Anyone out there living afloat on a canalboat??

nomorecreditcards1973

Hi There,

I have a bit of a crazy dream to live afloat aboard a residential canal boat.

I plan to be mortgage free by saving up to buy a decent 2nd hand boat and to then annually rent a residential mooring in a secure marina.

This way saving to £30-40k seems a bit more easier to achieve than buying a house especially as a single person.

Does anyone on the forum live afloat?.

Would love to hear any experiences good or bad.

Cheers!
:T

G_M

There are a few residential moorings in marinas, but very few. Have you identifed one? You need to do this before commiting yourself.

Do a full budget. Licence costs, fuel, council tax (yup - residential mooring!), insurance, annual maintenance (more than a house!), etc etc.

Then there's the practicalities of portoloos, carrying fuel on board, suffering the cold (and damp) in winter etc.

Yes it can be done, but wise up to the full picture. Rather than enquiring here on a property forum, check out the boating forums like
canalworld

ybw livaboard forum

narrowboatworld

or similar query here.

Running_Horse

Search this forum for houseboats.

And be prepared for a big dose of reality.

riverboat2001

We have owned a Narrow Boat in our family for the last 20 years.
It is a holiday boat, only used by Mum, Me and Hubby.

It does require a lot of upkeep.

You really need to think about how you will manage to empty your loo, or fill up with water when there is thick snow and ice to deal with.
And possibly carrying all your weekly shopping around a narrow catwalk.

Harsh winters are really much harder when living afloat.

Most "holiday" boats are drained down in the winter, if you want to live on board make sure you have adequate insulation and venting.

Yes it can be idyllic, but you really need to be realistic and do your homework, otherwise it could be a world of hurt!

Just my semi-informed opinion.
Good Luck

flecker

I moved onto a narrowboat for a couple of years to save money, and I loved it - despite the freezing mornings and the endless work on the boat. As G_M says, finding a residential mooring is the big thing - I'd identify the marina(s) you want to live in first and then wait for a boat already there to come up for sale. A lot of boat sales are done through word of mouth, so I'd spend some time getting to know people in the marina if possible.

I'd echo what others have said about being realistic. It's hard work - chopping wood, maintaining the engine, pumping the bilge, taking it out of the water every couple of years to maintain - but it's a wonderful life, IMO. And easy to keep on top of the day to day living costs (I had a solar panel, so my 'utilities bills' amounted to a truck full of wood and a couple of bottles of gas a year, plus some paraffin and candles Plus the diesel, when I was out and about). Then there's insurance and waterways license. My marina was extremely cheap so it all added up for me financially, but yours may be different. Big, 'unexpected' costs can come from boat maintenance - and obviously that will depend on the state of the boat you buy. Definitely do your research, and look after it well once you have it.

If you decide to go for it, I strongly recommend getting out and about on the waterways. We'd spend about six months a year in the marina and the other six months moving it each weekend (mooring is free for up to two weeks) and commuting to work from wherever we moored.

Just writing about it makes me want to sell the house and move back onto a boat It's not for everyone (I had several friends who tried it and didn't like it), and definitely do your research, but if you like freedom and a bit of hard work, it's a pretty good life, IMO.

Brb

My ex-husband lives on a canal boat and absolutely loves it. Our daughter lives there at the weekends and also loves it. I of course worry like anything (mostly in winter).

Where he is moored is absolutely stunning. A flock of swans swam by and I thought it lovely, till the mum one hissed at me haha. Nearly knocked myself out as the entrance door to his is small! he is currently looking for a new marina though as his has gone bust and problems providing electric/water.

It's hard for me though. Christmas, birthday and Father's day presents are a toughie as I know what he owns has to have a use and earn it's space on the boat.

Edit: Just read above post and shall have to google solar panels options for ex. What can you realistically run from a solar panel though flecker ?

flecker

Brb wrote: »

Edit: Just read above post and shall have to google solar panels options for ex. What can you realistically run from a solar panel though flecker ?

Mine was a rubbish, 10 year-old solar panel and it did the bilge pump, the lights (in the summer - in the winter I'd use a paraffin lamp for the last couple of hours) and the odd bit of music. (I didn't have a fridge - just changed my shopping habits to little and often - but a gas fridge might be a good option.)

So, not a lot

But it's probably worth looking into newer solar panels - I'm not an expert but I'd imagine a couple of those would cover most day-to-day needs (not including washing machine etc)?