Hi All

[dmr]

1 hour ago, IanD said:

That's not what I meant (but wasn't clear), the "bad weather" comment was for one -- anyone else sane would obviously be inside. The "more than one person" was in good weather... 😉

 

I think we have had up to 6 people on the trad back, and on a river too, I think the elfin safety types were not impressed but we enjoyed it.

One on the counter steering, two standing on each gunnel and two sat on the roof.

 

On a lock free stretch driving the boat it bad weather standing in the back of a trad can be rather pleasant.

Doing locks in the rain is not good at all.

3 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Correction, in bad weather you remain moored up and visit the pub.

 

But if you are moored outside a crap pub and there is a really good pub just half a days boating away?????

I think our last really wet boating day was a dash to the Holy Inadequate.

 

[IanD]

4 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

I think we have had up to 6 people on the trad back, and on a river too, I think the elfin safety types were not impressed but we enjoyed it.

One on the counter steering, two standing on each gunnel and two sat on the roof.

 

On a lock free stretch driving the boat it bad weather standing in the back of a trad can be rather pleasant.

Doing locks in the rain is not good at all.

You can get 27 people in a Mini, but most people wouldn't then try and drive it anywhere... 😉

 

All I was trying to say is that if you want several people out on the stern in nice weather, a trad stern is the least suitable and a cruiser stern the best. For steering in bad weather, exactly the opposite applies. A semi-trad is in-between in both cases -- so either the best or worst of both worlds, depending on your point of view. Trying all three to see which you prefer is a good idea, but not practical for many people.

[rusty69]

Just now, IanD said:

You can get 27 people in a Mini, but most people wouldn't then try and drive it anywhere... 😉

 

All I was trying to say is that if you want several people out on the stern in nice weather, a trad stern is the least suitable and a cruiser stern the best. For steering in bad weather, exactly the opposite applies. A semi-trad is in-between in both cases -- so either the best or worst of both worlds, depending on your point of view. Trying all three to see which you prefer is a good idea, but not practical for many people.

You can also get two whales in a mini...... Up the M4. 

 

 

Damn, that joke doesn't work in text format 

[Jon57]

3 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Not really - the crusier stern is simply a 'boarded over engine'. The engine has to be somewhere and if it is 'inside' then roughly the same amount of space is taken by the engine and its ancilliaries so the living space is reduced by the same amount.

 

Having a cruiser stern allows you to have a 'pram hood' (framed cover) which actually has the benefit of giving you an 'extra room' (conservatory) which can be used for taking off / storing wet clothing, with the sides rolled up, as a sun shade, with one side rolled down as a wind break when having evening G&Ts.

I consider the cruiser stern as the most space advantageous option.

 

 

 

Also with a semi trad stern.

20 minutes ago, IanD said:

You can get 27 people in a Mini, but most people wouldn't then try and drive it anywhere... 😉

 

All I was trying to say is that if you want several people out on the stern in nice weather, a trad stern is the least suitable and a cruiser stern the best. For steering in bad weather, exactly the opposite applies. A semi-trad is in-between in both cases -- so either the best or worst of both worlds, depending on your point of view. Trying all three to see which you prefer is a good idea, but not practical for many people.

What about a nice tug deck when you stop to take in the sun away from the cyclists. Nice trad stern with people hang off the side in good weather. You nice and snug when it’s raining ☔️. 🤨

[magnetman]

i wonder when someone will do an autopilot for canal boats with multiple sensors so you can just sit around in comfort while it goes along. 

 

You could have a priority for bridgeholes flag. 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

57 minutes ago, dmr said:

But if you are moored outside a crap pub and there is a really good pub just half a days boating away?????

I think our last really wet boating day was a dash to the Holy Inadequate

There’s some truth to that,

I left a crap pub, like a really really really crap pub at the bottom of the Tardibigge and preferred to go up the flight in the rain rather than sit it out in that place.

 the Weighbridge was the next pub,

great bar

Id forgotten I’d drank there before, so a nice pleasant surprise 👍

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Goliath

[Alan de Enfield]

29 minutes ago, Jon57 said:

What about a nice tug deck when you stop to take in the sun away from the cyclists. Nice trad stern with people hang off the side in good weather. You nice and snug when it’s raining ☔️

 

 

Thats fine if you like sleeping in a coffin that you have to slide into - not for me.

[magnetman]

Just make the boat six foot longer and put the bed somewhere else. Under deck for storage of coal, charcoal, firewood, spiders, beer, wine and extra capacity fresh water tanks and beer. You could also stick a couple of compressor cool boxes under there and wind them down to -15 thereby providing a nice little deep freeze area. 

 

 

[Jon57]

7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Thats fine if you like sleeping in a coffin that you have to slide into - not for me.

Never tried sleeping in a coffin. Some people have some strange pastimes.😜

[mightyslay3r]

guys... the wife & I have just been talking... seems the only way we can afford to buy a narrowboat at the moment with the current situation we are in is... equity.

get some equity back from the house.. not sure how much we will get... find a boat, have it hoisted out and boat inspection before buying,  BSS checked, buy the river licence & insurance etc... 

sell, give away, throw items from the house we dont need.... put the house on the market with the equity givers permission... once sold inform the DSS & deal with what they say & dont allow us to have in the form of benefits because of the capital we will have.... once the equity lender has taken their wedge of coarse....

we are just looking at ways we can get on the water faster.... but not rushing looking for the first narrowboat that comes along.. its got to be the right one at the right price....

am i making more sense than my blabbering's from before?

please leave comments & let me know what you think... we really want rid of the house.... its been a bain for the past 23 years.....

** bugger.. just read up on equity release... i have to be 55 years old.. that comes in june

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by mightyslay3r

[Lady M]

Perhaps you would do better to sell the house and buy a smaller one.  Boat life generally involves more physical activity than living in a house.

[mightyslay3r]

14 minutes ago, Lady C said:

Perhaps you would do better to sell the house and buy a smaller one.  Boat life generally involves more physical activity than living in a house.

cant get a house & a boat with £100k.... 

besides... you can hoard stuff in a house.. you cant-ish on a narrowboat....

and the lifestyle is different... i want, no, we want to be physical-ish.... tired of the same view from the house, nothing to do, nothing to see.. decent people to talk to etc....

we want an healthier & different lifestyle... simple has that 👍

 

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by mightyslay3r

[rusty69]

11 minutes ago, mightyslay3r said:

you can hoard stuff in a house.. you cant-ish on a narrowboat....

Try telling that to my missus.

[mightyslay3r]

8 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Try telling that to my missus.

just dont let your missus talk to my missus... lol

i've just taken 15 photos of high heeled shoes to put on ebay.... only another 140ish to go.... thats hoarding on a grand scale...

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by mightyslay3r

[rusty69]

3 minutes ago, mightyslay3r said:

just dont let your missus talk to my missus... lol

i've just taken 15 photos of high heeled shoes to put on ebay.... only another 140ish to go.... thats hoarding on a grand scale...

 

Don't tell my missus that,she'll bid on them. 

 

At least 15 foot of our 70ft boat is her wardrobe. 

[mightyslay3r]

Just now, rusty69 said:

Don't tell my missus that,she'll bid on them. 

 

At least 15 foot of our 70ft boat is her wardrobe. 

i can relate to that bud..

[magnetman]

How many square metres of floor space is there in the house? 

 

 

are there

[rusty69]

The thing to do, if you have a long hallway in your house is to cram everything you own in it, including your family, a toilet and a sink, a lawnmower and spend the week living in it. 

 

If you can achieve this, then you have passed the test. 

[mightyslay3r]

34 minutes ago, magnetman said:

How many square metres of floor space is there in the house? 

 

 

are there

its a back to back... cellar, ground floor (living room, tiny galley kitchen, first floor 1 bedroom & bathroom & attic room...

3 floors x 5.5m x 5m + attic 5.5m x 4m .....

30 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

The thing to do, if you have a long hallway in your house is to cram everything you own in it, including your family, a toilet and a sink, a lawnmower and spend the week living in it. 

 

If you can achieve this, then you have passed the test. 

i get where you are coming from rusty lol

 

 

ok.. there maybe another option to getting on the water..

just signed up with a house buying company, they give cash in to the bank, its obviously going to be below the market value.. but we can stay here for up to 3 months rent free if we want.. which will give us enough time to source a boat, get its checks, get everything gone from the house we cannot get on to a narrowboat etc....

it seems thats our only option now.. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by mightyslay3r

[PD1964]

32 minutes ago, mightyslay3r said:

its a back to back... cellar, ground floor (living room, tiny galley kitchen, first floor 1 bedroom & bathroom & attic room...

3 floors x 5.5m x 5m + attic 5.5m x 4m .....

i get where you are coming from rusty lol

 

 

ok.. there maybe another option to getting on the water..

just signed up with a house buying company, they give cash in to the bank, its obviously going to be below the market value.. but we can stay here for up to 3 months rent free if we want.. which will give us enough time to source a boat, get its checks, get everything gone from the house we cannot get on to a narrowboat etc....

it seems thats our only option now.. 

You really need to seriously think about this and not view canal life through the Rose tinted glasses and YouTube. You sell your house, use the diminished equity to buy a boat, then what? How are you going to live? Pay your £5600 a year mooring? You will need a full licence, not just a river if you want to move £1000.
  It can’t be that easy to get the majority of this paid for by benefits? What happens if your daughter can’t cope as you have mentioned? I honestly don’t think Canal life will be for you and your family from what you’ve said on here and how your going to finance it. I can see it going pear shaped within a year. I’ve seen it happen with families, who thought the same, but had no experience with living on a boat.

[mightyslay3r]

2 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

You really need to seriously think about this and not view canal life through the Rose tinted glasses and YouTube. You sell your house, use the diminished equity to buy a boat, then what? How are you going to live? Pay your £5600 a year mooring? You will need a full licence, not just a river if you want to move £1000.
  It can’t be that easy to get the majority of this paid for by benefits? What happens if your daughter can’t cope as you have mentioned? I honestly don’t think Canal life will be for you and your family from what you’ve said on here and how your going to finance it. I can see it going pear shaped within a year. I’ve seen it happen with families, who thought the same, but had no experience with living on a boat.

we wont be relying on benefits bud.. it was just the here & now due to circumstances....

my wife already has a 16 hour a week job + overtime in the pipeline... 

so may not even need benefits... 

we are never stuck too long... has i said.. my babblings from very early on i think was frustration of the wife loosing her job & us having to go on benefits... 

its been that long since we claimed any benefits, we had to ask advice on how to claim lol....

this venture isnt a "ok, last option is a boat" kind of thing... we've been looking at it for years.. just for the different lifestyle....

i dont quit easily... we dont quit easily... too much gone on in our lives to not stick together & stick things out for far longer than we should lol

 

[LadyG]

Sorry, OP,vi hope you don't mind me saying, but you seem very fixated on your idea of what you are going to do, and how it will all pan out, in spite of gentle warnings on here from folks who have lots of experience. Includes meeting people whose dream has turned in to a nightmare.

Maintaining boats, engines, and boating all year round has its own challenges. It's a small space, can be restrictive, can be isolating, expensive, and also frustrating.  

If you want a broader based social life, (most people do),  you probably need to be fairly flexible day to day, get out and about, just as you do on land.

There are certain constraints which may be different to those on land, but you are not going to have ultimate freedom. It does not work that way.

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by LadyG

[mightyslay3r]

hi LadyG, yes, we are totally fixated on doing this.. something we've wanted to do for a long time.. but have been restricted due to work, family etc....

and nothing ever pans out the way you expect or want it to... you just have to make the best of it that you can.....

ok, on land.. i sit at my desk literally all day.. may go shopping once or twice a week... thats the whole idea of getting out of this crap life..

to do something we've wanted to do, for a change, to better our understanding of life, nature etc....

it asnt just been a "overnight" idea.... 😉

and i say this whole heartedly... i know you are only thinking of us & to expect failure... but to be honest.. if you dont fail in life, you never learn anything.. but i dont plan on failure...

Edited February 28, 2023 by mightyslay3r

[dmr]

1 hour ago, mightyslay3r said:

its a back to back... cellar, ground floor (living room, tiny galley kitchen, first floor 1 bedroom & bathroom & attic room...

3 floors x 5.5m x 5m + attic 5.5m x 4m .....

i get where you are coming from rusty lol

 

 

ok.. there maybe another option to getting on the water..

just signed up with a house buying company, they give cash in to the bank, its obviously going to be below the market value.. but we can stay here for up to 3 months rent free if we want.. which will give us enough time to source a boat, get its checks, get everything gone from the house we cannot get on to a narrowboat etc....

it seems thats our only option now.. 

No, you can't live there (in your own house) rent free. All these equity release/house buying companies are there to make a big profit for themselves. They are going to con you out of a big lump of your money and then give you just a little bit of that money back.

[mightyslay3r]

7 minutes ago, dmr said:

No, you can't live there (in your own house) rent free. All these equity release/house buying companies are there to make a big profit for themselves. They are going to con you out of a big lump of your money and then give you just a little bit of that money back.

its worth £100k dmr... 5 years ago it had £42k rejuvenation work done on it by the council.. it cost me £1200....

the house then was worth £60k..... 

so if they offer me a minimum of £80k im laughing

we just want out of this crap city life...

we are also not scared of hard work.. making things work... been down on our luck all of our married lives helping others out.. its time for us to do something we want to do...

dont you think?

lets put it another way... you guys made the plunge.. and survived... so why cant we try...

now we've been through all the cons of narrowboat living.. are there any pro's?

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by mightyslay3r