Sad to say we've sold the boat.

[DaveC]

A sad day but we are also relieved to say we have sold our much loved boat. We bought her eleven years ago and in that time we have travelled extensively, covering a good percentage of the system but not all of it. Disability has made it necessary to sell. We have made many good friends whilst boating and even more "acquaintances", that is folk we know by sight or more likely by their boat but we don't actually know well.

 

I will be looking in on CWDF from time to time as as well as useful info I do find a lot of the content interesting - even the spats between some of the more outspoken members on here. (I have joined a motor homers forum but that isn't nearly as interesting!) So you can guess that we have got ourselves a motorhome so we may see some of you on our travels.

 

So, thanks for all the advice received via CWDF, and may see some of you around the system.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

 

[Southern Star]

All the best with the motorhome, as one door closes another opens etc. Hope health holds up as well as possible too.

[Loafer]

Good luck.

 

I'm guessing that many on here have a 'plan B' which may very well be the motorhome one. We can't get our wives to do the locks forever, can we? It would be interesting to hear similarities/differences between the two modes of living aboard as and when you get going.

[Sea Dog]

Two happiest days of your life: the day you buy your boat and the day you sell it!

 

Sorry to hear that you had to move on, but best wishes for your new adventure.

[bassplayer]

Yes, good luck Dave. It's a decision many of us will have to make at some point in the future. I also see the camper van as the Plan B should I have to move on. My brother who is a lot older than me had to sell his live aboard due to heath issues and has enjoyed his camper so far. I've got the same 'genetic issue' as him so it's a time bomb really, that's why I'm trying to enjoy life while I can. We all have our different 'challenges' don't we.

 

Of course, like every alternative lifestyle these days, there are those who are trying to make life more difficult for us. Many councils are imposing height restrictions and overnight parking restrictions (arguebly illegally!). You might find this site interesting https://andystrangewayovernightparkingcampaigner.wordpress.com

[magpie patrick]

Sad to let a boat go but a new door opens I'm sure

 

I used to know Stanley Holland, who amongst other things wrote a column "Canals on Canvas" for Canal and Riverboat Magazine. He reckoned the enforced move from boating to motorhome meant he saw some very interesting canals indeed - the ones he couldn't get his boat to.

 

Hope it proves the same for you

[churchward]

It will come to us all in time that we have to give up boating for one reason or another but it is sad to do so when in your mind you are not ready to due to circumstances outside your control.

 

As others have said life is full of beginnings and endings and I hope you will enjoy your new adventure in your motorhome. Good luck.

[bottle]

Good luck Dave and may your new adventure be more than you expect, in a good way.

 

 

Now for the younger members of the forum, check your driving licence because not all of you will be able to drive the bigger motor-homes without passing another test.

[Guest]

Good luck Dave, sorry to hear you have had to sell the boat. Hope your new motorhome adventure brings you as much happiness. It as a new season in your life.

[jollymoggy]

Good luck, but just think of all those warm countries you can now visit

[Pluto]

As someone who gave up regular boating many years ago because of arthritis, etc, I thought I would give you an idea of what you can do by road. This is our transport on the way to visit navigation structures on the River Onega in northern Russia:

[nebulae]

Sad that you have given up boating. There is a danger that we all take our mobility for granted,until it becomes restricted. As an aside,My driving licence will run out in 2 years time. We have a caravan which we use occasionaly and is well over 750kg.I have "grandfather" rights to tow a heavier trailer than 750kg .When I apply to renew my licence,I lose these rights.I also lose the right to drive a vehicle over 3,500kg.Although the requirements to renew these rights are less onerous than for someone taking a test for the first time I hope I will be able to renew when the time comes?

[Arthur Marshall]

I can feel that day approaching myself. Both me and my boat are getting older and rustier together. It'll be ad, but i try and remember every day I'm out on the thing that I'm one of the lucky ones - it was sheer chance that I discovered narrowboats at the time I had enough money to buy one (even if it was an old wreck when I got it) and it's been pue joy ever since. When it has to go, I'l do something else. Good luck with the future, Dave.

[TaffyRon]

As someone who gave up regular boating many years ago because of arthritis, etc, I thought I would give you an idea of what you can do by road. This is our transport on the way to visit navigation structures on the River Onega in northern Russia:

looks like billing aquadrome after a shower

[Richard Fairhurst]

I thought it was the Wakefield National...

[Southern Star]

Sad that you have given up boating. There is a danger that we all take our mobility for granted,until it becomes restricted. As an aside,My driving licence will run out in 2 years time. We have a caravan which we use occasionaly and is well over 750kg.I have "grandfather" rights to tow a heavier trailer than 750kg .When I apply to renew my licence,I lose these rights.I also lose the right to drive a vehicle over 3,500kg.Although the requirements to renew these rights are less onerous than for someone taking a test for the first time I hope I will be able to renew when the time comes?

All you will need to do is fill out a DVLA medical questionnaire and get it signed by your GP and you will retain al current classes.

[Bee]

Just a bit of info that you may already know, a lot of the 'halte nautiques' in France and probably Belgium are also overnight stopping places for motorhomes with electric, water and sometimes loo disposal, there must be a booklet somewhere with maps.

[peterboat]

looks like billing aquadrome after a shower

[sueb]

Join the boaters who are now on land :-) there are a lot of us on the Motorhome forums.

[Peter X]

Reading this topic gives me food for thought. Here I am at 59 and in pretty good health for my age, thinking as I have for a year or more that I might retire in a few years and get a boat, and maybe I should be doing more to get myself ready so I could do it sooner rather than later. Nobody really knows how long they're going to get before a medical problem or something else comes along to make it difficult to go on boating, it could be decades or much sooner. There are probably people who've bought the boat of their dreams to retire on, set off on it, then 3 months later they, or a spouse/partner, is suddenly no longer able to stay aboard and they have to go back to bricks and mortar.

 

DaveC, I hope the motorhome works out well for you and you enjoy that too.

[Billw]

I too will soon be motorhome only. I've found http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/forum.php to be an excellent forum, with a really useful database of places to stay.

You can certainly never know when your health will change.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Billw

[stickleback]

I sold mine in August, having loved using it for 7 years ... There was a sense of relief (mainly to do with finances!) but I miss it - progressively more, actually. Sitting by the squirrel stove, toasty warm, with a glass of something, while outside the snow was deep and the canal frozen over - beautiful. Since selling though, the bathroom has been refitted and tiled, central heating fitted instead of storage heaters, decorated throughout - which wouldn't have happened. And I can imagine, when I retire in a few years time, selling the house, buying a small flat - and another boat!!