Working

[Jon674]

Hi , i was wondering if someone might be able to give me some insight as to taking up employment whilst living aboard.I have an address i can use but this would not be anywhere near where i plan to keep my boat. Are employers likely to think this an issue?

[Alan de Enfield]

 

 

Are you looking to CC or have a home mooring ?

I would suggest that if you are trying to CC & the boat is on C&RT waters, and your employment is fixed to one place, you will have more problems in meeting the movement requirements and still being able to get into work.

 

Where abouts are you looking at basing the boat ?

[matty40s]

38 minutes ago, Jon674 said:

Hi , i was wondering if someone might be able to give me some insight as to taking up employment whilst living aboard.I have an address i can use but this would not be anywhere near where i plan to keep my boat. Are employers likely to think this an issue?

I managed to work in Senior Operations roles for 5 years whilst CCing, followed by 5 years boating related work. Only in the last 2 years have we taken a semi permanent mooring due to both our parents feeling their ages.

What address do CRT have your boat licence registered to, that's the address I used whilst working round the country for 3 different companies.

23 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Are you looking to CC or have a home mooring ?

I would suggest that if you are trying to CC & the boat is on C&RT waters, and your employment is fixed to one place, you will have more problems in meeting the movement requirements and still being able to get into work.

 

Where abouts are you looking at basing the boat ?

He doesnt mention CCing, but it is quite easy to CC far in excess of the guidelines and still hold down a job if you like boating.....if we did it again, we would take a Winter mooring however.

[Alan de Enfield]

15 minutes ago, matty40s said:

He doesnt mention CCing, but it is quite easy to CC far in excess of the guidelines and still hold down a job if you like boating.....if we did it again, we would take a Winter mooring however.

 

 

Agreed, it is not difficult in some areas, but in others could be virtually impossible, that is why I asked where he was planning to be based.

[Jon674]

 Hi thanks,I haven’t bought the boat yet but plan to get one this summer when hopefully the restrictions are lifted. The dream is to be a cc during the summer and then find winter moorings, although residential moorings of any description seem to be rare so i’m prepared to tough out the winter months if need be .I’d look for work nearby and accept a commute from wherever i’m moored. I was thinking the Oxford canal . I currently live near Brighton and would continue to use the address but there’s obviously going to be some explaining to do , good to know it worked for you though.

[NB Alnwick]

Of course it is possible to have a regular job and live on a boat. Many people do and enjoy the freedom and lifestyle that boating provides.

There are several things to consider such as getting a mooring that is close to transport links and essential services. If one plans to commute by car, where will that car be parked? I know that here in Cropredy there is some resentment among villagers regarding the fact that some boat dwellers leave their cars parked on the village street where they cause an obstruction.

Also, it has to be said that during the fifteen years that I was working and, for the most part, living on our boat, it didn't always work out well.

Two of my employers were fine with it but my last employer definitely viewed my lifestyle as being a bit 'odd' and frequently expressed frustration because:

• I did not have a fixed telephone line,
• my mobile phone signal often dropped or my phone went directly to answerphone when I was in a poor signal area,
• I didn't always have a reliable Internet signal and occasionally could not respond directly to emails etc.,
• it was not always easy to find out where I was when needed 'out of hours'.

I did my best to counter these frustrations by securing a permanent mooring with an Internet connection but I felt that there was always an element of prejudice toward me as if living on a boat made me unacceptably unconventional. Also I used to get asked peculiar questions such as: "how do you shower?", "where do you go to the toilet?" - it probably didn't help when I jokingly answered "in the canal" to both questions.

Now that I am happily retired, I can do as I please what SWIMBO pleases  . . .

[Jon674]

It’s reassuring to know that others have successfully done it. perhaps i’m overthinking things. It’s seems that most posts and articles cover where to have mail sent or registering for driving licences and doctors etc and quite a lot with suggestions on becoming a blogger or making a living online in some way on the move but few address the stigma you might expect from employers in a good old fashioned PAYE job with no local address. I plan to ease myself into the move i think  with a leisure mooring then seek employment in the area. 

[roland elsdon]

I managed to work in industries that required fairly enhanced security checks while Cc ing.

The only thing that forced me to get local land based accom was funnily enough attempting to get an immigration visa for australia. 
 

[matty40s]

When I took a position in Central London, the Director asked would I be moving down there(based near WatfordGap at the time). I said "Yes, slowly." The West Coast mainline did for a while, then bike or the tubes from Watford to Tottenham, then other rail up to Bishops Stortford and Hertford. Luckily, I had the very cold 2010 winter in Central London but couldnt wait to move out again in late Jan.

Edited February 2, 2021 by matty40s

[Jonkx]

1 hour ago, Jon674 said:

It’s reassuring to know that others have successfully done it. perhaps i’m overthinking things. It’s seems that most posts and articles cover where to have mail sent or registering for driving licences and doctors etc and quite a lot with suggestions on becoming a blogger or making a living online in some way on the move but few address the stigma you might expect from employers in a good old fashioned PAYE job with no local address. I plan to ease myself into the move i think  with a leisure mooring then seek employment in the area. 

One way to look at it would be like graduates applying for jobs, they often give a parents address as they would still be in the process of looking for secure accommodation. You could simply state you're in the process of looking for accommodation and would like to give the Brighton address as a permanent address. It's not as though employers need to contact you at that address on a daily basis, many line managers in larger companies wouldn't know their employee's addresses and would only ask HR if they needed it for any specific reason or emergencies. 

[doratheexplorer]

I've had no problems.  Just be completely open about your situation.  There's other people at my work who's homes are far away and they stay in digs from monday to thursday nearer the office.  Things are far more flexible than they used to be.  In any case, so many people are working from home now that it really doesn't matter where you are.

 

As to the summer cruising / winter mooring arrangement - the winter mooring doesn't need to be residential as you're not going to be there all year.  Loads of cc'ers stop in one spot over winter, whether in a marina or on a CRT designated winter mooring.  They head off again once the sun is high enough to keep their solar panels well supplied.

[doratheexplorer]

11 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Agreed, it is not difficult in some areas, but in others could be virtually impossible, that is why I asked where he was planning to be based.

Putting aside the fact that this isn't the OP's query.  In which areas would it be virtually impossible?

[Alan de Enfield]

9 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Putting aside the fact that this isn't the OP's query.  In which areas would it be virtually impossible?

 

If you have a vehicle and are prepared to commute 20 miles per day then of course it is possible.

There are dozens of example where it would be very difficult, just a couple.:

 

Lincoln

Newark

Llangollen

[doratheexplorer]

29 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

If you have a vehicle and are prepared to commute 20 miles per day then of course it is possible.

There are dozens of example where it would be very difficult, just a couple.:

 

Lincoln

Newark

Llangollen

So not virtually impossible.  I work on a basis on commuting no more than an hour.  So if I worked in Llangollen that would give me a cruising range of the entire Llangollen canal, and the Shroppie from Market Drayton to Ellesmere Port.  So an excellent location to work and about as far from virtually impossible as I can think of.  Obviously, most of the time, my commute would be well under an hour.

 

From ages 11-18 it took me around 1.5 hours to get to school everyday....

[mrsmelly]

5 hours ago, Jon674 said:

It’s reassuring to know that others have successfully done it. perhaps i’m overthinking things. It’s seems that most posts and articles cover where to have mail sent or registering for driving licences and doctors etc and quite a lot with suggestions on becoming a blogger or making a living online in some way on the move but few address the stigma you might expect from employers in a good old fashioned PAYE job with no local address. I plan to ease myself into the move i think  with a leisure mooring then seek employment in the area. 

If you need advice on how what and where on the Oxford then pm me. If you want a winter mooring on the Oxford them pm me. The boating world is about who you know and your personal attitude. by the way you DO NOT need a residential mooring to live on your boat and many many marinas etc allow full time living aboard for the five winter months. 

Tim

[Jon674]

Thanks all , seems my dream may indeed become a reality this year . Some very useful information, glad i found this forum. 

On 02/02/2021 at 12:35, mrsmelly said:

If you need advice on how what and where on the Oxford then pm me. If you want a winter mooring on the Oxford them pm me. The boating world is about who you know and your personal attitude. by the way you DO NOT need a residential mooring to live on your boat and many many marinas etc allow full time living aboard for the five winter months. 

Tim

Thanks Tim, i may get back to you during the summer.