Fancy helping a newbie?

[LilMissMolly]

 

I’m rather taken with the idea of eventually purchasing a narrowboat and becoming a liveaboard but I’m aware I know absolutely nothing.

My reasons are that I simply feel bored living in a house and find it mundane and unfulfilling (I know a boat will keep me on my toes, always something to do!)

another aspect is that the rental market is nuts and I hate having to have a housemate and throwing money at a place that isn’t even mine (based in Northampton, so it’s pretty expensive here!)

 

I’m looking at booking a boat holiday to see if I would actually enjoy it as so far, my experience has been visiting a friend on theirs - so no experience navigating, maintaining etc.

 

Wondering if anyone can offer some advice and share some stories of their experiences?

Will it be a good idea? What sort of things can I brush up on, research and learn about in the meantime to make the transition a bit easier if I decide to go ahead?

 

Realistically I probably won’t begin looking until I know all the facts and decide if it’s actually a good idea - plus the market has gone bonkers thanks to lockdown and cost of living!

 

Here’s my current situation if it helps you formulate your points on the reality:
- 29 year old nurse and drive

- Based in Northampton and work here
- have a cat
- only ever resided in houses; quite like my washing machine and wifi but not a big tv watcher (more kindle or gaming) so only really use one for when I game.
- DIY skills go only as far as building flat packs right now.

- Have already looked into potential costs of mooring and licenses (£3,631.12 annually max as it’s dependant on size obvs)

- understand that I’d need to get a survey done when looking to buy (hull condition, engine condition, wiring and bilge condition and functionality?)

- understand blackening every 2 years and BSS every 4.

 

Really I’m looking for:
- what is the reality of living the Narrowboat life?
- daily running of a Narrowboat (such as mandatory jobs etc)
- the tech stuff I should learn/know
- costs: running and buying something decent 
- what makes a good boat
- common issues and how to fix
- what to do when things go wrong 

- what type of toilet is best

- what’s it like doing it solo

 

If I did decide to go ahead I guess it’s figuring out what sort of size would be appropriate and realistically what price I should be expecting to pay (my budget at present is around £35k max) but I’ll save more if needs be. I imagine something that’s in good shape and liveaboard ready won’t come cheap.

 

I’d quite like something with a traditional layout (if that’s the right word? So bedroom, bathroom and kitchen/lounge being their own rooms per say) with fixed double bed, shower room, kitchen, no fixed seating and some form of deck to sit out in when the suns out. Plus storage!!

 

Anything you lovely bunch are willing to share will be greatly appreciated!
Let’s hear it all!
The horrors, the victories and everything inbetween and beyond!

[Rob-M]

Think about where you are going to moor, if you are working do you want a fixed mooring location in a marina or are you going to cruise a limited area and try and keep under the radar.  Even if you are in a marina you may not find a residential mooring so you will still be living under the radar and probably not have a postal address so doing anything that needs an address becomes harder such as doctor, dentist, bank account, car insurance etc.

Dealing with electricity, gas, water, toilet are all things that need doing so when you get home from work in the middle of winter be prepared to have to work out how to charge your batteries, fill the water tank, empty the toilet tank, change the gas when it runs out just before dinner has finished cooking (as ours did last night).

All doable but not as easy as when you live in a house and everything is on tap.

[Tony Brooks]

First off proper residential moorings are like rocking horse dung, very had to find and expensive, so most people try to find a mooring operator who won't ask too many questions and expect the boater to live in a way that does not draw attention to themselves or be a problem for others. Going this way gives no security of tenure and you could be told to move on with little notice.

 

CaRT say that having a full time job or the need for schooling is unlikely to be compatible with declaring yourself as a continuous cruiser, plus if you do so then research the number of times you have to move (every two weeks or less) plus how far you are expected to travel.  However, Northampton is on the River Nene so Environment Agency rules apply but note, being moored on a river in flood is not for the faint-hearted or inexperienced.

 

Finally, it is often said that living afloat is no cheaper than living ashore. This more true in you have to pay marina fees.

[LilMissMolly]

27 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

First off proper residential moorings are like rocking horse dung, very had to find and expensive, so most people try to find a mooring operator who won't ask too many questions and expect the boater to live in a way that does not draw attention to themselves or be a problem for others. Going this way gives no security of tenure and you could be told to move on with little notice.

 

CaRT say that having a full time job or the need for schooling is unlikely to be compatible with declaring yourself as a continuous cruiser, plus if you do so then research the number of times you have to move (every two weeks or less) plus how far you are expected to travel.  However, Northampton is on the River Nene so Environment Agency rules apply but note, being moored on a river in flood is not for the faint-hearted or inexperienced.

 

Finally, it is often said that living afloat is no cheaper than living ashore. This more true in you have to pay marina fees.

Oh absolutely agree with you!

If money was no object, I’d already be out on the canals; so it’s not a case of looking into it because rising costs on land but more of a case of fine tuning the budget so I’m not eating 14p noodles everyday or unable to attend to the running and maintainance!

 

fortunately at present, the area isn’t at full capacity and I’ve got a fair few choices with some variance in facilities/car parking (but I guess it would be a case of rechecking just before taking the plunge).

Only reason for budgetting for mooring is because my work, still plan on using my holiday leave to go out and about though!

 

Any advice regarding the moored in floods? 😕 sadly it’s not a case I could really up and out for awhile outside of holiday leave.

 

[ditchcrawler]

You say Northampton, if that is on the river Nene then there are a few marinas, but I don't know if

A) they have space 

b) do residential moorings

but it may prove easier than on the canals. The river is controlled by the Environment Agency where as the Canals are Canal and River Trust

[MtB]

I'd recommend reading the book about it by Tony Jones. "Living Aboard". 

 

A well written book by a sensible bloke who is also an occasional poster here under the username "tonyreptiles". Guess what he knows about apart from boats! 

 

A brief google brings up the first edition. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liveaboard-Guide-Living-Afloat-Waterways/dp/1408145553

 

Pretty sure he updated and published a second edition two or three years ago.

 

[howardang]

4 minutes ago, LilMissMolly said:

Oh absolutely agree with you!

If money was no object, I’d already be out on the canals; so it’s not a case of looking into it because rising costs on land but more of a case of fine tuning the budget so I’m not eating 14p noodles everyday or unable to attend to the running and maintainance!

 

fortunately at present, the area isn’t at full capacity and I’ve got a fair few choices with some variance in facilities/car parking (but I guess it would be a case of rechecking just before taking the plunge).

Only reason for budgetting for mooring is because my work, still plan on using my holiday leave to go out and about though!

 

Any advice regarding the moored in floods? 😕 sadly it’s not a case I could really up and out for awhile outside of holiday leave.

 

I hate to be a wet blanket, and I know that the idea seems great to you at the moment, but the questions that you raise (and many other similar ones) have been asked on here at an increasing frequency in the last few years.  It may be a helpful first step for you to look through the search facility on this forum being imaginative with your queries,  and I would suspect that you may find many answers to your questions, and possibly they may raise others which you haven't thought of. This may help you to focus any further questions which would help you to decide whether the idea of living on a boat, all year round is actually a good idea or not.

 

Good luck in your research and we may see you out and about on the cut in the coming years.

 

Howard

[Tony Brooks]

16 minutes ago, LilMissMolly said:

 

Any advice regarding the moored in floods?

 

Make sure you are in a marine with floating walkways or is protected from floods by locks or some such, then you don't normally need to worry.

 

If you are offered a riverside mooring with no facilities to deal with floods then my advice is stay well away. At the least you need to know how to rig heavy-duty flood lines and take steps to prevent the high water levels floating the boat over the normal level bank, Then think about waders in case you need to leave the boat with water all around, however doing that sort of thing in floods can be very dangerous or even lethal.

[GUMPY]

39 minutes ago, LilMissMolly said:

Any advice regarding the moored in floods? 😕 sadly it’s not a case I could really up and out for awhile outside of holiday leave.

Don't be out on the Nene when it's in flood it can get very nasty.

Not all marinas on the Nene are equal for example Billing goes underwater and you could wake up one morning and be trapped on your boat until the water recedes. @blackrose has experience of this.🤭

[Jen-in-Wellies]

The Nene through Northampton does flood badly. Billings Aquadrome has had to be evacuated on occasion, which would lead to you and the cat having to find temporary accomodation at short notice for several days. Even with a river mooring that can keep the boat safe, it may not be possible to get on/off the boat while the flood is happening, which will leave you either stuck on it, or having to stay somewhere else with the cat abandoned on board till the waters subside. Worst case, a flood, or the water going down after a flood can sink an unattended boat, if the mooring isn't suitable, which could happen while you are at work. I used to work with some one who lived on a boat moored furhter down the Nene and some of the floods were biblical.

If you are happy with the travel, I'd look at moorings on the Grand Union Canal, to the west of Northampton. With a car, or even a push bike, that isn't a tough commute. A mooring with a grid electrical connection makes winter a lot simpler to combine with a full time job. There are marinas and other moorings along the canal.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

As far as cats are concerned, most seem to take boat life in their stride. In some ways they are safer, in that there isn't so much risk from cars. Cats can swim really well, though they hate it. As long as ways to climb out are provided and they can find them without panicing, then the occasional dunking isn't a problem. The boat becomes their home territory, so the fact that it moves sometimes just gives them a new place to explore, while having some where familiar and safe to retreat to.

[GUMPY]

It's true that the floods can be biblical on the Nene, a year or so ago it was closed from October to March because of flooding.

However there are marinas on the Nene that will cope with high and low water levels Blackthorn has had high water levels of over 6ft  with no problems at all so much so I don't worry keeping my boat there as I know it's safe,  Lilford is similarly OK. Oundle and Billing are not.

There are very few flood proof moorings on line on the Nene I can only think of one and that's a private mooring for one boat, at most of the others the bank gets wet.🥱

[bizzard]

A nurse would be very useful and welcome on the system for when boaters have the odd accident like stubbing the toes and spraining ankles on the toepath, or being run over by a lunatic on a bicycle. Attacked by vicious swans and having arms broken by the beasts wings. Toes nibbled to a bloody state by Pike and Perch when folk fall overboard. Stinging nettle rash. Scratched to blazes whilst Blackberrying in August, but probably worst of all are the problems at sanitory stations where often folk have been known to be overcome by noxious stench fumes, mainly in the way of simply fainting but also konking out whilst holding their breath fod too long trying to avoid sniffing or inhaling the vile and awful pong and requiring emergency artificial reparation ect.   Yes Miss LilMolly you would be very useful, but with all these medical thngs going on you might not find much time for boating.  So I'd keep mum about being a nurse for these reasons. I'm sure you'd enjoy the life though.

[LadyG]

No one mention OPs budget and requirements, finding eg a 52 ft boat with separate bedroom may not be easy, and a 57 ft boat might be about 30 years old , that hits the comprehensive insurance level (survey needed).

Not all marinas rent moorings per foot of boat, they may have 57 ft pontoons and want to maximise income 

There is no way of avoiding risk , it's OK to have a survey, it's OK to have someone show you how to service an engine and do the daily checks but it's impossible to guard against all possibilities.

Paying out for a marina pretty much makes it next to impossible to save for a house, so weigh up the financial future before buying a boat.

 before you buy a boat 

I believe hire companies will not like singlehanded novice boater. Singlehanding  is quite tricky.

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by LadyG

[Barneyp]

I think your idea of booking a narrowboat holiday is a good one, you'll have to find someone to go with you as only a few companies hire to single handers and they all require them to have experience. Also try to go in the winter, that will give you a better idea of some of the downsides to living on a boat - 365 days per year on a boat is not the same as one week in warm sunshine.

Visit this forum regularly (daily?) and hit the "view new content" at the top of the page, scan through each thread and you will get an idea of what can go wrong and how things work.

 

[junior]

I was in the same position as you ten years ago and just went for it. It depends what sort of person you are, but I doubt there's too many people who bite the bullet and get a boat to live on and regret it.

 

One thing I have noticed over the years when people post questions such as yours, is that most of the replies are cautious, bordering on negative. I've never figured out why as most people on here will be boat owners or liveaboards. 

 

I recommend you don't book a holiday boat. It costs a fortune, the boat is unlikely to be laid out anything like a liveaboard boat and 'hire boaters' seem to be looked down on by many, and I wouldn't want your first experience of boating to tainted by people being rude to you or you feeling like a second class citizen. 

Save the £1500 a hire boat would cost and put it into a pot for any unexpected costs you get when you buy your first boat. 

 

Buying a boat, getting a mooring etc is a lot easier if you're not on a very tight budget. Boat prices are strong at the moment, but I still think if you bought a boat and lived on it for 6 months and decided it wasn't for you, you could probably get your money back selling it on again.

 

Ask specific questions by all means, but these blanket "what's it like to live on a boat?" threads rarely render many positive replies.

[Tam & Di]

27 minutes ago, junior said:

I was in the same position as you ten years ago and just went for it. It depends what sort of person you are, but I doubt there's too many people who bite the bullet and get a boat to live on and regret it.

 

I think you'll find there are, and we've met quite a few. I agree that a week or so on a hire boat does not give any real experience of full-time life on a boat, not least because you normally do that in summer, and most niggles can be shrugged off when it's warm. As you say, it does depend very much on the sort of person you are, but it can depend too upon getting the 'right' sort of boat that your abilities can cope with, and (in the OP's case) an suitable mooring.

 

Tam

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Tam & Di said:

 

I think you'll find there are, and we've met quite a few. I agree that a week or so on a hire boat does not give any real experience of full-time life on a boat, not least because you normally do that in summer, and most niggles can be shrugged off when it's warm. As you say, it does depend very much on the sort of person you are, but it can depend too upon getting the 'right' sort of boat that your abilities can cope with, and (in the OP's case) an suitable mooring.

 

Tam

 

The main thing that grinds people down over winter is getting home from work in the dark. All the same chores need doing e.g. changing gas bottles, filling the water tank, emptying the bog, running the genny to charge the batteries, etc but doing these in the dark and sometimes freezing cold and slashing rain turns into a right ball-ache compared to doing them in daylight on a warm summer's evening. 

 

[David Mack]

PM sent.

[roland elsdon]

If you are working at northampton general there are miles of canals you can use within easy drive.

Many marinas.

When I worked at northampton we lived at weedon on the boats a lot. Getting in to Crispins was easy, but shifts at northampton general were bad as was st Andrews.

If you are at that end billing aquadrome would be best where they have flood proof pontoons and resi  moorings.

[Stroudwater1]

4 hours ago, bizzard said:

A nurse would be very useful and welcome on the system for when boaters have the odd accident like stubbing the toes and spraining ankles on the toepath, or being run over by a lunatic on a bicycle. Attacked by vicious swans and having arms broken by the beasts wings. Toes nibbled to a bloody state by Pike and Perch when folk fall overboard. Stinging nettle rash. Scratched to blazes whilst Blackberrying in August, but probably worst of all are the problems at sanitory stations where often folk have been known to be overcome by noxious stench fumes, mainly in the way of simply fainting but also konking out whilst holding their breath fod too long trying to avoid sniffing or inhaling the vile and awful pong and requiring emergency artificial reparation ect.   Yes Miss LilMolly you would be very useful, but with all these medical thngs going on you might not find much time for boating.  So I'd keep mum about being a nurse for these reasons. I'm sure you'd enjoy the life though.

They may be a mental Health nurse though? However that could be just as useful at times. 

I agree though that hiring a boat is a good idea to get a feel for what it’s like on a boat. 

 

[MtB]

4 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

I agree though that hiring a boat is a good idea to get a feel for what it’s like on a boat. 

 

Sort of, but do it for the whole of the month of December to get the authentic experience....

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

1 minute ago, Stroudwater1 said:

They may be a mental Health nurse though? However that could be just as useful at times. 

I agree though that hiring a boat is a good idea to get a feel for what it’s like on a boat. 

 

 

So do I, I think it is bordering on the irresponsible to tell someone that we know virtually nothing of their abilities to just buy a boat. It would be unlikely, but would save some money if the OP could get a boater to take them out for a weekend and get them to empty the loo, refill with water, and lug a gas bottle about. However, that is not very realistic.

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

So do I, I think it is bordering on the irresponsible to tell someone that we know virtually nothing of their abilities to just buy a boat. It would be unlikely, but would save some money if the OP could get a boater to take them out for a weekend and get them to empty the loo, refill with water, and lug a gas bottle about. However, that is not very realistic.

 

Oh I dunno. I could do that. A cruise from Cropredy to Braunston would a would be a good weekend trip.

 

Moll could then experience what a deep drafted boat with a proper vintage engine is like to steer up the Oxford! 

[Mike Hurley]

You tube has a gazillion videos of people living on narrowboats, some know what they are talking about, a lot dont, have a watch. Avoid the ones giving advice that have had a boat for 10 minutes, loads of them. Quite a few do costings for the year, some with older boats, some in marinas, some CC.