smaller for a year or two at least before i do something like that,
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Hi all, so i have always been fascinated with canal boats since i was young, as i live in quite favored canal area (I believe) and basically having the feeling like i have done practically nothing interesting within the first half of my lifetime in all honesty, I have no idea where the future will go so im just kinda free to do what i wish.
The situation im in is basically Im not going to buy a house anytime soon at this rate, Renting is just silly and dumping money into a pit and If i did i want to be in a small house in the country anyway, I would rather save towards that in that regard.
In the mean time i need stuff to do in my life, I have my own basic foundations set, just dont know where to go, Im not a holiday person, but a good beer next to the canal? Thats kinda the dream in one sense to me, I thrive of the simple things like that and im not tied down to the socials.
My main confusion at the moment is with the CRT License, and most of my usage will probably be solely on their owned routes anyway, its more of the length that i would need it? I would kinda expect im less likely to go out in the winter months and im confused if people just stay at their home marina for the winter, whilst i know its a cost, i still need to know i have enough time to get back a day before work, (getting their is kinda easy as their is numerous points that i can stop at to keep me on route)
After that really its just the size of the boat i want and making sure im prepared for my usage, I am probably looking about 42" right now? But i kinda like the small ones in general as i love minimalism I would ideally like a blank canvas i can build to spec but it all depends, Like i would use a hob, but probably not a cooker, and then the debate is do i need a microwave? Im more tech driven in the sense that i would have 5G and all that stuff for the internet, but i dont use any "Smart" tech
Basically i think im in a debate with myself on "Can i live like this for a long time" or "Can i live like this for a little while"
Heavily considering boating, but i dont know if im ready.
in New to Boating?
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Yeah i have just looked up a bit more on the GRPs but its not for me, I really think the smaller narrowboats are what im looking for at the moment, seen some nice 40ft ones with an interior style i like too, I basically want to do a good amount of touring and reflect on life i guess.