Any Questions V.6 - Costs

In light of the fact that some of our readers are not necessarily boaters, last year I started a feature called 'Any Questions?'. I've not had many questions recently so I've not had one of these for a while but if there's anything about narrowboating, or living afloat that you're curious about then please get in touch! Here's today's question and answer.

The other day I had an email asking how much it costs to live afloat. Of course this is one of those questions that don't really have a definitive answer, as it depends on your lifestyle and location and all sorts of other things. There's a good thread on it in CanalWorld Forums here. But here's our costs, bearing in mind that we are off-grid with a 136W solar panel so very rarely run the generator, store perishables outside in the winter, don't have a TV, microwave, hairdryer etc, don't go cruising that often (sadly) and have a very good value mooring! It would look very different if we lived in a marina with a shore line connection or if we were continuous cruisers.

Our costs

• Mortgage: £350 per month
• Mooring £1015 per year to the City Council (although we get a student discount so it will be less this coming year)
• Licence fee £773 per year  (to Cam Conservancy) - on the canals it would be £710
• Insurance £140 per year (Euromarine)
• Petrol £5/month for the genny. Rarely used except in the darkest days of winter, as we don't run our fridge in the winter.
• Diesel: Depends on cruising and price of diesel! Our month long cruise cost £250 or so in diesel last year
• Coal: £200 for the winter season
• Gas- £38 per bottle (19kg), two-three bottles a year
• Blacking: £200-£700 every three years 
• Painting: £200 for full DIY repaint, £50 for yearly top ups
• Batteries: £200-300 every 3 or 4 years
• Boat safety certificate is £125 or so every 4 years.
• Stern gland grease, fenders, oil, WD40, tools, other bits and pieces- say £150 or so per year.
• Laundry £7-8/week
• Internet £15/month for 15GB
• Basic servicing of the engine we do ourselves

Spread out over a year, that comes to about £600/month for all the costs related to living aboard, between the two of us.
 

You can see the answers to previous questions here!

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Any Questions? V.5

Here's today's question and answer. If there's anything you would like to know about our life afloat or narrowboating in general, do get in touch via twitter / facebook / email or formspring.

 

A question from Formspring: In the time that you've been a live-aboard, have you ever been bothered by drunks and opportunist thieves/vandals? Does this happen often, and what measures have you taken to guard against it?

We've actually been pretty lucky. In our three years boating we've only been let off our mooring twice, and neither time was at our home mooring. The first time was by kids in St Neots on the Great Ouse, which was scary because it is a river, but they only let one end off and we were up so were able to secure it straight away. The second time was in Wolverhampton at the top of the Wolverhampton 21 on the BCN. We were moored near several other boats but the bow of the Duck was the only rope not tied either to a ring or looped over the same bollard as another rope so it was more vulnerable. The only problem that time was that Lyra fell in! But she was OK, and we were quickly back on the bollard and chained up.

At home, we've never been bothered by any anti-social behaviour, but wherever we moor we always tie the ropes through closed loop pins and then back onto the boat so that opportunists would have to climb on to the boat itself, thus waking us/alerting us to their presence. We always chain our generator up when it is outside, as there was a local spate of unsecured generator thefts. In really dodgy areas, we would just avoid mooring up, but occasionally we've used a chain as well as ropes just in case.

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Any Questions? V.4: Mooring in Cambridge

In light of the fact that lots of our new readers are not necessarily boaters, I've decided to start a regular(ish!) feature called 'Any Questions?'. So, if there's anything about narrowboating, or living afloat  that you're curious about then please get in touch, by email, facebook, twitter, comments or formspring! Here's today's question and answer.

This is a question I get asked regularly in emails: "I would like a mooring in Cambridge. How can I get a city centre mooring like yours? Are there any other places nearby where I could moor?"

Cambridge is a wonderful place to moor, hence city centre moorings like ours are in demand, unsurprisingly! On British Waterways water, moorings are sold off by auction unless they are on private land. In Cambridge, the moorings are managed by the City Council who run a waiting list. You can find out how to add your name to the list on their website. However, it takes years to get to the top of this list of 80+ names so put your name down asap if you are even thinking about it - there's no obligation to take it up should you be offered it. They say it takes 3-5 years. It took us 2.5, but it varies. Also, if you have a widebeam boat (>7ft) then although you should put your name on the list just in case, it's best to give up all hope of ever getting one - widebeam licences very rarely change hands and although they are on the same list, people waiting for them just float to the top and stay there. Clearly getting a central mooring is not going to happen straight away even if you have a narrowboat so if you have a boat and want to live in this area you have a few of options.

1) Advisable. Get a space in a commercial marina. There are a few within commuting distance of Cambridge, and if you have a car, are perfectly nice places to live. This list is fairly comprehensive, although there are others along the Ouse towards Huntingdon and Bedford or further North on Brandon Creek. Some, like Cathedral at Ely and Jones' at St Ives have public transport connections, but on the whole you would need a car. In my opinion this is the only realistic option. Get a marina mooring out of town and sit out the years until you get the letter saying you have a city centre spot. Or just stay put, out of town, in a nice countryside location. Be aware that not all marinas accept live-aboards so it's best to speak to people who moor there when you go to have a look at the place to find out what the owner's stance is. The other advisable option is to get an Environment Agency Wild Mooring. You find a stretch of riverbank that is suitable and if the EA owns it they can let you moor there legally for a fee. If it's owned by a farmer, or someone else and you can make contact, you can pay them instead, I think. There are more details here, with a map of some currently available Wild Moorings. There's several in Littleport.

2) Unlikely. Find a private mooring. There are few places just outside Cambridge which are run on an 'ad hoc' basis by private land owners: at Brown's Field (Fen Ditton), Horningsea, and above Bottisham lock. None of these sites advertise their moorings and generally are passed on by word of mouth. By far the best way to get yourself a spot at one of these is to go there in person and find someone to talk to. This method is governed purely by luck and by 'who you know'. You may be lucky, like we were.

3) Inadvisable. Hop about on the visitor moorings in the area. The EA/Cam Conservancy does not have a 'Continuous Cruising' licence option. Each of the visitor moorings provided by GOBA (Great Ouse Boating Association), the Environment Agency, and the City Council give you 48hrs. So you have to move every other day in order stay with the rules. We did this quite often for about 6 months, because although we had a mooring at Upware marina, we didn't have a car and there are no buses from the village so it was not feasible for us to stay there all the time. Of course, there are boats who remain on the moorings for longer than they should, relying on the apathy of the navigations authorities. But basically, attempting to just use the visitor moorings is Really Bad Idea and I would advise against it strongly. Either you move every other day (this soon loses its charm) or you flout the rules. The local navigations authorities don't admittedly have a history of actually doing anything about it, but they claim that they will chuck you off the list or take you to court (this has happened) if they decide you have flouted the rules one too many times. A risky strategy.

4) Highly inadvisable. Find a space on the infamous 'railings'. Along Riverside, just north of Elizabeth Way bridge in Cambridge, there is a stretch of river of which all the authorities have refused to take ownership. There is a mix of boats, some derelict, some well cared for, but all of them cannot leave their spot without fear of someone nicking it while they are away. There is an ongoing battle between local residents and the council to try and get the council to claim ownership and ban mooring there. The Cambridge News reports the history of this area.

You can see the answers to previous questions about living afloat here!

If you are after a boat as well as a mooring near Cambridge, ours is now for sale! 

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Any Questions? V.3

In light of the fact that lots of our new readers are not necessarily boaters, I've decided to start a regular(ish!) feature called 'Any Questions?'. So, if there's anything about narrowboating, or living afloat  that you're curious about then please get in touch, by email, facebook, twitter, comments or formspring! Here's today's question and answer (I meant to get this up on Friday but was too busy with the Bumps!).

Bella asks "I have always wondered how easy it is to navigate one of your boats and whether there is a 'driving test'."

First, there is no 'driving test' for cruising the inland waterways of the UK. Anyone with a boat can just hop in and go boating without any prior experience. I would say it's relatively easy to handle a narrowboat, although I still have a lot to learn! Everything generally happens quite slowly so that you have more time to respond than in a car. However, although it's easy to steer a narrowboat, it's difficult to steer one really well. Manoeuvring into tight mooring spots or reversing require a bit of skill. The type of boat will make a difference - handling a 70ft ex-working boat is different to steering the Duck - as will the type of waterway. Rivers require more skill than canals due to the currents, but once you get the hang of them, you can use the stream to your advantage.

For anyone keen to learn how to handle a narrowboat, I'd say that the best way is just to get out there and do it - practice makes perfect! But there are courses where you can learn in a controlled environment with an instructor too. See the RYA's Inland Waterways Helmsman Courses.

You can see the answers to previous questions about living afloat here!

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Any Questions? 2

In light of the fact that lots of our new readers are not necessarily boaters, I've decided to start a regular(ish!) feature called 'Any Questions?'. So, if there's anything about narrowboating, or living afloat  that you're curious about then please get in touch, by email, facebook, twitter, or formspring! Here's today's question and answer.

Hi there Amy, your life aboard Lucky Duck sound wonderful. I have always loved riverboats and wonder if you could point me in the right direction as far as finding a boat etc., and a rough estimate of the cost? Thanks

The price of a narrowboat can vary so wildly (ours was £25500, but they can go up to £200,000!) that it would be best to head to boat sales sites and just browse around and see what is available. Price will depend upon what you want from a boat, its age, fit-out and all sorts of other things. Head to Apollo Duck for hundreds of boats for sale privately and there are loads of brokerage companies selling boats too. Whilton Marina is a good place to start, but a google search will bring up many others.
Good luck!

You can see the answers to previous questions about living afloat here!

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Any Questions?

Life Afloat on Lucky Duck has been growing. It's been really exciting to see lots of new visitors from all over the world join those of you who have been reading for a while now. So a big hello and welcome to everyone who's started following recently from my guest post at Danielle's lovely blog, Sometimes Sweet, and from The Quiet Life of Violet.

In light of the fact that lots of our new readers are not necessarily boaters, I've decided to start a regular(ish!) feature called 'Any Questions?'. Some of you might have noticed the link in the side bar and the blog signature to our formspring account, and we've already had a few questions about living afloat asked there. So, if there's anything you're curious about then please get in touch, by email, facebook, twitter, or formspring! I'm really excited about starting this, and so without further ado, here's the first question and answer:

How did you feel confident enough to take that initial plunge into a new life? Had you had lots of boating experience beforehand? Or had it always been a dream, and you just instinctively knew it would suit you?

The over-riding reason that we felt confident was that we had spent time on our friends' live-aboard narrowboat Kestrel. James in particular had spent a lot of time helping them move their boat, going to the waterpoint with them, learning how to moor up and steer. It also showed us that life on a boat can be great fun, but also perfectly normal - there are no huge sacrifices to be made unless that's the lifestyle you're after. But the confidence also came from having done the research. Both of us are the kind of people who when they get an idea, have to do everything possible to follow it through. So once the idea was planted, we just researched and talked and read and visited and thought and somehow made it happen despite setbacks and financial stress and people telling us we were mad.

As for boating experience, I had spent time in sailing dinghies as a kid, and James had his experiences on Kestrel. However, it had certainly not always been our dream. Although James had wanted to live afloat for a couple of years, ever since he'd spent time on Kestrel, I literally went from knowing sod-all about narrowboats, never having stepped aboard one let alone dreamed of living on one, to owning a narrowboat in the space of just under a year.

I don't think we 'instinctively' knew, I just think that we'd done enough research, and got enough experience to know that it was definitely for us. And we were right, it is just the life we thought it would be and we are so glad we made that leap in to the semi-unknown. Nearly three years later, we've not looked back, despite engine porblems, and two long cold winters.

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