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Frequently asked questions about living afloat.

Working aboard

Contents

Isn't it cold and damp in the winter?

My boat is heated by a Kabola diesel fired boiler with conventional radiators. It's all gravity fed (fuel and water) and uses no electricity for pumps, fans etc. There's also a Morso "Squirrel" solid fuel stove. Even when the river is frozen it's still warm and cosy inside.

How many people live on boats in Britain?

About 15,000 people live on boats in Britain. Some cruise continuously and some never move from their moorings; most do something in between. They live on the canals, rivers, estuaries and harbours aboard a variety of boats ranging from the extremely luxurious to the home-made and the ramshackle . [back]

Is it wonderfully quiet and peaceful?

Well, on the whole, yes. In Cambridge we do find that we get woken at six thirty in the morning by eights rowing on the river. In fact, it isn't the eights that make the noise, it's the trainers on the bank with their megaphones.

How do you rent a narrowboat for a holiday?

Go to the Drifters website and fill in the form. They'll post you a brochure. Drifters is a well established federation of the smaller boat-hire companies one of which is my cousin Susan's firm Shire Cruisers at Sowerby Bridge in Yorkshire. There is also a table of typical hire charges.

What does a narrowboat cost?

Prices vary a lot. A new narrowboat built to your own chosen layout might cost 50,000 Pounds. As the boat ages its value falls and there are good second hand boats available for 20,000 to 30,000 Pounds. Narrowboat prices seem to decay with a half-life of roughly 10 years.

Is there much formal documentation when you buy a boat?

If you buy a car there is a registration document. If you buy a house there are the title deeds. If you buy a boat there might be nothing at all to show the seller actually owns it. When buying a boat you have to judge the character of the seller because if it isn't his boat you can lose your money and then lose the boat back to its real owner. On the other hand it is very hard to steal a boat because it's not easy to hide.

Recently the "boatmark" scheme has been started. This works much like a car registration document. It is likely that boat builders will adopt this first.

How do you find one to buy?

There are several specialist magazines that carry advertisements of boats wanted and for sale (for example, Waterways World 0+1283 56429 or Canal and Riverboat). There are also brokers who sell boats for a commission. One difference between buying a boat and buying a house is that you have to drive all over the country looking at boats. The one you want probably won't be currently moored near where you want to live. That's not usually a problem when buying a house!

Can you get a mortgage on a boat?

You can get loans to buy boats but the interest rates are higher (typically double) than for houses because it's less secure for the lender.

What national (UK) boating organisations can one join?

NABO (National Association of Boat Owners) for people who own boats; RBOA (Residential Boat Owners Association) for people who live on boats; RYA (Royal Yachting Association) because it's very influential. The IWA (Inland Waterways Association) is dedicated to restoring canals and can be credited with the saving of most of our canal system as we find it today.

What does it cost to run?

Here's a table of rough annual costs in Pounds. The total is about 3000 pounds per year.

400	Navigation licence (to use the waterway).
100	Diesel for the engine
200	Burning oil for the central heating
150	Gas
50	Coal
0-2000	Mooring
0	Drinking water
0-200	Sewage pump-outs
200	Bottom painting every four years
400	Mobile Telephone
200	Insurance

What taxes do you pay?

Apart from the navigation licence that allows you to have your boat on the river you are sometimes liable for the local taxes (Council Tax). If your boat has a permanent mooring your either pay VAT (value added tax) on the mooring fee or you pay the Council Tax depending on the value of the mooring (not the boat). Which one is charged depends on whether you have an engine (VAT) or not (CT). If you have no fixed mooring the legal position is unclear.

Do boats need a lot of maintenance?

Yes, and if neglected they sink! Particularly you have to watch the stern tube where the propeller shaft leaves the hull. If you fail to pack it with grease properly water leaks in. One big plus though is that there's no grass to cut! Every few years a (steel) boat is taken out of the water and the hull is painted with a special sticky black paint to stop it rusting.

Do you need a driving licence?

In the UK you don't need a licence to drive a narrowboat even though it might be the size of a large truck. On the continent things are generally more regulated. Having said that, if you want to navigate a commercial vessel then you do need some qualifications.

Is it easy to steer?

That depends on the weather. If there's no wind then it's very simple to steer forwards, as simple as steering a car in reverse in fact. But, if it's windy then it can be very hard or even impossible to steer because the wind blows you off course.

If you want to go backwards then you can't really steer at all. You have to keep stopping every few minutes to go forwards to straighten up. Why not just turn round, you ask? Well, a narrowboat is often much longer than the width of the waterway, so you can't turn round until you reach a suitable place. It's a bit like missing your exit on a motorway.

How fast does it go?

Slowly. The speed limit is typicaly 5-8 mph. It takes a long time to get anywhere - but that's part of the fun. The main reason for the speed limit is that the wake of the boats erodes the banks. The banks can (and often are) reinforced with steel and concrete but this does not look as nice as a grassy bank sloping down to the water. More recently the authorities have taken to using submerged piliing to try and reinforce the banks but provide a natural looking sloping bank for humans and wildlife to enjoy. There is no speed limit here for rowing boats though.

Are you allowed to moor wherever you like?

That's a tough question. The situation is different on canals and rivers because they are run by different authorities. I live on the river where things are generally more relaxed. It's the river authority's job to make sure you don't obstruct the river traffic. It's the owner of the bank who decides whether to let you moor or not. Often the land is a common or remote farmland in which case the owner will typically take no notice of a moored boat if it behaves itself. You can also rent moorings from the landowners and some moorings are supplied with running water and electricity.

Does anyone test boats to check they are safe?

The 'Boat Safety Scheme' is almost completely phased in now. Every boat will be required to take the BSS test before it can be granted a navigation licence. the first licence can be on the basis of a "failure certificate" but after the first year the boat will not get a navigation licence without a BSS "pass certificate".

The BSS test is quite tough and it is many old, characterful, boats fail and are removed from the waterways. There is a great debate about this - those who live on older boats are, naturally, unhappy. Take care if you are buying a boat to check whether it has a safety certificate.

How do you know how much steel there is on the bottom?

During the life of a narrowboat, the bottom and sides slowly rust away. In addition, the bottom sometimes scrapes on the canal bed in poolt dredged areas. The only way to check the steel thickness is to havethe boat taken out of the water and to have an ultrasonic thickness survey performed. I have this done at the same time as the boat is pulled out for painting; about every four years.

You should remember, if you are buying a boat, that the BSS test (above) does not check the hull thickness.

How does a gas-powered fridge work?

The explanation demands a page all to itself, here.

Where does your drinking water come from?

There are taps placed at regular intervals by the waterside. My tank holds 1500 litres which lasts me about 6 weeks. It takes over an hour to fill it.

Where does your post get delivered?

I have my post delivered to my workplace since the Post Office will not deliver to a boat moored on the riverbank.

Where about electricity?

I have no connection to the mains and my electricity comes from three 20 Watt (nominal) Siemens SM20 solar panels and from the alternator on the engine. The solar panels fit in the windows or hang on the outside of the boat and deliver about 2 Amps in bright sunshine. This might not sound much but in the summer it is enough. In the winter I have to be very careful not to use too much electricty. For instance, electric lamps are out - I use paraffin lamps instead. In the winter I reckon to accumulate from the panels about 5 Amp-hours on a sunny day and about 0.5 Amp-hours on an overcast day. To watch a film on TV uses about 6 Amp-hours.

Here's a table of electrical energy equivalents. They are all 1 kW Hour.

There are some more useful electrical tables here.

One unit of mains electricity

One fully charged 100 Amp-hour accumulator

10 hours of high power battery charger

8 hours running the engine

5 bright days of summer sunshine

20 bright days of winter sunshine

20 hours of TV or computer

8 hours of full electric lighting

Pump a year's supply of drinking water

Where does your used water go?

Sink, shower and washbasin water goes directly into the river. The 'holding tank' under the lavatory is pumped into the sewage system periodically. On many rivers it is still considered acceptable to pump lavatories directly into the river with a 'sea closet' as long as no chemicals are mixed with the "natural product". On canals, where the flow of water is generally less, this is not permitted.

My bilge is rusty, how much hull have I lost?

Shock horror! I found a rusty patch on the hull under the waterpump. A 40cm x 40cm area of steel had formed a 5mm thick layer of damp flakey rust. I scraped this off, dried it and weighed it. It weighted 550g (650g when wet). The density of dry rust is therefore 550/(0.5*40*40) = 0.7 g/cc. The density of mild steel is about 8 g/cc, that is about 10 times as high. So this 5mm layer of rust was made by about 0.5mm of steel. You get about 10 times the thickness when steel rusts.

What's the full technical specification of your boat?

You can find the full specification here.

Why is your boat called "St.Kilda"

The name was given to the boat by its previous owner. He had spent some time building wooden huts for the National Trust on the remote Scottish Island of St.Kilda. The island is now abandoned and inhabited by ferel sheep.

Is there any scope for naturist boating?

In the fens there is indeed scope for naturist boating. There are no towpaths on the smaller rivers and in many places there are no roads or paths near the river either. You can tie up and have a private naturist area all to yourself. If any other boats come past you hear them coming long before they can see you.

Does the boat move when you make love?

You wouldn't believe how many people e-mail me to ask this! You'll just have to use your imagination.

© [email protected]

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