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AIBU?

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Original poster

Should I sell my home and live on a boat

51 replies

CrowsInMyGarden · 09/02/2025 19:48

Me and husband are both 63. He works hard as a roofer and it is getting too much for him, physically. He's totally shattered every day and cannot carry on doing this job for too much longer. It's all he's ever done and he could maybe get another job but it's too late to retrain for one that pays well and any job he could get wouldn't pay anywhere close to what he gets now. I work part time and look after our 2 year old grandchild once a week and a 9 year old grandchild a few days per week in school holidays. Husband has always wanted to live on a boat (narrowboat or maybe wide beam) and cruise the UK waterways. He would like to do another 2 years at work, retire, sell our house, buy a boat and go continuous cruising. I am scared!! We go on holiday on the Norfolk Broads every year which I love. I'm up for getting rid of most of our stuff and living in a small space. We get on well and I think I'd enjoy it. But.....It is such a huge step. The thing I am most scared of is him dying and leaving me old and unable/unwilling to live on the boat but we would save most of the money from the sale of house (less what the boat would cost) and I guess I would be able to rent or buy a mobile home if that happened. We are both low maintenance and have done some sums and once our pension kicks in at 67 would be able to live on that so there would be two years from buying the boat to getting pension that we would have to live off the savings. Does anyone else live on a boat? Especially people in their 60s? I have spent most of today watching youtube clips and there seem to be plenty of older couples doing this. Is it a completely crazy idea?

OP posts:
Postitnoteit · 09/02/2025 19:49

It's a great idea. That is also our plan here (although currently younger than you). As long as you have some savings as a back up plan that would be enough for a 1 bed flat i think.

Drylogsonly · 09/02/2025 19:50

God, I would right now if it was more practical!

Simplestars · 09/02/2025 19:50

Yes.

lemongrizzly · 09/02/2025 19:52

Are you aware that maintaining a boat will involve a certain amount of physical work? My friend had a boat for a few years and some of it seemed like bloody hard work.

Simplestars · 09/02/2025 19:52

Can you buy and rent a 1 bad flat as security?

That would be sensible.
Then go and get your boat.

Notsuchafattynow · 09/02/2025 19:53

I have a family member who does at 80 plus, however they have a small house they swap over to, and use as a base. (You need to maintain a permanent address for your bank. A permanent mooring would offer that).

brickbybrickbybrick · 09/02/2025 19:53

Could you rent out your house instead perhaps so you still have ties to dry land and a supplementary income? We lived on a narrowboat when we were starting out after uni, we spent the summer bringing her from Gloucester to London and I look back on it so fondly.

MrsTerryPratchett · 09/02/2025 19:53

I love the idea. Having known a few people who have lived on boats, it's damp and cold and hard in the winter. It is a little more physical so aging is difficult, although a little work ages us more slowly. There is a community, which is nice.

My worry would be, what's the long term plan? 63 is on the cusp. Older but not old. What happens when mobility is more of an issue? When one of you maybe needs care.

CerealPosterHere · 09/02/2025 19:55

Crazy. From the limited knowledge I have of watching boat life videos on YouTube it looks hard work. You need to be able to fix loads of stuff yourself it seems. If you can’t who comes and does it? Would a normal electrician come? Not sure but those are the sort of questions I’d want to be asking. Do you have to fill the water, empty the toilet cassette? Seems tough work as you get older.

Other practicalities to consider such as internet, post? I know some places have permanent moorings which would probably make stuff easier. How often would the boat need lifting for hull prevention work?? Blacking???

then just as you get older being mobile enough to get on and off the boat. Boat prices, do they go up as much as house prices? If not then might you be in a position where you can’t afford to get back on the property ladder?

beadystar · 09/02/2025 19:55

I have a friend who does this. However she also has a small house as a back-up for old age, which is rented out in the meantime. Would that be possible?

FoxtonFoxton · 09/02/2025 19:57

I'd love it! How exciting! My friend and her partner (and dog) live in one and it's absolutely lovely. You could get a wide beam? More space than you think.

BillyWind · 09/02/2025 19:57

I lived on a boat for 3 years in my late 20s. If you plan on cruising and travelling a lot on your boat it is very physically demanding. Locks, carrying fuel, emptying cassette toilet, carrying shopping to your boat as you can't usually park right next to it etc.
However, I loved it and it is my retirement plan. Though I wouldn't live full time on boat again. Driving around on the water and bashing into bridges with all your worldly goods on board is actually very stressful!

Catza · 10/02/2025 08:14

Sell the house, buy a boat and a one bed flat somewhere cheap (you will be mobile anyway and not working so doesn't really matter where the flat is in the country). That way you have winter base if you need it.

PrivacyScreen · 10/02/2025 08:38

Personally I would not want to live in a boat into my 80s and 90s and would want a flat or similar as security. Boats are high maintenance and cold. Also cramped.

AlertCat · 10/02/2025 08:50

Yes, lots of people do it. Get something with a permanent bed and a shower room in it, probably 50’ or so. And look at marinas so you can have facilities on hand if you need them. There is a great community on the canals.

If your home has enough value in it, spend a smaller amount on the boat (and go narrow because wider boats can’t go in the midlands canals, which have narrow locks, so you would have to put it on a lorry to get it from northern canals to southern, or vice versa) and either buy a small flat or put the remainder in some sort of fund to try and get a bit of income off it to tide you over until you get your pensions.

Look at several boats first. Get a survey before you buy. And then enjoy it!

Ahsheeit · 10/02/2025 08:54

My mum did in her sixties for a year. She did find it isolating, but she was single at the time. Unless you want to have to move something like every ten days, you'll need a permanent mooring.

My ex h also lived in one with one of my adult songs for a while. My lad was not a fan.

AppleDumplings · 10/02/2025 08:58

We have lived on our boat full time for 5 years but also still own a house we have rented out. Never in a million years would I sell bricks and mortar. Whilst I love our life, the thought of not being able to afford to get back on the property ladder again would fill me with complete dread.

GoldMoon · 10/02/2025 08:59

My work colleague did this . Single , female , mid 40s . Sold her London flat , bought a 2nd hand boat , which then went on to need lots of work . Had a permanent London mooring .
Only lived in it for around 4/5 years , didn't get on with changing the loo , filling up water and heating it . The traipse to and from it in bad weather , the long dark nights in winter .

username299 · 10/02/2025 09:00

I'd hate it. I live near a canal and the boats are tiny inside. It costs a fortune to moor them. They must get cold in the winter and boiling in the summer. They're expensive and hard work to maintain.

I would rent out your house and rent a boat for a year to see how you get on.

Mingenious · 10/02/2025 09:01

This is my dream and when dh and I went through a rocky patch a couple of years ago it was my escape plan. I recon I’d love it as I like my own company but I did a lot of research and it seems like bloody hard work with a lot of hoops to jump through.

pinkdelight · 10/02/2025 09:03

Crazy to go all in on it. It's one thing cruising around in the summer. Another being stuck on a boat all year round indefinitely as you get older. Think of all the logistics you'd be constantly having to deal with day to day, and then more when one of you is ill for instance. A few are cut out for the nomadic life, some can do a year or two, but most people need a more fixed base. And what about those grandkids? You don't have to look after them of course, but it seems like you do it because you want to and that wouldn't be so practical if you're off on a boat. Not saying you have to abandon this dream but definitely move past it being a dream and figure out how to get the best of it without jeopardising your security.

LizzieSiddal · 10/02/2025 09:05

You’ve got misgivings and you are right to have them. It’s not a good idea to just have a boat and nowhere else. It’s hard work and blooming cold and wet in the winter.
We know a couple who have a small flat and a narrow boat and are in their 70s, but they are spending more and more time in the flat, especially when over the past few years its been so wet!

Surely there’s a middle way for you.

gettingolderbutcooler · 10/02/2025 09:07

We loved on a barge pre kids.
Never again. Huge amount of upkeep, expense. Dry docks, mooring fees, wood upkeep etc.
it's a labour of love! But if you love it, you don't mind. Lots do.

Mangoesintoapub · 10/02/2025 09:08

Let your house for a couple of years and take a narrow boat on long term rental. After a couple of years, review. You can keep doing this indefinitely rather than commit 100%.

Trixiefirecracker · 10/02/2025 09:08

Yes but you need a back up plan! Could you live, run it and maintain it all by yourself? Sometimes they are out of the water for weeks for repairs, where would you go when this happens? A one bed flat elsewhere is a sensible option that maybe you could rent out sporadically when needed as extra income? Like most things, living on a boat sounds very romantic but can be cold and hard work at times.