Edinburgh liveaboard...

[RupertG]

Hullo, world

 

So, there we are, London-based writer chappy, Edinburgh-based fiancee, and we're trying to work out who's going to move to where when and what they'll do. She lives within spitting distance of Lochrin Basin... and looking ar BW's mooring rates, that's around a hundred quid a year.

 

Am I missing something? That seems exceptionally cheap for somewhere so close to a city centre. As the missus-to-be has plenty of experience on and very much enjoys narrowboating, it's looking like a very palatable option. Freelancing via 3G is definitely plausible.

 

As for the rest of the liveabord stuff: I'm stiill reading through the vast quantity of stuff on this and other forums. But it seems like an exceptionally fine way to live, especially if having water under your feet seems much more right somehow than concrete. Still not sure about how the whole lavatory thing works - if I were moored in Edinburgh Quay, where would I take my, er, output? - nor whether just shuttling up and down the Union Canal counts as continuous cruising.

 

One other question I haven't seen addressed - what's the most appropriate sort of boat if you want to occasionally nip around the coast? Having a boat in the lowland canals is fine, but getting into the English network would be something I'd want to do.

 

Thanks,

 

Rupert

[grunders]

On your last question about 'nipping round the coast', I don't think it would be advisable to get a narrowboat for this purpose - they're not the most seaworthy boats around. Instead, a barge or cruiser stlye boat would be more appropriate. As I am thinking widebeam, this would limit your cruising range in England though there is still a lot of water you can cover. Also, if you went for a seaworthy boat you wouldn't just be limited to the UK - you could go over to the continent.

 

Clearly, overshadowing all of this is that going widebeam rather than a narrowboat is almost bound to increase costs.

[haggis]

Hullo, world

 

So, there we are, London-based writer chappy, Edinburgh-based fiancee, and we're trying to work out who's going to move to where when and what they'll do. She lives within spitting distance of Lochrin Basin... and looking ar BW's mooring rates, that's around a hundred quid a year.

 

Am I missing something? That seems exceptionally cheap for somewhere so close to a city centre. As the missus-to-be has plenty of experience on and very much enjoys narrowboating, it's looking like a very palatable option. Freelancing via 3G is definitely plausible.

 

As for the rest of the liveabord stuff: I'm stiill reading through the vast quantity of stuff on this and other forums. But it seems like an exceptionally fine way to live, especially if having water under your feet seems much more right somehow than concrete. Still not sure about how the whole lavatory thing works - if I were moored in Edinburgh Quay, where would I take my, er, output? - nor whether just shuttling up and down the Union Canal counts as continuous cruising.

 

One other question I haven't seen addressed - what's the most appropriate sort of boat if you want to occasionally nip around the coast? Having a boat in the lowland canals is fine, but getting into the English network would be something I'd want to do.

 

Thanks,

 

Rupert

 

Mooring in Lochrin basin costs £100 per metre per annum but I don't know if residential boats are allowed to moor there. Best speak to BW Scotland about the availability of moorings on the Union canal. I know someone on here recently was looking for a residential mooring in or near Edinburgh and I think he was offered Auchinstarry on the Forth & Clyde canal (near Kilsyth but also near Croy station for commuting to Edinburgh ). There are no continuous cruising licences on the Lowland canals. If you wnat to be able to take your boat to sea seriously (like taking it down the coast to England) I don't think a canal boat is what you need. Perhaps you should look at the possibility of living on a sea going boat and keeping it in one of the marinas on the Firth of Forth. Don't know what the regs are about residential boats there though. The Union canal has depth and width restrictions which might also limit the type of boat you could have there.

However, I take it that you have never actually experienced being on a canal boat and it might be a good idea to hire one for a week or so first to find out if the lifestyle suits you - and if the sun shines every day, try to imagine what it will be like when it is cold and wet. Not trying to put you off but so many people think that living on a boat will be fun and it can be but not everyone can adapt to the lack of space etc.

[RupertG]

Mooring in Lochrin basin costs £100 per metre per annum but I don't know if residential boats are allowed to moor there. Best speak to BW Scotland about the availability of moorings on the Union canal. I know someone on here recently was looking for a residential mooring in or near Edinburgh and I think he was offered Auchinstarry on the Forth & Clyde canal (near Kilsyth but also near Croy station for commuting to Edinburgh ). There are no continuous cruising licences on the Lowland canals. If you wnat to be able to take your boat to sea seriously (like taking it down the coast to England) I don't think a canal boat is what you need. Perhaps you should look at the possibility of living on a sea going boat and keeping it in one of the marinas on the Firth of Forth. Don't know what the regs are about residential boats there though. The Union canal has depth and width restrictions which might also limit the type of boat you could have there.

However, I take it that you have never actually experienced being on a canal boat and it might be a good idea to hire one for a week or so first to find out if the lifestyle suits you - and if the sun shines every day, try to imagine what it will be like when it is cold and wet. Not trying to put you off but so many people think that living on a boat will be fun and it can be but not everyone can adapt to the lack of space etc.

 

There is one boat that's been there every time I've walked past, plus the rather purple Re-Union boat. I'll ask BW, but if there's no possibility of a residential mooring closer thatn Auchinstarry then that's no good to me. Still, I could 'live' at the missus' flat in Tollcross, and this looks interesting http://cpol.edinburgh.gov.uk/getdoc_ext.asp?DocID=36056 and http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=753072005

 

I've yachted around, and have no problem with small spaces and simple living - some of my happiest times have been in a chicken shed in Sweden (chickens long since departed, mind). The missus-to-be has spent a lot of time on narrowboats. We'll certainly be trying a holiday on board before doing anything rash!

 

Rupert

[haggis]

There is one boat that's been there every time I've walked past, plus the rather purple Re-Union boat. I'll ask BW, but if there's no possibility of a residential mooring closer thatn Auchinstarry then that's no good to me. Still, I could 'live' at the missus' flat in Tollcross, and this looks interesting http://cpol.edinburgh.gov.uk/getdoc_ext.asp?DocID=36056 and http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=753072005

 

I've yachted around, and have no problem with small spaces and simple living - some of my happiest times have been in a chicken shed in Sweden (chickens long since departed, mind). The missus-to-be has spent a lot of time on narrowboats. We'll certainly be trying a holiday on board before doing anything rash!

 

Rupert

 

Reunion is not a residential boat but is used as a community trip boat. I have no knowledge of the other boat which is moored there and as I said, the folk to approach are BW Scotland in Glasgow. There have been residential moorings at Ratho since long before the canal was reopened and the planning permission a few years ago just made them "legal". I think they are full at the moment. Apparently, BW Scotland has to get palnning permision for residential moorings. I undestand that there is one or more residential boat at Harrison Park but I don't know their position, apart from the fact that they apear to be upsetting local residents with what is being seen as anti social behaviour.

[RupertG]

Reunion is not a residential boat but is used as a community trip boat. I have no knowledge of the other boat which is moored there and as I said, the folk to approach are BW Scotland in Glasgow. There have been residential moorings at Ratho since long before the canal was reopened and the planning permission a few years ago just made them "legal". I think they are full at the moment. Apparently, BW Scotland has to get palnning permision for residential moorings. I undestand that there is one or more residential boat at Harrison Park but I don't know their position, apart from the fact that they apear to be upsetting local residents with what is being seen as anti social behaviour.

 

Enquiries are underway! The next step is definitely to hire a boat, as much to talk to people as to check out the rude mechanics of life with an inch of rusting steel keeping my bottom apart from the canal's...

 

For now, I'm content to remain confused, especially having found the other Edinburgh mooring thread and gathered that what's said by officialdom isn't always what happens on the ground (water?). I'm not even sure who wants to encourage narrowboating, and who's rather against it. If the moorings (at Edinburgh or wherever) aren't residential and there's no continuous cruise licence for the lowland canals, what governs how long you can or should stay at each one?

[haggis]

Enquiries are underway! The next step is definitely to hire a boat, as much to talk to people as to check out the rude mechanics of life with an inch of rusting steel keeping my bottom apart from the canal's...

 

For now, I'm content to remain confused, especially having found the other Edinburgh mooring thread and gathered that what's said by officialdom isn't always what happens on the ground (water?). I'm not even sure who wants to encourage narrowboating, and who's rather against it. If the moorings (at Edinburgh or wherever) aren't residential and there's no continuous cruise licence for the lowland canals, what governs how long you can or should stay at each one?

 

BW certainly want to encourage boating, as do most folk who live beside the canal but those who live near anti social boaters and not surprisingly not so keen :-)

To get permission (I think that's the right word) to put a boat on the canal, you need several things. You need a boat (!), which must be insured for the approriate third party amount (not sure if it is 2 or 3 £m), has a valid Boat Safety Scheme certificate and has a mooring. As the only mooring providers on the Lowland canals at the moment are BW, they ate really in control of everything. However, they are a reasonable bunch and they are well aware that they need a lot more moving boats on the canals to bring them alive.

[RupertG]

BW certainly want to encourage boating, as do most folk who live beside the canal but those who live near anti social boaters and not surprisingly not so keen :-)

To get permission (I think that's the right word) to put a boat on the canal, you need several things. You need a boat (!), which must be insured for the approriate third party amount (not sure if it is 2 or 3 £m), has a valid Boat Safety Scheme certificate and has a mooring. As the only mooring providers on the Lowland canals at the moment are BW, they ate really in control of everything. However, they are a reasonable bunch and they are well aware that they need a lot more moving boats on the canals to bring them alive.

 

It all seems very plausible, and I can probably put on a good imitation of being a social being. I've convinced myself that I can make a living while floating along, now I need to try and talk myself out of it. Currently looking at going on a cruise from Edi to Glasgow sometime at the beginning of September (after the festival, natch, when the madness has died back to normal levels), spending as much time as possible talking to people about how it all works. If anyone fancies a pint...

 

How do boats get onto the lowland canals, though? Is the normal way to buy one in England and get it lifted?

 

R

[Ewart Hodgson]

Note from someone who has worked in Edinburgh for 10 years, and lives quite close by.... Edinburgh is quite a civilized city, but the canal goes through some of the worst parts of it (in terms of vanadalism and theft). Leaving much of value on a boat there in the long winter nights would be 'brave'. You may want to consider mooring some way out, at one of the towns with a fast rail service to the heart of the city.

[RupertG]

Note from someone who has worked in Edinburgh for 10 years, and lives quite close by.... Edinburgh is quite a civilized city, but the canal goes through some of the worst parts of it (in terms of vanadalism and theft). Leaving much of value on a boat there in the long winter nights would be 'brave'. You may want to consider mooring some way out, at one of the towns with a fast rail service to the heart of the city.

 

Yes, that had occurred to me (and my other half, who is well acquainted with the city's more exciting aspects). I don't mind being moored in the basin as long as I'm on there most of the time (Tollcross does have adequate reserves of neds to cause problems, but they're not too bad), but will definitely move out of town if I'm off somewhere. Hanging around in Wester Hailes does not figure largely in my plans!

 

Also considering motion activated webcams and other treats - the sort of thing which would put off anyone smart enough to know what was going on - but that may be their fatal flaw.

 

And a Jack Russell.

 

R