Liveaboard Isle of Wight

[sandyeyes]

Hi, this is my first post, so please be gentle!
Firstly, this is a great forum and is full of intertesting tips, glad I found it.

My situation: going thorugh divorce, house has been repossessed, lost career/job etc etc.

Basically learning that it is possible to survive at sea and that a house is only surplus to requirements anyway. Spent 2 years at sea when I was in my early twenties (40 now...goes quick, doesnt it?), so not to bothered about buying a cheap 22 footer (for under £2000...I know its not a lot, but there are a few around at that price) and living aboard full time.

I am able to get casual work on the Isle of Wight (lived there for 8 years and left a few years ago) and am looking at Isle of Wight marina's view to liveaboards. I don't want to take up a swing morring for example only to be asked to "jog on!". I am not fussed about having shorepower and am quite happy to dingy back and forth, winter heating with parafin lamp and such, leisure batteries and solar etc (also, I know how to be discrete

So, my questions are these:

Does anyone know of the attitude to liveaboards at any of the marina's on the Isle of Wight? (The pontoons have a 2-5 year waiting list, but a swing mooring looks to be available.) If so, you can pm me if you wish.

What systems do you use to keep going in the winter without shorepower and fresh water supplies? (ie, in a 22 footer)

Sorry for the numerous questions on my first post, but I am going through quite a lot of **** at the moment and just want to be reassured I wont be kicked off moorings...Im sure you know what I mean

Any replies will be greatly appreciated

 

[ribrage]

Hi

Welcome aboard, I have stayed on the mid river pontoons for a while and the harbour masters yard by the power station. Never had any problems with moorings, the marinas are expensive so I avoid them

 

[tri39]

I'm afraid that 22ft is terribly small for live aboard esp in the UK winter. I know people have done it but that doesn't mean you should!!

 

[sandyeyes]

Hi

Welcome aboard, I have stayed on the mid river pontoons for a while and the harbour masters yard by the power station. Never had any problems with moorings, the marinas are expensive so I avoid them

Thankyou, you are right about the marina's being expensive. River moorings seem to be ok though, especially in winter

 

[sandyeyes]

I'm afraid that 22ft is terribly small for live aboard esp in the UK winter. I know people have done it but that doesn't mean you should!!

Hi, tri,

I know it's small, but I feel able to survive quite happily with a small area. As long as I can lie down, have standing headroom (ish), a small gas stove, and able keep dry then I am happy. I realised that most of my possessions can actually fit into 2 large holdalls. I have spent the last few months deciding what I actually need to use in daily life and I discovered most of my possessions can be, and were significantly reduced.

I know it's not going to be easy during winter, but needs must. I don't really have much choice at the moment and I will be able to learn from my mistakes on a smaller boat before possibly moving to larger boats in the distant future.

Besides, living on land is over rated

I would be grateful for any further advice.

 

[John_d_Smith]

IOW Liveaboard

Might be worth enquiring about moorings up near the Folly Inn or Yarmouth the other side of the bridge.

 

[jerrytug]

Good luck anyway mate,I live on a 24',it's a bit cramped but you have your freedom unlike them who are chained to bricks and mortar. Try and arrange things so you can shift moorings for a change of scene,that is,have a working engine and sails. To me the solent is the most snobby stuck up and costly place I've been in Europe! Let us know how you get on Jerry.

 

[Wansworth]

Could investigate a mud berth up at Newport.Living on a small boat in the winter can lead to cabin fever so access to the shore fro a pint might help,the fun of rowing out with the shopping in winter rain soon palls so somewhere near the shore better.Also depends on your income earning situation,going to work is easier walking ashore.

 

[wazza]

Have you seen or actually been on any of these boats for £2k ????
I certainly don't want to put a downer on your idea, as fundamentally it's a good one and a road many have gone down or still going down, but at that price to find something decent you really need to be in the right place at the right time...

 

[sandyeyes]

Might be worth enquiring about moorings up near the Folly Inn or Yarmouth the other side of the bridge.

Hi John, I was thinking of near the Folly, seems there's even a water taxi around too... Looks good, thanks

Good luck anyway mate,I live on a 24',it's a bit cramped but you have your freedom unlike them who are chained to bricks and mortar. Try and arrange things so you can shift moorings for a change of scene,that is,have a working engine and sails. To me the solent is the most snobby stuck up and costly place I've been in Europe! Let us know how you get on Jerry.

Hi Jerry,
Yes I will ensure working sails and engine and plan to shift around a bit, and do a bit of sailing in the channel. Like the idea of shifting moorings, will look into it

Could investigate a mud berth up at Newport.Living on a small boat in the winter can lead to cabin fever so access to the shore fro a pint might help,the fun of rowing out with the shopping in winter rain soon palls so somewhere near the shore better.Also depends on your income earning situation,going to work is easier walking ashore.

Hi Mogy,
Mud berth at Newport, do you have any info on it please? Thanks

Have you seen or actually been on any of these boats for £2k ????
I certainly don't want to put a downer on your idea, as fundamentally it's a good one and a road many have gone down or still going down, but at that price to find something decent you really need to be in the right place at the right time...

Hi Wazza,

I understand what you are saying, and yes, it does need to be in the right place at the right time to grab a bargin, (which also is seaworthy). I have chucked in a few examples just pulled from the internet in the last 10 minutes just to give an idea...

Here: http://www.leisureowners.org.uk/site/contents/market_new.shtml#Leisure23

Scroll down to the Leisure 22, one for £1850...and even better, there's one for free, mind you it's a bit landlocked shall we say...

A few more here:
http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/Qlc1NH5CT0FXMDE=-Dockrell_22.html#top

http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/R09SRDAxLUNNTTUzMn5HT1JEMDE=-Anderson_22_Anderson_22.html#top

http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/Mjc0flZJTlRCQzAx=-Sailmaster_Aux_Yacht.html#top

...and this 28ft would be great at £1950, but havent got a about wooden hulls.

http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/V09TUzAxLTcxMzM3OX5XT1NTMDE=-Ala_Alan_Buchanan_Bermudan_Sloop.html#top

 

[Tranona]

Have a look at http://onkudu.com Nathan Lee posts quite regularly on PBO and has done just what you propose to do.

Certainly possible to exist in that way, but not sure you will get anywhere on the IOW that will be practical and affordable. You really need to be attached to the land as I learned the hard way in my younger days from two spells of living on my small boats if you want to keep any regular contact with land type activities like working!

 

[l'escargot]

The Newport Harbourmaster seems to have a "relaxed" attitude to liveaboards judging by the number of old boats either side of the river at Blackhouse Quay, at the north of the Harbour.

 

[nathanlee]

Have you seen or actually been on any of these boats for £2k ????

I originally paid 2k for a Corribee. Lived on it for pretty much four years. No way I could deal with it in winter outside a marina though. It's possible to survive, but it'd be properly grim. Near freezing night, wind blowing hard and supercooled rain battering everything, you've just got in to the cabin, soaking wet, bringing most of the weather in with you, and you can't really warm up or get anything dry.

Maybe I'm just getting soft.

 

[Baggywrinkles1]

Liveaboard

I spent the winter on board on a very comfortable boat (15meters) 84/85 it was the condensation that was the worst, everything getting mildew especially anything like leather belts, shoes etc.

 

[sandyeyes]

Have a look at http://onkudu.com Nathan Lee posts quite regularly on PBO and has done just what you propose to do.

Certainly possible to exist in that way, but not sure you will get anywhere on the IOW that will be practical and affordable. You really need to be attached to the land as I learned the hard way in my younger days from two spells of living on my small boats if you want to keep any regular contact with land type activities like working!

Hi Tranona,
Thanks for the advice Not being attached to land certainly has its problems, but a mooring on a pontoon just outside a pub does sound quite inviting... Thanks for the link to Nathan, I see he has responded already.

The Newport Harbourmaster seems to have a "relaxed" attitude to liveaboards judging by the number of old boats either side of the river at Blackhouse Quay, at the north of the Harbour.

Hi l'escargot,
Thanks for the info, I'll have a look around there in the next few days

I originally paid 2k for a Corribee. Lived on it for pretty much four years. No way I could deal with it in winter outside a marina though. It's possible to survive, but it'd be properly grim. Near freezing night, wind blowing hard and supercooled rain battering everything, you've just got in to the cabin, soaking wet, bringing most of the weather in with you, and you can't really warm up or get anything dry.

Maybe I'm just getting soft.

Hi Nathan, I watched your youtube vids. Well done for sticking it out. Do you think that if you had "standing room" it may have been more comfortable, say a Hurley or something similar?
Winter is a complete mess in this Country and not having a connection to land is certainly an issue I am weighing up.

Here's what I am thinking, your advice would be more than welcome...

The possible mooring is on a pontoon but not attached to the shore.
By dingy etc it is only a 5min trip to shore.
There is a water taxi service in the area, (should I have problems with the dingy etc)
There are a couple of marinas nearby, I could connect up overnight once a week to recharge batteries (seeing as solar in winter is pretty much dead), take extra water, use laundry facilities etc.
Should it all become a bit too much...there's a pub near the pontoon

Now, for heating I have a few problems deciding the way forward:
Use upturned clay flower pot on gas stove, temporary and would have a condensation problem.
Use small gas heater, again, condensation problem.
Liquid fuel lamps, give off good heat but cost of parafin/unleaded fuel etc and danger from carbon monoxide build up.

So, the best option I think, is a very small wood burner like this:

http://www.windysmithy.co.uk/our-woodburners-hand-made-devon

or this frontier stove:
http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/frontier-portable-camping-wood-burning-stove-104194?gclid=CLOj3vrpqLQCFSHHtAodRE8AHQ

Wood is always available and would be easy to get on board and stash due to the small burner size (and the odd bit of driftwood etc too). Bonus is heat AND a cooking surface. I would also fit a Carbon Monoxide alarm nearby, but ventilation is the key and would leave a crack open to prevent problems. Installation? Tricky, but do-able I think, if I did it myself. Led lights running off battery for light, possibly laptop too. Fresh water...I'll just bring it on board...

That's it for now, everyone's further advice is really welcome!

 

[V1701]

Good 4 season sleeping bag & insulate the hull - closed cell foam possibly most economical for cost/benefit, done some of mine with self adhesive stuff from Hawke House or buy & stick camping mats. You can still get useful power from solar in the winter especially if you can angle straight at the sun. LEDs for lights & install a couple of 12v & a USB socket for charging. Netbook much better than laptop for battery life. Have a decent phone contract, get a wifi adapter, you might just be able to get free internet, if not dongle with a reasonable limit. I know it's asking a lot for the budget but a cockpit enclosure would make a world of difference. Water can be put in jerry cans, good CO detector. I'm 46 & live FT on a (small by modern standards) 27ft but in a marina, I know I could happily live on smaller in a marina but haven't tried long term away from shore power... Yet...

Good luck with it all...

Edit - that Frontier stove looks good value if you could fit one & make a flue, massive plus again if you can have a form of dry heat...

 

[V1701]

Here's a bit of food for thought from Boatshed & Yachtworld sites...

Westerly 22 with a nice charcoal heater...

Leisure 23, think one of these would be very doable, has standing headroom...

Hurley 22 with a new engine...

Vivacity 650, lots of room/storage for size...

Vivacity 20, lovely condition, just too small?

 

[sandyeyes]

I spent the winter on board on a very comfortable boat (15meters) 84/85 it was the condensation that was the worst, everything getting mildew especially anything like leather belts, shoes etc.

Hi Baggywinkles,
Condensation seems to be the major factor during winter in UK, hopefully will be reduced or stopped altogether with a small wood burner. How was the condensation in the summer?

Good 4 season sleeping bag & insulate the hull - closed cell foam possibly most economical for cost/benefit, done some of mine with self adhesive stuff from Hawke House or buy & stick camping mats. You can still get useful power from solar in the winter especially if you can angle straight at the sun. LEDs for lights & install a couple of 12v & a USB socket for charging. Netbook much better than laptop for battery life. Have a decent phone contract, get a wifi adapter, you might just be able to get free internet, if not dongle with a reasonable limit. I know it's asking a lot for the budget but a cockpit enclosure would make a world of difference. Water can be put in jerry cans, good CO detector. I'm 46 & live FT on a (small by modern standards) 27ft but in a marina, I know I could happily live on smaller in a marina but haven't tried long term away from shore power... Yet...

Good luck with it all...

Edit - that Frontier stove looks good value if you could fit one & make a flue, massive plus again if you can have a form of dry heat...

Hi V1701,
Have the sleeping bag,

Internet: I am on 3g at the moment, just bluetooth paired to my laptop, works a treat, quite fast (I'll have to check out the signal on the river though...) £15 monthly pay as you go, unlimited data, 300mins and 3000 texts.

You are right about power consumption, LED lighting, as you say, is the way forward, also inexpensive, which helps Will look at switching to a netbook at a later date. I'll have to sit down and do some power calculations and see which size solar panel will give me enough juice in winter...I know solar panels are fairly expensive, so hopefully one that isn't going to break the bank.

Wind power...Haven't used a wind generator before...any ideas? Are they more hassle than they're worth?

CO detector, definitely.

The camping mats as insulation? fantastic idea, thanks!

Instead of Jerry cans, another option could be to use a few 3-5 gallon collapsable water carriers just to save a bit of space when empty, mind you, probably less hassle with rigid plastic jerrycans with a tap and breather attachement...

Cockpit enclosure, now that's a little bit more difficult. I have looked at the prices and it's not in my range. However, a very decent space which could be used. Not sure how or what I could use to try and have a temporary one. Maybe a line to the stern with a tarp...or I could re-invent my old 3 season tent's fly sheet (nice non-tatty dark green, 3 man, double sided entry) and the copper poles. Here's the habitent cockpit enclosure measurements (£360) http://www.habitent.com/page.asp?id=spec and here's my old tent measurements: http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/wild-country-aspect-2-tent-2012-105204 Not quite the same as you can see, but similar. The tent has an entrance each side which can also be rolled up, the curved metal arcs are similar etc... Maybe clear plastic stitched/glued where the "doors" are and the actual fly door used as a zipped curtain/privacy on the plastic..if you know what I mean? Just an idea for now...

Thanks everyone for the tips, keep them coming please!

 

[sandyeyes]

Here's a bit of food for thought from Boatshed & Yachtworld sites...

Westerly 22 with a nice charcoal heater...

Leisure 23, think one of these would be very doable, has standing headroom...

Hurley 22 with a new engine...

Vivacity 650, lots of room/storage for size...

Vivacity 20, lovely condition, just too small?

Thank you for those details, standing headroom is something I would wish to have, The leisure 23's are good for this, but also the Hurley...new engine... It's good to see there is more choice than I thought...the vivacity 650 with sitting headroom but loads of space is interesting...

 

[nathanlee]

Hi Nathan, I watched your youtube vids. Well done for sticking it out. Do you think that if you had "standing room" it may have been more comfortable, say a Hurley or something similar?
..

The possible mooring is on a pontoon but not attached to the shore.
By dingy etc it is only a 5min trip to shore.
There is a water taxi service in the area, (should I have problems with the dingy etc)
There are a couple of marinas nearby, I could connect up overnight once a week to recharge batteries (seeing as solar in winter is pretty much dead), take extra water, use laundry facilities etc.
Should it all become a bit too much...there's a pub near the pontoon

Standing headroom does make a hell of a lot of difference, but the more space you have, the harder it is going to be to heat. I think a solid fuel effort is the way to go. I've spent quite a while living on a Leisure 23SL actually. Did a 6 week spell of borrowing it off somebody for cheap digs in London. You'd be fine in that.

If you're on a pontoon, that makes things much better. If you've got some decent batteries (Kudu had 200ah), solar charging, and LED lights, you'll be fine for everything but heat. Add a solid fuel stove in to the mix, and you should be sorted.

Don't imagine that an upside down flower pot will save the day though; it won't. It'll take the chill off on a cold day, but it'll barely make a dent in the depths of an icy winter's night.

However, a pontoon mooring in the middle of a river on the Isle of Wight... now I have a bigger boat, that really does sound rather appealing. Idyllic, almost.


To be honest, it sounds like you know what you're doing and have explored the options. I think the best thing to do is just jump in feet first and learn as you go. If you get a good sleeping bag (and a backup duvet, just in case), you're in no danger of freezing to death no matter what the temperature does, and an uncomfortable night will encourage you to come up with a solution, so it's all good.