Would you sell a house to buy and live on a narrowboat?

[AndItDoesntSeemToMatter]

Just that? Your only property... for a boat life...

We had a couple of friends who did this. There was just the two of them (her kids had left home and he didn't have any). Their boat was moored in a nearby marina and they had access to a laundrette but they would often ask us if they could come over for a bath as it was one thing they missed!
It worked well until she fell very ill and needed easily access and later on regular nursing.

No but I would consider a yacht, nice roomy 2 berth, with a double and a king size beds. Littlehampton, Gosport or Chichester. I have a friend who does. Cheap living, beautiful boat.

There's a channel on YouTube - Foxes Afloat. 2 guys Colin and Sean who did exactly that. They explain all the costs etc and are entertaining and amusing. Worth a watch.

I'd worry about dying in some terrible cassette toilet related disaster. It's not how I want to be remembered.

No, I’d sooner a campervan.

No but I do follow This one floats on Instagram and they do make it look like a lovely life!

I'd love it... DH and I looked (briefly) at the possibility of buying one, but it all seemed quite complicated and more expensive than we'd thought.
I did have a colleague once who lived on one though... she loved it (but only seemed to possess two outfits!)

No.

@notprincehamlet

I'd worry about dying in some terrible cassette toilet related disaster. It's not how I want to be remembered.

I can think of worse ways to go. You would never be forgotten

Nope!! They are cold and damp, even with a wood burner...

Too small ....even a widebeam would be too small for me

What’s the security like on them?

I don’t mean the floating place ones Moore’s at harbours/docks where there is CCTV, I mean just bog standard boats that are moored up anywhere and you go out and leave it.

Moored

Yes. My Mum owns one and once my kids are older and she doesn't want it any more, I'm moving onto it.

No. Iv known a few people do it for a few years and give it up. One for health reasons the other to have a home to raise a family. The health thing would be the clincher for me, you never know whats coming

In laws did this, when DH and his brother left home. They lived on theirs for years, used to Moor up over winter and work full-time, sometimes staying with family, then cruise through the warmer months. They sold up and went back to a house (having to take on a mortgage) when the grandchildren were small and they wanted to be around more.

My parents sold their flat, went travelling round Greece in a camper, spent most of the money then bought a tatty narrow boat that needed a lot of work with what they had left and couldn't afford to repair it/do it up as it's way more expensive than they expected. They never found a mooring so had to constantly move. DM died but DSF still has the boat, but mostly stays in his girlfriend's as it's nicer!

DH would love to live on a boat but it's a firm no from me. I grew up in caravans and enjoy the luxury of a house now, a boat would be a step backwards and also require far too much work! I don't mind a day trip on one but no way would I live on a boat. Also, I'm too tall for most of them!

God no

I think you need to rent one over a winter to see if the romance fades!

I've always had a fantasy of spending an autumn in Amsterdam in a house boat

I lived on one up until recently - and in a camper van, too! It was a lot of fun, not damp or cold at all, but it had very good heating and a wood burner. It also had a bath! 👍👍👍 Wonderful life, wildlife and serenity, lovely community & there was a laundry room nearby, but I still had to empty the toilet from time to time & I ended up learning a lot about pumps!

And - to add - I wouldn’t sell a house to do this. No way!

Sorry, also again - I would go for a permanent mooring rather than continuous cruising (which is where you have to move the boat every so often).

No, I think it would be too cold for DP and I find sloping/low ceilings really claustrophobic. My old boss lived on one and it seemed to suit him. He didn’t pay for moorings though so had to move it every 2 weeks iirc.

They're idyllic for holidays or a year or so but wouldn't burn my bridges. On going maintenance, repairs & expensive mooring fees. Continuous cruisers and "water gypsies" try to live under the radar with increasing tightening of regs. Some repairers & mooring companies can be sharkier than estate agents. Two mates live on NBs and love them but health/age is forcing them to rethink.

The security is pretty rubbish. Dp was always having things stolen from hers - even solar panels (which wouldn't have been much use to anyone once they were wrenched off the roof).
It often felt quite edgy hearing rowdy voices of groups passing. You can lock the door, so anything inside is more or less safe as long as someone doesn't take a hatchet to it