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Decisions decisions!!!!!!!!


carp-addict

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Hi to all I have been a silent member of the forums since 2008 and I have read many posts by different people so I know what a helpfull lot you all are.Ive wanted a narrowboat for many years and potentially I may be able to purchase one next march.Heres my dilemma I am also keen to pay off my mortgage so my choices are

A.Stuff the mortgage you only live once and get a boat

 

B.be sensible pay the house off and end any chance of repossesion further down the line

 

C.pay half the mortgage off and buy a cheaper boat

 

Decisions decisions ive never been good at making the right one

Someone else has already suggested, but I'll give my vote to:

If possible downsize.

With the residual get a boat

Rent the house out to pay mortgage. You will then have a bolt hole if it all goes help.gif .

Most important, wife and kids must be onside.

Bob

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Ive had 2 holidays previously a week at a time and loved every min I love the outdoors and most other weekends my time is spent in a tent(bivvy)to any anglers out there so I know I will love it.The wife enjoyed the holiday also as I live near the canal networt(northwich)It would be ideal as in a few years when the youngest daughter is old enough to stay in on her own we could do a few nights through the week and commute to work from the boat.I dont think downsizing is an option not enough equity left maybe the way forward is to slap it on the 1st favourite at haydock

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This reads a bit like a mid life crisis , realising you are getting older and hankering after what you fancy for yourself . Some men buy sports cars or motorbikes you fancy a narrowboat . Your youngest daughter is approaching an age where her interests are not likely to be narrowboats and I suspect your wife is less keen than yourself although OK with a short holiday . Option C is the obvious choice and if it all goes horribly wrong your wife takes the house and you have the boat .

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If you go down the selling house buying boat route make sure your wife is happy living on the boat by herself. It may just be a short trip to hospital or could be permanent.

We have had to give up boating as I am no longer strong enough to change a gas bottle.

That is sad. I assume you are being generic as there must be mechanical assists available for dealing with gas bottles specifically. All the best with whatever you do.

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Doesn't you choice also depend on what you want to do with the boat and how much income you will have. Personally I would never own a boat unless I intended to live on it/use it a lot. Otherwise its just sitting somewhere eating money for most of the time. We always used to charter (sailing and narrow boats) until we were in a position to live aboard. And then you need some income to live on.

We actually re-mortgaged to raise the capital to buy our boat.

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Buy a share in a boat, so you have a much smaller capital outlay, and can spend four weeks or so a year on board for a fraction of the cost of hiring. You'll have time on board in all seasons, so you can see whether you really like it. Then when you're in a position to buy a whole boat, you can sell the share and get a good chunk of your initial outlay back.

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Its certainly not a mid life crisis its about enjoying life after working hard and saving all of your life maybe i will pay 95% of the mortgage off and buy a grp boat for weekend use.we visited crick 3 years ago (camped in the field) so its not like just buying something on a whim

Edited by carp-addict
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We had a similar dilemma a few years back so we bought a cheap-ish boat and spent four months solid on the network - we were lucky enough to be able to put our respective businesses on hold. It was long enough to convince us that living afloat was not for us, and fortunately we hadn't burnt our bridges.

 

My sister in law had the same idea as you and I talked her out of it by explaining what it could be like through a British winter. It's so easy to get carried away looking at boats on warm summer days.

 

There's a lot of folk on the forum who clearly love the live aboard lifestyle, but I often wonder how many tragic stories there are out there that we never get to hear.

 

The best piece of advice I've ever heard is the one about buying the best boat you can afford not to use. If only I could practice it...

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Thats a fair point thats why we said we would never sell the house to fund a boat.It must be a nightmare to realise that you a)dont like it anywhere as much as you thought you would and b)illness kicks in rendering either of you unable to carry on.Its best to always have a base to go to.Ultimately I am in no rush to make a descision ive waited long enough a little while longer wont hurt.

Edited by carp-addict
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That is sad. I assume you are being generic as there must be mechanical assists available for dealing with gas bottles specifically. All the best with whatever you do.

Not that I know of. It's a straight lift out of the rear gas locker.
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Also, don't forget to factor in the hidden costs once you've bought it, as things like surveys, licenses, moorings could swallow up some of potential income from any rent you receive.

The best of luck, I hope you have a great, relaxing and trouble-free time on the cut.

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I did option B then bought the boat with redundancy money. Unfortunately I liked living on the boat so much, my wife (now ex) took half the house off me!

 

We spend most of our lives slaving away for a house then often leave it to late to enjoy the benefits of our labours. I'd say try out living on one for a while and see what happens. As others have suggested, you could always sell it if you don't like it and pay more off the mortgage.

 

One thing I have learnt is that a boat can either be a very expensive hobby (if you don't live on it) or a very cheap lifestyle (if you do)!

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  • 8 years later...

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - attributed to Mark Twain.

 

14 years is quite long enough to wait.

Edited by Dave_P
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40 minutes ago, BlueStringPudding said:

Excellent news, Carp. Wow indeed - your original post was 3 years before I joined the forum, and I thought I was one of the old pieces of furniture here.  😉

 

 

Should have gone to Specsavers......Queen Anne reigns.....Rising Sun banter was long before Carp posted this!!!!!

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1 hour ago, matty40s said:

Should have gone to Specsavers......Queen Anne reigns.....Rising Sun banter was long before Carp posted this!!!!!

 

Youre right. And funnily enough, I didn't have my reading glasses on! 🤓

 

Rising Sun banter must have been 2011. I've been on the forum since 2006. What made you think of the banter? 

 

Edited to add: ironically I didn't need reading glasses when the thread was originally started 🤔 😀

Edited by BlueStringPudding
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