A Case Study Of Liveaboard Narrowboat HOBO

Annie is a freelance writer. John is a farmer. Annie works from her boat. John has to commute to work… by light aircraft. He makes me feel quite embarrassed about my daily three minute journey to my “office” {{{0}}}

Who are you? (and your significant other and, of course, your dog if you have one)

Tell me a little about yourself and why you decided to live a life afloat

John and Annie at the helm

Following the death of a loved one in 2006, I needed a new focus to fill the void that this loss created. As I’d hit 50 the year before, it seemed like a now or never moment. I’ve always loved the water and had a romantic fascination for narrowboats; bright paintwork, colourful people and the lifestyle in general. Originally it was to be a project; something to renovate, somewhere to go of an evening or weekend and during holidays, something to look forward to. The boat I eventually fell for, however, was in tip top condition, freshly blacked and painted, inside all well fitted out and ready to move onto, so I bit the bullet and did just that.

My focus then shifted to getting the boat to the mooring of my choice, an hour away by road but two weeks cruising. I’d never driven a boat before so saw this as a good time to learn. My niece put me in touch with a boatie colleague of hers who agreed to help me with this journey. We had a brilliant adventure and I learned a lot (very quickly) and by the time we reached the marina, where I would live very happily for the next four years, I could handle the boat fairly competently. Lorna and I are still firm friends to this day.

Whilst my time in the marina was good, I hankered for the cruising life but didn’t want to go it alone. Getting together with John, a kindred spirit, made this possible and we cruise as much as we can while we continue to work. I now have a winter mooring on the Stort in Hertfordshire from where we strike out in the summer months to explore different waterways. John commutes to and from the farm by light aircraft (his first love) and I remain on a riverbank somewhere, while he is away, and work from home. At the end of his working week he flies back and off we tootle some more. It’s a great life and works wonderfully well for us. But that’s another story…..

What is your boat called and why did you decide on that name?

Fotheringhay - a favourite spot

HOBO. When I bought her she had just been painted but not signwritten in case the new owner wanted to change the name. When I found out what she was called, I liked it, decided to keep it and set the signwriter to work…

What is your boat style and length

How long have you been a narrowboat owner?

6 years

How did you finance your boat?

Friends and family begged me not to sell my house in case the new lifestyle didn’t suit me, so I extended the mortgage to cover the purchase of the boat, additional equipment I wanted to add and rented out the property. I’ve since sold up so she’s all mine now.

How much time do you spend on your boat each year?

Are you still working? (If so, what do you do?)

Freelance writer.

What do you like least about narrowboat life?

Paddington Basin - HOBO in the City

Dropping things in the water. To date: specs, sunglasses, shopping, coat, cap, lock handle, boathook and two chimney caps – one of these as a result of taking avoiding action, ending up in a tree, when a seriously unaware boater was heading straight for us. We get some things back, especially if magnetic or floating – John once dived in to retrieve a chimney that was (not very well) stowed on the roof and knocked off by a rope when we were struggling to get alongside to moor in high wind…in the early days. I am very careful with my phone, keys and suchlike…still.

What do you like most about narrowboat life?

That’s a toughie, I love it all, but the short answer is the feeling of being more in control of my own destiny.

If you could change just one thing about your boat, what would it be?

The gas locker. Who ever thought that lowering a full (heavy) cylinder into a hole in the sharp end was a good idea? I know gas storage on a trad isn’t easy but we are working on an alternative…

When you are cruising how do you resupply (How do you get to the supermarket without a car)?

I shop for England before we go, stocking up on tins, packets, tea, coffee, booze, emergency milk, part-baked bread, loo rolls and so on, as much as space will allow. We buy fresh on the water or from farms where we can and actively seek out family butchers, greengrocers, bakers etc in the towns and villages en route – by cycle or on foot. But we always top up when we see a supermarket with a mooring.

How do you do your washing when you are cruising?

I bought a second hand Zanussi Studioline washing machine three years back. It’s not full size (though it will take a full set of bed linen), fits neatly into the bathroom, does a great job and is still going strong. I have a twirly drier which we attach to the tiller when moored if the weather is suitable, otherwise it’s on a clothes horse in the bathroom (or in front of the fire, if lit, when we are in bed).

What type of toilet do you have on board and are you happy with it?

Thetford Porta Potti. Despite thinking this would be the first thing I would change when I first moved aboard, I lived with it a while and decided it was perfectly fine. As it’s just me a lot of the time it will go almost a week, is free to empty and really not that bad. I’ve since acquired a spare (just in case..) when my brother upgraded his caravan toilet to a cassette.

How do you connect to the internet when you are on your boat and are you happy with the service you receive?

3 dongle. Generally very good, pretty much anywhere, but there are odd spots with dodgy signal of course.

What is your favourite canal or section of canal?

Now you’re asking… We tend to spend more time on rivers than canals, though have done the GU from Welford (Leics line) to London, Regents and Hertford. We’ve cruised the Great Ouse, Cam, Little Ouse, Middle Levels, Nene, Lee, Stort, Wey and the Thames so far – all of which we loved for different reasons. If pushed to choose just one, it would have to be the Thames as was only last year and fresh in the memory. It was a great adventure, especially the tidal section; seeing the city sights, going under Tower Bridge and passing the Houses of Parliament etc, but the whole river is beautiful.

How do you generate electricity when you are cruising and how much do you use?

A Victron 2kw inverter, its own bank of 4 batteries and extra 100amp alternator for 240 volt, 2 leisure batteries for 12 volt, plus starter battery. We don’t use a great deal of 240; mainly the fridge and washing machine (use this while on the move as 2kw isn’t quite enough but cost of 3kw inverter so much more and this method works fine). Plus a tiny bit of tele, I Pod, computer, phone charging etc.
Pumps work off the 12 volt, as do the lights, which are now converted to LED so pulling a lot less out of the batteries.

We can be static for 2/3 days without running the engine but prefer to top up each day.

We are researching wind and solar power for the future and it seems that solar is more productive (and doesn’t require a huge mast that needs to be removed for cruising) but the jury is still out.

What advice can you offer someone considering living on a narrowboat?

Do your research. Look at lots of boats (I looked at many over a four month period) you’ll get to know what you want – or more likely what you DONT want – type of stern, layout, old/new, a project or move straight on. Same as a house in that respect; indeed the top end can cost as much as a house. Consider how you will use the boat – static in a marina or lots of cruising – it makes a difference. Check out different moorings, noting access, facilities etc and bear in mind that the elements will have much more of an impact on your life.
Read up on it. There’s lots of info on the web; sites like this one and many more.

Talk, or more importantly listen, to people already living the life. You may already know or, as you trawl around boatyards and marinas in search of your ideal, get to know someone living aboard. Look inside their homes and see how they live, imagine if or how it could work for you and ask lots of questions. Most of us are ferociously proud of our particular set-up and will gladly pass on knowledge, hints, tips, pitfalls and so on. Learn from their experience/mistakes.

Ask them about the costs of mooring, licensing and maintenance; it will probably be quite an eye-opener. Life aboard isn’t necessarily a cheap option, unless you want to live very frugally and, whilst you can save on light and heat, maintenance is essential and can be costly, especially if you ignore it. It’s a harsh environment: metal will rust, wood will rot and mechanical things will break down. Fact.
It helps if you are a hands on sort of person, prepared to work on the boat yourself or know someone who is and can.

When you find something you like the look/feel of, take a liveaboard friend to see it with you; they will soon spot how “sound” it is and how ready to live on. They’ll know if you’ll need to spend major money on equipment. Have the seller take you all for a chug on the water – your “advisor” will know what to look and listen for. Or, at the very least, have them give you a list of questions to ask and things to look out for. Older boats should have a full hull survey done.

Be prepared to lose lots of stuff before you move on board – transporting the contents of a 3 bedroom house onto a boat to sort at a later date won’t work. Let it go, you don’t need it all. (I found 26 sets of chopsticks when going through my kitchen before my move). Hello? It’s hard but essential and, in my case, very liberating. It’s also an ongoing task.

Above all, be honest with yourself and your other half. It’s a big step, which may be difficult to reverse, and not everyone’s cup of tea.
And if you do go ahead with it – let life aboard evolve. That’s the best bit of advice I was ever given – and it’s still evolving six years down the line.

How warm is your narrowboat in the winter?

HOBO - Toasty on the coldest winter's day

My Morso Squirrel Stove keeps Hobo’s 47ft nice and toasty and is going 24/7 during the winter months. We call the chair closest to the fire the hot seat and do, on occasions, have to throw open the doors because it’s too hot. When I lived on a marina my neighbours used to joke that the paint on the outside was blistering through the heat but I am getting better at regulating it now!

The stove is near the front doors so naturally my bedroom at the back of the boat is cooler but that’s mostly fine by me. Even though I now escape to sunnier climes for the worst of our winter, I have spent many on board; some where the river has iced up and temperatures have plummeted to those of the Arctic. I have been known to plug in in a halogen heater in the bedroom, for dressing and undressing, in these conditions but I’ve never had to bundle up in layers of clothing to keep warm inside the boat. Honest – and I hate to be cold.

The floor does get cold though, being beneath the water line, but my Ugg boots soon sort this out.

I actually miss my lovely snug cocoon while I’m away…really!

Annie writes a very entertaining blog. You can read it here.

Are you one of the lucky few who lives the dream on board your own narrowboat full time? Would you like to share your experience with some of the thousands of potential floating home owners who visit this site? If you can spare the time to answer a few simple questions, I would love to hear from you. Just let me know so I can email the questions to you. I’ll create a post like the one above complete with a link back to your own blog or web site.

A Case Study Of Liveaboard Narrowboat Snowdrop

Toni writes children’s stories as she cruises the network with her ex husband Allan. She doesn’t share the same boat with him though. They have one each; Toni on Snowdrop and Allan on Pengalanty

Who are you? (and your significant other and, of course, your dog if you have one)

Tell me a little about yourself and why you decided to live a life afloat

After the death of my parents, I realized I didn’t really know anyone in the town I lived in. I had acted as Carer, initially in between
teaching IT outside of the area in which I was living.

Toni and Mr. Biggles

I then spent time, with a friend of mine, who owned a narrow boat. I had travelled the canals earlier, so was used to them. I have always loved being out of doors and spent a lot of my childhood in woodlands and the countryside. Anyway, I decided to sell up and buy a boat! Just like that!

Initially I thought my house would never sell. I found one narrow boat, fell in love with it, but because of the house not selling had
to loose it. Spending Christmas with my friend, pending a trip to York, I received a telephone call from the local police to say my house appeared to be flooding from the inside. To cut a long story short. I returned home to devastation. However, the oddest thing about this was, I sold the house within three weeks, found a boat I liked and purchased it. Was living on it about six weeks later as from that telephone call!

What is your boat called and why did you decide on that name?

My boat is named “Snowdrop” and has always had that name. However, I may change it later on in the year to Pyxie, which sort of falls in with the children’s stories I write.

What is your boat style and length

How long have you been a narrowboat owner?

I have been a narrow boat owner for approximately one year.

How did you finance your boat?

I paid for my boat out of the sale of my house.

How much time do you spend on your boat each year?

Are you still working? (If so, what do you do?)

I mainly write children’s books, which can be viewed in several ways: www.lulu.com/spotlight/greensleevesuk, www.thewoodknottales.com. A free download on the latter. They are also on Amazon.

What do you like least about narrowboat life?

So far, there is nothing I can say about the above. I love my life on a narrowboat. Come snow or rain.

What do you like most about narrowboat life?

Freedom. I spent many years looking after the needs of others. Now it’s just me and the waterway

If you could change just one thing about your boat, what would it be?

More book shelves as I read a lot

When you are cruising how do you resupply (How do you get to the supermarket without a car)?

Have a car, which I fetch from the last place I moored up for a few days..

How do you do your washing when you are cruising?

Launderette, again the internet is great for finding a location.

What type of toilet do you have on board and are you happy with it?

I have a pump out toilet and, yes, I am very happy with it.

How do you connect to the internet when you are on your boat and are you happy with the service you receive?

“Three (3)” is the answer to this question. I do not get problems – so far, so good!

What is your favourite canal or section of canal?

In the past, I fell in love with the Oxford Canal and the River Thames.

How do you generate electricity when you are cruising and how much do you use?

My electricity is generated from the engine. I have five batteries – six if you include the starter battery.

What advice can you offer someone considering living on a narrowboat?

I reckon you know, if you want to live on a narrow boat. It is like everything else: If you really want to do it, you will find a way.

How warm is your narrowboat in the winter?

I can section off my boat, if necessary. I have a solid fuel fire at the front of the boat. Central Heating and an electric fire, to use if necessary. My curtains are lined.

I mainly write children’s books, which can be viewed in several ways: www.lulu.com/spotlight/greensleevesuk, www.thewoodknottales.com. A free download on the latter. They are also on Amazon

You can see Toni’s children’s books here or on her own web site here.

Are you one of the lucky few who lives the dream on board your own narrowboat full time? Would you like to share your experience with some of the thousands of potential floating home owners who visit this site? If you can spare the time to answer a few simple questions, I would love to hear from you. Just let me know so I can email the questions to you. I’ll create a post like the one above complete with a link back to your own blog or web site.

A Case Study Of Liveaboard Narrowboat Ouse Dunit

Paul and Helen Newby only live on their narrowboat for six months of the year but they certainly put in the miles. One thousand of them actually AND 600 locks. That’s some serious cruising! {{{0}}}

Who are you? (and your significant other and, of course, your dog if you have one)

Tell me a little about yourself and why you decided to live a life afloat

Paul Newby looking very happy in his retirement

Lets put this right, we don’t live afloat 12 months of the year we haven’t been brave enough to go full time. We are at an age where we both have several things wrong with us, so we decided to keep our house to give us somewhere to go if things go wrong. We first bought a second hand 38 footer in 1996 but soon realised we were going to spend a lot of time on the boat so 2 years later we bought a shell from R&D Fabrications and fitted it out ourself. We’ll finish it eventually.

When i was working i used the boat as a base so did continuous cruising around Cheshire for a full year whilst working there but since retiring we have spent 5 very enjoyable summers cruising the system and used the boat on numerous weekends through the winter

What is your boat called and why did you decide on that name?

Do you have a permanent or winter mooring? If you do, what type of mooring is it?

Yes we moor at a boat club on the Leeds Liverpool Canal. Boat clubs involve a bit of work, but they are normally much cheaper than a mooring of equivalent standard in private ownership.

What is your boat style and length

How long have you been a narrowboat owner?

we bought our first boat in 1996, so 16 years. We have owned our present boat for 14 years.

How did you finance your boat?

A combination of compensation for losing a job, savings and inheritance.

How much time do you spend on your boat each year?

Are you still working? (If so, what do you do?)

No. I am happily retired.

What do you like least about narrowboat life?

going away from the boat

What do you like most about narrowboat life?

An evening cruising along the cut.

If you could change just one thing about your boat, what would it be?

Narrowboat Ouse Dunit

A redesign of the sitting area at the front from a long bench seat to individual chairs would be nice.

When you are cruising how do you resupply (How do you get to the supermarket without a car)?

Using the internet we are able to find a supermarket close to the canal at least once a week. We use local shops for everyday items. All collected on foot.

How do you do your washing when you are cruising?

Launderette, again the internet is great for finding a location.

What type of toilet do you have on board and are you happy with it?

Vacuum pump toilet to a holding tank. A very refined system but does use a lot of water so needs pumping out regularly. This can be a problem and proves expensive. Not good for a confirmed Yorkshireman.

How do you connect to the internet when you are on your boat and are you happy with the service you receive?

I’ve used a vodaphone dongle for several years with mixed success. It works great when in a good 3G area but not very good in the bad reception areas which are very common on the canal network. I recently got an android smartphone which is great on its own and can be linked up to the laptop when required. This is on a very cheap Tesco package but as yet untried round the system. Role on April.

What is your favourite canal or section of canal?

This is a difficult one but I think i would opt for the Shroppy, the high embankments and deep cuttings are spectacular.

How do you generate electricity when you are cruising and how much do you use?

Mainly with the engine but we do have a 60 watt solar panel which helps on sunny mornings.

What advice can you offer someone considering living on a narrowboat?

Try it first if you can but I know lots of people who have bought a boat to live on with no experience.

How warm is your narrowboat in the winter?

Very warm, I put lots of insulation in. We rely on the multifuel stove that is positioned 10 ft back in the cabin. We use wood durin the day but bank up with coal/ smokeless fuel at night.

We have a central heating system that broke down several years ago, we were so warm without it that I have never repaired it.

Ouse Dunit is moored at Airedale Boat Club on the Leeds Liverpool canal

Are you one of the lucky few who lives the dream on board your own narrowboat full time? Would you like to share your experience with some of the thousands of potential floating home owners who visit this site? If you can spare the time to answer a few simple questions, I would love to hear from you. Just let me know so I can email the questions to you. I’ll create a post like the one above complete with a link back to your own blog or web site.

Continuous Cruisers: How To Constantly Cruise The Canal Network

Continuous cruiser Peter Earley emailed me after reading Pauline Roberts article about living on a narrowboat. Peter wrote the following article for the Residential Boat Owner’s Association about four years ago. He though it would be a good counter argument for what many consider unneccessary pessimism in Pauline’s article. {{{0}}}

A little background information about Peter…

“After a good friend died back in 2002 just after realising his dream of owning his own boatyard, Jeannette and I decided that we wanted to realise our ambition of living permanently on water and cruising the canals. We ran a company in Southampton involved with vehicle electrics and someone expressed an interest in buying it so we sold up. We had years of canal experience, first hiring then shared ownership so made the rounds of boat builders and settled on Sabre in Manchester to build ‘Joanie M’. We wanted a unique name. We looked at ‘Joan’ after Jeannettes mum but there were about 6 already. There were 3 or 4 Joanies so we settled on ‘Joanie M’, the M being for Maurice, my father in law.

Joanie M was launched in June 2007 near Worsley on the Bridgewater. She is 58ft long and gas free with a 7 kVa generator built into the engine bay. We have 2 diesel tanks totalling 400 litres and a water tank of about 200 gallons. 4 x 135 aHr leisure batteries and 2 x 45W solar panels.

Jeannette is 64 and I am 65. We have been married 45 years.”

Joining The Ranks Of The Continuous Cruisers

So, you want to join the ranks of that hardy band, Continuous Cruisers? You do realise that besides having to endure all that British weather may throw at us you will also be reviled by half of the canal population as a free loader despite canal living being no cheaper than living on the bank. Not for us the easy existence in a Marina with access to electricity and other essentials.

Narrowboat Joannie M

Actually, you’ll be joining a very select group. According to the 2007 accounts of British Waterways there are only 2175 license holders registered as Continuous Cruisers so that makes us very much a minority interest. It’s a pity that we don’t get as much interest or money as some other minority groups. After all, the road travellers in their coaches and caravans have their own parliamentary spokesman.

As a genuine CCer, there is one rule with which you have to abide. You should only stay in one ‘area’ for no more than 14 days. ‘Area’ is not really defined but is generally accepted to be a parish and you still have to take notice of any local mooring conditions such as time limits. Of course, there are always exceptions to this such as being taken ill, mechanical breakdown, and the like but you should always try and get permission from BW before overstaying. As you cruise the system you might think you’re the only one obeying the rules as the outskirts of many towns and cities are marked by ‘illegally’ moored boats together with their attendant detritus and parked cars. You, of course, won’t have a car and, probably no job either.

You will also have to keep a log of your journeys to prove that you have been cruising continuously. Not that anyone ever asks to look at it! However, it is useful to know whether the ice is earlier or later than last year, when you saw the first cygnet born and to prove your fuel usage when claiming other than the ‘standard’ 40/60 split on fuel duty.

Every year there are stories of people with no previous experience selling their house, buying a boat and sailing off into the sunset, or at least to Birmingham. This is just plain daft. Even if you’ve had a few summer holidays on the canals this won’t prepare you for conditions in February. We thought we were experienced, 20 years of hiring then 8 years of shared ownership meant there wasn’t a month in the year when we hadn’t cruised. Even so, it has been a steep learning curve.

When deciding on your boat there are a number of decisions to be made that will be difficult to unmake later. When you get together with other boaters inevitably you will end up talking about toilets. These divide into pump-out and cassette. Pump-out has the advantage of looking like a normal toilet and it will last at least a couple of weeks between emptying. Indeed, some people manage to make their tank last for 3 months or more. They must make a lot of use of shore facilities such as pubs or keep their legs crossed a lot. Emptying them however will cost. Anything up to ?18 or so a time. Emptying a cassette on the other hand is usually free but a full one is heavy and will need doing every couple of days. So, you pays your money and take your choice. Oh, and whichever system you decide on, at some time it will block!

Very important is your bed as you’re going to spend rather a lot of time in it. In a hire boat the bed always runs fore and aft. You may have noticed that it is only 4 feet wide and that you are always digging your elbows and knees into your partners back. The one who draws the short straw to sleep on the inside also has the risk of sudden shock on accidentally touching the cold side of the boat. But, if you don’t mind the narrowness it has the great advantage of being permanently made up. Of course, you can always have an extension to one side to give you the luxury of a king size but you’ve then lost all the advantages. The cross bed, on the other hand, gives you the king size but can be a bit uncomfortable if you are taller than 5 foot 10. Climbing over the bed though keeps you fit and it also means that whoever sleeps on the kitchen side always gets to make the morning cuppa!

Everything on a boat is a bit of a compromise but you will need as much storage as is humanly possible. You cut down on your cooking utensils, convert all your CDs to MP3, stick all the family photos on your hard drive, stick the wellies in that tiny space at the back but it’s the clothes that take up the space. That great idea, the vacuum bag, must have been made with boaters in mind. Not only does it enable you to pack your spare clothes into a tiny space but it keeps them dry at the same time. You will come to accept the scourge of condensation in time!

When living in a house we took central heating for granted. We assumed we could do this on the boat despite the cost of diesel. A big mistake. Those heating systems generally fitted to boats are not suitable for residential use and, furthermore, any warranty won’t usually cover this use. There are some systems on the market designed for 24 hour use but they are not small and, given the pressures on space in a liveaboard, may not fit. Being children of the 60’s, well 50’s actually, we’ve never really had coal fires at home so thought we could do without one on board. From our experience with the shared ownership boat we found them to be dusty and the heat could sometimes be unbearable. Our first winter found the diesel heating expiring from over use on the coldest week of the year so we bit the bullet and had a multi-fuel stove fitted. The boat is now as warm as toast but guess what, it’s dusty and the heat can sometimes be unbearable. Still, we can always open the front doors!

You will be living in close proximity with your partner in a space not much longer than 50 feet. This inevitably will lead to the occasional argument. Make sure your boat has at least one door that can be closed with a satisfying slam!

Once on board permanently, you will be a person of no fixed abode. This is not acceptable in today’s Britain where the first piece of information you are always asked is your postcode. To have a credit card, a bank account and a British Waterways licence you will need a permanent address on shore. This is why you have children. They’ve used your home as a convenience for years, it’s your turn now. Make sure you get a new passport and driving licence showing this address so you can then apply for the National Bus Pass from the local Council. All your post can go there for your children to deal with. Most of it will be rubbish anyway but the important stuff can always be scanned and e-mailed to you. If it is something that you need to sign then the Royal Mail Poste Restante system works very well but is one of the places that you need to prove who you are so don’t forget to take that nice new driving licence.

Another item that seems to generate much hostility amongst some other boaters is the washing machine. Complaints about hogging the water point being the usual complaint. It might be that these people don’t wash their clothes too often but to rely on launderettes is a no-brainer. First you have to find one, it’s usually a long walk with a heavy bag of washing, you need an inexhaustible supply of ?1 coins and when you get the washing out you find the previous user had washed his overalls after creosoting the fence. So go for an on-board machine if you have the space. Be careful of washer/dryers though as they can use an inordinate amount of water in the drying process.

Having mentioned water, don’t pass a water point without filling up. You may have a tank that would keep a family of five going for a fortnight but, if you do pass a water point, you can bet your life that the next one will have six boats waiting or will not be working. This is even more important during the winter months when you can go to bed on a mildish night to wake to ? inch of ice.

As most of us get older we need to take various medications to make life easier. We are lucky in that the Doctor we have been registered for years continues to keep us on her list despite knowing we no longer live in her area. At first we took our repeat prescription forms to a local Doctor, registered as a temporary patient, and eventually received a new prescription. However, no two Doctors seemed to be the same. Sometimes we would receive enough for 2 months, on others just 2 weeks. Sometimes we were subjected to the third degree, on others we saw no one but a receptionist. Eventually we started posting the prescription form to a friend with a stamped addressed envelope for wherever we expect to be in the next fortnight, he drops it in to our Doctor, collects the new form and pops it in the post. There will be times when you become unwell and need to visit a local Doctor. This is easy. You have a form to fill in as a temporary patient for which you will need the dreaded postcode. I use the one of the nearest pub or supermarket. You will be asked if you are staying for longer than 14 days. (Not the same 14 days as British Waterways surely!) This is where you need to lie and say yes. Otherwise, you will only get enough medication to last until you are out of that Doctors area and are someone else’s problem.

You’ve made all your preparations and are afloat so now you need to make some plans. Plans! I here you say. We’re free agents. We’ll go where the wind, actually diesel power, takes us. If only it were so. Firstly all your friends and relatives will want to visit and see what it is that made you loose your senses but they would rather travel to France rather than find their way to Macclesfield. You’ll need to feed them so easy access to Tescos or Sainsburys is necessary as is plenty of booze to calm you down when they’ve gone. There’s the BW stoppage list to take into account and you need to consider winter whilst you can still move. It is no good being miles from the nearest water tap when the canal freezes over. Not that you can guarantee the tap will work when you do get to it. So, some forward planning is required even if it is somewhat loose. You will make a pact before you start that you are not going to cruise if it is raining or blowing a gale. You can forget that. Having made a plan that you didn’t want in the first place, you can bet it will rain every day when you just have to move

Boats are complicated things and will go wrong, usually at the worst possible time. Besides our heating breaking down, our generator failed a few days before Christmas 2007. ‘So what’, you might say but on a gas-free boat it was a bit awkward. Of course, you’re a DIY expert so you will have a full tool kit and all the spares your limited storage space and your partner will allow. At the very least I recommend you should be able to carry out your own engine service. If you think you can rely upon boatyards for any repairs then think again. You are used to phoning the garage, booking your car in for a service on a particular day and it being done that day. Just as we cruise the canals at a leisurely pace so do boatyards work. You must remember that the parts used on your boat might not be that common. Next time you are in the Chandlers just see how many different water and bilge pumps there are.

It won’t be long before you’re obsessed with your battery power, sticking your voltmeter into a socket at every opportunity to see the state of charge. After a while power conservation becomes second nature so then you can obsess about how much water you are using. Whatever appliances you choose you need to look at their power consumption. There are some quite low power mains units that won’t deplete your batteries too much but you must always remember, a 1000w toaster will pull 90 amps from your batteries if only for a shortish period. Batteries are only a storage medium. There is only so much you can get out of them before damaging them irreparably. The more power you use the longer you need to run your engine or generator the next day to fill it back up.

You will also get used to the morning ‘wipe down’. Condensation is a big problem on a boat. The amount varies from boat to boat and depends on the outside temperature and humidity. Cooking generates a lot, both from steam and from the gas used. The bathroom is another culprit but the biggest offender is us. And, whilst we keep breathing, there is nothing we can do about it. When we stop breathing the problem will go away, permanently! Plenty of ventilation will help as will a decent heating system and a bit of double glazing but a bit of extra insulation only seems to push the problem to a different part of the boat. So get wiping.

Getting about on shore can sometimes be a problem. Without your own car you either have to walk, cycle, bus, taxi, train or hire car. You will quickly realise that pedestrians and public transport come very low in most Councils priorities. Pedestrian routes to most supermarket and retail park entrances are obviously placed by architects who never actually walk anywhere. Most of these places have well worn paths through the flower beds and over the fences where pedestrians have taken the shortest route. Pavements that suddenly end only to start again on the opposite side of a busy road are all too common and pedestrian crossings are timed for the convenience of the motorist, not poor you waiting in the rain.

Having successfully obtained your bus pass you will then be introduced to that great work of fiction, the bus timetable! You will meet some wonderful people and listen to the life history of not a few and that is just the drivers. Take pity on them, having to charge around the country at breakneck speeds to meet unrealistic timetables in aged vehicles that belong to a third world country. The oldest we’ve travelled on was 21 years old! You will also find that large tracts of England are completely cut-off in the evenings and at weekends. Even in a town the size of Bedford, the last bus from the town centre to the marina we were moored in was at 6.15pm and there was no Sunday service at all despite there being a large leisure complex next door.

To keep in contact with your family and friends, there is the mobile phone. It is one of the wonders of the modern age that it is possible to talk with astronauts on the moon but try to get a signal on your phone on the summit level of the Kennet & Avon! If you can, make sure your partners phone is on a different network to yours. That way you have a fighting chance that one of your phones will work. Of course, internet access is the same. You get used to slow connection speeds after a while but it can be very frustrating when you are trying to pay your credit card before the due date. Many CCers make use of home shopping for foodstuffs. It is not something we have used but I understand that Tescos is the most accommodating. Provided you can give them the dreaded postcode they will deliver direct to the boat.

Talking of the internet, there are a number of canal related forums which can offer you some good advice. However, be careful what you say. Threads on these forums often get ‘hijacked’ by people with their own axe to grind. Ask an innocent question about generators, for instance, will bring a tirade from others who see living afloat as some sort of green crusade and that we should all be reading by candlelight, washing our clothes in the cut and scavenging the hedgerows for fuel. Just remember that it is your life and you can live it how you wish providing BW let you.

In the winter you can cruise for days without seeing another moving boat but in the summer it will be completely different. Every lock will have a queue of hirers who will ask the inevitable questions. Do you live on board? How long have you done it? Doesn’t it get cold in the winter? A few similar questions before the big one. How much did your boat cost?

So welcome to the club and if you pass a boat called ‘Joanie M’, slowly of course, give us wave. We’ll always wave back.

A Case Study Of Liveaboard Narrowboat Tournesol

Early retirement in 1999, nine months cruising in the UK and then ten years living in France. But for the last eighteen months Anne and Keith have been back in the UK cruising the canal network on their narrowboat.{{{0}}}

Who are you? (and your significant other and, of course, your dog if you have one)

Tell me a little about yourself and why you decided to live a life afloat

When we first took early retirement in 1999 after the last offspring left home to go off to Uni, we bought a 63′ Dave Thomas Dutch Barge lookalike and continuously cruised for nine months before we decided to sell it and move to France. We returned to the UK at the end of 2010 because Sarkozy told all the pre-retired expats to return their cartes vitale and leave the health system. We were living on work pensions and couldn’t afford private health care so we coped as long as we could, then sold up and came back. Having lived in the beautiful Limousin countryside for 10 years, we didn’t feel we could bear to live in suburbia, plus the property prices had more than doubled since we sold up, so we decided to look for a boat and found her on the internet being advertised on Apollo Duck as a private sale.

What is your boat called and why did you decide on that name?

Narrowboat Tournesal moored at Bath Weir

What is your boat style and length

How long have you been a narrowboat owner?

We bought her in October 2010 from the owner who lived in Knowle near Solihull, so we have owned her for 18 months now.

How did you finance your boat?

We already had a motorhome so we were living in that while we searched for a boat (our house contents are languishing in a secure barn that we bought for that purpose before we left France) so we had the proceeds of our house sale in France and we bought it outright.

How much time do you spend on your boat each year?

Are you still working? (If so, what do you do?)

Keith was in the Navy for 26 years and then the prison service until he took early retirement and I was a professional counsellor working for the NHS and East Kent education authority before I took early retirement. I started a non-profit-making website called Counselling In France in 2003 and that is still going and growing all the time, plus I run a small business designing websites called Windoweb so I am still doing that, although that is mainly for enjoyment as it makes very little profit. I also run a small sideline selling porthole doilies from a website and I also sell as we go along with the help of a board on the roof – people see the doilies in our
portholes and stop to look at the ones I have for sale. We are 60 and 65 this year so we are feeling a bit better off with old-age pensions kicking in, which is just as well with the price of diesel!

What do you like least about narrowboat life?

There isn’t anything really that either of us dislike about it. My only moan would be that I have extremely bad circulation and I hate dealing with icy metal on lock gates and windlasses at the end of the year. For Keith, he gets frustrated with the shallow state of some of the canals and trying to moor and going aground, then not being able to get off easily. Some of the prettiest places seem to be the shallowest.

What do you like most about narrowboat life?

We love the freedom and the ability to move around with a different view every night if we want. Although we enjoy the company of friends and family, we aren’t people who join in with group things or enjoy package holidays, we like to do our own thing and enjoy our own company. This way of life is as near perfect for our personalities as it could be.

If you could change just one thing about your boat, what would it be?

We both really wanted a cruiser stern. It’s fine to sit and have a BBQ on the towpath but it’s so much nicer to be able to do it on the back of your own boat. The main niggle for us is condensation. We added double glazed portholes to 7 of the14 portholes to help with the condensation issue and that helps but the Houdini hatch tends to drip after I’ve cooked a meal unless all the windows and hatches are open.

When you are cruising how do you resupply (How do you get to the supermarket without a car)?

We mainly walk or cycle to nearby shops or we catch a bus or train from near to the towpath into the nearest town and then ferry stuff back on our bike panniers or if walking, in rucksacks and a shopping trolley. When we are near a bridge or by a road and I can order online, I normally do a really big shop. What a wonderful invention that is, the Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury delivery solution! The First Mate guides are excellent for giving an idea of where shops are in relation to the canal.

How do you do your washing when you are cruising?

There was a slimline washing machine on the boat when we bought it but the motor had burned out so we bought a Miele washer dryer with a condenser dryer to cope with the single exit outlet and that has seriously helped with cutting down on condensation, plus it’s great to be able to wash, dry and put away within a couple of hours. When the weather is warm and dry, I have a camping rotary clothes line which we clamp into a heavy umbrella stand which stands on the towpath, unless there are a couple of trees nearby so that I can put a line up.

What type of toilet do you have on board and are you happy with it?

The boat had a rather posh pump-out toilet but we didn’t get where we are today by paying between ?10 and ?18 to pump out waste every 10 days, so we quickly invested in a PortaPotti. We are very happy with the idea of having both systems and only use the posh loo when the friends visit.

How do you connect to the internet when you are on your boat and are you happy with the service you receive?

It’s extremely important to me to be able to be online so we use a 3 Mifi, which I would recommend to anyone. It allows up to 5 devices to be online at the same time if needed and is like a mini hotspot which doesn’t have to be attached to any of the devices. We also bought a Talent signal repeater from Ebay (Allendale Stores) which is fixed inside the boat leading to a tall Wifi and mobile phone aerial on the roof which folds down when we are travelling. It has made a huge difference to being able to use the mobile phone anywhere inside the boat and also to be online with a full wireless signal without putting the Mifi outside on the roof. It was well worth the rather large amount that the whole setup cost to buy and I would recommend it to anyone who is having problems with a weak signal for a mobile phone or Wifi dongle.

What is your favourite canal or section of canal?

Lat summer we went down to Bristol on the Kennet and Avon via the South Oxford canal and these are our favourites so far although we spent seven days in Paddington Basin last September and we were very impressed with that. We are about to set off to Stratford on Avon, then down to Gloucester and Sharpness before making our way up the Avon, then the Staffs and Worcester, along the Shropshire canal to the Llangollen canal and then back again down through Birmingham, so we may have more favourites after the summer!

How do you generate electricity when you are cruising and how much do you use?

We have a 5kva TravelPower generator which can be used when the engine is running and which we use when we want to do a wash and dry on the run. Normally, AC is supplied by a 3Kw inverter but we installed 4 flexible solar panels on the roof when we bought the boat which helps on sunny days. We have four 135amp house batteries, a bow thruster battery and engine start battery powered by respective alternators. We also carry a Kipor 2.6kva portable generator to save running the engine to power the main generator when we are moored up. We keep an eye on consumption with a battery state indicator mounted on our bedroom wall.

What advice can you offer someone considering living on a narrowboat?

I would advise anyone thinking of living on a narrowboat to have two or three holidays aboard a hire boat to make sure they like it. I would advise them to make sure that one of those holidays is taken when the weather isn’t necessarily going to be fantastic because you need to know that you like it when the rain is slashing down and you can’t get outside without a sou’wester. They should try to look at the boat with an eye to living on it, fitting all they might need into cupboards and drawers, checking that electrics and battery systems are good enough to go 24 hours on just batteries. There’s nothing worse than waking up to find that the fridge has given up working because the batteries are completely flat (this happened to us more than once when we first got the boat because the last owner hadn’t a clue about battery care and meant we had to get four new house batteries)

How warm is your narrowboat in the winter?

We have a Bubble 5kw corner wood burner and Webasto diesel central heating running one long fin radiator throughout the length of the boat as well as heating water, though we also have an immersion heater for when we are plugged in at the marina. We ummed and aahed over whether to afford an Ecofan for our woodburner as it is right at the front of the boat and we weren’t sure that it would be effective enough to justify the cost. It works wonderfully! As long as all the doors are open and the fan can push the heat down the length of the boat, our bedroom at the stern is fairly warm late evening and early morning. We can tell the difference when visitors
come because the doors get closed and our bedroom is chilly in the early spring and late autumn mornings. We rarely use the central heating unless it’s really cold.

Anne’s web site design busines is here and her porthole doilies are here.
Are you one of the lucky few who lives the dream on board your own narrowboat full time? Would you like to share your experience with some of the thousands of potential floating home owners who visit this site? If you can spare the time to answer a few simple questions, I would love to hear from you. Just let me know so I can email the questions to you. I’ll create a post like the one above complete with a link back to your own blog or web site.

A Case Study Of Liveaboard Narrowboat The Woodsman

Pauline is the second narrowboat owner featured in the case study section who has a partner who also owns and lives on a narrowboat. Is this a growing trend and a solution to the lack of space on a narrowboat?

Who are you? (and your significant other and, of course, your dog if you have one)

Tell me a little about yourself and why you decided to live a life afloat

Barry and I own our own boats and travel together. I met him when I had a smaller boat and moored up behind him. We enjoy being close to nature, watching the wild life and the changing of the seasons. Barry is a bit of a musician, plays the keyboard and drums. I introduced him to poetry and showed him how to put it on a poetry site. We also enjoy drawing and painting (though we are not very good at that), making candles, sight-seeing and looking at old churches and cathedrals on our travels, and are fascinated with words… Scrabble, Boggle, quizzes. The reason I decided to live afloat is that once on my first little boat I became hooked. Those long weekends which were planned turned into long weeks. Then months. The canal adopted ME, rather than the other way round

What is your boat called and why did you decide on that name?

How long have you been a narrowboat owner?

Barry has lived on his for over nine years and I have lived on two boats over a period of nearly five years. My first one, an old 36 foot Springer, was bought for weekends and holidays although I eventually moved on to it as my house was on the market. My grandson and his partner are now the owners of the Springer.

How did you finance your boat?

We both sold our houses to buy the boats.

How much time do you spend on your boat each year?

Are you still working? (If so, what do you do?)

We are both in our 60’s and retired. I used to be a psychiatric nurse.

What do you like least about narrowboat life?

Barry and I have discussed what we like least about narrowboat life. Muddy, inadequate towpaths and lack of moorings in places. He doesn’t like the cold at all and I get frustrated about the ignorance displayed by house-dwellers who have no idea of the hardships we sometimes have to put up with, such as getting water, emptying the loo, etc.

What do you like most about narrowboat life?

As for the things we like the most, well the top answer to that would be the community spirit of boaters. Although we hardly ever know peoples’ surnames and sometimes even their Christian names there is a camaraderie and willingness to help each other. Of course, towpath walkers who stop to talk are always welcomed. We’ve met some pretty interesting people that way.

If you could change just one thing about your boat, what would it be?

Changes? I have a walk-through bedroom at the stern of my boat. How I would love to have a private room at the bow instead.

When you are cruising how do you resupply (How do you get to the supermarket without a car)?

When cruising we get our supplies by looking through the canal books, making a note of where the shops are and either walking or catching a bus. We tend to have lots of supplies which don’t need a fridge so that when we are in the middle of nowhere we won’t go hungry. For instance, part-baked bread which can be kept in a cupboard, long-life milk and some tins of ham, corned beef etc. In the winter I am able to keep chilled food in the cratch as well.

How do you do your washing when you are cruising?

We do our washing by hand. Big items like sheets are usually boil-washed at marinas or laundrettes. Barry and I both have washing machines but rarely use them except to spin out the clothes before either hanging them outside or in the bathroom. They use too much water.

What type of toilet do you have on board and are you happy with it?

We both have pump-out toilets and Barry also has a Portapotti. I have my own pump-out kit so use that when there is a facility for it at sanitary stations. We are both satisfied with our toilets but find, in some areas, a lack of places to get rid of waste. For instance, in Berkhamsted there are no working sanitary stations. There used to be one in the grounds of a pub (!!) but that hasn’t been operational for years. We did campaign to get it back into use but that’s another story… BW told us to either go up five locks to another one or go down five locks. Not very helpful especially when the cut is frozen over.

How do you connect to the internet when you are on your boat and are you happy with the service you receive?

We have computers and go online via a dongle. As explained in my essay it all depends on where we are moored whether we get a strong signal, a weak one or nothing at all.

What is your favourite canal or section of canal?

You asked which was our favourite canal or section. It has to be the Aylesbury Arm. We’ve travelled that twice and would do so again because it is quiet, pretty and has a basin full of welcoming and helpful boaters. Halfway up the arm, between bridge 14 and lock 14, is the most gorgeous setting, with a carp lake set among massive fields full of bullocks and four totally wild Palomino ponies.

How do you generate electricity when you are cruising and how much do you use?

As for generating electricity when cruising we both have twin alternators and generators. We use very little electricity. I have my fridge on at the moment but won’t use that very often because it really eats the power. Barry and I both changed our lighting to LEDs which use just a fraction of the power the old lights used and we like to burn candles on winter evenings. To read we use battery headlights and as well as our built-in radios we have battery operated ones.

What advice can you offer someone considering living on a narrowboat?

My advice to people considering living on a narrowboat would be to try it out. Take a boating holiday in mid-winter and decide if you could manage to put up with the cold, condensation, etc. Talk to as many boaters as possible to get an in-depth picture. And look at websites, like yours, Paul, which give superb advice and information.

How warm is your narrowboat in the winter?

You asked about a boat’s warmth in winter. I have a multi-fuel fire at one end of the boat and my bedroom at the other so there’s a massive range of temperature variation. In other words my stern is bloody freezing. However, with both boats having diesel-fired central heating this can be rectified at the press of a button. Thermal underwear is a must along with lots of layers and, at bedtime, hot-water bottles. Ecofans on the fire really help, too.

Pauline has also written what has proven to be quite a controvertial article about the pitfalls of living on a narrowboat. You can read it here
Are you one of the lucky few who lives the dream on board your own narrowboat full time? Would you like to share your experience with some of the thousands of potential floating home owners who visit this site? If you can spare the time to answer a few simple questions, I would love to hear from you. Just let me know so I can email the questions to you. I’ll create a post like the one above complete with a link back to your own blog or web site.

It’s Not All Roses And Castles

Pauline Roberts lives aboard The Woodsman. She loves the lifestyle but her family and friends don’t understand what it’s all about. She wrote the following to try and explain it to Continue reading

A Review Of The Liveaboard Guide By Tony Jones

I’ve just been sent a book to review. It’s “The Liveaboard Guide” by Tony Jones. Tony Jones has lived aboard his 50ft narrowboat for 7 years, in which time he has traversed 500 miles of canals and rivers, navigated through 400 locks and moveable bridges, run aground 4 times, sunk once, and broken down more times than he can remember. He is a professional freelance writer, published regularly in Waterways World, Canals and Rivers and Towpath Talk.

I like this book. It’s packed full of useful information for potential narrowboat owners. Tony describes the different style narrowboats and the pros and cons of each, other liveaboard boat styles available in the UK but why they’re not suitable for canal liveaboards, whether to choose a new or used narrowboat, where to get them and what you can expect to pay, what to check for when considering a boat for sale, how to fund the purchase. Then he moves on to the practicalities of living on a boat.

Moorings

Where will you moor? Do you need a permanent mooring at all? How will you cope if you’re trying to hold down a full time job? How easy is it to find a residential mooring? What is a residential mooring and how does it differ from a leisure mooring? What facilities are available on moorings? How much can you expect to pay? What are “on-line” moorings and why is an off-side mooring much better than a towpath mooring? Where can you moor your boat for free?

The Cost Of Living On A Narrowboat

How much does a narrowboat license cost? Where will the license allow you to travel? What is a boat safety certificate and why do you need one? How much does insurance cost for a narrowboat? Is insurance available for liveaboard narrowboat owners? How much does coal and gas cost? How much electricity can you expect to use? How much diesel will your boat use? What about toilet servicing costs and boat maintenance costs? How much does a professional paint job cost and how often does it need to be done? How often does the hull need to be “blacked”?

The Importance Of Space

A narrowboat is a very small space to live in. Tony explains the different internal and external storage options available and why you need to consider the lack of on board space very carefully before considering living on a narrowboat.

Narrowboat Toilets

It’s a popular topic of conversation on the cut. Your toilet choice can have a significant impact on your life aboard. It’s a subject that never raises its ugly head in spacious homes on dry land but on a narrowboat where you have to carry your liquid and solid waste around with you, it’s very important indeed. And when you intend to live on board full time, it’s critical that you get it right. Tony’s book explains the options available to you.

Boating Skills

It’s not difficult to get a narrowboat from point A to point B. At Calcutt Boats, as with most narrowboat hire companies, novice boaters are given a crash course lasting no more than an hour before they set off on their own for a week or two. Of course the hire boats are fully equipped and serviced and call out engineers are just a phone call away. When you buy your own boat, you’re on your own. Tony explains clearly what equipment you need on board and what checks you need to make before you start a cruise. Once you are on the cut, you need to know how to conduct yourself. Tony explains the rules

Working and Living Afloat

How do you manage a full time job when you live on a boat? What are the problems that you are likely to experience and what are the solutions? Full time boaters need to be more organised than their land based counterparts. There are logistics to overcome but what are they and is commuting to work from your floating home really practical?

Managing Your Utilities

Unlike a house, a boat doesn’t have utilities on tap. Unless you have a connection to a land based electricity supply you have to generate your own electricity on board. You have to replenish your gas, coal and water supply. You have to keep a careful watch on your dreaded toilet tank. Tony explains how to manage it all effectively.

Boat Safety

There are many potential dangers in and around your boat. Fire risks from multi fuel stoves, carbon monoxide poisoning from stove and gas appliances, sinking through poor lock practices and lack of basic engine maintenance, slips on wet surfaces, slips on icy surfaces, trips caused by carelessness and poor rope management, slips and falls in the dark, crush injuries cause by inserting body parts between boats and solid objects, drowning (yes, you can drown in a shallow canal), amputation and laceration caused when body parts are introduced to a spinning propeller and broken bones from flying windlasses. The section also covers vandalism and break ins, illnesses and deseases. Be safe. Read the book.

On Board Entertainment

It’s possible to enjoy all the comforts and toys on your boat that you have in your house. Your choice though will have an impact on what type of system you need on board to generate the required amount of electricity. You can have digital television, radios, CD, DVD and MP3 players, games consoles and systems. In many places you can also enjoy broadband speed internet connectivity (I do on James… most of the time). Tony explains all you need to know to keep yourself entertained.

Boat Maintenance

Some basic knowledge about the systems on your boat is essential if you want to enjoy trouble free life on board. Tony explains how to prolong the life of your batteries, how to prevent toilet blockages, how to avoid catastrophic floods from frozen water pipes, basic equipment to keep on board to clear a fouled propeller (and carry out basic boat maintenance), the most effective flooring for your boat, how to deal with stove leaks and engine maintenance. It’s stuff you need to know.

Keeping In Touch With The Real World

When you move on to a boat full time, you create a bit of a problem for yourself. Many institutions insist that you supply documentary evidence of a permanent address. You don’t have an address for your boat unless you are on a mooring where the owner will agree to accept mail for you. However, this can often create a problem for the mooring owner. So how do you deal with the paperwork necessary to open a bank account, register with a GP or dentist? Guess what? You need to read the book.

In summary, I think Tony’s book is excellent. It’s easy to read, well presented, has plenty of cracking photo’s and is a really useful resource whether you’re thinking of buying a boat to live on or just for occasional leisure use.

Click here for the Kindle edition or for the good old paperback version click here.

A Case Study Of Liveaboard Narrowboat The Watchman

Tony Jones is a freelance writer living on and working full time from his narrowboat “The Watchman”. Tony’s book “The Liveaboard Guide” will be released later this month. The nature of Tony’s work allows him the flexibility to enjoy a nomadic lifestyle that is usually only practical for retirees. I’m just a tiny bit jealous!{{{0}}}

Who are you? (and your significant other and, of course, your dog if you have one)

I’m Tony Jones, I’m 40 years old and I live aboard with my little white terrier dog Puck. My girlfriend lives aboard on her own boat a few metres along the towpath from me.

A Pensive Tony Jones

Tell me a little about yourself and why you decided to live a life afloat

In my spare time I go rock climbing – or rather I should say ‘falling’. I seem to fall more than I climb.

I supposed I stumbled into boating almost by accident. I’d just returned from a stint working abroad and I had a decent chunk of cash in my bank account. I’d been rather itinerant since I left home in my teens and thought that perhaps it was time I settled down and bought a house. After doing some research, however, I deduced that the housing market was on the edge of a precipice and that investing in bricks and mortar at that point was a very bad idea. Admittedly I mistimed my prediction by a few years, but I was eventually proven to be correct in my calculations.

As for buying a boat, it seemingly came out of nowhere. I’d never even stepped aboard one before I handed over my cash. I’d spoken to some friends about it when they considered living aboard a few years earlier, but it still surprises me that I ended up on a boat. saying that, if you spoke to my friends and said that Tony was planning to live in a hot air balloon, they would probably say “Yes, I bet he does as well!”

What is your boat called and why did you decide on that name?

What is your boat length and style?

It’s a 50 foot trad.

How long have you been a narrowboat owner?

Seven years.

How did you finance your boat?

As I mentioned above, my life has always been somewhat itinerant. I worked as a roadie for rock bands for a few years, living on tour busses and in hotels and eating at catering. I was earning good money and having very little time or reason to spend any. Then I worked in Lanzarote for a while, helping to set up a zoo over there whilst again, living on site and being catered for. When i came home I had enough money for a house deposit or a boat.

How much time do you spend working on your boat each year?

Are you still working? (If so, what do you do?)

I’m a freelance writer. I write for magazines such a BBC Wildlife, the Spectator, most of the boating magazines and many more besides. I also write text for museum displays and my first book ‘The Liveaboard Guide’ is due to be published any day now. Its a nots and bolts guide to living afloat, warts and all, and it has lots of anecdotes and case studies and stories too. This helps to give the reader a real
flavour of what boat life is actually like; the lifestyle and the types of people who are suited to it.

What do you like least about narrowboat life?

Without a doubt it is the amount of time I spend dealing with dog poo that I have picked up on the towpath. Grrrrr!

What do you like most about narrowboat life?

I thought originally that it would be the financial freedom, or perhaps being close to nature. In reality though it is something I never considered previous to me actually getting a boat. The thing I value most is the boating community; knowing your neighbours and working together like a community should.

If you could change just one thing about your boat, what would it be?

To finally have it professionally painted. It’s been a long time coming, but I think we’re almost there. This year for sure.

When you are cruising how do you resupply (How do you get to the supermarket without a car)?

I’m pretty fit so it’s usually bike or shanks’s pony. I tend to tie it in with walking the dog.

How do you do your washing when you are cruising?

I’m pretty fit so it’s usually bike or shanks’s pony. I tend to tie it in with walking the dog.

How do you connect to the internet when you are on your boat and are you happy with the service you receive?

All of my work is done via the internet, so it is vitally important that I can connect. I have a mobile wi-fi dongle by 3. It’s fantastic.

What is your favourite canal or section of canal?

The River Wey was just stunning. I intend to go back there.

How do you generate electricity when you are cruising and how much do you use?

Power is generated by the engine, inbuilt genny and solar. Depends where we are and what kind of day it is on which source creates the power. How much do we use – again, depends what we are doing. We don’t have a great deal of mod cons – no washing machine, freezer etc. We do have a 12 volt fridge, 6 volt radio and 12 volt tele, so power consumption is quite low. Nevertheless, we still run out of power occasionally. But, there is always bed with a book!

What advice can you offer someone considering living on a narrowboat?

I’m entirely reliant on my engine to charge the three leisure batteries on board. Installing solar power is on the list, behind a paint job. I have 12v adapters for most of my technology and I don’t have a TV or a microwave to suck up power. I run my engine most days.

How warm is your narrowboat in the winter?

Fine, so long as I don’t let the fire go out.

Tony mentioned his soon to be released book in the interview. His publisher kindly sent me a copy to review. You can read my comments here or go straight to his publisher’s web site to order a copy here

Are you one of the lucky few who lives the dream on board your own narrowboat full time? Would you like to share your experience with some of the thousands of potential floating home owners who visit this site? If you can spare the time to answer a few simple questions, I would love to hear from you. Just let me know so I can email the questions to you. I’ll create a post like the one above complete with a link back to your own blog or web site.