Jump to content

Another "give up everything & going to live on a narrowboat" story


Alan de Enfield

Featured Posts

Go where we want when we want!' Couple plan for life on a narrow boat - 'need that calm'

WHETHER it is due to rising house prices, a need to live more sustainably, or a desire for change, more and more Britons are opting for more unconventional lifestyles. For Maxine Brown from Nottingham, all it took was one holiday to inspire her to make a decision that will soon change her life.

 

Maxine and her partner, Steve, along with their terrier, Mexi, will soon embark on an adventure that will see them travel across the UK using only the country’s canals and waterways. The couple have been working hard over the past two years to build their own narrow boat from scratch. When she is ready to go, with both the interior and exterior furnishings all done, Maxine and Steve will begin their journey from Derbyshire.

 

Maxine and Steve’s boat is currently being finished fitted out in the Stenson Marina in Derbyshire, just a 15-minute drive from their home.

 

Boating: Couple set to live 'forever' on a narrow boat | Express.co.uk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good luck to them. The article mentions one reason people choose to live on a boat is to live more sustainably. Can't really see that burning diesel, gas and solid fossil fuels on a boat is anymore sustainable than using fossil fuels in a house, or that building your home out of steel any more sustainable than building it from brick. 

  • Greenie 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I wonder what "working hard over the past two years to build their own narrow boat from scratch" means? Will the be milling their own steel plates and welding them together? Or mining iron ore and smelting it to make the steel in the first place...??

 

Oh. "Maxine and Steve’s boat is currently being finished fitted out in the Stenson Marina in Derbyshire". It means paying someone to fit out a boat. Shame, sounded like quite an exciting project otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be fair the choice of being able to go one way or the other (depending on boat length and if you can turn it around) is incredibly liberating plus living full time in a corridor has its advantages. 

 

It's a wonderful life, for the select few. 

 

Something tells me they will be renting the house our and going back there before long. 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Bacchus said:

I wonder what "working hard over the past two years to build their own narrow boat from scratch" means?

 

It means they have been glued to their PC watching inexperienced Vloggers tell them about composting toilets and what washing machine to have.

 

 

 

Edited by Alan de Enfield
  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Maxine and Steve began looking at second hand narrow boats for sale throughout the country, but “they weren’t exactly what we wanted”.

The couple therefore decided to employ a boat builder from Nottingham to make one from scratch."

 

And by the looks of the photos, ended up with a generic modern narrowboat, devoid of any particular character.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

reminds me of people who claim to "build their own house".  Turns out in 99% of cases that they commissioned a builder to build a house.

 

not in my dad's case.  In 1951 he bought a one acre plot of land on the edge of the green belt in Surrey and installed a caravan on site.  That was our home for 8 years while he struggled (assisted by Mum, and later by me and my bruvver) to prepare the site and then to design and build a substantial 4 bedroom house during summer evenings and every weekend.   Concrete and mortar was mixed on site, much of it by hand.  The only trades he contracted out were plumbing, electrics and roofing, plus an architect to approve and sign his drawings.  Scaffolding was telegraph poles set in concrete supporting steel tubes and boards.   During several long cold dark winters he transferred his efforts to dismantling and rebuilding a 1938 Riley 1.5 saloon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

reminds me of people who claim to "build their own house".  Turns out in 99% of cases that they commissioned a builder to build a house.

 

not in my dad's case.  In 1951 he bought a one acre plot of land on the edge of the green belt in Surrey and installed a caravan on site.  That was our home for 8 years while he struggled (assisted by Mum, and later by me and my bruvver) to prepare the site and then to design and build a substantial 4 bedroom house during summer evenings and every weekend.   Concrete and mortar was mixed on site, much of it by hand.  The only trades he contracted out were plumbing, electrics and roofing, plus an architect to approve and sign his drawings.  Scaffolding was telegraph poles set in concrete supporting steel tubes and boards.   During several long cold dark winters he transferred his efforts to dismantling and rebuilding a 1938 Riley 1.5 saloon.

This is my Dad mixing the concrete for his first business.

FB_IMG_1575292455624.jpg

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.