Why live afloat?

[pquinn]

 

After four years afloat and continuously cruising and working regularly part-time (for others as well as freelance), my main recommendation would be: Live on a boat because you want to live ON A BOAT.

 

Not because it seems like a cheap alternative to some other form of living. This is because it's not like living on land, and almost invariably it's not as cheap as you think it will be.

 

One way of checking out whether you like it leads to my second recommendation: Hire a small narrowboat out-of-season (sometime before beginning of November, say, before the winter maintenance closures start to kick in ... and when hiring is cheapest) and 'pretend' you're living on it. See what it's like.

 

If you really like it and can picture yourself being on a boat and driving it through all forms of weather and taking the time to regularly ... fill up with water ... pump-out / dump waste ... keep your batteries topped up ... get dry fuel in and keep a fire going ... as well as enjoy the awesome, re-vitalising, quiet, natural beauty of being on the water ... then do it!

wise words.

[Alastair]

Ok, for the OP.

 

Firstly, to answer your question;

 

In a concrete world doing souless jobs in synthetic offices, returning to a floating home, where everything you do is connected with the weather, the ducks passing, feeding swans from your window; living on a boat is a refuge and saviour.

 

 

 

HOWEVER

 

Don't think of owning a boat as an investment (like buying a house). Without spending on maintenance, boats deteriorate faster than a car. Paint dulls and breaks down. Rust, rust, the constant enemy. Some mindless vandal throws rocks, breaking a window. Wiring deteriorates and needs replacing. Service the engine. Service the toilet. Etc.

 

Toilets. Surprised their hasn't been more mention of these. If you liveaboard, they are somewhat important. On a canal, you have to have some sort of containment system and some way of emptying it. Are you ok with carrying a plastic box full of poo? Sure, you can have a swanky tank and pumpout. Just what happens when you get to the marina and the pumpout is broken/full/huge queue and you have to go to work? Back to using the portapotti.

 

Space is very very limited, particularly for storing things like clothes. If you can live with 2 pairs of shoes, some wellies and a weeks worth of T-shirts as your entire wardrobe, you'll be fine. Oh, and most of your clothes will end up with a very faint odour of diesel. Never minded it myself, but it would bug some people.

 

There are other things to consider, but I'd take a long hard think about the financial side first. If you think of the boat's purchase money as 'lost', then you'll be ok. If you sell later and get some back, great. Just don't go into it assuming that's the case.

[Jim Batty]

 

 

Yes I did make a few assumptions... there are very few people CCing in london properly. Only a handful do a substantial length of the canal. Most hop back and forth. I have spoken to quite a few london boaters and I would say that most of them push the boundaries (Note that not all of them do this) A ccer by definition can't be in london because london is too smaller area to be a CCers. ...

 

This is possibly correct. But it is possible to CC in and across London, quite legally, for quite long periods of time.

 

Here's the proof:

 

Look at the 'Boating Facilities Available' on pp 17-19 of the recent (former BW) Boating in London guide.

 

If you add up all the days listed in the column 'Visitor moorings/stop moorings' they will equal to 396 days (or thereabouts).

 

Now consider that there are MANY MORE days of moorings available for you, not included in the London guide: 1) north of Rickmansworth; and 2) on the Thames ... many of which are within a relatively easy commute of London. I haven't counted them all, but it's probably over 100 days.

 

So, you've got 500 days worth of visitor and 14-day moorings scattered across the capital. No need to stop at them all (!).

 

At the end of year 1, when you arrive at the top of the River Lee or Stort, say, you'll need to turn around and progress back the other way. So much for year 2. By which time you're probably ready for some new canals ...

 

One of the wonders that is continually cruising.

[Chertsey]

wise words.

Possibly so in some contexts, but not very relevant to what the OP has told us about her situation.

 

And as for ShipsCat - talk about the blind leading the blind!!

 

Don't think of owning a boat as an investment (like buying a house). Without spending on maintenance, boats deteriorate faster than a car. Paint dulls and breaks down. Rust, rust, the constant enemy. Some mindless vandal throws rocks, breaking a window. Wiring deteriorates and needs replacing. Service the engine. Service the toilet. Etc.

 

Yes, but... a £10k boat, as long as it is reasonably well maintained, will not lose money; if you take to boat life, your income improves, and you want to trade up to something bigger/nicer, you should get back what you paid. Possibly more, if you choose well and make improvements.

 

I must say, some people are being right Cassandras here.

 

My contribution to the doom and gloom, as it's not been mentioned so far, is, especially in London, be very wary of paying a premium for a boat 'with a mooring'. The mooring is not likely to be legit, and even if it is, is very likely non transferable. If it is legit and transferable, the premium will be prohibitive! (And you'll still have to pay rent for the mooring as well).

[RLWP]

I must say, some people are being right Cassandras here.

 

Cassandra's curse was to be able to foresee the future, but not be believed

 

Richard

[carlt]

I would need to downsize my freezer. But couldn't do without one. Some need them, some don't :-)

I never needed a freezer...until I got one and now I have two, one for raw materials and one for finished product and they still get so full I often contemplate a third overflow freezer.

 

Cassandra's curse was to be able to foresee the future...

...and yet she still married Rodney.

[pquinn]

Possibly so in some contexts, but not very relevant to what the OP has told us about her situation.

 

And as for ShipsCat - talk about the blind leading the blind!!

Yes, but... a £10k boat, as long as it is reasonably well maintained, will not lose money; if you take to boat life, your income improves, and you want to trade up to something bigger/nicer, you should get back what you paid. Possibly more, if you choose well and make improvements.

 

I must say, some people are being right Cassandras here.

 

My contribution to the doom and gloom, as it's not been mentioned so far, is, especially in London, be very wary of paying a premium for a boat 'with a mooring'. The mooring is not likely to be legit, and even if it is, is very likely non transferable. If it is legit and transferable, the premium will be prohibitive! (And you'll still have to pay rent for the mooring as well).

sorry,but i think it is relevant to anybody considering liveaboard life.

[Chertsey]

 

Cassandra's curse was to be able to foresee the future, but not be believed

 

Richard

Oh yes. Well let's hope some of this lot aren't believed either.

sorry,but i think it is relevant to anybody considering liveaboard life.

Not the bit about hiring, when she already has friends living on boats with whom she could stay. And not the bit about saving money when she has made it plain that that is not her motivation. Yes, they may be wise words to potential liveaboards in general, but I merely poinmted out that they ignored some of the things we already know about the OP.

 

I also think the glib advice to hire for a week in the winter to see what it's like to live aboard is very misplaced. It will tell you hardly anything useful or relevant. Most hire boats do not have a solid fuel stove; most do have a pump out toilet which the hirer is unlikely to need to empty. The layout will be different (unless you buy an ex hireboat of course); you won't need to service the engine (or anything else). The experience will be so far removed from living aboard that you will have wasted a thousand pounds that could have been 10% of your boat budget, or the price of a survey and repairs.

[Matthew Dowson]

A 35ft boat can cost £7K (30 plus years old) but need the same spent on a new bottom within a year or two. Boat goes into dry dock for blacking, they blast the old blacking and rust off, and little holes appear, or sometimes only obvious when the boat is popped back in the water. Mind you my son bought one for £8k (36ft) which needed substantial refit, but the hull was made of unbelievably thick steel and was made in 1979. Good for another 30 years. As the comment of "COLD in the winter", if you've got a solid fuel stove you're usually opening windows to cool down. Keep on hunting.

[Jim Batty]

...

 

I also think the glib advice to hire for a week in the winter to see what it's like to live aboard is very misplaced. It will tell you hardly anything useful or relevant. ...

 

Obviously hiring a boat is not going to be exactly like buying and living on one.

 

Spending a week in a vessel 6'-10" wide x 45' long, though, is a lot more like living/cruising on a narrowboat than living in a flat or watching boats from the towpath.

 

It worked for us ... and I still highly recommend it.

[dmr]

Oh yes. Well let's hope some of this lot aren't believed either.

Not the bit about hiring, when she already has friends living on boats with whom she could stay. And not the bit about saving money when she has made it plain that that is not her motivation. Yes, they may be wise words to potential liveaboards in general, but I merely poinmted out that they ignored some of the things we already know about the OP.

 

I also think the glib advice to hire for a week in the winter to see what it's like to live aboard is very misplaced. It will tell you hardly anything useful or relevant. Most hire boats do not have a solid fuel stove; most do have a pump out toilet which the hirer is unlikely to need to empty. The layout will be different (unless you buy an ex hireboat of course); you won't need to service the engine (or anything else). The experience will be so far removed from living aboard that you will have wasted a thousand pounds that could have been 10% of your boat budget, or the price of a survey and repairs.

 

You are absolutely correct in all you say but it might still be worth many potential liveaboards (though probably not the OP) renting for a week in winter.

I suppose I am going to upset a few people here, but here goes, the boaty magazines do rather promote a picture of the cut that is full of wealthy middle class retired folk in brand new bespoke boats, sipping a glass of wine at the end of the day. The reality is that many liveaboards do not conform to this stereotype (fortunately), there are a lot of scary people with piercings and tattoos, sipping beer, chopping wood and living in old Springers. They are there all year round but form a much bigger percentage of the canal population in winter. It would be good for new potential liveaboards to make sure that they are happy to share the canal with a diverse range of folk so as to avoid disappointment later !

 

............Dave

 

l

[Peter Reed]

 

...and yet she still married Rodney.

New keyboard please.

[wullie]

 

Usually starts with obsessively searching and looking at boats online.....then the sweats

Yes you got me in one, on forum reading posts 5/6 times a day. searching boats online, i am so looking forward to living my dream it takes a hold of you, want to retire NOW.

[Ssscrudddy]

Nowt wrong with piercings & tatts... all I need now is an axe & a boat

[Starcoaster]

The reality is that many liveaboards do not conform to this stereotype (fortunately), there are a lot of scary people with piercings and tattoos, sipping beer, chopping wood and living in old Springers. They are there all year round but form a much bigger percentage of the canal population in winter. It would be good for new potential liveaboards to make sure that they are happy to share the canal with a diverse range of folk so as to avoid disappointment later !

 

Yes, we're feckin terrifying, us scary pierced and tattoo'd sorts who drink beer, own axes and live on old Springers.

We should definitely come with a warning/disclaimer so that the polite genteel folk that might be alarmed by our existence outside of fenced reservations can make a conscious choice to avoid us if they wish- perhaps a yellow star or a bell around our necks would do the trick?

Edited September 19, 2013 by Starcoaster

[Athy]

Shocking pink hair would send 'em scuttling, I reckon.

[Pykebird]

Nowt wrong with piercings & tatts... all I need now is an axe & a boat

Have all 4, does that mean I am a "boater" ???

[DaveP]

 

... there are a lot of scary people with piercings and tattoos, sipping beer, chopping wood and living in old Springers....

 

Bum! There goes my street(?)-cred. No body mods, no beer, no wood, no Springer. Must get back to the countryside.

 

[Does an obsessive Radio4 habit get me back into 'Deliverance' territory?]

[DeanS]

 

Bum! There goes my street(?)-cred. No body mods, no beer, no wood, no Springer. Must get back to the countryside.

 

[Does an obsessive Radio4 habit get me back into 'Deliverance' territory?]

 

No..but the fact you're doing the Rochdale tomorrow might help with ya boater-cred ;-) Great to meet you, and enjoy the trip.

[Caprifool]

Never heard I'm scary before ;-)

[Sade]

 

 

Yes, we're feckin terrifying, us scary pierced and tattoo'd sorts who drink beer, own axes and live on old Springers.

We should definitely come with a warning/disclaimer so that the polite genteel folk that might be alarmed by our existence outside of fenced reservations can make a conscious choice to avoid us if they wish- perhaps a yellow star or a bell around our necks would do the trick?

 

 

OMG!! Are there REALLY people like "that" on the canals? Right, that's it......I've changed my mind, I am getting onto the brokers immediately to put the boat back on the market....I thought it was all polite holiday goers / weekends quaffing glasses of Verve Clicque(sp?) in cute little boating hats with the sound of stiffled laughter in the hazy summer air ( all the time??) Oh wait, no, that's the River Cam

 

Personally I can't wait to fill my tankard with some Tanglefoot and chill out to the sound of all the axe chopping and the jingle jangle of piercings LOL!!

[FadeToScarlet]

OMG!! Are there REALLY people like "that" on the canals? Right, that's it......I've changed my mind, I am getting onto the brokers immediately to put the boat back on the market....I thought it was all polite holiday goers / weekends quaffing glasses of Verve Clicque(sp?) in cute little boating hats with the sound of stiffled laughter in the hazy summer air ( all the time??) Oh wait, no, that's the River Cam

 

Personally I can't wait to fill my tankard with some Tanglefoot and chill out to the sound of all the axe chopping and the jingle jangle of piercings LOL!!

No sign of any Veuve Clique on my boat, and it's a bit too chilly for hazy summer air at the moment...

 

FtS (moored on the river Cam )