Living aboard with our little family

[R1chard]

Hello,

 

We have recently decided as a family to explore the possibility of living aboard in the Oxfordshire area. There is my wife and I, and our two children 6 years and 7 weeks.

 

We are quite a wild family at heart. loving spending our spare time camping and walking/playing in the wood. We're currently living in a rented two bedroom house in Witney where I have my business so would want a mooring withing 30-40 minutes away. We decided that a permanent mooring would be our only option as we'll need access to schools and docs for the kids.

 

Obviously this would be a big change for us, but we feel one that could add to our happiness. The reason that we go camping so much is that we crave the simplicity. We'd love feedback from other families who have done this with the pro's and con's

 

Here are some of the questions we have.

 

- Are there any suggestions for moorings within a reasonable commute to Witney? At a push I could go a little further and start to relocate my business to a new town over time. I am a professional gardener with local clients so it would mean dropping currant clients as I start to pick up new ones in a new location.

 

- My only concern is the kids or us getting cabin fever, but I guess this would only be a risk on a rainy day and then you can just pop out and do something. How do other families cope?

 

- Do you have to get a TV license?

 

- We're hoping to get an idea of where to moor first, and then look at boats. Is it worth looking for a boat a bit further north as they seem cheaper and cruise it down?

 

- Are there any local liveaboarders who'd be happy to share a brew and a chat with us to discuss the pro's and con's? Would also love to also meet a family living aboard

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Richard

[Phil Ambrose]

For starters you could read a couple of books by Marie Brown, "Narrow Escape" and "Narrow Margins" a true narrative of life aboard with her family, they are members of this forum (Happy go Lucky)

She also wrote a 3rd book but the name escapes' me.

The life you hope to live is perfectly possible provided you ditch any rose tinted specs. It's the little things that you take for granted in a house which prove pat irksome, like having to get up close and personal with your own waste, having to refill water tanks, making sure you don't run out of gas, or coal.

One thing I can tell you is that you will love it.

Phil

[OldGoat]

I have neither a young family nor do I liveaboard - so not qualified to comment - but here goes anyway.

 

• Living aboard is not cheaper than living in bricks and mortar
• A boat depreciates in value - a house appreciates 'over time'
• There are few - if any official - residential moorings either on the Thames or on the Oxford canal. there are a good number of 'leisure moorings', though. Few have electricity, unless in a marina.
• There are enough challenges with a young family without a new baby - sanitation and washing clothes are difficult enough in a house - but exceedingly more difficult on a boat.

[mrsmelly]

Hello,

 

We have recently decided as a family to explore the possibility of living aboard in the Oxfordshire area. There is my wife and I, and our two children 6 years and 7 weeks.

 

We are quite a wild family at heart. loving spending our spare time camping and walking/playing in the wood. We're currently living in a rented two bedroom house in Witney where I have my business so would want a mooring withing 30-40 minutes away. We decided that a permanent mooring would be our only option as we'll need access to schools and docs for the kids.

 

Obviously this would be a big change for us, but we feel one that could add to our happiness. The reason that we go camping so much is that we crave the simplicity. We'd love feedback from other families who have done this with the pro's and con's

 

Here are some of the questions we have.

 

- Are there any suggestions for moorings within a reasonable commute to Witney? At a push I could go a little further and start to relocate my business to a new town over time. I am a professional gardener with local clients so it would mean dropping currant clients as I start to pick up new ones in a new location.

 

- My only concern is the kids or us getting cabin fever, but I guess this would only be a risk on a rainy day and then you can just pop out and do something. How do other families cope?

 

- Do you have to get a TV license?

 

- We're hoping to get an idea of where to moor first, and then look at boats. Is it worth looking for a boat a bit further north as they seem cheaper and cruise it down?

 

- Are there any local liveaboarders who'd be happy to share a brew and a chat with us to discuss the pro's and con's? Would also love to also meet a family living aboard

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Richard

 

Hi Richard

 

I live and run a business very near to you what you propose is a minefield and you need to learn as much as you can. I can give you oodles of advice if you wish over a tea or a beer.

You need to do a few more posts it doesnt matter which they are then private message me with tel number and I will ring you. We can met at my canalside business if you like.

 

Cheers

 

Tim

[She25]

I'd say you have a sensible approach, and a decent idea of what will be involved. Not got a family on board with me but know of one and they manage just fine. I'd make sure your kids can swim, but understand the cut is not for swimming in - and how dangerous it can be. You can't watch them every second and if they should fall in accidentally (fully clothed and weighed down, shocked by the cold water etc), you need to know they're as safe as possible.

 

This family are continuous cruisers and able to find a circuit that suits cc moving requirements and keeps them within commuting distance of schools. As long as you have a vehicle that gives you quite a wide cruising area.

 

Marie Brown's books are brilliant. Shows the difficulties in moving aboard and gives a fair impression of some of the issues you'll face!

 

If ever I did have a family, I'd love to bring them up on the boat.

[Peter X]

Your first and biggest problem will be to identify a suitable mooring. It's a pretty good rule that the higher house prices are in an area the higher mooring fees are, and in very desirable areas there tend to be long waiting lists. On this basis I would expect that anywhere near you, especially an official residential mooring, is going to be rather costly, but someone with local knowledge can fill in the details for you. Living "under the radar" on a leisure mooring may or may not be possible; it often is on CRT waters, but I don't know what that's like on the Thames.

 

I've never spent longer than 12 days continuously on a boat, but I get the impression that for people who are suited to the rigours of life afloat it's very pleasant, and not necessarily more expensive than being in bricks and mortar if the alternative to living on a boat would be paying rent at the market rate.

 

Just in case you don't know this, if you will be on the Oxford canal, which is rather crowded towards its southern end, you must have a narrow boat, but on the Thames you can have a widebeam, anything which will fit under the low bridge at Osney. A narrow boat can be bought anywhere on the connected canals and rivers, even way up north where boats tend to be better value, then moved by water, but a widebeam can only cross the north-south divide by road haulage, which might cost one or two thousand depending on width (and to some extent distance).

 

Not having a house, you will need a TV licence (and enough electricity to use it) but that's an afterthought.

[R1chard]

For starters you could read a couple of books by Marie Brown, "Narrow Escape" and "Narrow Margins" a true narrative of life aboard with her family, they are members of this forum (Happy go Lucky)

She also wrote a 3rd book but the name escapes' me.

The life you hope to live is perfectly possible provided you ditch any rose tinted specs. It's the little things that you take for granted in a house which prove pat irksome, like having to get up close and personal with your own waste, having to refill water tanks, making sure you don't run out of gas, or coal.

One thing I can tell you is that you will love it.

Phil

Thank you so much Phil! We'll get these books ordered and read asap.

 

We're more than happy emptying loos, getting water and fuel. We actually, weirdly, look forward to this.

 

Richard

 

Hi Richard

 

I live and run a business very near to you what you propose is a minefield and you need to learn as much as you can. I can give you oodles of advice if you wish over a tea or a beer.

You need to do a few more posts it doesnt matter which they are then private message me with tel number and I will ring you. We can met at my canalside business if you like.

 

Cheers

 

Tim

Tim this sounds great. Thank you so much for the offer! I certainly will PM you when I get the chance

I'd say you have a sensible approach, and a decent idea of what will be involved. Not got a family on board with me but know of one and they manage just fine. I'd make sure your kids can swim, but understand the cut is not for swimming in - and how dangerous it can be. You can't watch them every second and if they should fall in accidentally (fully clothed and weighed down, shocked by the cold water etc), you need to know they're as safe as possible.

 

This family are continuous cruisers and able to find a circuit that suits cc moving requirements and keeps them within commuting distance of schools. As long as you have a vehicle that gives you quite a wide cruising area.

 

Marie Brown's books are brilliant. Shows the difficulties in moving aboard and gives a fair impression of some of the issues you'll face!

 

If ever I did have a family, I'd love to bring them up on the boat.

Thanks for the ideas. The boy is already doing weekly swimming lessons and we're getting in to intensive courses over the holidays too

Your first and biggest problem will be to identify a suitable mooring. It's a pretty good rule that the higher house prices are in an area the higher mooring fees are, and in very desirable areas there tend to be long waiting lists. On this basis I would expect that anywhere near you, especially an official residential mooring, is going to be rather costly, but someone with local knowledge can fill in the details for you. Living "under the radar" on a leisure mooring may or may not be possible; it often is on CRT waters, but I don't know what that's like on the Thames.

 

I've never spent longer than 12 days continuously on a boat, but I get the impression that for people who are suited to the rigours of life afloat it's very pleasant, and not necessarily more expensive than being in bricks and mortar if the alternative to living on a boat would be paying rent at the market rate.

 

Just in case you don't know this, if you will be on the Oxford canal, which is rather crowded towards its southern end, you must have a narrow boat, but on the Thames you can have a widebeam, anything which will fit under the low bridge at Osney. A narrow boat can be bought anywhere on the connected canals and rivers, even way up north where boats tend to be better value, then moved by water, but a widebeam can only cross the north-south divide by road haulage, which might cost one or two thousand depending on width (and to some extent distance).

 

Not having a house, you will need a TV licence (and enough electricity to use it) but that's an afterthought.

Thank you! We'll be looking for a narrow boat so this should work well. I am just hoping that not being able to find a decent mooring will mean that this dream doesn't get off the ground!

[Fuel__2001]

Theres me, thee and 2 children, still onboard a 57'x10' - 12 years later with the eldest child whose 11 and youngest whose 2 - its all they have ever known and now share a room.

 

things to consider -

 

We used a multifuel stove for years as a primary source of heating, but the mess of coal and wood and moving to Scotland put pay to that, pressing a button is a far easier option and means i get to play with the kids rather than chopping wood/lugging coal.

 

So, Hot water/Heating; does your system have the ability to provide a plentiful supply on demand; after years of managing with a 60 litre,calorifier with immersion, multifuel stove, eberspacher (which stopped working after 3 years) it was tough; when the youngest was born we changed the heating/hot water system and now have a Harworth PJ Diesel Boiler with a 100L calorifier, this means everyone can have a shower whenever they want and the smallest child can have a bath, all while the boat is being heated in the mornings and the washing up is being done - all at the same time, this is nothing short of a miracle and amazes me everytime i press the button to start the heating. The eldest spent 20 minutes in the shower the other day, the only limiting factor is the size of the water tank.

 

Washer dryer - with that many people onboard doing laundry is a task and being able to dry it in the winter is key

 

Due to the above the 500 litre water tank now gets filled a couple of times a week

 

Cooking - domestic gas oven and gas hob - if the electric in the marina goes down we can still cook

 

Storage (inc Fridge and Freezer) - being able to store food for a family of 4 and all the crockery/pots/pans etc and inviting guests, childrens friends.

 

Table - having a table to eat meals at rather than off laps to teach some important social skills

 

With small ones just learning to walk, making sure you can lock both ends of the boat

 

Toilet - we have a pumpout rather than a camping thetford

 

Due to the schooling regime we don't CC

 

Electrics - we have 2x240v rings as we are quite a power hungry family and like our comforts

 

Thats for starters - after years of making do, roughing it, getting by and working out what we need, we finally have it sussed and ot only took 10 years and 2 refits!

[Taslim]

R1chard. Aynho has mooring. Would that be too far away? I don't know about avaliabilty or if suitable in terms of services but I expect mrsmelly would.

[Phil Ambrose]

Ref Fuel 2001, this demonstrated that if you get it right, living on a boat doesn't mean camping. We too have 12v under counter larder fridge and under counter 12v freezer along with full size washing machine and a tumble dryer.

Good Luck

Phil

[R1chard]

Theres me, thee and 2 children, still onboard a 57'x10' - 12 years later with the eldest child whose 11 and youngest whose 2 - its all they have ever known and now share a room.

 

things to consider -

 

We used a multifuel stove for years as a primary source of heating, but the mess of coal and wood and moving to Scotland put pay to that, pressing a button is a far easier option and means i get to play with the kids rather than chopping wood/lugging coal.

 

So, Hot water/Heating; does your system have the ability to provide a plentiful supply on demand; after years of managing with a 60 litre,calorifier with immersion, multifuel stove, eberspacher (which stopped working after 3 years) it was tough; when the youngest was born we changed the heating/hot water system and now have a Harworth PJ Diesel Boiler with a 100L calorifier, this means everyone can have a shower whenever they want and the smallest child can have a bath, all while the boat is being heated in the mornings and the washing up is being done - all at the same time, this is nothing short of a miracle and amazes me everytime i press the button to start the heating. The eldest spent 20 minutes in the shower the other day, the only limiting factor is the size of the water tank.

 

Washer dryer - with that many people onboard doing laundry is a task and being able to dry it in the winter is key

 

Due to the above the 500 litre water tank now gets filled a couple of times a week

 

Cooking - domestic gas oven and gas hob - if the electric in the marina goes down we can still cook

 

Storage (inc Fridge and Freezer) - being able to store food for a family of 4 and all the crockery/pots/pans etc and inviting guests, childrens friends.

 

Table - having a table to eat meals at rather than off laps to teach some important social skills

 

With small ones just learning to walk, making sure you can lock both ends of the boat

 

Toilet - we have a pumpout rather than a camping thetford

 

Due to the schooling regime we don't CC

 

Electrics - we have 2x240v rings as we are quite a power hungry family and like our comforts

 

Thats for starters - after years of making do, roughing it, getting by and working out what we need, we finally have it sussed and ot only took 10 years and 2 refits!

Wow! That is great information Thank you!!! Will go through it with my wife later.

R1chard. Aynho has mooring. Would that be too far away? I don't know about avaliabilty or if suitable in terms of services but I expect mrsmelly would.

That would be fine. Will pop over at the weekend and visit. Thank you

[Jim Batty]

Hello,

 

We have recently decided as a family to explore the possibility of living aboard in the Oxfordshire area. There is my wife and I, and our two children 6 years and 7 weeks.

 

We are quite a wild family at heart. loving spending our spare time camping and walking/playing in the wood. We're currently living in a rented two bedroom house in Witney where I have my business so would want a mooring withing 30-40 minutes away. We decided that a permanent mooring would be our only option as we'll need access to schools and docs for the kids.

 

Obviously this would be a big change for us, but we feel one that could add to our happiness. The reason that we go camping so much is that we crave the simplicity. We'd love feedback from other families who have done this with the pro's and con's

 

Here are some of the questions we have.

 

- Are there any suggestions for moorings within a reasonable commute to Witney? At a push I could go a little further and start to relocate my business to a new town over time. I am a professional gardener with local clients so it would mean dropping currant clients as I start to pick up new ones in a new location.

 

- My only concern is the kids or us getting cabin fever, but I guess this would only be a risk on a rainy day and then you can just pop out and do something. How do other families cope?

 

- Do you have to get a TV license?

 

- We're hoping to get an idea of where to moor first, and then look at boats. Is it worth looking for a boat a bit further north as they seem cheaper and cruise it down?

 

- Are there any local liveaboarders who'd be happy to share a brew and a chat with us to discuss the pro's and con's? Would also love to also meet a family living aboard

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Richard

 

Hi Richard, welcome to the forum.

 

Yup, liveaboard life is a great adventure. Karen and I and our 18-year old cat have lived aboard our 53-footer for 8 years now, downsizing from a fairly large rented south London flat. I reckon this was the best thing we have done over the last decade. We too used to do a lot of camping ... living out of a back-packable tent for months on end while travelling about Europe and the States.

 

Boaters near Eynsham and Pinkhill on the Thames could surely tell you about the long-term mooring scene up there. I love the upper Thames and think it would be great to live around there. But for committments elsewhere ...

 

I would seriously consider hiring a narrowboat for a week, out of season, and see how you get on. Hiring isn't like living on it (!), and the layout of a hire boat probably won't be like a boat you would buy or want to live on, but it would give you an idea of space and proximity of stuff inside. It would probably suggest possible living space layouts you would like ... and layouts you hated.

 

Ultimately, if you really like living on a boat, you'll find some way to swing it. Sorting out the commuting, getting a TV licence, discovering the best way to heat it and everything else will easily follow ... (well, with a little work and investigation).

[R1chard]

 

Hi Richard, welcome to the forum.

 

Yup, liveaboard life is a great adventure. Karen and I and our 18-year old cat have lived aboard our 53-footer for 8 years now, downsizing from a fairly large rented south London flat. I reckon this was the best thing we have done over the last decade. We too used to do a lot of camping ... living out of a back-packable tent for months on end while travelling about Europe and the States.

 

Boaters near Eynsham and Pinkhill on the Thames could surely tell you about the long-term mooring scene up there. I love the upper Thames and think it would be great to live around there. But for committments elsewhere ...

 

I would seriously consider hiring a narrowboat for a week, out of season, and see how you get on. Hiring isn't like living on it (!), and the layout of a hire boat probably won't be like a boat you would buy or want to live on, but it would give you an idea of space and proximity of stuff inside. It would probably suggest possible living space layouts you would like ... and layouts you hated.

 

Ultimately, if you really like living on a boat, you'll find some way to swing it. Sorting out the commuting, getting a TV licence, discovering the best way to heat it and everything else will easily follow ... (well, with a little work and investigation).

Thanks for this Jim! We like the idea of having a hire of a boat. The local company looks like they stop in Winter, so will need to look around

 

R