Heather22

I've been looking into narrowboats for a few months, I'm planning on moving back home, saving money and while I'm saving money, doing a boating course if thats a thing, and just generally figuring out logistics. I know generally what I'm getting into, but definitely more research needs to be done before diving in and thats what I'll do while I'm saving money. I'm expecting it to cost at least as much as living in a flat, but I'm interested in the independence of it, and being closer to nature. I plan to stay in a narrowboat for a week or so by renting one out first, to see how I feel about it before making any serious decisions.

I'm assuming you mean maintenance when you mention paying loads more money, how much would you say I should expect to pay per year on maintenance on average?

Sorry, I'm looking at boats at 50ft long give or take. Also it would be to live on full-time.

What's your 'base price' when it comes to buying boats in the current market? By 'base price' I mean the lowest price you would expect to pay while still getting a decent boat. Like how you shouldn't buy shoes for anything less than £40. I know the prices are constantly changing, but I don't yet know what issues to look for in boats the same way I do when renting a flat, so I wanted to get an idea of general price I should look for. And any advice on what boat-specific issues I should look for would also help! Also, I'm not asking for the lowest price as a way of spending as little money as possible, I plan to save up a decent amount of money by living with my mum for a few years.

I'm wondering about the mooring fee, are you a continuous cruiser or do you have a permanent mooring? I'm trying to figure out how much I can expect to spend on mooring rent if I get a permanent mooring.

How did it turn out? Not at all bc I'm also 22 and considering boat living... 😛

What does a boat sink in that show?. I'll have to watch that it'll be interesting bc that's mainly what got me considering the idea. Always loved boats so why not live on one?

I think that my worrying nature actually, ironically, makes things less likely to go wrong because I'm always on guard. It might sound odd but I'd rather have the possibility of something going severely wrong from me messing up, than to live in a flat and have all control (and money) in the hands of someone else. That said, I definitely won't be on the rum and coke at any point while moving a boat until I'm way way way more experienced, and maybe not even then.

Oh I worry about everything haha. I do worry about where I live at the moment but it's worrying about my landlord one day deciding he doesn't want us there anymore and giving us notice to piss off. I hate living under a landlord mainly for that reason. Well actually the main reason is my severe hatred of landlords but that's another issue.

That's good to hear, I'm a natural worry-er so I have to be careful figuring out whether something is a genuine concern or if my heads just messing with me.

I don't know much yet about boats (working on that as we speak), but I've gone down an internet rabbit hole of sunken narrowboat videos and pictures and I just started wondering how likely it is that you could be living on a narrowboat, and checking all the relevant areas of the boat regularly to make sure they're all up to scratch, and still sink due to some unforeseen problem? Is it usually a user error that causes boats to sink? Can you check everything you need to check and still wind up underwater?

My GP has an app called "Healthera" which I use to order my repeat prescriptions. There's an option after selecting your meds where it asks you what pharmacy you want to collect it from. I don't know if this app is exclusive to certain GP's, but it's definitely worth trying! I use it all the time. The first time you use it they might make you call or something to confirm that you've been prescribed these drugs, but apart from that it works pretty efficiently! I've moved around a lot in the past three years because of uni and I've not had any issues with changing pharmacies.

I'm planning on getting a permanent mooring. Location will largely depend on the cost since I live in London, but I may leave London altogether despite being raised here and having family here, because I'm sick of being charged for breathing and I think boat living would be much nicer out of the city anyway. I could be wrong there but it would definitely be cheaper. Anyway that was my rant about London that you didn't ask for. Thank you for your response!

Thats really helpful, thank you!! Yeah who needs an "engine" anyway lol

I'm new to the idea of living on a narrowboat, but the one thing that's worrying me is that I love to sew, and its what I plan to do for my career. I want to make costumes, whether for a theatre or company, or freelance. I'm not worried as much about the potential issues with powering the machine/s, but about physically being able to sew accurately while onboard a swaying boat. Does anyone here sew on their narrowboat and if so, do you find it more difficult than on land?