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Boating Crew Experience Needed


Forget Me Not

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2 hours ago, X Alan W said:

It depends on the boats condition & the condition you wish to have it, boat maintenance is an almost ongoing chore Having done both over a longish period of time the land based dwelling is less hassle & I would say boat living is equal in cash outlay if not actually more so, could I suggest you look into the in's & out's & get as much of the full picture as possible or it may be a disappointment.

Having lived on our 20 year old 60' boat, moored in a marina (£3k per annum) for 5 years, I have found the running costs to be about the same as living in our mortgage free house. The only saving you would make is from not having to pay a mortgage if you had one.

So that just leaves the lifestyle issue. You will see many comments elsewhere on this forum about the hassle of things you have to think about on a boat such as power, heating, water supply etc that you take for granted in a house. And you only have to look at the 'equipment' section on this forum to see that things can go wrong with a boat that you don't get in a house and sometimes quite costly ones.

BUT, the lifestyle living on a boat is heaps better, whether it is the solitude of an online mooring or the great community of living in a marina. With either you are surrounded by a wonderful array of wildlife and often better scenery, and to be able to just start the engine and go off to so many lovely places locally or further afield is probably one of the best aspects of it.

You have done the right thing by thoroughly researching it, and asking for a 'taster' by going out with somebody. As has been suggested, if you can possibly keep your house by having tenants in to finance the running of it then consider doing so because it would keep your options open if life afloat doesn't suit you.

Good luck.

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  • 1 month later...

I realise I'm late to this party - but, for us, living on board is cheaper ... we have kept the house and rented it out so the tenant pays the mortgage (well, all but 35 quid a month of it)... it's fixed for 5 years and the tenant is long term so have guaranteed no rent rise during that period.

Our mooring (not residential) costs 149 a month... licence circa 75 quid.... 2-3 bags of coal a week during winter = 96 quid a month...  insurance was about 350 for the year .... diesel 80 litres a month give or take at 51.92 means about £408 a month before we eat...    

Obviously you have to factor in oil/filter changes and blacking etc. but it's still a cheap way of living and you focus on being responsible for your needs rather than face-book trivia etc.

 

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Welcome aboard Forget me Not. We did sell up and move on to our boat 11 years ago and absolutely love it. The advice about rose tinted specs is good advice, if you go ahead you will start a steep learning curve not for the fainthearted. Do loads of research and get out on a boat as much as you can. Also do a Helmsman course, if you can, it will give you confidence and another taste of boating. 

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On 25/11/2017 at 22:22, Forget Me Not said:

 

My mortgage alone is nearly £600 a month, I would be mortgage free on a boat and have worked out my budget by watching and reading boating vlogs, threads and articles, I'm fairly confident that it would be cheaper for me, even if I had a marina mooring.

The long term investment in a house is going to outstrip your investment in a boat, one is an asset, one is a liability. Short term you may gain, long term you are bound to lose imho.

I intend to sell up and buy a boat, but I am under no illusion, in the long term , bricks and mortar are safer, also I absolutely would not swap a house for marina life. My plans are to cruise, though eventually I may find a nice permanent location on the K&A or some such.

One thing to consider is the paucity of Residential Moorings, you probably don't want to start off as a "illegal", and cc is tough if you have a normal job.

Edited by LadyG
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On ‎25‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 20:03, mrsmelly said:

Glad I'm not young :unsure:

Really? :huh: 

I don't imagine there is an old millionaire or billionaire on the planet who wouldn't give away everything they have to be young again. Youth is one of those commodities you can't buy and as Oscar Wilde once said "Youth is wasted on the young".

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On ‎25‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 18:46, Forget Me Not said:

Hi, I'm completely new to boating to the point where I've never set foot on a moving boat. I am considering selling my house and buying a liveaboard. it's a huge step! I am wanting to check that the move will be right for me. 

It's been suggested that offering to help out as crew would be a good way to gain some experience.

Could anyone offer me a short cruise sometime in the New Year? I live in the East Midlands but I do drive, so I could travel to meet you. I would prefer a short trip of just a weekend as I have dogs that I would need to arrange a sitter for, and I have a job I need to get back to.

I am DBS checked for my job and I would expect us to find out a bit about each other first, to make sure we will both be comfortable.

Many thanks in advance.

 

If you go boating as crew having never done it before, you'll probably enjoy it as anyone would, so it won't really tell you very much about living on a boat. In truth, most liveaboards don't actually do much boating in the middle of winter. My advice is to see if you can persuade one of your boaty friends to do a house/boat swap for a month in winter. That might give you a better idea.

Edited by blackrose
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4 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Really? :huh: 

I don't imagine there is an old millionaire or billionaire on the planet who wouldn't give away everything they have to be young again. Youth is one of those commodities you can't buy and as Oscar Wilde once said "Youth is wasted on the young".

Ok ok wouldnt mind being young but back in the sixties again please where we had a life.

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4 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Ok ok wouldnt mind being young but back in the sixties again please where we had a life.

I’d like to be 27 and stay there. Or maybe 32.  One of those was a good age to be... I can’t recall which it was now...

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On 15/01/2018 at 18:48, LadyG said:

one is an asset, one is a liability. 

This.

We got rid of our liability.

Don't underestimate how much it costs to own and run a boat, not only in money but your time.

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On 1/16/2018 at 23:18, MJG said:

This.

We got rid of our liability.

Don't underestimate how much it costs to own and run a boat, not only in money but your time.

Very true,we found our house cost about the same to run as our boat hence the house had to go as we didnt use it enough.

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On 16/01/2018 at 23:18, MJG said:

This.

We got rid of our liability.

Don't underestimate how much it costs to own and run a boat, not only in money but your time.

Interesting.

I bought a house in NI in 2004.  By 2007 it had increased in value by 100%.  Step forward the financial crash and the house is down 50% so in effect I am back to where I started.  I’m not bothered as the house is Home not an investment.  However the people who bought in 2007 are down 50% and in substantial negative equity.  Yhey cant sell therefore can’t move or in effect change jobs if it isnt local.  Now that’s what I call a liability.

 I have just spent a substantial amount of money (to me) on a Narrowboat. I will possibly/potentially lose money on this in the long run through depreciation but I couldn’t care less.  I will be enjoying the fruits of my labour.  You have to make the most of life as you are a long time dead.  Treating life as a financial spreadsheet seems a waste to me.

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1 hour ago, Dartagnan said:

Interesting.

I bought a house in NI in 2004.  By 2007 it had increased in value by 100%.  Step forward the financial crash and the house is down 50% so in effect I am back to where I started.  I’m not bothered as the house is Home not an investment.  However the people who bought in 2007 are down 50% and in substantial negative equity.  Yhey cant sell therefore can’t move or in effect change jobs if it isnt local.  Now that’s what I call a liability.

 I have just spent a substantial amount of money (to me) on a Narrowboat. I will possibly/potentially lose money on this in the long run through depreciation but I couldn’t care less.  I will be enjoying the fruits of my labour.  You have to make the most of life as you are a long time dead.  Treating life as a financial spreadsheet seems a waste to me.

Our house is worth nearly four times what we paid for it in 1994, despite the 'crash' in prices (which didn't actually affect us so much).

It is true that in overall general terms property will increase in value over time and boats will depreciate until generally they plateau in value if they are well maintained. (or depreciate further until they are scrapped or sink or both).  That was my point of agreeing with the asset v liability comment.

If of course 'you couldn't care less' that is fine but I am am planning to release some equity from the house value to 'make most of my life' as you put it, everybody is different, and its difficult through to impossible to release equity from the value of a boat.

'Making the most of my life' as you put it involves travelling further than I could on the narrow ditches of the UK canals or the rivers even.

If I ever want to do a bit of boating I will just hire again and leave the liability of looking after thing to the hire boat co.

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1 hour ago, Laurie.Booth said:

Wrong, house is a lot lot cheaper to maintain.

I have to agree there, my house is paid for, so no mortgage. Last year I needed a new boiler which required a lot of changing to the system, this cost over £2000. Still a lot less than Halcyon cost for the year.

I think people may be looking at the costs incurred on a rented house as opposed to buying a boat outright. In which case the boat will be cheaper, but only because you own it.

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Forget me knot----I have a boat in Leics, at Welford. I will be on the boat from Mid-March and going out from time to time. If you would like a day out then let me know. I am fairly new to boating but have learnt lots in only a few months...like how to handle a boat alone through locks etc.

Best wishes, Mark

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