is the increase of liveaboards sustainable, and good or bad?

[TaffyRon]

Seems a hell of a lot of people are desperate to live on boats, where is this heading?

yes, I chose this life 5 years ago and wont go back but I feel that due to the economy and other issues discussed on here we could be heading for overcrowding at the very least.

 

as with anything in life, if its popular its worth taxing the hell out of

[Phil Ambrose]

Cor thats torn it Ron, you have just talked that one up (tax indeed pah! spit)

 

Phil

[Ricco1]

It might be a problem in popular areas e.g. London but on much of the system there's plenty of room.

[TaffyRon]

Cor thats torn it Ron, you have just talked that one up (tax indeed pah! spit)

 

Phil

I know, but they wont have it, overcrouding will restrict movement, if we cant move we are sitting ducks (dont mention the ducks) I always say, when someone asks me whats it like to live on a boat? I say : cold, damp, horrible and the forum is very stroppy

[peterboat]

I tell them its to hot in summer, cold in winter and we crap and pee in buckets

 

Peter

[gaggle]

When I got the boat ( 10 YRS ago ) I only had to sit outside on the stern and a constant stream of people passing would stop for a full run down of costs , buying , running , licence and how they could find out more , , I would say over the last five years it has happened less and less , so don't know that people are desperate to live aboard , maybe people who already own a boat are moving aboard but I cant see any influx that can in any way lead to overcrowding , not where I am anyway , ten years ago I bought to liveaboard and cc and I will get round to it .

[TaffyRon]

Most frequent asked question.

 

"What do you do when it rains?"

 

 

We bail out ffs

[alan_fincher]

I tell them its to hot in summer, cold in winter and we crap and pee in buckets

 

Peter

 

Tell them where you empty the buckets, and that will put even more off the lifestyle!

[Loafer]

My fear is that we'll be overrun with people looking for cheap houseinge. Not boaty people at all, don't care about any of it, towpath covered in $hite. (There are other ways of living aboard tho)

[Southern Star]

Seems a hell of a lot of people are desperate to live on boats, where is this heading?

 

They're not desperate to live on boats, they simply see their housing options being whittled away daily. The opportunity to buy a house which I had in my late 20s simply isn't open to young people any more. If they can't get a boat, then in a couple of years they'll be living in a garden shed.

 

There's a serious housing crisis at the moment and there are two root causes, ZIRP and eu migration policy.

[b0atman]

If every boat was a live aboard then there would still be the same space.

In Marinas electric supply would be the biggest problem .

On the cut the biggest problem would be lack of service stations for water sewage and rubbish .

Crt would obviously make more money from online moorings which would justify the building of service points.

Biggest problem would be more people shouting slow down !

[TaffyRon]

When I was a boy, 80s, never heard of anyone living on a boat, im sure there was, apart from the working boats, but marinas must be a new thing over the last 30 years

They're not desperate to live on boats, they simply see their housing options being whittled away daily. The opportunity to buy a house which I had in my late 20s simply isn't open to young people any more. If they can't get a boat, then in a couple of years they'll be living in a garden shed.

 

There's a serious housing crisis at the moment and there are two root causes, ZIRP and eu migration policy.

I would rather they addressed the imm**ra*ion issue before the housing, but lets not go down that route,

 

I want to ask why people are turning to this life

[Loafer]

When I was a boy, 80s, never heard of anyone living on a boat, im sure there was, apart from the working boats, but marinas must be a new thing over the last 30 years

 

I would rather they addressed the imm**ra*ion issue before the housing, but lets not go down that route,

 

I want to ask why people are turning to this life

 

It won't be from reading CWDF!

[TaffyRon]

It won't be from reading CWDF!

oh come on, a 72ft floating mosque with boatmans cabin would enrich the canal

[Tom Richmond]

Liveaboard boater problem; housing problem; immigration problem; worldwide population problem.

 

We (human beings) need to stop having children. In the short term we need to create a more functional global society. If we can make some parts of the world more comfortable to live in, there will be less war torn areas, less refugees, more economic equality and that will trickle through to less people in the UK deciding that life on a boat is the only way forwards.

 

So: buy fairtrade; support local businesses; holiday here in the UK and boycott Tesco, Starbucks and Israel.

 

Also, prepare yourselves, because things are going to get worse before they get better, (fill the bilges with baked beans... in their cans of course).

[Loafer]

We need a measured reduction in children. We can't afford a sudden workforce gap 20 years later. Just stop paying people to have them.

[Tom Richmond]

Stop paying people to have them, I'd go one better and say charge them.

 

Child tax is the way forward. Perhaps the money could be donated to charity: Oxfam? WWF? Or maybe the re-opening of the Stroudwater? Anyone by save the children...

[DeanS]

Many have said it before.

Living on a boat is not cheaper than living on land. I reckon it's cheaper to live in a caravan on a caravan club farm hardstanding, and move every 14days ? (about £8 per night)....car to get to work, no licence fees.

[Neil2]

It depends what you mean by "sustainable", there's several aspects to this for example,

 

- whether the canal infrastructure can cope with increasing numbers of liveaboards,

 

- whether supply and demand will eventually force the price of boats beyond the reach of potential liveaboards

 

- whether other boaters and the wider community are prepared to tolerate increasing numbers of liveaboards

 

There's probably other factors I haven't thought of but the point is it's a complex issue and just solving one aspect of the problem might actually make matters worse in other respects.

 

I agree that there must be significant numbers on the waterways now who are not there from "choice" but have had no other opportunity to resolve their housing problem. And this state of affairs simply isn't going to go away. The crisis in the supply of housing can only be resolved by a radical shift in government policy and even then it could take a generation to work through.

 

So for the immediate future what is needed is a "holistic" approach to the issue accepting that for some this is the only alternative at least in the short term. The government, public authorities, CRT and "leisure" boaters need to embrace the changed circumstances and stop demonising others who are just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

 

 

 

 

[p6rob]

We (human beings) need to stop having children.

 

Wouldn't it be more effective to tackle the housing, nhs, employment, national debt, immigration issues by capping maximum age. eg. You retire at 60, get say fifteen years of retirement on a decent pension, then, it's good night, thanks for all the fish.

Reducing the number of babies born may possibly have helped China briefly, but it's beginning to prove a massive problem now there's not enough working age people to sustain all the nations oldies.

 

Do you think it's a vote winner?

[Proper Job]

There's a lot of people that say they are going to live on boats.

 

Not so many broadcast it when they move off within12 months because it was cramped, cold, muddy, hard work and more expensive than they thought it would be

[Dinz]

Cat and Pigeon time.

Met a few newbies this year.

ALL I have been asked by 'majority' is where is it OK to 'squat' now the weather has turned?

Can we sit here all winter?

Surely CaRT won't be checking?

When will I get iced in? I'm in a nice space and don't want to move! [been there 4 weeks to my knowledge!]

Try to advise a bit of reality but get ignored/told where to go.

Then again a 'few' are more than keeping within the spirit of things.

Normally find the 'majority' are using it as alternative housing.

The 'few' love the lifestyle and the waterways.

'Majority' knacker it up with locals. Then move off.

The 'few' are left with what's left.

Just saying is all.

[Tom Richmond]

 

Wouldn't it be more effective to tackle the housing, nhs, employment, national debt, immigration issues by capping maximum age. eg. You retire at 60, get say fifteen years of retirement on a decent pension, then, it's good night, thanks for all the fish.

Reducing the number of babies born may possibly have helped China briefly, but it's beginning to prove a massive problem now there's not enough working age people to sustain all the nations oldies.

 

Do you think it's a vote winner?

We could make it a public occassion, get everyone down to the town square to wave them all off, perhaps throw some rotten fruit...

[b0atman]

I maybe could have got a 2 up 2 down this would have required a loan mortgage doubtful at 50+ post divorce.

Luckily I got to keep the boat.

I would have struggled and maybe failed to keep the house over the last 10 years .

Boating is definitely cheaper if you don't mind getting your hands dirty and you shop around for the best deals .

Go in a non NAA marina then no licence,or even BSS or insurance (if your silly).

Engine low maintenance as only being run to keep it healthy.

Gas far cheaper than household bills.

Electric Solar panels reduce shore power useage.

No water Rates

No council tax or maybe a share of one band A charge on marina.

No furniture to buy as already in boat.

[Athy]

boycott Tesco, Starbucks and Israel.

 

 

There is a disturbing pattern to this suggestion. I hope it was made in jest.