Your Top 5 Tips For UK LiveAboards!

[Tim Good]

Ok I have now made the proverbial plunge. I've bought a boat vastly more expensive than I can afford as a leisure craft. I now must rent my house and move aboard. On that note....

What are you're top 5 tips for living aboard in the Uk!!! :encouragement:

 

[rustybarge]

Ok I have now made the proverbial plunge. I've bought a boat vastly more expensive than I can afford as a leisure craft. I now must rent my house and move aboard. On that note....

What are you're top 5 tips for living aboard in the Uk!!! :encouragement:

IMO the most vital piece of equipment is a dehumidifier.
If you look out of your boat at 5 am in the morning, as one does, you'll see a mist forming above the surface; that gets into everything on board the boat, the towels, the sheets, the mattresses etc etc etc.

I have mine on three times a day for about an hour each time: 3 hours running isn't much of a drag for a totally dry boat.

I'd rather be cold, than damp.........

 

[Tim Good]

IMO the most vital piece of equipment is a dehumidifier.
I have mine on three times a day for about an hour each time: 3 hours running isn't much of a drag for a totally dry boat.

Do you find the electricity usage can be significant or does the heat generated by the unit offset the power used to actually dehumidify?

 

[Hadenough]

1. Insulation
2. Insulation
3. A good dehumidifier
4. Heating
5. A good local pub

 

[rustybarge]

Do you find the electricity usage can be significant or does the heat generated by the unit offset the power used to actually dehumidify?

I bought Argos' best, I think it was about £125, and it uses about £250 in electricity yearly for 3 hours a day.

Just took a look, it's a Om 10E, been going for 6 years no problems so far. My previous model was also bought at Argos, but developed a funny noise when running....they swopped for brand new one after nearly a year, no questioned asked.

I use a caravan multiple- power fridge, works on gas, 12 volts and mains......it may not be as efficient as a compressor fridge, but it's far more useful on a boat and gives you lots of different power options. It's a Scandinavian make called groenland and has been working away happily since 1993 with no issues, except the remote starter for the gas takes 3 or 4 goes to get it lit, but it was very expensive Irc at about £300 all those years ago.

 

[AndrewB]

Do you find the electricity usage can be significant or does the heat generated by the unit offset the power used to actually dehumidify?

A suitable dehumidifier, 5-10L capacity, uses up to 250W per hour, or 6kW per day. The heat output is not sufficient to be useful.

Don't waste your money on the very low output models. If you run it full-time, you will be extracting maybe 2L daily in winter. You really need to be in a marina with access to mains electricity to run a dehumidifier, as it ought to be run at least 6 hours daily (preferably all night). I don't think it is practical with a generator.

 

[ChattingLil]

I suppose it depends on where you want to put it, but we've been living aboard for 8 months with no regrets at all and agree with all the above.

my top five:

* Insulation/dehumidifier/heating (one topic as far as I am concerned)

* Best bedding you can afford (we decided to wait a year before investing in boat mattress, and have made do with original foam mattress with reticulated foam under, memory foam on top and a mattress topper and it's lush).

* Proper crockery, cutlery, glassware (we are not camping)

* some form of cockpit enclosure to keep the wet out of the companionway - it's rained almost non-stop since we've been living aboard and it made a huge difference to home comforts once we got a tent put up.

* saloon style doors for companion way - ie not washboard - for when in port. It's a total pain if you are in and out all day and having to step over all the time.

sorry, I also have a sixth:

* make sure that everything has a sea-going home. After all, you want to use it as a boat as well as a house-boat and we made a big mistake the first time we went to sea - as Mrs FullCircle of this forum said "it's like an effing greek taverna down here". So be sure you can pack everything away fairly easily when you want to go out.

 

[[2574]]

Others have mentioned dehumidifiers and I agree that it is essential equipment. I would counsel that you carefully study the two different types of dehumidifier - compressor or dessicant. I have the former whereas I believe that the latter might be better for lower temperature operation and also I believe the dessicant type heat the air whereas the compressor type does not. I believe that the dessicant type users more power but is more efficient in the UK winter season.

Finally I advise buying a quality product; there are too many boat fires caused by dehumidifiers catching fire and I always worry that cheap equals greater risk - but I am probably wrong. It always seem to me that the £100 B&Q jobbies are not designed for constant long term running as is necessary on a boat.

 

[Hadenough]

Agree with all that Robih and recommend this

http://www.meaco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DD8LJunior

 

[SteveSarabande]

Agree with all that Robih and recommend this

http://www.meaco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DD8LJunior

+1,
on clothes drying mode it keeps the boat warm too.

 

[ribrage]

Ok I have now made the proverbial plunge. I've bought a boat vastly more expensive than I can afford as a leisure craft. I now must rent my house and move aboard. On that note....

What are you're top 5 tips for living aboard in the Uk!!! :encouragement:

Top tip:

Save - save - save - leave the U.K., dont look back


I did 6 years living on board in uk , six months on a mooring and six months a year in a marina when its cheap and deals are done

Buy good quality wet weather gear , make sure you leave ALL wet stuff outside , the moisture you bring in has to be removed, good ventilation helps , dont close up cupboards or wardrobes it just locks in moisture , open everything up

I NEVER turned the dehunidifier off during the winter , buy the best you can afford , I had an oil filled radiator on 24/7 and a blower heater for the cold spells

Get a wifi booster if you want reasonable down load speeds and a good signal for internet or buy your own mifi if you can afford it.

Dont turn the boat into a pikie encampment marinas generally ban live aboard on paper but turn blind eye if boat looks like a boat and not a scrap yard

If on a mooring , get a decent tender or your stuff gets trashed , nothing worse than watching your fresh laundry get soaked by the wash of some rich A hole as he goes by , or your bread floating out over the transom as the water gets level inside and out.

When the sun shines treasure it , when it sets drink a beer and toast the good days

Enjoy it , but always remember tip number 1

 

[dslittle]

Agree with all that Robih and recommend this

http://www.meaco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DD8LJunior

+2 (and everything ChattingLil says but not too fussed by the washboard)

 

[tcm]

1. Move the boat to the caribbean, where it's cheaper and sunny
2. Or the med is not bad, except winter can be rough and cold
3 Or southern uk at least, although the winter will be even more rough and cold
4 Get a big anchor
5 Also get a decent dinghy, but wait till in the carib so you can buy a nice 2-stroke motor and decent AB dinghy, unlike european dinghies which are more expensive with smaller tubes and mostly rubbish, it seems.

 

[Zanziba]

1) Ensure you love boats - this should be a dream come true not a compromise IMO

2) Make it a home but keep it ready for sea. Luxury bedding, good food and nice furnishings

3) Buy the right boat. Do not buy a project and do not buy something you cannot sail or that is too small to live comfortably in.

4) Dehumidifier is essential. Mine (in marina) runs 24x7 ... it removes about 3 litres per day. If it is off for 2 days the boat feels damp. With it on the boat is desert dry.

5) Have friends. Humans are not designed to be alone.

 

[Nostrodamus]

If you look at this it should give you everything you need to know as a new liveaboard

http://www.cygnus3.com/how-to-liveaboard-a-boat/

Hope you enjoy

 

[V1701]

Electric blanket

 

[Tim Good]

Electric blanket

That's in the top 5 for anyone in the UK! Especially the ones where you can activate each side independently!

 

[Sybarite]

Ok I have now made the proverbial plunge. I've bought a boat vastly more expensive than I can afford as a leisure craft. I now must rent my house and move aboard. On that note....

What are you're top 5 tips for living aboard QUOTE]

Tips 1 to 5 : Emigrate.

 

[NickTrevethan]

Electric blanket. A warm dry bed makes life wonderful

Great heating. I fitted a Dickinson Newport diesel on our old boat. Have beer spacer on the new backed up with a fan heater.

Biggest water tanks and calorifier you can fit.

A pilothouse. Gives you light, view and somewhere to park guests

Fans for summer