Living Aboard - Part 5: Is it Cold in Winter?

The short answer is no. It is a bit of a running joke amongst live-aboard boaters that this is the most common question that people will ask. However, it may well be a question that you need to ask when you are looking for a boat to buy on the Grand Union canal in London or Hertfordshire. The longer answer is that it depends on your heating. Many boats and narrowboats for sale on the inland waterways are heated with a solid fuel stove. This burns coal or wood and a narrow steel boat can get very hot when the home fire is burning – enough to need opening the window in mid-winter! The advantages of burning solid fuel include a choice of coal or logs as fuel, and the romance of cosy nights in front of the amber glow of real flames. I've had casseroles and mulled wine simmering away on top of mine. The downside to solid fuel is that the fire can sometimes die down to an ember overnight making the mornings a little chilly. You will need to re-black the stove from time to time and sweep the flue regularly.

Solid fuel stove

When I was pregnant with our first child we invested in a diesel stove. It runs off red diesel from the engine tank and maintains a constant heat. It may not seem as cosy and romantic as a real burning fire but some models have an imitation coal flame effect. You can leave the stove safely burning all night while you sleep, and all day when you're out at work. They can, however be a bit of a pain to clean.

Narrowboats can also have a variety of panel or fin radiators which circulate hot water. Alternatively they may be heated with warm air ducting. They either run on diesel, or run off the existing diesel stove or from propane gas bottles. Some systems are electrically controlled so you will need to make sure your batteries are in good condition and regularly charged. Some central heating systems take up very little space but the diesel systems sometimes have noisy exhausts, or electric pumps which can be disturbing at night.

 

On 1^st November 2008 The EU Energy Products Directive stipulated that the full rate of duty should be applied to fuel used for “the purposes of navigation” of private pleasure craft. However, boaters can declare at the time of purchase what percentage of the fuel will be used for domestic heating, and this fuel will be sold to the boater tax free.

Diesel can be purchased at marinas and boat yards, and also from working boats who travel the waterways selling a variety of fuels. Working boats will often sell coal, smokeless fuel, diesel, propane gas bottles and other useful products such as kindling or chemical fluid for the toilet.

Both diesel and solid fuel stoves can be adapted to include a back boiler which may heat the radiators and the domestic hot water. On a live-aboard boat you may like to have more than one heating system, for example a solid fuel stove and a radiator system. However, when you're looking at boats for sale remember that most boats can be adapted to suit your requirements.

Have a look at Boatshed Grand Union to see several different types of heating on the boats for sale that are suitable for living aboard. There are up to 80 photos of each boat so you can get a good look at the options available. The real answer is that it is cosy on board in winter, and perhaps this winter it will be you snuggled up on board eating casserole with mulled wine warming on the stove!

Casserole image credit

Already have a narrowboat? Are you often being asked, Is it Cold in Winter? Contact Boat-Wife for a free postcard sized magnet to display on your boat. It is a small advert for this blog.

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Back to School

Learning Opportunities at the London Canal Museum

How do your children or grandchildren feel about their history lessons?  You can support their education and ignite their enthusiasm for history with a visit to the London Canal Museum. They offer an exciting programme of walks, talks, boat trips and family days. The exhibits tell the tale of London’s canals from their beginnings as essential trade routes to today’s use as a leisure resource.  Visitors can learn about the boatmen, their families and lifestyle and the horses that pulled the boats. The current temporary exhibition ‘London's Other River’ is running until 2nd October. This features the history of the River Lea navigation in East London.

On Sunday 4^th September visitors can join a guided walk down the towpath to Camden. The canal walks are aimed at adults but a teenager who enjoyed history at school would be most welcome and would probably enjoy the experience. The commentary is not recommended for younger children. However, the education team do occasionally organise guided walks aimed at groups of younger children with a commentary tailored to their needs.

On Sunday 18^th September and Sunday 25^th September there are boat trips through the Islington canal tunnel. Early advance booking (on line) is recommended for these. The ticket price of  £8 for adults and £6 for children includes entry to the museum.

On October 25^th there is a children’s activity day including roses and castles painting, ice-cream making and a short boat trip to the nearest lock. (£4 child, £2 accompanying adult). The dates of activity days are planned with the school holidays and half term in mind.

Martin Sach, the chairman says,

“We've added more activities for kids to the museum in recent years so now they can build a

bridge and stand on it, work a boat through the model lock, and follow the Children's Trail

around the museum, as well as exploring the boat cabin and seeing our tug boat. Museums

combine entertainment with education so they learn without really knowing they have done

something educational.”

For those who do not live near London The Learning Zone on the museum’s website is packed  full of fun educational resources, including drawings to paint and  colour and a Regents Canal Quiz. There are also brief illustrated notes that can teach historical facts in an entertaining way.

Rebecca Mills, a teacher of Year 5 students says,

“The Learning Zone contains a series of enquiries with key questions and bite size chunks of information, excellent  for developing independent learners in upper key stage 2 and key stage 3 (ages 10 – 14).

There are also great lesson plans for key stages 1 to 3 (ages 5 - 14) in the Teacher zone, the activities are fun and varied with clear cross curricular links, learning objectives and differentiation. Also, in the Teacher Zone you can find outlines of workshops and gallery links as well as comprehensive teacher notes.

Too cool for school? The museum is housed in a former ice warehouse built  around 1862 and features the history of the ice trade and ice cream as well as the canals.

The London Canal Museum

12-13 New Wharf Road,

Kings Cross

London N1 9RT.

Telephone:  020 7713 0836

http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk

                                                                                                                                                                              

This article was published in the September issue of Towpath Talk.

Living Aboard Part 4: Finance and Insurance

A home afloat

If you're looking for a boat for sale on the Grand Union Canal you will already be thinking about finance. Your budget will determine the sort of liveaboard boat that you are looking for. Whether you wish to buy a second hand narrowboat or a wide beam Dutch barge for sale there are two main choices for finance. You may have bought your house with a mortgage and your car with a personal loan. When you are buying a boat you can do either of these options. It is a good idea to confirm what funding you can secure before going to view your potential dream home.

Marine Mortgages

Some companies specialise in marine finance or boat loans for residential and pleasure craft. This could be secured against the value of the boat. For loans over a certain amount a deposit is often required, to the value of a certain percentage of the boat's value. (The deposit required is 20-30% depending on which finance house it is.) There will be different loan periods to choose from. You will not normally need a survey on a new boat but it is usual to have a second hand boat surveyed out of the water to check the condition of the hull. A surveyor will also give you the option of checking the electrics and overall condition of the boat if you require and may include a current market valuation of the vessel. Some lenders may stipulate that the vessel should have a permanent mooring.

Marine finance is a good solution for purchases from £15,000 upwards. You could also consider using a marine finance broker. They have access to a number of finance companies and can offer you advice on how to secure funding that suits your position.

Unsecured Loans

You can also raise finances through an ordinary bank or building society loan. The advantage of this is that no deposit is required so they can fund up to 100% of the cost of your boat. No security is necessary and they will not require any survey or valuation. However, this option is sometime more suitable for borrowing a smaller amount. A bank or building society may fund purchases up to £25,000 depending on your personal credit history. Of course, with an ordinary bank loan you sometimes are permitted to take a 'payment holiday' when times are hard!

Insurance

It is a condition of the British Waterways Licence that your boat holds a valid insurance certificate and a marine finance company will also require that you purchase valid insurance. If you are living aboard, marine insurance providers will often add on an extra contents insurance policy to cover your personal possessions, and may list separately the more expensive items such as jewellery, computers, bicycles and solar panels.

So if you are looking to buy your first liveaboard boat, shop around for finance and insurance, and then relax and enjoy browsing a selection of liveaboard boats for sale on line. After surviving the rather dry topic of marine finance you may like to look for your dream boat at Boatshed Grand Union where there are up to 80 photos of each boat for sale.

Disclosure: I wrote this post for the Boatshed Grand Union website. It was my choice to re-publish it here where I hope it is of interest to some of my readers.

Visit http://peggymelmoth.wordpress.com/ for remote secretarial services, copywriting, or freelance writing commissions.

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Free eBook: Narrowboat Families

It's finally here! The brand new ebook, Narrowboat Families. So what does everybody think of it so far? The following writers and media peeps have had a sneak preview.

"I love the way that you describe life on the waterways in such a perfectly poetic way - my favourite kind of Narrowboat Wife writing! I think this ebook gives a wonderful insight into boating life, perfect for any family (or individual) who is curious about what it's really like. The addition of interviews with other boaters gives an even broader understanding of life aboard."

Alice Griffin, author, columnist, travel writer. www.alicegriffin.co.uk

Tales from a Travelling Mum: Navigating Europe with a Babe-in-Arms

"May I say what a fascinating ebook! I read it through 'cause it was so interesting. I am not slightly boaty at all but you almost had me convinced to get on the cut!"

Star Khechara, author of  The Holistic Beauty Book: Over 100 Natural Recipes for Gorgeous Healthy Skin

"Peggy's book is a great insight into life as a narrowboater with a no holds barred honest approach with not just the good bits but including two year olds on gangplanks, noisy geese, toilet troubles and all!"

Hulya Erdal Chef/Writer/PR www.madebythechef.com

"What a beautiful tale of your everyday life.  None of the fantasy, just all of the nitty gritty but still romantically beautiful...  I read it all in one sitting and my cup of tea went cold!"

Nickie O'Hara   www.iamtypecast.com

Wikio Top 10 Parent Blogs

Cison/PeerIndex Top 10 Most Influential Parent Bloggers on Twitter

Tots100 Top Parent Blogger

To receive the brand new ebook by Narrowboat Wife, sign up to the monthly Narrowboat Wife newsletter.  Each newsletter includes a round-up of the best of this month's blog posts, waterways news, other random thoughts from me, and a download link to the free ebook.

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Boat-Wife

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No Child Born to Die

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend Save the Children's blogging conference with sessions from leading bloggers, prominent You Tubers and special guests.

Although it was a child-friendly event mine are too young to sit through a whole day of grown-up talking. They enjoyed cake, fruit and a bit of cBeebies while I enjoyed Blogging 101: a roundtable discussion led by these expert bloggers:

Chris Mosler, http://christinemosler.wordpress.com Nickie O’Hara,  www.iamtypecast.com Kate Gunn - representing Netmums,  http://katetakes5.blogspot.com Jennifer Howze -  http://www.britmums.com, www.jenography.net Elinor Shields, Mumsnet - http://www.mumsnet.com/ Sarah Blakemore, Save the Children http://bornto.savethechildren.org.uk

“Health workers are critical to saving lives: they are the single most important element of any health service. Without them, no vaccine can be administered, no life-saving drugs prescribed, no family planning advice provided and no woman can be given expert care during childbirth.”

What can you do?

Take Action!

Sign the petition

Share the petition with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and your blog if you have one.

That's it. Easy. Five minutes. Make a difference. Save the children.

Thanks

Peggy

Narrow Margins - Marie Browne

"Rover has gone bust," Marie's husband told her. As the car manufacturer completely funded their rather nice lifestyle Marie and Geoff suddenly had to sell up and downsize considerably.
"I have a cunning plan," said Marie. "Let's live on a houseboat."
Marie, Geoff, the kids and their dog decide to buy an ex hotel boat in need of some serious TLC and set off for Cambridge with absolutely no boating experience and limited enthusiasm.

Marie begins her adventure by moaning a lot, very conscious of the comfortable lifestyle she has so suddenly lost. I’m grateful for the voice of reason, her friend Helen who tells her to get a grip and realise what an amazing opportunity she has.

“The sun is shining, you have no work to worry about, you’re off on a weird experience, you have money, you’re warm and safe and fed, you have no responsibilities and you only answer to yourself, yep, I can  see why you are so fed up, it must be terrible to be you – oh poor you!”

I enjoyed the hilarity of the couple learning to steer a boat by taking an inland waterways helmsman’s course with ‘Dave’. Marie sees the funny side of learning to navigate canals and rivers on what she describes as a ‘floating coffin’. I have great respect for any family that attempts to refurbish a boat while living aboard (Zoe at her blog Give an Earthly is having a go at that right now!) The Doctor and I are rarely brave enough to attempt DIY. Marie’s boat is called ‘Happy Go Lucky’ and at the beginning of the story Marie is anything but that. But I loved the way that as the story progresses the couple become more relaxed and dishevelled, the waterways begin to change them, and they find out that sometimes less is more.

Although there are several travelogues about narrowboating out there, there are not so many memoirs about family life on board. I wanted to find out about other mothers who had experiences that are similar to mine. How is Marie’s life different to mine? What is it like living on board with older kids? How different is it having a mooring? What’s it like throwing a load of refurbishment work into the mix? I think this memoir is pretty unique. 

Narrow Margins is available on Amazon right now. Why not grab a copy for yourself of this funny story about a family’s triumph over adversity?

Living Aboard Part 3: Continuous Cruising

My last article on living aboard explored the mooring options that you have when deciding to live aboard. When you are looking for canal boats for sale you may be also be looking for a residential mooring. However, if you intend to become a continuous cruiser you could have some questions about the practicalities of being constantly on the move.

First, you will need to purchase a boat license for your boat or narrowboat. This is often a ‘continuous cruising’ license from British Waterways. This allows the boat to travel widely around British waterways without staying in any one place for more than fourteen days (or less where local BW signs indicate a shorter period). The Mooring Guidance for Continuous Cruisers state that you must be engaged in a genuine, progressive journey around the network or a significant part of it. In submitting your license application, you agree to comply with the guidelines. If you want to live on a navigable river you will need to purchase a license from the appropriate local navigation authority.

For healthcare on the move you can keep your existing GP and visit a local surgery as a temporary resident as and when needed. For administrative purposes the NHS often require a local address, whether you are visiting the GP as a permanent or a temporary resident. If you cannot use the address of a local friend you may be able to offer the name of your boat, accompanied by the postcode of a local business or canal side pub.

It is sometimes difficult to determine whether a boater is eligible to pay council tax. However the British Waterways license fee covers the cost of a number of utilities a continuous cruiser may use, such as water supply and waste disposal. Boats on fixed residential moorings are liable to pay council tax and this may or may not be included in the mooring fee. Council Tax is charged on a domestic property or ‘dwelling’. Whilst a boat can be a dwelling, it cannot in law be a property.

British Waterways pays the Government a composite levy in respect of Council Tax and Business Rates. So, anyone who pays a boat license fee to BW contributes to this composite levy. BW also pays the local suppliers of sewage disposal and water and pays private contractors for rubbish disposal provided for boaters. In this way, continuous cruisers indirectly contribute to council costs.

To use a local library you will need to prove your home address or have a mailing address of some sort but it does not have to be in the area where you currently live and you do not have to register to pay Council Tax locally.

You can register to vote if you make a declaration of local connection. Contact the electoral registration officer at the council where you wish to declare a local connection, and they will supply a form for you to complete.

If you're looking for a boat to buy in London, Hertfordshire or the surrounding areas there are a number of boats for sale at Boatshed Grand Union that are ideally suited to living aboard and continuous cruising.

Disclosure: I was commissioned to write this post for the Boatshed Grand Union website. It was my choice to re-publish it here where I hope it is of interest to some of my readers.

Visit http://peggymelmoth.wordpress.com/ for remote secretarial services, copywriting, or freelance writing commissions.

Visit Become a Mumpreneur for free eCourses and more.