rivershine

Thank you for the comments. Not being a swimmer, I don't think I could afford to be lax about wearing a life jacket. After all, I only need to fall in once out of my depth. I see that slipping on lock sides has come up a couple of times. That seems eminently doable, and is probably my major concern. At the end of the day I can choose not to walk gunnels, inconvenient though it may be. I can't choose not to work locks. Also, I don't think it's terribly likely. But I do think it's just that "one day" thing...seven or nine years later, you are distracted for a second, you don't notice that slippy patch...you stumble...

Hi Dr. Bob. Edinburgh man myself. I wouldn't fancy taking a full body dunk in the FoF at pretty much any time... Good job on that rescue, by the way.

Yes, I heard about that. Hopefully the canals aren't as "ratty" as they once were. However, I'd be a bit more concerned about that with the general bangs and scrapes of boat life...such as digging around in the weed hatch with your hands, presumably an infinitely more common situation than man overboard, and catching your fingers on something sharp or prickly in there that's fouling the prop?

So then, truly a "cuthound"?

What precipitated these falls in locks? Momentary lapse of attention or slippery surfaces or what? They do seem unusually dangerous places.

Oh...I would even consider renting for several months before taking the plunge (no, not THAT plunge)...but prices I have seen for long term rentals were about 3 times the cost of renting a one bedroom flat for the same period...and that's not including deposit. And yeah, I would hire for a short while anyway, sure.

LOL. Yeah, about those lock gates, now that it's come up. Some of those walkways look precariously narrow. Is there always a guide rail? I'm sure I've seen pictures of locks with no rail (but a crossing bridge may have existed outside of the frame, I don't know)

I am moderately reassured. Maybe I will live after all! Yes, I would wear some kind of life protection gear. Probably not one of these though: To those of you who did fall in, or your significant other took the plunge, how deep was the canal where you fell? Also, locks would probably concern me the most.

This is slightly tongue in cheek, but also...not really. I can't swim, so can imagine wearing one of those less bulky life vests with the gas canister most of the time. I know, right "can't swim and contemplating a boating life"? I hear you. Trouble is, it's more than just learning the physical act, it's claustrophobia of immersion. Anyway, to that question...how often DO people fall in? No matter how careful you are? I'm talking about liveaboards. Would you say it was a case of "when" rather than "if'? In other words, even if you are really careful, the day will come when you slip on a wet surface, stumble on the roof, lose your balance while dealing with the boat in a lock, etc? Or are there those among you here who can say, hand on heart, the likes of "I cruised the canals for six years and never fell in once"? Is it like they say for motorcycles? You're not a real boater until you fall in (off)? Canal water is not something I would want to fall into in general, let alone for the drowning aspect.

I mean, I hear you but I still see plenty of reasonable looking boats around that I recall looking at online about 2 weeks ago at least. I haven't been to see them I must admit (and if 40k+ is considered a "reasonable boat")

Yeah, I mean, I wonder what the figures actually are for youtube vlogs per, say, 10,000 subscribers per calendar month. It can't be big. Does it work only on the watching of the adverts at the beginning of vids? (which always annoy me intensely anyway).

Thank you for the replies. Many category ideas so far, which is what I was after. There's no danger of me doing anything that any of you are doing, as I don't have those skills, and couldn't acquire them without an extensive prep stage of at least a couple of years. Part of me is a bit nervous that this lifestyle, or at least the "perception" of it, is becoming increasingly popular (I guess the very fact that someone like me is even here, talking to you all, is a symptom) and therefore the price of canal boats might skyrocket in the next few years if I delay too long.

Darned good post, originalsmoothie. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for the reply John. Are you programming, or website development?

Hi originalsmoothie thanks for your reply. For the writers, do you happen to know what categories of writing are involved, as that is a vast area from proofreading to medical transcription to writing articles for magazines to blogging with affiliate links (can't imagine that would ever generate enough, unless you were a blogging superstar), etc. For the ebay sellers, are they selling physical products or virtual products? If physical, how on earth do they handle continuous cruising while dealing with constantly receiving and sending packages? Or are they moored in one area? I do have a degree in computer science too, though it is a fair while since I did any programming.