Taking the Big Step

[dazzlar3]

Hello everyone,...I'm a newbie !

 

I've joined this group today because I have finally made up my mind to take that big step off....to take up the challange....to choose the way I live the rest of my life.....yes....I want to liveaboard a narrow boat !!

 

I have dreamed for many years of being on the water....travelling on the water each day, week and month....meeting different people as I travel and learning all about the places I can visit from the water.

 

I have owned a boat in the past but not a liveaboard, just an ex Norfolk Broads boat....which I didn't own for a very long time as my work committments got in the way...a lot ! although I now wish I had kept it !!

 

Now I am approaching my 46th birthday on Wednesday 24th and I finally after all the years of dreaming I have now set myself a new target....by the time I'm 50yrs old I want to own a narrow boat AND most importantly live on it for the rest of my natural life !

 

Here of course is where I have already started adding up my negatives......

 

No.1 I have a bit of saving to do ! ( but then again who doesn't in these desperate times )

 

No.2 The canal which I wish to be on is not quite finished yet ......the Chesterfield Canal

 

No.3 I have a few disabilties.....for someone who is only 46 I'm a bit run down in some parts.....I have walking difficulties and a damaged spine......So I'm not sure how hard it may be or may NOT be ??

 

Anyway....this is my life plan I suppose you could say.....and I very much want it to happen......yesterday

 

I would be grateful of any information members may have for me as well as advice....

 

Thanks....

 

Darren aka dazzlar

Edited August 21, 2016 by dazzlar3

[Quaysider]

Hi Darren,

 

Congratulations of making the decision... you'll have a lot of hard saving ahead to get there but I hope it's worth it... I'm SURE it will be.

 

We're a bit further down the line than you are - we started "saving" in earnest about 6 and a half years ago - the targets I set were a little optimistic AND its meant NOT having much of a "life" since...

 

That said, we finally ordered a sailaway back in January and by mid October it should be ready - so far, it's cost just short of 44k to get to the lined/additions stage but that should mean at least, we start with a blank canvas and no one else's bodges.

 

In regards your back problems, I can only say that that was part of the reason we are doing it NOW rather than when we could more easily afford it - my back and disks are seriously compromised - mainly disc problems but more recently the facet joints... I decided that in 10-15 years, I might not be able to manage it so decided to seize the day... Gabapentin does help though, so perhaps it will be ok ...

 

Ask any "more mature" person and they'll tell you, they don't regret things they've done anywhere near as much as those they've not!

 

Go for it!

[dazzlar3]

Thanks for that Quaysider

 

I'm at a point in my life now that if I don't do it soon I won't be able to later as my disc/back problems according to specialists will only get worse

 

The upside is I have longed for the life on a boat for a long time so moving from land to water will for me be a blessing.......I have no worries of missing living in a house....none at all...

 

I do have an idea of what I would like but at this precise moment I am pondering on whether to buy a used narrowboat and put my touches on it or go for a new build shell with some things fitted like engine, water tanks etc...the bare basics and then kit it out myself as I'm a joiner by trade and exceptionally good at electrics to...... I know of a few boat builders near to me and the prices of a shell are very fair....plus my brother is a joiner too so between the two of us I think we could put together a beautiful home on the water...

 

I think I would be looking into a 50' to 60' boat, something that I know I could handle as the years go by as I intend to travel the waterways constantly....and not be tied to one point.....I want to investigate all the waterways around this glorious country of ours...

 

Firstly, I will have to sit down and find some realistic financial targets and then see how that presents itself into a boat !

[Dave Payne]

Hope you get on the cut, just to mention though, some locks can be heavy and hard work, low down ones i find a struggle as i suffer from back and shoulder pains also...

 

If i had the cash, time and skills to do a complete fit out, then i would take the sail away option, get the boat just how you want it.

[Alan de Enfield]

Ok after having (maybe) 20 boats in 30 years, I woud make a suggestion

 

Buy a 2nd hand one that you think meets most of your needs (or as close as you can get), live on it for 12 months+ and you will find that you don't need half of what you thought you needed and you did need half of what you thought you didn't need.

 

Sell the boat and commission a new boat built to meet YOUR needs - needs that you have confirmed / identified from experience.

 

Sail off into the sunset in your personal 'bubble'.

[dazzlar3]

Funny you should say that because whilst sitting here pondering and looking at several different options that thought had just occurred to me......

 

It may well be best for me to buy used/secondhand and do just what you have suggested....plus I would rather be on the water sooner than later...not that I mean at all costs no matter what....but the days feels longer where I am lol

 

Show me the water !! the rest will fall into place....

[Ray T]

Suggest you hire for a winter then make a descition.

 

Frozen in, in the middle of nowhere, low on water, bog, what ever type full, low on food, these need to be considered too. No, I am not a Job's comforter, but you need to consider the difficult as well as the easy.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Ray T

[magictime]

Hi and welcome Darren. I know exactly where you're coming from in terms of wanting to get on the water while you're still in good enough health to enjoy it, but can I ask you about these comments?

 

I have now set myself a new target....by the time I'm 50yrs old I want to own a narrow boat AND most importantly live on it for the rest of my natural life !

 

I'm at a point in my life now that if I don't do it soon I won't be able to later as my disc/back problems according to specialists will only get worse

 

On the one hand you're talking about wanting to live aboard for the rest of your life, and on the other you seem to be implying that your health problems might well stop you living aboard while you're still in your 50s or 60s (which would presumably mean having to move back into a house/flat). Having some sort of 'plan B' for if you need to move back on to dry land would seem like good sense to me for any middle-aged liveaboard, even if that plan is just 'I've checked and I'd be eligible for Housing Benefit if it ever came to it'.

 

On the question of what boat to go for, I can see the attraction of a new shell if you have the skills, time and money to fit it out yourself, but do be realistic about how much time and money you could be talking about. I know one joiner whose boat - which I think was more of a sailaway than a shell to begin with! - had spent two or three years in a marina before it was finally 'finished' enough to go cruising.

[Murflynn]

Ok after having (maybe) 20 boats in 30 years, I woud make a suggestion

 

Buy a 2nd hand one that you think meets most of your needs (or as close as you can get), live on it for 12 months+ and you will find that you don't need half of what you thought you needed and you did need half of what you thought you didn't need.

 

Sell the boat and commission a new boat built to meet YOUR needs - needs that you have confirmed / identified from experience.

 

Sail off into the sunset in your personal 'bubble'.

so true.

 

write out a wish list, try to buy a boat that matches the list as close as possible, live on it for a while and cross items off the list as you realise they're not important.

 

it is surprising how quite a basic boat can actually fulfil your real needs - the more basic the better in terms of future replacements and maintenance.

K.I.S.S. principle applies.

 

the most important aspect is that the boat should remain comfy and practical over a long cold wet winter

[dazzlar3]

To answer your query magictime

 

I have for the last 15yrs had a problem with my discs/spine and I have learned to cope with what mobility I have, of course medication helps too.....I walk with a stick but I'm sure lots of other people do the same and cope their own way.....long term there is the chance that I would need two sticks to walk but as long as I do not damage what is left the outlook is as I am now....but I fully understand what you are saying in regards to when I am much older and I do indeed have a plan B...There is a family home which if needed I am able to move into in later years.

 

but that said I was planning on living forever

 

The more I think of it the more peoples comments of keeping it simple apply....maybe a secondhand boat is a better way to go...

[magictime]

but I fully understand what you are saying in regards to when I am much older and I do indeed have a plan B...There is a family home which if needed I am able to move into in later years.

 

Good to know!

 

 

The more I think of it the more peoples comments of keeping it simple apply....maybe a secondhand boat is a better way to go...

 

Unless you positively relish the idea of fitting out a boat from scratch with your brother over a couple of years, I think you're probably right. If you want to get cruising asap, buy a second hand boat that's in ready-to-cruise condition. Nothing to stop you making changes as you go along.

[chubby]

My thoughts

 

I don t think a new boat is the way to go at all . It may worth considering the idea of an ex hire boat .

Why ?

From my understanding they will probably be solidly built , regularly serviced mechanical parts & generally looked after . Also , you will need a stove for heating as many hire boats offered for sale will not have one . You could fit a diesel type - bubble or refleks type in order to avoid lugging heavy bags of coal . This will cost more to run , but your health needs come first and diesel will involve less physical effort .

The other reason i suggest considering an ex hire boat is because from my understanding they can be easier to " adjust " internally as bulkheads and fitting have been designed to be easy to rearrange - or at least easier perhaps . Everythings screwed down in such a way as to be moveable if needed .

Therefore you could get a 50 ft boat , get heating installed , make provisions for laundry etc and see how you feel living inside it . If necessary it may then be simple ( ish ) to adjust the layout to your needs once you ve had some time onboard .

Anyway , ive no experience of doing this with an ex hire boat , but from what ive read in the past on the forum this " adaptabilty " is a possible positive for you as you can keep the same boat .

Maybe others will add to this if they feel theres any mileage in the idea of an ex hire boat as i say because theyre likely to be solid , reliable and adaptable

.

Good luck getting on the water , i hope theres some tood for thought here

cheers

[cheshire~rose]

Hi Darren and welcome to the forum

 

This place is full of people who will offer you helpful advice. Ultimately the boat you choose will be the boat that suits you and no two people are going to want exactly the same thing. I would suggest you read as much as you can, listen to as many experienced opinions as you can (and I mean really listen - don't just cherry pick the bits you want to hear) and spend as much time out on the cut among boats and boaters as you can.

 

There is one point I would like to make - you said:

 

No.2 The canal which I wish to be on is not quite finished yet ......the Chesterfield Canal

 

 

Oh it was finished a VERY long time ago, sadly you and I were not born before the Norwood Tunnel collapsed effectively closing the western end of the navigation. We do have to thank those pioneers from The Retford & Worksop Boat Club who, 40 years ago decided to create The Chesterfield Canal Society and fought a tough battle to ensure that the eastern end of the canal was not consigned to becoming a muddy ditch. The Society later became The Chesterfield Canal Trust and, as you will be aware, opened a new section of the restoration earlier this year. The restoration is not quite finished yet but there is now less than 8 miles to restore and in HS2 would hurry up and decide what they are going to do then we could get on and get it finished.

 

I am your neighbour, I also live in Chesterfield. We have a boat moored at Clayworth and get a great deal of pleasure out of cruising The Chesterfield Canal. There are a good number of people who live aboard on The Chessie - not least because it actually has a marina that people are allowed to live in! Many of them only live there during the winter months and spread their wings to explore the canal system during the summer but as I am typing this from an idyliic mooring in the middle of nowhere (between Misterton and Gringley-on-the-Hill) having just arrived back on The Chessie after 10 days on The Fossdyke and Witham I have to concur that there really is nowhere else that I would rather be than this canal. Don't go letting the minor matter of 8 miles still requiring restoration stop your dreams though - there are 38 blissful miles of it that you CAN enjoy - right now... without even buying a boat!

 

If you felt so inclined you could get yourself involved with Chesterfield Canal Trust and volunteer as trip boat crew. You already have some experience handling a boat but you would be offered full RYA training which, while it is not necessary to own a boat, it does offer some very useful instruction that can help boost confidence in some of the more tricky situations. There are 4 boats operated by CCT, they operate from Tapton Lock, Hollingwood Hub, The Lock Keeper at Worksop and The Hope Pole at Retford. Each boat offers a very different experience for customers and crew alike and it is possible for crew to volunteer on as many or as few trips as they find fits with their life. You could also get the opportunity to volunteer with Python, the Trusts historic boat built in 1929. Now while I realise none of these things are quite like owning your own boat it does get you out on the canal you say you love, chatting to people about the canal, learning from people who know about the canal and - well what can be better than boating for free! Indeed there is another member of this forum who is doing just that, one day he will own a boat but for now he can get his fix of the canal and boating by volunteering.

 

Want to know more?

 

You might find this useful:

http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/membership/volunteering/512-volunteer-jobs-for-the-trust

 

or - feel free to ask

[Neil Smith]

I have just finished fitting out my 58 foot boat from a bare shell and it took 20 months in my spare time, I am not a chippy just a general builder but I loved doing it and saved a fortune by buying a lot of stuff cheaply as it came along before I even ordered the shell. I now have a boat that is worth a lot more than it cost more than can be said for second hand even when you do one up, so for me if you have the skills and with help you could do it faster than me and if it dose not work out for you at least you can't loose money and will have fun doing it.

 

Neil

[dazzlar3]

Hi again Magictime.....

Yours words and thoughts have been very helpful.....After quite a bit of thought over the last 48hrs I think a secondhand boat is what I will do...I have a budget in mind and it is a achievable budget over the next 24 months.....I am currently now sat at my desk working on different plans to use things I have aquired during my life and things that I have identified as cannot do without items to live aboard as a checklist against what is available at the time of purchase.....

 

Hi Chubby,

Thank you very much for your input....very much appreciated....you may see what I written above that indeed I do intend to purchase a secondhand boat.....by no means will I rush in but I will take my time on deciding what to purchase and how much it fits with what I need and don't need for that matter....thanks

 

Hello Cheshire~Rose,

Your words and information are very helpful, I do indeed intend to get involved with the Chesterfield Canal Trust and where possible offer my services in what ever way I can. The Chesterfield Canal is a wonderful place as it is now, even though the HS2 project as put a spanner in the works I know that the canal will reach it's final goal once the powers that be in Westminster realise how much their decisions mess up everybody else's normal lives ! and that their decisions are not always for the better......

 

Once there is a marina up and running at Staveley Basin it will be awesome......cannot wait

 

 

Thank you everyone for your input up to now.....please keep firing your thoughts, ideas and suggestions at me.....none of it is discouraging and it is totally wanted.