3 weeks aboard and thoughts so far!

[floatsyourboat]

I think we may be having a wobble or that dream and the reality don't match!

I'm starting to think we should have just bought a motor home and spent winter in the sun!

CRT are a nonsensical entity in their thinking which just makes us think blow it we will just not bother!

We are stuck on a mooring between closed locks now as they are closed so we are staying on the boat yard we bought the boat from.

We could just shuffle up and down on the stretch to comply or pay an L3 mooring which is so silted up the boat lists to one side making it unpleasant!

Despite having a washing machine we would rather go to the laundrette than listen to the water pump groan.

Keeping the wood burner going is a pain in the whatsit and the erbespacher is already showing a sense of humour!

Did anyone else hate it more than Love it when they first moved aboard?

Edited November 23, 2014 by floatsyourboat

[Delta9]

 

 

Been on mine a year and a half and still wish I'd bought a motorhome instead.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Delta9

[bottle]

All the above will become second nature after the first winter.

 

If you are trapped between closures you can moor up until the closure are opened, C&RT will understand especially if you give them a ring and explain your situation.

 

Next year around September/October time visit their website and check the winter stoppages and plan your boating accordingly.

 

For this years maps go to https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/winter right hand side of page.

 

Woodburners take practice and are affected by fuel and weather conditions, keeping in over night is a black art, 'coal' can help.

 

Erbaspacher may need a service.

 

Water pumps do make a noise but that can be reduced , by sound insulation and the mounting of the pump isolated from the boat ie. rubber mountings, as per engine.

 

Loved it from the start but we had, had many, many years of hiring in all seasons.

Edited November 23, 2014 by bottle

[Alan de Enfield]

It will probably get worse over the next few months - but - think that come April (ish) you will have solved the problems and have the "freedom of the waterways" - waking up in a different place every day, and can sit and watch the world go by.

[Lady Muck]

Absolutely hated it at first. The adjustment was a big shock. Nothing worked, everything broke. We ruined our first set of leisures etc etc.

 

Took about six months to get used to it, now onboard 8 years. I will not be going back to land, the thought both depresses and bores me. I've spent most weekends for months in a land house (clearing an elderly relatives house out), I have loathed every minute. Can't sleep, there is no community, it isn't cozy. Even the dog gets bored.

 

The social life we have now is the best thing ever, mates just arrive and raft up with us for a night or two, no having to get taxis home or anything like that, because you already are home.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Lady Muck

[jollymoggy]

Yes its exactly what happened to me, bearing in mind this is only the start of my 3rd month. Stuff not working and breaking was a let down, especially considering it took lots of persuasion to get my wife to move onboard with me.(whenever something went wrong she will say I told you we should have put a deposit down on a house instead) But now moving forward things are slowly getting better. I'm looking forward to cruising in the warmer weather next year, just thank god my stove is actually nice and toasty

Absolutely hated it at first. The adjustment was a big shock. Nothing worked, everything broke. We ruined our first set of leisures etc etc.

Took about six months to get used to it, now onboard 8 years. I will not be going back to land, the thought both depresses and bores me. I've spent most weekends for months in a land house (clearing an elderly relatives house out), I have loathed every minute. Can't sleep, there is no community, it isn't cozy. Even the dog gets bored.

The social life we have now is the best thing ever, mates just arrive and raft up with us for a night or two, no having to get taxis home or anything like that, because you already are home.

[blackrose]

This is the problem of being a "Livethedreamaboard" - the dream and the reality often don't match, especially in winter.

 

I moved onto my first boat in January 1999 in the middle of a very cold spell. It was an old Springer with a stove that didn't work very well, an engine that overheated, a dodgy gearbox and thin polystyrene insulation. On my first night it was minus 8C outside. I had no illusions from the start.

[Bettie Boo]

So sorry to hear your not loving it right from the start. But it does get better.

 

Took Dave over 2 hours to get the stove lit the night we moved on board last February, it was cold and raining. Once he got it lit, we kept it going steady for the next 2 & 1/2 months!! With most days having the windows all open as we just couldn't get the hang of controlling it. We were going through a bag of coal every 3 days. Now that we have a better idea of what we're doing, we can get 5 days out of a bag, keep the fire going 24/7 and it's just comfortable, not stiffing hot (well except for last night)

 

The only sound on the boat that bothers me is the swans pecking at the side of the boat, but I just remind myself I'd much rather listen to that than all the traffic that used to pass in front of our house, or the drone of a large air conditioning unit on the roof of a near by commercial building.

 

We've experienced problems along the way as well; replaced and enlarged the entire leisure bank, replaced the charger/inverter, broke the bow thruster, ripped the cratch cover, broken fan belt and on and on, But it's been a good learning curve for both of us and we just really have no regrets to making the lifestyle change.

 

We were stuck in a marina for the first 5 months, and although it was very handy for getting the boat set up the way we wanted and having electricity on tap while we got our heads around power usage on the boat, I was well happy to leave it when we did & we've been cruising ever since.

 

Although I really enjoyed it right from the start, I now Love it since we've been out cruising and really experiencing life on the cut

 

Hope it gets better for you real soon

[chubby]

Sounds like a similar scenario for me too , but weirdly i loved it from tge start even though i moved onboard in the middle of February . My mate helped me with the boat after i bought it & the first few days were comical & things were a bit grim . No idea about looking after batteries , no idea how anything worked - this included looking for a non existant fuel gauge & neither knew anything about proper fires ... with coal & wood n stuff .

It was farcical & like several moments in the classic film Withnail & I . I ve got a photo of my mate cooking sausage rolls of the stove & tins of heinz tomato soup with a big wooden spoon sticking out the top . The title of the photo is " We've gone on holiday by mistake " after Richard E Grants line to the farmer in the film .

Its a steep learning curve when you first move on to a boat & if anything its even more so if you move onboard in the wintertime . First thing to learn is how to get your stove going & keeping it going . Trial & error & you ll go thru more coal you think at first maybe , but if the boats warm then everything else will seem easier to tackle . Things will go wrong but thats the nature of boats & in time learning about your boats set up & systems & the new skills you acquire along the way are actually a positive thing , tho of course it can be nightmarish at times .

Hang in there , because once you find your feet & sort out a few of the frustrating issues & begin to get into the routines of living onboard you are likely to find that you will absolutely love it . Theres no way i d put up with the hassles my boat has caused me from a car or a house but , weirdly , i will tolerate them from my boat .

So hang in there , it ll get better , the boat will get better & the weather will get better & come the summer when you re moored up in the sticks & knocking the top off your first beer of the evening or first G & T , i promise you' ll be glad you stuck it out .

cheers

Edited November 23, 2014 by chubby

[Lady Muck]

And I was gonna have a quiet one tonight....anyway bumped into a ccer friend I've not seen for six months (this happens a lot) and we will shortly have him and someone else triple moored to us. In proper london tradition. Lamb and cous cous for dinner tonight!

[Lady Muck]

Getting used to the life is a slow process as well, on land, everything is more instant, on the canal, the pace is slower. I am forever explaining to newbies that the fuel boats don't and can't keep a timetable. As Bettie says you improve things over time and slowly. This year we really increased our solar array. Next year, new, larger battery bank.

We understand a lot more about how to do things than we did at the beginning.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Lady Muck

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

I think we may be having a wobble or that dream and the reality don't match!

I'm starting to think we should have just bought a motor home and spent winter in the sun!

CRT are a nonsensical entity in their thinking which just makes us think blow it we will just not bother!

We are stuck on a mooring between closed locks now as they are closed so we are staying on the boat yard we bought the boat from.

We could just shuffle up and down on the stretch to comply or pay an L3 mooring which is so silted up the boat lists to one side making it unpleasant!

Despite having a washing machine we would rather go to the laundrette than listen to the water pump groan.

Keeping the wood burner going is a pain in the whatsit and the erbespacher is already showing a sense of humour!

Did anyone else hate it more than Love it when they first moved aboard?

Hey Hi ya,

Come on, Cheer up.

I must admit, I think in my mind that a boat only 'Works' if you can Move, Travel, Cruise !. So being stuck between a cpl of closed locks can't be ideal for you.

I've been a livaboard CCr for well over 25yrs, and in that time, I can't recall a time I regretted my decision. But that being said, Maybe it's a lot easier to livaboard in Estuaries, Harbors

Rivers and the Sea.

Just treat your first winter aboard as a strap learning curve, and it's ok to make mistakes so you can learn from them.

What's the biggest single annoying thing on your mind at the moment ?.

[Rickent]

And if all else fails there's always DONUTS............

[John V]

And if all else fails there's always DONUTS............

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

 

Like it !.

[canals are us?]

I'd use the time to service the engine, master the fire and sort out any niggles. I bought my boat in November 2 years ago. I was trapped at the wharf due to lock closures and it was freezing cold. Got the bubble diesel stove going and it was faulty, filling the boat with smoke. Took it out as I had planned and ordered a woodwarm fireview 4.5kw stove. Installed a temporary stove but it didn't heat the boat enough, ice on bedroom windows in the morning.

Boxing day left the wharf for the 53 mile journey single handed. Never had any experience of narrow boating except a 1 day Helmsman's Course.

Very nervous at first but as the miles passed, the confidence grew and loved the trip down the Shroppie, Staffs and Worcester and Trent and Mersey.. The weather was generally awful, wet, cold and got to Alrewas and the river Trent was in flood. Had to wait 4 days for the Trent to go down. Got to the Marina as needed a residential mooring and needed to look for work.

Installed a battery charger as never had one. Mid Febuary got the new stove, fab to be so warm!!, New leisure batteries, could only afford 2 Trojan T105'S. Central heating rads installed from stove and calorifier heated by stove.

Once you iron out the problems you will love it. I loved the life from the start. Wish I had the time to go CC as I loved exploring the network on my trip and the helpful boaters I met on the way.

I have found work 4 months ago and now have 11 days off work. Planning a day trip to Alrewas with friends and family. Would of refitted my bathroom but my car may need a new gearbox!! Don't want to risk going far as my boats Gearbox is noisy as discovered no oil in it on an engine service not long after buying!! Planning to do an oil change and renew the ATF in the PRM120 back to engine oil to reduce the noise.

 

James

[Phil Ambrose]

And if all else fails there's always DONUTS............

Somebody called me?

Phil

[ditchcrawler]

I'd use the time to service the engine, master the fire and sort out any niggles. I bought my boat in November 2 years ago. I was trapped at the wharf due to lock closures and it was freezing cold. Got the bubble diesel stove going and it was faulty, filling the boat with smoke. Took it out as I had planned and ordered a woodwarm fireview 4.5kw stove. Installed a temporary stove but it didn't heat the boat enough, ice on bedroom windows in the morning.

Boxing day left the wharf for the 53 mile journey single handed. Never had any experience of narrow boating except a 1 day Helmsman's Course.

Very nervous at first but as the miles passed, the confidence grew and loved the trip down the Shroppie, Staffs and Worcester and Trent and Mersey.. The weather was generally awful, wet, cold and got to Alrewas and the river Trent was in flood. Had to wait 4 days for the Trent to go down. Got to the Marina as needed a residential mooring and needed to look for work.

Installed a battery charger as never had one. Mid Febuary got the new stove, fab to be so warm!!, New leisure batteries, could only afford 2 Trojan T105'S. Central heating rads installed from stove and calorifier heated by stove.

Once you iron out the problems you will love it. I loved the life from the start. Wish I had the time to go CC as I loved exploring the network on my trip and the helpful boaters I met on the way.

I have found work 4 months ago and now have 11 days off work. Planning a day trip to Alrewas with friends and family. Would of refitted my bathroom but my car may need a new gearbox!! Don't want to risk going far as my boats Gearbox is noisy as discovered no oil in it on an engine service not long after buying!! Planning to do an oil change and renew the ATF in the PRM120 back to engine oil to reduce the noise.

 

James

We are in Alrewas at the moment, plenty of room, I expected more boats here.

[Ssscrudddy]

It's a shame you're not enjoying it. I wonder, realistically, how much difference would there be between a motorhome vs a narrowboat. OK the motorhome aint gonna sink. Other than that, still batteries that need looking after, still water pumps, big ol' engine, similar 12/24V systems, toilets etc.

I consider myself lucky, but when I got mine, knowing I have no DIY skills (successfully avoided all my life until now) I aimed for getting as new a boat as possible. I ended up with a 7 year old boat for £40k that had been well looked after, & more importantly, the peeps that built it had been on the canals for 25 years, & this shows through with everything accessible & well laid out etc (eg my sisters boat has no way to drain the calorifier easily & she's not liveaboard, & her batteries are almost impossible to get at).

The only mishaps have been:
Flooding the cabin bilge the day I got it - all my fault, nothing wrong with the boat.
Water pump not working - my fault, I'd managed to turn it off without noticing, nothing wrong with the boat.
knackered batteries - possibly my fault but possibly not.
flooding the cabin bilge again - my fault for not noticing (for 3 weeks) I'd accidentally turned the shower pump off, now replaced with a whale gulper so that I dont flood the cabin bilge again even if I do the same thing again.
Immersion heater stopped working - loose wire, general maintenance.
Immersion heater started leaking - possibly my fault when I fixed the loose wire, general maintenance.
Split alternator belt - spotted during general checks before I started the engine like I'd been told to do, general maintenance.

I know of someone who bought an old boat (presumably half the price of mine or less). They've spent all year gutting it inside & totally refitting it, had to keep getting it welded. Sanded down & repainted the outside. Now their engine is knackered & they need a new one. By the time they've finished I reckon they will have spent as much money as me. I reckon by the time they've finished they could have bought a new sailaway & spent the same amount of time & money & would have had a brand new boat. All easily said with hindsight.

I knew I didnt have the skills hence why I bought a better boat in the first place. All my time researching & looking for just the right boat (over 3 years) has paid off. Had I had their problems it would have meant the end of the dream for me & a complete waste of all my money.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Ssscrudddy

[John V]

Snip

 

Well done!

the only point I would make for the re-building route is that it does allow you to spread the cost over a longish period

(but agree DIY skills are essential)

I rebuilt my barge over many years,(one day it might get totally finished but I have my doubts)

I would never have had enough money to do it if I was saving up

[wreckferret]

Interesting thread........

We have had our narrowboat for 18 months and lived on it from day one, but it is most deinately, a work in progress.

We bought it as a second hand, stripped out sail away shell and immediately had to move it some 300 miles (as the canal flies) from Windsor on the Thames, to West Stockwith, on the Chesterfield. We were under no illusions and loved every minute even though we were, in effect, camping in a floating tin tent!!

A school boy error on my part meant that our planned mooring was unsuitable so had to spend our first winter on the towpath with no facilities at all.

Now in a marina and the DIY refit is coming along nicely (but slowly) and because we started from scratch everything we do is an improvement

I think that sometimes, expectations of "life on the cut" are a little high and as a consequence, dissapointment comes easily.....

Stick with it and all will fall into place, and if cc'ing is your aim use this enforced lay up to get all the problems sorted before heading out to the back of beyond....

[floatsyourboat]

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone.

I've now got to go for day surgery to have my bloody tonsils out on Thursday so that's going to add to things.

I will have to make sure everything is stocked up so my Mrs can manage too while I mope around in pain!!

The boat is 62 foot long and we are basically living in half of it because the wet room walk through loo prevents air travelling through the boat so the back of the boat originally to be my office is now a fridge/ wardrobe!

Wet rooms are a great idea but an awfully cold waste of space in a boat!

We have to get in the car and drive to the laundrette and Im thinking I may as well just drive a motor home to the laundrette!

It really bugs me the canals get closed down from November I never realised it would be so restrictive!

Perhaps I will feel better once we can move on and my health is tip top again!

Eco fans do not bloody work lol.

[Alan de Enfield]

Eco fans do not bloody work lol.

 

You never really thought they did - did you ?

[Graham Davis]

It really bugs me the canals get closed down from November I never realised it would be so restrictive!

Perhaps I will feel better once we can move on and my health is tip top again!

 

 

I'm sorry you are having a tough time, but just picking up on the above point, a little research here and on the CaRT site would have shown you that maintenance has to be done some time, and the winter period is the best time to do it because there are less boats moving about then.

[b0atman]

still plenty of boating available if you work around the stoppages .

What is your heating system on boat

why can wet room doors not be left open ?