living on a narrowboat

Been thinking of ditching my house and long houred job and buying a narrowboat to live on. Anyone on here lived on one before or now? I live in the midlands so plenty of opportunity to do it. The lifestyle looks simplistic and appealing too. Job is doing my head in far too long hours no time for kids and riding so was thinking take a year or 2 out to work and live on an old narrowboat.

looked into it (superficially) in the past; the boats are easy to buy but the residential berths to stop seem to be much more difficult to come by.

No experience myself, but a friend has just bought this.
http://www.rugbyboats.co.uk/brochure_pdfs/1183_e.pdf
I may go with her to collect it. She’s planning on parking it near where she works and commuting by car. When the 14 day (?) limit is up, she’ll drive it a few miles down the canal, then cycle back to fetch the car.

Just remember in the middle of winter when it’s freezing outside you have to go and empty your toilet, fetch firewood/coal along frozen canal paths.

iirc British Waterways use to supply information about it.

lived on one for 7 years it will be very cramped with kids IME
Bit like camping tbh with a few more luxuries
Residential moorings are not required but mooring fees can be expensive – again you dont need a dedicated mooring despite what BW say.
Anything you wish to know then eithe re-mail me or post up here
RE above comment – it depends on your bog size [ cassette via pump out] tbh and water will generally be more of an issue depending in tank size. Most folk just put coal bags on the roof which will easily store 3-6 months worth of coal

Think you have to buy from a Broker I once looked for a one for having
week and weekend breaks on.
Best thing to do is go down to the local canal and chat to the owners
and they would give you sound advice.

Moorings was expensive and again they can point you in the right direction.

I get to talk to a lot of boaters and some people love it, if you haven’t been on one before taking a week or two holiday on one might give you an idea of how much space is on one.

Moon on a string!

I think you are living in a fools paradise, unless the job that is doing your head in has paid you so much that you can afford to live without working for as long as you plan to live on the boat.

Sorry just my opinion but trying to be realistic. I “know” people who have tried to “get away from the rat race” by living on a narrow boat. In all cases it turned out to be a fantasy. Unless of course you REALLY do believe that you can live like a proper traveller and put up with getting constantly moved on cos you refuse to pay moorings/ moor illegally.

Was asked by a girl at Uni to move in with her on a narrow boat. Never came off in the end but always thought it would be pretty cool. It was also going to be super cheap.

I think you are living in a fools paradise, unless the job that is doing your head in has paid you so much that you can afford to live without working for as long as you plan to live on the boat.

Sorry just my opinion but trying to be realistic. I “know” people who have tried to “get away from the rat race” by living on a narrow boat. In all cases it turned out to be a fantasy. Unless of course you REALLY do believe that you can live like a proper traveller and put up with getting constantly moved on cos you refuse to pay moorings/ moor illegally.
That has to be one of the most bizaree posts I’ve ever read here. From the respectable city slicker to Britain’s most wanted in two paragraphs. 😯

there is no such thing as moor illegally who exactly did you “know” and who “moved them on”?
BW occasionally have a go at unlicensed boats and send terse letters if you dont “permanently cruise”. However they know there are more boats than moorings and they still licence boats so they cant really enforce this or try very much.
If it is your home the EU human right trumps everything and they cannot really do anything tbh.
In all my time I never heard of anyone being “moved on” for “illegal” mooring.
Living on a boat is not like being a traveller IME though it is in some areas . Most areas have mainly retired folk or young couples tbh.
OP replied to e-mail

It’s an ambition on mine. One I’m unlikely to satisfy now I’ve got 2 lads but maybe once they’ve left home. Grew up around and in rivers, love em

It looks like it would get bloody cold in the winter Junkyard? How bad is it?

The one my friend’s buying that I linked to above has got a multi fuel stove with a back boiler, plus an Eberspacher, both linked to three radiators.
One thing she mentioned was that if you are permanently moored, not only do you have to pay for the mooring, you are also liable for council tax.
Permanently cruising avoids both of these, but I think it may cause a problem if you need a permanent address for a bank account etc.

Just out of interest – how physically secure are they? Are they basically a nautical caravan?

cold you are having a laugh warmest place I ever lived as long as you have central heating as it is a small space to heat. It would take about 3 hours to warm up if the fire went out mind in the deep freeze of last year but I only let it out by accident. I could keep the fire going with coal eggs for about 30 + hours without problem.
ones without central heating are red hot by the stove but get cold spots /damp IME but are no worse than a house for actual temperature
Council tax is only if you are on residential moorings- they seem to be coming more common as BW moorings seem to be coming residential of late for some reason. Technically as long as you spend 2 weeks off the boat and have another address you dont “live” there anyway.
You do need an address but you can get PO boxes and get mail sent to a Post Office of your choice if you move – google this
An address is useful for banks, insurance etc – use parents or a mates is the easiest way.
I moored in the same spot for about 2 years without issue or complaint and the permanent crusing is basically impossible to enforce [ they block locks in winter anyway] though locally they may moan more in some areas than others. Really depends hence why I would ask locally re this

Security varies as it is safe regarding the doors as they tend to be steel with HUGE padlocks. It cannot really be stolen as it only does 4 mph and everyone knows you/your boat locally. IME 2 incidents in 7 years – so not a huge concern tbh

Haven’t done it myself, but spoken to a few peeps who moor behind my shop in Skipton (Leeds Liverpool canal). I went from thinking it would be a great cheap life, to thinking it a lot of trouble and quite expensive for what is basically living in a caravan on water.

I live just outside Warwick, the woman next to us sold up and had a boat made, 60k to get it and said it was the best thing she could have done, but it’s only her and her dog.

You only live once Ringo, could be a fantastic life changing experience or a complete disaster! lol
If we didnt have so many kids we would look at it, as it is we need to buy a big shoe to live in not a house!

Ringo, how many bikes do you own? Boats, even the biggest ones, struggle with the sort of space you need for bikes. And I’ve yet to see one with a viable garage or shed.

My parents have a boat but they dont live on it. It would be fine if you were single, doable if a couple but a nightmare with kids I would imagine.

I thought about this. Living on it would be fine but I would have nowhere to put all my motorcycles and machines.

🙁

BW call them bridge hoppers, they move them from on mooring so they go down the river and when they get moved again they just go back to the previous place. Moor on a river the EA river inspectors are a joke.

I dont know of anyone moved on by BW despite the reports on here. I do know of BW threatening folk with letters but not actually doing anything other than that. They dont have any real powers unless your boat is unsafe.
I have seen one with one of those external metal sheds on the back of their boat above the rudder /above the swan neck. Access was a bit awkward though
A bike rack would work well at the stern as well.
Zedsdead You can use a motorhome motorbike racks to put a motorbike on I have seen this as well.
Check locally to see if BW issues but I very much doubt it tbh despite what folk on here seem to think.

Thing is Junkyard, I’d need 14 of them. And a few spare for the future.

Then I need to fit all my workshop machines etc somewhere and they’re not exactly small…

only 2 bikes dont see a problem if i remove wheels to be honest.

you need a butty then zed – engineless shell you tow along like a floating garage 😉

hmmmmmm!

Now you’ve got me thinking Junkyard….

I’m guessing they can carry a fair old tonnage?

probably about 10 ton for a 50 foot boat mine weighed about 15 @50 ft and no idea what the steel alone weighed 5 ish??? it was still high in the water and 2 ton of water and fuel dropped it about 1 cm. Loads would be interesting to see how much actually. Dredgers have cranes and then fill the entire inside with wet mud so yes they will take some serious weight

a good mate of mine lived in one permenantly moored for 18 months. He found it good in the summer, however in the winter it was so cold he’d be without water for a few days at a time. Brutal.

In the years I’ve been cycling the Kennet and Avon towpath (Bath/BoA section) the number of people permanently moored all year round has grown substantially. Bath’s answer to affordable homes it seems. We’ve several friends who in the past lived permanently afloat. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me describing them in the nicest possible way as ‘a bit hippy’ 😉 they loved it, and were perfectly happy until circumstances (work/kids etc)led them to move on. Visiting them on the boat I was always pleasantly surprised by how sorted it was (tidy nooks and spaces for everything) but knew straight away it wasn’t for me cause I need more space and would have got a bit freaked out by, well, the narrowness… That said, you see some HUGE boats on the canals now. Anyhow, I’m rambling; I would do your research, avoid looking at it through too much of a rose tint and then if it still appeals, well why not.

was your friend very disorganised? I had enough water storage to last 2 months without trying and 3 if I tried. When it was cold I lit the fire just like in a house.
Electricity is much more of an ongoing issue which will require either the running of the engine or a generator. Batteries perform worse when it is cold and you need more power then for lighting. You can do solar easily in summer if you are not moored under trees.
BATH is a one off I have never seen anywhere as rammed as there tbh.
Depending on the canal you can get up to 12ft 6 beam though 10 foot are becoming quite common

sorry I should clarify, he was out of water because it froze. the boat was parked in Shoreham so not a long way from aminities

Even in really cold winters when the canal is frozen over when the old man lights the wood burner I have to open all the windows.

Our water ways team (EA) have lifted two boats out of the water, though it is a costly thing to do. And they also stick notices on boats for illegal mooring and have got people to move on.

BW only lift boats if they dont know who the owner is or it is a danger. They put notices on your boat but they wont do any more No knowledge of EA on inland waterways.