Advice please!

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Novice21

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Hello all!

I had to let my lovely Folkboat go a year ago but now have a new and exciting idea. I find myself with capital in the bank but not enough to think about buying a house. So, what about buying a boat to live on? What do we need to think about and consider?
 
Thanks all. We're looking at bigger things so not too worried about space. The thing about houses increasing in value is true, but I can't afford a house! If we spent, say, 48k on a boat and lived on her for 4 years, and if (worst case scenario) she was worth nothing at the end of that time, then we would have spent the same as we are wasting on rent now, and still have nothing to show for it...
 
I get your point about rent although you will probably have to pay a monthly mooring fee. In some parts of Essex you can buy half a flat for 48k. Your mortgage would probably be about the same as your mooring fee. In four years time you could sell it for more than you paid for it. Or less, depending on how the economy does.
On the other hand, living on a boat would be more interesting, you don't have to worry about rising sea levels and all that. In the end you have to do what you want to do.
 
Novice21 said:
Thanks all. We're looking at bigger things so not too worried about space. The thing about houses increasing in value is true, but I can't afford a house! If we spent, say, 48k on a boat and lived on her for 4 years, and if (worst case scenario) she was worth nothing at the end of that time, then we would have spent the same as we are wasting on rent now, and still have nothing to show for it...
Click to expand...

When you look further into it, you will find it is not that simple, particularly if you are working in a "normal" sort of job and want to maintain some kind of shore related social life. You could easily find yourself paying mooring fees at least as much as rental on a flat plus the maintenance required to keep a big old boat afloat (that is what you will get for your £48k). It is really difficult to find secure moorings near to centres of population - most marinas are not residential so many liveaboards live under the radar and have no rights.

Of course people do live on boats successfully, but it is not a direct substitute for living on land and you need to consider whether you can adapt your lifestyle to cope with the constraints.
 
A huge factor on whether it will work for you or not is the shoreside aspect- in many ways more important than the choice of boat.
If you are lucky you will be able to get a berth in a friendly, safe, sheltered, quiet marina which has good toilets, showers, cheap electricity, water, wifi, and good parking. That's about as civilised as you will find, and you will probably pay through the nose for it.

At the other extreme you might get very cheap berthing rafted up on a harbour wall, or on a mooring, where just getting on and off the boat becomes a major logistical exercise, and you will need to fend for yourself when it comes to power, water, showering, toilets, etc.

I spent most of this summer living aboard with on a pontoon with walkashore access and water, but nothing else. Definately do-able but boy did I used to look forward to a propwer shower when I got home...
 
Tranona said:
most marinas are not residential so many liveaboards live under the radar and have no rights.
Click to expand...

Without a "proper" address you can't open a bank account, buy a mobile phone, license a vehicle or any of a host of other things. Work in the financial or similar industry and any job you get will involve address checks. Try explaining that you don't have a utility bill on their "approved proof of address" list to the person reading from a script in the indian call centre they've outsourced that check to. If you have relatives or friends prepared to put you on the electoral role at their home and use their address then things are easier (it's partially what I do) but still haven't worked out how to sign up with a doctor near to the boat. And if you pick up your mail every other month you occasionally find something which really had to be replied to within 14 days...

Oh and if you have a "proper job"...there's not many boats with enough room for an ironing board....
 
laika said:
Oh and if you have a "proper job"...there's not many boats with enough room for an ironing board....
Click to expand...

My mother managed in a house without an ironing board for several decades - blanket and sheet does the trick. Unfortunately you need electrickery which is often a bigger problem on a boat :)
 
I do know it isn't simple and there's a lot to think about and find out about. I'm going to spend time at the weekend finding out about mooring options locally. We can't have anything that isn't walk-on-able, and shore power etc is not negotiable!
 
pragmatist said:
My mother managed in a house without an ironing board for several decades - blanket and sheet does the trick. Unfortunately you need electrickery which is often a bigger problem on a boat :)
Click to expand...

Ah but our parents also managed with no hot water except what they boiled and the outhouse a cold and wet walk away. Oh hang on a moment...

Brilliant stuff this living on a luxury yacht malarkey...
 
Tranona said:
Of course people do live on boats successfully, but it is not a direct substitute for living on land and you need to consider whether you can adapt your lifestyle to cope with the constraints.
Click to expand...
:) :)
You make it sound like there's a logical formula to work it all out ;)
Many liveaboards would rephrase that differently;
of course lots of people live in houses, nothing like living on a boat of course, could you cope with the constraints? stuck in the same place all the time, what if you don't like the neighbors? No longer in such close contact with the natural world 24 hours a day.

The OP doesn't seem to be looking at the benefits in quite the same way though.
 
I never post but felt the need to add a slightly more positive voice. It's true that it's absolutely not like shore living, you have to want to live on a boat, it doesn't replace a house.
If you can't afford both a boat and a house then living aboard makes having a boat possible. Maybe the no. 1 reason to do it? Or is it having a stunningly beautiful but entirely maintenance free garden? Or is it being able to work part time/take risks with your career because you have no mortgage/rent? Or the wildlife? Or the friendly community of like minded people?
It's not an investment but it can compare incredibly well to renting. Our moorings are very cheap and bills are much lower than in a house. We do have an official residential mooring with proper address.
Also, we are detached, something we could never afford to be on land- no noisy neighbours!
Serious downsides-
1)We do not have a decent shower, I really miss that.
2)We have no property to soar in value (but how sustainable are ever increasing prices?)
3)It won't work when we are old and frail
4)Boat work! Boat work costs!
It's certainly not for everyone but it can be a cheap and enjoyable way to live.
 
GHA said:
:) :)
You make it sound like there's a logical formula to work it all out ;)


The OP doesn't seem to be looking at the benefits in quite the same way though.
Click to expand...
That is why I expressed it in the way I did. The OP was specifically asking about living on a boat as a (cheap?) alternative to a house.

As you know there are many different motivations for living on a boat and would hazard a guess that those who do it successfully are driven more by the lifestyle and adapting that around the needs and constraints of being on a boat than making a boat fit with a job or land based social life. Indeed for some the chosen lifestyle needs a boat to help it happen.

My main period of living on a boat was driven by the need to be close to work (or closer than my home) and as it was not long term I tolerated conditions that would not be acceptable to most people and the boat was a means to an end. Other (shorter) periods of on board living were to enjoy the lifestyle - easier when one is retired and no other commitments.

Actually you can be formulaic about it if your mind works that way - bring out the spreadsheet, weigh up the pros and cons and you will arrive at a rational solution. Or just do it!
 
Ah, I wasn't selling the positives but they're very important! To be on the water... Away from street lighting and see the stars... The water and the weather... Birds and (round here) seals... Being connected to the tides and looking out every morning to see the river and an ever changing view... Living on a boat with a working history... Being (somewhat) out of the rat race and valuing different things... Minimising and prioritising... The main motivation is the wonder of it all and I'm excited to think it might be possible! The financial bit is concern about whether we can really do it. I know it isn't 'sensible' in terms of use of money but the positives are worth it to me!
 
Novice21 said:
Ah, I wasn't selling the positives but they're very important! To be on the water... Away from street lighting and see the stars... The water and the weather... Birds and (round here) seals... Being connected to the tides and looking out every morning to see the river and an ever changing view... Living on a boat with a working history... Being (somewhat) out of the rat race and valuing different things... Minimising and prioritising... The main motivation is the wonder of it all and I'm excited to think it might be possible! The financial bit is concern about whether we can really do it. I know it isn't 'sensible' in terms of use of money but the positives are worth it to me!
Click to expand...

Now you're getting it :) :)

Live by a spreadsheet or remember you're a long time dead...
 
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