Wanting to live afloat - Lots of questions ???

[Lifes2Short]

Hi All

 

My first post but need lots of help.

 

Im intending to purchase a Narrow Boat shortly to live afloat, I have a family of 4 with 2 Kids aged 6 and 18 months.

 

Would really appreciate any help regarding what I need to take into consideration before making such a big step.

 

Have many questions but where to start really, my main concern is safety of children on waterway. Weve had cabin cruisers before and so far thank god no major problems.

 

We are looking for between 60 - 70ft max Ive checked License fees for river and canals (roughly £1065) per year - what other costs do i need to take into consideration ?

 

How often will boat need to be pulled out of water to blackened ?

 

Can i moor for free if boat moved every 14 days ?

 

Is there much of a saving from living in a house ? I deally we would like to live on board for a couple of years to save for new house deposit.

 

My apologies if these are cringe worthy "Obvious" questions to seasoned boaters but would really appreciate any help.

 

Thank you all.

 

 

[sueb]

Main problems will be the safety of the children but this will depend on the nature of the children. If they are adventurous I would be worried about them escaping.

The other problem could be education unless you are going to home school.

[bottle]

We are looking for between 60 - 70ft max Ive checked License fees for river and canals (roughly £1065) per year - what other costs do i need to take into consideration ?

Insurance, at least third party, maintenance and emergency funds.

How often will boat need to be pulled out of water to blackened ?

Every two years

Can i moor for free if boat moved every 14 days ?

Yes but see this: http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring/want-to-be-a-continuous-cruiser

Is there much of a saving from living in a house ?

 

No, some will say yes but you will have to be very frugal.

 

Ideally we would like to live on board for a couple of years to save for new house deposit

 

A nice idea but it is not the reason to live on a boat, you have to love the way of life.

 

I will give you a figure that is often quoted on the cost of running a boat, in the region of 5 to 6 thousand pounds per year plus all the other normal costs of life.

 

Good luck

[magpie patrick]

We are looking for between 60 - 70ft max Ive checked License fees for river and canals (roughly £1065) per year - what other costs do i need to take into consideration ?

 

Insurance, at least third party, maintenance and emergency funds.

 

How often will boat need to be pulled out of water to blackened ?

 

Every two years

 

Can i moor for free if boat moved every 14 days ?

 

Yes but see this: http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring/want-to-be-a-continuous-cruiser

 

Is there much of a saving from living in a house ?

 

No, some will say yes but you will have to be very frugal.

 

Ideally we would like to live on board for a couple of years to save for new house deposit

 

A nice idea but it is not the reason to live on a boat, you have to love the way of life.

 

I will give you a figure that is often quoted on the cost of running a boat, in the region of 5 to 6 thousand pounds per year plus all the other normal costs of life.

 

Good luck

 

Amen to the way of life comment, people who do it JUST to save money are going to be miserable: my solicitor (divorce) picked up on this having had too many clients get a boat from a clean break settlement and wish they hadn't

 

That said, a friend of mine in Frome is renting a two bedroom flat and her rent is £645 per month plus all bills, so she's on well over £7,000 per annum on rent, and lets face it Frome isn't an expensive place to live

[DeanS]

Hi.

 

We have 3 kids, and started with a 57ft narrowboat. After a year, it was clear that we needed a widebeam if we were going to adopt this lifestyle in the long term. A widebeam means each of our kids have a full size bed, and there own cabin/space. The downside is that you cant do the entire cruising network. To me, that was a compromise I was happy to make. We invested in a good set of solar panels, so that in the brighter months, we save on fuel for battery recharging. The cost of living on the water, and paying off a boat loan, is equivalent to living in a house..except that hopefully if we ever wanted to sell the boat, it would mean we have an asset worth something, rather than it disappearing into a landlord's pocket. Boat life is not easy. You have to keep on top of things. Your job would be to ensure that your family dont run out of gas, or out of diesel, or water, and that toilets never get full, and that the boat engine is maintained properly. All of these are things you dont have to worry about in a house. We gave up needing a car completely. if you keep one, you have to move it along with your boat or park it somewhere. Not having a postal address can be tricky at times. Use a relatives? A residential mooring gives you some services, like waste bins, showers, toilets, elec ...but comes at a fee + council tax. If you don't live in a marina, you need to travel ABCDCBABCD and not ABABABABAB

 

Any questions, please ask

 

eta - we bought a widebeam sailaway, and I fitted everything myself. If you are handy with tools, you can do it too. Simple enough. New boat self fitted is probably the same price as a 2nd hand one that someone else has fitted. See lmbs.co.uk

Edited October 5, 2013 by DeanS

[RLWP]

Dean, can you say something about schooling please? I'm not sure what your arrangement is, and I'm sure it will be significant to you and the OP

 

Richard

[Starcoaster]

I may be missing something, but if you're looking to save for a deposit on the house while living on the boat, what funds will you buy a boat with? Ie, if you have the funds to buy a 70 foot boat now, can you not use that as a deposit on a house?

[DeanS]

Dean, can you say something about schooling please? I'm not sure what your arrangement is, and I'm sure it will be significant to you and the OP

 

Richard

 

Sure. We have home educated all our kids since birth, but once the Teen had written GCSE's (he had to go to examination centres round the country by train to write written tests), he was then able to enrol at college in Manchester (and enter formal tuition). We then had to stop CC-ing, and get a residential mooring in Manchester. The other 2 are going to go the same route, although the Gov has recently released funds for 14-16yr old's to be accepted into colleges, which means our 2nd child might do GCSE's earlier than our first one did. Our teen is one of the top in his college class, so it's worked out well. He's now self motivated, and talking about University enrolment in a year. You cant CC and send your kids to local schools...unless you have a car, and a very well planned cruising ring, which allows you to keep moving every 14days......Kid's also place a huge demand on computers/elec power, for homework, projects, and general learning stuff....and of course entertainment and socialising. Our kids are part of a church youth social group, and are forever going off on camps etc. This means that if we are cruising, we have to distribute them at a train station...go cruising, and make sure we're back at another train station to pick them up. Recently we sent our teen off from the Leeds train station, and had to cruise like mad, all the way back to Manchester, to pick him up on his return It's not easy, and you have to be creative, to still enjoy "cruising". I have a dislike of being chained to a pontoon in a marina, so this means that although we pay for a residential mooring, we tend to not use it until the winter months. This means we dont have to follow the exacting rules of CC-ing.....because we have a home mooring.

 

Hope that helps the OP.

[RLWP]

Thanks Dean, that's a good insight into one way of solving that particular challenge. I knew you were the man to ask

 

Richard

[Ex- Member]

 

Sure. We have home educated all our kids since birth, but once the Teen had written GCSE's (he had to go to examination centres round the country by train to write written tests), he was then able to enrol at college in Manchester (and enter formal tuition). We then had to stop CC-ing, and get a residential mooring in Manchester. The other 2 are going to go the same route, although the Gov has recently released funds for 14-16yr old's to be accepted into colleges, which means our 2nd child might do GCSE's earlier than our first one did. Our teen is one of the top in his college class, so it's worked out well. He's now self motivated, and talking about University enrolment in a year. You cant CC and send your kids to local schools...unless you have a car, and a very well planned cruising ring, which allows you to keep moving every 14days......Kid's also place a huge demand on computers/elec power, for homework, projects, and general learning stuff....and of course entertainment and socialising. Our kids are part of a church youth social group, and are forever going off on camps etc. This means that if we are cruising, we have to distribute them at a train station...go cruising, and make sure we're back at another train station to pick them up. Recently we sent our teen off from the Leeds train station, and had to cruise like mad, all the way back to Manchester, to pick him up on his return It's not easy, and you have to be creative, to still enjoy "cruising". I have a dislike of being chained to a pontoon in a marina, so this means that although we pay for a residential mooring, we tend to not use it until the winter months. This means we dont have to follow the exacting rules of CC-ing.....because we have a home mooring.

 

Hope that helps the OP.

 

 

Blimy Dean

 

I take my hat off to you, well done and a great response to the OP, and well deserved greenie

[DeanS]

 

 

Blimy Dean

 

I take my hat off to you, well done and a great response to the OP, and well deserved greenie

 

Might have scared him off now..lol

[Ex- Member]

 

Might have scared him off now..lol

 

Yeah probably LOL , but great info never the less and you've certainly proved it can be done successfully for sure

Edited October 5, 2013 by Julynian

[Lifes2Short]

Great response All - thank you, and very much appreciated - If Im honest Im very passionate about the way of life, I have a Freeman 23 and started off with a Shetland 535, many a mile away from what I want to get into now, and a great big step, from house, to boat.

 

Emptying poo out on cold and frosty days, traipsing along muddy towpaths really wouldnt bother me, just need to get all this into perspective - i.e kids education, getting them to school, me getting to work - upkeep of boat, and cost, generally trying to make it all work, not just to fore fill my passion but give my family a way of life they all deserve too.

 

The Mrs would follow me into hells fire and back - and kids see it all as a new adventure, suppose i also need to think about a back up plan too if all else fails (back to rat race).

 

I have spoken to boaters on the canals even knocking on their doors to ask questions " how bloody rude" - but such nice people and all willing to give their opinion and help (rather than launch me in the canal).

 

Thus finding this Forum through some advice from 2 guys on a Narrow Boat Near Jinny Ring / Hanbury Canal - cheers guys.

 

Really would love to hear from all live aboards with Families especially, pros and cons - Dean some great wise words, as others above.

 

How did the kids find it Dean ? anything i need to prepare myself for ??

 

Thanks all again for your kind help.

[DeanS]

There are many more small practical things that the OP is welcome to ask. One example would be that in a house, kids can leave their toys out in a room, whereas on a boat, when they are done playing with something, it has to be put away, as a cluttered boat can drive a person wild. Similarly, in a house, you might leave the dishes for a while before washing and putting away. On a boat, it becomes claustraphobic whenever things get a little messy. The only reason we survive, is that we are forever cleaning up, putting things away, chasing kids to neaten their space.

 

Now that winter is arriving, you have a choice of buying coal, or chopping firewood. I've already got a roof full of logs...because each bag of coal I save, is £8 towards something else. My body ached for a week after cutting fallen treestumps A warm family is a happier family.

[Southern Star]

 

 

Blimy Dean

 

I take my hat off to you, well done and a great response to the OP, and well deserved greenie

Agreed, nice that some folk take so much time out to give a considered and comprehensive response, I added a green arrow too.

[Lifes2Short]

Wow Dean blown me away fantastic - I posted above response when 6 or so replies came in - cant believe how fast this thread is moving, in response to the question why buy a boat to save for deposit, when of course a boat that size is a deposit in itself - credit rating is not the best (hanging out my undies to you all now) but also need a couple of years to re group and get things back on track too.

 

As well as budget to keep everything moving where boat and living is concerned.

Just to add Im a carpenter too, all summer i have been saving my offcuts and purchased 100 onion bags, have over 70 or so full - so wood burner would be well stocked and enough left over for limitless games of poo sticks with the kids.

[DeanS]

<

How did the kids find it Dean ? anything i need to prepare myself for ??

>

 

If the parents are both pulling in the same direction, the kids will go with it. The moment the adults are divided, start looking for a house You're talking about taking your entire family and putting them inside a boat. You'll need to include some pets. We have a cat, and she is a Godsend with the kids. A puppy is next on the list. (because the cat treats us like staff.)

[Starcoaster]

If the parents are both pulling in the same direction, the kids will go with it. The moment the adults are divided, start looking for a house

 

I don't live with a family on my boat so I may not have the relevant viewpoint, but this sounds like one of the wisest and most insightful things I have ever read here.

Edited October 5, 2013 by Starcoaster

[DeanS]

 

I don't live with a family on my boat so I may not have the relevant viewpoint, but this sounds like one of the wisest and most insightful things I have ever read here.

 

It's simple.

 

SHE SAYS....the toilet is full.

I SAY....I'm on my way to empty it dear.

 

That applies to almost every other boating thing

[Starcoaster]

How are those spa days working out, Mrs. DeanS?

[DeanS]

How are those spa days working out, Mrs. DeanS?

 

sshhhHHHHHHH....geeez......

[ditchcrawler]

It's simple.

 

SHE SAYS....the toilet is full.

I SAY....I'm on my way to empty it dear.

 

That applies to almost every other boating thing

I find that true with most things in married life

[Tuscan]

Dean , you are a legend and these have been really useful posts I hope. It must be a whole different set of circumstances if the kids went to the local school as far as moving around is concerned. We had a friend and his boy got a fair amount of bullying at school for being a gypsy on a boat.

[Lifes2Short]

Tuscan, I also chatted with an old lady at a Boat Festival last year who lived on a Narrow boat since she was kid, and apparently also got bullied when she was younger, so a lot to take on.

 

I Intend to use boat on Avon for Stratford on Avon and Grand Union Canal hopefully moving every 14 days but keeping within the Warwickshire and Worcester network - I understand the 14 day rule can be a bit of a grey area, but has anyone had any issues regarding this ? i.e how far do i have to move ? I dont want to start winding people up due to not being clued up on rules and regs etc.

 

Saying that I have noticed some more permanent moorings available from £25 per week within that radius - so still a big saving I suppose on cruising.

[Starcoaster]

Kids/teens are weird. I am from (land) travelling family, and was on the road for about 1/3 of my childhood/early teens. Sometimes I got abuse for it, but as a fairly outgoing, assertive kid, maybe not as much as others. Sometimes it was seen as very cool. I did notice a marked difference between the attitude I got in small towns/rural/provincial places where everyone knew each other since they were small and the places had a very small town mentality, to how it was in urban areas, big schools and places with more diversity in general.

All of it came from the parent's attitudes, preconceptions and outlook, upon reflection!

 

**ETA a good friend of mine in her early 20's is a boater and has never lived in a house in her life, we seem to have had very similar experiences both positive and negative on it all.

Edited October 5, 2013 by Starcoaster