Liveaboards Everywhere!

[minerva]

In our marina alone, we have had 3 new liveaboards arrive this last couple of weeks!

 

We must have about I reckon about 15 to 20 boats now here with folk living on or "spending a lot of time on them".....if you know what I mean.

 

And this isnt a big marina....under 100 boats ish...

 

Is the system being over run by LABs now? (liveaboardboatsers)?

 

[Pat]

In our marina alone, we have had 3 new liveaboards arrive this last couple of weeks!

 

We must have about I reckon about 15 to 20 boats now here with folk living on or "spending a lot of time on them".....if you know what I mean.

 

And this isnt a big marina....under 100 boats ish...

 

Is the system being over run by LABs now? (liveaboardboatsers)?

 

 

Does your marina just turn a blind eye to liveaboards? Or are the moorings residential?

[minerva]

Erm, no they don't turn a blind eye, they arn't residential as such but they do allow RB, with a £400 a year surcharge. I think the days of blind eyes went a bit back when BWML took over....

Edited April 28, 2006 by minerva

[Pat]

Erm, no they don't turn a blind eye, they arn't residential as such but they do allow RB, with a £400 a year surcharge.

Does that mean you are registered with the council etc? Because that sounds fantastic for only 400£ extra. Where are you moored?

[minerva]

ah but you don't know what we are paying before the 400 extra

 

and apparently we are full now

Edited April 28, 2006 by minerva

[NB Willawaw]

Over-run is a very subjective term, but I believe that the number of people who want to live on the canal instead of just using it for weekends and holidays is increasing.

The two main influencing factors IMHO are:

 

1. The high price of housing for people starting out on the property ladder

2. People who are fed up with the "rat race" and other social pressures and are looking for an alternative lifestyle

 

Where will it end ? I suspect with an increase in the cost of boating once certain authorities realise its another revenue source to be reaped.

[minerva]

Exactamundo....

 

Lets face it....over the last 8 yrs I've been 'spending a lot of time on a boat', Ive seen increases hither and thither....

 

I was only thinking, it was only 5 years ago you could buy red diesel on the Thames for 20 odd pence! and look at it now....

 

We are paying 44.9 and thats a good price round these parts!

 

So yes, like you, I can see prices hiking up considerably.......

[Pat]

Exactamundo....

 

Lets face it....over the last 8 yrs I've been 'spending a lot of time on a boat', Ive seen increases hither and thither....

 

I was only thinking, it was only 5 years ago you could buy red diesel on the Thames for 20 odd pence! and look at it now....

 

We are paying 44.9 and thats a good price round these parts!

 

So yes, like you, I can see prices hiking up considerably.......

 

This is true, it also means that for those of us who already live on boats, the value of our homes is actually going up, whereas boat normally just depreciate. Is this a good thing? Doesn't really make a difference unless you want to sell up I suppose...

[minerva]

Pat: I see you in London? no wonder you think these prices for moorings up here are cheap in comparison

[Pat]

Pat: I see you in London? no wonder you think these prices for moorings up here are cheap in comparison

The residential mooring thing has just gone a bit mad down here... so many people want them, that people can charge whatever they want. Some people are paying 6 grand a year!

[minerva]

OMG...... that is outrageous....

 

be cheaper to moor up here and get an helicopter down there(probably)

[anhar]

I'm also in London and a local marina on the Paddington branch of the GU wants about £2,750 a year for a 57' boat. This is strictly non residential and doesn't even have an electricity hook up. So no battery charger can be run. All the spots with electricity in the marina are full up and they have to pay an extra few hundred. Moreover in that non electric section of the marina you are not allowed to run the engine or operate power tools etc. because it is alongside some residential property.

 

Down the road from me, the new BW moorings at Brentford are something like £3,750 per year, fixed charge irrespective of boat length. Again strictly non res. Though they do have electricity, charged extra on a card system.

 

So you guys up north are living in a fiscal fairyland of which we poofy southerners can only dream. I went recently to see a s/h boat moored at Barton Turds and the guy was paying £1,400 a year for a 50', non res. Hell, it even included free electricity. Consequently he kept an electric oil filled radiator on all the time whilst away from the boat.

 

Although I live in London it is somewhat tempting when I get my boat to moor it in some northern marina where they speak funny and pay you to stay there. Daft because the aforementioned marina is only a couple minutes walk from my house.

 

regards

Steve

Edited April 28, 2006 by anhar

[minerva]

ahh buttt......how much do you lot earn down there in the smoke?

 

Seriously though, if its that bad then mebbe you ought to take a serious look at mooring elsewhere?

 

The mooring situation is ridiculous though and from what your telling me about fees down there, your talking mortgage prices for some folks!

 

Its all very well, but if they keep hiking the price, its no longer going to be a cheaper option....is it?(to a house)

 

With all the price increases, be it mooring fees, licences, diesel etc we are running close to spoiling something that a lot of people can enjoy and making it in to an elitist hobby ......lets face it, if you have a house to run as well, it ain't a cheap hobby!

 

For a lot of people on narrowboats, they are doing this on a pension......mebbe they have sold their house and bought a boat and very possibly haven't got a large amount of disposable income.....I suppose at the end of the day they won't give a $%%£"!!! about any of that will they?

[DHutch]

TravelReign has a fair share of live-aboards, and people who spent a lot of time on there boats.

- Down the 'posh' end of the (800ft) fingarboards, where the elec'y/phone/water is.

 

They have a great little community going, with a bench/seats and solar lights on the hard. We often see them sitting outside enjoying a few pints and the odd cigerette together.

- I think its really nice, and one of the things i enjoy about beeing there. There always very frendly and keep a eye out for everyone. And they make a bit of a special thing about "the steamer" which is rather nice too.

 

 

Daniel

Edited April 29, 2006 by dhutch

[nbtafelberg]

Dan

 

"We often see them sitting outside enjoying a few pins"

 

Do they have a sewing club?

[anhar]

...Its all very well, but if they keep hiking the price, its no longer going to be a cheaper option....is it?(to a house)

 

With all the price increases, be it mooring fees, licences, diesel etc we are running close to spoiling something that a lot of people can enjoy and making it in to an elitist hobby ......lets face it, if you have a house to run as well, it ain't a cheap hobby!

 

For a lot of people on narrowboats, they are doing this on a pension......mebbe they have sold their house and bought a boat and very possibly haven't got a large amount of disposable income.....I suppose at the end of the day they won't give a $%%£"!!! about any of that will they?

Hello minerva

 

I have already come to the conclusion that having a boat and mooring it in a marina creates total running costs of about the same as my three bed. house. I believe further that boat costs are going to rise at a much faster rate than inflation - bad news for retired liveaboards, especially those whose income is only just sufficient to pay their way. The only sense in which it is cheaper is the initial purchase cost and that perhaps is the reason a lot of people do it, plus they enjoy it of course, it can never be just about the money.

 

So yes, boating has already become a wealthier person's pursuit, if you want a marina mooring and a nice well maintained steel narrowboat. If you continue to own a property in addition to the boat then you do need quite a good income. If the boat is your sole home, then, especially if you are retired, you need to ensure that there is a very large safety margin between your income and expenses because the latter is very likely to rise much faster than the former. So I don't agree that pensioners who have sold up on land and don't have a large amounot of disposable income won't give a toss, they are the most at risk from boat running cost inflation.

 

regards

Steve

[Gary Peacock]

The market is changing we have very few enquirers (non in the last 12 months) for new fully fitted recreational narrowboats and I have heard similar stories from many other builders. The consensus seems to be that what was once a popular working mans recreational pastime as now become restricted to those few with enough free money to invest £70K plus in something for the weekend or odd couple of weeks away.

 

Meanwhile the number of people we see deciding to retire sell up the house and invest a percentage into a £90k plus boats is accelerating rapidly. One downside of this is that builders are now seeing this market to be the new cash cow for the future and the number of cheaper boats being available is declining. (Have you noticed the increase in broad beam & Dutch barge adverts?)

 

We are probably not quite the typical builder because we don't build many typical narrowboats but one of our customers websites HERE gives you an idea about the kind of people we now getting knocking on the door more and more often.

[DHutch]

- Do they have a sewing club?

No no, but they injoy a bit of voodoo on the quiet. (joke)

 

 

Daniel

[Incentive]

Hi

 

I met a stockbroker (at first I thought he was a frank pornographer when he told me that he dealt in "wet futures!) on his boat that he lives aboard and permanently cruises on as we went down the Hatton flight. His new boat was a beauty, and had something if the nimrod about it, given that it was bristling with gadgets, aerials, and thrusters. He had broadband satellite that meant that he could buy and sell his stocks (our futures wet or otherwise) wherever he was.

 

I was quite prepared to resent him, I tried for a while, but as we worked those stupid heavy paddle gears in the pouring rain, and chatted about the stuff that we all chat about, the view, the wildlife, the weather, our destination, boats and boaters etc etc, I realised that I just envied him

 

Ironically it was the cost of boating that drew us to our wish to live-aboard, no way could we hire a boat for the holidays, it was too expensive, and somehow it would never quite hit the spot, so our only option was to commit in a much bigger way.

 

I wonder if this has been a factor in other people's decisions?

 

It is also clear that expensive though it is, boat ownership for the second holiday home class, is still much cheaper (and more varied and flexible) than buying a country cottage.

 

Martin.

[Wobbly Dick]

Hi,

 

I'm new to boating and still looking for my boat. I was told to find a mooring first.

I have spent many months finding out all I can about narrowboats and life on the cut.

In that time I have spoken to many boaters and, without doubt, narrowboating is going through a steep incline in popularity! I'm sure popular programs like 'WaterWorld' has had a big impact, but I'm sure that the cost of living and the crazy rising house prices contributes too.

 

In my search for moorings, one guy told me that five years ago it was easy to get a mooring and prices were sensible, but now they are like gold dust and marinas are profiting from the situation with ever increasing fees.

 

I don't know how true this is, but I'm sure finding it hard to get a mooring. I intend to live on board and I think I'll be forced to continual cruise.

 

This leaves me with a concern to the future on the cut, will there come a time when the waterways will be come like watery M25 and speeds of 4mph will be only a dream?

 

Is it that boat sales moves in cycles and we are just going through a popular phase?

 

Will any of the authorities do anything to curtail what seems to be the inevitable, or will the flooding market be left to control itself? (sorry about the pun)

 

[Stephen Fulcher]

If the number of people who live aboard on moorings which are not officially residential increases too drastically, then I would bet on local authorities clamping down a little.

[DHutch]

If the number of people who live aboard on moorings which are not officially residential increases too drastically, then I would bet on local authorities clamping down a little.

I think its mainly down to pure ignorance on the part of the local authorites.

- And as long as there not a nucence, i dont see a problem with it in the large part.

 

 

Daniel

[minerva]

Hello minerva

 

I have already come to the conclusion that having a boat and mooring it in a marina creates total running costs of about the same as my three bed. house. I believe further that boat costs are going to rise at a much faster rate than inflation - bad news for retired liveaboards, especially those whose income is only just sufficient to pay their way. The only sense in which it is cheaper is the initial purchase cost and that perhaps is the reason a lot of people do it, plus they enjoy it of course, it can never be just about the money.

 

So yes, boating has already become a wealthier person's pursuit, if you want a marina mooring and a nice well maintained steel narrowboat. If you continue to own a property in addition to the boat then you do need quite a good income. If the boat is your sole home, then, especially if you are retired, you need to ensure that there is a very large safety margin between your income and expenses because the latter is very likely to rise much faster than the former. So I don't agree that pensioners who have sold up on land and don't have a large amounot of disposable income won't give a toss, they are the most at risk from boat running cost inflation.

 

regards

Steve

 

Sorry Matey It should have read BW wont give a &*^%$£.......... obviously not pensioners..that wouldnt make sense in what I was saying.... would it..... hehehe

[minerva]

Hi,

 

I'm new to boating and still looking for my boat. I was told to find a mooring first.

I have spent many months finding out all I can about narrowboats and life on the cut.

In that time I have spoken to many boaters and, without doubt, narrowboating is going through a steep incline in popularity! I'm sure popular programs like 'WaterWorld' has had a big impact, but I'm sure that the cost of living and the crazy rising house prices contributes too.

 

In my search for moorings, one guy told me that five years ago it was easy to get a mooring and prices were sensible, but now they are like gold dust and marinas are profiting from the situation with ever increasing fees.

 

I don't know how true this is, but I'm sure finding it hard to get a mooring. I intend to live on board and I think I'll be forced to continual cruise.

 

This leaves me with a concern to the future on the cut, will there come a time when the waterways will be come like watery M25 and speeds of 4mph will be only a dream?

 

Is it that boat sales moves in cycles and we are just going through a popular phase?

 

Will any of the authorities do anything to curtail what seems to be the inevitable, or will the flooding market be left to control itself? (sorry about the pun)

 

 

 

 

Hi Wobbles,

 

This discussion raged about a year ago about the amount of boats going onto the cut....the consensus was, that they basically stayed tied up in their respective marinas the majority of the time....as for the M1 mentality, oh its there already from time to time . You have to tie your boat down very tight, and expect this is going to happen a lot, as it does....if you waived a fist in the air every time it happened, you'd be doing a Victor Meldrew several times each and every day, come high season.....

[Wobbly Dick]

I don't believe it!

 

Sorry, couldn't resist......