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Shaggy

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Shaggy Gongoozler

Shaggy

Posted
Posted

Hi All

 

I'm planning to step off the housing ladder madness for a couple of years and go and do something 'less boring instead'. I work for myself and don't need to 'report' anywhere. So I am looking to liveaboard and continuous cruise for a couple of years - Singlehanded. I appreciate this may be challenging. B)

 

This is my situation:-

 

INTERNET CONNECTION

I'm an internet developer but can work 'locally' on my machine for a couple of weeks or so - before needing a connection. Any advice on 3G availability and related systems would be welcome.

 

WINTER LIVEABOARD

I intend to try living on the boat all winter - but have sufficient funds to escape to rented property if I decide its too much.

 

The boat I'm looking at is an Aqualine Madison 60ft (cruiser stern with galley at the stern) I want a boat which is a good liveaboard, a nice 'home' but which is sociable for when I have friends staying the summer. It seems to have most mod cons and can specify 3kw inverter and such like. This is the location of the specification http://www.aqualinemarine.co.uk/spec_madison.asp - I wonder if anyone could tell me which of the optional extras a good liveaboard should have? or what is optional extras are just not worth the money. Also could anyone tell me if this is totally the wrong kind of boat for a liveaboard? B)

 

SECURITY

If I'm continuous cruising in the winter, how many people are on the network - would i be isolated or would it be easy to find 'company' if I could go anywhere on the network (remember, I won't have a residential mooring) OR is it just a terrible idea to cruise single-handed in winter.

 

Any insights views on any part of this question much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Shaggy

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carlt Veteran II

carlt

Posted
Posted
Hi All

 

I'm planning to step off the housing ladder madness for a couple of years and go and do something 'less boring instead'. I work for myself and don't need to 'report' anywhere. So I am looking to liveaboard and continuous cruise for a couple of years - Singlehanded. I appreciate this may be challenging. B)

 

This is my situation:-

 

INTERNET CONNECTION

I'm an internet developer but can work 'locally' on my machine for a couple of weeks or so - before needing a connection. Any advice on 3G availability and related systems would be welcome.

 

WINTER LIVEABOARD

I intend to try living on the boat all winter - but have sufficient funds to escape to rented property if I decide its too much.

 

The boat I'm looking at is an Aqualine Madison 60ft (cruiser stern with galley at the stern) I want a boat which is a good liveaboard, a nice 'home' but which is sociable for when I have friends staying the summer. It seems to have most mod cons and can specify 3kw inverter and such like. This is the location of the specification http://www.aqualinemarine.co.uk/spec_madison.asp - I wonder if anyone could tell me which of the optional extras a good liveaboard should have? or what is optional extras are just not worth the money. Also could anyone tell me if this is totally the wrong kind of boat for a liveaboard? B)

 

SECURITY

If I'm continuous cruising in the winter, how many people are on the network - would i be isolated or would it be easy to find 'company' if I could go anywhere on the network (remember, I won't have a residential mooring) OR is it just a terrible idea to cruise single-handed in winter.

 

Any insights views on any part of this question much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Shaggy

Hi Shaggy Welcome!

I've just switched from Orange to 3 and it's much quicker. It's always been gprs on orange which was adequate for my use but not if the internet is your livelihood, I guess.

 

Having been living aboard a 60+ year old wooden workboat for years, the fripperies of living on new, steel boats are best left to others, though I was a professional boat fitter so I'm okay on the technicalities. The madison looks a nice boat and perfect for the single, yet sociable, young man. I could write their slogans!

 

I've never quite understood the problem with wintering on a boat. They're a smaller space so they're easier to keep warm. The mud can be a pain but if you're ccing, you can always move to a drier spot. I always had a portable water butt, just in case I was iced in when the tank emptied, but it's been a few years since the ice was too thick to move the boat.

 

Not sure what you mean by 'company'. It's the inverted commas that raise the eyebrows! On the one hand, being a bit of a recluse, I had trouble avoiding people when ccing so I was forced to come out of my shell a bit. On the other I met swmbo dragging two wooden boats down Hillmorton locks.

 

I single handed for years in all seasons. The only problems were making sure I didn't get stuck between two, close together stoppages. One winter I was stuck with barely 3 miles of canal to cruise for months.

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Breals Proficient

Breals

Posted
Posted (edited)

None of the extras seem especially worthwhile or good value to me!

 

Whether a boat is 'suitable' for living aboard or not depends on your expectations. That boat sounds palatial, but is priced accordingly. I have been living on a basic 2nd hand cruiser stern narrowboat for 2 years, it cost well under 30K and I have no regrets. There have been times when things have gone wrong (leaving me with no leccy or water for days at a time) but this is thankfully rare, and could also happen on a new boat.

 

You could always get an older, basic boat and flog it after a year or two... you probably won't lose much money on it and if you decide to go for a bespoke boat you will have a better idea of what you need.

 

Winter on the cut is lovely when the weather is kind. There's something really nice about getting up in a freezing cold boat, with winter sunshine pouring through the windows, and trying to light the fire in record time. There are stoppages which may restrict your cruising (if you are going to get stranded by work on locks and bridges etc, make sure you are stranded somewhere you can get water and a pump-out!) Or you can get a winter mooring from BW, again make sure you are near services.

 

Check T-mobile's website for their 3G coverage - you may need to cruise around locally to find good reception.

 

There are far fewer people about in winter, but there are always a few liveaboards about, and you will soon get to know where they are, and to look out for each other.

Edited by Breals
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Lady Muck Veteran

Lady Muck

Posted
Posted

If you are looking for a boat to live on, try to find one with sprayfoam insulation, it really does make a difference, the boat stays warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

I thought winter would be hard, but it wasn't. Ok we did have a mild winter. The advice we were given was to be organised - make sure you have sufficient gas, coal, diesel etc to last you as it's not much fun being without in winter, and try not to get stranded any place where you can't empty your loo or get water etc. I didn't find it cold on the boat, you can get solid fuel which wll stay burning in the stove all night, the main problem in winter is condensation, you have to be really aware of where it might form and take action to prevent it - it can damage clothing and electronic equipment if it goes unchecked.

Internet on a boat is a doddle (guess where I'm posting from). In the year we've been aboard, the 3g technology has much improved and connection speeds are faster than ever (BUT coverage is not all over the UK, we're in London where you can get it everywhere). Do a search on these formus for internet, lots of advice and also I reccommend you contact boaters phone company (Google it) for more great advice.

 

The other things we feel we benefited from on our boat is lots of storage and also the front cabin has no fixed, built in furniture, it means we can remove the table, fold it away and fold the chairs up when we have guests (pretty much most of the summer we have guests!), there is room for lots of people to sleep.

 

Although our back cabin is a study, we are currently refitting to make it more versatile so there is room for a couple of people to sleep in there too!

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honey ryder Community Regular

honey ryder

Posted
Posted
Hi All

 

I'm planning to step off the housing ladder madness for a couple of years and go and do something 'less boring instead'. I work for myself and don't need to 'report' anywhere. So I am looking to liveaboard and continuous cruise for a couple of years - Singlehanded. I appreciate this may be challenging. B)

 

This is my situation:-

Shaggy

 

INTERNET CONNECTION

Tmobile do a decent connection, as do the others already mentioned in this thread.

 

WINTER LIVEABOARD

We moved onto ours in winter, that way you get the worst over and done with and it only gets better from there on, and the second winter you will be definitely more sorted. We were in a marina so it was extremely easy with shore power.

I think we will try to stay out of marinas and invest in a small genny to keep our fridge and lights working in winter.

 

single handed cruising is pretty much the same all year round... slow and hard work but rewarding. in winter you have the added bonus of wintery showers, freezing winds and ice on the deck. oh and trying to avoid your water pipes freezing up if its a proper cold one. we had a frostat heater on while we were out at work and plugged in, but we could have easily stoked the fire up before work and it would have stayed in most of the day. our fire ( wood and coal - double door jobby) gave us 25+ degrees inside when it was -5 outside. although we used cheap (free) wood which vanished in a poof of smoke in minutes, we woke up sometimes to see 5 degrees on the thermometer in the bedroom. ya gotta be quick getting dressed sometimes.

 

SECURITY

you wont see a huge amount of people moving about and you need to consider winter stoppages. if your boat has a pump out you wil need to move to get 'er pumped out every few weeks if its just you on board... o r get a porta potti type to tide you over. water needs to be topped up too, either by jerry can or by moving your boat. we use jerry cans a lot and keep the level topped up. we use roughly 10 litres each per shower and our washing machine uses 34 litres. ( the washer runs off a large engine alternator giving us 3.5kw power)

 

60foot is a lot of boat for one person, you could easily live in something smaller which would be easier to handle solo. I speak as someone with a fair amount of bulky luggage ( pushbikes x 4, surf boards, body board, keyboard, large portfolio folders, dinghy, kayak and motorbike clothing etc etc etc ) mines a 57 and theres two of us, plus un petit chien/clébard. we still have some empty cupboard space ( mainly because my stuff is too big to fit in them!)

 

we havent really "bonded" with any canal dwellers i guess mainly because we move frequently and we are often out in the day and when we moor we try to keep away from others as we can be noisy at night running the engine. I think winter could be a better time for people to say hello because its only the hardy liveaboards you will see on their boats daily.

 

reading the spec on the boat you like sounds pretty much almost exactly what weve got, but we paid less than half of that new price for it.

the kitchen at the back with a cruiser stern isnt the first choice for most liveaboards, but it certainly suits us. we sit outside in almost all weathers. side hatches are very useful, good for ventilation, good for extra light and good for extra access points. although can be bad from a security perspective. weve got one near the kitchen and one near the bathroom, very practical.

ours is polystyrene insulated and when it snowed we had the fire stoked up so we were cosy inside, the snow sat on the roof equally if not longer than some of the other boats near to us.

 

also, if its not bolted down, lock it. if its not locked, bolt it down.

 

theres some right spadgecocks wanderin around the canals these days. ( im still angry about my bike being nicked a couple of months ago)

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tired old pirate Collaborator

tired old pirate

Posted
Posted (edited)
See here for a full explanation:

 

Spadgecock

 

Although in Australia, spadge is slang for the female genitalia (apparently) so spadgecock may be a very naughty word indeed , that should be spelt s********k.

 

Thank God for that, I was worried that they were like fishmonsters, I hate them and am very scared of them and would not like to think that they could team up with these things. I would never sleep.... was thinking they must be big if they eat bikes.

 

Excellent link thanks! another for the favourites untill the IT dept realise what I actually do all day!!!

Edited by tired old pirate
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Alastair Rising Star

Alastair

Posted
Posted

60ft is a biggish boat. There is a price premium for 58ft boats, that being the largest that can cruise the entire system.

 

I lived on a 32ft for a year, it was cramped. 40 would have been fine.

 

I don't think you can CC in winter - BW close sections of the canals for maint. They do let genuine CCers take up temp winter moorings.

 

+1 on other comments about winter. You can be very cosy. I actually find autumn the hardest time - the rain and dark but not proper frosts seem dreary. Make sure you have a solid fuel stove, it warms the spirits.

 

Power can be a problem in winter if you are planning on working from home - add a small diesel generator for the times when you aren't mobile, or a very large alternator on your main engine. I'm not sure it is possible to have too large a battery bank.

 

You say you are a web developer; do you write website application code or are you more of a designer/flash person?

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honey ryder Community Regular

honey ryder

Posted
Posted
See here for a full explanation:

 

Spadgecock

 

Although in Australia, spadge is slang for the female genitalia (apparently) so spadgecock may be a very naughty word indeed , that should be spelt s********k.

 

ROFLMAO... now that is a funny blog site thingy.

 

spadgecock is a much more pleasant way of calling someone a cnut.

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whammy Contributor

whammy

Posted
Posted

Hi, Welcome to the forum, I thought I would add my tuppence worth to this thread as I fit a few of the criteria re your plans.

 

For the last 18 months I have been cont. cruising the system, I have a 60 foot Aqualine Manhattan cruiser stern boat with most of the offered extras added, I bought it from new from the NBC at Hanbury Wharf. As it was to be a live aboard we thought we should have all the mod cons to make life on board as comfortable as possible, I know some people say some of the upgrades are not necessary but if you have the money go for it. I can recommend the NBC and the Aqualine range, the workmanship on the steelwork and the wood work is superb, we still have people asking us if the boat is brand new and thats after going through over 650 locks so far.

As for the winter conditions - no problems - the squirrel stove keeps us very warm (too warm sometimes - its a strange concept sitting with the doors wide open in the middle of the winter), the diesel central heating is handy for the autumn evenings. You can still cruise the system in the winter if you plan carefully around the stoppages, we spent last winter on the Llangollen and Shropshire union canals.

Internet access is a breeze with the T mobile web and walk as long as you are not expecting broadband speeds everywhere.

Sorry cant help with being a single hander, cant really see what relevance the length of boat has with being single handed I should imagine it is just as hard with a 40 footer as with a 60 footer, I stand to be corrected on that one, Canal boat magazine has done some articles about being single crewed and the fella that has gone single handed round the system on NB Frilford also writes in the mag so it is possible.

 

If you have any questions about living with a Aqualine you can PM me, I will be happy to help if I can.

 

GOOD LUCK - B)

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Shaggy Gongoozler

Shaggy

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  • Author
Posted

Hi

 

Thanks for the welcomes. Sorry for my inactivity on the thread I started:) - been moving out of the house - so am now homeless for a while.

 

Thanks for all the responses, they are all a big help to me and certainly give me some food for thought. I've looked at a 57 footer and smaller but as this is going to be my main home and my office and a place for my friends to come and visit I feel I need the space in the saloon that the extra 3 feet gives - I appreciate that people manage on a lot less.

 

CarlT - I think the 'company' I was referring to wasn't necessarily social just a case of not being moored alone for 3 months (although I appreciate to some this might be their idea of heaven:)

 

Alastair - I'm a programmer rather than a designer, so not really bandwidth hungry.

 

Lady Muck - I've heard sprayfoam is good - aqualine fit Styrofoam which is meant to be good, maybe whammy has some insight into this ?

 

Whammy - seems like you have a very similar boat to my intended boat, will pm as would be great to pick your brains.

 

 

ROUTE HOME & LENGTH

 

I suppose I'm still clinging onto the idea of 'home' as a place (I suppose this may go over time) - so want to have the security that I will be able to get back to Glasson Dock (Lancaster) on a 60ft boat, everybody says this is ok, from my maps there appear to be two routes to get there, can anyone provide any insight into this. Where will I find it difficult/impossible?

 

Anyway great to have resource with helpful folk!

 

Thanks

 

Shaggy

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whammy Contributor

whammy

Posted
Posted

ROUTE HOME & LENGTH

 

I suppose I'm still clinging onto the idea of 'home' as a place (I suppose this may go over time) - so want to have the security that I will be able to get back to Glasson Dock (Lancaster) on a 60ft boat, everybody says this is ok, from my maps there appear to be two routes to get there, can anyone provide any insight into this. Where will I find it difficult/impossible?

 

Spooky - Shaggy - have replied to your pm though I had not seen the above bit re Glasson, we are at present just north of Galgate which as we all know is where the Glasson arm starts, we have not taken the boat down the arm yet as the wife is on a go slow, being on the Lancaster canal with no locks has made her lazy. We did cycle down the arm (on the tow path) a few weeks ago, you get a great view at the top of Glasson - you can see the tip of Blackpool tower to the left and the tip of scafell to the right - not sure which one would be preferable to be on top of - I suppose its easier to get to the top of Blackpool tower but the scenery might not be as good. :)

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david and julie Rising Star

david and julie

Posted
Posted

We don't usually live aboard, but have been doing so for the last 6 months whilst our house is being renovated. We are on a marina but have no shorepower available.

 

I would make the following observations about the standard spec of your proposed boat which is similar,in many area's, to our own.

 

Watertank 110 Galls.......ours is 150 and it lasts about 4 or 5 days. (2 people)

Waste tank. 47 Galls...... ours is 80 gall and lasts for about 4 or 5 weeks

Diesel tank is the same size....we fill up whilst having a pump out, it usually takes aboout 40 galls, so they coincide quite well.

 

Electrics---- 2x80 amp alternators, 440 amp domestic batteries, 1200W inverter and a 50 amp charger.

Ours is----- 1x95amp(+charge contoller) 1x45 amp alternator,440 amp domestic batteries, 1500watt inverter(combi) with 50 amp charger, 4.5kW genset.

 

In the winter we were running the main engine for 2 hours a day, so an 80 amp alternator may take longer. We also have an onboard generator and use this for the washer/ironing/microwave or the vac. We find the 50amp charger a waste of time(unless the genny is being used for somethng else too) Our 1500 watt(pure sine)inverter is fine for the telly/computer etc---as long as your selective--it won't do very many applications at the same time.

 

We also use T mobile web and walk for the internet which is OK, but sometimes very slow.

 

Ours is primarily a holiday boat being used as a temporary home so is fine. If, however, we were permanantly aboard, I would add more batteries (or maybe a more suitable type) and change to a 3kw/100/120 amp combi, to reduce charging times when using the genset.

 

One extra which we have is a cabin heater under the rear steps which works off the calorifier return, in your rear galley set-up you wouldn't need to use any other form of heating whilst the main engine is running, so they soon pay for themselves.

 

Nice boat, best wishes.

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Shaggy Gongoozler

Shaggy

Posted
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Hi

 

Just a quick one to say thanks to everyone for their contributions. I dealt on the Aqualine on Monday - expecting arrival mid September - so really looking forward to that and hopefully catching some last glimpses of some good weather - but sod's law will prevail no doubt.

 

Thanks again, it was all really useful stuff.

 

Shaggy

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Gary Peacock Veteran

Gary Peacock

Posted
Posted
Hi

 

Just a quick one to say thanks to everyone for their contributions. I dealt on the Aqualine on Monday - expecting arrival mid September - so really looking forward to that and hopefully catching some last glimpses of some good weather - but sod's law will prevail no doubt.

 

Thanks again, it was all really useful stuff.

 

Shaggy

 

A good choice!

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