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I spent the last few days on a mates narrowboat moving it to Aaron's for him as he had an accident recently.
I was amazed how good it was....he lives on it and I can see why!
Anyone done the same?
I was amazed how good it was....he lives on it and I can see why!
Anyone done the same?
In reply to abr1966:
It's becoming more difficult, particularly if you intend to game the system of regularly moving around and don't have a permanent mooring, but yeah, when it's all ticking over properly, its lovely
It's becoming more difficult, particularly if you intend to game the system of regularly moving around and don't have a permanent mooring, but yeah, when it's all ticking over properly, its lovely
In reply to abr1966:
Nope. I tried a weekend on a narrow boat and was bored out of my mind. In winter it must be damp and chilly and in summer hot and smelling of toilet. Ugh.
Nope. I tried a weekend on a narrow boat and was bored out of my mind. In winter it must be damp and chilly and in summer hot and smelling of toilet. Ugh.
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In reply to abr1966:
Just spent the day on my mates and as always after a trip started to price them up.
He has 2 years till his youngest goes off to uni and the plan is sell the house and go full time live aboard.
The idea really appeals to me but the main downsides for us are.
3 cats, 2 rabbits.
No garage for my bike.
Just spent the day on my mates and as always after a trip started to price them up.
He has 2 years till his youngest goes off to uni and the plan is sell the house and go full time live aboard.
The idea really appeals to me but the main downsides for us are.
3 cats, 2 rabbits.
No garage for my bike.
1
In reply to Dax H:
It's got me thinking again for sure! Bikes are my Achilles heel though but I've got an advantage that my youngest is 18 and lives between mine and his mums down the road and my other half and I have our own houses still so I could have a boat but stay at hers whenever I like and keep my bikes there! (She doesn't mind!)
My mate cruises a lot and doesn't have a mooring but reckons it costs him about £3k a year to run the boat...
It's got me thinking again for sure! Bikes are my Achilles heel though but I've got an advantage that my youngest is 18 and lives between mine and his mums down the road and my other half and I have our own houses still so I could have a boat but stay at hers whenever I like and keep my bikes there! (She doesn't mind!)
My mate cruises a lot and doesn't have a mooring but reckons it costs him about £3k a year to run the boat...
In reply to abr1966:
I think there has been things in Private Eye about how the Canals Rivers and Waterways Trust has been making things more difficult for people living on narrow boats.
I think there has been things in Private Eye about how the Canals Rivers and Waterways Trust has been making things more difficult for people living on narrow boats.
Post edited at 22:03
In reply to Timmd:
More that they have started to enforce existing rules more rigidly. People, especially in London, have been royally taking the piss on mooring and overstaying rules for years. Crt are having to make do with big budget cuts and can't afford to subsidise an unreasonable hipster bohemian idealised lifestyle.
> I think there has been things in Private Eye about how the Canals Rivers and Waterways Trust has been making things more difficult for people living on narrow boats.
More that they have started to enforce existing rules more rigidly. People, especially in London, have been royally taking the piss on mooring and overstaying rules for years. Crt are having to make do with big budget cuts and can't afford to subsidise an unreasonable hipster bohemian idealised lifestyle.
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In reply to abr1966:
Oh, you poor deluded fool. I once witnessed what happens when you pressurise a blocked pump out toilet at, erm, intimate quarters. There's a reason a lot of people have cassette toilets now.
I'm seriously considering selling mine. It gets in the way of an active lifestyle and leaks money like a sieve.
> This one had a 'pump out' toilet!! No smell
Oh, you poor deluded fool. I once witnessed what happens when you pressurise a blocked pump out toilet at, erm, intimate quarters. There's a reason a lot of people have cassette toilets now.
I'm seriously considering selling mine. It gets in the way of an active lifestyle and leaks money like a sieve.
In reply to abr1966:
I'm living on one now - only been on it for a few month but it was a great decision. Nice living, cheaper than a house and we will have it paid off in 3/4 years.
Just need to finish the last bits we want doing and it'll be good for a long time!
I'm living on one now - only been on it for a few month but it was a great decision. Nice living, cheaper than a house and we will have it paid off in 3/4 years.
Just need to finish the last bits we want doing and it'll be good for a long time!
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In reply to toad:
There was a thong on the Jeremy Vine show about this a few months back.
Quite a few people were saying how it was such a bad system because having to move area every 2 weeks made it very difficult to get the kids to school and to work etc.
All I could think was tough luck, if you want to live that lifestyle you have to play by the rules.
> More that they have started to enforce existing rules more rigidly. People, especially in London, have been royally taking the piss on mooring and overstaying rules for years. Crt are having to make do with big budget cuts and can't afford to subsidise an unreasonable hipster bohemian idealised lifestyle.
There was a thong on the Jeremy Vine show about this a few months back.
Quite a few people were saying how it was such a bad system because having to move area every 2 weeks made it very difficult to get the kids to school and to work etc.
All I could think was tough luck, if you want to live that lifestyle you have to play by the rules.
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In reply to Dax H:
I'm not sure of the picture nationally, but locally there is a real problem with a shortage of residential moorings. There is a desire to do something about that by CRT and some local authorities, but there are not always easy solutions.
I'm not sure of the picture nationally, but locally there is a real problem with a shortage of residential moorings. There is a desire to do something about that by CRT and some local authorities, but there are not always easy solutions.
In reply to Dax H:
I see your point, but the way the rules are enforced has changed drastically after people were living like that. The definition of cruising was changed and has made life difficult. I suspect that most of them are not so much a lifestyle as affordable accommodation. It does seem that the system makes workers worse off than those that don't.
I see your point, but the way the rules are enforced has changed drastically after people were living like that. The definition of cruising was changed and has made life difficult. I suspect that most of them are not so much a lifestyle as affordable accommodation. It does seem that the system makes workers worse off than those that don't.
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In reply to marsbar: the problem is the physical system was never designed for residential use at all, so there are a finite number of water points, elsan facilities etc. Mooring on permanent marina or online moorings gets round this by providing these facilities at a cost, with crt providing temporary moorings, water etc for boaters on the move. The (other) system falls apart if a number of people wishing to avoid paying for moorings etc monopolise these facilities preventing other boaters from using them. CRT are not a social housing provider, and frankly, as a license payer, I'm bolloxed if I want to subsidise them either.
There is a big population of retired people who are genuinely cruising the system and a lot of people who live on board on official moorings. Both of these groups will sometimes come up against non residential planning restrictions on permanent moorings, in the same way as caravan parks do.
There is a big population of retired people who are genuinely cruising the system and a lot of people who live on board on official moorings. Both of these groups will sometimes come up against non residential planning restrictions on permanent moorings, in the same way as caravan parks do.
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In reply to Dax H:
It's an interesting one. The kids don't get much say in the lifestyle I suspect, and it's their education that suffers, not their parents.
Social services and the education system are set up to engage with settled people and I think badly fail to protect the welfare of other travelling group' children for this reason.
> There was a thong on the Jeremy Vine show about this a few months back.
> Quite a few people were saying how it was such a bad system because having to move area every 2 weeks made it very difficult to get the kids to school and to work etc.
> All I could think was tough luck, if you want to live that lifestyle you have to play by the rules.
It's an interesting one. The kids don't get much say in the lifestyle I suspect, and it's their education that suffers, not their parents.
Social services and the education system are set up to engage with settled people and I think badly fail to protect the welfare of other travelling group' children for this reason.
1
In reply to wintertree:
This isn't a travelling community. The whole point is that these people want to remain indefinitely in one place. It's more that they have, at best, been very naive about sidestepping the expectation to move on regularly that CRT and BW before them had of boaters without a "home" mooring. There is no traditional travelling boating community any longer as canal freight on the 18th century network finally died out in the 60s, with a few heritage exceptions. In many cases people have gone into this Ill prepared, and the boat brokers who have sold them this dream are also complicit. CRT are simply trying to run a 200 year old network fairly for all with a ridiculously inadequate budget.
However there are several freeman on the land type spurious legal challenges going on to try to legitimise this lifestyle. Worth an hour on the Internet to find out more.
This isn't a travelling community. The whole point is that these people want to remain indefinitely in one place. It's more that they have, at best, been very naive about sidestepping the expectation to move on regularly that CRT and BW before them had of boaters without a "home" mooring. There is no traditional travelling boating community any longer as canal freight on the 18th century network finally died out in the 60s, with a few heritage exceptions. In many cases people have gone into this Ill prepared, and the boat brokers who have sold them this dream are also complicit. CRT are simply trying to run a 200 year old network fairly for all with a ridiculously inadequate budget.
However there are several freeman on the land type spurious legal challenges going on to try to legitimise this lifestyle. Worth an hour on the Internet to find out more.
In reply to abr1966:
Don't do it. I spent my toddler years on a working boat (Comet) - coal twixt Sharpness and Gas St (Brum). It was romantic back then with all the bricks thrown at us off bridges. Later - 99 bought a 70-footer with a JPG etc, and we lived on it for about two years including newborn.
i) Money sieve.
ii) Grime - not good for the office.
iii) Claustrophobic eventually.
iv) The bog does smell in summer. Winter not so bad - I stuck a Raeburn in ours.
v) Worst of all, your neighbours. Ok if you like retired people with OCD who would ordinarily be holding up the A5 with their caravan.
So, ditched it - thankfully without a loss - and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Hth.
Don't do it. I spent my toddler years on a working boat (Comet) - coal twixt Sharpness and Gas St (Brum). It was romantic back then with all the bricks thrown at us off bridges. Later - 99 bought a 70-footer with a JPG etc, and we lived on it for about two years including newborn.
i) Money sieve.
ii) Grime - not good for the office.
iii) Claustrophobic eventually.
iv) The bog does smell in summer. Winter not so bad - I stuck a Raeburn in ours.
v) Worst of all, your neighbours. Ok if you like retired people with OCD who would ordinarily be holding up the A5 with their caravan.
So, ditched it - thankfully without a loss - and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Hth.
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In reply to abr1966:
If anyone here has Teflonpete on their Facebook, please direct him to this thread. I'm pretty sure he had restored a narrow boat recently and probably has a fair bit of knowledge
If anyone here has Teflonpete on their Facebook, please direct him to this thread. I'm pretty sure he had restored a narrow boat recently and probably has a fair bit of knowledge
In reply to David Alcock:
i) Only if you buy something crap, surely? We stretched our budget and got a decent shell that was professionally fitted out and didn't need much work (better inverter, washing machine installing, immersion heater and a bit of extra storage). Yes there will be the odd extra expense (blacking etc) but overall it is so much cheaper than renting. In 3/4 years we will be sat on £45k of asset, much of which would have gone on rent/bills had we gone for something else.
ii) Again, it depends on your boat and location. Ours is much nicer and cleaner than many properties I've rented - though we don't have to deal with towpaths yet as we're on a mooring for the winter.
iii) Perhaps if coming from your own home? But we are loving the freedom of having your own space and not living in house shares. There's much less space than a house but it just means you get rid of all the crap you've accumulated and need to be strict with putting things back in their place. Maybe things will change the longer we're on it but it's fine at the moment.
iv) We've had an occasional smell from our pump out when it's not been used for a while, but providing it's fit well and the seals are good there shouldn't be too much of a problem.
v) We've a great mix of neighbours, it's a nice little community.
> i) Money sieve.
> ii) Grime - not good for the office.
> iii) Claustrophobic eventually.
> iv) The bog does smell in summer. Winter not so bad - I stuck a Raeburn in ours.
> v) Worst of all, your neighbours. Ok if you like retired people with OCD who would ordinarily be holding up the A5 with their caravan.
i) Only if you buy something crap, surely? We stretched our budget and got a decent shell that was professionally fitted out and didn't need much work (better inverter, washing machine installing, immersion heater and a bit of extra storage). Yes there will be the odd extra expense (blacking etc) but overall it is so much cheaper than renting. In 3/4 years we will be sat on £45k of asset, much of which would have gone on rent/bills had we gone for something else.
ii) Again, it depends on your boat and location. Ours is much nicer and cleaner than many properties I've rented - though we don't have to deal with towpaths yet as we're on a mooring for the winter.
iii) Perhaps if coming from your own home? But we are loving the freedom of having your own space and not living in house shares. There's much less space than a house but it just means you get rid of all the crap you've accumulated and need to be strict with putting things back in their place. Maybe things will change the longer we're on it but it's fine at the moment.
iv) We've had an occasional smell from our pump out when it's not been used for a while, but providing it's fit well and the seals are good there shouldn't be too much of a problem.
v) We've a great mix of neighbours, it's a nice little community.
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In reply to James Malloch:
I'd be interested to see if your opinions (especially about expenses) would have changed if we returned to this in a couple of years. There is certainly a honeymoon period, and if you've only been on for a month.....
I'd be interested to see if your opinions (especially about expenses) would have changed if we returned to this in a couple of years. There is certainly a honeymoon period, and if you've only been on for a month.....
Post edited at 12:50
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In reply to wilkie14c:
done!
> If anyone here has Teflonpete on their Facebook, please direct him to this thread. I'm pretty sure he had restored a narrow boat recently and probably has a fair bit of knowledge
done!
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In reply to toad:
I'm sure they will change to an extent, but I think that I will remain quite "pro".
Our standard expenses are around £3.5k which includes all licences, fuel, insurance, mooring etc which is similar to if we were renting a local flat, or not much more at least.
Over the next 4 years I worked out that we would need to lose around £34k via depreciation and expenses to lose out compared to renting which, given the boat we've gone for and the deal we got (we spent a LONG time and hundreds of hours looking for the right one) - I think the loss will be more in the £5-10k max region.
So that still leaves us a lot better off even if some additional expenses crop up.
I can understand how it might not be beneficial for everyone (having it as a second home, perhaps), but our situation means it's a no brainer. Plus with friends on boats we understand what it can be like and hence went for a winter mooring rather than continuously cruising to make life easier. It's the closest I've ever lived to work too which is a bonus.
I'm sure they will change to an extent, but I think that I will remain quite "pro".
Our standard expenses are around £3.5k which includes all licences, fuel, insurance, mooring etc which is similar to if we were renting a local flat, or not much more at least.
Over the next 4 years I worked out that we would need to lose around £34k via depreciation and expenses to lose out compared to renting which, given the boat we've gone for and the deal we got (we spent a LONG time and hundreds of hours looking for the right one) - I think the loss will be more in the £5-10k max region.
So that still leaves us a lot better off even if some additional expenses crop up.
I can understand how it might not be beneficial for everyone (having it as a second home, perhaps), but our situation means it's a no brainer. Plus with friends on boats we understand what it can be like and hence went for a winter mooring rather than continuously cruising to make life easier. It's the closest I've ever lived to work too which is a bonus.
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In reply to James Malloch:
It sounds good for you. I've met somebody through doing conservation work who bought a narrow boat as the only place she could afford to live, and I think she's thinking about selling it for a (relatively small) profit over the next year or 2.
It sounds good for you. I've met somebody through doing conservation work who bought a narrow boat as the only place she could afford to live, and I think she's thinking about selling it for a (relatively small) profit over the next year or 2.
In reply to James Malloch:
I stand by my post, but reiterate JP3. I might find some link to an old Web page my dad has...
I stand by my post, but reiterate JP3. I might find some link to an old Web page my dad has...
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In reply to abr1966:
Nothing to add really Wilkie, it's all been said. Like amything, different people have different experiences and form different opinions. I'm still fitting mine out and we only live on it every other weekend.
Nothing to add really Wilkie, it's all been said. Like amything, different people have different experiences and form different opinions. I'm still fitting mine out and we only live on it every other weekend.
In reply to teflonpete:
Alright fella
I've deleted Facebook off my phone and gained 2 hours per day! Wife still on it though. Hope you all doing ok
Alright fella
I've deleted Facebook off my phone and gained 2 hours per day! Wife still on it though. Hope you all doing ok
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