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Help sought re living on a boat & finding one first!

Salopgal

By Salopgal
in Living Afloat

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comfortably numb Proficient

comfortably numb

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Good luck with your search Salopgirl. After so much help from the wonderful folk on this great forum I've taken onboard so much advice but one of the most important was to look, look, and look again, and only when you've viewed a fair number online and then actually been to see at least 15-20 boats can you get an idea of what is and what is not a good buy.

 

Also look at ones priced either side of your projected spend figure and that will help you gauge what you can get for your money, the only drawback being that you might fall in love with a boat you can't really afford. During the last 6 months I've trawled the internet and viewed over 100 boats and have been to look at about 30, some of which looked far worse 'in the flesh' than they looked on the internet. So even if you're desperate to get your hands on one, don't let that make you rush into anything, which I'm sure you wouldn't anyway.

 

I've now at last found my 'perfect' boat and if my offer is accepted I'll be soon arranging the survey etc. :cheers:

I'm trying not to get too exited just yet though because it's by no means done and dusted yet.

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Leni Collaborator

Leni

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My take on the expensive/cheap debate is that it's as expensive or cheap as you want it to be.

 

....... I know a fellow liveaboard boater who, a year ago, spent £6000 on their boat which they are very happy with. Since then, they have spent around £1000 on remedial work and now the boat is perfectly ship-shape. They continuously cruise so no mooring fee. License + insurance + RCR is under £1000pa. Fuel for heating is mostly wood gathered from the canalside which is free. Could somebody please explain to me how anyone could possibly have their own space and live more cheaply on land? .....

 

Boat-living affords thrifty living far more easily than land-living.

 

Hear, hear! :clapping: We share the experience of the thrifty fellow liveaboard you mention It certainly is possible to live far more cheaply on a boat than on land!

 

Good luck in your venture, Salopgal :cheers:

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keble Rising Star

keble

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He knows alright - he is doing the divorcing. He's paranoid tho' too. Makes for a quieter life while we have to share a roof if I toe the line...

 

 

 

Amen to that! The more I hear / read, the more determined I am to do this and make it work. I can do thrifty, boy can I ever. Ray Mears eat your heart out...! I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this...

 

Visiting brokerages tomorrow in Cheshire to do more research. Can't wait!

Have you been to see Harecastle Boats (somewhere in Cheshire)?

It's run by a great guy who was at Northwich boats. They sell through Tattenhall marina. Might be worth a visit.

Good luck in your journey!

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Ally Influencer

Ally

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Posted (edited)

Dave-P is right I think, boat living can be expensive or cheap...it all depends on what you have, what your standards are, and who you know as well.

I split with my partner nearly 4 years ago, and had little money to re-buy, but was determined to do so. I was lucky and fell upon a project boat thanks to someone on here, and I am still fitting it now, bit by bit. I spent some time living in a punto, then a caravan briefly, then a boat shell, and went a year without any running water on the boat. Us women are good at the 'make do and mend'...we're not all needy of the luxuries of life, and settle for the long term, while making do in the short term....it's an adventure, which brings with it a lot of joy as things come together.

Good luck with todays hunt...keep looking and take your time making decisions.

Edited by Ally
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Dave_P Veteran

Dave_PDonate to Canal World

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Crikey! I'm not used to people agreeing with me. Least of all on here! :o

 

Another way of looking at it is to decide what's really important/special to you.

 

Having my own "cave" to retreat to - tick!

Listening to the rain on the roof/ ducks squabbling/ ripples lapping - tick!

Knowing and caring for my neighbours, and knowing I'm cared for back - tick!

Being warm and dry - tick!

 

Having the latest and greatest satellite tv system - doesn't matter.

Having an inverter which is 'pure sine wave' - don't care.

Having a boat where everything works - where's the fun in that?

Having a 'shiny' boat.... well actually, I secretly covet one of those :blush:

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Salopgal Contributor

Salopgal

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Don't rush into things... ah yep - see the sense in that, but...

 

"Domestic" situation (need I say more?) sometimes means a person needs to have a bolt hole. With that in mind I am test driving a boat (no pressure tho') on Friday and it is doable financially and in tip-top condition, or so it seems. Financial help from family who are worried for my safety.

 

Anyway, promise I will try to keep the balance and be as sensible as possible, in the circumstances. Am writing this after two large gins so might be being more open than I would normally be...

 

TTFN - It's all good! :P

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boathunter Rising Star

boathunter

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Thank heavens for family. Good luck with the boat on Friday. :)

 

One thing I've worked out looking at and into narrowboats for the last 6 weeks and trying to work out what I want is that you could go round in circles forever!

 

Many people have said things like "the boat will find you", "Buy the one that feels right" rather than concentrating ad nauseum on different aspects of the spec. I think that's about right, if it feels like the right bolt-hole go for it. After all, if the boat you buy first turns out to be a bit wrong for you, once you have space to think, you can get a different one based on your experience of the first. :)

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

Posted
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Thank heavens for family. Good luck with the boat on Friday. :)

 

One thing I've worked out looking at and into narrowboats for the last 6 weeks and trying to work out what I want is that you could go round in circles forever!

 

Many people have said things like "the boat will find you", "Buy the one that feels right" rather than concentrating ad nauseum on different aspects of the spec. I think that's about right, if it feels like the right bolt-hole go for it. After all, if the boat you buy first turns out to be a bit wrong for you, once you have space to think, you can get a different one based on your experience of the first. :)

 

Quite right. No matter much or how little research you do in advance, it will be no substitute for moving onto a boat and living on it for real. Only when you do this will you find out what you really need in a boat, and how good, or bad a purchase you've made.

 

I contend that the first boat you buy is a learning experience. You'll buy your second boat once you've owned the first for a while and found out what you really want in a boat, and this one will be roughly right for you. After another few years, exactly the right boat will present itself to you at exactly the wrong time, but it will be so right you'll have no choice but to go for it,.

 

:)

 

Mike

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Salopgal Contributor

Salopgal

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I've been thinking further about the whole boat thing. It's thrown into sharp relief by the offer of funds from my parents. But on reflection, I cannot accept their generous offer. It is their care money and it is vital they hang on to it "just in case". Dad's in his 80s, very frail indeed and starting with dementia, Mum is semi-disabled and looking at having a big operation done privately. I cannot, in all good faith, take this money from them no matter how firmly they thrust it at me!

 

Also, the friend I hoped would gladly store my extraneous stuff is not keen at all to help - I asked him last night. This has come as a big surprise and considerable disappointment but I should not have relied on him saying yes! I've never asked him for help before, and consider him to be one of my dearest friends, but in a way, his reluctance provides an answer of sorts. Now is clearly not the time for the boat. I think it will happen, but now is clearly not the time.

 

Nevertheless, I shall continue to keep in touch with the boating fraternity and see what happens next year, once my house is hopefully sold and divorce over and done with. I've been a bit of a rash fool to think I could sort my life out so quickly. Still, I'll be moving on with a wry smile on my face! I guess that a cheap rental, flat or small terraced house, will be best for now until I've had time to rid myself of junk and stuff. My art studio alone is stuffed to the rafters with equipment, paper, paint etc and hard to trim down.

 

Thank you again for your words of encouragement and advice - they are not wasted! They have helped me tremendously and feel, as a potential loner (!!) that I might be already making some friends... KL :cheers:

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brickie Engager

brickie

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Hello! You sound nice :D

 

 

 

Ah.....

 

 

 

 

Ok, being serious now.... As others have said, buying a boat and a daft idea unless you have a burning desire to own and live on a boat in particular. They are NOT a cheap option. Maybe half the price of a house but the running costs can be tenfold those of a house.

 

But if your heart is set on living on a boat (and it IS an emotional decision, not a logical one) then I recommend a proper narrowboat not a wide beam, mainly because narrowboats are half the price of widebeams (half as much boat) and a lot of the canals e.g the Shropshire Union up your way are narrow canals with 7ft wide locks that a widebeam will not fit through, so getting a widey severely limits your ability to move around the system. If you get a narrowboat you can buy it pretty much anywhere and cruise it to anywhere else in the system. Not the case with a widebeam unless you can afford to hire cranes and lorries a lot!

 

And with my sensible head on, may I point out you can rent yourself a small flat for a helluva long time for the £100k. Buying one would be an even smarter move if your goal is low cost accommodation.

 

Mike

 

Hi,

I live on dry land and my running cost including car is around the £400 per mnth.Are you seriously suggesting that a livaboard can cost £4000per mnth ?.

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Philippe Contributor

Philippe

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Posted (edited)

Who's mentioned £4,000 per month - - (apart from you?)

I think he's probably referring to Mike the Boilerman's "Maybe half the price of a house but the running costs can be tenfold those of a house."

 

I would also add that houses must be a lot cheaper round his way than down here!

Edited by Philippe
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Salopgal Contributor

Salopgal

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Just want to say that you guys are really helping me stay afloat in more ways than one!

 

I am more moved than I can say, and thankful, for the personal messages of good will and encouragement I have had over the last few days. I may have been in bits crying in my bosses office today, but coming home to such warmth of support on the net is wonderful, when all else seems to be falling about my ears. I'm still not sure what to do on Friday about the test run. The couple are coming down to Nantwich from Conwy and I don't want to mess them about in any way; not at all...

 

I'll make my decision by Wednesday and ring Mum and, if cancelling, ring the broker straightaway. I have pretty major issues with control where my mother is concerned which go way back, so there is far more than just money invested in this purchase. And, she did did rather creepily say when paying the deposit: "This is going to be MY boat, because I am paying for it, and I might decide not to sell it to you...!" I think she was joking - but only just!!

 

See what I'm up against? Not just an angry husband but a rather perverse parent too!! Thank goodness for gin...

 

:rolleyes:

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

Hi,

By suggesting that a boat can cost 10x the cost of a home you are.£400 a mounth was conservative too.

 

I said nothing of the sort. I said RUNNING costs, not BUYING costs, didn't I? By which I actually meant 'maintenance costs' :)

 

Hope that clears that one up!

 

 

MtB

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