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Complete newbie - would appreciate tips!


Nat-g

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Hi all,

 

For a while I've been toying with the idea of buying a narrowboat to continuously cruise along the London Canals, for a few weeks or so I've been doing a fair bit of research but for some areas I still haven't found the answers I'm looking for so thought I'd turn to you guys to see if you can help me out at all! Apologies in advance if some areas have been discussed already and also, if any of the questions sound silly... I really am a complete newbie to this...

 

1. As I mention - I'll be CC along the Canals in London, so have been researching what distance as I need to travel each week, obviously don't want to take the mick and want to stay on the right side of Canal and River Trust. However, their website isn't totally clear on how far - all I can see is that in a years licence, 15-20miles is expected, which seems more than fine. But how far is the minimum? Just for an example, say I started in Little Venice and was travelling East, how far would I need to travel to satisfy the Canal and River Trust for say one weekend I didn't want to travel 'that' far?

 

2. Which brings me on to my next point - as I read, each 14 days would be the time I top up water, which would top up my batteries (as I'm moving) and usually empty the loos out. May seem like a silly question but are these water points at regular intervals? Similarly, to electric points? (if I needed it half way) Also, are loo-emptying-places at regular intervals also?

 

3. Again, brings me on to my next point of water storage tanks and electricity batteries... my budget is around 25k and aiming for around a 40ft-er trad steel narrowboat so from what I've seen, many don't have a tank or seems quite small. If so, can this be retrofitted and to what cost? I understand becoming more frugal is all part and parcel of it (which I'm excited about) but for say a 10/15minute shower a day - what sort of tank should I be looking at to tide me over for two weeks? However, I guess this would hinge on question number two! In terms of electricity, I don't watch a lot of TV but would like to charge my phone, listen to music, have lights! Where should I even start with what to look for to tide me over 2 weeks again?

 

4. I guess this question is more to the nitty-gritty when I view but what are the main tips/points you'd recommend to look out for a bad conditioned narrowboat? Is there such a thing? Don't mind buying something that requires a bit of modernisation but in terms of 'behind the scene' stuff, what do I look for when looking at an engine? At the electric board? Heating system? Or should this all be taking care of at survey stage?

 

Anyway, I think that's probably enough for now on my first post. I really would appreciate any tips/answers - no matter how big or small! Really excited to be buying - just need to get my head around it all first!!

 

Speak soon,

 

Nat :)

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Hi and welcome to the forum - others will be along shortly to give loads of advice I'm sure, but for my two cents I'd highly recommend you get accustomed to a 4 - 5 minute shower rather than a daily 10 - 15 minute either that or do it the way most of us do and turn on the shower get wet, turn off the water lather up & wash hair then turn the water back on to rinse off. Or be prepared to move much more often to fill up tank...and this is coming from someone with a WB with a larger tank than most NB's have. We can get 2 weeks out of our tank, but that's if I only do 1 load of washing a week and only wash the dishes once a day - but everybody lives differently so I'd say it's really hard to gauge how much water someone else would use.

 

I'd also recommend you have a look at some of the other threads on the forum that have already covered most of the questions you've asked, and note that CRT have really cracked down on the cc'ers who try to only cruise very short distances in and around London

 

Personally I think it could still be done and without taking the mick if you were willing to use public transport or have a car. You could easily cruise from Bulls Bridge up the River Lee to Hertford and have numerous mooring spots near train stations to catch a train into London without having too long a commute journey

 

Good luck with your search boat.gif

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Welcome, Nat. I'm sure that quite a few people on here will "speak soon" in reply to your questions. It will be interesting to see how many of them say words to the effect of "Don't do it", or at least "Don't do it in London".

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Welcome to the forum.

 

London has become very popular as a place to live on a boat. The land based facilities you require have not kept up with demand.

 

CRT will not define the minimum distance required as has been discussed a lot recently on here. I'm not sure if they would deem it possible to CC in London and stay within their rules.

 

Many boats have fresh water tanks of the order of 100 gallons (400 Litres). Its easy to use that in a couple of days before you learn how to conserve it. But daily, 10 minute showers will consume a lot.

 

Re Disposal of this grey water - sometimes it goes over the side but in some boats it goes into the sewage holding tank. The emptying of that is done either by a boatyard (they charge) or at one of the very few self-pump-out sanny stations. The latter are often dirty or broken. You need your own hose for self-PO.

 

Electricity is either from your batteries or generated by the engine (when cruising) or a genny when not. If you need modern facilities like fridges, freezers and washing machines, you will need to generate the same amount of power that you would have in a house.

 

As with water, its easy to use a lot of power until you learn to conserve.

 

Keep doing your research, and asking around, but you have a hill to climb.

Edited by jake_crew
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Uh-oh...you mentioned the 'L' word. Stand - by! ...

 

My advice, is to listen to what people like Lady Muck (and other London based forum members) have to say, and take with a pinch of salt what other forum members who keep their boats in Newark, Nottingham or Nantwich have to say.

There is a lot of negativity on this forum towards London & it's boating community. My experience is that it is mostly a wonderful and uniqe place to live on a boat.

Edited by junior
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Welcome Nat

 

I'm afraid I'm going to be the second (and I doubt the last) person to emphasise that CRT have recently started coming down hard on CCers they deem not to be travelling far enough and often enough in a year, especially in hotspots like London. So if you're going to adopt this lifestyle, you should aim to stay well on the right side of that 15-20 mile suggested minimum if you want to avoid problems.

 

The other thing to emphasise is that a lot of people are already doing what you're talking about doing, in what is a pretty limited area. Obviously this has implications for finding moorings, accessing water points and sanitary stations when you need them, and so on. You should be clear on what you're getting into - talk to London boaters, maybe join the London boaters Facebook group - before you make the leap.

 

On your specific questions:

 

Hi all,

 

1. As I mention - I'll be CC along the Canals in London, so have been researching what distance as I need to travel each week, obviously don't want to take the mick and want to stay on the right side of Canal and River Trust. However, their website isn't totally clear on how far - all I can see is that in a years licence, 15-20miles is expected, which seems more than fine. But how far is the minimum? Just for an example, say I started in Little Venice and was travelling East, how far would I need to travel to satisfy the Canal and River Trust for say one weekend I didn't want to travel 'that' far?

 

Legally, you just have to travel to a new 'place' at least every 14 days. In practice, I think a kilometre is about the bare minimum and a mile or two is clearly OK.

 

2. Which brings me on to my next point - as I read, each 14 days would be the time I top up water, which would top up my batteries (as I'm moving) and usually empty the loos out. May seem like a silly question but are these water points at regular intervals? Similarly, to electric points? (if I needed it half way) Also, are loo-emptying-places at regular intervals also?

 

I don't know the area, but you should find water and loo-emptying points at pretty regular intervals, I think. Not sure about electric points. One short cruise every 14 days isn't going to be anywhere near enough to keep your batteries charged, or anything like often enough to empty your toilet cassette (more like 4 days for one person). As you say, below, it's also going to be stretching a point in terms of water use. You should probably weigh up options like solar panels, petrol generators, and spare toilet cassettes, but also accepting that trips to the water point etc. are going to be more than a fortnightly chore.

 

3. Again, brings me on to my next point of water storage tanks and electricity batteries... my budget is around 25k and aiming for around a 40ft-er trad steel narrowboat so from what I've seen, many don't have a tank or seems quite small. If so, can this be retrofitted and to what cost? I understand becoming more frugal is all part and parcel of it (which I'm excited about) but for say a 10/15minute shower a day - what sort of tank should I be looking at to tide me over for two weeks? However, I guess this would hinge on question number two! In terms of electricity, I don't watch a lot of TV but would like to charge my phone, listen to music, have lights! Where should I even start with what to look for to tide me over 2 weeks again?

 

See above re solar panels, generator and more regular topping up with water. I've never heard of a boat without a water tank, but wouldn't like to say what would be enough for 2 weeks, or whether that's a realistic benchmark. Probably irrelevant if you're needing to empty the loo anyway; you may as well just keep topping up.

 

4. I guess this question is more to the nitty-gritty when I view but what are the main tips/points you'd recommend to look out for a bad conditioned narrowboat? Is there such a thing? Don't mind buying something that requires a bit of modernisation but in terms of 'behind the scene' stuff, what do I look for when looking at an engine? At the electric board? Heating system? Or should this all be taking care of at survey stage?

 

The hull and engine condition are the biggest concerns, because that's where any problems will cause you the biggest headaches and come with the biggest price tags. The hulls of some older (20yrs+?) boats especially - but not exclusively - can be in poor condition. They could need 'overplating' if the hull is getting thin in places, or they could have been overplated in the past. Many people don't trust overplated boats because even for a surveyor, it's hard to judge whether the work was done properly. If not, problems could soon recur. A tip I often hear is to make sure you see the engine started from cold and running. As you say, the survey should address this sort of concern - but there's no point paying for a survey if you're already hearing serious alarm bells! With electricity and heating, I think it's more a question of what you feel you need and what you can do without - e.g. do you need 240v sockets and an inverter, or can you make do with all 12v equipment? Do you want central heating, or are you happy to rely on just a stove?

 

Anyway, I think that's probably enough for now on my first post. I really would appreciate any tips/answers - no matter how big or small! Really excited to be buying - just need to get my head around it all first!!

 

Speak soon,

 

Nat smile.png

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If you are in London as your location suggests and if you own a bike and indeed if you haven't done it already try cycling around some of the canals from Little Venice. Try and see where you could moor overnight and indeed try and spot the facilities, they are few and far between.

 

C&RT have said in the past that because they will issue a Rivers Only licence for the Lee and Stort they accept that it is possible to CC on there.

 

Central London much more difficult, although there are miles of tow-path you can't moor because it is concrete or tarmac, no rings or piling and no way to bang in pins.

 

I wish you luck but do a lot more research before you spend any money.

One we always ask have you been on a narrowboat for a holiday, if not I would before you commit to the lifestyle.

 

Ken

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If the boating lifestyle is important to you (and not seen as cheap London accommodation because you'll quickly find it's not, especially when you can't find a mooring, you're tired, it's raining, the pootank is full and the water tank is empty) then you could consider a wide cruising territory to commute in from further afield with only occasional jaunts into more central London. The train track follows the GU so you could travel in to town from Watford, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and further afield within 30 minutes train journey to Euston. When I worked in London I'd take the boat out as far as 2 miles north of Wolverton, and walk to the station from the peace and quiet out there. And that's just the bits I know. I expect you could identify other train lines where they're near the canal. Just remember to factor in the commuting cost to your budget especially if your commute has to be in rush hour.

 

The main drawback in my opinion, of CCing in London is the need to repeatedly moor in dirty, graffitied and not very safe areas where drunks and scrotes hang out at night, because by it's very nature the canal passes through the industrial and shabby back end bits of London, only surfacing in more civilised areas occasionally. I lived and worked in London for years and am very happy to now live outside it where I feel safe on the canals and there's greenery not noise, litter, pollution and druggies.

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I would live aboard if only my wife would let us.

In summer she is ok being on the boat, and long daylight and warm temperatures make for easy living.

Come winter, and it is dark and cold most of the time with no solar and strict rules on not running engines and gennies after 8pm means we are house bound for the winter.

Before spending the money, make sure winter boating is for you, it is for me, but not my partner.

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you could consider a wide cruising territory to commute in from further afield with only occasional jaunts into more central London. The train track follows the GU so you could travel in to town from Watford, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and further afield within 30 minutes train journey to Euston. When I worked in London I'd take the boat out as far as 2 miles north of Wolverton, and walk to the station from the peace and quiet out there. And that's just the bits I know. I expect you could identify other train lines where they're near the canal.

 

Now that sounds a lot more fun than hanging around Regent's Canal the whole time. And when you factor in the Lee and Stort, at the other end of the Regent's, it does start to look as if you really could work in London while covering a good distance. Plus once you start heading north on the GU, some nice holiday cruises start to suggest themselves...

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Hello Nat-g from another Newbie!

If you haven't already viewed it, have a look at "Continuous Cruising Clarification" - a question I posted some weeks back in this section, and certainly got a wealth of information and opinion on a particularly dicey subject!

Good luck in your new venture. :-)

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Hello again!

 

Thank you so much for all your speedy and very helpful comments!!

 

I take on board all of what you are saying - for me, it's a mixture of wanting to be on the water as I have always been near to since a kid and also being into my watersports (won't mention which ones as they may be seen as 'dirty words' on here also! ;) Since moving to the concrete jungle last year for work my soul has been slowly dying and in need of something to rejuvenate it. After a few long weekends on a narrowboat, it sold it to me. Having said that I understand that living on a boat will be different and by no means easy and there will be lots of adjustments to be made however, I think that the lifestyle would suit me as a person.

 

I certainly wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of the CRT, and I would actually like to move it to different areas to see different places (albeit with the drunks as Bluestringpudding mentioned). I just wanted to make sure that if one fortnight I moved from Little Venice to say, 5 miles west that would be 'enough'. By the sounds of it, it would be, just didnt want to take the pee.

 

All comments have given me food for thought to go away with - I'll be sure to have a look through other posts- please feel free to link me to others you feel would be suitable as I may have not come across it yet!

 

Lastly, would be grateful if you could let me know how big your water tanks are and roughly how long that lasts for you with certain usage (just so I can get an idea on what I should look for to suit me!)

 

Thanks again and will keep you all posted on my quest! :)

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Now that sounds a lot more fun than hanging around Regent's Canal the whole time. And when you factor in the Lee and Stort, at the other end of the Regent's, it does start to look as if you really could work in London while covering a good distance. Plus once you start heading north on the GU, some nice holiday cruises start to suggest themselves...

Very true. But it's also worth bearing in mind that it costs £200 a week to commute by train in rush hour from around the Milton Keynes area. More if you want to pay for something a bit more comfortable than a London Midland sardine tin. So whereas it's very doable, you pay for the privilege of enjoying boating out of the dingey sprawl of London suburbs with its knife wielding scrotes, drunks and triple-concentrated rats.

 

When commuting in from Leighton Buzzard to Kentish Town, my commuting time was less than most of my colleagues travelling in from other parts of London itself.

Edited by BlueStringPudding
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.................................................Lastly, would be grateful if you could let me know how big your water tanks are and roughly how long that lasts for you with certain usage (just so I can get an idea on what I should look for to suit me!)

 

Thanks again and will keep you all posted on my quest! smile.png

Hi Nat-g, our tank is about 800Litres and with 2 of us on board and not being especially careful we top up every 3 to 4 days, though it is not empty. (I guess about half or so empty)

On my own it would not be difficult to make it last over 10 days

Edited by Chewbacka
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I thought Paul Smith wrote that.

 

Neil

 

The newsletter by Paul Smith included an article by Peter Earley on CCing in London. It's the long section in italics introduced under the headline "Capital Cruising - Finding Your Way Around London by Boat".

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It sounds like the lifestyle would suit you, I'd suggest you go for it.

 

You've highlighted your potential biggest problem yourself: water. If you insist on having a 10 to 15 minute shower every day you're going to need to fill up every few days. Imagine: it's winter, pouring with rain, dark and freezing cold outside. You've just got back from work, the boat is freezing cold. Do you get a fire going to warm up, make yourself something to eat or face the hour or more journey to get water in the dark?

 

It's already been suggested but you can wet yourself in a few seconds then turn the water off. Then soap etc. Turn the water back on and shower off, maximum a minute or two. Or, just have a wash sometimes rather than a shower, it works!

 

If you can't face not having a long, hot relaxing shower every day I'm afraid it's likely to scupper your wider lifestyle plans.

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Uh-oh...you mentioned the 'L' word. Stand - by! ...

 

My advice, is to listen to what people like Lady Muck (and other London based forum members) have to say, and take with a pinch of salt what other forum members who keep their boats in Newark, Nottingham or Nantwich have to say.

There is a lot of negativity on this forum towards London & it's boating community. My experience is that it is mostly a wonderful and uniqe place to live on a boat.

 

I would suggest that being from Nottingham, Newark or Northampton does not stop someone having from having valid experience of how 'long' a water tank 'lasts' or if a boat will 'survive' by only charging the batteries on a short cruise every 14 days.

 

However - maybe electricity & water last longer in London.

 

We have a 600 litre water tank and it lasts about 1 week for the two of us, Occasional showers, on board, occasional showers at C&RT facilities. Little clothes washing on board (using a Twin-Tub). Toilet flushes using canal/river water. Drinking water from bottled water.

 

We have 920 Ah domestic battery bank and 170w of solar. We can 'survive' without running the engine, generator, or cruising for 3 days - maybe 4 days if the sun shines. Electrical usage Lights, pumps, TV, computer / phone charging, Fridge, Freezer. Microwave, electric kettle and toaster only used when engine running.

Bating is a great life - you don't have to 'live in a cave' but if you want the conveniences of a 'floating flat' it ain't going to happen

Now the horror stories (that not being London based) are just heresay :

 

1) There are only 7 waterpoints in the whole of London

2) There are almost no 'working' toilet emptying stations.

3) C&RT are really clamping down on non-movers (or very 'little' moving boats)

4) If you move to go for water you can be waiting for your turn for many, many hours,

5) When you move you will lose you mooring spot.

6) You have to join the 'travelling circus' and get a phone call when its moving time - co-ordinated movements so there is a 'slot' available for you.

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Hi Nat, I have friends who CC in London, they do have to keep trawling and moving and cover some miles but manage ok, the thing she hates is the winter,and just the problems with getting water and pump-out etc, but they seem to manage ok but they are happy with the life they have chosen and that's the main thing.

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the dingy sprawl of London suburbs with its knife wielding scrotes, drunks and triple-concentrated rats.

 

 

Forgot to ask, Pud - did you get that job with the London Tourist Board?

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I would suggest that being from Nottingham, Newark or Northampton does not stop someone having from having valid experience of how 'long' a water tank 'lasts' or if a boat will 'survive' by only charging the batteries on a short cruise every 14 days.

 

However - maybe electricity & water last longer in London.

 

We have a 600 litre water tank and it lasts about 1 week for the two of us, Occasional showers, on board, occasional showers at C&RT facilities. Little clothes washing on board (using a Twin-Tub). Toilet flushes using canal/river water. Drinking water from bottled water.

 

We have 920 Ah domestic battery bank and 170w of solar. We can 'survive' without running the engine, generator, or cruising for 3 days - maybe 4 days if the sun shines. Electrical usage Lights, pumps, TV, computer / phone charging, Fridge, Freezer. Microwave, electric kettle and toaster only used when engine running.

Bating is a great life - you don't have to 'live in a cave' but if you want the conveniences of a 'floating flat' it ain't going to happen

Now the horror stories (that not being London based) are just heresay :

 

1) There are only 7 waterpoints in the whole of London

2) There are almost no 'working' toilet emptying stations.

3) C&RT are really clamping down on non-movers (or very 'little' moving boats)

4) If you move to go for water you can be waiting for your turn for many, many hours,

5) When you move you will lose you mooring spot.

6) You have to join the 'travelling circus' and get a phone call when its moving time - co-ordinated movements so there is a 'slot' available for you.

I think you are exaggerating rather a lot.

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Hi all,

 

For a while I've been toying with the idea of buying a narrowboat to continuously cruise along the London Canals, for a few weeks or so I've been doing a fair bit of research but for some areas I still haven't found the answers I'm looking for so thought I'd turn to you guys to see if you can help me out at all! Apologies in advance if some areas have been discussed already and also, if any of the questions sound silly... I really am a complete newbie to this...

 

1. As I mention - I'll be CC along the Canals in London, so have been researching what distance as I need to travel each week, obviously don't want to take the mick and want to stay on the right side of Canal and River Trust. However, their website isn't totally clear on how far - all I can see is that in a years licence, 15-20miles is expected, which seems more than fine. But how far is the minimum? Just for an example, say I started in Little Venice and was travelling East, how far would I need to travel to satisfy the Canal and River Trust for say one weekend I didn't want to travel 'that' far?

 

Get yourself a Collins Nicholsons canal guide 1 . See those little black lollipops marked? Those are mile markers. You can then figure out a range. At the moment the advice we give is a range of about 25 miles every six months, so if you headed East from Little Venice then you'd have to head up the Lea into Hertfordshire and possibly then the Stort into Essex. Commuting is easy from most places but its the cost of a train pass which usually prohibits boaters from heading much further out than Rickmansworth (grand union) or Broxbourne (river lea). Everytime you cruise, then you are expected to cruise to a new 'place', so short hops of under about a mile would not be far enough. Main thing to bear in mind is if you fancy being moored near work, then most of the year, you won't be and some of the year you'll have a long, expensive commute. You can reduce the cost by cycling (lots of us cycle), but bike theft is common so if you can keep the bike inside in the hotspots for bike theft it's a good idea. Buy strong d locks ( two is better than one)

 

2. Which brings me on to my next point - as I read, each 14 days would be the time I top up water, which would top up my batteries (as I'm moving) and usually empty the loos out. May seem like a silly question but are these water points at regular intervals? Similarly, to electric points? (if I needed it half way) Also, are loo-emptying-places at regular intervals also?

 

Not really, there are more than there used to be (4 new taps and 2 new elsans) I can think of this summer, so you may have to consider, rationing water, buying spare portapotti containers, considering a compost loo, or a bike trailer so you can cycle the cassettes to an elsan. At weekends you may have to queue for water. In some places there are big gaps in services, you may find you have to ration water and cycle to the elsan, or expect a long day cruising.

Regarding electricity, more and more of us rely on solar panels, they will charge your batteries while you are at work. Not many boaters use fridges ( too much of a power drain). They charge phones and laptops at work, swap the lights for led. In the winter or dull, rainy weather, panels dont work so well, so you will have to run your engine while moored to keep the batteries happy.

 

3. Again, brings me on to my next point of water storage tanks and electricity batteries... my budget is around 25k and aiming for around a 40ft-er trad steel narrowboat so from what I've seen, many don't have a tank or seems quite small. If so, can this be retrofitted and to what cost? I understand becoming more frugal is all part and parcel of it (which I'm excited about) but for say a 10/15minute shower a day - what sort of tank should I be looking at to tide me over for two weeks? However, I guess this would hinge on question number two! In terms of electricity, I don't watch a lot of TV but would like to charge my phone, listen to music, have lights! Where should I even start with what to look for to tide me over 2 weeks again?

 

10/15 minute showers are for land people, thing is, as some of the more well off boaters in our number soon discover, it doesn't matter how much you spend fitting enormous water tanks, massive battery banks, you are still in the same boat with everryone else, you will still need to find a tap, run the engine and maintain everything. Some boaters I know have joined gyms such as the gym group, or go to swimming pools and take their long showers there. If you want a tank to last you two weeks of showers, then you'll have to take very quick showers. I'm not lying when I say most of the cruisers who don't work in offices don't shower every day, it's just bonkers to waste your water in that way. It's a totally different mindset to land living.

 

4. I guess this question is more to the nitty-gritty when I view but what are the main tips/points you'd recommend to look out for a bad conditioned narrowboat? Is there such a thing? Don't mind buying something that requires a bit of modernisation but in terms of 'behind the scene' stuff, what do I look for when looking at an engine? At the electric board? Heating system? Or should this all be taking care of at survey stage?

 

Just bear in mind that there are so many people looking for a good deal on a boat to bring to the capital, that the cheap, well maintained bargains are now harder to find, so don't hurry, take your time. There are a lot of ex hire, basic boats out there, built 70's and 80's, if looked after they will be ok, if not, they may well be scrappers and beyond saving, when they were built they were never intended to last as long as they have done.

Always get a survey. Try to avoid anything thats plated, especially if you don't know who did the plating, it's a skilled job and easily cocked up. Learn the boat builders. They are like cars, there are Skodas and there are Mercedes. Ignore the interior, that can be so easily changed by an amateur, whereas a hull or engine cannot. And, especially in London, the trad interiors aren't hip. People rip out lovely solid wood fit outs, paint the interior white, bung an Ikea kitchen in and then charge £30k for something knackered thats worth £10k, so be careful. If you want fully comp insurance then anything over 25 years old will need to be surveyed ( usually every 5 to 7 years) in order to get insurance. Consider shorter boats ( more mooring opportunities in the crowded areas). Hull and engine will be your priority, over eveything else.

 

Anyway, I think that's probably enough for now on my first post. I really would appreciate any tips/answers - no matter how big or small! Really excited to be buying - just need to get my head around it all first!!

 

Speak soon,

 

Nat :)

Only thing I'd say is its a rewarding lifestyle, the boat community in London is wonderful, we have friends who have left (still living onboard) and they say thats the thing they miss the most. Me too, I cruise outside the capital, but I love coming back to my boaty family. BUT it isnt for the faint hearted. A lot of bankside residents don't want you there and some will basically treat you like a land based traveller. There is a London mooring consultation about to begin. If I'm frank, both CRT and the locals don't want you there. There were no boats at all doing this 10 years back (ok maybe 100 over the whole London area), now there are 1600, people have noticed and are complaining about them being there. I predict it becoming more difficult to spend more than a couple of days in Central London, especially if you're not prepared to pay extra. It's coming, it's not a question of if, but when. The goalposts could get moved, 20 miles may not be enough this time next year. The boatlife takes up most of your spare time, its like having an extra part time job. Thr maintainance can easily take up one day every weekend. if you work long hours, you have to get used to coming back to a freezing boat in the winter, walking down dark towpaths in rough inner city areas at night. If you're willing to learn engine servicing and basics of things like electrics, you'll find it a lot easier as it can be hard to get repairs done as the engineers are often do busy. It seems to suit most, the outdoorsy practical types, we have a lot of ex squatters on the water, people who love camping and festivals, that sort of person, lots of self employed people.

 

Best of luck whatever you decide to do. 10 years for me as a London boater next month.

Edited by Lady Muck
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A couple of points not much mentioned above.

 

Electricity. If you don7't have a permanent mooring there arer no mains hookup points you can use. So you have to generate all the electricity you use, using you boat engine, a generator or solar panels. Solar is fine in the summer but will givve you little in winter. You can't run your engine or generator to charge your batteries between 8pm and 8am, so after a long day at work and a commute back to wherever the boat is, how are you going to do this? Insufficient charging doesn't just mean the lights go dim - it can knacker your batteries in a matter of weeks. Plenty of discussion of the issues elsewhere on the forum. But as a minimum you need to do an energy audit to work out how much energy you will use, and what you need to do to replace it. Charging your laptop and phone at work or in the pub is a good idea.

 

Heating. Electricity is out (see above). Some boaters use gas (expensive) or diesel, but the majority of liveaboards go for solid fuel. Its cheap, effective and flexible, but some people find the dust and smoke a big problem.

 

Water heating. Again electric is impractical unless you have a mains hookup. Otherwise a gas instantaneous heater or gas/diesel/solid fuel (back boiler) central heating. Boats with water-cooled engines usually have a calorifier fitted (like a domestic hot water tank) fitted which will heat water when the engine is running (for propulsion or battery charging).

 

Phone and Internet. Mobile only, and slower than domestic broadband. 3 used to do cheap all-you-can-eat data, but no longer. Periodic advice on here about the best deals and the technology to connect your kit to the net.

 

Getting fuel. Not many canalside suppliers in London, but there are fuel boats that will sell you diesel, coal and gas. You just need to coordinate with their movements.

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