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Residential Mooring


Crash_Box

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Hi, I've just joined and had a very quick look for answers to some questions I have, but thought it'll be quicker and easier to just ask. So here I go.

 

I currently live in Shetland and I'm looking to sell my house and move down to the Midlands and buy a roughly 50ft narrowboat and live aboard. I just need to know a few things. Firstly, which marina would folk here recommend for residential mooring within the (South) Midlands? I'm thinking Droitwich marina at the moment, but no idea if they have any available moorings.  Secondly, how easy or difficult is it to remain contactable by post when I don't have a house? Thirdly, car insurance. Would I find it an issue to get a quote if I'm a resident at a marina, and how would I find registering my car with the DVLA for the same reason? Another question I need to ask is regarding toilets. I'm finding most boats currently on the market have the porta-potty/campervan type, which I don't particularly wish to mess around with. How difficult would it be to have a proper toilet with tank fitted, and how much would it likely cost? Then there are things like GP surgeries and council tax

 

Hopefully, these questions come across as relevant and sensible. ?

 

PS:-I have had considerable experience of narrowboat holidays in the past, so I do know what I'm letting myself in for. ?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Jon

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2 minutes ago, Crash_Box said:

Hi, I've just joined and had a very quick look for answers to some questions I have, but thought it'll be quicker and easier to just ask. 

 

Easier for you perhaps. But as all of your questions have been asked and answered many times before on the forum, perhaps you could invest a little more of your own time looking back through past threads.

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Most if not all of the issues with living on a boat require some sort of crafty work around solutions. Full blown residential moorings are not easy to find. Friends with addresses are useful for official post, contacting CRT and that kind of thing. If you buy a used boat then you are stuck with the loo that it comes with, porta potti type things are cheap compared to some other options and would be my choice, if it goes wrong you can chuck the thing away. Many people live on boats and in my opinion its your boat and you can do what you want with it but far fewer are completely official and legit. Good luck, it can be tricky.

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Marinas vary wildly some have all facilities some have none. For example my marina will issue you with a "House number" so were you to move there it would just be like moving house from an address point of view, no council tax is payable. On the minus side the only facilities are a Elsan for emptying your "portapotti" water to most berths, likewise electricity plus BT will fix you up with a landline and fibre optic BB, oh and rubbish disposal.

To get diesel or empty toilet holding tank is a 3 hour trek but the coalman calls!!

Wouldn't suit you as it's out in the Fens.

Phil 

 

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Ring up the Droitwich marina and see if they have space. If not there are lots in the Braunston area (Wigrams, Ventnor, Calcutt, Braunston, Dunchurch Pools etc). Most will have space for smaller boats. Some will allow liveaboards. Some might not notice. Ring them up. Mail is no problem, it can be sent to the marina. Half the narrowboats for sale will have pump out toilets - which we have and prefer (but the other half of the world doesnt).

GP's are no problem. Just register.

Insurance / Council tax is no problem if you find a marina that allows full time liveaboards. Some people have their 'registered' address at a relatives house.

You'll miss Shetland.

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On 26/01/2019 at 21:48, David Mack said:

 

Easier for you perhaps. But as all of your questions have been asked and answered many times before on the forum, perhaps you could invest a little more of your own time looking back through past threads.

That is true, David Mack but... if one were to take your advice to its logical conclusion one might as well close the forum because nearly every subject has been covered already, yes?  Like Crash_Box, I have a similar query which I will shortly post under the same "Residential Mooring" chapter of this forum.  I have researched the subject of my query for years, and I know many of the answers have been provided over and over in many different threads.  Still, I'd like to ask it - perhaps some new ideas will appear.  

Edited by David Lorimer
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15 minutes ago, David Lorimer said:

That is true, David Mack but... if one were to take your advice to its logical conclusion one might as well close the forum because nearly every subject has been covered already, yes?  Like Crash_Box, I have a similar query which I will shortly post under the same "Residential Mooring" chapter of this forum.  I have researched the subject of my query for years, and I know many of the answers have been provided over and over in many different threads.  Still, I'd like to ask it - perhaps some new ideas will appear.  

On the other hand, not a week goes by on this forum without almost identical lists of question, and I would have thought that some effort in using the search function would supply answers to most of the frequently asked questions. By all means ask about anything that can't be found through searching and I am sure you will recive lots of useful information.

 

Howard

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On 27/01/2019 at 21:31, Dr Bob said:

Ring up the Droitwich marina and...

Mail is no problem, it can be sent to the marina. 

To bring us back on track:  Not to that marina it can't, they specifically disallow it.

 

I suspect it's the same in a number of other places too, perhaps because of the responsibility, storage issues or work involved or perhaps as a method to keep permanent residency under the radar. I visited one who said they allow a big storage box but not a shed as the height of these mean they might be seen from outside and the council might twig and want their council tax. Views will vary on this issue, but the bottom line is that there are differences which a wise Boater would explore before reserving a berth.

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1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

To bring us back on track:  Not to that marina it can't, they specifically disallow it.

 

I suspect it's the same in a number of other places too, perhaps because of the responsibility, storage issues or work involved or perhaps as a method to keep permanent residency under the radar. I visited one who said they allow a big storage box but not a shed as the height of these mean they might be seen from outside and the council might twig and want their council tax. Views will vary on this issue, but the bottom line is that there are differences which a wise Boater would explore before reserving a berth.

True with many, unless they have full residential status they will want you to have a postal address elsewhere whilst you are living there

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21 hours ago, howardang said:

On the other hand, not a week goes by on this forum without almost identical lists of question, and I would have thought that some effort in using the search function would supply answers to most of the frequently asked questions. By all means ask about anything that can't be found through searching and I am sure you will recive lots of useful information.

 

Howard

That’s why the wiki was such a good idea. People like the OP could have been pointed to it and then come back to the Forum with better informed, more focussed questions. But our elders and betters have decided it’s not to be, so we will continue to have threads like this.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 02/02/2019 at 09:00, Sea Dog said:

To bring us back on track:  Not to that marina it can't, they specifically disallow it.

 

I suspect it's the same in a number of other places too, perhaps because of the responsibility, storage issues or work involved or perhaps as a method to keep permanent residency under the radar. I visited one who said they allow a big storage box but not a shed as the height of these mean they might be seen from outside and the council might twig and want their council tax. Views will vary on this issue, but the bottom line is that there are differences which a wise Boater would explore before reserving a berth.

I guess that might be the case where there is no official residential status. Sorry for not forcing the OP to search, but given I live on my boat not far from where he seems to want to be, I have full residential status here, which means this is my official address - car insurance (cheaper than my previous address - the barrier for the car park apparently means it counts as secure parking), GP, bank accounts etc. all registered here without any problem and post is delivered here. Post and parcel delivery is actually better than any other place I've lived as there is always somebody to take deliveries so no going to the depot to collect stuff.

 

I'm fairly sure there are currently moorings available here, but I don't think any with official residential status at the moment, though they do seem to become available fairly regularly as people leave (you can of course ignore the lack of official status if you're careful...)

 

As for toilets, I'm sure everybody would love me to open that can of worms (oops, we haven't mentioned composting have we?) but you do realise that you still have to mess around with emptying a tank if you have one fitted? I certainly don't find emptying the cassette every week to be a big problem.

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8 hours ago, aracer said:

I certainly don't find emptying the cassette every week to be a big problem.

Every week?

Gosh, if I lived in a marina, I'd be using onshore facilities whenever possible, or are your neighbours popping in for a cup of tea and a quick pee?

PS not to put too fine a point on it, but I like a nice clean toilet bowl [bog brush], and I tend to use soluble "wipes" as well, is there some way of ensuring the bowl is always clean ............. Please don't ask for any more "detail", ty. ?

Edited by LadyG
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6 hours ago, LadyG said:

Every week?

Gosh, if I lived in a marina, I'd be using onshore facilities whenever possible, or are your neighbours popping in for a cup of tea and a quick pee?

PS not to put too fine a point on it, but I like a nice clean toilet bowl [bog brush], and I tend to use soluble "wipes" as well, is there some way of ensuring the bowl is always clean ............. Please don't ask for any more "detail", ty. ?

I will ask for details on soluble wipes as I don't know of any.

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7 hours ago, LadyG said:

Every week?

Gosh, if I lived in a marina, I'd be using onshore facilities whenever possible, or are your neighbours popping in for a cup of tea and a quick pee?

PS not to put too fine a point on it, but I like a nice clean toilet bowl [bog brush], and I tend to use soluble "wipes" as well, is there some way of ensuring the bowl is always clean ............. Please don't ask for any more "detail", ty. ?

Well I was exaggerating a bit there - I pondered giving the accurate answer, but thought I might be accused of being a dirty sod (which is probably exactly what will happen now ? ) Though I also have kids who don't tend to use the onshore facilities, so it fills a bit quicker than it might do otherwise. Even if it was every week it still wouldn't be an issue.

 

Toilet brush if it's awful (I think I've only had to resort to that once), otherwise toilet tissue or a cloth (kept solely for that purpose), and a thorough wash of my hands afterwards. I'm not sure exactly how clean you need your bowl and whether mine would meet your approval, but it seems fine to me.

 

Gosh I so love a bit of toilet talk ?

Edited by aracer
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3 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I will ask for details on soluble wipes as I don't know of any.

Ok, err I was wondering ............. I use Andrex toilet tissues rather than Baby Wipes, They are smaller.

My toilet bowl has to be immaculate. Every flush. 

Edited by LadyG
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1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Ok, err I was wondering ............. I use Andrex toilet tissues rather than Baby Wipes, They are smaller.

My toilet bowl has to be immaculate. Every flush. 

 

Don't buy a boat with a pump out toilet if you use those, unless you want guaranteed blockages.

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9 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Don't buy a boat with a pump out toilet if you use those, unless you want guaranteed blockages.

maybe I've been lucky but have had macerator's on  5 boats over the years and have only ever had one blockage which was due to a 'lady friend' putting something that was verboten into it. ☠️

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29 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Don't buy a boat with a pump out toilet if you use those, unless you want guaranteed blockages.

Got there first. They may be flushable but they take a long while to degarde in the temperature of sewars, they need digging out first. I dont think your water company is impressed with them and if you are not on mains drainage you will be stuck with .

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1 hour ago, Markinaboat said:

maybe I've been lucky but have had macerator's on  5 boats over the years and have only ever had one blockage which was due to a 'lady friend' putting something that was verboten into it. ☠️

 

That is was tly the point I'm making. Ordinary loo paper is fine, but the stronger types and flushable wipes are not.

 

I've had dump through and moderator toilets on boats for over 25 years without problems, but I always educate any guests on how to use them, which is with the sole exception of toilet paper nothing goes into it unless you have eaten or drunk it first.

 

 

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