Not Motorhomes but Narrowboats
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trevskoda
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I have worked on boats for many years and own a few,my 23ft norman was tied up outside enniskillen in a nice marina,apart from the drunks returning late at night from the bar throwing bottles at boats,clambering over them,pissing of the jettys and not forgetting those sneaking in on inflatables at night trying to steal stuff its good,yea right,then of course trying to sleep at night is like laying in bed with someone kicking your bed every 10 sec or so and bouncing back of the jetty.
Then the cost of all this went up over the years to well over £800 to tie up and not forgetting fuel,my 35hp outboard drank at least £70 a day for a short trip,yes diesel much less,but would i do it again,NO motor home any day for me.
The other thing boats are now going out of favor and prices dropping to a point i can hardly shift stuff these days and soon will be packing up,on the other hand motorhome prices are climbing and lots of boaty shops here now sell m/homes.
Then the cost of all this went up over the years to well over £800 to tie up and not forgetting fuel,my 35hp outboard drank at least £70 a day for a short trip,yes diesel much less,but would i do it again,NO motor home any day for me.
The other thing boats are now going out of favor and prices dropping to a point i can hardly shift stuff these days and soon will be packing up,on the other hand motorhome prices are climbing and lots of boaty shops here now sell m/homes.
Northumborman
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Long Term Licence fees (sit down first!)
Further to this post, a long term licence fee is: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/39768-long-term-licence-fees-2019-20.pdf
HTH
Further to this post, a long term licence fee is: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/39768-long-term-licence-fees-2019-20.pdf
HTH
harrow
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r4dent
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Still on the web page
Continuous cruising | Boating | Canal & River Trust
"Continuous cruisers are a big part of the draw to our waterways. They bring a sense of vibrancy to our canals and rivers, as well as more tangible things such as improved towpath security and they’re often the first to spot any maintenance issues."
barge1914
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Narrow boat
Agree with all of that. We looked very carefully at all the options UK and abroad over a period of several years leading up to retirement. We ended up concluding that we didn’t want to live long term in a corridor on the UKs claustrophobic and shallow network, opting instead for the greater freedom and adventure of a 21m x 4.2m 57 ton 100 year old Dutch barge on the waterways of Europe. We spent a marvellous 14 years cruising the extensive network of rivers lakes and canals of Western Europe in France, Belgium, Holland, and a little bit of Germany. It’s a way of life that gives great opportunities, but also makes considerable demands...especially if you can’t afford, like most of us, to pay someone else to do everything for you. So, I became a plumber, a metalworker, a welder, a diesel mechanic, a carpenter, electrician, heating engineer, not to mention having to take a Navigation exam in French, and radiocommunication qualification. Learning French, German and a bit of Dutch proved rather useful, not only did you need to be able to speak on VHF, but being able to communicate and negotiate as a necessity with all the suppliers, boatyards, dry docks, lock keepers and suchlike you encountered. Freedom and autonomy is great...but means you are at times completely on your own, and need to be able to cope with whatever crops up.
There was a friendly and helpful floating community, a consequence no doubt of all being in the same boat...more so I have to admit than in the Motorhome community at large (excepting of course Wildcampers).
Transport is a problem, enjoying all this freedom and autonomy means ending up on a regular basis in the middle of nowhere with a need to go and get something. A bike becomes an essential, but these things grow don’t they? We ended up eventually with bikes, a scooter, and a car on the back deck!
So why aren’t we still doing it? Well, old age and decrepitude in large measure, both myself and the ship. It involves hard physical work at times, especially in emergencies...which do arise. It is true ‘a boat is a hole in the water for pouring money into’, at some point you have to say ENOUGH!! And more than anything the increasing burden of legislation and regulation making everything more difficult and expensive, the proliferation of people demanding money for taxes, licences, penalties and so on began to take the fun and freedom out of it.
Everything associated with boats costs two or three times more than domestic equivalents. Someone has hinted at using domestic equipment...we did...and spent 14 years trying expensively to feed all this gubbins with 240v power. With hindsight, and with our new perspective of motorhoming, it would have been wiser to go down the 12V, led, diesel, gas and solar panel route.
But ignore all this one of the greatest privileges of life is making your own mistakes. Whatever, LIFE IS NOT A REHEARSAL, so just get on with it!!!
Agree with all of that. We looked very carefully at all the options UK and abroad over a period of several years leading up to retirement. We ended up concluding that we didn’t want to live long term in a corridor on the UKs claustrophobic and shallow network, opting instead for the greater freedom and adventure of a 21m x 4.2m 57 ton 100 year old Dutch barge on the waterways of Europe. We spent a marvellous 14 years cruising the extensive network of rivers lakes and canals of Western Europe in France, Belgium, Holland, and a little bit of Germany. It’s a way of life that gives great opportunities, but also makes considerable demands...especially if you can’t afford, like most of us, to pay someone else to do everything for you. So, I became a plumber, a metalworker, a welder, a diesel mechanic, a carpenter, electrician, heating engineer, not to mention having to take a Navigation exam in French, and radiocommunication qualification. Learning French, German and a bit of Dutch proved rather useful, not only did you need to be able to speak on VHF, but being able to communicate and negotiate as a necessity with all the suppliers, boatyards, dry docks, lock keepers and suchlike you encountered. Freedom and autonomy is great...but means you are at times completely on your own, and need to be able to cope with whatever crops up.
There was a friendly and helpful floating community, a consequence no doubt of all being in the same boat...more so I have to admit than in the Motorhome community at large (excepting of course Wildcampers).
Transport is a problem, enjoying all this freedom and autonomy means ending up on a regular basis in the middle of nowhere with a need to go and get something. A bike becomes an essential, but these things grow don’t they? We ended up eventually with bikes, a scooter, and a car on the back deck!
So why aren’t we still doing it? Well, old age and decrepitude in large measure, both myself and the ship. It involves hard physical work at times, especially in emergencies...which do arise. It is true ‘a boat is a hole in the water for pouring money into’, at some point you have to say ENOUGH!! And more than anything the increasing burden of legislation and regulation making everything more difficult and expensive, the proliferation of people demanding money for taxes, licences, penalties and so on began to take the fun and freedom out of it.
Everything associated with boats costs two or three times more than domestic equivalents. Someone has hinted at using domestic equipment...we did...and spent 14 years trying expensively to feed all this gubbins with 240v power. With hindsight, and with our new perspective of motorhoming, it would have been wiser to go down the 12V, led, diesel, gas and solar panel route.
But ignore all this one of the greatest privileges of life is making your own mistakes. Whatever, LIFE IS NOT A REHEARSAL, so just get on with it!!!
r4dent
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Continuous cruising | Boating | Canal & River Trust
"Continuous cruisers are a big part of the draw to our waterways. They bring a sense of vibrancy to our canals and rivers, as well as more tangible things such as improved towpath security and they’re often the first to spot any maintenance issues."
Tony123
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Hi Trev
Have you seen much of the Irish waterways network? From the little I've seen it looks absolutely stunning. I seem to remember reading that they don't officially allow continuous cruising liveaboards as such, but that in reality they turn a blind eye to it, except in very busy locations like Dublin.
Apparently things like water, WC and other canalside facilities are not as common as on English waterways, but on the plus side you have the beauty of rural Ireland, and you have the wonderful Irish people.
I have been pondering the idea of spending 5 years or so living in Ireland on the waterways, then applying for an Irish passport. And then if I get a bit too old and stiff to operate heavy lock gates, I still have the option of buying a motorhome and travelling Europe freely and for as long as want, as an Irish citizen.