Live on a canal boat...

[MashBag]

So you sell up for the easy life.
It might be a canal boat, or maybe a camper, but you are going off grid.

What would you take? What would you make? Or would you give up and buy what you need?

 

[welly3]

I did this very thing about 7 years ago. I still have my narrowboat but to cut a long story short, my on board life came to a stop when work that was being done on my boat too far, far longer than it should have done so ended up having to move back to dry land.

But still have the boat and got it back a few weeks ago after the work was finally complete. I'll end up living on it part time.

I've made beer on the boat - used to have a keg of stout that would sit in the engine room/stern during the winter as it was perfect temperature for serving a stout (when the engine wasn't running!)

 

[Chippy_Tea]

One of our member used to live on a narrow boat the only down side was he had to have it taken out of the water occasionally which i assume was for its boat version of an MOT which was very expensive, he also IIRC had problems with the engine and small leaks, it sounds like a great life but as with all things there will be stuff non boat owners are not aware of that are a pita.

 

[MashBag]

I quite enjoy winemaking, but that wouldn't happen on a boat.

Might get good at cooking on a log stove

 

[Jim Brewster]

he had to have it taken out of the water occasionally which i assume was for its boat version of an MOT which was very expensive,

I think the black paint below the water line has to be done every couple of years, which it has to come out of the water into a dry dock and I think it's a few grand to do

A narrowboat is something I love the idea of, holidayed on them twice, once on the Great Ouse and the other time Lancaster, both times were excellent.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I have followed these 2 for 7 years, they have sailed 46,000 miles round the world they are due back in England on 24/9/23, Florence is 37ft long, this would be my kind of life if i was younger

 

[klaus]

My last company was HQed next to the Grand Union Canal in West London and I spent many a lunch hour walking along the canal path. Lots of nicely maintained boats, some clearly lived in, many just parked. I like the idea of living on a boat but the dampness puts me off, keep thinking it's no good for rheumatism.

 

[Justin Dean]

Why is it that narrow boat habitation equals no cancel tax bearing in mind what council tax pays for?

 

[Rugby Fan.]

Two best days of a boat owners life is the day he buys it and the day he sells it.

I wouldn't go completely off grid but would love a small permaculture farm (without being religious about it).

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Could someone explain what this does -

 

[Rodcx500z]

Could someone explain what this does -

If you mean the the bit that is moving from side to side, it is a wind vane, it has a rudder attached to it and steers the boat instead of using the automatic pilot which uses electricity to do the same job, once it is setup you can leave the boat to steer it's self while you do other stuff like trim the sails cook dinner or take a shower or sit there reading a book, modern boats these days have radar, night vision, ais, navionics or to you sat-nav, electronic chart plotters, water makers, solar power, air con, and a ton of other stuff, the new generation are also with full electric so the term world wide free ride really does mean that you can sail the world for free all you need to provide is food. ODSeaLab | Sustainable Innovations and Boating solutions

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If you mean the the bit that is moving from side to side, it is a wind vane, it has a rudder attached to it and steers the boat instead of using the automatic pilot which uses electricity to do the same job,

Brilliant invention.

 

[MartinF]

Why is it that narrow boat habitation equals no cancel tax bearing in mind what council tax pays for?

Probably because of the cost and effort of administering a charge on a "house" that frequently moves between different adminstrative areas and has no fixed postal address.

 

[welly3]

Probably because of the cost and effort of administering a charge on a *house" that frequently moves between different adminstrative areas and has no fixed postal addreess.

That and we pay a licence fee which covers things like water and waste/rubbish removal and sewerage. Boaters have far less of an impact on local services than those living in a house. But worth pointing out that those who live on a residential mooring do pay council tax.

 

[Leon103]

Cycled the Avon Kennet Canal last weekend. Surprised so many live on the canal. Unfortunately 90% of them were miserable bastards, the rest smoked a lot weed.

 

[MartinF]

Edited/removed: just realised my reply covered the same points you made! Can't delete posts??

 

[Omega]

I travelled for a week on Prince William brig of Thall Ship Youth Trust about 17 years ago around Ballearics and would say I cannot take sea sickness. Yes, narrow boat is stable because it is on rivers, but suspect it will shake in strong winds. A friend of mine lived on a narrow boat when she worked in London, but said it was nice, but hard work in damp and cold with lots of maintenance
Having said that, I am thinking I would prefer using Tesla Y model as land yacht. They have a nice DreamCase though I may find something cheaper. Since I have a family, I would use it to travel to client sites during the week - I worked as a consultant for a while, I am no longer strongly attracted me by cool hotel features, so lying down to sleep is all I need at the end of the day, David Lloyd will sort our my hygiene problems, if it is not around - well, then there are toilet tissues
And I used to live in Budapest as a student for a year - our dormitory had only a microwave, so, if I previously managed to live for a year using a microwave and a fridge, I can get through 2-3 nights using a camping gas stove, warm up army rations in a kettle or buy an alternator and operate a microwave to warm up ready meals from M&S

 

[Justin Dean]

That and we pay a licence fee which covers things like water and waste/rubbish removal and sewerage. Boaters have far less of an impact on local services than those living in a house. But worth pointing out that those who live on a residential mooring do pay council tax.

Policing and social services are everyone’s responsibility though? Maybe part of the licence cost goes towards that.

 

[welly3]

Policing and social services are everyone’s responsibility though? Maybe part of the licence cost goes towards that.

No, the licence fee goes entirely to the canal and river trust who use it for maintaining and supporting the canal network. Sure, policing and social services are everyone's responsibility and I guess my (when I was a full time live-aboard boater) contribution came from the income tax I paid.

There is no easy way of dealing with people who live on the "fringes of society" for want of a better word/phrase and for good or bad, this is how it works for boaters.

But we do use less of the services that council tax goes towards and given we're only talking about 5 to 6000 people, which is the number of registered continuous cruisers, it's not as if we're talking about a significant number of people. There are far, far more students that aren't paying council tax than liveaboard boaters.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

This could be the best solution for some -

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/profile/661411951

Canal boat share​

£1,800

For sale, my share in a lovely 62ft canal boat it sleeps 6, lounge, kitchen, bathroom with shower, toilet and sink and ensuite toilet etc, wardrobes tv etc Each owner is allocated 4+ weeks during the year to cruise the canals, the base this year is wrenbury to start your holiday. My dates are 1 week February, 2 weeks in August and further weeks in September onwards. For details phone [hidden information] just to answer a few questions, we all pay £80 towards maintance & running costs per month, further details of my share is on bcbm website It's a genuine sale, with viewings & legal paperwork, I am looking at getting a boat in Lancashire