More advice needed re UK live aboard possibilities

[Robin]

Thinking our way out from Trump ,given shrunken funds, we may be to go liveaboard again, but back home in the UK

Where are the best potential locations? We are wrinklies and need to be close to some sort of civilisation, like stores, medics etc

Is it feasible to co exist between anchorages and marinas?

I'm a lifetime fan of Poole and consider that a possible co-existence location for anchor/marina split time

Would we be better looking at French options, like Cherbourg or Southern Brittany or commuting to/from UK , if so how about medical matters in the EUpost Brexit? We have been out of the UK for 4 years, but I'm a UK citizen born and bred and SWMBO is a yank that as my spouse had full right of abode in the UK for 26 years before we stupidly left in 2012 ( she still has the UK immigration stamp and paper in her passport and has a valid UK National Insurance number)

Looking at Scotland currently mainly as there is a nice boat in the Clyde that looks a possible maybe, but midges, windies and chillies are a concern.


All information is valuable and appreciated. :encouragement:

 

[Gerry]

Have you thought about a canal boat? It may be that the compromise could work well for you. Ability to move around the country but none of the downside of anchoring.... and you could have one in France or the UK. Just a thought.

 

[srm]

I would suggest a downside is climate.

Admittedly my experience is more extreme than the south of England having been based in Orkney for around 25 years before heading south. However, I found that the milder climate here in the Azores has correlated with less general aches and pains and is much more pleasant year round. This was particularly noticable last autumn and spring when I was back in Orkney packing up my house.

Depending on your budget you may find the English south coast expensive for berthing or mooring, I certainly did on my brief stays there when buying both my current and last boat, but then my price comparison was with the north of Scotland.

 

[Robin]

I would suggest a downside is climate.

Admittedly my experience is more extreme than the south of England having been based in Orkney for around 25 years before heading south. However, I found that the milder climate here in the Azores has correlated with less general aches and pains and is much more pleasant year round. This was particularly noticable last autumn and spring when I was back in Orkney packing up my house.

Depending on your budget you may find the English south coast expensive for berthing or mooring, I certainly did on my brief stays there when buying both my current and last boat, but then my price comparison was with the north of Scotland.

Having lived and sailed from Poole for a quarter century, the costs of the South coast are well known as is the climate. Here in Florida we paid $10/ft/month for an excellent marina berth, cheap by Florida standards . We do need a base with access to medical facilities and whilst the med and Acores etc attract, the final Brexit deal may make the health thing less attractive and we are wanting to drop our current high monthly expenditure on health insurance cover in the USA. THe boat that started the idea is fully enclosed and has independent generator power as well as diesel heating so could be made quite snug. I think we could do without the air conditioning we had on our boats here mind!

 

[Robin]

Have you thought about a canal boat? It may be that the compromise could work well for you. Ability to move around the country but none of the downside of anchoring.... and you could have one in France or the UK. Just a thought.

That was one of our first thoughts but discarded because of the difficulty in the UK at least of finding an affordable and permissible semi-permanent location base although I have little knowledge of the actual versus the hearsay.

 

[Sandyman]

Hello Robin
One hell of a leap to make from sunny Florida to the winter doldrums of the Clyde.
As you say, your an old wrinklie, so unless you have previous experiece of cold weather liveaboard life, it may come as something of a shock to you. As Ludd pointed out having a good heater helps but that is only a small part of it to consider. As to location, we spent 5 winters as liveaboards in the Uk ( 2 winter sailing, port hoping only using marinas when necessary & 3 winters in marinas on the South coast) & from our experieces..........no thank you never again......certainly not after experiences 4 winters in warmer climes. I would certainly look for somewhere further South. As to medical services no one knows what is going to happen as yet concerning health insurance. Probably a revised version of the EHIC. Something will need to be put in place to look after the millions of wrinklie expats, especially in Spain, which hopefuly will cover us as well. Good luck what ever you do. Wouldn't be our ideal living under a crackpot either. Then again, you could move back to Uk and soon find yourself in exactly the same situation

 

[Robin]

Sunny Florida is nice in winter, hell in high summer with high humidity and the mossies are no seeums, not muslim, just vampires Running two aircons full time flat out is fine if plugged in and they cost us plenty in repairs over time too. Then you have to swim with a choice of 'gators or sharks. Nowhere is perfect..

 

[colind3782]

Look at Spain, winter in the UK is just too cold and there are plenty of affordable marinas to the south.

 

[Tranona]

Spain worth considering - at least for a few years at least until the Brexit terms are known. although personally think that spain will still be accommodating as they depend more on Brits resident there than other states. Certainly is a good choice of both boats and marinas plus easy budget airline access to UK. You would have to become resident, but no big deal if you do it properly.

 

[Robin]

Spain worth considering - at least for a few years at least until the Brexit terms are known. although personally think that spain will still be accommodating as they depend more on Brits resident there than other states. Certainly is a good choice of both boats and marinas plus easy budget airline access to UK. You would have to become resident, but no big deal if you do it properly.

Ta all, thinking cap on 24/7 right now but the boss lady says she will NOT stay in Trump's USA even though she is Mercan born and bred ( quite perfect otherwise however). I like Spain and even speak some Spanish after 25 years working with/for a Spanish company as their agent in English speaking countries.

 

[Gerry]

That was one of our first thoughts but discarded because of the difficulty in the UK at least of finding an affordable and permissible semi-permanent location base although I have little knowledge of the actual versus the hearsay.

You may find that it is easier than you think. We have a number of friends with narrowboats and they seem to be able to find marina berths when needed, and cruising is possible for most of the year. I have been seriously impressed with some of the narrowboats we have seen recently. With a log burner and insulation a winter aboard looks very cosy...
We are facing our 4th winter in the West of England. On a sailboat .In a marina to be fair but the winter deals are pretty good- around £350 a month for a 40 footer including electricity. Have been very comfortable to date although a dehumidifier is a must! Just putting a solid fuel stove aboard which should be a nice addition.
Personally I have found the UK climate a tremendous relief after years in the Tropics.

 

[Robin]

my searches for canal boat life in the UK suggested that if you stay more than 2 weeks in any one spot, somebody with a badge or uniform will want to move you on. That sort of prevents having a home base option from which to register for DVLC stuff, medics etc, not to mention somewhere to park a car, if I got my UK license again ( expired by virtue of passing 70 but my Florida one is valid. for a year or two to buy time to get it back SWMBO's has 2 years left.

 

[Robin]

You may find that it is easier than you think. We have a number of friends with narrowboats and they seem to be able to find marina berths when needed, and cruising is possible for most of the year. I have been seriously impressed with some of the narrowboats we have seen recently. With a log burner and insulation a winter aboard looks very cosy...
We are facing our 4th winter in the West of England. On a sailboat .In a marina to be fair but the winter deals are pretty good- around £350 a month for a 40 footer including electricity. Have been very comfortable to date although a dehumidifier is a must! Just putting a solid fuel stove aboard which should be a nice addition.
Personally I have found the UK climate a tremendous relief after years in the Tropics.

WE are on the same wavelength methinks and if a West country winter berth is available thst could be good. Can you register it as your permanent address, get mail etc?I looked t using a family member for my driver licence but you have to provide a copy utility bill in your name at that address, makes it complicated as no doubt is intended.

 

[SteveSarabande]

There aren't many uk marinas that allow you to use the marina as a permanent address. Most liveaboards do it under the radar and use a relative as their official mailing address

 

[Gerry]

WE are on the same wavelength methinks and if a West country winter berth is available thst could be good. Can you register it as your permanent address, get mail etc?I looked t using a family member for my driver licence but you have to provide a copy utility bill in your name at that address, makes it complicated as no doubt is intended.

Have never needed to 'register' address. Certainly there has been no difficulty in getting mail and deliveries sent to any of the UK marinas we have been in. With a 'paperless' world most of our transactions take place online anyway. I have not had to provide a utility bill in order to change the address on my driving licence....

 

[Robin]

There aren't many uk marinas that allow you to use the marina as a permanent address. Most liveaboards do it under the radar and use a relative as their official mailing address

here in the US we use a mail forwarding service thst IS accepted by banks, even voter registration, they monitor for things needing renewal (Like vehicle licences, boat registration etc, pay on time on our behalf and charge us via credit card , they are our official billing address fot credit cards etc too. WHEN I looked at renewing my driver licence post 70 they asked for documentary proof I still had UK residency. when I entered my son's address online it popped up a requirement to send a copy of a utility bill in my name at that address, so even if I was staying there it would be difficult. Whatever boat we buy will also have to be UK registered again for which I will need an address although a family member's might work for that. Tedious.

 

[Tranona]

my searches for canal boat life in the UK suggested that if you stay more than 2 weeks in any one spot, somebody with a badge or uniform will want to move you on. That sort of prevents having a home base option from which to register for DVLC stuff, medics etc, not to mention somewhere to park a car, if I got my UK license again ( expired by virtue of passing 70 but my Florida one is valid. for a year or two to buy time to get it back SWMBO's has 2 years left.

What you are describing is a "Continuous cruising" licence much beloved by those who live on the margins as it is cheap and as you say it does have restrictions which are now more rigorously enforced by The Canal and River Trust than when the canals were run by the British Waterways Board.

However, there are many residential licenced berths on the system ,although many are in commercial marinas and often in more remote places. clearly those near centres of population (and work) tend to be oversubscribed or the canalside moorings are blocked with decaying boats or equivalent of squatters.

Despite that many people live a good lifestyle aboard residential narrowboats or even wide beams on some waterways.

Have a look on www.canalrivertrust.org.uk there is a section on moorings and licencing.

 

[Robin]

still an option but weare leaning towards the saltier option and cruising on the hook in summer then wintering in a marina .

ONE question occurs to me is how to register what we buy. Can I as a British citizen register a boat on part one British Registry as a non resident? I ask because we can then use our USA mailing/forwarding service address just as we did for our USA owned boats, in SWMBO's name as the US citizen. Is it the same for SSR? I believe non-UK citizens if residents of the UK can register on the SSR Our circumstances are different if we sell up here and our new 'home' is the very thing we want to register.

 

[Tranona]

You can use Part 1 as a British citizen but need a UK agent such as a solicitor. Potentially expensive if the boat is not already registered as it needs a tonnage survey. SSR is for residents irrespective of nationality. Definition of resident is on the MCA website. Normally a permanent address in UK or evidence that you meet the requirement is needed. Of course registration only required if you intend going abroad with the boat.

 

[Jegs]

Possibly get boat registered in the name of a relative in UK & then transfer to a new SSR?


ATB,


John G