Do you live aboard?

[H88]

Thinking of doing it for the 4 years I'm at uni (although maybe not all year round, what with it being england and bloody freezing in the middle of winter) and wondered if anyone had any advice?
What size boat would you say would do me? I'm only 5'2 which obviously helps matters! Was thinking around 25-30ft?
What would I need in terms of getting hot water and electricity? Oh, and a shower would be nice!
Thanks for any advice x

 

[moonraker 36]

i have live'd aboard before..get the biggest boat you can afford..
storage and heating your biggest problem's..
but i can recommended it brilliant way of life ..only moved off and back to brick's and morter because kid's came along..
my parent's live aboard also (more than 20yrs now)
and no council tax!! yep no council tax paid mine for 4 yrs found out that a group of boats around the thames area appealled about their payment's and won..i did the same and got 4yrs of payment's back..parent's got 7 yrs back......

you may you have to pay the tax to start with.. but look into apealling against it..

good luck..!!!

 

[stuhaynes]

Living on a boat

Thinking of doing it for the 4 years I'm at uni (although maybe not all year round, what with it being england and bloody freezing in the middle of winter) and wondered if anyone had any advice?
What size boat would you say would do me? I'm only 5'2 which obviously helps matters! Was thinking around 25-30ft?
What would I need in terms of getting hot water and electricity? Oh, and a shower would be nice!
Thanks for any advice x

Kath and I have lived aboard for 10 years or so, and there is no way that we would buy a house. As a lifestyle it can't be beaten. Done wrong it can be a nightmare in winter. This last winter was the worst in 30 years, and we were warm and snug as a bug etc. Our boat is wood and 60 years old next year, with no insulation. It is 30 feet long with a 9'6" beam and does us very well.

The only problem I can imagine is that water and pi**ed students are not a good mix, so would suggest a bit of care.

A marina is a good place to be, but have access to electricity.

I had an article published called living on a boat. Have a look at it, it may help.

 

[H88]

fantastic advice, thank you!
My parents also saw that issue, I'm a none drinker though so that helps things too, as i'm so teeny I used to get far too drunk far too easily so decided against that idea.
Started out as a silly idea as I drove past Brighton marina a few weeks ago and now I've given it some thought and asked advice it may actually be a pretty good plan, we shall see!
Thanks again, really do appreciate all the advice I can get.

 

[Lakesailor]

You need to speak to Nathan

 

[Bajansailor]

H, I am just wondering where you are planning on going to university - inland or on the coast?
If inland, then a small river cruiser (or even canal boat) would 'do the job' admirably (provided the funds are there) - and infinitely nicer than lived in a (shared) flat ashore.

Sounds like you are more of a mobo person (as you posted on the mobo forum), rather than say a saily bod?

If a coastal university, then you would really want a boat with reasonable seakeeping abilities, so that you are not limited to flat calm weather, unless you literally just want to have a houseboat.

A pal of mine has been living on her wee 24' sailing boat for the past 3 years, and she is a bit bigger than you. Just make sure you are in a marina, for the winter at least, where you have shore power available. Some marinas have free electricity, so then you can afford to keep an electric fan heater on low power all night, and still wake up to a toasty warm boat in the morning.
And a little boat only takes a few minutes to warm up when you plug the heater in after going out sailing in winter!

 

[Coaster]

You'll also need to be aware that most marinas have rules against living aboard. There may be ways around that hurdle but be very cautious when asking about keeping a live-aboard boat in a particular location.

 

[H88]

Going to Brighton Uni so coastal, was thinking either Brighton marina, newhaven or shoreham. I'm not against the idea of a sailing boat, I'm just aware that the newhaven moorings I've been to see are tidal so a flatter bottom would be best, cabin cruisers tend to have more cabin space too i think (correct me if im wrong!).
Thanks Coaster, been told that by a few people now, spoke to a man at newhaven who was living aboard and he said he'd been secretly living aboard for around 10 years, so hopefully shouldn't be too much trouble!
Thanks again