Twighlight years & managing a boat

[cotswoldsman]

The oldest single hander we have met is 75, his boat is currently up for sale as he his finally hanging up his fenders for good.

Stan that I cruise with will be 78 in July yesterday he was ahead of me went through 5 locks and reset them for me

[Zayna]

I am the opposite way round. I'm dreading still owning my house when I get older. It's a millstone. The place is going to be falling down around my ears, there's always stuff needs doing - pointing, painting, carpets, decorating, boiler trouble, something leaking, all those windows will need replacing at some stage, the garden needs doing regularly, energy bills going up and up, council tax going through the roof... then there's keeping it clean, it's like painting the Forth Bridge. Soon as you've gone right through, it's time to do it again. Seriously, I want to pay a couple more years mortgage off and then get shut.

 

I know similar jobs need doing on the boat from time to time but it's on a much smaller scale. And so much easier to keep warm. No, I have not done a full winter as a liveaboard but I would give it a go if I could. I really hope to, one day.

 

You don't know what's round the corner. Like has been said, you could go under a bus tomorrow. Don't dwell on ifs and buts. My mother used to say if your auntie had balls, she'd be your uncle.

[carlt]

Like has been said, you could go under a bus tomorrow.

It is also worth noting that you are far more likely to be run over by a bus when stepping out of your house than when stepping off your boat.

[sal garfi]

I am the opposite way round. I'm dreading still owning my house when I get older. It's a millstone. The place is going to be falling down around my ears, there's always stuff needs doing - pointing, painting, carpets, decorating, boiler trouble, something leaking, all those windows will need replacing at some stage, the garden needs doing regularly, energy bills going up and up, council tax going through the roof... then there's keeping it clean, it's like painting the Forth Bridge. Soon as you've gone right through, it's time to do it again. Seriously, I want to pay a couple more years mortgage off and then get shut.

 

I know similar jobs need doing on the boat from time to time but it's on a much smaller scale. And so much easier to keep warm. No, I have not done a full winter as a liveaboard but I would give it a go if I could. I really hope to, one day.

 

You don't know what's round the corner. Like has been said, you could go under a bus tomorrow. Don't dwell on ifs and buts. My mother used to say if your auntie had balls, she'd be your uncle.

Zayna, you're exactly where me and my other half are. Our house, though lovely, and even more so because of our location in our Cambrian fastness will be a millstone in our later years. We're afraid of the roof needing to be done. The windows do need to be done. It costs ca £500 every two and a half months to heat it during the winter, and we keep the radiators very low, and off in some rooms (and dress warmly), and we still go through around 40 kilos of coal a week for the sitting room fire (plus wood that we can get from our half acre). Our sheds leak (and the roof is very bad on one) and the garden has to be looked after. Also, the house is listed so certain 'upgrades' can't be done without paying over the odds and we don't have the lucre! Luckily we have a very small mortgage, but another expense for the landlubber is a car!

 

Oh..., and the guttering needs persistent cleaning, something which we're both not nuts about since heights aren't our forte - and how would we manage that if our mobility becomes restricted in older age?

 

We will miss our home very much, and its location, but the house is a drain, both monetarily and physically. I also think, from what some people here have said about keeping their boats warm in the winter, I'm pretty certain that it'll be more snug than my (small) crumbling pile.

 

I've got a relation who's waited 'till his retirement to 'enjoy life'. Unfortunately life has dealt him a bad hand and he might end up in a wheel chair. Grasp your opportunities while you can. Don't betray your dreams. I've tried not to betray mine and I've had a pretty good batting average. Without hope the people perish!!

[Guest]

Stan that I cruise with will be 78 in July yesterday he was ahead of me went through 5 locks and reset them for me

 

correction then - 'the oldest single hander I have met was 77'

[Zayna]

Guttering. Don't talk to me about guttering...

[sal garfi]

Guttering. Don't talk to me about guttering...

Oh..., The Demon Gutters. They're a family of evil doers don't y'know!!

[bottle]

Sal Garfi

 

Just so you know, 50 Kg of 'coal' will keep a boat warm for 24hrs a day, 7 days a week and you may even have to open the doors, to let some of the heat out.

 

We average two bags (25Kg) a week and at the moment it costs £10 a bag (Excel). There are other types and the price varies.

[sal garfi]

Bottle...., yes, I've heard this said many times on this forum. Relying only on coal for heating at your rate would make a great savings indeed!

[madcat]

This topic is really about fear of the future,where the future takes place is secondary the main issue is anxiety. We vary in what levels of anxiety we suffer from.

I can totally relate to the worry of a house, I hate ours and would love to be free of the worry.we can't cope but Boris would not think of moving so we struggle along. Living on a boat is not an option for Boris but it would be for me.

My take on it is to do your research carefully and make your choice,good luck and I hope you will be happy

Edit to deal with spellcheck ...GRRRRRR

Edited May 29, 2013 by madcat

[OldPeculier]

When I lived on my boat years ago, I dislocated my knee. My boating friends ran me to hospital without the need to ask, got my shopping, cooked me the odd meal and generally looked in on me to make sure I was ok, until I was off my crutches.

 

I get on well with my neighbours now but I doubt they would even notice if I dropped down dead.

 

And dont get me started on the guttering and the roof and the windows and the fences not to mention the electric bill!

 

The count down is on. Cant wait to be back on the water.

[rubblequeen]

I think the OP is right to think and plan for the future-not to worry about it though life really is too short for that - the worry comes when you are unable to live comfortably whatever age and have no contingency plan. Fortunately my wife wont read this bit of advise and point out that I'm the biggest hypocrite around as I have gone out and done all things I ever wanted to with a damn the future attitude. Still am really and at 65 1/2 (halves have begun to be important again now) still not bothered and enjoying life.

My contingency, over the years I invested in my passion/hobby cycling (sorry Mrs Smelly) and have a large collection of antique - vintage bicycles which I can sell off one at a time if I ever I get stuck. Never trusted the suits with all their ASA, insurances, bonds etc and I'll bet my bikes have done better than all their smooth talking invest in this etc.

 

Not suggesting this is your answer just what has worked for me.

 

Have a look at this WW2 bike I'll be riding in the Help4Heroes ride this week end - it's a buet https://www.facebook.com/tony.thompson.92560?ref=tn_tnmn

[Taslim]

The Gent who put up #5 has it.

 

You are relativly young and presumably have regular work. You talk of buying a boat so presumably have some capital (I looked at marine mortgages & got a fright.) So, if you can fund it, go for it. Only problem I can see is that the boat will wear out before you do.

 

Have you spent any serious anount of time living on/in a boat? I live most of the time in an old truck so am OK with the practicalitys that will be involved when moving to an NB. It's not for ever one thouh & I know a number of good people who have gone back to the bank, poorer but wiser.

[Claret73]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm hiring a boat shortly & will do so again in the Winter. I've found a mooring close to my office (which sits on the canal) and so there will be some offset in fuel costs for commuting. I'm keen to give it a go & see what it's like. I'd guess 18 Months in after seeing the seasons I'd have a pretty good idea if it's for me long term. I've met lots of enthusiasm so far by boat owners & I really do like being outdoors, self sufficiency and being active, so there are lots of positives. I guess it will take the plunge to realise the worries or lack of for the long term...

[nb Innisfree]

I am 96 and still active, sexually in particular, can handle boating with ease, don't know what all the fuss is about.

 

 

 

Sorry, 66.

[Mike Tee]

Such as?

Stanna stair lift

[Dyertribe]

That would come as a bit of a shock if you were going through Netherton tunnel!

I would imagine being hit by a bus would come as a bit of a shock wherever you are!

[Arthur Brown]

The issues start with your current personal health. Typically your 40's to 60's should be good and they could be the life of your first boat especially if you buy second hand. How you treat yourself now influences how well you enjoy the next tens of years. However in that time expect the rules and funding of elderly care to change! and remember that a boat is a depreciating item not like a land property.

 

However the issue today is to get out there, enjoy life and keep fit.

[jimbo747]

The issues start with your current personal health. Typically your 40's to 60's should be good and they could be the life of your first boat especially if you buy second hand. How you treat yourself now influences how well you enjoy the next tens of years. However in that time expect the rules and funding of elderly care to change! and remember that a boat is a depreciating item not like a land property.

 

However the issue today is to get out there, enjoy life and keep fit.

That's a very good point, Arthur. I was having the same conversation about house buying with my new partner a while back. I've owned a house in the past - went with the divorce and i ended up with very little. At 42, i'm not sure i want to get on the ladder again and condemn myself to another decade of working in London (i live 140 miles outside of it) just to make ends meet. I rent, presently, and have £12k in the bank, and i tell you, i've never felt more financially secure. I have friends who are worried sick about meeting their mortgage payments, who lose sleep when the latest job cut is announced. I really don't anymore.

[carlt]

I have friends who are worried sick about meeting their mortgage payments, who lose sleep when the latest job cut is announced. I really don't anymore.

That said interest rates are at an all time low and lenders are actually lending again so buying more property is something I am considering, in my late 40s, rather than trust my money to the pension and banking thieves.

 

I'd far rather them lend me their money than me lend them mine.

[blackrose]

The way I see it is this, how hard a life is it living in a Marina with all services? Surely roughly as hard as living in a house? The other thing is heating, how many oap's cannot afford to heat their houses and are having to decide on heat or food? It wont happen on a boat, coats pence really to heat the boat.

 

If that means what I think it does then I disagree. I think it's quite expensive to heat a boat.

 

Even if you have to buy fuel for fire you are still burning less than trying to heat even a small house

 

I disagree again. New build houses are far better insulated than new build boats (or old boats). They have foot thick insulation in the roof and don't need much heating at all. Boats on the other hand and generally more exposed, have an inch or two of insulation, open vents all over the place letting all the heat out and have inefficient heating systems run on coal or diesel.

 

How many winters have you spent on boats? It's quite easy to spend 30 quid a week on coal in a bad winter. Even more on diesel.

Edited June 3, 2013 by blackrose

[Arthur Brown]

I'd suggest that 50p an hour would be a minimum for winter heat in a boat maybe more or lots more. which for the months of Oct - may would eat a lot into savings or pension income.

[Salopgal]

To All...

I know I'm over thinking it! Thanks RLWP!...It was never going to put me off purchasing a boat. It was one of those niggling thoughts...I think I'll move my posts onto more important issues I'll need to address.

 

I haven't read what everybody else has said yet, and perhaps I should, but 3 gins in, I'm writing to you anyway.

 

I did the same thing as you, thought a lot, got cold feet, warm and cold and warm again... etc

 

I am 46, I have familial osteo-arthritis starting, I have 'Catastrophic Hyperacusis' (you might need to look that one up!), I have periodic extreme clinical depression, I am awake every night with joint pain and am probably pre-menopausal if my mood swings are anything to go by..... BUT....

 

In the end, I boiled it down to this, and my mother said it to me in fact: Would I regret never having tried? Never tried living on a narrowboat, being more self sufficient after a divorce, living in a new community of folk who are largely as quirky as me (ace!), never trying to see whether I could get more proficient at fixing stuff instead of always getting help?

 

Would I REALLY be happy selling out that particular dream and living in a crappy bedsit in Oswestry, hating that solitary existence and wishing I had given the whole boat thing a go?

 

In the end, it was my mother's adventurous spirit that spurred me on to say: "Yes, I'm going to try this - if it doesn't work out, well, at least I tried".

 

I'll end my life with lots of regrets. I didn't want this to be one of them. I'm not preaching, I'm just saying. And I've had 3 gins - bear that in mind!

 

I've been rightfully chastised for over thinking stuff by folk here and they were right, but they didn't make me feel small. I knew they meant well. Most here do and I love them for it.

 

We are all just muddling on in life and making the best fist of it.

Just don't have too many regrets is all...

 

With my very best wishes to you,

 

K

[Claret73]

Salopgal

Thanks for your Post! I am going to give it a try...& I've decided I'm going to maybe rough it out a little more than taking on a 57 footer. Reduce the initial outgoings. I've been watching lots of videos (quirky but exactly as I could see myself living - living life) by a boater on a 30ft 'Tilley' called Dan Brown...

 

I'm going to hire both in the warm months & in the Winter, preferably a shorter boat to get an exact feel. I'm spending time here reading, as to post I have so many questions that may have been answered. It's all in planning to do this (unless I'm put off by the hire) by next Spring, so here;s to some saving, talking & reading...

[rubblequeen]

Salopgal you have it spot on and Claret73 if it's your dream and is still your dream after hiring go for it. I'm a great believer in following dreams and so what if sometimes they don't always work out. Take care and have fun.