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


Salopgal

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I am just about to move into a boat for the first time - and like you I know / knew very little but let me share with you what i do know.

 

widebam is good but does restrict where you can go and they are expensive.Buying a boat is a rich mans hobby or a cheaper way to live - not as cheap as you may think but cheaper than living in a house. The main costs I have identified are

 

moorings £2,500 - £3,000 per annum

Licence £1,000 ish per annum maybe a bit less

Blacking £900 every 2 years

Painting £6,000 every 5 or 6 years

insurance £ 350

engine service and repairs allow about £500 a year.

 

I am buying a 58ft boat for £47,000 which needa bit of work but not much.

 

They are right about trying out a time on a boat but the 3 things that attracted me to it are a) I like water and living on water is fantastic - watching herons do their thing etc B) There ia a nice community in the boat world - people are friendly and polite to one another and just has anice feel c) The ability to change your view from time to time.

 

I work so will have to stay put in a marina during the week but will go chugging around at weeeknds.

 

Find a mooring first - once you have the cash buyig aboat s relatively easy - finding moorings can be harder.

 

And my last tip is ask lots of questions.

 

the one thing I am not looking forward to is the toilets - the prospect of emptying the casette fills me with dread but into each life a little rain must fall.

 

Good luck

 

 

 

 

Don't worry toilets are fine cassette or pump out , it just becomes part of the routine.

 

Don't forget to include gas, diesel, coal and I would add some more for general boat upkeep and boat safety cert.

 

Enjoy

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For a bit more context... The other day I bought a year's worth of gas (we only use gas for cooking) and it cost £70. Our electricity hook up (not in a BW marina, so closer to normal rates) just went up from £18 to £26 per month. Our next blacking (plus a hull survey) will cost a little over £1,000 for a 46ft boat. In March we'll need to fork out another £700 for our licence. Insurance is £13 per month. Council tax (not relevant for everyone) is £95 per month. Its getting cold so the stove will be on the go almost all the time - that's about 1-2 bags of coal a week, at maybe £8-£9 per bag. On top of all that we bought a cheaper boat, so regularly undertake DIY projects - currently we're repositioning the stove and redoing the surround and hearth, and the total bill for that will probably be in the region of £600 including all parts and labour. We also regularly have to buy new bits of kit - things that have a limited life on boats, such as water pumps, batteries etc none of which are all that cheap.

 

Check out these threads:

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=50517

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=50241

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=44591

 

This one contains links to several other sites which you will also find useful:

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=44863

 

There were a couple of really good threads about the best and worst things about living aboard - I can't find them through the search function or Google, but if anyone else remembers them perhaps you could post? They really did sum it all up :)

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OP, to come back to mooring in or near Chester.... This same question was asked recently (can´t remember the thread, sorry). You will not find a residential mooring closer than Tattenhall Marina and in case you did not realise, you cannot just moor for extended periods of time anywhere you fancy. It would be perfect for you if you could moor up right by the University but unfortunately that is not the case.

 

Being in Tattenhall or Whixall will almost certainly mean that you will need a car of sorts unless you are going to spend hours each day getting to Uni, so that would be a further expense.

 

You have had lots of good advice so far. We may all seem rather negative, but we prefer to call it realistic. Canal boating is wonderful and most of us on here are fanatical about it but it is not the cheap, carefree option it may seem from the towpath.

Edited by PBbear
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There's a particular calmness I'm experiencing from my situation where everything becomes water off a duck's back. It's made me a stronger, more appreciative and content being. Everything happens for a reason.

 

What could possibly go wrong? :unsure:

 

:) run out of greenies so chucks you a sparkly blue peter badge...;)

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Thank you one and all for your input.

 

There are a variety of reasons for this change and I might not be able to adequately convey some of them.

 

5 years ago I was housebound, I lived in my bedroom, I saw nobody. I got 'Catastrophic Hyperacusis' and severe depression, my sound sensitivity was so extreme my own whisper or turning the pages of a book, was painful to me. I have come through and am much better. I will always have Hyperacusis but it isn't as limiting as it was. I am back in work, albeit part time.

 

Ok - that's some history.

 

1. As a result of the above, I have lost most of my friends who were not able to cope with the shell of a person they saw and one by one they have fallen away. I want to be part of a community - I have some experience of the boating community having visited on and off narrowboats for the 14 years I've lived here and so I know some of them already. I would not get this in rented accommodation.

 

2. It is in my best interests to stay in the village so close to the house we will sell. I know all the neighbours, I can store my stuff in a friend's warehouse in the village for free, I can help him with his garden and he stood by me when I was ill when no one else did. I want to be near him and not further away.

 

3. I have been poor before, I can be poor again. I like having to make do and mend - it's part of my wierd psyche I guess. I've lived in mud huts in Kenya, volunteered in rural hospitals in the Transkei, lived in the poorest part of Paris in Belleville, had my own croft on the Isle of Coll, Argyll. I used a hole in the ground as a toilet for 12 months and drunk only rain and river water that year - no electricity either. I have seen the seemier underbelly of some of the poorest parts of this world of ours and I am still cheerful about mankind. I am a fighter, a coper and I am very creative and able to make friends easily and get people 'on side'.

 

4.It's an exciting challenge; it's a challenge I want. I am a part-time artist and have already been making narrowboat related art and crafts and want to continue with this sideline as part of the actual community, not as an outsider still.

 

5. The management at the marina spent quite a few hours showing me round yesterday and I quizzed them on all of the costs and hidden costs. I came away feeling even more positive than when I went. I had a look round a boat with it's owner, who also was unsure whether I had thought it all through and the manager interjected and said: "That's what she's doing now"!! Bless him!

 

6. I may indeed rent for 6 months, or live with my local friend, until I find the right boat, or not - whatever the case may be. I'm not locked into this, I'm still exploring it but I can make this work for me very well.

 

I do see that this is not a cheap option and I intend to travel round the many marinas and brokers in Shropshire and Cheshire to look round boats. I was supposed to go today but am painting instead to make some more money. This marina can only take narrowboats, no wide beams as all craft have to be sailed in and the lifting bridges locally are too narrow for 10ft wide boats. Never mind, narrows the search a bit!!

 

My parents are concerned about me not having a landline type phone on board a boat but apart from that, they are supporting me 100%. However, I read on Google that you can have a landline, and WIFI.

N

ot sure what else to add, but I am really grateful for your words of warning and will do as you suggest and do lots more research into this.

 

 

I would be planning on mooring at the marina and not travelling on the boat at all. But I have a work colleague who loves boats and knows his way around them very well, so I've got help on hand whenever I need it.

 

Grateful thanks - Salopgal.

Edited by Salopgal
  • Greenie 1
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Thank you one and all for your input.

 

There are a variety of reasons for this change and I might not be able to adequately convey some of them.

 

snip

 

Not sure what else to add, but I am really grateful for your words of warning and will do as you suggest and do lots more research into this.

 

 

I would be planning on mooring at the marina and not travelling on the boat at all. But I have a work colleague who loves boats and knows his way around them very well, so I've got help on hand whenever I need it.

 

Grateful thanks - Salopgal.

 

I,for one, appreciate your honesty and admire your courage in revealing so much of yourself.

 

Good luck with your research

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mainly because narrowboats are half the price of widebeams (half as much boat)

 

Rubbish!!

 

You can easily spend more on a NB than a wide beam, and the same or yes less.

 

I'd go with NB's are roughly on average two thirds of a WB but not half.

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Don't worry about the telephone thing, you can fit an antenna from boatersphone and wire it to a router that can take a normal telephone connection as well as do your internet. Communications are surprisingly good on a boat in the middle of nowhere nowadays.

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Don't worry about the telephone thing, you can fit an antenna from boatersphone and wire it to a router that can take a normal telephone connection as well as do your internet. Communications are surprisingly good on a boat in the middle of nowhere nowadays.

 

Beware though - the valley around Bunbury-Beeston is a bit of a black spot for both mobile phone and TV reception. We have been to the area many times, and on one week's trip, this was the only stopover we couldn't get a TV signal.

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Good for you! You do actually sound the type that may well get on with living on a boat. We are all different of course, but some of your written attitudes show the kind of thoughts and character that will make it work if you so decide.

Mobile phones will generally work ok, I have to say I would avoid boatersphone for several reasons. There are some hugely better options available at far less cost. It does depend on the area though. Some marina's allow an actual landline to be fixed to your mooring, seen it done a few times, and some marinas can also provide wifi.

Otherwise you can hotspot your phone or get a dongle...one way is to fit a waterproof box on the roof, with dongle inside, running through the roof down to a router to give you wireless internet. Talk to boaters in the marinas you might use and see which of the service providers most of them use.

Whether you chose to come and share the waterways with us or not, all the best! Keep asking any questions you may have :)

Edited by Ally
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I am just about to move into a boat for the first time - and like you I know / knew very little but let me share with you what i do know.

 

widebam is good but does restrict where you can go and they are expensive.Buying a boat is a rich mans hobby or a cheaper way to live - not as cheap as you may think but cheaper than living in a house. The main costs I have identified are

 

moorings £2,500 - £3,000 per annum

Licence £1,000 ish per annum maybe a bit less

Blacking £900 every 2 years

Painting £6,000 every 5 or 6 years

insurance £ 350

engine service and repairs allow about £500 a year.

 

I am buying a 58ft boat for £47,000 which needa bit of work but not much.

 

They are right about trying out a time on a boat but the 3 things that attracted me to it are a) I like water and living on water is fantastic - watching herons do their thing etc B) There ia a nice community in the boat world - people are friendly and polite to one another and just has anice feel c) The ability to change your view from time to time.

 

I work so will have to stay put in a marina during the week but will go chugging around at weeeknds.

 

Find a mooring first - once you have the cash buyig aboat s relatively easy - finding moorings can be harder.

 

And my last tip is ask lots of questions.

 

the one thing I am not looking forward to is the toilets - the prospect of emptying the casette fills me with dread but into each life a little rain must fall.

 

Good luck

 

I would say your expected costs are on the expensive side somewhat!

 

There are always cheaper options.

 

Moorings actually can cost anything from around £500 - £10,000 pa. Depending on the length of the mooring, the facilities and the location. If you have a smallish boat and arent worried about shore-line electrics and you arent in London you should be able to get something for well under £2500. I've always paid between £1500-£2000 and I've got full marina facilities for that on a 55' boat.

 

The license will only cost about £1000 if you have a 70' boat.

 

£900 for blacking sounds very expensive too! I wouldn't pay much more than £500 for that. And, of course I could do it myself and save even more.

 

Painting on a boat 50' or more will probably cost around £6000 for a decent job, but, unless you want the shiniest of shiny boats, 5-6 years is a very short interval. I've known boats who have gone 15-20 years with the occasional touch-up and still look fine.

 

Insurance - again, shop around. £350 would horrify me, if I were quoted that! In fact I'd be unhappy paying half that figure!

 

£500 a year for repair and maintenance fund isn't far off I guess but it all depends on how much cruising the boat does etc...

 

 

The advice I'd give to the OP is that there's many different ways to skin a cat! If you want to join the shiny boat brigade and pour all your savings into boat, you can easily do so. But, if you want to live cheaply, boating offers that too, in ways that house owners can only envy!

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Hello Salopgal and welcome to the forum. I read your update and thought "go for it". Seriously- it seems you've started your research and haven't been daunted by what you've learnt so far.

 

I would love to hear your updates and experiences- keep us updated how you get on.

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Rubbish!!

 

You can easily spend more on a NB than a wide beam, and the same or yes less.

 

I'd go with NB's are roughly on average two thirds of a WB but not half.

 

Hi Martin

 

I dont think Mike was completely wrong. I think that people on a limited budget cannot afford to buy a steel widebeam such as say a fat narrowboat type due to price. Try to find one at 35k or less and you will struggle yet there are thousands of narrowboats available at less than 35k.

 

Tim

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Hi Martin

 

I dont think Mike was completely wrong. I think that people on a limited budget cannot afford to buy a steel widebeam such as say a fat narrowboat type due to price. Try to find one at 35k or less and you will struggle yet there are thousands of narrowboats available at less than 35k.

 

Tim

 

I agree with that Tim but that is not what was said.

 

If you look at new and used NB's and WB's prices (which I'm studying carefully at the mo ;) ) an equivalent WB to NB does not costs twice as much, it is around two thirds based on on the ones I've checked out at least, the differential also seems to diminish as the boat gets older.

 

EG the base price of a new 57ft Aqualine NB is fifty quid short of £90K compared to the equivalent WB version (57 x 10) which is fifty quid short of £120K

 

I would expect as the boats depreciate that differential will close.

 

(Anyway I'll shut up now as none of this is really helping the OP)

Edited by The Dog House
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Thank you again! Especially you Ally because you were very generous with your comments and encouragement.

 

Mike, I can't post often as I'm having a tough time at home and my hubby doesn't like me talking to strangers online - he's very private...

 

What was so fab about the guys I talked to at the Marina was their 'can do' attitude mixed with gritty but realistic advice. One guy was brilliant, telling me how I can do the blacking myself. (I've got a coracle and I blacked that... bit smaller tho'. Ha!) The mooring rate for 60ft boat is £3036 and one chap there got his annual insurance for just £80. Also, the money I get from the house will be what I use to supplement my meagre income.

 

I get quite a few commissions for my art and sell out of a number of galleries. I have recently been approached to sell through a gallery in New York also. I am highly motivated too. Because of my disability, I get Disability Living Allowance and will be entitled to tax credits. I also plan to get a third job and have irons in the fire in that regard.

 

Also, as I said, I've loads of practical helpful male neighbours who are there for me no matter what and they will all be within quarter of a mile from my mooring! I am surrounded by good people who I've known for 15 years...

 

But all said, I do so appreciate your advice and practical direction - it is precious and makes me all the more sure that this is the life for me. My close friends who know we are splitting up, are already offering help and I have places to doss down so rent won't be a big problem whilst I'm looking for the right boat. I have a car and it is cheap to run. I've got stuff I can sell and am getting on with doing that. All in all, I'll be OK!

 

With grateful thanks,

 

Salopgal :P

P.S. excuse my ignorance but what is an OP?!

Edited by Salopgal
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Why do people think it is cheap to live on a boat,,posters on here are RIGHT it is NOT. We looked for 3 years before we found our lovely Narrow boat Cape Clear, we don't regret living on her for one second and it suits our way of life, but it does not suit everyone and we have had some hefty repair bills inside, good luck in whatever direction you take though :-)

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I'm curious - As you're splitting up - why give a monkeys uncle what your hubby thinks to you talking to strangers on line? Oops - maybe he doesn't know you're splitting up... :unsure: Whether he does or not it sounds like you've made the right decision!

 

Best wishes finding what you want, as others have said you sound more than capable of adapting to just about anything. :)

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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.

 

There are folk who spend £100,000 on a top spec brand new boat and then another £3000-£4000 on a top-of-the-range mooring.

 

BUT... you don't have to do this. 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? The only options comparable would be a caravan or something similar, but I'm not sure how well you'd do living in laybys!! The other would be a small (single) room in a shared house in a relatively cheap part of the country paying around £60 pw, which still comes to over £3000 pa.

 

I spent a year as a mature student, living on little more than fresh air! Boat-living affords thrifty living far more easily than land-living.

  • Greenie 1
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I'm curious - As you're splitting up - why give a monkeys uncle what your hubby thinks to you talking to strangers on line? Oops - maybe he doesn't know you're splitting up... :unsure: Whether he does or not it sounds like you've made the right decision!

 

 

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...

 

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? The only options comparable would be a caravan or something similar, but I'm not sure how well you'd do living in laybys!! The other would be a small (single) room in a shared house in a relatively cheap part of the country paying around £60 pw, which still comes to over £3000 pa.

 

I spent a year as a mature student, living on little more than fresh air! Boat-living affords thrifty living far more easily than land-living.

 

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!

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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!

 

Excellent to hear. My apologies for my rather snippy contribution earlier in the thread.

 

Bear in mind that brokers generally know the market well, and broadly speaking their offerings are always 'fully priced'. Brokers never sell bargains so by all means use them to do your research, but once you feel informed enough to go bargain hunting, then eBay and www.apolloduck.co.uk are the places you'll ferret them out. Or better, place some ads in the boating mags in the 'boat wanted, cash waiting' stylee and wait for the phone to ring. Sellers coming to you will generally have a depressed idea of the value of their boat, which you can then use as a starting point for a downwards price negotiation.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Mike

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