Swap of house in Colorado for narrowboad, anycanal UK

[Baumer]

Hi there!

 

We are a US/UK couple with a house in Colorado (in the mountains outside of Denver, its sort of an informal duplex; we rent currently rent out half and live in the other half) and just putting feelers out to see if anyone may be interested in swapping time in our home(s) for use of a narrow boat during similar periods (like for like, no money changing hands)? We have been looking at buying a narrow boat for our use which would probably be like 2-3 months duration one or two times per year. However, if we could find a way to routinely swap one of our houses for time on a narrow boat it would be much easier (and cheaper) than owning and maintaining a boat for 4-6 months of use per year (and while we are away for the rest of the time).

 

We also own a house in Bristol, so that may be a swap option especially for shorter durations. I think ideal times to be in the UK for us would be Oct-Dec and Apr-Jun but everything is probably flexible as long as we can make arrangements at least a few months out.

 

The Colorado house is in the mountains (~8000' elevation) about 30 minutes from Golden and Boulder in a rural mountain neighborhood with deer/moose etc out the windows much of the time. Closest hiking is <10 minutes drive and there is a ski resort within ~30 minutes, and Rocky Mtn N.P. is about an 1.5 hours away. Could probably also come to an arrangement to have a 4WD car or truck made available during your time there (insurance is much simpler in the US). We have various bicycles and boats (river running or lakes), fishing, hiking, backpacking and sporting gear depending on your interests. There is an annual ski pass called the Ikon Pass which sells for about USD 900 which includes our local resort (Eldora) as well as 4-5 other Colorado resorts plus other US ski resorts and even more around the world (including some in Europe). So, lots of stuff to do to entertain yourself for a while, any season. We have real winters at the Colorado house, but usually dont get lasting snow until late Dec or January (the snow generally starts sporadically late October but will melt within a few days)

 

The Bristol house is an old 3 bedroom 1 bathroom Victorian Terrace house in the Windmill Hill area. We are planning to live there part year and then use it as vacation rental the rest of the time. Could also make a car available if we could figure out the whole insurance thing.

 

I am just putting this out there for general interest, so if this is something you might want to explore further please message me directly and we can discuss (I am in the UK currently through about mid-March). I anticipate lots of comments here about insurance/licenses etc. yada yada yada, but I am sure if you have interest we can make something work! I would envision this as a straight up swap, and ideally we would get on well and ultimately be friends sharing our various accommodations.

 

My wife and I are fairly liberal outdoorsy people and into world travel, bike-packing, backpacking, various boating activities and winter sports. We are both handy with DIY home improvements and I am mechanically inclined (read that as: we wont destroy your boat and we obviously expect that you wont destroy our houses!). We have rented narrow boats a few times now and I just think that combined with a bicycle its the best way to explore England! We are also in no rush to make this happen, but are around Bristol until late March so could definitely try to meet up with anyone interested in such an arrangement before we head back to the US.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

-Mike

 

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

Welcome to the forum and I hope you can make it happen, but I fear the international situation may make a US-UK swap harder to achieve than in the past.

[Tonka]

When you get a sane president I'll consider it

[Wafi]

I'm afraid I'm in the same boat (sorry!) as the others. Wouldn't work for me right now anyway, but might very well do in a couple of years. I'd need to be confident that I wasn't going to get anything worse than the usual aggressive treatment from US immigration though; at the moment it feels like there's too much risk of being sent back home (or worse) for having the wrong political leanings, or because I once said something unpopular on social media. I've probably made it worse now! It's a shame because yours is an amazing country full of wonderful people, who have welcomed me with open arms every time I've visited, but right now I'm afraid there are other places I'd rather visit.

[GUMPY]

I've avoided the USA for a while.  I got into far to much trouble in Boulder in the mid 80s. I still get the occasional message from her 42 years later, we have a mutual friend who disappears every so often so at least the contact is legit. 

 

Edited January 20 by GUMPY
Addaword

[robtheplod]

On 20/01/2026 at 12:57, Tonka said:

When you get a sane president I'll consider it

Mike could make the same comment...

[Tonka]

36 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Mike could make the same comment...

We don't have a president.

[DShK]

I wonder how many forum members now wouldn't make it through customs due to having said something naughty about the US administration on the internet?

[mrsmelly]

1 hour ago, Tonka said:

We don't have a president.

Thank goodness

[Technical Tony]

We might not have a president, but we've still got out of touch brain dead morons in government! They're only intent is on invading every workers and pensioners pockets to give to those who won't work or don't belong here! 🤬

[Graham Davis]

6 hours ago, DShK said:

I wonder how many forum members now wouldn't make it through customs due to having said something naughty about the US administration on the internet?

ME!

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

I’m sure if @Baumer wanted to know what people on the canals thought about the President, he would of just read the post “America on the Brink”

 I’m sure this would work for a leisure moorer who may only use their boat a few weeks of the year and may fancy seeing what Colorado has to offer. If they’ve never been to the U.S. before, they may be pleasantly surprised. I know every time I’ve been I’ve enjoyed it.

 

Edited January 21 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

[Jen-in-Wellies]

No politics here please. We have an entire section of the forum set aside for it and even a topic on the current US regime, where you can discuss to your heart's content. 

 

And welcome to the forum @Baumer.

 

Jen, for the moderators.

[Baumer]

Thanks for your comments all.

 

I did drop a line in the original post about us being "fairly liberal" (but did not want to delve into politics in such a post), and for whatever its worth Boulder (and Colorado) is one of the more left of center cities (states) in the US, but I definitely understand the obvious concerns and apprehension that a current visit might bring. While I hoped we might find someone to meet up with during this current UK trip, my post is here on the site now and hopefully in the longer term someone with similar interest may see this and reach out to discuss it in more detail.

 

Cheers

[frahkn]

On 22/01/2026 at 09:23, Baumer said:

Thanks for your comments all.

 

I did drop a line in the original post about us being "fairly liberal" (but did not want to delve into politics in such a post), and for whatever its worth Boulder (and Colorado) is one of the more left of center cities (states) in the US, but I definitely understand the obvious concerns and apprehension that a current visit might bring. While I hoped we might find someone to meet up with during this current UK trip, my post is here on the site now and hopefully in the longer term someone with similar interest may see this and reach out to discuss it in more detail.

 

Cheers

I am one of those who would consider your proposal if circumstances were different.

We spend about half the year on our 70' boat, would be happy to revisit the states and we have time on our hands (retired).

But I don't drive any more and the wife would not consider driving in the USA. Colorado or any rural area is not possible without transport. We know Bristol very well so that is out too.