Decision time - To live aboard or downsize!

[dmtarry]

Hi All

Well the pressure is now on, I was made redundant last year from a good job and we have now sold both of our houses subject to finalising matters and have to decide whether we use the money to buy a smaller house or go for it and buy a wide beam boat and move aboard? We have determined that a wide beam would be the best option for us to live on, though understand that this extra space comes with some limitations for long term cruising of the systems.

 

The capital generated from the sales if invested should be enough to give us a sufficient though not massive income to retire / semi retire with, and i am awaiting final detail from financial advisers to clarify this. (Though as we know investments can go down as well as up) Hopefully in 10 - 12 years or so we would still have enough capital to buy a small house if we decide to, draw down our private and state pensions (I'm 57 my wife is 54) and await our impending doom.

 

However as always complications raise there heads firstly my wife wants to keep her part time job for a wile, and we want to keep fairly close to the Warrington area for the next few years to be near our children and grand children. As we would not their fore be able to continuously cruise for a while, we are attempting to locate a suitable mooring on the Bridgewater preferably with power and facilities that we can use as a base and then cruise around the area for a while. Hens teeth springs to mind.

 

Looking at the houses and areas that we can buy in and still retain enough capital to provide an income makes down sizing a bit un appealing, while some of the wide beams in this price range are very nice indeed.

 

We would certainly need a boat designed to be self sufficient and assume that power etc are things that we will have access to sporadically at best. Any views on the specifications that would best achieve this would be helpful I/e Water heating, Central Heating, Electrical system, Solar / Wind assistance, Appliances, Toilet type, (Helmet on) size of holding tanks, etc I know many of these issues are subjective and cause lively debate and would be interested to hear from current live aboards with limited power access on there views of the best specifications.

 

My current Thoughts

Fire - Good Quality multi fuel with back boiler?

Hot Water - Back boiler, colorifier and an emersion heater?

Central Heating - Back boiler, and Diesel system

Electrical - Battery banks charging system type?, Solar power type?, Inverter type?

Toilet - Pump out with good capacity tank?

Fridge 12 V

Washer?

 

Also if we have a permanent mooring though we would spend a lot of time out and about I am assuming that we are not perceived as living on the mooring, even though we are living aboard the boat? How is this perceived ? are we just bridge hoppers?

 

I always thought if we had the chance it would be simple buy boat sod off! Funny how something that you have thought as your goal for 35 years suddenly becomes a bit uncertain just when you find yourself in a position to do it. Grand children who knew it!!

 

 

My head is in bits!!

 

[deckhand]

You seem to be throwing all sorts into the air and hoping that the right idea falls down. I would suggest you write down the various options and explore each one individually. If you were absolutely sure that the boat was the thing for you, you would not be thinking of downsizing to a smaller house too. Be sure that the boat is exactly what you want before you do it, It is very different from living in a house.

 

and don't make any decisions until you are sure.

[DeanS]

My head is in bits!!

 

 

Right...it's time to give you some proper feedback

 

No need to have your head in bits ! Looking at the decision to downsize or live on a boat......A widebeam is a lovely thing to live in...and it sounds like you will have the cash to put in all the modcons you need. The lovely thing about boating is that you can move it...so you can visit different places. I've just gone cruising....went all the way to Leeds, and back to Manchester.... We have also explored the Bridgewater, and have found some lovely places to visit again....pubs that do carveries, curry evenings, quizz nights...live music.....walk in the park areas,....little villages, bigger towns.....all on that one canal....you can even moor behind Trafford centre and pop in to the B&Q There's no locks on the Bridgewater, which make it a lovely canal for gentle cruising. If you want locks, you would head for Wigan...there's 23 to start with ...or you can do the Rochdale 9...from Castlefield...and the entire Rochdale canal...all the way up the Pennines.. There's a lot of cruising area up north, so being "limited" is not really true

 

If you aren't connected to shorepower, you immediately enter the realm of....generating your own power. If you cruise a little in the day, the chances are you'll have enough power for the tv/mobile phone charging etc, all night. The fridge will be your biggest drain of batter power...and solar power can help a lot. I have 920Watts of solar......many have much less. Mine were cheap panels...but the flexible stick on ones are nice, but expensive.

 

A coal fire is lovely in winter...a back boiler and radiators would probably give you enough warmth down the other end of the boat.... you can have a diesel heater as a backup if you like.... For hot water...we have a gas heater...instant hot water....nice powerful shower...no problems. No need to run the boat engine for hours to create hot water.

 

Living on a boat means engaging with nature, and other boaters, and becoming a lot more seperated from the hussle and bustle of land living. The 2 lifestyles are very different.

 

I doubt you'd lose any/much money on a boat if you are careful how much you spend. Why not have a look at http://lmbs.co.uk - they have some pics...and are on the Bridgewater....(Lymm area).....speak to Chris You pay £1000 and the rest when the boat is ready....

 

Edited August 21, 2013 by DeanS

[John Williamson 1955]

I would suggest that you look at a way of keeping one foot on the land, as I know of at least one person who didn't, and when they became too unfit to live aboard, they had no choice but to move into rented accommodation.

 

I'm just about to move afloat, and I've gone to some trouble to keep the house and rent it out, which means that with a maximum of six months notice, I can move back into it, should things go pear shaped.

 

Bye!

 

John.

[junior]

There is a thread running on here currently specifically about Bridgewater Canal moorings, check that out for mooring info (I can't link to it, i'm on my tablet).

[grahame r]

I'd also think very carefuly before being without a house. The whole of our economy is tied to house prices and boats are definitely a depreciating asset. Historically putting money into bricks and mortar has always been a good move and politically this is unlikely to change, the government is currently propping up house prices with low interest rates and any government which wants to stay in power will have to continue to do that for the foreseeable future. If you have sufficient funds to buy some form of pension/investment which will give a significant return with the current low interest rates then a buy to rent property will probably be a better investment and of course is a safety net should boating turn out not to be for you. This decision will of course impact on how much you have left for the boat so IMHO I'd look at that first and decide on back boilers and cruising routes afterwards.

It is a great life though.

[Athy]

One aspect of your planning immediately rings alarm bells: living off income generated by investing your capital. Interest rates are very low at the moment; even an ISA will typically pay only 2 to 3% per annum, and with other savings accounts I am struggling to achieve more than 2% at the moment. So you would need a very large investment to generate anything approaching a living wage.

Consider buying a property to rent out: you can pay a property agent to look after them, so all you do is collect the money. Ours yield 4 to 5% p.a. after tax. Also, if for any reason you decide that the boating life is not for you, you can move into the property.

[Robbo]

 

Electrical - Battery banks charging system type?, Solar power type?, Inverter type?

 

 

Power is everything for a liveaboard unless you like the basics. I would research this area very well (there's good links pinned in the equipment section). If your mooring doesn't have electric and you like your electric and have the room (widebeam?) I would install a diesel generator with a nice combi charger/inverter the solar panels been secondary. I have a 4kw genny and 2kw combi (would go for 3kw these days) with traction type batteries, one day I'll add solar.

[sueb]

I agree with the keep a property comments. We had planned on going round Trent Falls this year but hubby had a stroke and we were very pleased we had a house to move into. Living on a boat when you can't get off is no fun.

[J R ALSOP]

If you have to ask, it is not for you.

[Ricco1]

Hi All

Well the pressure is now on, I was made redundant last year from a good job and we have now sold both of our houses subject to finalising matters and have to decide whether we use the money to buy a smaller house or go for it and buy a wide beam boat and move aboard? We have determined that a wide beam would be the best option for us to live on, though understand that this extra space comes with some limitations for long term cruising of the systems.

 

The capital generated from the sales if invested should be enough to give us a sufficient though not massive income to retire / semi retire with, and i am awaiting final detail from financial advisers to clarify this. (Though as we know investments can go down as well as up) Hopefully in 10 - 12 years or so we would still have enough capital to buy a small house if we decide to, draw down our private and state pensions (I'm 57 my wife is 54) and await our impending doom.

 

However as always complications raise there heads firstly my wife wants to keep her part time job for a wile, and we want to keep fairly close to the Warrington area for the next few years to be near our children and grand children. As we would not their fore be able to continuously cruise for a while, we are attempting to locate a suitable mooring on the Bridgewater preferably with power and facilities that we can use as a base and then cruise around the area for a while. Hens teeth springs to mind.

 

Looking at the houses and areas that we can buy in and still retain enough capital to provide an income makes down sizing a bit un appealing, while some of the wide beams in this price range are very nice indeed.

 

We would certainly need a boat designed to be self sufficient and assume that power etc are things that we will have access to sporadically at best. Any views on the specifications that would best achieve this would be helpful I/e Water heating, Central Heating, Electrical system, Solar / Wind assistance, Appliances, Toilet type, (Helmet on) size of holding tanks, etc I know many of these issues are subjective and cause lively debate and would be interested to hear from current live aboards with limited power access on there views of the best specifications.

 

My current Thoughts

Fire - Good Quality multi fuel with back boiler?

Hot Water - Back boiler, colorifier and an emersion heater?

Central Heating - Back boiler, and Diesel system

Electrical - Battery banks charging system type?, Solar power type?, Inverter type?

Toilet - Pump out with good capacity tank?

Fridge 12 V

Washer?

 

Also if we have a permanent mooring though we would spend a lot of time out and about I am assuming that we are not perceived as living on the mooring, even though we are living aboard the boat? How is this perceived ? are we just bridge hoppers?

 

I always thought if we had the chance it would be simple buy boat sod off! Funny how something that you have thought as your goal for 35 years suddenly becomes a bit uncertain just when you find yourself in a position to do it. Grand children who knew it!!

 

 

My head is in bits!!

 

 

Your situation is similar to mine in some ways, but different in others. I packed in my well paid job 6 years ago to go travelling for a couple of years. I then taught English overseas for a few years, saving the money I received as rent on my nice house. I then decided I didn't want to work all the time (or at all, we will see) and looked for a way that I could gain this financial freedom.

 

Rather than pay financial advisors I decided to sell my house and buy 3 cheap houses to rent in Manchester. I wouldn't want to live there but they give a return on the sum I paid of over 10% a year. That left me enough to buy a small liveaboard for one. I've recently bought a boat. I have a little over £1000 a month to live on which sounds OK but I have to maintain 3 houses, a narrowboat and a motorbike! Having this in mind I kept a sum of £10,000 back; bought a cheaper narrowboat than I'd originally planned; so I have a reasonable fund for maintenance. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this sum, maybe add to it, while I'm having a nice relaxing life living on the canal.

 

Hope that's some food for thought.