Hello from another new- boater ( to be?)

[newboater]

Thankyou to another forum user who pointed me towards this busy site. We are a family, in our forties, two boys, 7 and 13. We are very keen on the idea of living aboard, ( Lancs area). We have spoken to people along the canal, and read magazines, my sister and her family have hired twice.At present our monthly bills to run the house, ( not counting food, petrol, or leisure), tot up to £1300. We would be in a position to buy a barge outright, maybe wide beam or dutch for the sheer size, so not wanting to go far, just for the lifestyle.I suppose the obvious thing to do would be for us to hire ourselves, but would it be worth it, --very expensive!!!

Please can you give any advice? Thankyou very much.

[reddi8]

Going on our experience I would hire a boat first. I wasn`t keen at first about getting a boat but my partner was. Now that we have a boat it is the other way round I would be on it all the time but we hardly go on it now as John has lost interest in it.

If we had hired a boat first we could have discovered the pro`s and cons of owning one.

[newboater]

Thanks for the reply, we are looking into hiring in the next couple of weeks but the prices are very high, so we will have to put it off for a while unfortunately.

[Crazy Scheme]

Hi there, if you want to liveaboard, best time to hire is out of season (Jan or Feb ideally.) Boat dwelling is a different experience in winter.

[bottle]

Hi

 

Hire at the end of the season, nearly have price compared to the middle of summer, this will also give an idea of living aboard but do not forget all the things that you do not have to worry about when just hiring, like your washing etc.

[blackrose]

Hi

 

Hire at the end of the season, nearly have price compared to the middle of summer, this will also give an idea of living aboard but do not forget all the things that you do not have to worry about when just hiring, like your washing etc.

 

Or emptying the shitole!

Edited August 1, 2006 by blackrose

[newboater]

Can anyone recommend anywhere selling widebeams, / dutch barges?

[Gary Peacock]

Well I could recommend myself but that's been a bit cheeky isn't it!

 

Anyway have a look HERE to see what we do, you can request a info pack from there too.

[elessina]

Can anyone recommend anywhere selling widebeams, / dutch barges?

Have a look here barge building companies There is a lot to chose from.

Ian

DB Elessina

[newboater]

Hi Ellesina, wow you have a beautiful barge, I have read all about it. One day soon mabe,-In my dreams.....

[Eastern]

We are also thinking of either cc-ing or certainly extended cruising. We have bought a 'previously enjoyed' share in a shared ownership scheme. This gives us 4 weeks cruising each year for about £200 per week cruised. Capital outlay from £1600 upwards.

The advantage is that you get all year round experience before committing yourself.

 

You don't say if you are a houseowner, but I would be wary of stepping off the housing ladder. You would be very lucky if the value of your boat incresed by 10% pa.

[newboater]

Hi, yes we are homeowners. It is a big decision to come out of the housing market, but it will have done us well, we will be able to buy what we want outright.Lots of others have done it, but I wonder how many have gone back to live in a house as boating didn't agree?

[John Orentas]

It is a big temptation with the kind of weather we have been getting lately, moored up at some idyllic location surrounded by ducks and swans. But how many live-aboards survive their first winter, canal frozen solid, pump-out tank brim full, trudging along the towpath with a gas bottle on your shoulder in the darkness.

 

I would be interested to know the mortality rate, I wonder if anyone monitors these things. I have even read contributions from starry eyed members on this forum going on about running their boat on a solar panel and a little Honda generator and I have thought - Not a cat in hells chance.

[bottle]

 

I would be interested to know the mortality rate, I wonder if anyone monitors these things. I have even read contributions from starry eyed members on this forum going on about running their boat on a solar panel and a little Honda generator and I have thought - Not a cat in hells chance.

 

I have often thought the same thing, perhaps the number of one/two year old boats for sale might be an indicator.

 

I agree with John (just this once mind ) to live on a boat with a solar panel and small generator is, if not totally impossible, bl***y close.

 

Still have made the decision house for sale boat ordered and it will have an approx 7Kw generator on board (boat will be all electric)

 

 

edit; fo tipo

Edited August 8, 2006 by bottle

[Eastern]

Hi, yes we are homeowners. It is a big decision to come out of the housing market, but it will have done us well, we will be able to buy what we want outright.Lots of others have done it, but I wonder how many have gone back to live in a house as boating didn't agree?

 

I don't know how your particular numbers stack up, but have you considered renting out your property whilst you try out the lifestyle? I am advised that renters want unfurnished property these days, which means that your furniture etc doesn't get beaten up, but you do have to pay to store it.

 

Its something we are thinking about, or maybe just downsizing to a smaller property, or even just getting a 'buy to let'. I guess its a type of insurance against it all going pear shaped!

[jollyroger]

We are in the process of selling our house, the plan is to split our time between "The Jolly Roger" and a static caravan, that way we will have the option of going to the caravan ( All mains services) during the bad weather. You can get a luxury caravan for between £30K & £40K, so with the money left over from the house we can retire early

[bottle]

Met a couple about three years ago on the cut and they did it slightly different................. they went back to their 'park home' in the school holidays (july/august) and returned to the cut when they (the children) were at school.

[Maffi]

You don't say if you are a houseowner, but I would be wary of stepping off the housing ladder. You would be very lucky if the value of your boat incresed by 10% pa.

 

Mine's gone up 10% and it hasn't been finished yet.

 

15% if you include the greaser to slide it out of my little porkies.

[beeailseebob]

We are very keen on the idea of living aboard, ( Lancs area). We have spoken to people along the canal, and read magazines, my sister and her family have hired twice.At present our monthly bills to run the house, ( not counting food, petrol, or leisure), tot up to £1300. We would be in a position to buy a barge outright, maybe wide beam or dutch for the sheer size, so not wanting to go far, just for the lifestyle.I suppose the obvious thing to do would be for us to hire ourselves, but would it be worth it, --very expensive!!!

Please can you give any advice? Thankyou very much.

 

Just a quick thought, (in case you are still following this thread) my partner and I tried boating last year by renting. It was just luck that we came across someone who wanted to let their boat but it may be worth approaching people who just use their boats for holidaying. It has been really good for us as we now know a lot more about what we want to buy life afloat in general. However, British Waterways prohibit sub-letting.

[newboater]

Hi, yes I'm still following the thread. We are off at the moment for two weeks, but haven't been able to get a hire barge to try it out, so have been camping instead. We are looking to hire at the end of the season now, end of October, so it will give us a better idea with the weather and the nights closing in.

[Roger Gunkel]

Its not all doom and gloom in the winter months, depends on where you moor your boat and what facilities you have on and off the boat.

 

We live on a widebeam on a residential mooring on the river alongside a marina. It costs us £2000 a year for the mooring, but we have our coal and logs delivered to the marina for our stove, which we prefer to using our diesel central heating. Our fridge/freezer and washing machine run on metered mains supply and our cooker is calor gas which we get from the marina every couple of months.

 

After two years we love all the seasons.

 

Roger

[newboater]

Its not all doom and gloom in the winter months, depends on where you moor your boat and what facilities you have on and off the boat.

 

We live on a widebeam on a residential mooring on the river alongside a marina. It costs us £2000 a year for the mooring, but we have our coal and logs delivered to the marina for our stove, which we prefer to using our diesel central heating. Our fridge/freezer and washing machine run on metered mains supply and our cooker is calor gas which we get from the marina every couple of months.

 

After two years we love all the seasons.

 

Roger

Hi Roger, it's great that you are enjoying the live aboard life, what made you take the plunge, and have you any kids with you?

[Hobart]

We bought our boat to liveaboard, having never even considered it (or seen a narrow boat) 2 months beforehand. Hobart was the first boat we'd seen, and it we loved it.

 

We didn't own a property, but faced with 'getting on the ladder' or the alternative lifestyle - we opted for by-passing the ladder completely. The thought of being stuck in a never ending chain didn't really appeal. Buying a boat just seemed to be the perfect escape, and we jumped in with both feet.

 

After seeing some of the hire boats around, I'm really glad we didn't hire first. Non of the hire boats seem to have the character or comforts that make Hobart our home, and might have put us off.

 

We're really looking forward to the winter now. We've got used to all the chores and now can't wait to get the stove lit and getting nice and snug.

 

I think we've been really lucky. All in all, it's a good boat, with loads of charcter. It's needed quite a bit of work, and still more to go, but that's all part of the fun. Having been Arts students and then office workers, we're picking up skills we never thought we'd have, and it's great.

 

Once the loans are paid off (about 5 years), we'll be thinking about semi retirement - we're now 28 and 26!! Can't wait!

 

Anyway, to get back on-topic: I'd probably recommend that you do hire first, but bare in mind that your dream boat will probably be completely different. Also try to have a look at some live-aboards to see the difference for yourselves.

 

You've got a great opportunity, and best of luck to you!

 

Neil.

[Roger Gunkel]

Hi Roger, it's great that you are enjoying the live aboard life, what made you take the plunge, and have you any kids with you?

 

What made us take the Plunge?

I was divorced a few years ago and went from owning a house to renting a flat. After Claire and I met and found that we both enjoyed boats, we bought a small motorsailer and it gave us an escape that we loved. I had no intention of being burdened with a motgage again and we both disliked the idea of throwing away more and more money renting someone elses property. Claire suggested the idea of living afloat so we started to see what was available. Although I had a fair experience of boats, we knew nothing about living aboard permanently. We felt that for a serious home, we would want all of the modern civilised comforts that you would expect from a house including space. We found that narrowboats were very claustrophobic from our point of view, all of those we looked at were very 'boaty'- dark wood, small windows, and little floor space. Very nice but not a home for us. We wanted domestic washing machine, dining table and chairs, fridge freezer, bath, central heating - you know the sort of thing. We were beginning to think we were expecting too much, when we discovered that we could get a sailaway widebeam with all the basic electrical, mechanical and lining done for no more than a good second hand narrow boat. We didn't want to cruise the canal system, so the wide beam was perfect for the waterways we might want to cruise on. We'd spent part of what I retained from my divorce on the motorsailer and didn't want to sell that, so took out a small loan from the bank to cover the difference and two years from taking delivery we have no doubt that we made the right decision.

 

I have grown up children, so there is just the 2 of us on the boat, but we have taken into consideration that that may change and can easily turn our office into another bedroom if needed. I cannot imagine a better environment to bring children up in. There are several small children living here in the marina and our neighbours have just had a new baby to join their 3 year old.

 

We chose to pay for a marina mooring for securityand main services and for us the peace of mind is well worth it. It is difficult to explain to non liveaboards the difference it can make to your life, but we immediately felt an absence of the stress of conventional life. No constant drone of traffic, late night thump of car sound systems, a total lack of keeping up with the Jones's or a need to conform. Most of all we feel totally involved in whats going on around us, the changing wildlife, weather, plant life, seasons and the willingness of everybody to talk to you and quietly keep an eye on things if you are not there. I bet you don't even know most of the neighbours where you live now! After two years neither of us miss a house at all, in fact we can't wait to get home if we stay with freinds.

 

At the end of the day it won't suit everybody, but for us it is a great improvement to life.

 

Roger