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How hard is it really?

StrawberryQueen

By StrawberryQueen
in Living Afloat

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dmr Veteran II

dmr

Posted
Posted
50 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

My reports used to say "sets himself very low targets which he consistently fails to achieve"

"Aim low and over achieve" is a good life philosophy ? .

 

..............Dave

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dmr Veteran II

dmr

Posted
Posted
36 minutes ago, StrawberryQueen said:

Lol. Funny you should mention that. I have blue and purple hair with tattoos and hubby plays the guitar. Would that help? ??

 

regarding the price, the collingwood abode looks to be a good size and starts at £120kish which is covered by the equity in our house. 

 

But with what everyone is saying, maybe it’s not the best idea just yet. 

In that case you'll be fine on the K&A towpath but maybe not in some marinas ? . If you can buy a boat and keep the house to rent out then I suggest you seriously think about giving it a go. A lot give up and move back to "the land" as the kids get older but a few have stuck it out. New rules, congestion, and I hate to say,an increase in "low life" makes it harder as time goes on.

 

Its your decision, you need to go and have a good look and make your own decision. Don't take this forum too seriously, I think there are only two full time liveaboards with big K&A experience on this forum and both say get a pair! The big big boat is a problem. The pair gives a lot of options as the kids get older.

 

I hear the Barge at Honeystreet is about to come back to life.

 

.................Dave

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dmr Veteran II

dmr

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Saw that on Facebook

A real bargain at £500,000, surprised there were only three offers.  A great lifestyle in a truly lovely part of the world for the right people, but Not an easy pub to run. Should be able to make a living out of it. Worth a lot more than that as a house but as we have seen you will be very very unpopular if you turn it into a house. We hope to be on the K&A June or July so hope its back up and running by then.  Have some fond memories of that place, three consecutive nights 7 years ago is where I trained the dog to be a "pub dog".

 

................Dave

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Steilsteven Rising Star

Steilsteven

Posted
Posted
On 23/03/2019 at 16:49, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

A boat this big will be absolutely no fun to navigate in, especially not on the K&A. Its a small canal and the locks are heavy and slow. You WILL need a mooring. 

 

A far more practical approach would be to get two narrowboats. Cruise as a pair but bung the older two or three kids in the other one!

My experience is the opposite of this.

A 70' widebeam is a great deal easier to navigate on the K&A than a pair or even a single narrow boat.

 

Keith

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mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
On 23/03/2019 at 14:48, StrawberryQueen said:

Newbie here with probably the same questions you've seen over and over and are probably bored of now :D

 

I've been thinking about this for a long time now and wondered if you think it's possible or just a pipe dream. My family, myself, hubby and 3 kids (2 girls, 1 Boy) are looking into selling our bricks and motar and buying a widebeam (looking at 70ft for a 3 bedroom one) and living onboard it. How possible is this with 3 kids (11yrs, 8yrs & 5yrs) in terms of schools. I mean, where do you even start looking? Do you look for a place to moor then look for the schools or the other way around. We'd be looking at travelling along the K&A and surrounding rivers. The other choice is to wait 13yrs for the kids to finish school then go do our own thing, but you never know when your times up and in 13years anything could have happened.

 

I know some boaters get annoyed with Widebeams, but I just don't think we'd be able to fit on a narrowboat without killing each other :D

 

The thing that appeals most to us is just being closer to nature and the silence the river brings, but still being close to civilisation. What are the major downfalls to life on a live aboard? Its it just a grass is greener kind of thing? or is living on a boat one of the best things you've done? I always over think things, I'm meant to be an Aquarian and just go with the flow ? 

 

Ideally we want to try and live off grid. so with solar panels, maybe an electric engine, compost toilet.

 

Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer guys and gals. :)

Popcorn anyone.

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Steilsteven Rising Star

Steilsteven

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, dmr said:

 

 

Its your decision, you need to go and have a good look and make your own decision. Don't take this forum too seriously, I think there are only two full time liveaboards with big K&A experience on this forum and both say get a pair! The big big boat is a problem. 

 

Please note that only narrow boat owners say this ^^^^

Keith

18 hours ago, dmr said:

 

 

 

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howardang Influencer

howardangDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, Steilsteven said:

My experience is the opposite of this.

A 70' widebeam is a great deal easier to navigate on the K&A than a pair or even a single narrow boat.

 

Keith

For those on board but mayne not for everyone else?

 

Howard

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magictime Experienced

magictime

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, Mad Harold said:

Could you afford to buy a lower priced boat,and be a "weekender" untill your kids fly the nest? 

I'd just like to echo this suggestion.

 

For a bit of context, we first started thinking we might want to live aboard a boat around eight years ago, when our kids were 11-15ish. I don't think we ever entertained the idea of living aboard as a family; I think it would have been very frustrating being cooped up in such a small space with all the day-to-day boaty hassles of water, electricity, toilets, gas, fuel etc to deal with, plus the logistics and expense of mooring and maintenance, but with limited opportunities to actually enjoy an outdoorsy, cruising life.

 

But what we did do was buy a cheap 24ft 'practice' narrowboat that was just about big enough for family holidays - 'touring caravan' size inside I guess. We had some great times as a family, scratched a boating itch and determined that living aboard was something we really wanted to try when the time was right.

 

Fast forward to now and we have been living aboard a 55ft narrowboat as a couple for the past seven months, ever since our youngest went to uni. We're living the life we actually want to live rather than a heavily compromised version of it, restricted by ties to schools etc.

 

I 100% appreciate what you're saying about never knowing how long you've got - I nearly dropped dead of a brain haemorrhage two years ago while waiting for our liveaboard plans to come to fruition - but I do wonder if there's a middle way that will let you enjoy the good bits of boating during school holidays for now while also enjoying the practical aspects of living in bricks and mortar near schools etc. Even if that means remortgaging or buying a smaller place in order to afford the boat.

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DandV Rising Star

DandV

Posted
Posted
On 24/03/2019 at 05:07, Sea Dog said:

Plan A, Item 1.   Make sure you have sufficient funding reserved to enact Plan B when the dream turns into a nightmare.  This is massively important when children are involved.

 

Note:  Lots of supposedly clever folk think they don't need a Plan B but, whilst it's often best not to publicise Plan B for fear of undermining Plan A, it is a mistake to simply hope for the best and not be prepared for the worst. 

Good advice and equally valid for Theresa May in her current predicament 

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, magictime said:

I 100% appreciate what you're saying about never knowing how long you've got - I nearly dropped dead of a brain haemorrhage two years ago while waiting for our liveaboard plans to come to fruition - but I do wonder if there's a middle way that will let you enjoy the good bits of boating during school holidays for now while also enjoying the practical aspects of living in bricks and mortar near schools etc. Even if that means remortgaging or buying a smaller place in order to afford the boat.

 

Brilliant advice. And given the OP seems reasonably well off, the obvious middle way is to buy a cheap-ish narrow boat now, bung it in a marina and use it as a hobby boat for holdays etc between now and when the kids leave home. THEN get on with your dream of living aboard instead of imposing it on your kids who may well not thank you for it. My kids all totally lost interest in boating when they hit 12, like a switch being turned off. Up to that age they loved it.

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MtBDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

I'm surprised it took you that long to bore them! ;)

 

Have you considered getting a modern engine? :D

 

 

This was WITH a modern engine! 

 

They all LURVED boating until puberty arrived. Then doing anything at all with mum and dad became just SO embarrassing.... 

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