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Can I realistically do a live aboard with 25k?


Pablo Blanco

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5 minutes ago, ivan&alice said:

Hi Pablo, welcome to the forum, and I agree with many others that you are an ideal candidate for boating!

 

I'll disagree with what many others have said though. I think that 25K + a stable income is plenty to be going on with, especially considering you're a tradesman. My wife and I did exactly this on exactly that much a couple of years ago. We bought our 65' narrowboat for 26K (in London) and I've been pouring pretty much every penny into her ever since. It has been said already but it bears repeating:

 

Do not underestimate how much maintenance costs.

 

There is always - always - another job on a boat, at least one in "our" price range. I've heard people talk about budgeting 3-4K per year for your average narrowboat but I'll go as far as saying that maintenance pretty much costs as much money as you have. As in, I have a long backlog of jobs to do that get done as and when I have the money and time to do them.

 

I thought very carefully about the financial implications of the boat buying when I purchased her, as some of the forum will remember I was really really concerned with spending too much, because I was a total ignoramus and there are a lot of dodgy deals out there. I believe that I got an excellent deal and that I'd be able to sell her on for a "profit" given the improvements I have made, but no chance have I come close to breaking even when you factor the thousands and thousands I have spent on her.

 

That said, we've saved on rent, so I'm probably about as badly off as I would have been had I got a pokey flat somewhere, and I'd not change anything about my lifestyle even if it cost double. I feel genuinely sorry for everyone who doesn't live on a boat (though, given the limited space, selfishly I'm rather glad they don't!) I can't imagine waking up every day and seeing the same thing out of my window, especially if that thing was a brick wall rather than water, fish and ducks.

 

This is interesting. Are you talking about a sea-going boat? How come sea-going boats are cheaper than inland waterways boats?

 

We have a vague dream to graduate to a sea-going boat in a few years once we feel that we're done with the waterways. So it's heartening to hear that it might not be too expensive. Learning to sail and navigate is the biggest challenge for me, though!

Thanks guys, heartening to hear it can be done successfully on a limited budget.

   For me personally I am at the “dream stage” so I am very open to all options and opinions..........a live aboard has always been an ambition but never a realistic option whilst travelling down life’s meandering path.

   Now though it is something I could actually do..........I realise it is entirely insensible from a financial point of view and I have read enough posts on here to know that is not all sweetness and light but i am feeling that fatal attraction if you know what I mean?

  Canal or sea going? I don’t know enough to know but then the more you know the more you know you don’t know hey!!!

   

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1 hour ago, Pablo Blanco said:

Nicely put, thank you for your advice.

  When you say “forget marina in summer”.could you expand on why? 

Summer boating is a pleasure, sun, fresh air, travel, adventure, and no fees.

winter can be cold wet and miserable, so tied up safely, with electricity on tap, fuel delivered, all very easy compared to living on the cut.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by LadyG
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8 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Summer boating is a pleasure, sun, fresh air, trave, adventure, and no fees.

winter can be cold wet and miserable, so tied up safely, with electricity on tap, fuel delivered, all very easy compared to living on the cut.

 

 

 

 

 

Ahh, I see.......thank you 

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15 hours ago, LadyG said:

I would be very cautious, nothing to do with cash, but to do with living non-conventionally, to some extent this may be age related and to some extent outdoor or other I interests.

I have lived in some very bad housing, when this was essentially a roof over my head, a base, but I was hardly there, busy with hobbies and work.

Having had your own place, and now less flexible, I would be concerned that living in a small tin shed would be tedious.

I also think that time spent on board doing a project up, would be better spent earning money. 

My advice would be to buy a plastic boat, something that will not lose value, and that has the basic comforts. forget marina in summer, there is a nice Colvic Watson

 35 on Applollo Duck at £29950

 

 

 

 

 

 

Duck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

dumb question: can one use sail boats in uk canals...

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8 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Many sail-boats are quite narrow - Maybe more 'heightly' speaking ?

 

Yes there will be lots of exceptions, but in broad terms a sailing boat has a keel giving it a draft of perhaps 5ft and canals broadly speaking with exceptions, are only about 3 ft deep.  And the mast would need taking down for most bridges if you are actually trying sail it from A to B. 

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14 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

There are 300,000+ leisure boats around our coast - how many steel canal boats ? (25,000 ?)

It is a huge industry mass producing boats, NB's are a cottage industry and have no economies of scale.

Presumably though it does depend upon why you want a boat. If it is simply to live on then it more down to a choice of living in the country, a town, or beside the sea. But if you wish to cruise I'd reckon the choice is a narrowboat on the canal system - a cruiser is not ideal for extensive canal cruising, and a coastal mooring limits you to short trips out to sea and back (fine if you have a sail boat and love sailing), a bit of coast hopping, or across to France/Ireland etc.

 

Tam

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1 hour ago, restlessnomad said:

dumb question: can one use sail boats in uk canals...

Historically sailing barges were used on rivers and a few canals, although the majority of the canal network always used horse towage until the days of power. Sailing on a canal is impractical, but a sailing boat can operate under power providing it fits the canal dimensions. So masts will need to be removed or folded down and deep keels are out. In practice the rounded shape (in plan as well as cross section) of a typical sailing boat may make mooring, use of locks etc. a bit more difficult. 

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I remember an old salty boater who came onto the canals late in life telling me that canals were better than the sea.

 

His reason was that seagoing was 20 minutes panic getting in and out of marinas with endless days of boredom at sea whereas canals were peaceful with frequent mild panics and challenges with lots to see and do.

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1 hour ago, Tam & Di said:

Presumably though it does depend upon why you want a boat. If it is simply to live on then it more down to a choice of living in the country, a town, or beside the sea. But if you wish to cruise I'd reckon the choice is a narrowboat on the canal system - a cruiser is not ideal for extensive canal cruising, and a coastal mooring limits you to short trips out to sea and back (fine if you have a sail boat and love sailing), a bit of coast hopping, or across to France/Ireland etc.

 

Tam

The alternative choice of a cruiser over a narrow boat came about because of the limitations on my budget I think? 

  It seems clear that you get a lot more bang for your buck with a cruiser and I have a very limited amount of bucks! 
   In an ideal world I would go for the narrow boat and canal living but the feedback I am consistently getting on here is that canal living needs plenty of bucks if you want  an easyish way of life.

   

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44 minutes ago, Pablo Blanco said:

The alternative choice of a cruiser over a narrow boat came about because of the limitations on my budget I think? 

 

As I said in the PM. I really like this one.

 

Buy for £20k, leaves you enough for a Survey, hoist & transport, Insurance and 6 months mooring in Liverpool and still have change from your £25k. You can then extend / renew your mooring when you have saved a bit from your wages.

 

VERY tidy and clean looking, move straight in, Separate rear bedroom (always a bonus when not in an open plan area) Room in front for beds for when a couple of mates stop-over.

 

Don't see any heating. but if in a marina you can plug into the 'leccy.

 

Height would be a problem if you decided to go onto the canals, but width and depth would be fine (unless you try and go South of Burton-On-Trent / Birmingham)

 

https://motorboats.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/valk-1060/601287

 

Year constructed: 1980
Cabins: 3
Heads: 1
No. of engines: 1
Engine model: Mercedes
Engine power: 60.0
Fuel type: Diesel
Nominal length: 10.06m
Length over all: 10.06m
Beam: 2.9m
Maximum draft: 0.81m
Hull material: Steel

 

4134084.jpg

 

 

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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

As I said in the PM. I really like this one.

 

Buy for £20k, leaves you enough for a Survey, hoist & transport, Insurance and 6 months mooring in Liverpool and still have change from your £25k. You can then extend / renew your mooring when you have saved a bit from your wages.

 

VERY tidy and clean looking, move straight in, Separate rear bedroom (always a bonus when not in an open plan area) Room in front for beds for when a couple of mates stop-over.

 

Don't see any heating. but if in a marina you can plug into the 'leccy.

 

Height would be a problem if you decided to go onto the canals, but width and depth would be fine (unless you try and go South of Burton-On-Trent / Birmingham)

 

https://motorboats.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/valk-1060/601287

 

Year constructed: 1980
Cabins: 3
Heads: 1
No. of engines: 1
Engine model: Mercedes
Engine power: 60.0
Fuel type: Diesel
Nominal length: 10.06m
Length over all: 10.06m
Beam: 2.9m
Maximum draft:  
Hull material:  

 

4134084.jpg

 

 

Thanks Alan, I am on that..........my loose plan is to visit Liverpool marina ASAP, have a chat with the people on there and get a feel for it.

  I will be doing the same thing at the canal marinas that are viable for me.

   Make a decision from there.........with all that’s going on and with the strong possibility that boat prices will be going down  over the next few months I am not in a rush to plunge in........I am perfectly well aware that any boat is a bad investment financially but I can’t help feel it would be plain crazy to buy when prices are higher than they have ever been and we are about to enter a recession that could be the most severe in my lifetime.

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Am I right in saying that boat prices went down quite significantly in 2008/9?

   Pretty sure I read a post on here that said they did.

   I hate to be all doom and gloom but all the indications are that things are gonna be a whole lot worse than they were in 2008! 

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55 minutes ago, Pablo Blanco said:

Am I right in saying that boat prices went down quite significantly in 2008/9?

I don't recall them dropping - when there is a recession people cannot afford their houses (or they are repossessed) and they 'trade down', when folks get to the bottom of the housing ladder, a boat is the next step down.

 

It would be around that sort of time that the recommendation was 'find and buy a mooring before buying the boat'.

Moorings were in very short supply due to the increase in boat sales.

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1 hour ago, Pablo Blanco said:

Am I right in saying that boat prices went down quite significantly in 2008/9?

   Pretty sure I read a post on here that said they did.

   I hate to be all doom and gloom but all the indications are that things are gonna be a whole lot worse than they were in 2008! 

No. I have owned 8 boats in the past thirty years. I only sold one of those for slightly less than I paid for it for a quick sale that gave me cash again and 15k off the boat I wanted so no loss overall. Every other boat I have sold for more and often considerably more. Living on a boat however is not cheap, its just much better than in a boring house. Its a lifestyle choice for myself which has worked well for me, for many others though they quickly fall by the wayside.

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8 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

No. I have owned 8 boats in the past thirty years. I only sold one of those for slightly less than I paid for it for a quick sale that gave me cash again and 15k off the boat I wanted so no loss overall. Every other boat I have sold for more and often considerably more. Living on a boat however is not cheap, its just much better than in a boring house. Its a lifestyle choice for myself which has worked well for me, for many others though they quickly fall by the wayside.

That is good news.........so you have always made a profit on your actual boats (besides 1) is this because you have renovated them? 

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1 minute ago, Pablo Blanco said:

That is good news.........so you have always made a profit on your actual boats (besides 1) is this because you have renovated them? 

I have owned 18 boats in the last 30 years and only lost money on one (the one I had surveyed and the surveyor said it was OK and it wasn't, I have never had a survey since)

 

The secret is to 'buy right'.

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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

I have owned 18 boats in the last 30 years and only lost money on one (the one I had surveyed and the surveyor said it was OK and it wasn't, I have never had a survey since)

 

The secret is to 'buy right'.

This is confusing me guys............I have read countless posts on here saying that you will lose money on any boat!! ?

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3 minutes ago, Pablo Blanco said:

This is confusing me guys............I have read countless posts on here saying that you will lose money on any boat!! ?

 

Those boasting about always selling for more than they paid are not including the cost of ownership.

 

Those who say boats lose you money, are. 

 

 

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Just now, Pablo Blanco said:

This is confusing me guys............I have read countless posts on here saying that you will lose money on any boat!! ?

Buy the right boat at the right price.

 

There is no trick - the problem is that some folk pay way over the odds to get 99% of what they perceive they 'want', rather than buying what they 'need'.

 

Once you really do know what you want (which will not be for your first couple of boats) you can 'buy that boat for life'.

 

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You lose money on boats because you only get back what you paid for it (if you are lucky) and you do NOT get back the vast amount you spend each year on maintaining it.

Edit: Where maintenance is used in the broadest sense, ie of all the costs required to keep a boat, as advised below.

Edited by system 4-50
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