Am starting to seriously consider a move into a houseboat after divorce has left me little chance of getting back into the property ladder.

Always loved the idea, and having viewed several boats and marinas over the weekend and speaking at length to a boat owner couple I’m not put off the idea half as much as I thought I was going to be.

Does anyone here have any real world experience? And definite do’s and dont’s, pitfalls etc?

Anyone taken residence afloat and regretted it, or vice versa?

Where are the best places to look for solid advice etc?

What’s the best way to ascertain value of a boat?! I’ve seen one newly finished wide beam steel cruiser finished to such a high standard that it was hard not to hand over a deposit right away, but at £89k it’s hard to know if you’re paying above its real value or not

Oh, residential mooring status, from what I can tell most marinas don’t advertise it but are happy for people to live aboard full time, is that actually the case?

My Cousin has a canal boat up near Chester. Shes had it about 10 years now after selling a place they built and subsiquently sold.
It was a wreck when they bought it, but fell in love with the boat and the idea of owning and living in one. Both are teachers and seem to have been able to pick up work wherever they have moored up so thats not been an issue for them.
IIRC it cost IRO £4k to buy and £3k to refurb doing all the work themselves (hes a woodwork teacher) They have managed to keep it remarkably neat and clean, shedding all the guff from the house when they sold it and trimmed down thier lifestyle to suit. They do have a child too, he’s now 11 and has always known the life on a boat, he’s happy and it’s not had any adverse effects on him (if you were thinking that way)

There are quite a few houseboats (different thing) on the Hamble where I live, right at the top of the river. They’re looking a bit sad some of them and clearly in need of some sort of refurb, but like most I think you just do what you need to to keep it from leaking. I don’t know any legalities about boats stationary in one place as per living accom, but there are river fees due and quite possibly mooring fees to consider.

Have you tried the water ways board (or what ever they are called these days) or the council(s) where you plan to live, or if on a river/estuary there will be the Habourmaster who could help or a Conservancy Agency (Chichester/Langstone Harbour has one) Marinas tend to have Marine Managers who may know the areas you intend to live, could try them..

One thing I do know, refurbing boats is not cheap, many people start off with the best intentions and then run out of time/money. This could be a good thing for you if you have the time, for instance I saw a decent half refurbed FolkBoat advertised for £1k, it still required a lot of work but all the necassary sealing/corking and antifoul had been completed..

HTH

Unless the OP’s 4ft tall and likes varnishing I’d stick with widebeams rather than folkboats!

My parents have one as a sort of holliday home as their house comes with the job so needed somewhere to get away for weekends. There’s a few people on the mooring that liveaboard, generaly a mix of the normal, the lsightly odd/characters and gypsies.

Things to note:
1) Marinas might not me as accomodating as you expect, most have non resident clauses. And aren’t actualy that nice a place to be usualy, like buying a campervan then living in a car park.

2) Gypsies. Coal, bikes, tools, brass, chimneys, wood. If it’s not bolted down you may as well pass it to them as they cruise past.

3) Boat’s depreciate and require maintenance. Houses apreciate and by comparison require no maintenance. Be aware that buying one that says “£90,000: recently refurbished, £100,000 spent in last 2 years”, in the future you’re going to be the one shelling out that sort of money in 30 years time.

4) Heating and fuel cost’s are ‘a lot’, over winter you’re going to be sat in a poorly insulated metal box surrounded by 0degC water (or if it’s fresh water, ice). Unless you really can get hold of a regular supply of free/cheep firewood then expect to be paying for coal. And there’s nowhere to season it, so forageing for firewood is out of the question.

5) It will occasionaly leak. Sometimes from the top, sometimes from the bottom, sometimes from the plumbing.

Read the main boat magazines like Canalboat World and Towpath. Also some good online forums.

Yes, marinas generally turn a blind eye to the non-residential aspect.

I’d recommend renting if possible before buying. It’s not for everyone.

Also, when you take a hard look at the economics, it isn’t much cheaper than renting say a one bed flat (depending on where you live).

If you do decide to buy, then use a respected brokerage; if going private, ensure the boat is taken out of the water and a full survey is undertaken.

Does anyone here have any real world experience? And definite do’s and dont’s, pitfalls etc?

Lived on one for about 8 years

Anyone taken residence afloat and regretted it, or vice versa?

Loved it but it is like posh camping and space is tight if you have kids

Where are the best places to look for solid advice etc?

Mags above but you need a friend tbh. Price of a boat is a strange one – there are premium brands and bargain ones as there are with engines and even a Joshua Bow boat

What’s the best way to ascertain value of a boat?!

Take someone who knows what they are worth
TBH look in the mags and you will start to see what stuff is worth – plenty of large marina sales places as well – not that I have ever been to one

I’ve seen one newly finished wide beam steel cruiser finished to such a high standard that it was hard not to hand over a deposit right away, but at £89k it’s hard to know if you’re paying above its real value or not

Depends really but that sounds an OK price depending on length

Oh, residential mooring status, from what I can tell most marinas don’t advertise it but are happy for people to live aboard full time, is that actually the case?

yes but some marinas have residential moorings and you are then paying council tax, mooring fees, licence and then electricity and other stuff

Locally to me the marinas fess were circa 4.5 k whihc is not that much less than renting
Its also like living in a parking lot IMHO – that said you have bins nearby, electricity, water, parking etc
I guess decide would you rather live in a log cabin on its won or a log cabin in a park home complex
I am not a fan of Marinas tbh

IF you live on it you will need to go fetch water and empty the toilet – you will need to give toilet type more thought that you ever imagined

if you want to mail me specific questions then it is in profile or ask on here

FWIW I loved it and i reckoned on about 2 k all in for all bills per annum but that was without a mooring and parking was often a problem.
It really depends where you live
Go down the canal you will find a bore who will give you loads of info – avoid those with polished brass and twee shit on their boats and try and find a liveaboarder to chat with

I was used to folk asking about it

Thanks for the tips folks, I appreciate you taking the time to give your input. I shall be heading to WHSmiths later to magazine up.

FWIW, I have a 4yo son whom would be with me 1 day per week, and he’s well behaved around his boundaries so am confident on that front.

Toilet issues, always irksome. The marina I have in mind has excellent facilities though (shower blocks/toilets etc) so am hoping to keep poo carrying to a minimum for the time being.

Mooring fees: ouch, so far ive seen ranging from £320 to £530 pcm. I’ve also seen a boat on a resedential mooring near Windsor for around £400pcm (but would need to add council tax to this one).

Having gone aboard a narrow boat for the first time yesterday I can conclude that a widebeam vessel is required for my chunky 6ft1″ stature.

The widebeam I have in mind has a meticulous finish and is just all round superb. 59ft x 10.5ft give or take.
Check it out: http://www.ourhouseboat.co.uk
I’ve already spent 3hrs with the owners/sellers and the wealth of photo’s/certificates/information they have on the build is staggering.

Junkyard – thanks for the offer, i’ll be dropping you an email.

Always been curious about this kind of living. However, could it really be considered a realistic alternative to house ownership, what happens when you get old or have unexpected mobility problems, going back to bricks& mortar could be an issue couldn’t it?

I guess you sell up and rent.

agreed barkm – but at my stage in life it seems a genuine opportunity to explore a romantic idea that ive always fancied since a teenager.

I guess the long term idea would be to sell up and move in with any potential MrsSlim#2 should I be lucky enough.
Also, it may be possible to squirrel away some equity for future bricks and mortar. (maybe not)

Are you anywhere near Huddersfield? I can put you in touch with someone who would give you some good honest advice.

Can you not just moor up somewhere random to escape fees/council tax etc? Or keep moving or something?

Continuous Cruising is also an option, depends on the stretch of river you are on. There’s plenty of boats in London which aren’t moving at all, as the authorities expect volunteers to enforce the overstaying penalties.

A friend of mine moors his boat in the local marina for Winter but cruises up and down the same stretch of river in the spring and summer, when he also generates all his electricity from his solar panels 🙂

as above – yes this is an option. Although river license of circa £1000p.a. still applies (in theory). And of course you then dont have easy cess to ammenities (or security of Marina).

robdob – im in the south but may take a river holiday this summer up north so may still be of use?..

you need a licence whatever – think of it as car tax- I know its not car tax
Then you also need a mooring permit if you moor even if the canal and river trust dont own the water or mooring – some working boatyards are exempt from this
if you continuously cruise you only need a licence More accurately if you do not moor permanently you dont need a mooring permit – ironically if you have a mooring permit you can moor where you like as it is about money and not usage.

it is worth noting that the byelaws have no legal basis and are not underwritten by acts of parliament and rather difficult [ ie they dont even try] to enforce so they tend to let you get away with lots and just moan at you every now and again but not actually do anything.

I am not sure what the rules are for rivers tbh but i assume the same as canals
They used to make you move two parishes then 14 lock miles every two weeks but they cannot make you keep a lock and the worst i ever got was a sticker asking me to move which I duly ignored.

Plenty of places – Bath for example have miles of “illegal” moorings

Ahh, so you’ve found a boat and a place of interest. Thats a very good start. Only other issue could be getting a survey done on it, some are extensive, some not (though not quite a “drive by” a la Mortgage) Seek out a couple of quotes, £90k on a boat seems about ripe for 1% IMO, but that could fluctuate 🙄

And my comment on the Folkboat was purely to highlight you can pick stuff up cheap if you look for them.

As said my Cus has an 11yr old and he’s spent nearly all his life on a boat with no problems at all.

All in all it looks like a lot of fun.

BOL

lost a couple of hours on that ourhouseboat.co.uk blog, very interesting story.

Where does the waste go? I.e. poo and wee

Liquids overboard. Solids catapulted into the nearest land-lubber’s garden.

Allegedly.

When you say south? A friend of mine has a sizeable houseboat and mooring for sale in Hertford if that’s any interest? I can’t remember length, beam etc, but if it’s of vague interest to you, my PM is in my profile and I’ll put you in touch.

If you fancy going the whole hog, and building from a bare hull. I can put you in touch with an excellent builder.
Small family builders, built the best hulls in the past [Reeves boats] , business collapsed years ago, now father and two sons are rebuilding on one off scale,not as expensive as you would think.

In Shoreham somebody’s got an old minesweeper as a houseboat.

Slackalice, I’ll consider the options and let you know

Spiny, it has certainly crossed my mind. I’ll have to ping you an email

My brother sold his house 15 years ago and bought a 45′ yacht.

It’s moored in a tropical paradise across from multimillion $ homes.

He gets to look at their lovely houses, they get to look at his scabby rust streaked yacht.

He’s fit as a flea from rowing ashore each day and wears a permanent grin.

Sounds like hell, eh?

That’s the spirit 🙂

I’ve never seen anyone on a canal boat smiling, which is enough of an indicator for me.

If you like road biking and/or caravans, go for it.

That’s not quite the spirit

I know a few that have sold up and sailed the world, that help? One of my best mates is on a 4 out of 5yr trip with an 18mth old and a 7yr old in tow. He’s been most places that none of us know about and picks work up as and when he feels he needs a few quid. He is a Max Fax surgeon & dentist though so he doesn’t have mush of a problem finding work..

Is that the spirit?? 😆

I’ve got a couple of friends who love living on canal boats. One regularly chats to people walking by, who tell him they wish they had done the same thing – i.e. they are chained by their mortgage and want out.
As said above, it isn’t as cheap as people assume, so it is more an alternative than a necessarily cheaper lifestyle.

If you are single (a single unit) I say why not?

Can you rent first though? Thats the route I’d take.

I’ve always fancied one of those wide Ark-looking barges. They look ace. 🙂

Few years back I had to run a telephone cable across the Grand Union canal near Kings Cross (worlds shortest submarine cable)

Chap who was working with me got chatting to a young’ish lady who lived on a canal boat.
Some months later he chucked the job in and went to live with her making craft fair type objects.

Was round that way a couple of years later and out of curiosity went to have a look. He was still there with her, happy as Larry and seemingly without a care in the world. Have to say I was rather envious at what looked such a carefree lifestyle, but daresay it had its drawbacks

but daresay it had its drawbacks

I’m feeling in a few gaps here but I bet they were going at it like the clappers.