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should I move on to a narrowboat full time


scottish allan

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Hi can anyone persuade me it seems like a madness but I really want to live on narrowboat full time .Luckily I have a job that is very flexible but whats holding me back is everyone is saying its a bad idea and I will loose money but I think there all wrong and I love adventure and I am single again but with three small dogs so whats stopping me? appreciate any advice

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Try before you buy. Hire a boat for a week or two in the middle of winter. Does it still seem like a good idea? Away you go.

I got the idea of living on a boat after helping a friend move his over a long weekend in December.

You will lose money, but there aren't any pockets in a shroud.

 

Jen

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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Bearing in mind your user name, do you mean on the canals of Scotland, or England/Wales?

 

Anyway personally I think it is a bad idea to sell up you appreciating bricks and mortar, and buy a depreciating and limited life asset like a boat. Much harder to get back on the housing ladder later, should you need to due to ill health, old age or just being fed up.

 

All that said, lots of people do it and are happy - for a while, at least!

 

If you are not a house owner then it is a more reasonable thing to do.

Edited by nicknorman
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Do a search these questions are daily. 

 

You will lose money

you will get frustrated that your batterys dont last as long as you hopped at times

cold, no but get the wallet out for coal and the likes

mooring fees? yes if you dont move to much playing the system is harder nowadays

ongoing bills? blacking, servicing, diesel, batterys, etc etc

 

Incidently I live in a house and my boat is at a marina, sometimes i lust to just move on for a few months and cruise. Sadly with a family and kids I cant. So life is short do what feels right. It isnt a cheap way to live correctly. 

Edited by bramley
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36 minutes ago, scottish allan said:

Hi can anyone persuade me it seems like a madness but I really want to live on narrowboat full time .Luckily I have a job that is very flexible but whats holding me back is everyone is saying its a bad idea and I will loose money but I think there all wrong and I love adventure and I am single again but with three small dogs so whats stopping me? appreciate any advice

Just do it, nothing like jumping in at the deep end, enjoy.

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Do it, but do it with eyes wide open 

 

I have lived on boats for short periods and was planning to do so again for much longer - then last summer I had a diagnosis of cancer and an op (a successful one) to remove the tumour, so far so good.

 

Then I got a post op-infection.. waking up with my face swollen and unable to open my eyes, not only could I not drive myself to hospital I couldn't even empty the loo or change a gas cylinder. I hadn't planned for that. 

 

Even though I've decided that I'm not going to live aboard, that doesn't mean don't do it, but do it knowing that certain things (that might never happen) become a bit more of an issue, and if they do happen, be ready for them. 

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Ask yourself these questions:

 

1/ Do you see broken things as a challenge, an opportunity to feel great when you've fixed them, despite not previously having had the knowledge/ tools to do so?

 

2/ Are you prepared for your social situation to change?

 

3/ Do you enjoy being on your own?

 

If the answer to all three is 'yes', you'll likely really enjoy living on your boat. 

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You will get conflicting advice from whoever you ask, especially on this forum. The ONLY way you will find out is to do it. It is expensive, it is a damn nuisance having to "upsticks" every so often to comply with your licence, it is a damn nuisance when your engine packs up in the middle of winter (or at any time for that matter) or worst still your heating breaks down. It is a damn nuisance having to fill your water tank every few days and empty your poop every so often. It is a damn nuisance having to haul your boat out of the water every couple of years to have it blacked etc etc.  Having said that lots of people do it very very successfully and enjoyably,  mostly legally some illegally, and no I am not advocating you do it illegally. For those of us that do boat legally that is abhorrent. From my post you will have gathered that I would never in a million years, live on a boat. I do have a boat and, in fact, am on my third boat, two narrow boats and a small cruiser. My boat is in a nice marina with a pub, a dry dock and mechanics and I take it out for a cabby up the canal when the weather is nice.

 

As I have said the only way YOU will ever know if it's right for YOU is to do it. I hope you have VERY deep pockets and good luck.

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At the risk of sounding a bit pompous, I don't think you should be asking ANYONE whether you should do it or not. It's your decision and your alone.  Everyone else's opinion is just that i.e. theirs.

 

Now, asking for advice as to the pros and cons - that's another matter entirely.

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33 minutes ago, Sbg said:

At the risk of sounding a bit pompous, I don't think you should be asking ANYONE whether you should do it or not. It's your decision and your alone.  Everyone else's opinion is just that i.e. theirs.

 

Now, asking for advice as to the pros and cons - that's another matter entirely.

I think that's just semantics. It looks to me like he is asking for the pros and cons, at least "what's stopping me" - ie. what are the cons?

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3 hours ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:

Ask yourself these questions:

 

1/ Do you see broken things as a challenge, an opportunity to feel great when you've fixed them, despite not previously having had the knowledge/ tools to do so?

 

2/ Are you prepared for your social situation to change?

 

3/ Do you enjoy being on your own?

 

If the answer to all three is 'yes', you'll likely really enjoy living on your boat. 

Sound advice.

We semi lived aboard for 13 years, then when circumstances were right we moved aboard full time. We have been full time for two years. Worth keeping a modest property if possible, but many get by without. I kept a modest property in order to (hopefully) cover all eventualities.

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On 12/09/2019 at 21:20, scottish allan said:

Hi can anyone persuade me it seems like a madness but I really want to live on narrowboat full time .Luckily I have a job that is very flexible but whats holding me back is everyone is saying its a bad idea and I will loose money but I think there all wrong and I love adventure and I am single again but with three small dogs so whats stopping me? appreciate any advice

The only real advice I'd give is that you only pass this way once and of all the elderly people I've ever spoken to, most have only regretted what they haven't done, rarely what they have done (marriage being an exception:unsure:).

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Depending on your flexible work, a boat may not be what you think. I bought my boat to live on, but the discipline of work took away the 'romance'.

I kept the boat, and enjoy cruises, and being semi retired, I can 'live' on the boat for several weeks at a time. If I had to live on a boat and work, I would find it too restrictive. On holiday, I can please myself whether I move or not, whether I go a long way or not, and I can be totally free of any discipline of being somewhere specific at any time. My cruising head is totally different to my land based head.

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