Another looking for a cheap life in London

[ditchcrawler]

Bought a boat as cheap as possible and planning to live in London when its refurbished  Man, 24, buys the 'cheapest canal boat on the internet' that looks more like a rubbish skip to be able to live in London (msn.com)

[Athy]

Good luck to him. It looks scruffy but it was probably once a good boat and could be again.

   I think his final remarks about his career are a little tongue-in-cheek.

[The Gravy Boater]

Question is... will a Skip float?  Add a sleeping bag, a tarp and an outboard... job done.

[twbm]

32 minutes ago, The Gravy Boater said:

Question is... will a Skip float?  Add a sleeping bag, a tarp and an outboard... job done.

 

[MtB]

2 hours ago, Athy said:

Good luck to him. It looks scruffy but it was probably once a good boat and could be again.

   I think his final remarks about his career are a little tongue-in-cheek.

 

"George says the project 'feels good for the soul, working on such a tedious project'.

So what is next after this, more boats maybe? "I don't think I'm going to buy another boat after this. I'm not going to do that to myself. I'm out the boat game after this. Once I finish the boat I'm going to carry on my career as a lawn mower racer and try to become the national champion at lawn mower racing."

 

George also appears to continue to keep his house in Swindon. 

 

 

 

[cheesegas]

Looks like it's in South Dock Marina in Bermondsey on the Thames. The hop across to Limehouse is going to be a fun first journey on a newly rebuilt boat...

[Alan de Enfield]

28 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

Looks like it's in South Dock Marina in Bermondsey on the Thames. The hop across to Limehouse is going to be a fun first journey on a newly rebuilt boat...

 

Wasn't that 'the short hop across' where the overplated Springer sank (due to being too heavy and vents were below the waterline) ?

[magnetman]

Yes it was. 

It does get choppy there. I went across in a 57x12ft barge on the top of the tide and it was mental. No harm done but it was very rough. 

Narrow boat story from 2012. 

 

https://narrowboatworld.com/4925-thames-narrowboat-sinking

[cheesegas]

14 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Wasn't that 'the short hop across' where the overplated Springer sank (due to being too heavy and vents were below the waterline) ?

Yep, the Mini Moo I believe, first trip after it was purchased as well! I've done the Limehouse-South Dock-Brentford-Teddington runs quite a few times in a narrowboat, it definitely isn't anything to go unprepared into especially when the Clippers and Thames RIBs are running.

The best thing is to wait for the tide times to allow you to leave a 7-8am on a Sunday from Limehouse to Teddington on a summer's day. Barely a chop on the water, nice views of London and a relaxed morning.

Edited February 26, 2023 by cheesegas

[Athy]

3 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

 

George also appears to continue to keep his house in Swindon. 

 

 

Very prudent. He seems a level-headed fellow.

 

[enigmatic]

Give the bloke credit for giving out quotes about how it's a daft idea 

 

If he got a hull for ~£5k that only needs a little bit of patching he's done well

[ditchcrawler]

They just keep coming We live for 'free' in London after ditching our £1,7000-a-month apartment for a canal boat | The Sun

[Bee]

Well if I was working in London for say £400-£500 a week and some are on a lot less  and my rent for a bedsit / flat was £300 -£400 I would wonder what the point of the whole exercise was. Even knowing the difficulties of boat life I would seriously consider a boat and certainly consider a van. Why not?

Edited October 8, 2023 by Bee

[Arthur Marshall]

£100,000 for the boat, and they've just stated in the Sun they make £20,000 a year renting it out at weekends.

I hope nobody at either CRT or the Revenue read the Sun...

[magnetman]

11 hours ago, Bee said:

Well if I was working in London for say £400-£500 a week and some are on a lot less  and my rent for a bedsit / flat was £300 -£400 I would wonder what the point of the whole exercise was. Even knowing the difficulties of boat life I would seriously consider a boat and certainly consider a van. Why not?

 

Living in a van in inner London is going to be awkward. 

Boat is easy. 

 

(edited)

 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by magnetman

[David Mack]

£100 licence?

If they can cover the cost of their boat loan by Airbnbing it at weekends, couldn't they cover the mortgage on a flat the same way?

[ditchcrawler]

This just came up on FB Living on a houseboat: the complete guide - Zoopla

[Mike Todd]

where in London can you dispose of composting toilet product legitimately?

[cheesegas]

16 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

where in London can you dispose of composting toilet product legitimately?

You can either contact Circular Revolution or The Poo Boat (yep seriously!), who come and collect it from your boat for a fee, or do as I and many others do and have a box system/hotbox composter to break it down over the course of a year. After that it’s pathogen free, every month I dig a hole and bury a small amount of compost. This isn’t raw human waste; it looks like a lighter coloured potting compost, and smells similar. Takes just under a year to get it that way though!

 

Downside is that it takes up space to store the waste. I used to have a hotbox on the gas locker at the back which worked very well, but I’ve now moved to boxes in the engine bay which are less in the way and benefit from engine heat to aid breakdown. 

Edited January 22 by cheesegas

[Mike Todd]

11 hours ago, cheesegas said:

You can either contact Circular Revolution or The Poo Boat (yep seriously!), who come and collect it from your boat for a fee, or do as I and many others do and have a box system/hotbox composter to break it down over the course of a year. After that it’s pathogen free, every month I dig a hole and bury a small amount of compost. This isn’t raw human waste; it looks like a lighter coloured potting compost, and smells similar. Takes just under a year to get it that way though!

 

Downside is that it takes up space to store the waste. I used to have a hotbox on the gas locker at the back which worked very well, but I’ve now moved to boxes in the engine bay which are less in the way and benefit from engine heat to aid breakdown. 

My question specifically referred to London as there are not many places to dig a hole that does not take you into a close encounter with cables, some HT. Barred from disposal into rubbish bins. Use of a third party service us another undocumented cost.

 

I did not mean to imply that the lifestyle described us not possible, more that almost all of these articles seriously understate the actual costs to the point at which the choice is much more finely balanced, if not negative.