The F Moment

[Degu]

Just wondering at what point after all the research into looking to live aboard you had your F moment? The Funk It I'm living afloat!

 

Me and my wife have been looking I into mo ring afloat with our son for about 2 years now and have book a nb holiday at the end of the month to see if we live being aboard in winter. We have coasted along and where hoping to buy a boat later this year. However the landlord has decided he no longer wants us to pay his mortgage anymore and kicking us out in April. As a result we have had our F moment and are looking more seriously at boat and getting a morning lined up as we don't really want to move to another house!

[mrsmelly]

Just wondering at what point after all the research into looking to live aboard you had your F moment? The Funk It I'm living afloat!

 

Me and my wife have been looking I into mo ring afloat with our son for about 2 years now and have book a nb holiday at the end of the month to see if we live being aboard in winter. We have coasted along and where hoping to buy a boat later this year. However the landlord has decided he no longer wants us to pay his mortgage anymore and kicking us out in April. As a result we have had our F moment and are looking more seriously at boat and getting a morning lined up as we don't really want to move to another house!

 

Hi

 

We just decided quite quickly and jumped in with both feet, for us the best thing we ever did. Its not for everyone though. One tip. If you are thinking of moving onto a boat simply as a supposed cheap way of living then dont do it, you will not last. You have to realy want a boating life for it to work long term.

Hope it all goes well for you.

 

Tim

[tree monkey]

sat in a car park, getting more pissed of at being unable to afford a house anywhere that didn't require a stab vest and i thought, "buy a boat", to this day i have now idea where the idea came from, i didn't even really know canals existed, had never been on a boat and only occasionally been for a walk by a canal.

9 years later, you would have to drag me kicking and screaming from my boat, funny old world

 

Hi

 

We just decided quite quickly and jumped in with both feet, for us the best thing we ever did. Its not for everyone though. One tip. If you are thinking of moving onto a boat simply as a supposed cheap way of living then dont do it, you will not last. You have to realy want a boating life for it to work long term.

Hope it all goes well for you.

 

Tim

thats what i did, sometimes it works, although i would never recommend how i went about my boat buying, it could almost be a how not to guide , it all worked out though

[Tom Richmond]

Tired of rented accommodation. Not able afford a house... Couldn't really afford a boat either but it was a lot easier to work towards!

 

 

Hi

 

We just decided quite quickly and jumped in with both feet, for us the best thing we ever did. Its not for everyone though. One tip. If you are thinking of moving onto a boat simply as a supposed cheap way of living then dont do it, you will not last. You have to realy want a boating life for it to work long term.

Hope it all goes well for you.

 

Tim

 

It takes all sorts...

[Neil2]

Degu - you are giving yourself maybe two months to find a boat to live on?

 

Buying under pressure like this is a bad idea, more so if you have no experience.

 

I wouldn't question your decision but I'd seriously think about buying a bit more time even if it does mean another house/flat move.

[Degu]

Degu - you are giving yourself maybe two months to find a boat to live on?

 

Buying under pressure like this is a bad idea, more so if you have no experience.

 

I wouldn't question your decision but I'd seriously think about buying a bit more time even if it does mean another house/flat move.

Ideally yes, but boats seem a little thin on the ground currently. We do have a backup of moving in with family for a temporary time period but wouldn't want to do that for two long but we are certainly not planning on buying anything we don't feel comfortable with

[matty40s]

 

9 years later, you would have to drag me kicking and screaming from my boat, funny old world

Your local boaters say they have to do this regularly, and deposit you back on your own boat.

[tree monkey]

Your local boaters say they have to do this regularly, and deposit you back on your own boat.

?

[Bettie Boo]

Was looking on the net for houses in our price bracket, up pops a boat in the middle of a selection of houses; I jokingly shout downstairs to OH "how about living on a boat", we could afford to buy it outright and have a little sum left over.

 

6 months later we had bought our boat, moved on the following month and haven't looked back since - we knew nothing about canal boats, the inland waterways or the life style.

 

We do both love the outdoors and both enjoyed camping holidays. We find living on the boat, is similar to upmarket camping with all the comforts of home, while being a lot warmer & more fun as well as being great exercise. And you don't get wet when it rains

[Ange]

On a Viking Afloat hire boat in 2007 was ours. We were locking through Hurlestone and I was chatting to the lady lock keeper. I said "wouldn't it be great to do this all the time" and she said "no reason why not. Let your house out and buy a boat"

 

That was my lightbulb moment when a dream became a possibility. It took us a while. We did loads of research (with a massive amount of help from CWDF members and folk we chatted to on the towpath) and bought our boat in October 2008.

 

We moved aboard full time in June 2009 telling our friends and family it would be for a couple of years and we're still here and still have so much left to explore.

 

I still owe that lady lock keeper a bottle of wine (I believe her name is Linda but she's not there any more - well certainly wasn't last time we went through)

[Ange]

Was looking on the net for houses in our price bracket, up pops a boat in the middle of a selection of houses; I jokingly shout downstairs to OH "how about living on a boat", we could afford to buy it outright and have a little sum left over.

 

6 months later we had bought our boat, moved on the following month and haven't looked back since - we knew nothing about canal boats, the inland waterways or the life style.

 

We do both love the outdoors and both enjoyed camping holidays. We find living on the boat, is similar to upmarket camping with all the comforts of home, while being a lot warmer & more fun as well as being great exercise. And you don't get wet when it rains

Lol totally with you on that one Bettie! Almost all of our holidays when our son was growing up were under canvas - though the tents did get bigger as we could afford it. It's nice to be able to touch the sides without getting wet when it rains isn't it

[DeanS]

we drove over canals on the highway and couldn't keep from getting excited at the sight of a boat.

walked along a canal and met a guy with 3 alsation dogs on board...said his doc had suggested he live a less stressful life, and he had moved onto a boat...14yrs back.

helped some guys move a boat for 9hrs in pouring rain. loved it.

Asked bank for a loan. Got money. Bought the first boat we saw. Loved it. Sold it. Upgraded. You wont get me living on land again anytime soon.

 

Good luck.

[Sabcat]

Thought about living on a boat after a drunken trip on a friends. 6 weeks later the house was sold, the boat was bought and 15 years later I'm still on it.

[peterboat]

Holiday on friends narrow boat boat thousands of hours sailing the sea cant think of a better life than living on my boat just wish I had done it sooner instead of wasting my life doing up houses still I do own my boat because od said profit from houses

 

Peter

[MtB]

On a Viking Afloat hire boat in 2007 was ours. We were locking through Hurlestone and I was chatting to the lady lock keeper. t through)

 

 

U so lucky, fitting through Hurlstone!

 

 

MtB

[Ange]

 

 

U so lucky, fitting through Hurlstone!

 

 

MtB

Umm this is one of those moments when my ickle brain goes tick tock and then says wtf does Mikey Bee mean

 

Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake

[Athy]

Umm this is one of those moments when my ickle brain goes tick tock and then says wtf does Mikey Bee mean

 

Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake

If I have understood correctly, Hurleston Lock is notoriously narrow and there have been incidents of boats getting stuck in it.

[bottle]

Degu

 

The buying of a boat is the easy bit, the finding of a 'residential mooring' is going to be the difficult bit.

 

Good luck.

[Neil2]

If I have understood correctly, Hurleston Lock is notoriously narrow and there have been incidents of boats getting stuck in it.

Yes, MtB's just jealous cos he got seriously stuck there IIRC.

 

But there are plenty of accounts of "ordinary" narrowboats getting wedged as well. The notorious Liverpool banana boats seem to have problems with it.

[Degu]

Degu

 

The buying of a boat is the easy bit, the finding of a 'residential mooring' is going to be the difficult bit.

 

Good luck.

I have already enquired about this at the marina I would like to stay at and they have said they have a few residential mornings available currently, so I'm hoping this will be ok!

[bottle]

Way to go.

 

Now just find the boat.

[Ange]

If I have understood correctly, Hurleston Lock is notoriously narrow and there have been incidents of boats getting stuck in it.

Ah thank you (and to Neil)

 

We were blissfully unaware but had no problems fitting the 70' hire boat in the lock, nor our own boat several years later.

[SamKingfisher]

I bought because I couldn't afford a house. I also like boats, and fixing stuff so it has worked out well!