Living on a narrowboat
Discussion
Is living on a narrow boat feasible?
I'm this very odd position of having to travel next year, live in Florida with MsT for a couple of months, but occasionally we both need to be in the UK. Probably not more than 3 months.
Hotels are expensive, she doesn't like living at the flat I share, so I need an alternative. Buying a house is out of the question, renting a flat with all the costs just seems daft when i'm not going to be around next year.
I'm also at a strange point in life where apart from family I have no reason to be in Surrey either. I can literally be anywhere in the country, although being close to Dover would be a big bonus although not critical as I only need to get to the port occasionally.
So, is living on a boat sensible? Neither of us take up much space, we don't have much clutter, and to be honest, it'll get me outside more which has to be good.
Has anyone done lived on a boat? Residential moorings seem to be an issue, but then, if I don't care where i live, thats not going to be too difficult.
I'm this very odd position of having to travel next year, live in Florida with MsT for a couple of months, but occasionally we both need to be in the UK. Probably not more than 3 months.
Hotels are expensive, she doesn't like living at the flat I share, so I need an alternative. Buying a house is out of the question, renting a flat with all the costs just seems daft when i'm not going to be around next year.
I'm also at a strange point in life where apart from family I have no reason to be in Surrey either. I can literally be anywhere in the country, although being close to Dover would be a big bonus although not critical as I only need to get to the port occasionally.
So, is living on a boat sensible? Neither of us take up much space, we don't have much clutter, and to be honest, it'll get me outside more which has to be good.
Has anyone done lived on a boat? Residential moorings seem to be an issue, but then, if I don't care where i live, thats not going to be too difficult.
Puggit said:
No council tax 
Nope, just mooring fees 
I fancy buying a narrowboat in the distant future. Something about it appeals to me, I love canals and local history so it would suit me fine.
Its what I'd do if I moved to London, the bonus is that if you get fed up and decide to move elsewhere you can (within reason) take the boat with you
This is a great website, although it doesn't really deal with the southern canal network its full of useful information:
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/index.htm
Theres also a good newsgroup for boating, uk.rec.waterways
Oh and bear in mind our lovely government decided that boats no longer get duty free fuel.
Edited by Parrot of Doom on Tuesday 9th October 12:16
if you cant afford a house... a narrowboat is just as expensive.
if you plan to live on it.. then you need a British Waterways Licences and a residencial mooring if you want to live in one location, otherwise you need to move the boat along the towpath every 2 weeks, and travel a certain distance over the course of 4 weeks, unless its on a perminant mooring, when in which case it can stay at that location, but you cant live on a boat on one of these for too long.
also remember you need to consider you would need to empty the toilet tanks every week or 2, refill the water tanks every day or every other day. unless you have a electric hook up, then you need to run the engine for around 4-6hrs a day to top up the batteries, and the electric systems are generally like that of a caravan, running on 12v tho you can get inverters to step up to 240v
have a read http://www.canaljunction.com/boat/liveaboard3.htm and http://www.narrowboatworld.com
if you plan to live on it.. then you need a British Waterways Licences and a residencial mooring if you want to live in one location, otherwise you need to move the boat along the towpath every 2 weeks, and travel a certain distance over the course of 4 weeks, unless its on a perminant mooring, when in which case it can stay at that location, but you cant live on a boat on one of these for too long.
also remember you need to consider you would need to empty the toilet tanks every week or 2, refill the water tanks every day or every other day. unless you have a electric hook up, then you need to run the engine for around 4-6hrs a day to top up the batteries, and the electric systems are generally like that of a caravan, running on 12v tho you can get inverters to step up to 240v
have a read http://www.canaljunction.com/boat/liveaboard3.htm and http://www.narrowboatworld.com
My sister in law looked into buying a narrow boat earlier this year. Priced out of the housing market and saw it as a good alternative. She is a bit bohemian as well, so the lifestyle would have suited her nicely.
Buying the boat was not the issue, finding somewhere to moor it and then pay the rental costs was. There is also supposed to be some new leglisation coming in soon which will make living on a canal boat even harder. In the end it ended up being just as troublemsome as buying a house. She has decided to stay at home with her parents.
Lady Benjamin and I take our Sunday morning walk at the canal near to where we live. One of the best aromas in the world is the combined smell of a wood burning stove on a canal boat and bacon being cooked.
Buying the boat was not the issue, finding somewhere to moor it and then pay the rental costs was. There is also supposed to be some new leglisation coming in soon which will make living on a canal boat even harder. In the end it ended up being just as troublemsome as buying a house. She has decided to stay at home with her parents.
Lady Benjamin and I take our Sunday morning walk at the canal near to where we live. One of the best aromas in the world is the combined smell of a wood burning stove on a canal boat and bacon being cooked.
ask NickPlord summerisle said:
if you cant afford a house... a narrowboat is just as expensive.
if you plan to live on it.. then you need a British Waterways Licences and a residencial mooring if you want to live in one location, otherwise you need to move the boat along the towpath every 2 weeks, and travel a certain distance over the course of 4 weeks, unless its on a perminant mooring, when in which case it can stay at that location, but you cant live on a boat on one of these for too long.
also remember you need to consider you would need to empty the toilet tanks every week or 2, refill the water tanks every day or every other day. unless you have a electric hook up, then you need to run the engine for around 4-6hrs a day to top up the batteries, and the electric systems are generally like that of a caravan, running on 12v tho you can get inverters to step up to 240v
have a read http://www.canaljunction.com/boat/liveaboard3.htm and http://www.narrowboatworld.com
cheers for that. money isn't the issue. its about where I'll be in a couple of years and flexibility.if you plan to live on it.. then you need a British Waterways Licences and a residencial mooring if you want to live in one location, otherwise you need to move the boat along the towpath every 2 weeks, and travel a certain distance over the course of 4 weeks, unless its on a perminant mooring, when in which case it can stay at that location, but you cant live on a boat on one of these for too long.
also remember you need to consider you would need to empty the toilet tanks every week or 2, refill the water tanks every day or every other day. unless you have a electric hook up, then you need to run the engine for around 4-6hrs a day to top up the batteries, and the electric systems are generally like that of a caravan, running on 12v tho you can get inverters to step up to 240v
have a read http://www.canaljunction.com/boat/liveaboard3.htm and http://www.narrowboatworld.com
tinman0 said:
arfur said:
As to the boat .. great in the summer, but as miserable a sin in the winter !! Been there ... done that many years ago
I'll be Florida for the winter, so I'm not too worried about that bit 
Anyhow .. look into serviced short term apartments ... Might be a solution !
price wise - Shire Cruisers in Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire are selling off one of their hire boats Cambridge: http://www.shirecruisers.co.uk/boatsforsale.html
which is a lovely little boat - 39' 9" long, with a traditional back. But its £31,000 and probly a bit small for anything other than short couple of week trips,
mooring at the marina at Sowerby - your looking at £5.25p/meter, p/month to be tied to another boat or 2 (ie you have to walk over another boat to get to shore, or £6.85 pm,pm) so A) £63 per month tied ot another boat, or £82.20 per month against the bank, and its £15 a time to pump out your toilet - maybe £30-60 per month for that. Electricity is a standing charge of £2.50p/m and 10.48p per unit
which is a lovely little boat - 39' 9" long, with a traditional back. But its £31,000 and probly a bit small for anything other than short couple of week trips,
mooring at the marina at Sowerby - your looking at £5.25p/meter, p/month to be tied to another boat or 2 (ie you have to walk over another boat to get to shore, or £6.85 pm,pm) so A) £63 per month tied ot another boat, or £82.20 per month against the bank, and its £15 a time to pump out your toilet - maybe £30-60 per month for that. Electricity is a standing charge of £2.50p/m and 10.48p per unit
Tuna said:
I'm reliably informed that if you get the right deal, it's cheap enough to seriously consider living in your local TravelLodge.
The papers reported on an elderly couple doing just that a couple of weeks back. They even moved rooms once to get into one more recently decorated.Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff