Are you new to boating?? CLICK HERE

[Tony Brooks]

Hi All,

 

Been thinking about getting a boat to live on, on and off for probably a year now and occasionally looking at this site to see if I could quickly find any info regarding what is in involved in getting a boat so I thought the best way to do that is to sign up and ask. The questions I have are below

 

Do you need a licence to own a houseboat/motorboat?

What are the costs in owning and up keeping a boat?

What are the main pitfalls when looking for a suitable boat and or moorings? I am looking probably for moorings around the Leeds area

Looking to get a boat that I could live on for under 10k are there any good makes and models for around that price?

 

 

This is all new to me so if anyone has any important websites or useful information that they could give me to have a look at and get started on that would be great.

 

Thank you

 

Benjamin

 

To keep it simple

 

1. Yes on inland waters

 

2. More than living in a house if you want a fully legal residential mooring. If not at a rough guess for around 50ft boat in a marina around £3045 per year to include the 4 yearly BSS and 4 yearly hull blacking. This will vary considerably across the country. In London it could be more than double that.

 

3. A live on boat for under 10k - unless you are happy in a cramped GRP cruiser you will be very lucky to find what you want that does not need very considerably money spent on it. If you have no idea about boats a hull survey at the least will be a must and be prepared to walk away and still paqy for the survey.

[Benjamin Johnson]

Hi Tony,

 

Thank you for your reply this gave me something to think about. I don't mind the cramped space of a cruiser as I am minimalist by nature so I don't have much stuff anyway.

 

Only things i was really unsure of were the breakdown in cost of maintenance of a boat and also still unsure of what the best mooring option would be for myself as I still work.

 

If there are any other tips or advice that you can give on anything regarding boating that you think might help that would be great. This is so i can go away and have another think about whether this is doable for me at this moment in time.

 

Thank you

 

Benjamin

[Tony Brooks]

A GRP cruiser is likely to have much worse thermal insulation than a steel narrowboat but with a £10k narrowboat that might not be true. Poor thermal insulation leads to condensation and feeling damp & cold in the winter. Although it is done safely fitting a solid fuel stove is much harder in a typical GRP cruiser because of the distance required from flammable materials and also because GRP burns well. It is generally accepted that the most cost effective form of winter heating is a solid fuel stove. Such stoves also help to draw damp air out of the boat as well. The cooker and any other fuel burning devices that are not flued WILL make any condensation worse.

 

It is impossible to quantify the maintenance costs, especially at that price level. The engine may or may not be in good order, ditto the gearbox and shaft. The batteries will almost certainly require replacement and unless you get a reliable means of fully charging them at least once a week and never discharge below 50%ish you could find you replace them every few weeks/months. Get the charging right and they could last from two years upwards. Typical cheapish leisure batteries cost around £75 each and the boat may well have two or more. Unless you are in a marine with a mains hookup and a battery charger battery charging involves running the engine for hours. Solar charging may do much of the charging in the summer but will almost certainly not in the winter.

 

You can declare that you will continuously cruise but that requires you to be making a journey of some undisclosed length and never stay anywhere for longer than 14 days or less if so signed. Tying to bend this rule for any length of time to fit in with working is likely to get you into trouble with CaRT in many areas of the country. I understand the northern waterways are better served with public transport so CCing and working may be a bit easier.

 

That £10K concerns me because at that price you are likely to be buying junk that requires possibly thousands spending on it if its an all steel narrowboat. See my replay just above my last one.

 

Edited to add:

 

Many narrow beam canal cruisers use an outboard motor. By and large these do not provide sufficient charging for livaboard batteries in the winter. They also involve obtaining petrol at the full pump price (no lower rate of duty for battery charging diesel fuel)

 

Edited October 23, 2016 by Tony Brooks

[CCWade]

Hi everyone, this is Catrina and Chris. We live in the US and are thinking of getting a narrowboat in the UK. Maybe something that can handle crossing the channel for some European cruising. Look forwards to meeting you all.

Edited October 23, 2016 by CCWade

[Tony Brooks]

Hi everyone, this is Catrina and Chris. We live in the US and are thinking of getting a narrowboat in the UK. Maybe something that can handle crossing the channel for some European cruising. Look forwards to meeting you all.

 

Welcome

 

If you buy a "go anywhere" boat for the UK it will be narrowboat and unless it is specially designed for sea going or is extensively modified the best way of thinking about crossing the channel is on the back of a truck. Also I understand a UK narrowboat has some limitations on the continental commercial waterways - and you will need what is in effect a driving license for most of them. In the UK you need nothing like that.

 

If you want to cross the channel then a wide beam boat built to a suitable category will be fine but you will not be able to get through the midland canals so will be limited to either the northern or southern UK waterways.

Edited October 23, 2016 by Tony Brooks

[Benjamin Johnson]

 

A GRP cruiser is likely to have much worse thermal insulation than a steel narrowboat but with a £10k narrowboat that might not be true. Poor thermal insulation leads to condensation and feeling damp & cold in the winter. Although it is done safely fitting a solid fuel stove is much harder in a typical GRP cruiser because of the distance required from flammable materials and also because GRP burns well. It is generally accepted that the most cost effective form of winter heating is a solid fuel stove. Such stoves also help to draw damp air out of the boat as well. The cooker and any other fuel burning devices that are not flued WILL make any condensation worse.

 

It is impossible to quantify the maintenance costs, especially at that price level. The engine may or may not be in good order, ditto the gearbox and shaft. The batteries will almost certainly require replacement and unless you get a reliable means of fully charging them at least once a week and never discharge below 50%ish you could find you replace them every few weeks/months. Get the charging right and they could last from two years upwards. Typical cheapish leisure batteries cost around £75 each and the boat may well have two or more. Unless you are in a marine with a mains hookup and a battery charger battery charging involves running the engine for hours. Solar charging may do much of the charging in the summer but will almost certainly not in the winter.

 

You can declare that you will continuously cruise but that requires you to be making a journey of some undisclosed length and never stay anywhere for longer than 14 days or less if so signed. Tying to bend this rule for any length of time to fit in with working is likely to get you into trouble with CaRT in many areas of the country. I understand the northern waterways are better served with public transport so CCing and working may be a bit easier.

 

That £10K concerns me because at that price you are likely to be buying junk that requires possibly thousands spending on it if its an all steel narrowboat. See my replay just above my last one.

 

Edited to add:

 

Many narrow beam canal cruisers use an outboard motor. By and large these do not provide sufficient charging for livaboard batteries in the winter. They also involve obtaining petrol at the full pump price (no lower rate of duty for battery charging diesel fuel)

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the info Tony.

[CCWade]

Thank you for that. Curious, what about cruiser boats. Can they handle both sea/channel and the narrower canals of UK/Ireland.

Edited October 24, 2016 by CCWade

[Tony Brooks]

Thank you for that. Curious, what about cruiser boats. Can they handle both sea/channel and the narrower canals of UK/Ireland.

 

You just might find a sailing yacht with a beam of 7ft or less and if you do I expect it would have a degree of seaworthiness. Personally i would rather take to the sea in a properly prepared steel narrowboat from a reputable hull fabricator than a typical narrow beam GRP cruiser. I think a 1970s Freeman 23 had a 7ft beam so I suppose one of those would handle estuary and inshore work but its only about 23ft long.

 

Boats in the EU are built to certain categories, each category being designed to cope with certain conditions. Inland boat are normally built to category D that is for waves up to 0.5m (19.5") height and a maximum wind of speed force 4. I bet a fast moving ferry can kick up a wash of more than 0.5m, let alone wind over tide at sea. See http://www.sailboat-cruising.com/design-categories.htmlfor the other categories.

[ramblin]

Hi all,

 

I'm Chris, and am not even new to boating i'm afraid, however fitting out a narrowboat and heading for the high inland waterways sounds like the stuff of dreams. I'm just checking things out at the moment but it would be great to sign up as have loads to learn!

 

 

 

 

[Jak]

Hello. New to boating? Yes. Just bought AJAX A 47' 1980 traditional stern narrow boat. Originally based at Circus Field on the Aylesbury arm, but moved to our CRT mooring at Leighton Buzzard last weekend.

 

A few jobs to do on the boat, but surveyor was happy with the basics which is all that matters. Will no doubt be relying on some experts on here for our first few months.

 

Glad to be on-board!

Edited October 29, 2016 by Jak

[juliaroberts2403]

Hi guys, i am julia from hong kong.

[Phil Ambrose]

Hi guys, i am julia from hong kong.

Hi Julia Roberts, do they have any canals in Hong Kong or are you into lumpy water boating

Phil

[Houghp]

Hi folks. Paul from bolton here. Bought a 1997 45' cruiser stern Liverpool boat at Easter this year and are moored on the Leeds Liverpool canal in Lancashire. Really enjoyed our first summer exploring the waterways and learning so much from all the fantastic people we have met on the canals. Just getting things ready for winter and to be honest getting a bit worried that I have covered every possible hazard.

Found canal world forum while googling all those "stupid" questions us newbies have and was so impressed with the amount of knowledge and the willingness to share it I had to join.

Paul

[Jak]

Hey Paul. I'm a new boater too. Had her about a month. I'll be the first to welcome you and tell you what a great resource this is for a new owner. I've not yet had a question that hasn't been quickly answered.

[Houghp]

Cheers for that. Glad to be aboard. Got a whole lot of questions to ask. Had a pretty problem free first summer on the boat which was great but then maybe not too many opportunities to learn from. Have to say I have been really impressed at the comraderie and friendliness and support of all the other boat owners I have met both out cruising and around the moorings. Feels like being in some sort of mason like club but without aprons or funny handshakes.

[Rickyricky]

Total newbie here, looking to buy a boat in the very near future to live aboard, will want it to be moored in the west midlands for work and family reasons, any help on all topics of all things boaty will be greatly received, I'm also a hgv mechanic so know my way around a diesel engine wink wink

[Jak]

Hi Ricky. Welcome. So many threads already posted for new boaters looking to live aboard. I suggest you have a good look around and then come back with questions

 

I'm a newby myslef. But unless you already have a love for boating based on at least a trial on a hire boat out of season you aren't in a position to make a big decision like this.

 

If you are a boat lover you are in the right place to get the advice you need

[Canal Runner]

Hi, I've only just found this part of the board, having already posted a couple of queries elsewhere. I've been a dinghy sailor for years but not floated on water for about 5. In the meantime, I have spent many a happy hour running up and down the Paddington arm of the GU and even venturing as far as Brentford when I've been feeling fit (hence my username). I've found that a cheery wave to the other canal users usually ellicits a similar response, which somehow dulls the pain of the miles in my legs.

 

In October I hired a boat with Mrs Runner and the youngster for a pootle around Rugby / Braunston, having never been in a narrowboat before. Apart from wonderful weather, I was struck by how friendly and helpful you canal boaters are, even forgiving the odd mishandling or faux pas by us newbies. I'm looking forward to doing it again, but my son and I are also building a canoe in the garage. I hope you lot don't mind the odd paddler sharing the water ...

[cuthound]

Welcome Canal Runner.

[LoneCruiser]

Hi

 

David, currently in Cumbria...

 

Looking to follow in my Great Gran and Grandads footsteps and take up the Narrowboat Life..

 

Sadly I have fallen at the first lock by losing the fantastic boat I had my eye on.. All was going swimmingly then....Mooring difficulties!!

 

Now looking for some friends and advice really..

 

Not sure what else to put...

 

Hope you all having a nice day??

 

Best regards

 

David (aka Nooky)

 

 

 

 

[Mr Potato Head]

Hello All

 

My wife and I are complete newbies.

 

We are seriously considering life on the water after our children leave home. We live in Nottingham and considering buying a boat which can be moored in the south so we can travel between Bristol & London.

 

Looking at the canal maps it appears it is not possible to get "down south" as the canal waterways are too narrow according to the posting on the aquamarine website (click here) - is that correct?

 

We like our homely comforts so considering a wide beam boat/barge like the brigantine with a covered wheelhouse which can be folded down / Sheffield Keel with wheelhouse and or Brigantine??. It may well be we choose to live no it for extended periods

 

We would be interested in possibly morrings in London - I know this will come at a price !!

 

I understand the shells to buy are the Tyler Wilson possibly fitted out by someone like www.burscoughboats.com - so again any input would be welcomed.

 

In addition are there any boats shows coming up worth attending where we can see the boats, builders and ask about mooring. Crick seems to come up a lot which I beleive is in May 2017 but any earlier?

 

sorry for the long post but more questions than answers at present....

 

any responses to any of my questions or threads you can point me to would be most welcomed

 

Thanks

 

Mr Potato Head ( same hair style)

 

 

[Scholar Gypsy]

Welcome!

 

In terms of wide boats, ie anything more than 7 feet, you are right the system is not connected. Basically it splits into four parts:

 

a) North - Liverpool and over the Pennines to Leeds and York, Sheffield, and the Trent and tributaries up to Nottingham, Burton on Trent, Lincoln, Boston, Leicester

 

South - Grand Union from London most of the way to Birmingham (though can be tricky with a wide boat in places), Lea and Stort, Thames, Kennet and Avon from Reading to Bristol

 

c) East - Northampton to Peterborough, Middle levels (not full width), Great Ouse and the Fens

 

d) West - Severn from Gloucester to Stourport, and Avon up to Stratford.

 

You can get from North to East by crossing the Wash, on a calm day; and from South to West via the Bristol Channel, ditto. Otherwise you need a crane and a truck.

 

With a wheelhouse you need to be careful with air draught, but folding will clearly help. Others will be more help than me on which builders to use.

[Dave_P]

Hi Potatohead

 

Welcome to the forum. Your first post has a lot of questions. I'd advise starting a new thread in the General Boating section of the forum. You are likely to get a much bigger response.

 

Dave

[AlexK91]

Hi Everyone

 

Just bought a second hand narrowboat as a live a board....learnt a lot in past few months about narrowboat fro, talking to people and research. Hoping this site will help with lots of questions too.

 

First challenge was brining it down from Rugby to Hayes....after overheating a few issues and un scheduled stops due to an airlock in engine cooling system meaning it kept overheating (but eventually managed to clear it..we stil got it down in 6 days and learnt loads from the experience. Can't wait for it to warm up a bit and start taking it out. (Can't right now as with cold weather my marina has frozen over)

 

Alex

[cuthound]

Welcome to the wonderful world of boating Alex.