Living aboard and work/life balance

[Ange]

 

Well the title of the thread should clear things up

Okay, emails aside, genuine question. Is it very bad practice to stay on the boat when going solo as the lock fills/empties, if one is alert?

and if someone can clear up the 'boating vs ambition' issue in one sentence, that would be great too.

Definitely better to be within reach of the paddles in case it goes wrong. I've seen it go bad so quickly, even in a narrow lock, you wouldn't be able to get across the roof and up the ladder quickly enough to make a difference.

[zubeye]

one of the things I like about locks, is that they keep me busy for a while, and really takes my mind off things.

it's quite relaxing not to have to think about the day job and all that grind. I could be living int he 18th century, life is so simple whilst i'm in the lock. no emails buzzing.

[Alan de Enfield]

one of the things I like about locks, is that they keep me busy for a while, and really takes my mind off things.

it's quite relaxing not to have to think about the day job and all that grind. I could be living int he 18th century, life is so simple whilst i'm in the lock. no emails buzzing.

 

You are getting the hang of things now !!!

[Arthur Brown]

It's a small risk, probably one boat a week in the summer sinks in a lock, but a sunken boat is instantly an almost total loss.

 

I'm (obviously) well out of IT now, BUT I did work for a graphics company that had the Macs stolen AND the local back up drives. The losses killed the business.

[Arthur Brown]

Whether or not you do IT, a sinking usually means,

 

50 kilos of smelly silt in the boat plus 15 tons of water.

All the woodwork gets soggy and smelly,

The total fitout cupboards, drawers furniture and fittings smells permanently of silt and decomposing organic matter, every soft item you own, the same -soaked in filth. AND if the engine was running it sucks water into the air intake and bends a con rod which may be permanent death to the engine.

 

You are left with a dirty steel hull worth about £2K for scrap steel, and a bill for salvage well in excess of £2k. Oh! You home is gone, you have nowhere to sleep, no business cards, NOTHING.

 

At a guess there are 10,000 boats on the canal and about 30 sink each year in or close to locks, so it's a low risk but the hazard is total loss of everything, so it's a good time to pay attention

[Phil Ambrose]

Trying to be balanced here, a lock does represent something of a pause in the boating procedure and one could be forgiven to think,"well I'm not moving, just waiting for the level so Ill just do this,that or the other" now perhaps having had the potential dangers pointed out I cam see the OP having a rethink. But......it would seem it appears that a good work/life balance has been achieved and the OP is to be applauded on this.

Phil

[LoneWolf]

 

 

Is canal boating the graveyard of ambition?

 

 

 

i think there are many graveyards of ambition, boating is but one

 

hth

[Ray T]

Whether or not you do IT, a sinking usually means,

 

50 kilos of smelly silt in the boat plus 15 tons of water.

All the woodwork gets soggy and smelly,

The total fitout cupboards, drawers furniture and fittings smells permanently of silt and decomposing organic matter, every soft item you own, the same -soaked in filth. AND if the engine was running it sucks water into the air intake and bends a con rod which may be permanent death to the engine.

 

You are left with a dirty steel hull worth about £2K for scrap steel, and a bill for salvage well in excess of £2k. Oh! You home is gone, you have nowhere to sleep, no business cards, NOTHING.

 

At a guess there are 10,000 boats on the canal and about 30 sink each year in or close to locks, so it's a low risk but the hazard is total loss of everything, so it's a good time to pay attention

 

 

[url=https://flic.kr/p/p1ZwjN]DSC00048[/url

 

Things can and do go wrong in locks. OK the example below is extreme but shows what can happen:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1203456/Children-mother-fall-death-steers-canal-boat.html

Edited September 20, 2014 by Ray T

[patty-ann]

Well once I recovered from the relaxed view of locking procedure technique I gave thought to the OP's question.

Although as yet not able to live aboard due to 'small" renovation task I spend as much time as I can on boat.

Lifestyle whether on or off boat similar, I don't mix, I have done the social scene in my past and relieved when realised not necessary for my well being.

i do not work having taken early retirement due to ill health

I do not keep up to date with current affairs...various family members have taken it on themselves to ensure anything i ought to be aware of I am.

Part of my lifestyle due to impact of illness and realisation that in order to survive change necessary.

I do not miss hurly burly of life in fast lane. I like my own company...no expectations.

I think its acceptable to find whatever suits your life and go for it, quietness and solitude of boating not for everyone.

We should not live our lives on whats deemed acceptable to society or others.

If you have acceptable working life balance to you then you are fortunate.

[Arthur Brown]

People usually turn to the waterways when they decide that a two hour commute on five variable functioning tube lines is no longer for them. How or even whether you keep the motivation to put in a 16 hour day of hard work is up to you. The IT world is ideally suited to waterways life as the present connectivity and cloud function mean that you need little actually in your boat. Yes you can do IT support from the boat and there are several web designers and web based sales outfits on boats.

 

The issue is that boats can sink with total loss and locks are a higher than usual place for a boat to sink very quickly.

[bottle]

zubeye let's go back to your original post

 

My therapist isn't answering his or her phone, so thought I'd throw this out here . Good idea, many of us have had a therapist, psychiatrist not been in contact with mine since moving aboard.

 

Is canal boating the graveyard of ambition? No, it just readjusts your aim in life

 

I am in my mid-30s and run an internet business, have flexible working hours. I'm an introvert and enjoy solitude. no problem there, just try to be little less introverted, there are a lot of friendly people out there.

 

So in some ways this job and boating suits me quite well.Good

 

I can check up on email as the lock is filling up, This is where it went wrong and cruise in and out of reception areas without much hassle.

 

But before I lived on the boat, I felt a pressure to, you know, get a real office job, socialise, do more productive things and act busy in big dirty cities. Life as many of us knew it

 

OR at least be more ambitious expanding the business and that kind of thing .Life as many knew it

 

Now on a boat I don't feel any pressure at all. You're getting there, like many others..

 

However I'm starting to worry a little that boating suits me a little toooo much. How can something suit you to much

 

It's super pleasurable sure. agreed

 

But I feel so lazy. No, you have just adjusted to a new way of life

 

I have very little doubt that I will spend my retirement on the cut. I hope this happens for you, if that is what you want

 

But first, isn't it selfish and antisocial to live such an isolated life? No, it is your life spend it how you wish to.

 

We may have jumped on you about your lock use but as you have seen it later posts, they can be dangerous.

 

Sometimes risk has to be taken but risk reduction can only be a good thing.

 

You appear to still have ambition, just focussed in a different direction.

 

Good luck with your future.