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Thinking of living on a boat

ditchcrawler

By ditchcrawler
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ditchcrawler Veteran II

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Two interesting posts on Narrowboat world that should be bit of a warning to anyone thinking, "I fancy living on a boat" Winter can be different from 2 weeks holiday in the summer and you do need to change your life style in a lot of cases.

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/10581-it-is-so-blasted-cold

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/10588-took-to-an-hotel

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tizzy Contributor

tizzy

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I have just read these posts and think one of the saddest things is the quote from the lady about being "coerced" into making the move ! What is it with men and their desire to live on boats ? Mine would be the same but I dug my heels in very firmly and said that it would never be an option ! The people in these posts would be better booking into a marina for a few weeks till the weather eases !

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

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19 minutes ago, tizzy said:

I have just read these posts and think one of the saddest things is the quote from the lady about being "coerced" into making the move ! What is it with men and their desire to live on boats ? Mine would be the same but I dug my heels in very firmly and said that it would never be an option ! The people in these posts would be better booking into a marina for a few weeks till the weather eases !

The way I read it, it was the straw that broke the camels back, they weren't cutout to live on boats in the first place.

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13-10 Contributor

13-10

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There are some people that you know would never be suited to that way of life. The problem for a lot of folk, me and the missus (aka The Boss) included, you don't know until you try. As for coercing a partner into a major change in lifestyle, that's never going to end well

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Dave_P Veteran

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Here's the text for those who'd rather not click the link:

I AM afraid I am going to pour cold water on the wonderful living on the water (if that makes sense) writes Kim Gentry.

I was coerced by my 'other half' into moving from our house, though rather small to an even smaller narrowboat to spend the rest of our days paddling along the inland waterways, this I must admit after a rather good fortnight on an hired narrowboat in 2016.

Not all it was cracked up to be
So come the Spring of last year the deed was done, we had moved out and into our very own 60ft (I think) narrowboat, to find it was not all it was cracked up to be and perhaps explains why there are so many second-had ones for sale.

Hiring a boat to contain a fortnight’s belongings is vastly different to holding all your wordily possessions, as it just would not, so much had to go into storage, which meant trips back and forth, for there was always something wanted that was in storage, so we failed the first hurdle by having too many things. Boaters have to travel light.

Lack of decent shops
I just cannot understand how those I have spoken to can last weeks with just occasional shopping, they must eat frugally indeed.  We have always eaten well and varied, and the lack of decent shops, such as supermarkets, in so many areas was another hurdle that was a pain.

Washing and drying clothes this weather is impossible, and of course there is no mains power for any labour saving device whatsoever, and the promise that there are 'hook-ups' all along the waterways is sheer fallacy.

Missing the so many friends we associated with is another thing I really miss. During the summer many came to see the 'silly thing' we had done by living on a boat, and that was it.

It's freezing
I shall not go into the problems of getting fuel, water and moorings, all of you must know about that, but by far the worst is this blasted cold, and believing the salesman who would have us believe the solid fuel stove would keep us warm all winter though our bedroom is at the opposite end of the boat was a big mistake.  It is not just cold, it is freezing.

Obviously I am not cut out for going back to such basic living, and my 'other half' now agrees, so there will shortly be yet another narrowboat for sale.

Any of you people who enjoy your hire on a narrowboat—take the advice of experience—don't let it go any further.

 

It will be no surprise to hear that I don't recognise any of this. 

 

First of all, it should be made clear that they must be cc'ers so no mains hookup.  It also seems clear that their boat is unsuitable for its intended use.  It's not big enough for their needs, they could have bought a bigger one. 

Lack of decent shops?  Well that depends where you are doesn't it?  Canals can be found running right through, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Oxford etc etc.  I presume they went for a rural area?  Well, I hate to state the obvious but in rural areas, there are less shops, whether you're in a boat or not!

Washing and drying clothes is not impossible.  In fact, it's largely the same process as it is in a house - if your boat is suitably equipped. 

I've never heard anyone say that there are hook-ups all along the waterways, although there are plenty of overnight marina moorings, if that's your thing.  Seems they didn't do their homework at all. 

Missing friends???  That's due to moving far away. Again nothing to do with living on a boat.  If they'd bought a far away cottage in the countryside, the same would apply. 

It's freezing???  See my photo above.  Liveaboard boats should not be freezing.  If they are, then either the boat is poorly built, poorly designed or they're doing something wrong.

It all reads like they had no idea what they were doing and have done nothing to rectify that since.  Easier to blame boats and boating then to look at themselves.

Edited by Dave_P
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magictime Experienced

magictime

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We'll see for ourselves when we move aboard later in the year, but it does feel a bit like they just didn't buy a suitably equipped boat. We chose one that has been lived aboard off grid by CCers for the best part of its 15-year life and is equipped accordingly with radiators as well as a stove, a large battery bank and inverter, a washer-dryer etc. Where the idea about 'hook-ups' all over place came from, I couldn't say. I don't expect ever to hook our boat up to the mains.

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Dave_P Veteran

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2 minutes ago, KevMc said:

Maybe they are really enthusiastic boaters who want to discourage others so they have more space to moor / move and less queues at locks?

Maybe...

I was amused that she wasn't even sure of her boat's length!  

I'd bet a fair bit that's she's never emptied a cassette :lol:

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Dr Bob Veteran II

Dr Bob

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39 minutes ago, Dave_P said:

Washing and drying clothes this weather is impossible, and of course there is no mains power for any labour saving device whatsoever, and the promise that there are 'hook-ups' all along the waterways is sheer fallacy.

 

Well I''m going to open another can of worms, boat layout. She obviously didnt have the boat set up properly. When we set out to buy our boat we wanted a reverse layout. Luckily we didnt find one. Ended up with a normal layout with a cratch cover........but had to get a new cover in November. Anyway...i digress. With the 'lounge' at the front the cratch gives us an extra 5 ft of lounge space and now we are in winter, it is a perfect place to dry clothes. The stove is at the front so the cratch is also hot during the day, when we leave the doors open, and by the end of the day the clothes are dry. If our bedroom was at the front, I do not know what we would do.

 

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Dave_P Veteran

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1 minute ago, Dr Bob said:

Well I''m going to open another can of worms, boat layout. She obviously didnt have the boat set up properly. When we set out to buy our boat we wanted a reverse layout. Luckily we didnt find one. Ended up with a normal layout with a cratch cover........but had to get a new cover in November. Anyway...i digress. With the 'lounge' at the front the cratch gives us an extra 5 ft of lounge space and now we are in winter, it is a perfect place to dry clothes. The stove is at the front so the cratch is also hot during the day, when we leave the doors open, and by the end of the day the clothes are dry. If our bedroom was at the front, I do not know what we would do.

 

Nowt wrong with reverse layout.  That's what I have.  It means my stove is right in the middle of my boat, so no cold bedroom at the other end.  My lounge is a good size so I dry washing in front of the stove in winter.  An on a rotary washing line in summer.

4 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

...but you will be ok at 8.21pm tonight

*taps fingers impatiently*

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Ray T Veteran II

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Whatever the outcome I like the fact that the people in the two articles have had the courage to admit, that for themselves, they made an error. At least they tried.

So many threads "I want to live the dream" appear on this and other forums and whilst many do make a success we hear very little about when the dream becomes a nightmare and the reasons why.

Edited by Ray T
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Athy Veteran II

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I was reading the article sympathetically until I came to the line "Lack of decent shops". Perhaps she is a town- or city-dweller who is accustomed to having a wide range of shops within easy reach. But it is surely not hard to stock up with provisions when you come to a shop, and live on those provisions until you come to the next one.

That said, it is a pity that what they hoped would be an improved lifestyle turned into quite the opposite.

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Rickent Experienced

Rickent

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4 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

Well I''m going to open another can of worms, boat layout. She obviously didnt have the boat set up properly. When we set out to buy our boat we wanted a reverse layout. Luckily we didnt find one. Ended up with a normal layout with a cratch cover........but had to get a new cover in November. Anyway...i digress. With the 'lounge' at the front the cratch gives us an extra 5 ft of lounge space and now we are in winter, it is a perfect place to dry clothes. The stove is at the front so the cratch is also hot during the day, when we leave the doors open, and by the end of the day the clothes are dry. If our bedroom was at the front, I do not know what we would do.

 

We dry our washing near the stove in winter, and as the stove draws the damp air through it, we have no condensation whatsoever. As has been said in previous posts there is no need to be cold, at the moment it is minus 5 outside but we are absolutely toasty in here.

 

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