Any Houseboat owners here?

Gonzo1987

Not sure if this is the right board..if not please point in me elsewhere!

My husband and I have decided to save to purchase as houseboat to live on.

We're at the very start of the investigation process, and just wondered if anyone here can offer an hints/tips/advice etc.

Thanks!

princeofpounds

I looked into this casually a few years back. The real difficulty is the mooring. They are hard to get, particularly if you have some basic standards around noise, setting etc. I'd start there before you think about boats.

G_M

What kind of 'houseboat'? Permenantly moored? Moveable? On canals? River? Sea? In the UK?

There are many forums for boat owners and live-a-boards eg:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?22-Liveaboard-Link

http://www.canaljunction.com/boat/liveaboard.htm

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?act=idx

http://www.practicalboating.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=33

http://livingonboats.co.uk/

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f74/

Gonzo1987

I've looked into moorings, there seem to be plenty around here that would have availability. I've looked at static boats and canal boats, i'm leaning more towards something we can move. I've just ordered 'The Liveaboard Guide' by Terry Jones.

There seems to be a huge leap in prices for boats though. I don't mind a project, it's going to be a long term living situation for us. so I'm not afraid of a bit of work.

emsi_b

Hi Gonzo! I can give you a few things to think about.

-Lack of space. Do you have a lot of stuff/ hobbies?
-Where will you moor? Bear in mind that you may need to motor over to somewhere to get fuel, water, pump out sewage etc.
-Narrowboats lose money, rather than gain money like houses. Will this be a problem for you?
-What is the location like where you want to moor? Not all canals, for example, are nice places to moor. Some are pretty much no go areas... others are really lovely, and incredibly popular.
-are you going to buy a brand new boat, or do up an old one? There's a big difference in price- new ones can be as much as a house. (Also, please bear in mind that some boats on inland waters have 'sea tanks' for sewage, which discharge untreated sewage straight out of the boat- this is illegal on inland waterways, and immoral too!)

Some aspects of the boating community are very strong, and there's really lovely neighbourly care, but some (like living on land) are snotty, to say the least. I'd say, apply the same rules to living on a boat to buying a house- visit where you want to moor several times, at different times on different days, and speak to everyone else who is moored there.

I might be teaching you to suck eggs, but it might also worth having a 'holiday' where you plan on mooring long term, so that you can try before you buy!

Hope that helps, happy houseboat hunting!

Gonzo1987

Thanks for your reply emsi - very helpful!

- Space won't be an issue, hobbies are reading, or being outdoors for me, and OH likes xbox, and football, so I think we can work around a lack of space (our currently flat, isn't all the big by any means!)

- I'm looking at marina's for mooring rather than a canal , but thats mostly due to it's been easier to find info about marinas! - i've looked into the various types of drainage and sewage, but that will need more research.

- I'd like to do up an old one - I've gathered they're like cars and will depreciate the minute we buy it! But as it's a long term living situation and we're not in it to make profit I don't see it being an issue.

We will definitely at least arrange a holiday on a boat before we commit to buying.

Any idea of what is a realistic amount to spend? I've seen boats i like the look of from £7600 (needs total new interiors) to £50,000! obviously the cheaper, the easier it will be for us to finance, but we don't want to make a mistake!

teddysmum

We used to have a canal boat (admittedly only a 22ft fibreglass) and a two week holiday was enjoyable, but my goodness, being home, with all the space, instead of everything being narrow, was such a relief.


The owners of the boatyard, where we moored, lived on their narrowboat (loose furniture, not fitted as for cruising) until their toddler nearly drowned, then moved to a house. The toddler is now middle aged and they still have the narrowboat, but have not moved back, so obviously prefer the house.

dominoman

Here's a nice 3 bed houseboat near me. http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/32855244

Not sure what you'll get for 50k though?!

dominoman

Another thing to consider is the mooring fees. This boat is a beauty, but mooring fees are over 20k per annum.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/32357693

puppypants

How much!!!!! X

Gonzo1987

I'm looking more along these lines...

http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=375112

and mooring fees aren't so bad where I am, around £300pcm depending on boat size.