Holding down a job and continuous cruising

[TheyAllFloatDownHere]

Hello potential boating homies,

 

I am seriously contemplating buying a narrowboat. I currently live in London and work as an in-house and freelance word monkey. I have regular but flexible hours. These jobs are based centrally. I've seen a lovely 40 ft boat that has captured my heart. I've been chatting with boaters and the idea has filled me with excitement. If I could find a mooring that wasn't in norfolk, or afford a permanent mooring in a swanky boat yard I would happily pay for a mooring licence. As it is, I'm contemplating life as a CCer (the horror!). It actually rather appeals to me. Just for context, I plan to navigate the Lea, Islington, around Victoria park and Paddington. I'm a female woman, who needs fast internet, digi radio and a good shower. Being a big fan of festivals, I think I can put up with a little hardship / dirt / toilet issues, as long as I can get the aforementioned shower.

 

Gotta be honest and say that a big motivation is the cost of renting / buying vs living afloat. I know you guys say that it is not cheaper, but seriously, if I'm not mooring it MUST be cheaper (I pay min £800 pcm at the moment).

 

Anyway, I know that is a tired old topic. What I really want to ask is:

 

1. How challenging is it to hold down a professional career whilst also being a CCer?

2. How easy is it to get winter moorings (the ones you pay for nov-march) in central London?

3. How safe is it for a woman on her own? E.g. walking back along towpaths late at night. I am quite a sociable person, so I would be coming back to my boat two to three times a week from the pub theatre, opera, etc. and can, on rare occasions, be rather drunk tired.

 

Thanks for all your advice!

 

Pennywise x

[peterboat]

Hi plenty are doing it I met a few at Crick and they were enjoying the life. If you do a search their are a lot of threads on here about it

 

Peter

[RLWP]

That shower. It will be from water that you took your boat to the water point to collect, heated with gas from a bottle you lugged down the towpath, or from running your engine for an hour on diesel you took your boat to collect, pumped into and out of the shower by electric you generated with your engine when you get home from work. Hopefully you will then step into a warm boat heated by coal you carried to the boat and dry yourself on a towel washed at a laundrette and dried in the boat.

 

Boat living can get pretty hard work sometimes, try not to have too many showers, your water tank isn't big

 

Richard

[Grace and Favour]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

Whilst I'm not based in London, we've plenty of members who are, and I'm sure they'll be along to share their thoughts with you shortly.

 

And there are quite a few single ladies living on boats, and most will tell that it's as safe as living anywhere, as long as you use common sense, logic and take care - exactly as if you were living in an house.

 

London has developed a marked overcrowding in some areas of the canal system in recent years, and I'm lead to believe that the CRT (Canal and River Trust) are making efforts to 'police' the system more effectively, and make sure that boats don't overstay at key locations, and that continuous cruisers (those who've chosen not to have a home mooring) follow the rules of their licence.

 

Boating is much more time intensive than living in a rental flat, it may well take hours to cruise to a sanitary station to empty your toilet, or ti find a tap to fill with water, with a chance that if you then try to return to your last location, there's already another boat there.

 

And, of course you can live for less than life is currently costing you, but like many things in life there tends to be a direct relationship between physical/material comforts and cost. The same is, of course, true with boating.

 

And you need to be fairly nifty with electrics, engines, pumps, lead acid batteries and plumbing. Because unlike houses, boat bits insist on breaking down more frequently, and they're dearer to replace too.

 

We live on our boat, though not in London. And we love it, though working and being a continuous cruiser is possible, I wouldn't fancy it - - though I know of folks who do.

 

I guess if you have a flexible enough diary to allow for sometimes extended commute times, (and the means to pay for it), and have the time available to make sure you get back to your boat by 5 o'clock in order to run the engine/generator to recharge your batteries, (all engines must be off by 20:00 hrs) - - because your lights/water pump/bilge pump/tv etc need the power.

 

It IS doable Pennywise, but it may well require a number of major changes in your lifestyle - - and they're not all easy ones.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Grace & Favour

[Erin42]

I left my full time job and went freelance at the same time I moved on board the 40ft boat that captured MY heart, less than two months ago. To be honest, I'm not sure I would be enjoying boat life if I was still working my previous job (but then they were pretty abysmal hours, lots of late nights and overnights). It's been hard enough coping with various setbacks disrupting my freelance work.

 

That said, I love it. If you're going to do it, don't do it for the money. If you want to live in anywhere near reasonable comfort, and take care of your boat, you'll be spending quite a bit of money on it.

 

It's not comparable to paying rent on a property. It's more like having a big steel pet, that needs a lot of your time and attention and money.

 

Send me a pm if you want to talk, I'm in Hackney at the moment

[lampini]

.........

It's not comparable to paying rent on a property. It's more like having a big steel pet, that needs a lot of your time and attention and money.

.......

 

Greenie(d)!

Edited September 16, 2014 by lampini

[Cloudinspector]

Both myself and my wife work full time whilst living afloat. We cruise throughout the summer and have a winter mooring although we are based in quiet Lancashire not the madness that is London. We can cover a large area throughout the summer without being in the same place twice and still be within an hours commute.

There are challenges to overcome/adapt to but it's a great lifestyle and we love it.

However if your motivation is purely financial then don't attempt it.

As mentioned before you need to plan around things like emptying your toilet and filling with water. 15 minute showers will be a thing of the past. Also you will need to be fairly practical or be prepared to pay for repairs and maintenance because things will breakdown.

[John Williamson 1955]

Have a look at and then join the London boaters group on Facebook. Many of the members do what you are planning to do, and can give you the positive and negative sides of the story.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/73933281285/

 

You need to know also that some expect the enforcement regime in London relating to Continuous Cruisers to get more strict as the new CRT places map for continuous cruisers is adopted and the new enforcement officers that are supposedly being appointed for the London area make their presence felt.

 

I moved on board and took a residential mooring a year or so ago, and there is at least one family on the same moorings who gave up CC'ing about a year ago due to the increasing aggro they were getting when CC'ing. Residential moorings inside the M25 range from £4,000 to £10,000 (ish) per year.

[Arthur Brown]

The boat may be cheaper than a flat BUT you have to put the money in elsewhere. You must pay attention to the hard bits (steel, glass, lead etc) it's always essential to look after your boat, and it's usually much more time and money expensive that a flat.

 

That five minutes in the shower at the flat usually translates to 45 seconds for economy of water and gas both of which you have to carry to the boat. CC electricity is always generated so you will need to charge batteries daily.

[Dekazer]

I know a few folk who have either moved their boat out of London or taken moorings lately. People do manage it, but I wouldn't - it sounds pretty grim. We tried to hold on to our narrowboat when we moved onto our new boat, and just shifting it every fortnight became a pain, and we didn't even need to worry about filling up with water or emptying the loo.

 

If you're working long hours and have an active social life, and live alone, I'd say it would be damn hard work, not a massive financial saving, and fairly stressful.

 

As someone said earlier, join the London Boaters facebook group for a real impression of what it's like, and to meet some helpful folk

 

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[MtB]

It's the shower that could get you.

 

The main problem is a lot of landies (especially the female woman type) consider a 'good shower' to mean 15 litres-a-minute water flow for ten minutes twice a day.

 

If this is what you need/expect, this means you are going to need to spend nearly all day every day with your boat attached to a water point. I may have exaggerated there slightly, but not a lot

 

And I'd better not get into the debate about how there are only three water taps on London serving eight million boats because I haven't actually been there and experienced the water point queues reputed to happen.

 

MtB

[Bettie Boo]

Hubby and I live aboard our WB and are cc'ers; we are both semi-retired and absolutely love the lifestyle.

 

However, when I think of the times we've had to cruise for an extra couple of hours late into an evening to find a mooring spot, or the nearest working water point, I don't know if I would love it as much if either of us was trying to hold down a full time job whilst maintaining our obligations to a license with no home mooring. There have been a couple of times when the green lite has changed to red on our pump out in the early evening, meaning that the following morning we are setting off to the nearest pump out facility. If we were working, it would mean after a day at work, returning home and cruising to the nearest facility and then finding another mooring spot, then getting the fire lit and dinner on.....somehow it looses a bit of the laid back, easy going factor we enjoy.

 

As other have said, do some research, and don't look at it with rose colored glasses. Have a think about the practicalities of living afloat......13kg gas cylinders are pretty heavy and awkward if your gas locker is in your front well deck and you have a cratch board, storage of bags of coal, can you lift them onto your roof? How are you going to get groceries back to your boat? How do you feel about cleaning out your wood/coal stove ash at least once a day? As said, we have a WB with a pretty big water tank, I have mastered the art of having 3-4 minute showers. Long hot showers are a thing of the past unless staying with friends or a B&B. And then there's the matter of a postal address, that's worth a fair bit of planning. No postal address, no more purchases off fleabay or any other online shops, never mind if you need to send work through the post. Loads to think about.

 

Mind you, loads of people do it and it seems to work for them. But.....it's really not "cheap"

[Alan de Enfield]

........... And then there's the matter of a postal address, that's worth a fair bit of planning. No postal address, no more purchases off fleabay or any other online shops, never mind if you need to send work through the post. Loads to think about.

 

Mind you, loads of people do it and it seems to work for them. But.....it's really not "cheap"

 

Lots of good advice there BB.

 

Re the postal address, you also need to consider such things as registering with a Doctor & Dentist, You need to sort out your Bank, insurances and voting, driving licence, car registration and the other miriad of things that you need to have an address for.

Where will the elec, gas, and water companies send their 'final bills' when you move out ?

If you are still working where can the Tax man send your 'paperwork' to ?

 

You will be "of no fixed abode" and in many respects treated as a Gypsy/Traveller. - Many people work around these issues - they are not insumountable - but you should be aware of them and sort them out before you move aboard

[MtB]

 

Lots of good advice there BB.

 

Re the postal address, you also need to consider such things as registering with a Doctor & Dentist, You need to sort out your Bank, insurances and voting, driving licence, car registration and the other miriad of things that you need to have an address for.

Where will the elec, gas, and water companies send their 'final bills' when you move out ?

If you are still working where can the Tax man send your 'paperwork' to ?

 

You will be "of no fixed abode" and in many respects treated as a Gypsy/Traveller. - Many people work around these issues - they are not insumountable - but you should be aware of them and sort them out before you move aboard

 

 

Yes. Lots of good advice from others too in the thread and for a nice change in a thread asking about CCing, no squabbling!

 

The 'no fixed abode' thing is easily sorted out if the OP has a mate who owns a house, and is willing for them to use that address as their postal address. Better still to go on the electoral roll there too.

 

One doesn't have to actually sleep each night at any house which is one's postal address for official purposes. If a boater owns a house and rents it out while they CC, they can still use the house as their postal address. Good manners to make sure the tenant agrees to this though, and is willing to keep post addressed to the boater...

 

 

MtB

 

 

(Edit to clarify a point)

Edited September 16, 2014 by Mike the Boilerman

[Sabcat]

Even if you're not CCing and have a permanent residential mooring it can be useful to have another, land based, official address for voter registration, bank accounts, insurance etc.

[Ruthsmate]

Hi, I'm a newbie, and 'almost' own a boat. One thing to consider is that if you need a marine mortgage, you'll probably need a permanent mooring, as the finance companies need to know where their 'asset' is. They'll also need a full survey/valuation, which can be quite a lot of money.

[LoneEcho]

Just an idea, as you have not lived on a boat before.. You could try a marina for a while and get use to boat life with a bit of extra comfort, electricity, gas delivered, water on tap etc. I am at Roydon, which is about 35 minutes on the train from Liverpool Street or Stratford. It has it's critics, and for me getting too crowded, but for location for London is hard to beat. Along the upper Lee & Stort there are several places along the tow path that are within walking distance to a train station that will take you straight into London. Not sure on the Lee situation nearer London but understand it's been very busy this year.

[Lmcgrath87]

Jumping on the postal address thing - how do people work around this? I'm planning on using my mum's or dad's place for registering my bank/ credit card etc etc is this a good thing to do? I'm looking at a marina for mooring our boat and I understand some come with po box facilities, but would it be better to use one of their addresses instead?

[Lady Muck]

This is good advice. Get a mooring first and see how you get on. I would personally not want to cc in town, the crowding and crime would get to me, I've also barely been onboard this year because of family woes. I am away a lot and my mooring is in a rough area where I hear of crime on the towpath side. And it is getting really packed out, the old crew of cruisers that I know have made plans to either get moorings or leave. I no longer go into town it's too busy for me.

Join the Facebook group, London Boaters have a good read, you can soon get an idea of the issues.

My advice to newbies is always the same.

What is your plan B if the situation changes and it's no longer permitted to cruise in Central London?

Because it is a lot of money to invest in something that appears to me to be threatened by it's popularity.

If you are part freelance it helps, boating is very time consuming, what you would think is simple stuff such as finding a new place to moor, getting water and emptying your loo can take all weekend, all your spare time up, we in London Boaters note that the live aboard lifestyle can really clash with the hard working Londoners lifestyle - never at home to keep a fire in so either have a freezing boat, or start doing dangerous risky things such as trying to use camping heaters. Never at home so suffer break ins in the evening. Bike gets stolen, because you've been moored in the same place two weeks, you've given the theif time to line up a buyer, figure out what tools they need to break your locks and time to figure out when you're not in so they can do it. Never at home so you either annoy everyone else by running engine and genny at night......

Away all Christmas as is every other boater in the line of moored boats, every single one of you suffers a break in. All of this I have seen.

People need to really bear this in mind, I'm not surprised they suffer this stuff, to me it's basic wisdom in the inner city.

Make sure your boat is secure, fit bars, proper locks. Leave it with a trusted friend when you go on holiday. If you work long hours, get some kind of a heater fitted that enables you to safely get the boat warm quickly.

Fit solar panels, so you are not coming home to flat batteries. Bike goes inside the boat in inner city areas.

Good luck!

Edited September 16, 2014 by Lady Muck

[Sabcat]

Jumping on the postal address thing - how do people work around this? I'm planning on using my mum's or dad's place for registering my bank/ credit card etc etc is this a good thing to do? I'm looking at a marina for mooring our boat and I understand some come with po box facilities, but would it be better to use one of their addresses instead?

 

I use my parents address for everything. It's much simpler for things like car insurance.

[Lmcgrath87]

 

I use my parents address for everything. It's much simpler for things like car insurance.

thanks - I think we will do that too.

[cuthound]

Before buying a boat, hire one for a couple of weeks. It will give you a flavour of living on a boat and either convince you that it is the right thing for you or give you cabin fever!

[Sabcat]

Hiring is a good idea to get the feel of boats, if you haven't already spent any time on them. Living aboard isn't just a different type of accommodation though, it's a different way of life.

[Alan de Enfield]

Lmcgrath87, on 16 Sept 2014 - 12:09 PM, said:

thanks - I think we will do that too.

 

If your Mum is on her own, make sure that any reasons that you use her address will not impact on her benefits / allowances/ Council Tax etc, if by using that address you are thought, by the 'powers that be' to be living there.

 

Edit - pressed 'send' too soon.

 

These things are, again, not insurmountable but do need resolving before "it happens"

Edited September 16, 2014 by Alan de Enfield

[cuthound]

Fully understand that. However I have met a few people who bought a boat to live on, without ever having been on a boat before, who then found the accommodation too small for them and/or the lifestyle too difficult.

 

Not sure if the OP has spent any time on a boat. If she hasn't and then finds out she doesn't like it,then hiring may prevent her from making an expensive mistake