Living on a boat

Living on a Boat

By Phil Bassett and Peggy Melmoth

1 Living on a Boat

Contents Could You Live Aboard? ...................................................................................................... 2 How to Buy a Boat .............................................................................................................. 3 Choosing a Boat .................................................................................................................. 3 Barge For Sale ..................................................................................................................... 6 Narrowboat or Narrow Boat? ............................................................................................. 7 Costs .................................................................................................................................... 9 Moorings ........................................................................................................................... 10 Continuous Cruising .......................................................................................................... 13 Finance and Insurance ...................................................................................................... 16 Is it Cold in Winter?........................................................................................................... 17 Winter Boating .................................................................................................................. 19 Home Comforts ................................................................................................................. 20 Mobile Internet ................................................................................................................. 21 Where's My Nearest...? ..................................................................................................... 22 Pets on Board .................................................................................................................... 24 Children on Board ............................................................................................................. 25 Learning the Ropes ........................................................................................................... 26 Why I Work for Boatshed ................................................................................................. 27 Buying a Boat With Boatshed Inland ............................................................................... 28

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2 Living on a Boat

Could You Live Aboard?

There are almost 35,000 canal boats on Britain’s inland waterways*, but it’s quite difficult to estimate how many of those are floating homes. I was once interviewed by a journalist who seemed to want to find out what ‘type’ of people are living within the boating community. The truth is that we are just as diverse as the community living ashore. Live-aboard boaters include middle-aged divorcees, retired couples, young professionals, people on low incomes, people ‘down on their luck’ and canal heritage enthusiasts. It can include people seeking an alternative lifestyle, or people seeking a cheaper lifestyle. Some boaters are foreign tourists discovering England and some people are able to choose a nomadic lifestyle because they work from home.

If you think you may be one of these people you need to consider the challenges.

Confined space and a lack of storage will mean de-cluttering your possessions before moving aboard. Have you taken into account the extra chores such as disposing of your own domestic waste and sewage, and keeping your water tank topped up? Are you ready for an unpredictable electric supply that depends on the engine being maintained in good working order? Your gas will be purchased in bottles and the changing price of red diesel will affect your home budget. If your work or personal commitments make continuously cruising impractical you will need to find a mooring.

If you have considered all of these points then you are ready to take the plunge. Imagine the emotional freedom of releasing so many material possessions to move into a cosy boat. Consider the sense of independence and achievement knowing that you are responsible for supplying your own gas and electric, and the environmental awareness you’ll gain when physically managing your own waste disposal. You may feel more connected with nature and feed swans and ducks from your kitchen window. You will learn to be economical with water and you may like to learn new skills such as marine engine maintenance, boat refurbishment or painting roses and castles. Will you exchange the gym for cycling or running on the towpath? Will you enjoy being part of a community in a marina or will you consider a new career as a roving canal trader?

Peggy Melmoth *Source: The Canal and River Trust website 2012

http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring/mooring-rules

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3 Living on a Boat

How to Buy a Boat Over the years that Boatshed Grand Union has been selling boats on the Inland Waterways, several questions have recurred time and time again.

With more 'first-time' boaters entering the market. it seemed a good opportunity to bring all these queries together and give comprehensive answers. Many buyers in the present market are looking for an alternative lifestyle or just an alternative form of housing which will save them money. As experienced boaters will be aware of there are many pitfalls on the way to owning a boat and many myths that need to be dispelled about living on a boat.

At Boatshed Grand Union we consider it an important part of our job to advise buyers and guide them through the process of choosing and buying a boat that will serve their particular needs and aspirations.

In this book, we will cover how to choose the best type of boat for you, the economics of buying a boat, mooring options, and much more.

Phil Bassett

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4 Living on a Boat

Choosing a Boat What types are there?

Canal and river boats come in many shapes and sizes as well as a variety of materials, so let's start with the basics. Narrowboats range from around 20ft to around 70ft in length, but are generally 6'10" wide. They are traditionally measured in feet rather than metres, although we give both on the Boatshed Grand Union web site.

Anything wider than 7ft is a wide beam or broad beam. They are usually from 40ft up to 70ft. For want of a better description they are like a narrowboat only wider - 10', 10'6" and 12' are common widths although I have seen them down to 8' and up to 14'.

Both Narrowboats and Wide-beams generally have an open front deck, which can be enclosed with a removable covering called a cratch. The stern can be one of three configurations: traditional - very short, just enough room for the tiller swing - the helmsman stands in the hatch. Semi-trad - like a trad, but the roof over the engine space is removed and bench seats placed against the side walls. Cruiser stern- a larger more open stern often with a low rail around it.

A standard layout for a narrowboat or wide-beam is to have a lounge or saloon at the front, followed by a kitchen or galley, then the bathroom and finally a bedroom before reaching the engine space. Older, more traditional boats may have a full height engine room with, possibly a traditional boatman's cabin aft of that. Longer boats may have a second bedroom or utility room inserted in the plan. Boats with a bedroom in the front and a kitchen or living space right at the back are referred to as 'reverse layout'. These are becoming more popular.

Dutch barges are generally bigger and higher than wide beams and often will not fit under canal bridges. Some have a demountable wheel house and a lowering mast to allow canal passage. They come in many styles - Luxemotor, Aak and Tjalk are some of the better known ones. They tend to be more shapely than narrowboats with curved hulls and superstructure. Originally designed for Dutch Canals and Inland seas they were designed to sail as well as motor and often have a descending keel on one side. There are originals going back to the early twentieth-century available in this country as well as many replicas which are still being built in the UK. We also have similar, home grown, Humber and Thames barges.

All the above are generally steel built, although earlier ones are often wooden construction. Narrowboats also come in aluminium. Some boats are hybrid with a steel

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5 Living on a Boat

hull and wooden or aluminium (or even plastic) superstructure. River cruisers come in steel, GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) or wood.

Live-Aboards - Which Type is for You? The best type of boat for you will depend on what you wish to do with it and how big your budget is. Some boats are better if you want to live aboard some are better for cruising either extended, holiday or weekend. Some are designed for rivers and some for canals.

If you wish to live aboard, obviously the bigger the better, a Dutch Barge or wide-beam is ideal. However Dutch Barges are a little large for convenient cruising on the canal and your budget may not stretch to a large boat.

If you are considering a narrowboat to live on then a trad stern and short fore deck give you the maximum space outside. If you go for a cruiser stern it gives you outdoor space in the summer and can be covered with a pram cover for the winter. A cratch cover at the front also provides additional storage space.

A fixed bed is desirable - having to pack and unpack a bed every day is tedious. If you have children, second bedrooms are available on longer boats but fairly rare. Generally a dining area can be combined with either the saloon or the kitchen. smaller, moveable furniture gives maximum flexibility, however a dinette arrangement offers a space that can be both dining room and study, with storage under and will convert to an extra bed when required. Storage space is something to be considered carefully. It is usually limited on a boat.

Kitchens are small but usually have the basics - a cooker, sink and usually a fridge - which can be gas, 12volt, or mains and often more than one of these. However 12volt fridges consume a lot of battery power so are only good if you are cruising a lot. For 240volt you will need shore power or a generator. Washing machines and also require a lot of power.

Baths are a fairly rare luxury on a narrowboat, but showers and a washbasin are normal.

Toilets come in cassette and pump out varieties. Cassettes need emptying more often and facilities are more commonly available. Pump outs, from a holding tank, need to be done less often, but involve a cost. Composting toilets need emptying far more rarely but they are expensive to buy in the first place.

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6 Living on a Boat

Many other decisions will depend on your mooring (we will cover moorings in detail later in the book.) If you are in a marina you will probably have direct access to water, mains electricity and toilet tank pump out. If you are on an established mooring you may have some or all of these. If you are continuously cruising you will have to find water and disposal facilities as you go and you will have no mains. Remember, most boats are not sold with a mooring, so you need to consider your options.

Heating and hot water are important when you live aboard. The solid fuel stove is the boaters mainstay.

Cheap and efficient the warm a boat well. Fitted with a back boiler they can also feed radiators and a hot water tank. Diesel heaters are very useful and fit into any engine bay with fuel drawn from your main tank (duty free).

An engine calorifier can also heat water in a tank using waste engine heat, however this does depend on using your engine regularly. Gas boilers provide hot water on demand for both kitchen and bathroom. If you have permanent mains connection, you can use immersion heaters and electric room heaters.

Phil Bassett

Barge For Sale Most people who know me, know that I live on a narrowboat.

“Peggy lives on a barge,” they say, assuming that they are one and the same. I usually smile and nod. But a barge is “a long flat bottomed boat for carrying freight on canals, rivers, etc.” (The Concise Oxford Dictionary.) A bargee is “a person in charge of or working on a barge.” The word barga, of Latin origin, referred to any small boat and the modern meaning of a larger boat dates back to around 1480. Interestingly the phrase "I wouldn't touch that with a (whatever length) pole" has been around for longer than barge poles so, “I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole” is a fairly modern expression.

Most waterways folk know that a narrowboat and a barge are completely different things, even though some narrowboats were built to a design based on river barges. A barge is always going to be more than 7 feet wide. Some canal barges are without engines and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats. The dictionary tells me that “A narrow boat is a canal boat, esp. one less than 7 ft. wide” and so on the canal system the term barge is often used to describe anything wider than a narrowboat.

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7 Living on a Boat

Barges continue to be used on England's waterways to move freight and carry out maintenance, but they can also be a very comfortable home afloat due to the extra width. Purpose built replicas of the Dutch barge style are a popular live-aboard choice, but I'm particularly fond of the 1930's Aak Style Dutch Barge.

There's something beautifully quirky about them, and yet some are still narrow enough to share a lock. There's a high demand for Dutch barges for sale at the moment because they make such lovely live-aboard homes. If you're thinking of living on a boat on the Grand Union Canal then you could use different search terms like “narrowboat sales grand union”, “houseboat for sale” and “barge for sale”, because there are so many different types of boat available.

Of course some people don't even mention barges to me. They say, “Do you know Peggy actually lives on a longboat?”

Don't get me started! Although this name was sometimes used in the Midlands in working-boat days nobody calls them longboats now!

Narrowboat or Narrow Boat?

How does the old song go? You say potato, I say tomato? A narrow boat was traditionally a cargo carrying boat found on the British inland waterways from the 18 th century onwards. On the UK navigable waterways locks and bridge holes are a minimum of 7 feet wide. The phrase “narrow boat” often refers to the original style of working canal boat, or a modern replica of this type of boat. The first narrow boats were horse

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8 Living on a Boat

drawn wooden boats. Today on the canal there are many replicas of the traditional type of boats, painted with ornate designs of roses and castles. Some enthusiasts are dedicated to restoring the remaining original boats and The Historic Narrow Boat Owners Club was formed in 1966. It is a not-for-profit club dedicated to preserving the working heritage of the canals.

However, the modern meaning of the term “narrow boat” in The Concise Oxford Dictionary simply reads, “A narrow boat is a canal boat, esp. one less than 7 ft. wide”. The Canal and River Trust, and magazines like Waterways World have adopted the term “narrowboat” to refer to pleasure boats and liveaboard canal boats that are built with the similar style and dimensions to the old cargo carrying narrow boats. Living on a canal boat is now becoming more and more popular and so used boats for sale, barges for sale and houseboats for sale are just some of the options available to people with an interest in living aboard narrowboats and canal boats. Narrowboats are usually built of steel, although some modern ones are now aluminium. Their size, design and history are completely different to that of long-boats or barges.

Although a narrowboat is defined as being no wider than 7 feet, in practice canal boats are usually 6 feet 10 inches wide to allow them to comfortably cruise the canal system and pass through locks and bridges. Most locks can accommodate narrowboats of up to 70 feet in length. However, a shorter boat will allow a boater the freedom to explore more of the network because some locks on a few isolated waterways can be as short as 40 feet. Anything wider than 7 feet is known as a wide-beam or broad-beam, but can often be similar in style and design to a narrowboat. Although they will have an open front deck, this can be enclosed with a removable water-proof covering called a cratch cover. A traditional narrowboat stern is so short that the helmsman actually stands on the back step, inside the hatch. In a semi-trad boat there is no roof over the engine space and there may be bench seats against the side walls. A cruiser stern provides a larger, open back deck, sometimes with a railing around it.

So from their gritty beginnings as an integral part of the Industrial Revolution narrow boats and canal boats have evolved and diversified. Interest in the leisure boating industry was ignited after the Second World War thanks to the enthusiasm of L.T.C Rolt and the IWA, living aboard a narrowboat is still growing in popularity and cargo carrying continues to be a practical use of the inland waterways.

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9 Living on a Boat

Costs How Much Does a Narrowboat Cost?

A new narrowboat will cost about £1000 per foot. Second hand narrowboats can start at under £10,000 for a ‘project boat’ – something tired and weary. A 40 foot boat for one could be as little as £15,000; a good condition 70 foot boat to suit a family may cost around £45,000. The price depends on the age and condition of the boat. The important thing to check is the condition of the hull, by paying for a professional survey before purchase.

How much does it cost to live on a boat?

When you are looking for a boat to buy you may wonder if living aboard is cheaper than living in a house. Your costs will depend on the particular house and boat that you are comparing. I started looking for boats for sale in London in the year 2000. I was renting a room in a shared flat and decided to buy a second hand narrowboat. Taking into consideration the licence fee, insurance, mooring fee, boat loan repayments to the bank, the cost of gas and coal etcetera I found that the lifestyle was similar in monthly costs to my lifestyle ‘on the bank’. However, a big motivating factor for me was to be able to own my home.

Liveaboard costs will largely depend on the size of your boat, how you have financed it, the luxuries or mod cons you have on board and the cost of your mooring. The bigger the boat the more expensive your insurance, licence and mooring will be. On a mooring you may pay for a shore-line of 240 volt metered electricity, yet while cruising you will generate your own 12 volt electricity. Heating may be gas, solid fuel or a diesel stove. A small space is economical to heat and diesel used for domestic purposes (as opposed to propulsion) is duty free. Your domestic water may be heated by gas, an engine calorifier or a back boiler from your main heating stove. So, the diverse number of options available means that it is difficult to calculate the typical running costs of a boat, per se.

(This is of course also true of houses.)

If you don't own your boat outright you may be paying a marine mortgage or regular bank loan repayments. Mooring fees can vary across the country depending on the location and the facilities provided. The longer the boat the more expensive your insurance and licence will be. Engine maintenance is a sporadic and sometimes unpredicatable cost that you will have to budget for, unless you are a talented marine

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10 Living on a Boat

engineer and other systems on the boat, (e.g plumbing and electric) all require maintenance and repair from time to time.

Another regular cost is a boat safety certificate. A boat safety check must be undertaken every four years in order to validate your insurance. The boat safety examiner may make recommendations of changes you should make to your boat before he will renew your certificate, and these changes can incur costs.

So, don't let the temptation of a cheaper lifestyle encourage you to live aboard. You will derive more value from living on the waterways if you have a keen interest in canal heritage and towpath nature walks!

Moorings If you've decided to live aboard a narrowboat your next decision may be where to live.

Most boats are not sold with a mooring, so while looking at boats for sale you should also be considering your mooring options.

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11 Living on a Boat

Residential Moorings

Most mooring sites are leisure moorings which means they are officially non-residential.

However Canal and River Trustdo operate some residential moorings and a few are provided by boatyards and marinas.

If you register your details on http://www.bwmooringvacancies.com you can save a search for residential moorings and have vacancies sent to you by email as and when they are published by the Canal and River Trust.

There is also The Canal and River Trust mooring information at http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring Residential moorings may or may not provide diesel sales, 240 volt electricity supply, waste disposal, parking, land line telephone, launderette, a postal address or a water point. Consider which services are important to you, and within your budget. You may also want to check the distance to local amenities such as grocery shops and the GP.

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12 Living on a Boat

Continuous Cruising If you would like to travel around without staying in any one place for more than fourteen days then the Guidance For Boaters Without a Home Mooring advise that boaters should be engaged in a genuine progressive journey around a significant part of the canal system. This is a requirement of purchasing a continuous cruising license and ensures that popular visitor moorings do not become overcrowded. This can be a varied and satisfying lifestyle for someone who is happy to be on the move; for example a retired couple, or someone who works from home. Make sure that you read the full guidelines before choosing continuous cruising. http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/library/633.pdf The Canal and River Trust are currently researching ways to 'rule out repetitive 'to-ing' and 'froing' within the same geographical area'. If you do not have a permanent mooring bear in mind that your boat will be moored on the towpath which could be less secure, especially in inner city areas.

Winter Moorings The Canal and River Trust let out some of their visitor mooring spaces as ‘Winter Moorings’. These can be purchased through their mooring vacancies website at the beginning of October. Some marinas and private mooring providers also offer winter moorings. During the winter months the weather and stoppages for canal maintenance make cruising more difficult. Some boaters prefer to settle down for the winter and then continue to cruise in the summer months. Depending on your situation you could apply for a different winter mooring each year or keep returning to the same place if availability allows.

So whether you are choosing between a second hand narrowboat, a Dutch barge or a wide beam houseboat for sale there are also decisions to make about whether you wish to find a residential mooring. Try using the boat search facility on the Boatshed Grand Union website to view a selection of boats suitable for living aboard.

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13 Living on a Boat

Continuous Cruising How often do you have to move your narrowboat?

When you are looking for canal boats for sale you may be also be looking for a residential mooring. However, if you intend to become a continuous cruiser you could have some questions about the practicalities of being constantly on the move. At the time of writing there are around 6000 boats registered as continuous cruisers in the UK. First, you will need to purchase a boat license for your boat or narrowboat. This is often a ‘continuous cruising’ license from The Canal and River Trust. This allows the boat to travel widely around Canal and River Trust without staying in any one place for more than fourteen days (or less where local C&RT signs indicate a shorter period). The Guidance For Boaters Without a Home Mooring state that you must be engaged in a genuine, progressive journey around the network or a significant part of it. In submitting your license application, you agree to comply with the guidelines. If you want to live on a navigable river you will need to purchase a license from the appropriate local navigation authority.

For healthcare on the move you can keep your existing GP and visit a local surgery as a temporary resident as and when needed. For administrative purposes the NHS often require a local address, whether you are visiting the GP as a permanent or a temporary resident. If you cannot use the address of a local friend you may be able to offer the name of your boat, accompanied by the postcode of a local business or canal side pub.

If you are away from your mooring, or continuously cruising, home shopping deliveries can be less straight forward than on land. Some retailers will only deliver to the address where the purchasing card is registered. However, live-aboard boaters have been known to arrange home deliveries from shops such as Argos and Tesco! First, moor up beside a lock cottage, canal-side pub or business and use Google to find out their postcode. When placing an order telephone the company in question and request that they add specific directions like, “Narrowboat (Name), moored by canal bridge, off (insert name of road).” Get them to make sure that the delivery driver has your mobile phone number in case of any confusion.

It is sometimes difficult to determine whether a boater is eligible to pay council tax.

However the Canal and River Trust license fee covers the cost of a number of utilities a continuous cruiser may use, such as water supply and waste disposal. Boats on fixed residential moorings are liable to pay council tax and this may or may not be included in the mooring fee. Council Tax is charged on a domestic property or ‘dwelling’. Whilst a boat can be a dwelling, it cannot in law be a property.

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The Canal and River Trust pays the Government a composite levy in respect of Council Tax and Business Rates. So, anyone who pays a boat license fee to C&RT contributes to this composite levy. The Trust also pays the local suppliers of sewage disposal and water and pays private contractors for rubbish disposal provided for boaters. In this way, continuous cruisers indirectly contribute to council costs.

To use a local library you will need to prove your home address or have a mailing address of some sort but it does not have to be in the area where you currently live and you do not have to register to pay Council Tax locally.

You can register to vote if you make a declaration of local connection. Contact the electoral registration officer at the council where you wish to declare a local connection, and they will supply a form for you to complete.

Change in the Guidelines for Boats Without a Home Mooring The guidelines for boats without a home mooring were updated in 2011. The previous guidance was first published in 2004. However, in 2011 Bristol County Court decided that in the case of Canal and River Trust v Davies, moving up and down within a 10 mile stretch of the Kennet & Avon Canal without a home mooring could not be described as 'bona fide navigation' (a phrase from the 1995 BW Act, meaning in good faith.)

The new guidelines were created after consultation with waterways user groups such as the National Association of Boat Owners. They were published on 12th October 2011 and define more clearly what is meant by bona fide navigation and seek to ensure that enough temporary moorings are readily available for all cruising boats.

The new guidance states that, “Subject to stops of permitted duration, those using a boat licensed for continuous cruising must genuinely be moving, in passage or in transit throughout the period of the licence...

Importantly, short trips within the same neighbourhood, and shuttling backwards and forwards along a small part of the network do NOT meet the legal requirement for navigation throughout the period of the licence.�

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Complying with these guidelines is one of the terms and conditions of purchasing a licence to continuously cruise. The Trust has also clarified that “Place in this context means a neighbourhood or locality, NOT simply a particular mooring site or position.�

Circumstances where it is reasonable to stay in one neighbourhood for longer than 14 days are where further movement is prevented by events such as temporary mechanical breakdown, emergency navigation stoppage, impassable ice or serious illness.

Critics of the new guidelines have voiced concerns about whether the regulations will be adequately policed and enforced by Canal and River Trust officers. While some boaters feel that the same boats appear to repeatedly occupy the same visitor moorings, some live-aboard boaters feel that their way of life is being persecuted and that there are not enough visitor moorings available in some areas, even when one is genuinely cruising (moving every fourteen days). Other boaters do wish to find a permanent residential mooring but The Trust admits that these are currently in short supply. British Waterways welcomed the announcement in August 2011 by the Housing Minister Grant Shapps which provided an incentive to local authorities to grant more consents for residential moorings.

If you do require a mooring Canal and River Trust moorings can be found at http://www.bwmooringvacancies.com (at the time of writing, July 2012.) There is further information on mooring and continuous cruising at http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring

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Finance and Insurance If you're looking for a boat for sale you will already be thinking about finance. Your budget will determine the sort of liveaboard boat that you are looking for. Whether you wish to buy a second hand narrowboat or a wide beam Dutch barge for sale there are two main choices for finance. You may have bought your house with a mortgage and your car with a personal loan. When you are buying a boat you can do either of these options. It is a good idea to confirm what funding you can secure before going to view your potential dream home.

Marine Mortgages Some companies specialise in marine finance or boat loans for residential and pleasure craft. This could be secured against the value of the boat. For loans over a certain amount a deposit is often required, to the value of a certain percentage of the boat's value. (This is often 20%) There will be different loan periods to choose from. You will not normally need a survey on a new boat but it is usual to have a second hand boat surveyed out of the water to check the condition of the hull. A surveyor will also give you the option of checking the electrics and overall condition of the boat if you require and may include a current market valuation of the vessel. Some lenders may stipulate that the vessel should have a permanent mooring.

Marine finance is a good solution for purchases from ÂŁ15,000 upwards. You could also consider using a marine finance broker. They have access to a number of finance companies and can offer you advice on how to secure funding that suits your position.

Unsecured Loans You can also raise finances through an ordinary bank or building society loan. The advantage of this is that no deposit is required so they can fund up to 100% of the cost of your boat. No security is necessary and they will not require any survey or valuation.

However, this option is sometime more suitable for borrowing a smaller amount. A bank or building society may fund purchases up to ÂŁ25,000 depending on your personal credit history. Of course, with an ordinary bank loan you sometimes are permitted to take a 'payment holiday' when times are hard!

Insurance It is a condition of the Canal and River Trust Licence that your boat holds a valid insurance certificate and a marine finance company will also require that you purchase valid insurance. If you are living aboard, marine insurance providers will often add on an

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extra contents insurance policy to cover your personal possessions, and may list separately the more expensive items such as jewellery, computers, bicycles and solar panels.

So if you are looking to buy your first live-aboard boat, shop around for finance and insurance, and then relax and enjoy browsing a selection of live-aboard boats for sale on line.

Is it Cold in Winter?

The short answer is no. It is a bit of a running joke amongst live-aboard boaters that this is the most common question that people will ask. The longer answer is that it depends on your heating. Many boats and narrowboats for sale on the inland waterways are heated with a solid fuel stove. This burns coal or wood and a narrow steel boat can get very hot when the home fire is burning – enough to need opening the window in midwinter! The advantages of burning solid fuel include a choice of coal or logs as fuel, and the romance of cosy nights in front of the amber glow of real flames. I've had casseroles and mulled wine simmering away on top of mine. The downside to solid fuel is that the fire can sometimes die down to an ember overnight making the mornings a little chilly.

You will need to re-black the stove from time to time and sweep the flue regularly.

When I was pregnant with our first child we invested in a diesel stove. It runs off red diesel from the engine tank and maintains a constant heat. It may not seem as cosy and romantic as a real burning fire but some models have an imitation coal flame effect. You

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can leave the stove safely burning all night while you sleep, and all day when you're out at work. They can, however be a bit of a pain to clean.

Narrowboats can also have a variety of panel or fin radiators which circulate hot water.

Alternatively they may be heated with warm air ducting. They either run on diesel, or run off the existing diesel stove or from propane gas bottles. Some systems are electrically controlled so you will need to make sure your batteries are in good condition and regularly charged. Some central heating systems take up very little space but the diesel systems sometimes have noisy exhausts, or electric pumps which can be disturbing at night.

On 1st November 2008 The EU Energy Products Directive stipulated that the full rate of duty should be applied to fuel used for “the purposes of navigation� of private pleasure craft. However, boaters can declare at the time of purchase what percentage of the fuel will be used for domestic heating, and this fuel will be sold to the boater tax free.

Diesel can be purchased at marinas and boat yards, and also from working boats who travel the waterways selling a variety of fuels. Working boats will often sell coal, smokeless fuel, diesel, propane gas bottles and other useful products such as kindling or chemical fluid for the toilet.

Both diesel and solid fuel stoves can be adapted to include a back boiler which may heat the radiators and the domestic hot water. On a live-aboard boat you may like to have more than one heating system, for example a solid fuel stove and a radiator system.

However, when you're looking at boats for sale remember that most boats can be adapted to suit your requirements.

The real answer is that it is cosy on board in winter, and perhaps this winter it will be you snuggled up on board eating casserole with mulled wine warming on the stove!

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Winter Boating Recent winters have been exceptionally cold and so in 2011 British Waterways, with assistance from the Residential Boat Owners Association produced a guidance document explaining what services will and will not be provided in extreme weather conditions. While British Waterways has now become the Canal and River Trust we can assume that much of the advice remains the same.

The Canal and River Trust will arrange for contractors to visit mooring sites to repair emergency plumbing problems, electric faults and frozen locks, (if there is no other access to the site.) They will organise follow-up calls if refuse collections are missed and will arrange grit delivery to sites with grit bins, (the grit is to be distributed on site by boaters).

The Trust will not organise emergency call-outs for frozen water pipes or pump outs, as these cannot be repaired until they thaw. They will not arrange for the removal of sewage from a boat where there are working alternative facilities on site. It is recommended that boaters stock-pile water supplies in advance of a forecast freeze, as they will not supply on-site water bowsers (trailer mounted water tanks).

When the Canal and River Trust offices are closed customers can report any faults by calling the Freephone Canals number 0800 47 999 47.

Cruising in winter can be a challenge. You will need to be aware of the dangers of ice and snow on towpaths, bridges and lock-sides. Keep well back from the edge and use handrails on lock gates. Hold on to something sturdy when getting on and off your boat.

Clear snow from the gunwales and use grit when you can. De-icer and spray grease are useful for locks and padlocks on your own boat and on the boating facilities. Try to keep ropes out of the water as frozen ropes are difficult to work with! It may be an idea to keep spare, dry ropes indoors.

Winter can actually be a good time to buy a narrowboat, barge or canal boat as you can really get a feel for what the boat will be like during the colder months, and go into it with your eyes open.

Finally, I am going to re-iterate my previous advice for boating in the winter: Put a casserole in the oven and some mulled wine on top of the stove!

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Home Comforts I am sometimes asked, have you got a TV, shower or toilet on a live-aboard narrowboat?

Most boats for sale have all of the above and depending on your budget you can have all mod-cons including a bath, microwave, dishwasher and washing machine! The complicated part is do you have a big enough water tank and an electric system that can cope with the demands of modern life? Running these modern luxuries is easier if you are on a mooring with 240 volt electric supply and your own water tap. If you are continuously cruising you will need to find out about generators and invertors and make sure that you have a good sized water tank. Chemical toilets can either be the pump-out type, which is emptied at a pump out point (pumped out by a machine), or an Elsan (sometimes called a ‘porta potty’) which can be emptied by hand into a sewage disposal point. An Elsan toilet will need emptying more often than a pump out, but may be supplied with a spare cassette (sewage container).

The cooking will be done on gas, and may be a mini hob and oven in a smaller boat, but will often be a full size cooker. It will sometimes run off butane, but more commonly the gas bottles installed on the boat will be propane. Fridges can be 12 volt electric or alternatively they might run off gas. 12 volt fridges may drain your power if your battery bank is inadequate, so you could add a large solar panel on the roof. A gas fridge has a pilot light which will go out when the gas runs out and will then require re-lighting. Most fridges will have a small freezer compartment but a full size freezer is uncommon on a boat because of the 240 volt power that it requires. If you are on a mooring with a permanent 240 volt supply this may not be a problem for you.

Domestic hot water may be heated by a number of means. A common solution is a tankless gas water heater such as a Paloma or a Morco which supply instant hot water.

This requires a gas flu to be fitted above it, through the roof of the boat. Alternatively you may have a hot water tank, heated by a gas boiler and this could also heat a radiator system.

A calorifier is a hot water tank containing one or more coils of copper pipe, which heat the water. The heat in the coils may come from the engine cooling system, a solid fuel back boiler or both.

If you don't have a big enough water tank and an electric system that can cope with the demands of modern life this can be more easily rectified than major alterations in a house. If you see a boat for sale that you like, remember that electric systems can be improved, domestic boat batteries can be added, a generator can be bought and water tanks can be expanded.

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Mobile Internet When I first started living on a narrowboat in the year 2000 my computer connected to the internet very slowly via a blue tooth connection to my mobile phone, but technology has improved a lot since then.

If you're looking for a used boat to buy as a live-aboard home then you're probably already using the internet to browse sites like Boatshed Grand Union, where there are up to eighty photos of each second-hand boat, barge and narrowboat for sale.

When you're using a computer on board a laptop or net-book is a good space saving idea and can be run off a 150 watt inverter, (although you may have a much bigger inverter depending on your personal domestic requirements aboard.)

A good sized domestic battery bank is important if you wish to use your computer a lot. However, if you have a mooring with a mains electric supply you could choose a full sized desktop computer, perhaps selecting a flat screen monitor to save space. When you're on the move a desktop PC runs best from a pure sine wave inverter. A small uninterruptable power supply (UPS) maybe be a good investment if you are depending on an unpredictable electric supply for your desktop PC. A printer will work off your usual mains supply or from an inverter if you are cruising, but make sure that you store your paper reams in a completely dry place. A laser printer has particular power requirements, so check this when you are buying one.

If your boat has a permanent residential mooring with electric shoreline and a standard telephone line then your internet connection can be arranged the same way as it would be in a house. This could be perfectly adequate for you if you feel that you won't require internet access when the boat is out and about cruising.

Mobile broadband is provided by mobile phone companies, who will also sell you an internet dongle as part of the package. This is a small piece of hardware which is inserted into a USB port on your computer. Price packages offer a variety of data usage allowances which you will select depending on whether you want to just send an occasional email, or, at the other end of the scale live stream TV and music. Your mobile broadband connection speed will depend on network capability, modem capability, signal strength, and the number of other users on the network at that time. There are booster antennas available for all types of dongle, but a cheaper

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solution is to first try using a 3 meter length of USB extension cable, male one end, female the other, and mount your dongle in a different place, away from your computer, perhaps in the window or in the cratch.

Alternatively, you may be happy to simply access the internet via a smart phone, such as an iPhone. It is now even possible to create a mobile WiFi hot spot on your boat, where your phone, computer and other devices can connect wirelessly to the internet with something like the Three Mifi.

You might also consider the T-Mobile Wireless Pointer. This does the same thing, but can also accept an external antenna, which is useful in poor signal areas. The Boaters Phone Company can supply a suitable aerial.

Where's My Nearest...?

If you're thinking of buying a boat to live-aboard and go on an extended cruise you may well like to know how far would it be between Elsan points and water taps, shops, pubs, visitor moorings and winding holes.

The Nicholsons Waterways guide for your local area (published by Collins) shows sewage or 'Elsan' disposal points and water points. They also show boatyards, refuse disposal points and recycling points. They are written with boaters, walkers and cyclists in mind and contain coloured Ordnance Survey maps marked out with locks, towpaths and boating facilities. The informative text contains navigational notes, places of interest, waterways wildlife, pubs, restaurants, walks and cycle rides. Many places are listed with their postcode which is very handy for locating yourself using the internet, sat-nav or a smart phone.

Every lock, aqueduct and bridge is marked so that you can plan your journey accordingly, and calculate your likely journey time. Add the number of miles to the number of locks on your planned cruise and then divide that figure by three. This will give you roughly the number of hours that your journey may take, but with narrowboating prepare to be relaxed about punctuality!

The introduction to each guide always contains some useful information for waterways users including boating basics, safety guidelines, mooring advice, and how to use a lock.

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23 Living on a Boat

For grocery shops, GPs, cash points and the other bare necessities of life you will need the local First Mate's guide by Carole Sampson http://www.canalmate.co.uk/buy...

These focus on facilities within walking distance of the canal and include telephone boxes, internet cafes, dentists, vets, hospitals with A&E, chemists, travel links, launderettes, takeaways, churches and more: Everything you might need for a life on the move. Carole's friendly, informal introduction includes advice on using Poste Restante, and other tips on using the guide books. The layout is very different to the Nicholson's guide, focussing instead on the centre of each local town, it's facilities and good places to moor. I like her added suggestions of a “nip-to” now and then, which is something useful nearby, a very short walk from the canal. These are very helpful books containing essential information but without the descriptive narrative that is characteristic of the Nicholson's guide.

On an extended cruise you will need to find your nearest launderette. Before setting off, order a copy of The Aylesbury Canal Society Laundrette List from www.iwashop.com.

Updates are posted on the ACS website www.aylesburycanal.org.uk. Alternatively use www.upmystreet.com to ‘Find My Nearest...’ For this website you will need to find out your current postcode. Simply Google the nearest canal-side pub or business, plus the word ‘contact’. This usually brings up an address and postcode.

Pearson's Canal Companions cover much of the network, with a homespun feel and a chatty and lively narrative.

Richlow guides are "written by people who go there". Christine Richardson and John Lower set up Richlow to publish books of the canals and rivers adjacent to the tidal river Trent. But the area has widened, with the whole of the South Pennine Ring, and the North Yorkshire Waterways added. Modern short-run production methods mean that they are kept up to date and very accurate.

On the internet you can find http://canalplan.eu/ which is a very good route planner with itineraries and virtual cruises.

Water-Way http://eureauweb.com/Water-Way/ is based on the Nicholson's Guides plus much more.

So when looking for a boat to buy you can also enjoy planning the journeys ahead and how long it might take you to get to where you want to be.

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

Lewis Carroll.

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If your boat is quite long, you may have to factor in plenty of time to turn around at the next winding hole. How far apart the shops are depends on how far apart the towns are where you are cruising. But I can guarantee that you are never far from a canal side pub. http://www.canalsidepubguide.co.uk/

Pets on Board Dogs seem a popular choice of pet amongst live-aboard boaters. Canal boat cruising is something that most dogs really enjoy, with lots opportunities for exercise and new dogs and people to meet on towpath walks. As always it's important to be responsible about clearing up after your dog, so that the towpath remains pleasant for all to enjoy.

It is a traffic free area for walking your dog, although you must remain aware of road bridges. It may be difficult to keep an eye on your dog while working through a lock, so you will have to decide whether your dog would be happiest confined to the boat, or alternatively tied up somewhere safely near the lock, until he (or she) gets used to boat life and you are confident that he is aware of the dangers of the water. While some dogs are happy to swim anywhere, a lock is very deep and has strong under currents. If you move on board to somewhere rural and your dog isn't used to the country life, then make sure that you keep him away from livestock and water fowl.

Cats are more than happy to walk along the gunwales and peer into the windows of your boating neighbours. They can get on and off a boat more easily than dogs. I have met several boaters who keep cats on board. Cats do get used to it, but if they are out exploring and you need to move the boat you may just have to wait for them to come home; bear in mind this could take a couple of hours. When you first move home, as most cat owners will know, you should keep them indoors for two weeks to get them used to their new environment. One cat lover I know has trained her cats to recognise the sound of treats rattled in a plastic box.

She rattles this box as a signal for them to come back to the boat when it's time to go off cruising. Her other word of advice is that whenever it is possible avoid mooring too close to busy roads.

As for other pets, you will have to judge for yourself whether your main cabin has enough room for a bird cage, hamster cage, goldfish bowl or fish tank. Have a look at the variety of boats for sale at Boatshed Grand Union to get an idea of what live-aboard

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25 Living on a Boat

canal boats are available. Some deck spaces are large enough for a rabbit hutch, but if you don't have a mooring there may not be much scope to let the rabbits run around.

Also, some animal behaviourist’s would assert that whilst a boat may be big enough for a rabbit hutch, a traditional rabbit hutch is not big enough for a rabbit! Tamara Cartwright-Loebl from www.completecaninecare.co.uk contacted me to point out that rabbits have extremely complex needs which are mostly not met. While her instinct was to suggest that most boats are probably unsuitable for rabbits, she has known, “very happy dogs, cats, small caged rodents, rats, small caged birds and parrots on boats of all types, including coastal, and once knew someone with an extremely contented goat on a narrowboat - it would stand on the roof or the front and graze the towpath when moored and sometimes even walk alongside when the boat was underway, much to the amusement of the local dog walkers!”

Personally, I have seen two boats that kept chickens before. The first was a 50 ft liveaboard narrowboat; the couple on board had set up a small chicken coop on the grassy towpath. I also used to know a couple who sold solid fuel from their pair of working boats. They actually had enough room in one of the holds for a reasonably sized chicken run!

Image: Lyra the intrepid boat cat lives with Amy and James on a narrowboat called Lucky Duck. www.nbluckyduck.blogspot.com

Children on Board Aren’t you worried that your children will fall into the canal?

“Yes, but probably not as much as non-boating parents. They were born on board and have the risks drummed into them every day. If you lived near a busy road you would not leave the door unlocked. We keep the doors bolted shut and there are playpen barriers around the front deck. Accidents happen to children every day, on roads, in houses and very, very rarely on canals.” – a liveaboard parent I live aboard a narrowboat with my husband and two young children. The first questions that people often ask us are about safety. If you are planning to move a family on to a second-hand narrowboat or barge then there will be several potential hazards to become aware of.

Just as you would do in a house, we keep our doors bolted shut. For summer days outside there are playpen barriers enclosing the front deck, but children must still never

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26 Living on a Boat

be left unsupervised while outside on a canal boat. Life jackets can be purchased from your nearest large chandlery and these may be of use to you if you have a mooring with a garden where the children can play, but we find them unnecessary for the daily walk to the shops or the car.

Victorian working boat families secured their children to the roof of the boat by tying them on whilst travelling. Some families create a modern version of this arrangement using toddler reins to secure the child. In this situation they must still never be left unattended. The adult crew must also remain aware of the dangers of overhanging tree branches, low bridges and mooring ropes being thrown about. I have occasionally seen hire boaters allow their children to stand and walk on the roof of a moving boat, but ours have strict instructions to remain seated! I would not recommend allowing young children to be on deck unsupervised while cruising.

Locks are particularly dangerous places because of the depth of the water and the strong currents below. I recommend repeating a set of simple rules to your children, which depending on age could include 'stay close to a grown up' and 'hold hands when told to'. All children should be told to keep away from the edge and to never run beside a lock.

If your boat does not have a home mooring the website of your local borough council will help you to find children’s playgrounds while you are cruising. The home page should have a link to leisure facilities and playgrounds; parks and gardens can usually be found in this section.

When you move aboard your boat your children will face the same challenges as you will, such as a lack of storage space, and limited electricity and water. But they will also enjoy the benefits of a way of life that is much closer to nature. My baby daughter's first word was, “Quack!� I told her not to use fowl language.

Learning the Ropes You may like to hire a boat first to check if you like the lifestyle. When you hire a narrowboat the hire company will give you a brief lesson in how to steer the boat. They will also provide life jackets for the children. You can use Google to find a hire boat

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company in your chosen area. They are also advertised in the waterways press. Many companies offer day boat hire.

Some people like to undertake professional helmsman training to increase their boat handling confidence. Phil Bassett organises training through Canal Experience.

About Canal Experience Canal Experience is dedicated to ensuring that everyone can enjoy time spent on the Inland Waterways enjoyably and safely.

“We believe that competence and confidence are the keys to enjoying your time on the water. Our courses distil years of experience, gained and passed on by many boatmen, into a practical and enjoyable event.

All our instructors have considerable experience both as boaters and as trainers. They are also all qualified in First Aid and have your safety as their top priority.”

Visit http://www.canalexperience.co.uk for further information.

Why I Work for Boatshed On Valentine’s day last year my husband and I were in a pub talking about getting a bigger boat. I said that my perfect boat would be a 70 foot narrowboat, green, with side hatches and a ‘boatman’s cabin’. I’ve always fancied having the living room at the front of the boat with glass doors to the front deck so that you can look out at the glistening water up ahead.

Way back when I was looking for my first boat I feasted my eyes on glossy waterways magazines and caught trains all over England to boatyards full of gleaming paintwork and tongue and groove interiors. More than ten years later things have changed and so much of the searching can be done on the internet. After a couple of weeks of casual browsing, my husband sent me an email with no words, just a link to an online boat brokerage. At Boatshed Grand Union there are up to eighty photos of each second hand boat for sale so you can get a really good idea of what a boat is like before going to view it.

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28 Living on a Boat

There, before my eyes was a 70 foot narrowboat, green, with side hatches and a boatman’s cabin. The living room was at the front of the boat with double glass doors to the front deck so that you could look out at the glistening water up ahead.

Phil, the boat broker said that I could come up to see it the next day. So while my husband went to work I took the kids on the train to Hertfordshire to see the boat. It was a golden sunshiney day: The boat was perfect. We put in an offer and I told Phil that I was moving to Hertfordshire and looking for work.

‘Do you need any help at Boatshed?’

The next day the vendor accepted our offer. I know that we were lucky, but it seemed like such an efficient way to buy a boat. The photos had shown us so much of the boat; the good bits and the bad bits, that we knew it was just what we were looking for.

After we’d bought the boat and moved on board I chased Phil up about helping him at Boatshed and after an eventful interview on his boat where I drank his wine and he broke his leg (another story) he agreed to let me become a part of Boatshed Grand Union! So that is how and why I came to work for Boatshed, the world’s number one yacht brokerage: Global reach and local knowledge.

What’s your perfect boat?

Peggy Melmoth

Buying a Boat With Boatshed Inland When you are buying a boat you want to feel comfortable about every stage of the boat sales process and in complete control. The Boatshed Inland broker will advise and hand hold you through every stage.           

Choose a boat View the detailed description, inventory and up to 80 photos online Find out more about the boat and arrange a viewing View the boat Make an Offer When your offer is accepted Arrange Survey Findings from the Survey Post survey negotiations Final payment After sales service

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To contact Phil or Peggy at Boatshed Grand Union please E-mail boats@boatshedgrandunion.com or go onto our website direct at www.boatshedgrandunion.com Keep in touch. Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/boatshedgrandunion or Twitter @boatshedgu Visit our blog for regular boating news, tips and updates. http://grandunion.boatshed.com/news.php

Boatshed Broker: Phil Bassett Telephone +44 (0)1923 275139 Mobile +44 (0)7794 005741 Email phil@boatshedgrandunion.com

Virtual Office Address: 2 Love Lane Abbots Langley Hertfordshire WD5 0QA UK

Writer, blogger, virtual assistant: Peggy Melmoth

www.peggymelmoth.com www.narrowboatwife.com

www.inland.boatshed.com

Living on a Boat

By Phil Bassett and Peggy Melmoth