Jump to content

Residential Mooring advice needed!


xxmarypoppinsxx

Featured Posts

Hello!

 

I'm a newbie here so please be gentle!

 

My husband and I are planning to purchase a narrowboat in 2020 and live aboard, we are in our 30's and will be edging into our forties when we move aboard and will be purchasing a new or newish boat and funding this with marine finance (obvs we're saving like crazy to have a decent deposit ready, at least 25%)

 

We are avidly reading anything and everything to do with boating and the pros and cons of this and due to us doing this with the finance option, we will have to find at least a part time stable job for the first 10yrs of our venture.

 

I digress,

 

I have many burning questions about everything but to get to the subject of this post, how do I go about getting on waiting lists for residential moorings?? Hubs and I are not bothered where we are be it N/S/E or West as long as there's some kind of work nearby we don't mind (not picky about jobs either), but it seems so hard to find residential and more importantly, how to get on waiting lists, also, trying not to miss out on any places due to the chaotic nature of being able to find places with residential moorings!

 

We aren't fussy, in fact, we don't care if we have to walk to empty the loo etc, all we want is access to a bus stop or train station to the nearest town to get to work..

 

Anyway, any help would be marvellous!

 

thanks and look forward to chatting on here lots more over the coming months/years until the dream becomes reality!

 

Esther :) (also hubby Dean)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wow speedy replies!

 

I'd suggest you buy the WaterWay (cant remember if it's the WaterWorld mag...on shelves in WHSmith). Lots of adverts for marinas.

Phone them.

Sign something.

Get on a list ?

thanks for the speedy reply!

 

this is the confusion, I subscribe to Towpath newspaper and when I'm looking it doesn't seem clear when a mooring is residential.. maybe I should just set about emailing as many boatyards, marinas etc as I can and see what they say?


2020 is so far away I wouldn't bother even looking for moorings until near the time. Many liveaboards are on liesure moorings but have a address elsewhere (parents, family, etc).

Well, to be honest, I'd rather do it now, for example we are already on the list for Warwick (Saltisford) went to visit them last week and they said we were very sensible to get on the list now as residential moorings come up so rarely, also, when we get to the top of the list we just kind of hover there until we need the mooring we don't drop to the bottom of the list which is great..

 

So hang on, you can live on a leisure mooring then? See I'm confused about the whole regulations malarky.. is it just moorings within marinas you can't live on then? Is it just the logistics of mail that you have if living on a leisure mooring? What about electoral stuff etc..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forum Esther...

 

Well there is nothing like planning ahead! But yes 'proper' legit residential moorings are like hens teeth in lots of areas so a bit of forward planning will certainly help.

 

If it is a marina mooring you are after then as Dean suggests approach them an see if they operate a waiting lists system and get yourself on it. If course so early on there is a very real chance one will come up long before you have a boat but technically there is nothing to stop you paying for a mooring even though you don't actually have a boat on it.... though some would say that's just a daft thing to do and wait until a bit nearer the time.

 

Ditto with looking for a resi mooring on a CRT long term mooring site you could start looking now and even start bidding on one but if you win it you will be required to start paying for it straight away not when you actually come round to putting a boat on it in 6 years time - that's a lot of money for something you wont be using.

 

I think you would be better waiting until nearer the time personally.

 

(Also be aware that lots of people live on their boats on leisure moorings too) -

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're some six years away from making the commitment and alot can happen. Residential moorings are not the predominant types of mooring and a shortage is what you'll find now. Also, can't be sure of the timing, but CRT are going to have to wing it solo and without government grants around 2020. Can;t really be too sure how CRT will be fairing by then.

 

The demand for residential moorings is increasing as people are looking at the canal as a place to live, without necessarilly wanting to boat. I live in a marina that is going partially residential in september and the waiting list is already over-subscribed; above the 180 planned resi moorings.

 

If you are set on the idea, I would continue to keep abreast of the subject and look seriously for a residential mooring nearer the time, maybe 18 months ahead of your planned date.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mr&MrsCummings, on 28 Mar 2014 - 1:54 PM, said:

So hang on, you can live on a leisure mooring then? See I'm confused about the whole regulations malarky.. is it just moorings within marinas you can't live on then? Is it just the logistics of mail that you have if living on a leisure mooring? What about electoral stuff etc..

 

Depends what you mean by 'can'.

 

Loads of people do it quite successfully and without problems. Some marina's/moorings owners don't sweat about it some do.....some will charge you a high usage fee as a kind of half way charge to full residential status, some wont.

 

Strictly of course people should not as it normally contravenes their mooring T&C's - those that keep their head down and don't place a sign in the window proclaiming they a resident on their boat despite what they are actually paying for mostly don't seem to get bothered.

 

A few posters on here have mentioned recently that cash some strapped local authorities are starting to take an interest in this issue as of course living on a leisure mooring normally means you don't pay any council tax.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wow speedy replies!

 

thanks for the speedy reply!

 

this is the confusion, I subscribe to Towpath newspaper and when I'm looking it doesn't seem clear when a mooring is residential.. maybe I should just set about emailing as many boatyards, marinas etc as I can and see what they say?

 

Most mooring's won't be residential, and if it is it is more than likely to say so. I would honestly start just looking at boats, ones that are cheap, ones that are out of your budget, ones that are wide, ones that are narrow, even ones that look a bit dutch :). The more you see the more experience you'll have to know what's right, what's wrong, and what's a good price. Moorings are temporary, the right boat will always be the right boat :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few posters on here have mentioned recently that cash some strapped local authorities are starting to take an interest in this issue as of course living on a leisure mooring normally means you don't pay any council tax.

 

This is the way Mercia Marina have had to go, under pressure from the local authorities. Previously, it had been fairly relaxed and long stayers weren't bothered by anyone or the marina if they were liveaboards/visitors. After a date in september, those that aren't residential will be restricted to about six months liveaboard time in the year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm.. I guess we just want to do the right thing and not get into any hot water with authorities etc.. Our plan means for a long while we will be living on our boat but still working so even though as Robbo says a mooring is temporary, we won't have endless pots of cash to tide us over if we aren't near somewhere we can earn regular money, we also don't have the luxury of family we can call on if things go wrong.

 

Also, we don't have property to give us income so any money we have will come from jobs therefore somewhere convenient is a must.

 

Is it ok to branch off topic a little and ask advice on people buying a boat? Would the advice be buy new, mortgage to the hilt as less issues are likely with a new boat? Or go a LOT cheaper for a boat 5-6yrs old, have a lot less outgoings and a lot left in our savings pot and just ensure good surveys etc before completing a purchase?


These marina operators - BWML - (owned by the Canal and River Trust) have a number of marinas across the country. Have a look at their website and you'll have all the contact details, as well as a good idea which of their marinas offer residential.

thanks that's great :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why 2020 and not now? How much do you expect your boat to cost, based on your saving a 25% deposit?

 

Plenty of residential marinas around - whether they will still be residential in 2020, who knows?

 

There's one at Anderton, Cheshire; New Islington, Manchester, (lots of jobs in the city centre); many BWML marinas have a residential option, and so on.

 

How many boats have you looked at, and how long have you spent on a boat?

 

(BTW this post is so off the wall that my first thought was that it must be a troll, just in case it is, and you think you've pulled the wool :) . Ive responded just in case it's for real. )

Edited by Richard10002
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it ok to branch off topic a little and ask advice on people buying a boat? Would the advice be buy new, mortgage to the hilt as less issues are likely with a new boat? Or go a LOT cheaper for a boat 5-6yrs old, have a lot less outgoings and a lot left in our savings pot and just ensure good surveys etc before completing a purchase?

 

I would just start looking at boats, the right one will kick you in the face and say I'm the one, this may be an old boat, or a new boat. DO get it surveyed no matter what. A neighbour of mine recently just got a boat, she spent around £17K for the boat, she got a real bargain (and confirmed by the surveyor) as looking at it I guessed around £35-40K.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why 2020 and not now? How much do you expect your boat to cost, based on your saving a 25% deposit?

 

Plenty of residential marinas around - whether they will still be residential in 2020, who knows?

 

There's one at Anderton, Cheshire; New Islington, Manchester, (lots of jobs in the city centre); many BWML marinas have a residential option, and so on.

 

How many boats have you looked at, and how long have you spent on a boat?

 

(BTW this post is so off the wall that my first thought was that it must be a troll, just in case it is, and you think you've pulled the wool smile.png . Ive responded just in case it's for real. )

erm.. not now as we have no money.. ha!

 

if we did believe me we would be gone but we are literally doing this alone, we do not own a home and have no family support.. therefore, we have opened a savings account, got ourselves into stable jobs that enable us to fill the pot every month and are starting the saving process..

 

We are probably looking at saving between £10-20,000 then funding the rest with a mortgage so we could either use a small portion of the savings and get a cheaper boat, or go all snazzy and buy a new boat, use most the savings and max out a loan.. depends on how beneficial each option is..

 

I lived aboard when I was a child, have had countless holidays as an adult and if you cut me in half I'd say "canal addict" down the middle.. however that does not make me an expert at the process of becoming a live aboard, hence the plea for help smile.png

 

LOL! Why is it so off the wall? it is real! haha! why do I always seem to ask the random stuff wherever I go..

 

I would just start looking at boats, the right one will kick you in the face and say I'm the one, this may be an old boat, or a new boat. DO get it surveyed no matter what. A neighbour of mine recently just got a boat, she spent around £17K for the boat, she got a real bargain (and confirmed by the surveyor) as looking at it I guessed around £35-40K.

see I was doing the opposite, planning the waiting list/mooring option now as looking at boats seemed fruitless so early on.. I suppose I could ask for advice on what to look for spec wise for living aboard?

Edited by Mr&MrsCummings
Link to comment
Share on other sites

£20k or less can buy you a boat which will be acceptable to live on, If you can arrange to hold something back in reserve, just in case and don't mind roughing it slightly to start with. That way, you've got no loan to service, and can spend your surplus income on improving the boat. If you decide you don't like the life, there's also a good chance you'll be able to get all your money back if you resell it. The only thing you really can't improve fairly cheaply on a boat is the condition of the hull, and £20k can get you a very nice hull with a good engine. Other than that, it's about a thousand for a central heating system, if you don't mind a bit of D-I-Y, a few hundred to rewire with 12 and 240 volt power, and so on.

I've seen an advert this week for a brand new 35 foot hull ready for fitting out at £10,000 (Offers excepted, it says, though I think they mean accepted or considered.) Another 15k could probably see it finished quite nicely, with a bit of hard work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

£20k or less can buy you a boat which will be acceptable to live on, If you can arrange to hold something back in reserve, just in case and don't mind roughing it slightly to start with. That way, you've got no loan to service, and can spend your surplus income on improving the boat. If you decide you don't like the life, there's also a good chance you'll be able to get all your money back if you resell it. The only thing you really can't improve fairly cheaply on a boat is the condition of the hull, and £20k can get you a very nice hull with a good engine. Other than that, it's about a thousand for a central heating system, if you don't mind a bit of D-I-Y, a few hundred to rewire with 12 and 240 volt power, and so on.

 

I've seen an advert this week for a brand new 35 foot hull ready for fitting out at £10,000 (Offers excepted, it says, though I think they mean accepted or considered.) Another 15k could probably see it finished quite nicely, with a bit of hard work.

erm.. hubby is handy, but no boat fitter.. ha! He's willing to learn and I know him well enough to know he'll researching how/when to fix things when they go wrong, but to be honest we'd be wanting an already fitted out boat initially, but the idea of upgrading as you go then is a fab idea.. wow so we could be looking at the chance of a decent boat, without a mortgage? I hadn't even considered that you see..

 

just to add, roughing anything will be no issue.. we are bound by the strappings of our life at the moment, but we're just a couple of hobos in reality.. what do I friends say when they come to ours? "oh.. it's so.. bohemian here!" bless them what they really mean is "couple of crazy hippies here!" haha!

Edited by Mr&MrsCummings
Link to comment
Share on other sites

erm.. hubby is handy, but no boat fitter.. ha! He's willing to learn and I know him well enough to know he'll researching how/when to fix things when they go wrong, but to be honest we'd be wanting an already fitted out boat initially, but the idea of upgrading as you go then is a fab idea.. wow so we could be looking at the chance of a decent boat, without a mortgage? I hadn't even considered that you see..

Look on Apollo Duck, visit any local marinas or brokerages and see what's out there.Just look past the dirt and untidiness you will see in most boats that are for sale. In my experience, the hard part is finding a residential mooring, unless you are willing to continuously cruise. I found my 36 foot boat in a local brokerage after a very short search, paid about £10k for it to be put into the water where I wanted it with a new boat safety certificate, but it will need a few thousand spending on the hull in the not too distant future. In the meantime, I'm replacing the occasional floorboard and bracing myself for a day or two crawling round running new wiring. As well as the normal maintenance that any boat needs. I was also lucky in that a residential mooring came up at the right time near where I wanted to work.

 

I don't recommend it as a course of action, but I spent nearly a month from first deciding to move onto the water to sleeping on board for the first time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hiya, welcome to the forum.

 

People do generally emphasise that official resi moorings can be hard to find, but you will be able to find something.

 

Register with the CRT auction site and request email alerts. Over the next few months you'll get a feel for what comes up. Also check the Buy It Now section regularly to see what's available. If you're flexible on location you'll be fine.

As for private moorings, it's often a question of word of mouth. We found our second mooring through this forum and, when we came to move on, the mooring was taken on by friends of ours. So get to know some boaters who might tip you the wink.

 

Finally, keep an eye on Apollo Duck. We currently live on an official residential Thames mooring that we spied on there. By the time we saw the advert it had been online for a month, and we were the first people to make an enquiry! Given that some of our neighbours had paid large premiums to get the moorings, we were a little surprised.

 

Finally, some places will ask for large premiums (e..g High Line down in London). You will need to think carefully about the security of tenure that premium will (or rather won't) buy you.

 

The thing about getting on waiting lists now, is that if a space becomes available in a year, you either need to take it on before you're ready, or possibly drop down the list. I wouldn't be so concerned unless you have an absolute firm favourite mooring spot.

 

Happy planning smile.png

 

Edited to add: If you can save up £20, then get a personal (unsecured, the good kind) loan for £10k, you could get a fantastic boat, ready to live on, and have a little spare for unforeseens. Our boat, which we'll be moving off in the next few weeks, has served us perfectly for 5 years full time liveaboard (albeit in serviced marinas for those weeks when we were painting the water tank, refitting the bedroom etc), and cost £22k.

Edited by Dekazer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought my boat with a loan over six years, with Lloyds. There's no way I'd loan to the hilt. This does nothing for your wellbeing or allows for emergencies. Your residential mooring is going to be a pain in the neck, too. Mine, without the residential part, is over £3,000 a year, then, there's your boat licence, another wad.

 

New boats, either fully fitted or a sail-away, require good funds. Liveaboard boats need to be, I'd say, over 50'; if it's longterm. A good secondhand boat would be less pressure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Look on Apollo Duck, visit any local marinas or brokerages and see what's out there.Just look past the dirt and untidiness you will see in most boats that are for sale. In my experience, the hard part is finding a residential mooring, unless you are willing to continuously cruise. I found my 36 foot boat in a local brokerage after a very short search, paid about £10k for it to be put into the water where I wanted it with a new boat safety certificate, but it will need a few thousand spending on the hull in the not too distant future. In the meantime, I'm replacing the occasional floorboard and bracing myself for a day or two crawling round running new wiring. As well as the normal maintenance that any boat needs. I was also lucky in that a residential mooring came up at the right time near where I wanted to work.

 

I don't recommend it as a course of action, but I spent nearly a month from first deciding to move onto the water to sleeping on board for the first time.

okie dokie,

 

from this and the other posts after it I'm getting the idea of, buy boat, get mooring, then breathe, then move on.. This is a good plan as the only reason we'd have to move on instantly is if we had a massive loan (due to not being able to pay our rent AND loan repayments) however this way, we'd have no (or tiny) repayments, could use the rest of our savings to pay a years mooring/licence/ins etc and then spend a couple of months finding local work and doing any bits and bobs aboard without actually living on top of it all.. hmm.. I wish we lived nearer the main canal system! We're gonna be travelling a LOT when it comes nearer the time!

 

I bought my boat with a loan over six years, with Lloyds. There's no way I'd loan to the hilt. This does nothing for your wellbeing or allows for emergencies. Your residential mooring is going to be a pain in the neck, too. Mine, without the residential part, is over £3,000 a year, then, there's your boat licence, another wad.

 

New boats, either fully fitted or a sail-away, require good funds. Liveaboard boats need to be, I'd say, over 50'; if it's longterm. A good secondhand boat would be less pressure.

awesome sound advice thank you :)

 

Hiya, welcome to the forum.

 

People do generally emphasise that official resi moorings can be hard to find, but you will be able to find something.

 

Register with the CRT auction site and request email alerts. Over the next few months you'll get a feel for what comes up. Also check the Buy It Now section regularly to see what's available. If you're flexible on location you'll be fine.

As for private moorings, it's often a question of word of mouth. We found our second mooring through this forum and, when we came to move on, the mooring was taken on by friends of ours. So get to know some boaters who might tip you the wink.

 

Finally, keep an eye on Apollo Duck. We currently live on an official residential Thames mooring that we spied on there. By the time we saw the advert it had been online for a month, and we were the first people to make an enquiry! Given that some of our neighbours had paid large premiums to get the moorings, we were a little surprised.

 

Finally, some places will ask for large premiums (e..g High Line down in London). You will need to think carefully about the security of tenure that premium will (or rather won't) buy you.

 

The thing about getting on waiting lists now, is that if a space becomes available in a year, you either need to take it on before you're ready, or possibly drop down the list. I wouldn't be so concerned unless you have an absolute firm favourite mooring spot.

 

Happy planning smile.png

 

Edited to add: If you can save up £20, then get a personal (unsecured, the good kind) loan for £10k, you could get a fantastic boat, ready to live on, and have a little spare for unforeseens. Our boat, which we'll be moving off in the next few weeks, has served us perfectly for 5 years full time liveaboard (albeit in serviced marinas for those weeks when we were painting the water tank, refitting the bedroom etc), and cost £22k.

brilliant, thanks for all the info, this is exactly what we need and in my mind, better start early than be bombarded with everything nearer the time, this way we'll be experts when it comes to it!

regarding the waiting list thingy, the one we're on in Warwick (Saltisford) has said when we get to the top we just stay there and don't drop, which is nice.. that way every time one comes up they contact us first before offering it elsewhere.. Hope more will be like that :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

brilliant, thanks for all the info, this is exactly what we need and in my mind, better start early than be bombarded with everything nearer the time, this way we'll be experts when it comes to it!

regarding the waiting list thingy, the one we're on in Warwick (Saltisford) has said when we get to the top we just stay there and don't drop, which is nice.. that way every time one comes up they contact us first before offering it elsewhere.. Hope more will be like that smile.png

 

Pleasure. I completely understand your desire to live on official resi moorings - at least when you start out it does make things much easier. Moorings that come with loos and showers and elsans and electricity and water make it much easier if you have work to do on your boat. Much easier to run power tools off shore power, much easier to have a land shower if you're redoing plumbing. It means that a cheaper boat isn't such a risk, because you can do the repairs and work while living aboard without too much fuss. People who do this on the towpath sometimes find it challenging (not always, but some - you have to be creative and spend all your spare time on logistics).

 

Resi moorings are very expensive down here in London but there are much cheaper moorings around the country. Boat living isn't necessarily the cheaper option than bricks, but it's a great deal more fun. And you've got years to learn everything you need to and make your plans :)

 

Sounds good about the lists you're on, what a sensible way of doing it - very fair. I've no doubt you'll find something by the time you're ready.

 

Any reason for such a long wait?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Pleasure. I completely understand your desire to live on official resi moorings - at least when you start out it does make things much easier. Moorings that come with loos and showers and elsans and electricity and water make it much easier if you have work to do on your boat. Much easier to run power tools off shore power, much easier to have a land shower if you're redoing plumbing. It means that a cheaper boat isn't such a risk, because you can do the repairs and work while living aboard without too much fuss. People who do this on the towpath sometimes find it challenging (not always, but some - you have to be creative and spend all your spare time on logistics).

 

Resi moorings are very expensive down here in London but there are much cheaper moorings around the country. Boat living isn't necessarily the cheaper option than bricks, but it's a great deal more fun. And you've got years to learn everything you need to and make your plans smile.png

 

Sounds good about the lists you're on, what a sensible way of doing it - very fair. I've no doubt you'll find something by the time you're ready.

 

Any reason for such a long wait?

 

 

aww thanks so much, for us the thought of living in a house long term is beyond horrid, we know we'll have to work for the ongoing future as no other funds so that's expected anyway and our reasons for moving aboard are the sheer love of canals, narrowboats and nature, not to save money so by the time we do it I'm hoping there won't be too many big shocks!

 

Yes it's an excellent and fair way to do things they seem lovely there and it's our ideal place so fingers crossed!

 

The reason for not now is purely financial, we have no money! We do however have jobs which give us spare money to put away in a savings account and we've worked out that as long as we can continue to top up as much as we are now that in 5yrs we'll have near on £25,000 or so..

 

We don't have families to support us or property to rent/sell you see.. We'll do it though!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

We were the same (our first home together, in fact) - it's completely achievable!

 

ok now I'm teary! Haha! It means so much to us.. we sit in the car eating picnics looking at the canal just to be near to it... Went to Lapworth the other day and just walked and talked and were so depressed when we came home to Swansea, our savings pot is the only thing keeping us going! Both working in the city centre in office jobs on the phones.. brick walls out of our flat windows :( such a contrast to who we really are.. When people say 5yrs is so long away we shouldn't look/ask questions or go on waiting lists now it breaks my heart coz really, when you're trying to fulfil a life dream, 5yrs is no time at all is it?? I mean it seems like Christmas was just yesterday and it's almost April!

 

Yeah I better stop now before I go completely mad.. lol

 

x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

The reason for not now is purely financial, we have no money! We do however have jobs which give us spare money to put away in a savings account and we've worked out that as long as we can continue to top up as much as we are now that in 5yrs we'll have near on £25,000 or so..

 

We don't have families to support us or property to rent/sell you see.. We'll do it though!!!

It seemed off the wall because you are asking about something that you don't plan to do for 6 years, and a whole lot can change with moorings in that time. I'd be looking at the mooring situation a couple of years before, but that's me :) I'd be looking at boats from now, 'cause its exciting, and useful research. I might identify a load of potential residential moorings and go an have a look, purely for fun, and to see how the land lies

 

We bought our 10 year old 45ft boat in 2011 for £18,000. The hull was as thick as the day it was launched and, with a few improvements, and ongoing stuff, it's pretty much good enough to live on. We have a house near our mooring, but I spend a lot of time on the boat, my wife spends a lot of time at home - the dog flits between the two :)

 

I did a bit of research last year and have found some figures which suggest it would cost about £2.5k to £3k for mooring, licence and council tax at New Islington in Manchester. So, with a bit of compromise, and a bit of luck, you might be able to make your move in 4 years, rather than 6. I'd guess the cost would rise as you venture further South.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.