Boating Crew Experience Needed

[Forget Me Not]

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.

 

Edited November 25, 2017 by Forget Me Not

[Sea Dog]

It was a good suggestion try boating first. What is your desire to sell your house and buy a boat based on?

[mrsmelly]

3 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

It was a good suggestion try boating first. What is your desire to sell your house and buy a boat based on?

I was thinking that, also why were these offers not out there when I was young and single

[stagedamager]

Welcome fmn.

Where in the east Midlands are you based?

 

Kind regards

 

Dan

[Forget Me Not]

20 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

It was a good suggestion try boating first. What is your desire to sell your house and buy a boat based on?

I visited a friend on her boat, which is moored in a marina. It was summer and lots of the boaters were out socializing with each other. I had a chance to look around a few people's boats. The boats were lovely and cosy and appealed to me. The cost of living was a big draw as all my wage goes into my house at present. The people and atmosphere were so lovely, welcoming and warm. I just had the gut feeling that I would really love the life. I've always enjoyed camping and caravaning holidays and as a child had a romantic notion that I should have been a gypsy. I am also a huge nature lover and would love to live a more rural life.

Since then I've viewed several boats and have become addicted to YouTube vlogs but I really need to try it out for size and see what it is like and how I cope.

Edited November 25, 2017 by Forget Me Not

[mrsmelly]

All your wages will go into a mooring, licence and other expensive upkeep costs if you move on to a boat and intend to keep it in good fettle.

[Forget Me Not]

7 minutes ago, stagedamager said:

Welcome fmn.

Where in the east Midlands are you based?

 

Kind regards

 

Dan

Melton Mowbray, near Leicester.

[Forget Me Not]

5 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

All your wages will go into a mooring, licence and other expensive upkeep costs if you move on to a boat and intend to keep it in good fettle.

I believe BOAT stands for Bring Out Another Thousand.

i would still think it's cheaper than keeping a house in good fettle.

[mrsmelly]

4 minutes ago, Forget Me Not said:

I believe BOAT stands for Bring Out Another Thousand.

i would still think it's cheaper than keeping a house in good fettle.

Having outright owned both I can confirm the boat is more expensive. It can be cheaper if you don't do anything to it and sell it as a shed after ten years. A cheap marina say 3k a licence say 1k then insurance etc all before you spend a penny on life or the boat. This is for a whole boat if you buy par of one say 57 feet it will be marginaly less but not much.

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Having outright owned both I can confirm the boat is m̶o̶r̶e̶ e̶x̶p̶e̶n̶s̶i̶v̶e̶

Cheaper (in our case)

[Forget Me Not]

2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Having outright owned both I can confirm the boat is more expensive. It can be cheaper if you don't do anything to it and sell it as a shed after ten years. A cheap marina say 3k a licence say 1k then insurance etc all before you spend a penny on life or the boat. This is for a whole boat if you buy par of one say 57 feet it will be marginaly less but not much.

Do you still own both? Would you go back to a house? 

I do need to try it before I can make an informed choice but I suspect my quality of life would be an awful lot better on a boat.

Are you suggesting that it's a bad idea? I don't want to share as I want it to be my home.

[mrsmelly]

5 minutes ago, Forget Me Not said:

Do you still own both? Would you go back to a house? 

I do need to try it before I can make an informed choice but I suspect my quality of life would be an awful lot better on a boat.

Are you suggesting that it's a bad idea? I don't want to share as I want it to be my home.

A can of worms. No I wouldn't want to go back to a house we had both house and boats for eighteen years but last ten we have not had nor missed a house. You need to want to live on a boat especialy in winter. Nothing ventured nothing gained though

7 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Cheaper (in our case)

That suprises me. My house costs were about a grand for council tax then cheapish bills as leccy, gas etc etc national grid cheap prices. Boat costs 3k plus mooring, 1k licence then regular batteries, blacking etc etc etc has always added up to much more than the house running costs.

[stagedamager]

We have found boat running costs to be cheaper, even with a pair. Our outgoings for our house (purchased 2005) were £1300 per month in Milton Keynes. Even allowing for paying for 2 moorings and running repairs we are under that.

 

Dan

[mrsmelly]

4 minutes ago, stagedamager said:

We have found boat running costs to be cheaper, even with a pair. Our outgoings for our house (purchased 2005) were £1300 per month in Milton Keynes. Even allowing for paying for 2 moorings and running repairs we are under that.

 

Dan

1300 pounds a month!!!!! Are you including a mortgage in there or did you own the house? my costs are based on ownership there are far too many personal variables to quote costs where any borrowing is involved.

[stagedamager]

with a mortgage. which was £750 a month. I suppose taking that out the equation it would be about parity for us.

 

Dan

[mrsmelly]

3 minutes ago, stagedamager said:

with a mortgage. which was £750 a month. I suppose taking that out the equation it would be about parity for us.

 

Dan

Cool. Its impossible to quote costs including any borrowings. Personaly with the one boat living on has been cheaper than the costs of the house. The difference in housing bills are enormous all five of my kids are hugely different as my grandsons is. Glad I'm not young

[stagedamager]

couldn't have put it better myself. In the 6 months after we sold, houses on our street went up by 35k, the market is getting silly!

 

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Forget Me Not said:

I visited a friend on her boat, which is moored in a marina. It was summer and lots of the boaters were out socializing with each other. I had a chance to look around a few people's boats. The boats were lovely and cosy and appealed to me. The cost of living was a big draw as all my wage goes into my house at present. The people and atmosphere were so lovely, welcoming and warm. I just had the gut feeling that I would really love the life. I've always enjoyed camping and caravaning holidays and as a child had a romantic notion that I should have been a gypsy. I am also a huge nature lover and would love to live a more rural life.

Since then I've viewed several boats and have become addicted to YouTube vlogs but I really need to try it out for size and see what it is like and how I cope.

Folk have taken up boating with far lesser reasoning than that, and I commend you for having the good sense to try before you buy.  Do work hard on ensuring that rose tinted specs don't get the better of you, because there's a helluva lot that can go wrong when buying a boat and that's just the first step to a life aboard. There are pages and pages on here about the pitfalls others have found, so do read up well. Best wishes.

[Kendorr]

I'm in the lucky position of owning my own house and my own boat.

This year Halcyon has cost coming up on £3500, she is only 36 foot long, but she is getting on a bit, just over 30 years old.

It just so happens that my house is also just over 30 years old, but the upkeep is quite a lot less than £3000.

I thoroughly enjoy my trips on Halcyon, last year I lived aboard for nearly 3 months, but I'm happy to come home to my house.

Prices and bills are going to vary, but the lifestyle is very different. I've been boating for 4 years and I've lived in my house for 28 years. I know more people in the marina than I do in the street.

Well done 'Forget me not' for listening and taking advice, I'm sure you'll find people around Leicester who will help and the offer of a trip from Thorne still stands.

 

Kevin

[Forget Me Not]

6 minutes ago, Kev's Halcyon said:

I'm in the lucky position of owning my own house and my own boat.

This year Halcyon has cost coming up on £3500, she is only 36 foot long, but she is getting on a bit, just over 30 years old.

It just so happens that my house is also just over 30 years old, but the upkeep is quite a lot less than £3000.

I thoroughly enjoy my trips on Halcyon, last year I lived aboard for nearly 3 months, but I'm happy to come home to my house.

Prices and bills are going to vary, but the lifestyle is very different. I've been boating for 4 years and I've lived in my house for 28 years. I know more people in the marina than I do in the street.

Well done 'Forget me not' for listening and taking advice, I'm sure you'll find people around Leicester who will help and the offer of a trip from Thorne still stands.

 

Kevin

Thank you Kevin, your offer is more than tempting. Is there a PM facility on this site?

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.

[Kendorr]

PM, click on the member profile and you'll see the 'message' button.

Kevin

[X Alan W]

12 hours ago, Forget Me Not said:

I believe BOAT stands for Bring Out Another Thousand.

i would still think it's cheaper than keeping a house in good fettle.

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.

[RichLech]

Personally, if I was in your position I would try to keep both options open ie. house and boat. Having taken the plunge and bought a house I would do everything I could to hang onto it because once you let it go, with the state of UK housing market you will find it very difficult to get back to ownership if the boating life doesn't work out so well for whatever reason.

Is there any way you could let your house and buy a boat, at least for a couple of years until you are 100% sure you want to give up your bricks & mortar for good?

I stress this is a personal view. We have a boat that we spend 2 or 3 months a year on but we also like our house - particularly in the winter months!

 

[Dalslandia]

Forget me not, is the name of the landskap (region) flower in the region of Dalsland

[mrsmelly]

55 minutes ago, RichLech said:

Personally, if I was in your position I would try to keep both options open ie. house and boat. Having taken the plunge and bought a house I would do everything I could to hang onto it because once you let it go, with the state of UK housing market you will find it very difficult to get back to ownership if the boating life doesn't work out so well for whatever reason.

Is there any way you could let your house and buy a boat, at least for a couple of years until you are 100% sure you want to give up your bricks & mortar for good?

I stress this is a personal view. We have a boat that we spend 2 or 3 months a year on but we also like our house - particularly in the winter months!

 

This is what we did and can make sense. We owned both outright for many years but in our case found we used the house less and less and eventualy sold it with no regrets ten years ago. Ask me again when I am old but at 62 I am at present thirty five years too young to live in a house again.