Best UK place to live ABOARD

I enjoyed Penzance inner harbour with its proximity to town and mooring off St Mawes for a while for a bit of peace and quiet.
 
If you want the overall mildest weather, the West coast of Scotland is a good bet - at sea level, it is actually one of the warmest parts of the UK because it gets the full effect of the North Atlantic Drift (the tail end of the Gulf Stream). There are several world-famous botanic gardens there that grow species that would be difficult to grow elsewhere in the UK except in greenhouses. Excellent cruising area; the best in the UK. Down side is that although it has mild winters, it has colder summers.
 
GHA said:
Cos the weather is awful in Dartmouth in winter :)
Was last winter anyway, one front after another for months on end.
Sod that, no more UK winters.
Faversham is actually a bit drier, the rain gets dumped over the downs on the way.
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I used to live in the South Hams, it was wet in the winter (well, wet quite a lot of the time actually) but I think that's a general comment for all of the south west peninsula rather than Dartmouth in particular :) I thought it was worth it though because when the sun does come out it's spectacular.

Definitely drier on the east coast and the summers are much sunnier, but you pay for it in winter as it's much colder.
 
GHA said:
Forget sailing grounds, living aboard you won't go sailing. No one does :)
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That does seem to match up with a lot of liveaboard boats I've seen - some of them it would take a lot of effort to get them back into sailing condition and the accumulated junk would all have to be stored somewhere.

So perhaps if sailing is your desire, living aboard might not be the answer it seems. Makes me wonder if my daydream of selling the small boat, buying a bigger one living aboard the yacht should really be about keeping the little boat and living aboard a narrow boat...
 
viago said:
. last winter wasnt too bad iirc.
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Had its' moments.... :)

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AntarcticPilot said:
If you want the overall mildest weather, the West coast of Scotland is a good bet - at sea level, it is actually one of the warmest parts of the UK because it gets the full effect of the North Atlantic Drift (the tail end of the Gulf Stream). There are several world-famous botanic gardens there that grow species that would be difficult to grow elsewhere in the UK except in greenhouses. Excellent cruising area; the best in the UK. Down side is that although it has mild winters, it has colder summers.
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Tarbert Harbour (Loch Fyne) used to have a separate rate for liveaboards and do still have several full timers AND the rates are just above half the going rate of the other marinas/yacht centres. Its one if the most sheltered natural harbours, only open to some swell from the Loch in easterly and south easterly gales, but even then nothing to worry about. Its a short walk to the shops & facilities - excellent chippy, curry house, pubs, co-op, laundry, library, art gallery / bookshop, hardware shop, chandlery etc and several good walks nearby to stretch your legs.

On the down side and why the rates are low, is because it is a commercial port so the local fishing fleet come and go at all hours, as well as their vessels having two position throttles - idle & full!

http://www.tarbertharbour.co.uk
 
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Solent, at least in winter!

All of the drawbacks of Lake Solent disappear in the winter, leaving only the delights. Let me count the ways:

1. Millions of berthing choices at reasonable cost out of season. 200 quid a month including unmetered electricity in Cowes, for example, during the winter.

2. Highest density of interesting ports in the UK -- Soton, Portsmouth, Gosport, Lymington, Beaulieu, Yarmouth, Cowes all within a couple hours sail from each other. So great variety of places to sail without undertaking a long, cold passage.

3. A number of delightful rivers and estuaries to explore in your dinghy.

4. Sheltered waters providing reasonable sea state even in quite strong weather, which means you can almost always go sailing when you feel like it.

5. Lots and lots of places to anchor, and you are almost always alone because for some reason, no one anchors out in the Solent in the winter.

6. All possible yachting infrastructure, probably biggest concentration of this in the world.

7. Reasonable city life including culture available in several places around the Solent, and London is 90 minutes away if that's not enough.

8. Mild climate and good weather compared to almost the entire rest of the UK.

9. Excellent fishing if you like that sort of thing.

10. Lively sailor society everywhere.

11. If you feel like a longer cruise, you've got the joys of Brittany and Normandy and the Channel Islands just across the Channel (Cherbourg a reasonable day sail away), or you can go West, with a daysail or less between all the main ports.


In the summer, it's extremely crowded and berthing becomes extremely expensive, so I bug out then, but I always come back :)
 
GHA said:
Forget sailing grounds, living aboard you won't go sailing. No one does :)

. . . l:
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Not "no one"! Nonsense!

Living aboard a boat is much less interesting, if you stop sailing.

I used to live aboard on my Hamble mooring, and I would absolutely without fail go out at least every 5 days (and not only because I needed water :) ), if only just to drop the hook somewhere for a change of scenery.

The great advantage of living on a boat is that you can change the scenery and surroundings as often as you want.
 
Dockhead said:
Not "no one"! Nonsense!
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There's always one :)

Was that full time liveaboard, or just because it was nicer than the house for a while?

I've yet to meet a full time liveaboard in the UK (and know a lot ) who got round to stashing their worldly belongings into the forepeak and actually go sailing more than once or twice a year.

Until they saw sense and went south that is :)
 
There is no 'best'. As said, it's what works for and appeals to you, and how much you actually want it to be a base for sailing.

That said, can I mention somewhere that is not UK, but close? The Isle of Man is, from a sailing point of view, pretty central: Ireland, Galloway, NW England and N Wales just a day-sail away; the Western Isles just two or three tide runs away; even Brittany's not too far and often a cracking sail, and via the Scillies, to boot. It's an enchanting, lovely island. Harbour fees (which entitle you to berth in any IoM harbour), a pittance. (My last bill, for a 32-footer, generally moored alongside, was about £140 per year. That does not, mind, include berthing in the marina-ised sections of Douglas and Peel harbours). If you're at all racey, it has not one, but two round the island races.

The downside, of course, is that you have to have a few of your less important chromosomes removed to qualify for residence. And enjoy life in 1976 (but counting: we've heard of progress). And you can only divorce your wife if she's not your sister (or gender equivalent if you're a lady). And you're more-or-less obliged to eat lots of the world's finest kippers and scallops. The ale's not bad, either.

On the other hand, I'm in Greece. Could be something to do with the weather...
 
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The downside, of course, is that you have to have a few of your less important chromosomes removed to qualify for residence. And enjoy life in 1976 (but counting: we've heard of progress). And you can only divorce your wife if she's not your sister (or gender equivalent if you're a lady). And you're more-or-less obliged to eat lots of the world's finest kippers and scallops. The ale's not bad, either.

On the other hand, I'm in Greece. Could be something to do with the weather...[/QUOTE]

How many fingers (or toes) do you have on each appendage?
 
yachtorion said:
That does seem to match up with a lot of liveaboard boats I've seen - some of them it would take a lot of effort to get them back into sailing condition and the accumulated junk would all have to be stored somewhere.

So perhaps if sailing is your desire, living aboard might not be the answer it seems. Makes me wonder if my daydream of selling the small boat, buying a bigger one living aboard the yacht should really be about keeping the little boat and living aboard a narrow boat...
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yes, i think in terms of living comfortably a narrowboat ticks all the boxes. a widebeam is a lot less claustrophobic and you can get more accommodation in a shorter boat. 40ft would be enough. same cost to moor or licence as a narrow one. much safer having a log burner in a steel boat.
if you shuttle up and down the kennet and avon as a continuous cruser your costs will be about £700 for a licence. cheap living.
 
Calledonian Canal
Cheap - or so i am told, plus you can get to west coast of Scotland fairly easily or if weather poor then the east coast-----for the same weather!!!!!!
If you are into sailing then not only the west of Scotland but northern Ireland is not that far either
 
Quiddle said:
Touché. I must learn to pay attention, as I've been told before.
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No worries. In fact on the IoM there is really no such thing as the (Great Britain bit of the) UK. There is simply "Across" (in common parlance) and "the adjacent island" (somewhat pompously, in the Manx parliament). And woe betide anyone who calls it "the mainland".
Silly, but true.
 
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