Jump to content

New to boating - where to start?


fromalbion

Featured Posts

Hi everyone, 

 

I'm new to the forum (and to narrow boat life). I'm looking to buy, renovate and live full time on a narrow boat in the south-west area. I've been researching and reading up on narrow boats - with so much information avaliable it's difficult to know where to start! 

 

I'm planning to rent out a narrow boat locally to test whether I can make a go of the lifestyle with all it's pros and cons. 

 

If anyone has any good tips for a complete novice who's ready to learn, please let me know. Also if there is anyone out there would like to be my mentor I'd really appreciate some pointers and advice. Thanks!

 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

Eleanor

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, fromalbion said:

Hi everyone, 

 

I'm new to the forum (and to narrow boat life). I'm looking to buy, renovate and live full time on a narrow boat in the south-west area. I've been researching and reading up on narrow boats - with so much information avaliable it's difficult to know where to start! 

 

I'm planning to rent out a narrow boat locally to test whether I can make a go of the lifestyle with all it's pros and cons. 

 

If anyone has any good tips for a complete novice who's ready to learn, please let me know. Also if there is anyone out there would like to be my mentor I'd really appreciate some pointers and advice. Thanks!

 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

Eleanor

 

Take great care if you are considering doing a private rental of a narrowboat to live on, it will probably be an illegal rental.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, fromalbion said:

I'm new to the forum (and to narrow boat life). I'm looking to buy, renovate and live full time on a narrow boat in the south-west area.

 

 

First step might be to find a canal in the south west. I can't think of any!

 

Unless by SW you mean the Bath/Bristol end of the K&A. But south west England usually means Somerset/Devon/Cornwall. Most canals are midlands and the north.

 

'Renovating' an old heap of a boat is a fool's errand which will cost you far more money than buying a decent boat in the first place, let alone the time it will take. Most boats in terrible condition are someone's dream renovation but they are so overwhelmed by the project and the cost, that they never do it and the boat just degrades further in their ownership. 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, MtB said:

Unless by SW you mean the Bath/Bristol end of the K&A

In which case you will find there an awful lot of people with the same idea. You either have to take (and pay for) a permanent mooring (where you either have formal consent to live aboard or where a blind eye is turned to you doing so), or you have to 'continuously cruise' to the satisfaction of CRT. Lots of threads on here about what does or does not constitute valid CCing, but there is no precise definition, and there are lots of boaters pushing at the boundary of what is acceptable. One of the consequences of the popularity of this area for CCers or pseudo CCers (often referred to as CMers - continuous moorers), is that long lengths in popular areas are designated as 48 hour moorings and it can be difficult to find areas where you can legitimately stay longer. Break the rules /guidelines and you will soon come to the attention of CRT's enforcement staff.

  • 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.