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Living Afloat in Europe


soggyfrog

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A recent trip to Belgium and a mild fixation with Dutch barges has brought us round to the discussion of living afloat abroad, particularly in the region of Belgium (give or take a few miles!)

 

I'm curious to know if anyone on these forums is living on a boat in Europe, where'er that may be, and what real life experiences they could share. We don't know the first thing about it; for starters, how easy is it to find moorings and what are the costs like? I'm curious to know how it compares to living in the UK on a boat - do they consider it a real residence or would we still need a bricks 'n' mortar address too?

 

If anyone has any pointers - even just pointing to a different resource - that would be great. This isn't a decision to be taken lightly or made soon, but I want to be armed with all the information before we start down that path.

 

Happy Boating all! :captain:

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what's the diesel situation in France?

 

Leisure boats pay full duty but what about commercial boats?

 

 

Expensive road fuel for propulsion, and if you have a completely seperate system you're allowed to use red for heating and generator.

 

For commercially operating barges it's all red.

 

Peter.

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So is this well enforced or are they ways around?

 

 

There are always ways around everything, and there are still plenty of (mainly)pleasure barges running their engines on red.

 

All very nice if they don't check, which doesn't happen very often, but if they catch you using red, you'll get a huge fine, not just over the litres of red fuel in your tanks at their checking, but they go back a long time, and there's not much you can do about it, apart from paying the fine.

 

The difference between red and white is a lot less then the fine, so I use white and just go a bit slower as in the past, and that way the cost of going from A to B is still pretty close to the past, it only takes a bit longer.

 

The feeling that I don't have to worry if they check on me, if worth the difference.

 

In the Netherlands, barges of before the 50's, if they still look fairly original (museum barges) can get moorings in special harbours for old barges, and do their own repairs at a museum yard with all the equipment of the past, and only pay a cheap fee, if they need skilled help, there are people available that know how to do rivetted repairs and shape steel-plates.

 

Those barges can also get a special licence that allows them to use red fuel, which for the time being is not the case in France.

 

Peter.

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Out of pure interest..if a person/family have EU nationality, could they live on a boat anywhere in Europe, as is the case in the UK...what I'm asking is...if we liveaboard in the UK.....and wanted to do the same in Holland....Belgium and France....is it as simple as doing so in the UK? My wife and kids all have French passports, and I'm able to live with them in the UK thanks to the EU legislation. (and for anyone who think's I'm a non contributor to the UK economy...I pay tax here...LOL.

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Out of pure interest..if a person/family have EU nationality, could they live on a boat anywhere in Europe, as is the case in the UK...what I'm asking is...if we liveaboard in the UK.....and wanted to do the same in Holland....Belgium and France....is it as simple as doing so in the UK? My wife and kids all have French passports, and I'm able to live with them in the UK thanks to the EU legislation. (and for anyone who think's I'm a non contributor to the UK economy...I pay tax here...LOL.

 

 

Normally all members of one of the E.U. countries are allowed unlimited access to all other E.U.contries, as far as I know, as long as you have a valid passport issued by one of these countries.

 

Myself being Dutch, I used to have a "Carte de sejour" that officially allowed me to live in France, and run a business or work for someone else.

 

Now my "Carte de sejour" has expired I can't renew the Carte, and there's no reason for it as I get (have to pay for) a new passport issued by the Dutch Ambassy in Paris every 5 years.

 

Peter.

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This book ( " Sell Up and Cruise the Inland Waterways " ) might be useful. I haven't read it but I thoroughly enjoyed their book "sell up and sail"

 

just to say 'cheers for posting that' .. ( i ordered a copy today :-)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

wed.24th.aug

book arrived .. looks like well worth the dosh spent :)

even has a few pages about cruising the usa ICW

Edited by ~ HD ~
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