westjes

sheesh, you naughty, naughty boys ...

Noooo, no, not bad at all, good in fact, if you've got what it takes. Have you tried it yourself? Personally, I'd have a hard time giving away photos of myself ..

Thanks y'all, for the comments and tips - some good'uns there, hehe. Making scarecrows? I could do that. Liam - I was thinking of just temping for the odd week or so, here and there, probably holiday cover, so I guess we could moor a little way out of town and I might be able to catch a bus in, or walk or bike it. When you say working "on" the boat is different, do you mean as in selling stuff off the boat, cos if Ian was doing paintings it would be commissions, I think, so presumably he wouldn't need a commercial licence for that? Carrie - I like the idea of writing something, but I think it will probably just be a blog of the building and fitting out the boat and then hopefully some adventures while cruising - can't imagine anyone paying to read my drivel . Good luck with your plans, btw. Willawaw - your comment has set me thinking I might be able to carry on with my current job from the boat - big changes a-coming in conveyancing which might swing it in my favour - I will PM you, if I may. Cheers Pat

We have plans to live afloat and, while I'm sure we could occupy ourselves quite happily for a year or so without "jobs", I'm thinking we'll eventually need to do something or other, either to earn money or keep us out of mischief. Does anyone have experience of working whilst cruising, is it feasible or does the lack of fixed address prevent this? For example, I was thinking of signing up with temp agencies - for secretarial or conveyancing work (yeah, well, somebody's got to do it) and my partner Ian, having more exciting skills, being an artist, was thinking he could do lovely paintings of boats/people on their boats/boats and swans, I dunno, that sort of thing, all very tasteful! Anyway, it would be good to hear from anyone, who's managed to combine the two, or about any particular problems etc. Cheers Pat

Hi Daniel Thanks for your tips. Got a good learning curve going here ....

Hi David & Julie Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better. Trouble was, today I was trying to find a haulage/crane company locally to give me an estimate and I couldn't even find one that did it, let alone give me a price, so I was thinking, sh*t, it's got to be a specialist company with hefty prices. In fact, we're going to visit Liverpool Boats on Monday and they did offer to give us a price for transportation, so it'll be interesting ... I'm still hoping that we can bring the boat home (heh, it'll be like our "baby"!) so that it can be a joint project. Haha, that's funny, 2 mins advice costing 2 hours - well, sure Ian would be into that, he can BS with the best. Cheers Pat

Hi Charles Thanks for that - I think I'm getting it (slowly): so the cost of transportation is based partly on mileage (variable) and partly on lifts (fixed). So if our round trip was 300 miles we might pay £1800 for transport but same amount - £1000 - for 4 lifts? That sounds more reasonable - just have to find a company to do it. Cheers Pat

oh dear, getting out of me depth here, d'you mean you get window holes cut, then paint the shell, then put the windows in? as opposed to putting the windows in then painting round them? (Damn, I need to get Ian here to talk to you guys, he understands all this stuff - unfortunately he's just not much into pooters.) Sorry if I'm a bit slow. Cheers Pat

This is a summary of what people have said, mainly for me, but hopefully it might be useful to someone else with the same question - on where to do your fitting out. Loads of different places to do it - on water and land - and personal preferences and circumstances come into it, and obviously costs. Options: marinas, canalside moorings, where the shell was built, at home if you have space, miscellaneous disused buildings (eg old mill building, farm building), industrial estates with secure hard standing, etc etc Some people reckon it would be difficult fitting out on water (eg getting stuff level) and others reckon it's not a problem. One big advantage of having it on the water, if you get fed up with the fitting out work, you can always take a break and go off cruising. If you have it on land, could be tricky getting materials up and over, best build some steps. Useful to be able to get to the boat from all sides. Under cover: easier for eg painting, but could have this done by the builder. If you have it canalside, level with ground, easier to get things on. Disadvantage to canalside, could be some distance away from vehicle access, so may have to lug materials to boat Noise and dust factors come into it - if you're near to other people Very useful to have 240v electricity, or if not, a quiet-ish genny, or power tools with batteries Probably best to have the fit-out location near to the boat-builder - in case it turned out there were problems with the shell Costs 1) transportation could be hugely expensive - eg £1300 for 4 miles - and we'd have it twice over, from builder to premises and then premises to canal 2) cost of renting premises Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that, unless we could get transportation for about £2K both ways - pretty unlikely - and cheap fit-out premises very near to our home, that our budget just won't stretch. I think we need to find a boat builder pretty close to cheap premises (maybe the same place) and close to relatives (Newark area). Ian could then go away to work on the boat during the week and just crack on. (This is a bit sad for me as I won't see much of the progress and won't be able to get involved - tough.) Another advantage would be, given that it's his first attempt at such a project, there'll be other people around who he can turn to for advice if he gets stuck.

Whee! loads of good info, advice etc - much food for thought. Thanks to all you good people, it's greatly appreciated. Give me a couple of days to go through all the replies and I'll try to come up with (my best attempt at) a summary of the info, pros and cons of various options, for future reference. Cheers Pat

Hi Liam Good point, I'd not thought of it like that, kind of thought it would be easier working on the boat if it was stable, not rocking around, but maybe it doesn't ... hmm, lots of factors to bear in mind. Cheers Pat

Thanks for the tips. I really need to look into the costings, don't I, for keeping the boat in different places, but also for travel costs and time factors if the boat's at a distance, cos that will add to the time it takes to fit it out - I feel a spreadsheet coming on. Haha, the mooring is also likely to be half way across the country - this is going to be one well-travelled boat even before it hits the water. Oh, boat builders in the North East? - you would think so, wouldn't you, I'm certainly keeping an open mind but can't think there'll be (m)any narrow boat specialists. Cheers Pat

Hello all This may sound like a very stupid question but we're new to all this and any tips would be welcome. Background: We're planning to commission a new 55' NB shell, probably to be built in Liverpool and we currently live in Newcastle on Tyne. My partner, Ian, is going to do all the fitting out and we think it best to have the boat transported over here to work on it. (Haven't yet looked into the cost of transportation but figure on balance it's got to be best to have the boat close to where you live, while working on it for god know's how long!?) Question is, what sort of place is best to put the boat while working on it? (We thought about the back lane but didn't think the neighbours would be very chuffed.) What sort of places could we consider, ie to look up in Yellow Pages? Is it best to have premises that are covered, or can it all take place outdoors? (The more I say, the more I wonder if this is feasible, or plain madness ... ) Oh well, any ideas? Thanks in advance. Pat

Haven't got any experience myself, but am in the process of gathering info as we are thinking of buying a new boat (shell) and having a full solar system put in - it feels a bit of a leap of faith though, as don't know anyone who's got one. Here's a link anyway http://www.solarboat.co.uk/ I've got more info, if you want more. Pat

the 3 ps: pasta, pesto 'n' peas very yum Pat

Hi Carrie Woooh, yer right there, I'm gasping .. no TV or washing machine ... my life wouldn't be worth living!! (OK, I admit, maybe I can cope without washing machine.) Seriously, I reckon we are fairly frugal in our energy consumption - so hopefully we can manage with a 12volt system *she said, casually throwing in a technical term* Can I just get this out of the way, here and now: "electricity terrifies me, but I will understand it, before I die."

Oo-er, what do you mean? Pat

Hi Clevett What sort of use do you reckon to get from your panels when you get more batteries - will it supply all your energy all year round or does it supplement a conventional system? I'm wondering if the 640 watts recommended is over-egging it a bit - as I mentioned elsewhere, it would be nice to have a spare bit of roof for other things. Cheers Pat

Hi Carrie I'll look out for the LETS page if it comes off and also add that Kevin Jeffrey book to my ever-lengthening list. The Solar Boat Co seem to be recommending 640 watts of panels and 1 ton battery for a 60' boat - that sounds like a heck of a lot compared to what a few people here have said they've got but then, if you're totally dependent on it, you need to be sure it's enough, for all through the year. And, if it's too much, well, you can always go wild and switch everything on at once! But the downside of having so many panels is that you lose out on roof space - hmm... dilemma ... We were thinking about going to IWA boat show and may well do, if I can face the crowds. If we do I'll look out for you - probably stand next to you and listen to the answers to your questions (I'm not sure I'd even know what questions to ask I have so little understanding, oh, got a download factsheet from CAT "An introduction to photovoltaic power" for £3.30 which Ian has read and says it's good.) Like the sound of those solar-powared vents. Cheers and congrats on getting your boat project up and running - bet it feels great. Pat

Hiya Me complete novice so what do I know, but sounds like a great idea, tho presume would have to be fairly-small-region-based. Oh, one thing I noted: quite a few older people saying they have concerns about the time coming when they'll have problems with eg carrying heavy loads of provisions (groceries, fuel etc) to their boat and also quite a few younger people asking for advice on living aboard. Would be nice to think there could be a quid pro quo arrangement between the two groups. Good luck. Pat

Not only new to boating but also new to these forum thingies - but, damn! it's all great stuff. We just had our first taste of canal-boating recently, 3 days from Preston Brook - been meaning to try it for years - loved the whole experience even in poor weather and now fancy being liveaboards. Found this forum yesterday and finding it a wonderful source of information, support, inspiration etc - unfortunately dunno how the posting side of things works so sorry if I mess up - meanwhile thanks to all you good people and hope I can contribute when I learn a bit more. Anyway, we are Pat (me) and Ian, living in Newcastle upon Tyne - a lovely place but how come we haven't got a canal?! - and ready for a change. We are also looking into an enviro-friendly way of life so doing research into a new-build solar- and wind-powered boat, compost toilets, haybox cooking etc etc, also interested in the possibility of a LETS system (which was mentioned in a post here). Does anyone have experience of running a liveaboard on solely renewable energy, I wonder? If so, please tell me it's possible - or maybe better tell me if it's not! Thanks in anticipation. I've also got info - if anyone's interested I could e-mail it. Cheers Pat