Where can i live with my ship

[Delmot]

Hi, I've been looking for some time now and need help, weve a 25m ship moored in the Netherlands currently but want to live in the UK and have an easier life. Unfortunately as soon as we say to any marina or Harbour/council we're closed down. Being honest is not having its rewards, apparently the laws have changed and a number of locations are now being forced to stop liveaboards in their locations.
Does anyone have advise as to where we can moore our ship and if they can take her. She's fully functional as we aim to travel but need a base to do so from . Its looking bleak for our better life days. Any advise is welcome.
Thanks

 

[The Q]

Just across the sea the Broads Authority have always been very against liveaboards, especially those that never or practically never move, so there's little chance here.. There are a number who move around but most moorings are 24 hours only, and many boat yards would only allow you to stay on board at your mooring for say a weekend..

 

[PlanB]

Uma's thread that you have joined says it all, really.

 

[Tranona]

Don't think you will find moving to the UK is likely to lead to an easier life, unless it is really horrible where you live now! Not only will you find it really difficult to get a residential mooring, but any mooring will be extremely expensive. You don't say what nationality you are, nor where your ship is considered VAT paid. Unless you are UK citizens and the ship is UK VAT paid you will be limited as to how long you stay - 18 months for the ship and nominally 6 months for you without a visa.

 

[Gibeltarik]

Two possibilities:

The Willows, Windsor - owned by Haulfryn Homes. There are a number of residential barges there including a 39m Spitz

Platts Ayot, Hampton - owned by Shanly Homes and managed by Sorbon Estates HERE

But do take note of Tranona comments on VAT and Visas above. More info HERE

 

[oldgit]

Hoo Marina ? on the Medway.

 

[ean_p]

Many of the marina's run by the former British Waterways have residential berths as do many of the private marina's on the inland waterways system. Hull marina is one such and I believe at least one of the marina's in Goole also allows residential berths. Both easily accessible from the sea and once in at Goole then full access to the Leeds Liverpool system and other waterways. The advantage of the northern systems are that they tend to accommodate larger craft I believe.

 

[Robin]

Hoo Marina ? on the Medway.

AKA Port Werburgh(sp)?

 

[Delmot]

Don't think you will find moving to the UK is likely to lead to an easier life, unless it is really horrible where you live now! Not only will you find it really difficult to get a residential mooring, but any mooring will be extremely expensive. You don't say what nationality you are, nor where your ship is considered VAT paid. Unless you are UK citizens and the ship is UK VAT paid you will be limited as to how long you stay - 18 months for the ship and nominally 6 months for you without a visa.

Hi I've not yet bought the ship but I'm UK resident and the ship is in the Netherlands currently, which we could stay there but its in the middle of nowhere. We want a base to live at but intend to travel around and see the world. My other question is how do you all afford to live on them travel and work. Weve a few quid from the sale of our house but that won't last forever. Especially with the fuel costs going up. Any help and advise will really be appreciated as we want to live not be a work pony for the dayswe have

 

[Delmot]

Don't think you will find moving to the UK is likely to lead to an easier life, unless it is really horrible where you live now! Not only will you find it really difficult to get a residential mooring, but any mooring will be extremely expensive. You don't say what nationality you are, nor where your ship is considered VAT paid. Unless you are UK citizens and the ship is UK VAT paid you will be limited as to how long you stay - 18 months for the ship and nominally 6 months for you without a visa.

Oh and there's no tax as its been paid and over 50years old

 

[Delmot]

I forgot to mention its an ex torpedo ship and not a barge, so river's may be tricky with a 1.85m draught.

 

[Tranona]

Oh and there's no tax as its been paid and over 50years old

If you import the boat into the UK then you will have to pay VAT. It is irrelevant that tax was paid on the boat in the past. You may also require certification if it is a pleasure boat.

This is one of the consequences of leaving the EU and becoming a separate Customs Area and makes buying boats in Europe for use in the UK no longer viable for most people.

Suggest you take professional advice before committing to purchase the boat.

The answer to the basic question you asked about being able to afford to live and travel the world on a boat is that it is neither easy nor cheap. Also I don't see how you can live in NL unless you are an EU citizen or can get a work visa or apply for residence. The days of roaming around Europe, living and working freely are gone for UK citizens. Living on a boat is more common in NL because of their network of waterways and a good supply of both ex working boats and new builds that are easily adapted for living aboard. These conditions do not exist to the same extent in the UK.

That is why my initial response was negative. Living on a boat in the UK is extremely difficult because of the limited moorings for residential use, particularly if if you want to be near a centre of population. Even more difficult if you also want a boat that is capable of seagoing voyages.

 

[Wansworth]

Hi I've not yet bought the ship but I'm UK resident and the ship is in the Netherlands currently, which we could stay there but its in the middle of nowhere. We want a base to live at but intend to travel around and see the world. My other question is how do you all afford to live on them travel and work. Weve a few quid from the sale of our house but that won't last forever. Especially with the fuel costs going up. Any help and advise will really be appreciated as we want to live not be a work pony for the dayswe have

A good friend of mine told me information is the answer,before anything inform yourself if possible from reliable professional sources

 

[V1701]

Okay if you've not yet bought it the best advice is do not buy it. It's too big to be accepted in a lot of places and it will cost a lot because of its size to moor/berth anywhere where it will be accepted. If you wanted to use a boat like that to travel around Europe/The Med, say, it will cost a fortune in fuel and maintenance. Do you have any boating experience at all? I'm sorry to be harsh but you need to hear that your plan really is unrealistic, so do a lot more research. You'll find that most people who move around a lot do it in sailboats, say between mid thirties to fifty feet. Some do it with trawler yachts such as Nordhavn but again you need a lot of money to buy such a boat and maintain/run/moor it. Most people living on boats of the size you're considering have a residential mooring which they rent or own and the boats rarely move. I'd have thought Holland would be one of the best places to keep such a boat, UK no. However a narrowboat you could probably find a residential berth for quite easily...

 

[Delmot]

Hi really appreciate your advice and feedback, ive years of motor sailing experience as I grew up in boating. We understand the difficulties but don't see the point in having a liveaboard but not being able to move it or travel. We'll be selling our house and will have in excess of 300k to use along with a part time income. The ship has been well maintained and made to travel as a world cruise, unfortunately due to illness the owner is unable to achieve this. We however are able and want to share the experience with out elder kids. With things going as they are maybe we will need to look further afield. We can stay in the Netherlands on a 12 month mooring and live there without any issue as the marina was explaining when we were there this weekend just gone, just not sure on the netherlands Appreciate the help though

 

[V1701]

That puts a different complexion on it, you just need to find a (much) more suitable boat and answer the question of where you're going to live after you get too decrepit to haul yourselves on & off it 'cos you sold the house! Plenty of people do it on all sorts of different boats with all sorts of different budgets. How much time you will spend in marinas vs. at anchor and how much you spend on eating out, buying alcohol, etc. are major factors. And of course now we UK citizens are subject to Schengen visa rules so don't forget to factor that in as well. "Get living aboard done"...

 

[Tranona]

A boat of that size and type will soon eat through your £300k (presumably less after you have bought the boat). Guess you will be looking at £30-40k a year on fuel, moorings and maintenance - these are the sort of sums that forum members on the Motor Boat forum talk about for their15-20m modern motor cruisers. Living expenses generally mirror your lifestyle on shore plus your "holiday" type expenses (car hire, eating out, on shore travel for sightseeing etc). So in 10 years your house asset (which will probably have increased by 25% in that time) will likely actually have mostly disappeared.

Many people who do take on this lifestyle are like you, post kids, basic income from part time job/pension/investments who follow their dream financed by the equity in their house - but most keep the asset either by renting it out and using the income or downsizing to release enough equity to buy a boat but have a fall back of a property base and bolthole where they can access services for their latter years. This is what we did (by borrowing against the house to buy the boat and paying it off when I retired) with my rule of thumb that the boat should never represent more than 20% of our net assets - and in fact was significantly less.

Boats (particularly the type you are considering) make very poor house substitutes on almost all levels, but of course other people have a different approach to life and are more interested in the present and immediate future and are quite happy to burn up their acquired assets in pursuit of their dream and worry about what happens in the future when it comes. If you are in this category and don't mind using up some of your capital then a more modest sailing or motorsailing boat is the way to go. Big old commercial and work boats often make good static homes as you see from the number used in this way particularly in NL but are a financial nightmare once you start to move about. A 13m boat like say a Nauticat 43 motorsailer is super for living on, capable of taking you anywhere and will have annual running costs approx 25% of a motor boat with similar space and capability. This type of boat is also much easier to find berthing for, both when travelling or if you want to spend more time in one location, for example taking a winter berthing contract in a Med marina.

Have a look at the blogs at the top and at the many youtubes of folks who are liveaboards so you get an idea of what works. You will quickly see that almost all use sailing boats because of their versatility and relatively modest running costs.

 

[Delmot]

Really appreciate all the advise and were definitely taking a more desired look at the whole thing. We would love nothing more than to reduce the amount we need to work and will continue to look at our options.

 

[st599]

Hi really appreciate your advice and feedback, ive years of motor sailing experience as I grew up in boating. We understand the difficulties but don't see the point in having a liveaboard but not being able to move it or travel. We'll be selling our house and will have in excess of 300k to use along with a part time income. The ship has been well maintained and made to travel as a world cruise, unfortunately due to illness the owner is unable to achieve this. We however are able and want to share the experience with out elder kids. With things going as they are maybe we will need to look further afield. We can stay in the Netherlands on a 12 month mooring and live there without any issue as the marina was explaining when we were there this weekend just gone, just not sure on the netherlands Appreciate the help though

You've said you're UK resident, but do you have an EU passport? If you only have a UK passport and don't have a work visa sponsor, then you can only be in the EU for 90 days in any 180 day rolling window and can only undertake a limited number of jobs. The boat can stay there but you may find you can't.

 

[onmyway]

Hi Delmot, while looking for a liveaboard marina myself, I found one that might suit you better than me (as it is in the UK). Have you checked this one out yet:
Liveaboards Welcome