Living on a canal boat
Discussion
These guys run with my girlfriend and drink in my local. Written a couple of books about their narrowboat adventures (well worth a read).
Took a narrowboat across the channel and toured France.
http://www.narrowdog.com/
Took a narrowboat across the channel and toured France.
http://www.narrowdog.com/
Edited by B17NNS on Tuesday 9th September 00:29
BlackVanGirl said:
You'll never, ever feel really warm and dry, miserable in winter or the prolonged bad weather of the British summer. Nice for day trips or holidays, awful to live I'd expect. Totally impossible to dry the washing etc.
Not so. Solid fuel stove gets them lovely and cosy, indeed it's easy to make them too hot, you can end up sitting in it at night with the doors open to let the heat out... you can dry clothes in no time too.They don't deal too badly with the bad weather of the British summer, either, sitting in water helps to cool them down and you can moor them somewhere rural so they're not in an urban heat island. They do suffer from the problem that you can't run aircon because you can't power it... but you can put cloth over the roof and pour buckets of water on it.
Lack of power is the big problem with boats. Everything has to run off batteries and batteries can't store much juice so you have a s
tty low-powered version of everything. You have to put up with the noise of the engine running a couple of hours a day to charge the batteries. If you want to run a washing machine or a microwave or a hoover you need a 240V alternator on the engine or a separate genny.Bottled gas solves a lot of the problems, gas lighting, gas fridge, gas cooker, gas water heater, gas space heating if you want but make sure it has a flue as cabinet heaters will make the boat damp, but it also means you have to let a bunch of f
king nazis give you grief over the installation, fk off, it's my boat, you can be sure I don't want it to blow up with me inside it and so I will make sure it doesn't on my own thank you very much without paying people to give me st.Internet used to be a problem but mobile connections are much faster these days although still very restrictive and do not provide the facilities that I would need, would do for most people though.
Canal water can be rather smelly and midges and mosquitoes breed in it.
There is no reason why a boat should not have a cargo area you can keep your car in and a derrick to lift it in and out. Unfortunately most of them don't though. A bike's not so bad, though, with ramps, make sure they are wide enough that it won't fall in the canal if you drop it...
Will the boat be kept in a marina / boat yard of some sort?
If so, thats water, electricity and possibly even a descent shower solved.
Also means potential for parking of the P&J or any snotter.
Also means that you have somewhere to recieve post!
RE the cold, it will probably have some sort of diesel heater like a Webasto hot air system, they are fantastic, never a cold moment!!
They can be condensation traps in the winter, but as you will be living in there and running heating etc this will be no issue.
May find that it will get hot in the summer, but again, assuming you have shore power, some fans and jobs a good'un.
i lived on a boat for 2 years as a teenager, was definitely a fanny magnet
boat i lived on looked like this ...
That was a long time ago though !! (and yes i know that this one is not a narrowboat ... )
If so, thats water, electricity and possibly even a descent shower solved.
Also means potential for parking of the P&J or any snotter.
Also means that you have somewhere to recieve post!
RE the cold, it will probably have some sort of diesel heater like a Webasto hot air system, they are fantastic, never a cold moment!!
They can be condensation traps in the winter, but as you will be living in there and running heating etc this will be no issue.
May find that it will get hot in the summer, but again, assuming you have shore power, some fans and jobs a good'un.
i lived on a boat for 2 years as a teenager, was definitely a fanny magnet
boat i lived on looked like this ...
That was a long time ago though !! (and yes i know that this one is not a narrowboat ... )
Edited by XJSJohn on Tuesday 9th September 03:19
A friend of mine has a canal boat that, for puposes of employment, he lives on during the week down in Worcester and goes home to Macclesfield at the weekends. I've stayed on his boat a lot and I have to say it's better than a lot of flats I've stayed in! To be fair, it's pretty much the Rolls Royce of canal boats and cost an absolute fortune but he looked at buying a flat in the area and decided for the same money he would get much more 'luxury' in the canal boat. Plus, during the weekends and summer he's off boating up and down the many canals and rivers in the area and further afield so gets a cracking hobby as well as somewhere to live near work.
If your mate's boat is like this then I'd day go for it!
If your mate's boat is like this then I'd day go for it!
I've just sold my narrowboat having lived on it for just under 3 years, be happy to help out if you have any specific questions.
I found being in a marina much more comfortable with a permanent 240V hook up, security, facilities etc. Winter mornings could be a bit chilly, without heating overnight the steel shell of the boat can freeze over, I had a good solid fuel stove which soon warmed the place up.
Boat parties, pub cruises, trips through London were fantastic, if you've got the chance to try it for a year I'd say go for it!
Nige
I found being in a marina much more comfortable with a permanent 240V hook up, security, facilities etc. Winter mornings could be a bit chilly, without heating overnight the steel shell of the boat can freeze over, I had a good solid fuel stove which soon warmed the place up.
Boat parties, pub cruises, trips through London were fantastic, if you've got the chance to try it for a year I'd say go for it!
Nige
The boat isnt a fixed mooring, they must move every 2-3 weeks to a different location but I regularly move with them like we did last night and its quite fun. A lot of my mates are doing this now.
regarding heat they seem to be most definitely warm. One I would move into has a Aga that gives off a lot of heat and a wood buring stove with a fan to propel the heat down the boat.
as for parking the P&J that can stay at my parents where I would probably live half the time anyway. My snotter will be in a layby somewhere. Of above 5 cars a group of my boating friends have only one has had a window smashed in 3years parked in laybys including a 205 GTi and a MX5.
what would you guys say would be a fair rent. I have no clue. Boat has been paid off but she is working elsewhere for a year so would have to pay to moor it somewhere. I would be doing her a favour but obviously putting wear and tear on her boat so rent of sort sort will be paid. Neither of us know how much is fair though!
regarding heat they seem to be most definitely warm. One I would move into has a Aga that gives off a lot of heat and a wood buring stove with a fan to propel the heat down the boat.
as for parking the P&J that can stay at my parents where I would probably live half the time anyway. My snotter will be in a layby somewhere. Of above 5 cars a group of my boating friends have only one has had a window smashed in 3years parked in laybys including a 205 GTi and a MX5.
what would you guys say would be a fair rent. I have no clue. Boat has been paid off but she is working elsewhere for a year so would have to pay to moor it somewhere. I would be doing her a favour but obviously putting wear and tear on her boat so rent of sort sort will be paid. Neither of us know how much is fair though!
Ah! I live near to the docks myself and have toyed with the idea for a long time, but feel that the standard of living I'd want on a boat would entail a huge boat... I was extremely tempted by this one for ages
.
Unfortunately this is a crap picture, but it's utterly huge and beautifully fitted out. It's currently moored on the other end of the Waterfront in Bristol, and was recently sold for just over £300K.
Sadly marine mortgages for such a sum to penniless dreamers are few and far between
.Unfortunately this is a crap picture, but it's utterly huge and beautifully fitted out. It's currently moored on the other end of the Waterfront in Bristol, and was recently sold for just over £300K.
Sadly marine mortgages for such a sum to penniless dreamers are few and far between
Nocebo said:
A friend of mine has a canal boat that, for puposes of employment, he lives on during the week down in Worcester and goes home to Macclesfield at the weekends. I've stayed on his boat a lot and I have to say it's better than a lot of flats I've stayed in! To be fair, it's pretty much the Rolls Royce of canal boats and cost an absolute fortune but he looked at buying a flat in the area and decided for the same money he would get much more 'luxury' in the canal boat. Plus, during the weekends and summer he's off boating up and down the many canals and rivers in the area and further afield so gets a cracking hobby as well as somewhere to live near work.
If your mate's boat is like this then I'd day go for it!
I live in Worcester and been tempted to live on a boat - especially now the Marina here has been done up and is very nice. how long does it take to get up to Macclesfield though?If your mate's boat is like this then I'd day go for it!
I swapped my stupid house and mortgage for a narrowboat last year and it's the best thing I've ever done! People always ask the same two questions: "Is it cold / damp?" and "Aren't you scared?". The answer to both questions is a definate "No!" The solid fuel stove will keep the front of the boat so hot I have had to open the doors and windows, even on sub-zero nights! I'm fitting a back-boiler to run the rads as Calour is stupidly expensive, so gas for anything but water and cooking is a waste of money. As for being scared... well, of what? The boating community throughout the inland waterways is so supportive and friendly, it's akin to finding yourself in a time warp. The local swans gave me a fright on my first evening though - they have a habit of banging their beaks on boat windows for food!
It's not for everyone though. Electrics are a pain, and the boat will need to have a pretty powerful inverter to cope with running even a small hi-fi or laptop for a few hours. As I said in a similar post, you have to be very practical, ultra-tidy, and have a great sense of (usually toilet!) humour. Toilets WILL fill up at the worst possible moment (usually during a cruise or a party), gas and water WILL run out at 2am when you want a shower, etc, etc...
But I wouldn't swap my boat for all the manor houses in England! As for "Pikey" status (and "Rosie" jibes), I'd rather that than be a "mortgagee"... any day of the week!
It's not for everyone though. Electrics are a pain, and the boat will need to have a pretty powerful inverter to cope with running even a small hi-fi or laptop for a few hours. As I said in a similar post, you have to be very practical, ultra-tidy, and have a great sense of (usually toilet!) humour. Toilets WILL fill up at the worst possible moment (usually during a cruise or a party), gas and water WILL run out at 2am when you want a shower, etc, etc...
But I wouldn't swap my boat for all the manor houses in England! As for "Pikey" status (and "Rosie" jibes), I'd rather that than be a "mortgagee"... any day of the week!
I lived on my yacht for 5 years and enjoyed every minute of it,and can only think of benefits nothing bad.
I also had to get to and from my yacht in a dingy as well.
Unless you call shopping,washing, getting to and from inconvenience, just treat it as part and parcel of boat life and you will meet some great party people as well.
Just do it
I also had to get to and from my yacht in a dingy as well.
Unless you call shopping,washing, getting to and from inconvenience, just treat it as part and parcel of boat life and you will meet some great party people as well.
Just do it
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