Ex sailor - will I be bored?

[Northener]

Having sailed around British and Irish coastal waters for many years, the problems caused by advancing years are making me think that boating on the canals and the Thames might be the way to go.

I have a lot of experience on the canals, having had several week long holidays in narrow boats and on the French canals, but these have been short holidays in different places each time. If I buy a Narrowboat or cruiser I would not be roaming the whole country. I would hopefully be based in a marina or similar and would probably take two or three longish trips each year and lots of shortish ones (although to be honest, who knows?). 

The question is, will I be bored?

Much of my sailing has been single handed, and I do like being alone on a sailing boat, but having a boat on inland waterways would mean my young grandchildren could come along much more often. And also my wife, who hates sailing but does like being on boats that stay level. 

 

[Tracy D'arth]

An old salt once said to me that sea sailing was 20 minutes panic getting in and out of a marina then weeks of boredom at sea, but canal boating was constant excitement and interesting.

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Tracy D'arth said:

An old salt once said to me that sea sailing was 20 minutes panic getting in and out of a marina then weeks of boredom at sea, but canal boating was constant excitement and interesting.

 

I think you may have misremebered.

I'd say the reverse is true.

[Mad Harold]

12 minutes ago, Northener said:

Having sailed around British and Irish coastal waters for many years, the problems caused by advancing years are making me think that boating on the canals and the Thames might be the way to go.

I have a lot of experience on the canals, having had several week long holidays in narrow boats and on the French canals, but these have been short holidays in different places each time. If I buy a Narrowboat or cruiser I would not be roaming the whole country. I would hopefully be based in a marina or similar and would probably take two or three longish trips each year and lots of shortish ones (although to be honest, who knows?). 

The question is, will I be bored?

Much of my sailing has been single handed, and I do like being alone on a sailing boat, but having a boat on inland waterways would mean my young grandchildren could come along much more often. And also my wife, who hates sailing but does like being on boats that stay level. 

 

I have no sea boating experience,but have a little grp cruiser and,as you stated I do pretty much the same ie.a couple of longish trips per year and lots of three or four days away.I do operate single handed.

Cruising is fine,but nights are rather tedious on your own.

You do need to be in reasonable physical shape as some locks can be hard work.

If it's just you and your wife,then a grp cruiser is the most economical way of getting afloat,but with kids as well then a narrowboat will be more suitable (and more expensive)

As for getting bored probably not not while cruising,lots of nice scenery,some interesting places to visit and now perhaps some nice pubs(those that have survived) but sitting out bad weather or stoppages,if you have a tv and plenty of books it won't be too bad. I do find more than a couple of days in one place and I want to get moving.

I know some boaters who prefer their own company to anyone else,but I am sure you know yourself by now.

Please let us know how you get on.

[Ray T]

No you won't get board. Just learn to live life in the slow lane.

Also let your wife know when you put a glass of wine on the slide (hatch in yottie terms) it stays there, it doesn't leap overboard.

 

Also if you get fed up, tired or raining cats & dogs just pull in and put the kettle on, difficult to achieve half way between Lymington and Cherbourg. 

 

Ex offshore yottie of many years whose wife didn't take to offshore either. 

Unlike yachts narrowboats don't go backwards too well.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Ray T

[Tracy D'arth]

35 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I think you may have misremebered.

I'd say the reverse is true.

Don't tell me my memory is going, you troll, get stuffed.

Ignorant git.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Tracy D'arth

[noddyboater]

1 hour ago, Mad Harold said:

 

Cruising is fine,but nights are rather tedious on your own.

 

Luckily,  that's what pubs are for. 

[Chris Lowe]

22 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Don't tell me my memory is going, you troll, get stuffed.

Ignorant git.

Lets have some decorum please this isn't the political area.

[dmr]

Something interesting happens most days, and if it doesn't then there is always maintenance to stave off any boredom.

...and the pub.

 

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

[RichM]

Bored? No. There's always something to do and failing that, there's always something that needs doing!

[Sea Dog]

Well, I've had some experience at sea in ships and small craft, and I've spent a fair amount of time on the inland waterways. There's always something to do on a boat of any stripe, so I don't think you'd be disappointed from that perspective. I'd say canal journeys were far more interesting: the scenery changes continuously rather than very occasionally for a start; you can pull up when you've had enough rather than when you get to your destination; if the weather takes a turn for the worst you can relax by the fire - actually, I could go on and on, but if you're not feeling it you might not be suited. (I'd bet you would be).

[Jen-in-Wellies]

When you are on the move, there is the ever changing landscape going by. Weird stuff, weird people, weird animals, just general weirdness to see. Unlikely to be boring.

Jen

Plus you can stop off for ice cream.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Wanderer Vagabond]

On 28/05/2021 at 18:44, Northener said:

Having sailed around British and Irish coastal waters for many years, the problems caused by advancing years are making me think that boating on the canals and the Thames might be the way to go.

I have a lot of experience on the canals, having had several week long holidays in narrow boats and on the French canals, but these have been short holidays in different places each time. If I buy a Narrowboat or cruiser I would not be roaming the whole country. I would hopefully be based in a marina or similar and would probably take two or three longish trips each year and lots of shortish ones (although to be honest, who knows?). 

The question is, will I be bored?

Much of my sailing has been single handed, and I do like being alone on a sailing boat, but having a boat on inland waterways would mean my young grandchildren could come along much more often. And also my wife, who hates sailing but does like being on boats that stay level. 

 

I have also done a bit of offshore stuff, but then narrowboating is a whole different animal. My intention when getting the narrowboat was to roam the whole country which was why I left it until retirement before getting one. Keeping one in a marina you have essentially the same issue you have with an offshore sailing boat in a marina whilst you are working. You can take a trip out of the marina to the left for a week or so, or you can take a trip out of the marina to the right for a week or so. Unless you are in a position to take very long trips, eventually you will have covered most of the ground around your marina. This was exactly the conversation I had with a guy in a dinghy sailing group I used to belong to. He said he used to have an offshore sailing yacht based near Poole, but he found that his sailing holidays invariably kept covering the same ground. He got himself a Wanderer sailing dinghy and then towed it to wherever he wanted to sail in the country which he told me was vastly superior to keeping on sailing in the same old waters.

 

From my own experience, I would certainly recommend roaming the whole country, but if that is not your intention, and given that a decent boat will cost you something of the order of £30,000-£50,000, how many narrowboat holidays would that buy you without the hassle of ownership? I'm not trying to talk you out of it, merely suggesting that if you buy one, to get as much use of it as possible in as many locations. 

[stripey]

There’s nothing to stop you being a serial marina hopper.?

[Wanderer Vagabond]

15 minutes ago, stripey said:

There’s nothing to stop you being a serial marina hopper.?

Yes, you can, but then the boat tends to get further and further away from your home address

[stripey]

Of course, but in our own case, we're 40 miles from the nearest canal, and after a couple of years at our first marina, which was 60 miles away, felt it was worth mooring somewhere else in the country (85 miles away) as it gave us access to some part of the network we had never cruised, and that would have taken a week to reach.  Our next move is this year, to pretty well the closest marina, as we're happy to revisit some old haunts from our hiring years.  It's very much a matter of weighing up the plusses and minuses.

[ditchcrawler]

50 minutes ago, stripey said:

Of course, but in our own case, we're 40 miles from the nearest canal, and after a couple of years at our first marina, which was 60 miles away, felt it was worth mooring somewhere else in the country (85 miles away) as it gave us access to some part of the network we had never cruised, and that would have taken a week to reach.  Our next move is this year, to pretty well the closest marina, as we're happy to revisit some old haunts from our hiring years.  It's very much a matter of weighing up the plusses and minuses.

Just round the courner then. We have to do 185 miles at the moment to get to our boat, it has been closer and further away, who knows where  it will be next

[stripey]

Seeing where you live, I can understand your travelling!