Cornwall couple who live on a boat on magic and freedom of a life on the water

[Alan de Enfield]

When asked to imagine a home, most people picture a brick building on solid, still land.

However, for as long as humans have existed- from pirates to sailors to nomadic fishing communities-there have been those who are drawn to a life on water.

 

According to the Residential Boat Owners’ Association, 15,000 people live afloat in the UK today, making the country’s canals, rivers and coasts, spanning both countryside and cities, their stomping ground.

 

Cornwall couple who live on a boat on magic and freedom of a life on the water - Cornwall Live

[Bee]

Yeah but..... They're young and in love and all that magic stuff. Its different after donkeys years of boating. Mrs. Bee has learned to read me like a book and I can't get away with anything. We finish each others sentences - mostly by saying things like 'You told me that yesterday you daft sod' and we have a whippet that farts all the time. Fairy dust and magic? Bollo**s

[Ex Brummie]

Yeah but...... No but........

One day I might need a proper job.

[system 4-50]

3 hours ago, Bee said:

Yeah but..... They're young and in love and all that magic stuff. Its different after donkeys years of boating. Mrs. Bee has learned to read me like a book and I can't get away with anything. We finish each others sentences - mostly by saying things like 'You told me that yesterday you daft sod' and we have a whippet that farts all the time. Fairy dust and magic? Bollo**s

I know what you mean.  Yesterday me and the wife enjoyed joke 2716.   Again.

[Athy]

It's an interesting article. What surprised me was that only 15,000 people in Britain lived aboard. I would have thought that it was more.

[Alan de Enfield]

42 minutes ago, Athy said:

It's an interesting article. What surprised me was that only 15,000 people in Britain lived aboard. I would have thought that it was more.

 

Following a C&RT questionnaire about boat usage - "Is your boat your main residence"  the result showed that around 18% of boats are used as 'main residences (around 5400 boats) do we assume that many / most have a couple ?

The question is, are these figures correct - if someone is living aboard 'unofficially' and 'keeping their head down' are they going to admit it ?

 

The Environment Agency does not routinely collect data on the number of its registered vessels that are used by the occupants as their main place of residence, other than static houseboats. There are 109 static houseboats on Agency waterways. It is considered likely that there are around a further 200 boats or other vessels being used for residential purposes across Agency waterways.

 

The Broads Authority estimates from observation that less than 50 boats are used by the occupants as their sole or main place of residence. There are also 36 static houseboats within the Broads Authority’s administrative area, 16 of which are used as commercial self-catering holiday accommodation.

 

Living aboard is not common on sea based boats due to the lack of facilities, unless you are in a marina, and my experience of coastal marinas is that they do not allow (or have planning permission) for liveaboards.

 

In our current marina (200+ boats) only one is a liveaboard, and, that is almost by accident. Historically the couple 'lived aboard' for around 6 months of the year and then went to their house in Spain for the remaining months, Covid came along and stopped everything and they have been living aboard for the last couple of years, even tho' the travel restrictions are now lifted.

[Mad Harold]

53 minutes ago, Athy said:

It's an interesting article. What surprised me was that only 15,000 people in Britain lived aboard. I would have thought that it was more.

That number is quoted from the Residential Boaters Association.

Not all people who live on boats will be members,so like you,I think there wil be many more.

[matty40s]

40 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

The Environment Agency does not routinely collect data on the number of its registered vessels that are used by the occupants as their main place of residence, other than static houseboats. There are 109 static houseboats on Agency waterways. It is considered likely that there are around a further 200 boats or other vessels being used for residential purposes across Agency waterways.

 

That figure is way out. Northampton marina is over 70% liveaboards (out of just less than 100 berths). This is fairly evenly split between full residential and mixed use( which have to leave marina for 2 weeks every 26 weeks). You also have Billing Marina with similar levels of liveaboard use, and White Mills....there are more than 200 just on the Nene.

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, matty40s said:

That figure is way out. Northampton marina is over 70% liveaboards (out of just less than 100 berths). This is fairly evenly split between full residential and mixed use( which have to leave marina for 2 weeks every 26 weeks). You also have Billing Marina with similar levels of liveaboard use, and White Mills....there are more than 200 just on the Nene.

 

I'm not surprised.

The 'quote' is from the AINA and probably very out of date if you consider the 'last few years' explosion of people looking for low cost housing (or, to quote Whilton - "your first step on the housing ladder").

[Grassman]

 

 

 

There are probably 15,000 liveaboards just in London!

[Alan de Enfield]

30 minutes ago, Grassman said:

 

 

 

There are probably 15,000 liveaboards just in London!

 

14,500 of them living 'under the radar' and not admitting anything to the authorities

[matty40s]

4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

14,500 of them living 'under the radar' and not admitting anything to the authorities

Why should they, they are under no obligation to, and aren't breaking any rules(unless they dont move far enough every 14 days).

[IanD]

2 hours ago, matty40s said:

Why should they, they are under no obligation to, and aren't breaking any rules(unless they dont move far enough every 14 days).

I cycle the length of the GU towpath from Bulls Bridge to Paddington several times a week, and I can guarantee that a lot of boats don't seem to move at all and many others only move a few miles along the canal, neither of which meets the CC rules...

[blackrose]

It's not just CCers who don't move who are breaking the rules. Anyone like myself living aboard permanently on a non-residential mooring is technically breaking council rules because they don't have planning permission. Some marinas get around it by getting people to leave for a month per year or swap pontoons with others in the marina for a month, but most just don't allow you to use the marina as your official address and turn a blind eye. Not that I'm complaining. 

[IanD]

5 minutes ago, blackrose said:

It's not just CCers who don't move who are breaking the rules. Anyone like myself living aboard permanently on a non-residential mooring is technically breaking council rules because they don't have planning permission. Some marinas get around it by getting people to leave for a month per year or swap pontoons with others in the marina for a month, but most just don't allow you to use the marina as your official address and turn a blind eye. Not that I'm complaining. 

People who live on their boats in a marina all the time even if it's theoretically against the rules don't inconvenience anybody else.

 

CCers who don't move as required do, especially if they overstay on visitor moorings or use all the available mooring space in popular areas leaving none for real CCers or visitors or hirers.

Edited December 3, 2021 by IanD

[David Mack]

The Census should give the most accurate number of liveaboards, but its only taken every 10 years, and like other data it is likely to undercount liveaboards as they are more difficult to track than house dwellers, and I suspect a number of informal liveaboards may give a land based address e.g. parents.

[blackrose]

1 hour ago, IanD said:

People who live on their boats in a marina all the time even if it's theoretically against the rules don't inconvenience anybody else.

 

CCers who don't move as required do, especially if they overstay on visitor moorings or use all the available mooring space in popular areas leaving none for real CCers or visitors or hirers.

 

Yes I agree, but we were talking about rule breaking not inconvenience to others.

 

Lots of people who live in marinas on non-residential moorings also provide an unofficial security service for the marina as well as looking after neighbour's boats who are fortunate enough to also own houses. 

Edited December 3, 2021 by blackrose

[Mike Todd]

21 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Yes I agree, but we were talking about rule breaking not inconvenience to others.

 

Lots of people who live in marinas on non-residential moorings also provide an unofficial security service for the marina as well as looking after neighbour's boats who are fortunate enough to also own houses. 

Indeed. This is a common excuse by those with an interest in breaking or ignoring specific rules. Apart perhaps from a few archaic leftovers, rules were put in place for a good reason, in some way to protect the rights or interests  of individuals, groups or society at large.

 

Planning laws really date from 1947 which established  the principle that ownership was not sufficient on its own to confer the right to unrestricted development. The consequences of not having that principle can be seen in so0me of the most awful urban sprawls created as the the basis for the industrial revolution.

 

Of course, some pre-1947 development was good and wholesome and no doubts the developers would have used the same argument against planning legislation.

 

Subsequent evolutions, often under pressure from wealthy and influential large developers, have limited the ability of planning authorities to prevent a lot of new development. Hand in hand with planning goes building regs and the consequences of relaxing the laws too far are being felt by such as the former Grenfell Tower residents. 

 

AFAIUI, residential use in a marina is not a matter for the individual moorer but for the marina owner. And here we see why some form of control is not a bad idea - marinas generally attract quite a bit of controversy when proposed and the process seeks to balance all needs, not just the nimbys who clobber their local councillor. If there was not a need for planning permission,. and the parallel need to comply with such as building regs, I guess that a lot of spaces on the hit spot areas would by now be filled with the modern equivalent of Rackman moorings. It seems that rise of online letting services has already led to boats being exploited that are in a wholly unfit condition.

[Col_T]

16 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

Hand in hand with planning goes building regs and the consequences of relaxing the laws too far are being felt by such as the former Grenfell Tower residents. 

 

Grenfell highlights / exaggerates the problem that too, too often existing rules and regulations are ignored / not enforced, rather then the effect of relaxing laws too far.