Want to move onto a boat

[Mark nute]

Hi I'm new to this group and have had a share in an ex challenger for about 10yrs. My wife and I have decided we'd love to try living on a boat. I know that getting a mooring is the first and possibly most difficult part but would be so grateful for any tips about the whole process. Thanks in advance and I look forward to hopefully many discussions

[Delta9]

It depends a lot on what area you are in. Getting a mooring that you can live aboard on is very easy in my area. getting a mooring that is pretty and officially residential is slightly harder.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Hi, and welcome to the forums.

 

As a bit of a wanderer I can't really help in how you go about getting a mooring but I would like to praise you for your approach. If you do a search across the various threads you will see a number of people approach the lifestyle with a question along the lines of "What is the minimum I need to travel to be a continuous cruiser" whereas you are immediately asking about getting a mooring, well done (don't misread any sarcasm in this, I do genuinely mean it).

[Phil Ambrose]

Hi mark and welcome, if you let us know what sort of area you are thinking of, it would help with the advice, As Delta said it can be easy to get a live aboard mooring but depends where you are, my Fenland mooring has a few vacancies but that's no good unless you're down here .

Phil

[Mark nute]

Morning. I thought I posted last night about where but doesn't look like it. We live in weston super mare atm so would possibly prefer k&a but Midlands is probably where we think we might end up.only a trip up.the m5 for the family

What we would like is an area that we could keep some chickens grow some veg and put up some storage if possible

Edited April 16, 2016 by Mark nute

[sueb]

Keep a land base even if you let it out

[ditchcrawler]

Morning. I thought I posted last night about where but doesn't look like it. We live in weston super mare atm so would possibly prefer k&a but Midlands is probably where we think we might end up.only a trip up.the m5 for the family

What we would like is an area that we could keep some chickens grow some veg and put up some storage if possible

K&A is very busy with boats that stay in the area.

I think that type of mooring would be hard to find, I can only thinks of one and that is Cropredy. If you can find an offside farm mooring you may be able to come to an arrangement with the farmer for a plot on his land.

[Mark nute]

Yeah the farmer was in my.mind. also will ask owners who are near over grown moorings when out next.

[Sea Dog]

Morning. I thought I posted last night about where but doesn't look like it. We live in weston super mare atm so would possibly prefer k&a but Midlands is probably where we think we might end up.only a trip up.the m5 for the family

What we would like is an area that we could keep some chickens grow some veg and put up some storage if possible

I'd suggest you get the boat and a relatively easy to find marina mooring to get you started, then look for your ideal mooring with space for chickens, veg and storage once you're up and running. Who knows, chickens might turn out to be too restrictive once you have a boat should you find you like to use it for its primary purpose.

[Claude]

Finding a mooring where you could grow veg and keep chickens might be tricky. You'd probably need to put up some sort of fox-proof enclosure for the chickens. You might want to think about renting a mooring and a nearby allotment separately.

 

I once knew a bloke who grew flowers and some veg on the roof of his boat. We were moored on pontoons in a marina far away from the river bank. The guy knew about keeping chickens and one day he bought a couple back to his boat and kept them on the roof in a wire mesh enclosure. After only a couple of nights he awoke to a noisy racket on the roof and came out to find a fox on the roof which had already got into the enclosure and killed both chickens. After that he gave up on that idea.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Claude

[Alan de Enfield]

There are plots of land for sale along the Trent (West of Nottingham), they already have moorings and some already have 'allotments' on them - some even have 'Summer Houses'.

 

Advantage - you don't even need to licence your boat as its on the River and outside of the Main Navigable Channel.

 

Disadvantage - not close to the M5 for family visits.

 

Many people buy houses and boats based on "when the family visit we need ..................."

You cannot run your life around the occasional visit of family.

You can always leave your boat for a day or two and coach / train / car down to Somerset.

[Mark nute]

Thanks for all your comments so far. It's always worth getting lots of thought's so we can go into this having thought of all the pitfalls as well as the dreams

[Wanderer Vagabond]

There are plots of land for sale along the Trent (West of Nottingham), they already have moorings and some already have 'allotments' on them - some even have 'Summer Houses'.

 

Advantage - you don't even need to licence your boat as its on the River and outside of the Main Navigable Channel.

 

Disadvantage - not close to the M5 for family visits.

BIGGER Disadvantage - It's on a river!! Doesn't the Trent occasionally get a lot of water in it?

Many people buy houses and boats based on "when the family visit we need ..................."

You cannot run your life around the occasional visit of family.

You can always leave your boat for a day or two and coach / train / car down to Somerset.

[ditchcrawler]

Do you want to live on a boat or do you want to go boating. if its the former it doesn't matter if you can move or not. If the latter you don't want somewhere you can get trapped for weeks

[Mark nute]

We want to live on the boat. We will still need an income my.wife works for aldi so could transfer. I have recently been making wooden creations that I have been selling at fayres so I am easy.we are really keen to escape the rat race and want to.be able to enjoy life.good times and bad

Edited April 16, 2016 by Mark nute

[dave moore]

Living aboard may not be the idyll you imagine. Unless you are hooked up to electricity, close to a water supply and have some way of disposing of sewage/ rubbishy easily, then life afloat can be interesting, constantly checking on such resources. In a lifetime round canals I've found that Sod's Law bites longer, harder and deeper there than most places....and there is usually an audience when things go wrong!

 

I don't know how much space you need for your craft work, would you need the space permanently set up? If so, it could eat in significantly to your living area. I'm a working signwriter and canal boat decorator and I couldn't do without my workshop here at home and I've only ever done a handful of jobs from our boat. One solution, tried by other boaters in your situation, is to acquire a small second boat and adapt it as a floating workshop, though whether the cost of additional licensing and insurance would be covered by the income you generate from sales, I don't know.

 

I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, merely raising issues that you may not have considered. Others with more direct experience of full time living aboard in similar circumstances may well be along to offer advice and I wish you good luck. Perhaps I'm the only boater whose gas runs out at night when it's raining/frosty etc!

 

Dave

[Phil Ambrose]

Here in the Fens ww have a female canopy maker who did for a long time have a butty she used as her work room, sadly for some reason she was forces to sell it.

Phil

[Mark nute]

We are definitely not going into this on a whim with our rose tinted glasses on. I make various sized wooden reindeers for Xmas fayres and wooden flowerpot men for summertime. The butty boats an option. But I think we are still hoping to get some land. And become the good life on the waterways.ha ha. As I said were at the early stages and have decided to write all the pros and cons in column's. Hopefully the construction list isn't too long

[Arthur Brown]

If you live on a boat "near to work" then it rapidly becomes "live in a small house that might sink" near work. The K&A is probably the most desirable location outside Maida Vale/ Little Venice! The K&A is probably the most enforced canal.

 

Work that goes well with boating tends to be physically small but high value, moderate deadline work, probably web design is favourite! -Needs only a computer, desk and chair space and if you use a laptop doesn't need much electricity, -can be done from anywhere in the world with internet. Trying to work in retail all day when you have spent all night stopping the boat(home) sinking or moving in floods will be an issue.

 

If I wanted to have a boat and be based in Somerset, I'd certainly want a boat capable of navigating the tidal Severn up to Gloucester and into the canals there AND the skills to do the journey.

[Mark nute]

Ok we've had a rethink and are now working to a 5yr plan to keep the house or a smaller version. Cc and sell some wooden items from the boat also make and store for Christmas fayres taking them home for the kids to store at various intervals.would love to do it sooner but this way seems like the most sensible for the long term

[Phil Ambrose]

It sounds like you are adopting the sensible approach, all to easy to allow your heart to rule your head. I'm sure you will work it out to whatever is best for you.

All the very best and power to your elbow.

Phil