Any advice for an aspiring liveaboard?

[tcp13]

Hi all - I'm new here and looking to check some assumptions before I buy my fist narrowboat. Any advice, tips, resources, or words of wisdom are much appreciated!

 

My interest in narrowboats began by watching Cruising the Cut (I've since watched all of David's videos and many others on YouTube). I'm no stranger to nomadic living, having traveled the United States full-time for 17 months. I'm also very fascinated by tiny houses - so a narrowboat seems like the perfect lifestyle for me. I'm permanently relocating to the UK next month, and the remote nature of my work will enable me to be a liveaboard continuous cruiser. Upon arrival, I'll spend a couple weeks staying on a few different moored boats, just to get my bearings and try daily living on a few different layouts. I'm then taking an RYA Helmsman's course, followed by a weeklong hire (single-handed) on the Shroppie.

 

Assuming I still love it from there, I've allotted the entire month of September (is that enough time?) for finding and purchasing my boat. I'm staying in Birmingham and expect to visit many brokers across the Midlands while monitoring Apollo Duck and various newsletters. I'll be looking for something around 40-45 feet with a budget of £45,000 (is that reasonable?), ideally built within the past 25 years. I'd prefer a more modern interior, but that can always be changed - so I'm prioritizing good condition and a solid hull (I'll of course get a survey, but what other red flags should I look for?). I've also set aside £5,000 in anticipation of upgrading the electrics and solar capacity to support Starlink and heavy laptop usage.

 

I intend to stay moored in a marina over winter to complete any upgrades, with cruising to begin in spring 2026. What do you think of this approach? What might you do differently? Are my expectations reasonable?

[LadyG]

You might not be allowed to hire singlehanded. 

If you are a hands on guy then you might be fine with two days tuition, but tell them your plans and get them to explain about the electrics and so on. Pay extra to be the only person, as you want to learn to do the locks singlehanded.

If you can already change the oil, thats about it, pay a good engineer or your surveyor to help find a good boat and take note of their instructions on the engine. Probably an old school diesel sitting in a dry engine hole is best.

I dont think a few days on a hire narrowboat in summer really compares with living full time. The worse bit is probably emptying the casette, and hire boats have pumpout tanks

Working the locks singlehanded is a slow business at first as you have to find a technique which is safe. In fact do everything very slowly.

Edited July 30, 2025 by LadyG

[MtB]

Your plans seem well thought-out but one thing jumping out at me is you make no mention of acquiring a UK address to use for communications. I'm not sure you can even buy a licence for your boat unless you have a UK street address to give to CRT. Same goes for boat insurance.  Maybe finding a full residential marina mooring will fix this problem. Keep up the residential mooring even when you go off out cruising, perhaps.

 

 

 

[LadyG]

Ed Shiers of Four counties marine services is highly recommended to sort out your electrics. I would ring him, and ask for advice straight away. You will likely need to go over to Lithium. You may need a different alternator and invertor/s. So best to have a plan. 

A liveaboard NB needs a solid fuel stove and a Webasto style radiator system.

Best to have a bed not a convertable sofa, and consider a proper office chair and desk. 50/52 ft NB is more flexible. 

These things are best left to the professionsl imho, get the job done properly and get boating.

Likely the boat will have gas cooker, in fact you are going back in time forty years, this is part of the culture.

Good luck, you will be fine

Edited July 30, 2025 by LadyG

[Russ T]

19 minutes ago, LadyG said:

A liveaboard NB needs a solid fuel stove and a Webasto style radiator system.

Does it? We have lived aboard quite happily for over 25 years without a webasto by using the back boiler on the solid fuel stove a paloma gas water heater and a calorifier.

 

Nice to have,yes.

Need to have, no.

 

Edited July 30, 2025 by Russ T

[LadyG]

45 minutes ago, MtB said:

Your plans seem well thought-out but one thing jumping out at me is you make no mention of acquiring a UK address to use for communications. I'm not sure you can even buy a licence for your boat unless you have a UK street address to give to CRT. Same goes for boat insurance.  Maybe finding a full residential marina mooring will fix this problem. Keep up the residential mooring even when you go off out cruising, perhaps.

 

 

 

The problem is the cost of a Residential Mooring as well as availability for one to fit his boat. Maybe ring round a few marinas, be clear that he needs a postal address, finding a helpfull marina will be easier the finding one with a vacant Residentual Mooring with Planning Permission 

25 minutes ago, Russ T said:

Does it? We have lived aboard quite happily for over 25 years without a webasto using the back boiler on the solid fuel stove a paloma gas water heater and a calorifier.

 

Nice to have,yes.

Need to have, no.

 

OK, Ill re-phrase that, living aboard all year round it is best to have redundancy for heating.and washing and cooking.

One option is to have a solid fuel stove such as a Morso with a back boiler which can provive a limited amount of warm water provided it is ON. This can be linked to radiators / to plumbing for shower and wash hand basin and sink

To have a shower reliably one might need to run the engine for forty minutes to warm up the water in the calorifier.

If on shorepower an immersion element can be fitted to a calorifier ( a copper tank).

A Webasto type diesel heater can be hot air, but better still is to have it feeding hot watet in to the plumbing. 

Gas is quite expensive these days, im not even sure that the Paloma type can be retro fitted without dedicated ventilation, a Gas Safe Boat bod is required to sign an instalation off nowadayd if retro fitted .

OP should be looking for a boat that has Boat Safety Certificate that is not about to expire, else ask owner to have a nèw one before purchase.

 

 

Edited July 30, 2025 by LadyG

[MtB]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Ed Shiers of Four counties marine services is highly recommended to sort out your electrics. I would ring him, and ask for advice straight away. You will likely need to go over to Lithium. You may need a different alternator and invertor/s. So best to have a plan. 

 

This is basically a good point, if missing the mark ever so slightly. A decent LFP battery and charging system specifically (rather than just something 'lithium') is probably a Very Good Idea and the OP's budget of £5k is realistic. Thing is though, not all engines are going to be good candidates so working out/forecasting power (or more accurately, energy) requirements at this stage would be a Really Good Idea so Ed (or whoever) can advise you what cost might be and what base engines make for easy installation and what engines are more difficult and to avoid. (E.g. I've an idea a Beta 43 would be great but a Beta 38 is one to avoid.) Then pick a boat with the right engine in the first place given the need to power a Starlink connection and heavy laptop use. 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2025 by MtB
Add a bit.

[cheesegas]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Gas is quite expensive these days

The older, non room sealed Palomas and similar are surprisingly efficient considering their age and design. Good on smaller boats as it takes up less space than a calorifier. 
 

I have a Rinnai which is used for showering and washing up year round, and pre-heating the washing machine’s water in winter. Just checked my spreadsheet and last year I used 4 x 13kg bottles. 

[MtB]

Just now, cheesegas said:

The older, non room sealed Palomas and similar are surprisingly efficient considering their age and design. Good on smaller boats as it takes up less space than a calorifier. 
 

I have a Rinnai which is used for showering and washing up year round, and pre-heating the washing machine’s water in winter. Just checked my spreadsheet and last year I used 4 x 13kg bottles. 

 

 

I agree. All the small LPG instantaneous gas water heaters seem frugal with the gas. Provided you are in the habit of turning the pilot light OFF when you're not using it. 

[Russ T]

2 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

The older, non room sealed Palomas and similar are surprisingly efficient considering their age and design. Good on smaller boats as it takes up less space than a calorifier. 

I would also suggest that they are extremely reliable. Our one got replaced last year. The original had been in daily use for over 25 years, and was second hand when we got it. In that time, it had no new parts fitted, and very little servicing (maybe that's why it packed up). It could still be repaired.

 

But the main point for the OP, is that you don't need a webasto, other options are available.

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Russ T said:

But the main point for the OP, is that you don't need a webasto, other options are available.

 

And also, Webastos are fussy complicated things, prone to breakdowns and very dependent on well-charged batteries. 

 

 

[NB Alnwick]

The big change that we have seen over the last 20 years is the development of low energy lighting and appliances. Combined with the development of solar panels as a source of energy it is now possible to run an electric fridge and not worry about leaving the lights on. That said we would still recomend a decent solid fuel stove (we would say that you cannot do better than a Morsø Squirrel) preferably with a back boiler and LPG (Propane) for cooking and heating water.

[NB Saturn]

3 hours ago, MtB said:

 

And also, Webastos are fussy complicated things, prone to breakdowns and very dependent on well-charged batteries. 

 

 

 

Less fussy with Li service batteries than LA - the voltage holds until the battery is almost empty.

[MtB]

Just now, NB Saturn said:

 

Less fussy with Li service batteries than LA - the voltage holds until the battery is almost empty.

 

Indeed. I have an automotive Webby I'm thinking of fitting as I have LFPs nowadays. Prolly be fine with LFPs!

 

The hard bit is finding/making spaces for radiators...

 

 

 

[cheesegas]

54 minutes ago, NB Alnwick said:

The big change that we have seen over the last 20 years is the development of low energy lighting and appliances.

With solar panels being so cheap now compared with 20 years ago, it’s also possible to heat your water using excess solar power from a modest 800w-1000w array for a few months of the year. 
 

It does need a calorifier with an immersion element and an inverter capable of running it, but it does work rather well. Some modern boats with the right inverter and system controller need no hardware modifications to be done to achieve this, only software!

[Lily Rose]

7 hours ago, LadyG said:

You might not be allowed to hire singlehanded.

 

The OP said he'll be doing a 1 week hire on the Shroppie. Presumably that's already booked so unless he fibbed to them about single-handing then that's not a problem.

 

If it is I would suggest ringing Union Canal Cruisers at Braunston. Yesterday I met a bloke over here for 6 months from Australia, he was single-handing one of their boats (45') on a midweek hire and said they were fine about it.

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

21 hours ago, tcp13 said:

Hi all - I'm new here and looking to check some assumptions before I buy my fist narrowboat. Any advice, tips, resources, or words of wisdom are much appreciated!

plan well for your winters, don’t get caught short of fuel for the stove,

 

accept the good times are only a break/relief while you wait for something else to go wrong,

 

visit as many pubs as you can

 

learn to look after your engine 

 

 

 

 

[cheesegas]

Clean everything regularly, even if it doesn’t really need cleaning. Your stove, engine etc.

 

Just the act of doing it again and again and being close to the thing will mean you can spot issues sooner, before it becomes a bigger problem. Stuff like a small fuel leak or rusted flue becomes obvious then, and you can fix it (or get it fixed!) quicker. 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Just now, cheesegas said:

Clean everything regularly, even if it doesn’t really need cleaning. Your stove, engine etc.

yep, first stage of maintenance,

I used to look after my motor bikes like that 👍

 

 but my boat 🙄…

 

a boat takes a lot of care and attention which takes up so much time,

and when living aboard and trying to earn a living the two can be a hard juggle,

 

I think that’s what surprised me most living aboard is the full time job of just looking after a boat, it doesn’t have to be expensive if you can do it yourself ,

but the time spent…

oh the time…

 

sometimes they’re lovely pleasing jobs to do,

others are a right pain in the ass and a proper drag

it’s all worth it mind

 

…maybe more day light hours in winter to get stuff done would be nice 😃

 

 

[MrsM]

While I agree that boats take a lot of maintenance I think it is far less than a house - especially an older property. Being serial renovators since the late 1980s I used to find our 5 months on the boat a blessed relief from the big jobs on the house. Being a very much smaller space even quite major boat jobs felt manageable. That said I didn't try to paint the boat myself, whereas I do paint houses.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

6 minutes ago, MrsM said:

While I agree that boats take a lot of maintenance I think it is far less than a house - especially an older property. Being serial renovators since the late 1980s I used to find our 5 months on the boat a blessed relief from the big jobs on the house. Being a very much smaller space even quite major boat jobs felt manageable. That said I didn't try to paint the boat myself, whereas I do paint houses.

I guess Im trying to put a balance and say “yeah living on a boat is ace” “but it’s not easy”

 

Ive had a section of the floor ripped up for weeks now while I juggle working and repairing and finding materials,

and it’s horrible,

working in a space with no room to swing a mouse is a right pain 😃

 

how people live on boats and do complete refits 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

 

 

but somehow living on a boat is proper good 👍 

 

 

[blackrose]

2 hours ago, MtB said:

 

Indeed. I have an automotive Webby I'm thinking of fitting as I have LFPs nowadays. Prolly be fine with LFPs!

 

 

 

 

Yes my automotive Webasto runs fine from LFPs. Then again, it used to run fine from 6 year old LAs too.

[b00ke23]

22 hours ago, tcp13 said:

I'll be looking for something around 40-45 feet with a budget of £45,000 (is that reasonable?), ideally built within the past 25 years.

 

Yes very feasible to get a decent modern boat that size for £45k. The only comment I'd make having owned a 40ft boat is you might need a bigger boat! As you're going to be living on it I'm tempted to say buy the biggest boat you can find in budget but certainly look at 57ft boats. You'll get much more solar on a bigger boat too. 

 

22 hours ago, tcp13 said:

I'd prefer a more modern interior, but that can always be changed

 

It can, but it's horrifically expensive if you pay someone to do it, and quite expensive and very time consuming if you do it yourself so I'd highly recommend looking for a boat that has an up together interior. 

 

In general your plan sounds good, although you might find it takes longer than a month to find your ideal boat. You can always post any boats you find on here for opinions on it's suitability. 

 

Best of luck!  

Edited July 30, 2025 by booke23

[Jon57]

2 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

I guess Im trying to put a balance and say “yeah living on a boat is ace” “but it’s not easy”

 

Ive had a section of the floor ripped up for weeks now while I juggle working and repairing and finding materials,

and it’s horrible,

working in a space with no room to swing a mouse is a right pain 😃

 

how people live on boats and do complete refits 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

 

 

but somehow living on a boat is proper good 👍 

 

 

Gynaecology comes in handy when doing any work on a boat. Took me 3 days remove and retile the bathroom floor about square metre on my previous boat. If I was to charge my going rate (ex builder) it would have cost £900in labour alone. 

[Russ T]

2 minutes ago, Jon57 said:

Gynaecology comes in handy when doing any work on a boat. Took me 3 days remove and retile the bathroom floor about square metre on my previous boat. If I was to charge my going rate (ex builder) it would have cost £900in labour alone. 

Nope, you definitely lost me there.