first liveaboard?

[Bettie Boo]

Oops Bettie, think you might be referring to your inverter not Travel Pack.

PS how's the baking going?

Phil

Ahhhh and hence why I was careful to put the word "novice" in my OP

 

I thought the inverter was the Travel pack

 

LOL - I'll stop posting about things I really don't know about and get back to baking I thinks

[MtB]

Oops Bettie, think you might be referring to your inverter not Travel Pack.

 

 

What's a 'Travel Pack'?

 

 

MtB

[Phil Ambrose]

 

What's a 'Travel Pack'?

 

 

MtB

Very droll, (you know full well) LOL

Phil

[bottle]

i like

what put me off the ex hires that i have seen , they dont usually come with a wood stove

 

Can be retro fitted

 

its the lifestyle i'm most looking forward too,

 

Good, the only reason for doing it

 

it will be cheaper than the running costs of my house , but its the lifestyle that most excites me

 

All together now, Oh! no it won't but to qualify that it could possibly be cheaper if you lived very frugally without luxuries.

 

A ball park figure for running a boat £5,000 per annum, to cover licence, insurance, maintenance, fuel, unforeseen breakdowns, then your own living costs food, clothing etc on top

 

whats a "Power - Travel power pack" ?

See answers above, a stand alone small (petrol) generator maybe a little cheaper but not much.

 

it will be a narrowboat living in stoke, i will be spending most of my time within the stoke/stafford/Cheshire area

May be 'sailing' a little close to the wind to be a true CCer

 

the second bed would not have too be a double but separate from the saloon, just some where my lad can have his own space

 

Parameters moved, in that case a little easier.

[Pykebird]

Oh my god, I am doomed. I have an ex hire boat a washing machine and lots of other electrical gizmos, and no "Travel Pack"!! What am I gonna do when I leave my current mooring in a couple of days, how will I cope with no hook up???

I suppose I will just have to rely on the solid stove, invertor and solars.......

[luctor et emergo]

Rent/mortgage 500 pound per month

Gas bill. 100 pound per month

Electricity bill. 100 pound per month

Council tax?

 

Total 750+ pounds per month

9000+ pounds per year.

 

Figures work both ways...

[paulstoke1975]

i worked out the living cost to be somewhere around the 6-7k per year but to be truthful if it ended up costing more than the houses i'd still be doing it,

 

its not based on a financial decision ,

[John Williamson 1955]

I'm beginning to wonder if the OP is one of those newbies who is only buying a boat because he thinks it's cheaper than a house.

 

Rude awakening looming on the horizon!

 

 

MtB

Indeed. I was told a believable and allegedly true story today about how a blown light bulb ended up costing over a grand to fix. It involves old light fittings and a partial rewire. The bulb was £1.10 and ended up not being used.....

[Rob@BSSOffice]

Plenty of dry, well ventilated storage .

 

...if you are talking logs.

 

More advice here http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/stay-safe/solid-fuel-stoves/

[paulstoke1975]

im hoping to be able to find a boat that has already been used as a liveaboard in the past so it will be fitted with most of what i will need too move straight on,

 

obviously ill be keeping some money back for the unexpected, and i'll be putting up a monthly budget for repairs and maintenance

[Miemie]

my initial plan is to have a mooring over the first winter

 

Start looking for moorings now we are also in stoke and from September will be liveaboards we are also going to moor in fessy park for winter and will reassess after what we are going to do. Was tuch and go weather we got a mooring and was very lucky to get into fessy. When are you looking to move do you still own a home I am in the process of giving it all up and can't wait

[paulstoke1975]

Start looking for moorings now we are also in stoke and from September will be liveaboards we are also going to moor in fessy park for winter and will reassess after what we are going to do. Was tuch and go weather we got a mooring and was very lucky to get into fessy. When are you looking to move do you still own a home I am in the process of giving it all up and can't wait

 

Hi miemie

 

 

 

I put my house up for sale last week ,once the house is sold I'll be buying a boat and I'm looking to stay at either lime kiln basin in stone or festival ,

 

I can't wait

Edited July 31, 2014 by paulstoke1975

[bottle]

i worked out the living cost to be somewhere around the 6-7k per year but to be truthful if it ended up costing more than the houses i'd still be doing it,

 

its not based on a financial decision ,

 

 

im hoping to be able to find a boat that has already been used as a liveaboard in the past so it will be fitted with most of what i will need too move straight on,

 

obviously ill be keeping some money back for the unexpected, and i'll be putting up a monthly budget for repairs and maintenance

 

A breath of fresh air.

 

Well done Paul, at last someone doing it for the right reasons and got their head screwed on about finance.

 

[Rickent]

Hi Paul,

I am at the same stage as you at the moment, my house has just gone on the market. My reason for giving up bricks and mortar is a quieter and more sedate way of life .

I cannot wait to be set free.

Rick.

[honey ryder]

in terms of cost, just to reply to a few of those saying you dont save money etc etc...

 

I beg to differ.

 

I was paying a half share on rent of a two bed flat, plus bills, which came out monthly at around 550 each. (or 1100 all in, which was dead money)

 

When I bought my narrowboat, I bought it using a mortgage. even taking into account the interest I was paying, I was still better off, because I was investing the money into my own property. albeit a floating metal one not bricks. I stopped lining someone elses pension pot and started being able to line my own. I was able to set aside the amount I saved and invest into my own pension as well as save money which I put toward the next boat.

 

The current boat, with its associated mortgage cost and moorings is vastly more expensive than the narrowboat, but still cheaper than renting a flat in the long run. My monthly outgoings are roughly that of the original flat, approx 1100, with 700 of that being mortgage related.

maintenance happens whether you live in a house or on a boat. theyre very similar.

 

admittedly my boat tested my reserves heavily last year when it needed a new rig and wasnt covered on insurance. But it was the equivalent of needing to put a new roof on a house. a lot of money, but you only do it once.

 

the only thing you dont get with boats is the ridiculous inflation of property prices and quite frankly Im glad not to be involved in that. They can appreciate in value, in line with inflation and accordingly with level of maintenance. Which is pretty much as it should be.

 

At least with narrowboats/widebeam you can use some caravan or non boat items, which are less price inflated.

 

anyway, I didn't personally enjoy feeling trapped on the inland waterways as they felt too closed in and restrictive, but thousands do. Just keep your expectations open and flexible. It IS an idyllic life, but it's also one that can be testing at times. Constant cruising is great, but sometimes, finding a quality mooring is a blessed relief, especially in winter.

[MtB]

Hi Paul,

I am at the same stage as you at the moment, my house has just gone on the market. My reason for giving up bricks and mortar is a quieter and more sedate way of life .

I cannot wait to be set free.

Rick.

 

Frankly, your pace of life is a state of mind, and nothing to do with whether you live on a boat, or not.

 

Once you get a boat there will be many more things to stress you out than in a house. Emptying the full bog, filling the empty water tank, running out of gas, cleaning the stove chimney, finding somewhere to park the car, trudging half a mile up the towpath with a ton of shopping, finding the money for docking and blacking every three years, keeping your BSS up to date, paying your licence, finding the mooring money or constantly moving and worrying about getting on the CRT cc radar....

 

Might be best to take your house off the market if you like a quiet life

 

 

MtB

[Miemie]

Hi miemie

I put my house up for sale last week ,once the house is sold I'll be buying a boat and I'm looking to stay at either lime kiln basin in stone or festival ,

I can't wait

 

Hi Paul, I know the feeling we moving into our boat in September and I can't wait......lol

 

Festival is fully booked from September for the next six months unless some one pulls out we managed to get the last space. If u about let me know and you can pop in for coffee with hubby and me

 

Roll on September

[Rickent]

 

Frankly, your pace of life is a state of mind, and nothing to do with whether you live on a boat, or not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you get a boat there will be many more things to stress you out than in a house. Emptying the full bog, filling the empty water tank, running out of gas, cleaning the stove chimney, finding somewhere to park the car, trudging half a mile up the towpath with a ton of shopping, finding the money for docking and blacking every three years, keeping your BSS up to date, paying your licence, finding the mooring money or constantly moving and worrying about getting on the CRT cc radar....

 

Might be best to take your house off the market if you like a quiet life

 

 

MtB

Hi Mike ,

When I say quiet life I do mean quiet. I have had eight years of hell living next to people who have no respect or thought for any body. Sometimes being kept awake most of the night. I am craving some peace and know that life aboard will give me this .Emptying the bog and trudging the towpath etc...will be notthing but a pleasure compared to what I am having to put up with at the moment. The house will stay on the market.

Rick

[John Williamson 1955]

Hi Mike ,

When I say quiet life I do mean quiet. I have had eight years of hell living next to people who have no respect or thought for any body. Sometimes being kept awake most of the night. I am craving some peace and know that life aboard will give me this .Emptying the bog and trudging the towpath etc...will be notthing but a pleasure compared to what I am having to put up with at the moment. The house will stay on the market.

Rick

One thing you don't mention is whether you have tried out the life for real or are just going by what's been on TV and in the media?

 

Watching Pru and Tim travelling in Summer along some of the more peaceful bits of the system with cleverly chosen camera angles both from outside and inside or Cliff Richard in his new shiny boat in Birmingham in the '70s (Which was mostly an inaccurately dimensioned studio set anyway) won't prepare you for the Winter days ahead. If it comes to that, the ones that don't like the life don't write or get articles published in the magazines,or even on here, for that matter, for obvious reasons.

 

ETA, When boating, you will find the midnight generator and party mob, too. They're not restricted to living on land, although they are a bit easier to dodge by moving along a bit..

 

I enjoy it, but others don't and many boats come on the market again after a few months.

Edited August 4, 2014 by John Williamson 1955

[system 4-50]

The first liveaboard (title) was Noah, and he had a simple rule for happiness - make sure you have two of absolutely everything.

[honey ryder]

One thing you don't mention is whether you have tried out the life for real or are just going by what's been on TV and in the media?

 

Watching Pru and Tim travelling in Summer along some of the more peaceful bits of the system with cleverly chosen camera angles both from outside and inside or Cliff Richard in his new shiny boat in Birmingham in the '70s (Which was mostly an inaccurately dimensioned studio set anyway) won't prepare you for the Winter days ahead. If it comes to that, the ones that don't like the life don't write or get articles published in the magazines,or even on here, for that matter, for obvious reasons.

 

ETA, When boating, you will find the midnight generator and party mob, too. They're not restricted to living on land, although they are a bit easier to dodge by moving along a bit..

 

I enjoy it, but others don't and many boats come on the market again after a few months.

That's why I am still vocal about my experience of inland waterways living. I write about it from the perspective of someone who loves boats, but doesn't (didn't) particularly enjoy the inland waterways as a place to live. (rather than just holidaying)

I saw a few people trying life on a narrowboat and very quickly saw the boat back up for sale and and they had moved on to something else.

But their voices are never heard, so this idealistic view of life on a narrowboat persists.

 

It's this unwritten, unspoken "rule" that one must not say negative things about that lifestyle even if borne of experience.

 

I did meet some fantastic people who are still very good friends to this day. I also met some truly awful people too. I felt that I didn't belong to either one camp of people or another. Cliques are formed in the CC'ing world, especially around London. I cruised into London and its outskirts a few times and always felt this divide between those who were cruising and having a lovely early retirement, those who were holding down some sort of job and were hopping between two or three locations because either they coudn't get a mooring or they coudn't afford one or for a whole host of other reasons. There were those who did have moorings, either inline or in a marina and we rarely ever met those except for those occasions we put the boat into a marina while we left it to go on our own holidays abroad. There were the holidayers, who we met occasionally. I felt like an outsider for most of it, not just from the cliques that formed but from general society.

On the flip side thought, there were people I met that were salt of the earth, rock solid, honest people who really care about those around them and the world we share.

 

Everyone is different. everyone has a different perspective on the life of ditch crawling or permanent mooring somewhere comfortable.

there will always be unexpected side effects to what we percieve to be the idyllic life.

 

my life by the coast, although vastly preferable to canals is not without its challenges. Having moved south for work, I now find myself as an outsider again, not fitting with the local demographic. (unlike the previous 4 years in essex where I fitted in like a long lost friend)

[paulstoke1975]

Hi Paul,

I am at the same stage as you at the moment, my house has just gone on the market. My reason for giving up bricks and mortar is a quieter and more sedate way of life .

I cannot wait to be set free.

Rick.

this i my reason ,

 

i purchased my house two years ago, i was originally going to buy a boat with my money but lost my bottle and went for the house, i have regretted that decision ever since,

i started to do repairs on my house at a slow pace to get it ready for sale when the scummiest new neighbours you could imagine moved in next door,

 

one month later the house is on the market,

 

all i want is to have a peaceful life, back to basics, rid of all the unnecessary crap that we live for and accumulate, no more being woken by the sound of my lovely neighbour beating his wife/girlfriend every time they decide to mix drugs with drink.

 

 

roll on life on the water,

 

im half way there

[Rickent]

Hi paul,

I have had a procession of scummy neiggbours for the last seven years. I have wanted a boat for many years now but a combination of three teenage boys and not enough equity in the house has prevented me until now .

kids have now moved out and have some equity.

Peace is what I crave and yes john have spent some time aboard and loved every minute of it.

I am aware that life aboard will be tough at times and there will be cold damp and miserable weather but I can honestly say I have never looked forward to something as much in my life .

Rick

[paulstoke1975]

Hi Paul, I know the feeling we moving into our boat in September and I can't wait......lol

 

Festival is fully booked from September for the next six months unless some one pulls out we managed to get the last space. If u about let me know and you can pop in for coffee with hubby and me

 

Roll on September

lovely offer thanks

[paulstoke1975]

Hi paul,

I have had a procession of scummy neiggbours for the last seven years. I have wanted a boat for many years now but a combination of three teenage boys and not enough equity in the house has prevented me until now .

kids have now moved out and have some equity.

Peace is what I crave and yes john have spent some time aboard and loved every minute of it.

I am aware that life aboard will be tough at times and there will be cold damp and miserable weather but I can honestly say I have never looked forward to something as much in my life .

Rick

100 percent agree

 

i'm not expecting this idyllic lifestyle full of sun/ butterflies and meandering along stuck in the past,

 

i'm expecting a luxury version of camping,

 

hot in the summer

cold and damp in the winter

and a pain in he arse in between,

 

but when i get fed up and restless with where i live i can change my back garden with the start of the engine,

 

i cant wait

Edited August 4, 2014 by paulstoke1975