Canal/Narrow Boats.

[VINNY100_2]

Ive recently been to cambridge and went on a narrow boat.And i am thinking about selling up in a couple of years and buying one.apart from the upkeep/taking it out of the water every 3 years for  maintenance ,water supplies etc,is there any other downsides to living on one.anybody got any experience of living on a narrowboat.cheers.

[kazza12345]

not direct experience, but my best friend has lived on one for years - these are her points 1)you never get to have a bath 2) paying for a permanent mooring is expensive - if you plan to move it up and down the canal, how will you get to work?   3)She dosent have a car so heavy shopping is sometimes a chore, especially if you have to walk 3/4 of a mile down the towpath with loads of bags 4)if you have appliances (some people have microwaves/washing machines on board) you have to make sure you run the engine every day 5)mobile phone coverage is patchy at best internet access could be tricky 6)unless you have a permanent mooring, getting post can be quite tricky.

I suppose it will depend on your circumstances - ie whether you work, have a car, or see mobiles as important, have friends in the area etc

 

other than the above mentioned (and lets face it, they are only small)  she absolutely loves living there, there seems to be a good community of like minded people too, and the wellbeing and benefits she gets, for her far outweigh the negatives.  Personally it seems to be a lot of hard work to me, but thats why youll find me living in a house!

[VINNY100_2]

Cheers kazza,wow i couldnt have asked for more.I was walking along the river cam and  asked this lady how she got on living in a narrowboat and she kindly showed me around.She said she had to move it every summer because the fair arrived right by the riverbank and some times there was trouble.also in cambridge they dont pay for the moorings.she had a bike with a trolly on the back to take her washing or shopping,but then again cambridge is very flat.the post is a very good point!she did mention running the engine.I think ive got a few things to think about.Thanks once again kazza.(:)

[kazza12345]

btw i forgot to say, you also have to pay yearly for liscences and stuff.  If you are going to be moving about, negotiating the locks by yourself can be very difficult.  Ive been over to hers for dinner in the winter, and the boat was very cozy and snug (as long as you've been running the engine), although she did have a wood burning fire too

[VINNY100_2]

cheers kazza.Sounds well cosy.um, dont fancy the locks much!but it must be great waking up to a nice sunny day,having a few drinks in the evening on the riverbank.perhaps I will try mooring near a pub.(:)just got to tell the misses now we are selling up and living on a boat!!  help!!(:)

[smudge]

Vinny - if you only knew the conversations my husband & I have had about the possibilites of selling up & living on a long boat!

We often take long walks along our nearby canals & watch them chugging along. It all looks so idyllic, especially on summer days. We've spoken to several owners, who have said they'd never go back to living in a house.

My husband would take the plunge tomorrow, but I don't think I could hack actually living on one - I like my every day luxuries too much!

[smudge]

Canal/Narrow boats I should say!

Long boat makes me sound like a Viking!

[VINNY100_2]

Hi Smudge,vinny the viking!!sounds about right.They do look idyllic and there very cosy inside.I even saw one with solar panels on top and some sort of windmill .I just fell in love with them.but like kazza points out there can be draw backs.but now i think ive got to   do some more research(:)

[joko]

I found toilets a bit annoying, and security can be an issue, as is lighting at night on the towpath in that there isn't any so it can be treacherous. we were woken by a family of swans every morning at first light, which is lovely for the first few times but after a pain.

[VINNY100_2]

hi joko.I did notice there were no lights along the cam,dont fancy falling in the drink after a drink(:)

[twiglet4frog]

according to a boat owner in Lincoln where we have a fair few narrow boats, they have to pay the british waterways a fee to be moored on the water, but works out a lot cheaper than normal council tax, and they now have a shed on the side of the mooring to store bikes and equipment and apparently BT has just installed a landline to each boat that wants it and electricity is also being laid on. Basically they see it as a small house on water that costs so much to be there but not as much as council tax nowadays and they are getting all the luxuries of electric and telephone now. Boats are on sale here in Lincoln from �15k to �18k that i saw as i was passing them.

[Tatty Rollox]

And, to remind us, here is a picture of one.

[Ladybird50]

Vinny, if your wife agrees GO FOR IT!! weve got a 50ft narrowboat and if we could we would rent our house out and be off like a shot

 we cant do it yet as my son is still living at home with us {hes 20} but its our "aim in life"The money we would get from rent we could live on any extras would come from our savings which weve allocated for , im 50 next year and my husband is 55

It takes an awful lot off planning but we know loads of people who have done it and theve never looked back {my brothers done it}

[Ladybird50]

Hi vinny go to www.canalworld .net.    join up and ask away cos most live on their boats and can tell you and advise.Loads of topics on the site as well

[VINNY100_2]

cheers ladybird&tatty.Ive got a couple of years before i could to it,buts its getting more tempting by the minute.in cambridge they were going for �18.000 to �20,000.will have a look at that site.but doesent seem to be working...so i will google it,cheers ladybird.that photo looks brill tatty cheers.(:)

[Ladybird50]

Vinny, type in on your address bar www.canalworld.com and itl work-dont use the one ive typed in -have a look youl be pleased with it, hopefully youl be on here for a while -one thing you must do before you buy a boat is have a survey done- hull condition etc and try and keep away from a "springer" -to have any work done on the hull is expensive cos they have a" v" shaped hull ,{ not a flat bottom hull } join canalworld and i can read your posts{questions} my boat is called unity

[VINNY100_2]

Hi twigletfrog,sounds good to me.must check out lincoln.cheers.

[ursula62]

Contact British Waterways they have information packs that might be of use.

[VINNY100_2]

Thanks ursula,what a brilliant site.(:)

[spudqueen]

Have you ever taken a holiday on a narrowboat? If not I'd recommend that you do to get a 'feel' for it.

[rabet]

Hi Vinny; I've had several holidays on narrowboats and greatly enjoyed them, but I'm not sure I'd want to live on one. I don't really see the point of having the boat moored permanently in one place, as some people seem to do.. Another problem is space, or rather lack of it. I have thousands of books and I don't know where they would go.

I also wonder whether vandalism/hooliganism would be a problem. I have in the past spent a lot of time around the Norfolk Broads and it seems that people interested in making trouble are attracted to boats. For one thing some idiots seemed to enjoy cutting or untying mooring ropes so your boat drifts away. I second the suggestion that you should try a holiday on a narrowboat.