Is 7k enough to purchase a narrow boat for cruising?

[steve yates]

So you think breaking a well established rule and running the risk of losing your boat is a good idea?

By all means look at alternatives, but you find they all have significant downsides by definition and cease to be "alternative" if they are viable.

Not necessarily, and I did not say that. However, if he did try and do something outside the narrow expected norm, I would not think it is a bad thing. And if he did try it, I would not regard it as criminal. Never peed outside? Or driven over 70 mph? Both are lawbreaking.
I think all you had to do was furnish him with the information about cc rules and consequences, not imply that he was a lowlife outlaw if he did such a thing. Granted it's the Internet, and easy to read stuff the wrong way, but I thought that post seemed rather condescending and judgemental. Especially as most of your posts I have read seemed to be very helpful.

He probably didn't even know the rules on canal boats. By the way, he won't lose his boat unless he blatantly ignores carts warnings to move on. I would have thought his biggest issue was most unis are in city's and living in a canal boat in a uk city is probably a rather hazardous operation.

 

[JumbleDuck]

So you think breaking a well established rule and running the risk of losing your boat is a good idea?

I think it is absolutely fine for young people to push the envelope a bit. If they all stuck to the rules all the time we would live in a very tedious world. That's not to say that this is a good rule to break, but the idea of a student living illicitly on a canal boat for a few years worries me a lot less than someone older doing it as a long term plan.

 

[nauticalnomad]

I lived in my van for 3 years in the UK. A year in Liverpool working and 2 years living in London.
I saved 10s of thousands of pounds in rent over that time in the van, with that money i bought myself a sailing boat in a boat yard requiring some work which is done now. Ive had the boat for 8 years now if you knock off what i would of spent in renting houses etc per year for 8 years id say 10 grand a year in rent and taxs times 8... 80 grand off the price of the boat... Well thats how i justify it anyway.

 

[sailorman]

I lived in my van for 3 years in the UK. A year in Liverpool working and 2 years living in London.
I saved 10s of thousands of pounds in rent over that time in the van, with that money i bought myself a sailing boat in a boat yard requiring some work which is done now. Ive had the boat for 8 years now if you knock off what i would of spent in renting houses etc per year for 8 years id say 10 grand a year in rent and taxs times 8... 80 grand off the price of the boat... Well thats how i justify it anyway.

There will be a converted ex telecom van for sale in Ipswich soon, all fully fitted ready to go, the owner has a newly fitted out cruiser he is moving on to shortlyi s

uppose you also got the money back for the van when you moved aboard, so an even larger saving

 

[steve yates]

I think that is completely admirable. Well done

 

[lukedh]

A bit tongue in cheek and it's not a boat, but I got the idea from a BBC journalist who did exactly that in London. As nautical nomad found It can be done.

 

[TQA]

Top Tip for anyone going down the van conversion route.

Do not put windows in the sides, instead put one or two sunroofs in the roof. I got mine FOC from someone who did banger racing and he would have had to remove them or at least break the glass out. I removed them intact with a nibbler and pop riveted them on with butyl tape as a seal.

By leaving it looking externally like a delivery van I could park it in places where a camper van would be moved on pretty quickly, sea front in Monaco for one.

 

[nauticalnomad]

Oh yeah.. Mine was a smiley faced transit with no windows and racks on the roof. Open the inside and it was a caravan inside.. Stealth mode!

 

[sailorman]

Oh yeah.. Mine was a smiley faced transit with no windows and racks on the roof. Open the inside and it was a caravan inside.. Stealth mode!

So do you still have it