Update on progress!

[Sade]

Hi all,

 

It's been a little while since my first post saying hi etc. I think that was almost 2 months ago and we were still in the stages of "do we, don't we?" and many of you suggested from my responses in that post that I've got "the bug" and wouldn't be surprised if my well thought out plans were going to suddenly speed up.......watch this space, I said!

 

My main absence from the forum has been due to the unfortunate health of my Nan, who, on 14th April had a massive stroke, she has since been in hospital but has recently been allowed home. I had to stay with her for a few days and its a slow process. Being 85 she is probably going to have to go into care eventually....time will tell. So the reason I'm really going into detail about my Nan is that it's concreted my belief that life is short and we must grab every opportunity "by the balls" and do what makes us happy.... (yes, ice cream makes me happy....and chocolate!)

 

My husband Dean had been holding out on the whole commitment to selling the house and buying a nb, which had made me reluctant to push him for a proper "yay or nay"....even though we've dreamily talked about the idea of it for years now. But something has finally clicked....the pots of paint are out and the downstairs is almost finished ready for a valuation from the estate agents. He told me over a much needed pint on Friday that he was only 99% sure a few weeks ago, but now he is 100% certain that we are doing the right thing for us......ahhhhh the 1% difference a pint of ale can make, always warms the soul doesn't it?!

 

So, we still have a holiday booked for October but in the meantime, the house is getting a little make over....boxes of clutter are piling up ready for a boot sale and the smile-o-meter is steadily going up and up! We haven't told anyone (apart from you guys) which is the norm for us (moving from berkshire to wiltshire 6 years ago, running off to cornwall to get married in secret 2 years ago.....among other things hehehee!) so its all the more exciting.

 

We are hoping to have the house up within about 3 weeks and haven't quite worked out how we will go about the actual transition as we will probably have to rent somewhere for a short time and will avoid a mortgage fee if we can hold off sale of the property until October (just when our boating hol is booked!) but we realise things don't always go to plan and we're pretty relaxed about how flexible we may have to be. There seems to be arguments for both staying on a boat before actually taking the plunge but also for accepting that a holiday is NOT the same as living on a boat....what will be will be, depending on time scales and we're ok with that.

 

All I can say is that I'm fit to burst with excitement, the gut instincts are in a happy place and I have budgets, boating literature and plans coming out of my ears (as well as being covered in little spots of cream emulsion paint!)

 

Will do my best to carry on with updates as the progress continues and want to thank every one of you for advice previously given......am continuing to scour the forum for answers to questions as they arise but I think we've got it covered EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Athy]

Judging by the tone of your post, perhaps you should be called "Happ"e rather than "Sad"e/

 

(Other, superior, sources of humour are available on this site).

 

Keep us informed about the exciting times ahead!

[Sade]

Judging by the tone of your post, perhaps you should be called "Happ"e rather than "Sad"e/

 

(Other, superior, sources of humour are available on this site).

 

Keep us informed about the exciting times ahead!

Hehehee good one....and will do

[DeanS]

Well done on your decision...

We took the step, and are very happy.

 

There will always be unexpected things to spend money on when it comes to boating, but I dont think much more than car repairs, or house repairs, and the boating life offers a lot of flexibility, so if you dont like where you are moored you can just move on easily enough.

 

The main frustrations would be the boat layout, so make sure you get one which suits you. After that, it's all a breeze.(except if you have a pump out toilet, which my wife says she could never imagine having, but hey ho...I dont want to start a forum war

[Sade]

Well done on your decision...

We took the step, and are very happy.

 

There will always be unexpected things to spend money on when it comes to boating, but I dont think much more than car repairs, or house repairs, and the boating life offers a lot of flexibility, so if you dont like where you are moored you can just move on easily enough.

 

The main frustrations would be the boat layout, so make sure you get one which suits you. After that, it's all a breeze.(except if you have a pump out toilet, which my wife says she could never imagine having, but hey ho...I dont want to start a forum war

Cheers Dean....I think you may have been one of those that said I sounded like I was hooked already.....you were right hahaha! The next month or so will be spent looking at boats, layouts, wants and don't wants etc though with (my) Dean being a chippie, cosmetics won't be a problem

[Alanji]

Congrats and good luck Sara. As Dean says, layout is very important so even a week on a hire boat will give you an incite into what you want/ do not want.

I almost paid £1000 (it involved moving the boiler) to have the cross bed changed over so I did not have to make the bed every day. Now if buying a new boat I think I would stick with the cross bed - provides extra living space and I like the little shelf beside the bed and is a lot less bother than I anticipated. I would also go for a larger shower, probably a walk through and preferably hatches on both sides.

As Dean says another big decision is pump out or cassette - using the search facility will bring up endless discussion (and I do not intend to contribute further to it!)

Edited June 3, 2013 by Alanji

[Sade]

Congrats and good luck Sara. As Dean says, layout is very important so even a week on a hire boat will give you an incite into what you want/ do not want.

I almost paid £1000 (it involved moving the boiler) to have the cross bed changed over so I did not have to make the bed every day. Now if buying a new boat I think I would stick with the cross bed - provides extra living space and I like the little shelf beside the bed and is a lot less bother than I anticipated. I would also go for a larger shower, probably a walk through and preferably hatches on both sides.

As Dean says another big decision is pump out or cassette - using the search facility will bring up endless discussion (and I do not intend to contribute further to it!)

Thanks Alan, much appreciated.....

[deckhand]

Hi ,

 

We are in the same position, house for sale, boat ordered, should be on the water beg October. Cannot wait . Hope you will both be very happy on the water and I too have Nan who is 98 this year (she lived with us for 10 years until she needed more care than I could give) who is now in care and is surrounded by lovely people. Good luck in your search for the right boat

[JayDub]

Hi,

What exciting times. I am waiting for the survey on my boat purchase, it has been an incredible journey, learning so much - mainly from here, deciiding what you want and what you don't and then changing your mind several times over. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Read the forums, ask questions and enjoy ...

 

JayDub

[Sade]

Hi ,

 

We are in the same position, house for sale, boat ordered, should be on the water beg October. Cannot wait . Hope you will both be very happy on the water and I too have Nan who is 98 this year (she lived with us for 10 years until she needed more care than I could give) who is now in care and is surrounded by lovely people. Good luck in your search for the right boat

Thanks so much ....its so exciting and I want it all to happen over night, which obviously isn't going to happen but we're about a year closer to doing it than we were 2 months ago hahahahaa!!!

 

Hi,

What exciting times. I am waiting for the survey on my boat purchase, it has been an incredible journey, learning so much - mainly from here, deciiding what you want and what you don't and then changing your mind several times over. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Read the forums, ask questions and enjoy ...

 

JayDub

It's fantastic, I love the forum just nosing around and chuckling at some of the posts.....and most of it just makes me want to do it even more...good luck with yours too

[MtB]

Sade,

 

I'm surprised you have to sell the house to get a boat. Surely you are loaded given the success of your album "Diamond Life" back in the 1980's...!

 

 

MtB

[Alanji]

Thanks Alan, much appreciated.....

The other obvious thing is to look at lots of boats - first online then shortlisted in person. I have a very simple spreadsheet for listing boats which you are welcome to - if you want PM me.

 

ETA Anyone else is welcome but it is pretty basic

Edited June 3, 2013 by Alanji

[jimbo747]

Sorry to hear about your gran's ill health. I lost my 82 year old father last year and (although a relationship ultimately prevented me from moving afloat) it has certainly caused me to reassess what's important in life. I am envious that your partner is as keen to get as float as you are. My partner came on a week's holiday, it rained, she hated it.

[Tinhare]

First of all, best of luck with your Nan.
Last time I replied to your post I used the holiday in Spain analogy and also mentioned that we had found a boat awaiting survey. Well, survey was fine and we bought the boat.

We have moved the boat down from Cheshire to Tamworth over a few weekends which was our first time aboard a narrowboat. Moving the boat has convinced us that we are making the right decision. After each move, which while not exactly relaxing as we were trying to move it as far as possible in a limited amount of time, we found that we didn't want to come home at the end of the weekend.

I'm sitting in an almost empty house surrounded by boxes awaiting this weekend when we take some to store at a relatives and a few up to the boat where as of Monday we will be live-aboards.

It's great you are still excited about the prospect of moving aboard. It sounds like Dean has committed to moving aboard too which is great and I hope he is as excited as you are.
Best of luck with your holiday and house sale. Hopefully you'll be out on the water by he end of the year.

 

Cheers,

Alan & Tina

[comfortably numb]

Great news Sade. Exiting times lie ahead but so do some difficult ones.Having recently made the move from a 4 bedroomed house to a 62' NB I never want to go through it again, but we got there in the end, moving aboard at Easter, and I can tell you it was well worth it. Ours probably had more hassle than you will have because we put our house up for rent as apposed to selling.

 

Alan's advice about searching the net and then actually looking at lots of boats is sound advice because we found many that looked nothing like they did on the photos. You've obviously done your research thoroughly on here so you don't need me or any of us to tell you the other things to consider. Well done to you and all you others who are in the process and as I said, it is worth all the hassle in the end.

[grannykins]

So jealous! We have 3 1/2 years yet before we can move onto a boat. Good luck, and dont forget to put up pics when you are all sorted

[DeanS]

I can sincerely say that living on a boat, will test your materialismness (is that a word). After 2yrs, I think I own about 5 items which are "mine".

 

1. clothes

2. a small box of "old keys,plugs,wires,connectors,etc"

3. A Boat Safety Guide

4. A boat key

5. A windlass

 

The rest seems to have been thrown out bit by bit till there's nothing left. My advice is...throw it all out now, shed some tears, get over it, and live like a boater...lol

[Alanji]

I can sincerely say that living on a boat, will test your materialismness (is that a word). After 2yrs, I think I own about 5 items which are "mine".

 

1. clothes

2. a small box of "old keys,plugs,wires,connectors,etc"

3. A Boat Safety Guide

4. A boat key

5. A windlass

 

The rest seems to have been thrown out bit by bit till there's nothing left. My advice is...throw it all out now, shed some tears, get over it, and live like a boater...lol

And an internet connection/hardware!

[matty40s]

And an internet connection/hardware!

and don't test your phones submersibleness.

[Alanji]

And an internet connection/hardware!

 

and don't test your phones submersibleness.

 

I was checking my bilge pump yesterday by pouring buckets of water into the bilges and found that my wallet does not float either. Fortunately it dived into the bilges rather than the canal. Must stop putting things in my shirt top pocket!

[Pykebird]

I am surprised the moths didn't keep it afloat, Alan!!

[Alanji]

I am surprised the moths didn't keep it afloat, Alan!!

No they didn't - and I reckon it will take about a month for the ten pound note to dry out - drinks are on you

[Pykebird]

No problem, give us a shout when u r back in civilization!