Typical day on a canal boat

[Marie-Claude Tremblay]

Hi!

My name is Marie-Claude Tremblay and I am a researcher for Groupe PVP (www.pvp.ca/en), a TV producer in Quebec, Canada.

We are currently developing a documentary TV series about various kinds of boats linked to the way people live and use them in different countries. It is a co-production with France.

I would like to have a better understanding of the day to day life on a canal boat, in order to break it down in a script for our TV series. I have read quite a lot of article about the topic and watched a few videos online as well but I thought I might find helpful answers on a form such as Canal World. So here I am!

How would you describe a typical day (let's say in winter and in summer) on board a canal boat? What do you have to do when you get up in the morning (in relation to the boat) and before you go to sleep? What kind of maintenance does one have to do? What are the most common problems one can face on a canal boat? What are the challenges (positive and negative) of living on a canal boat every day?

If you have any stories or experiences to share, I am interested!

Thank you!

Marie-Claude 
Researcher
mc.tremblay@pvp.ca 

[rusty69]

I get up when I want except on Wednesdays when I get rudely awakened by the lock keeper 
(Boatlife)

I put my waterproofs on, have a cup of tea and I think about leaving the boat
(boatlife)

 

I feed the ducks, I sometimes feed the swans too
It gives me a sense of enormous well-being
(boatlife)

And then I'm happy for the rest of the day safe in the knowledge there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it

Edited July 5, 2017 by rusty69

[MtB]

Ignore him above. Life is just a blurr for him!

I wake up, make a load of fone calls fishing for work, arrange some and leave the bote about midday to go and rake it in. I come home to my oasis about 9pm having made over £10 on a good day. This pays for my boting. 

P.S. I might have put the decimal point in the wrong plaice. Fishy, some might say. 

[Tony Brooks]

Please folk can you find a way to help this lady. I know we are pretty much fed up with this type of enquiry but she first posted very politely on the magazine forum and I suggested she ask here. I also understand The London Boaters Face Book page refused any help.

However having said that I note this production also involves France which is the first I heard about that. maybe not the brightest thing to mention in the UK at present.

 

Non-boaters really do not understand how diverse boaters are so pose their questions in a far too general way.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Tony Brooks

[Machpoint005]

22 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I might have put the decimal point in the wrong plaice.

Shirley not, Mike!

38 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

also involves France which is the first I heard about that. maybe not the brightest thing to mention in the UK at present.

It's not the French's fault there are Francophobes in this country. Moi, je les aime. 

I'm not a liveaboard but there is no typical day. That's the beauty of it.

[matty40s]

There is no typical day in the life of a boater, as there are no typical boaters.

We have rivers, canals, marinas and other backwaters where people leave boats for years, use them once a year in the summer, use them for months at a time, live on them, live and work on boats, people rent boats to live on(shhhh), there are also working boats....(but dont tell Nicknorman that this thread is active).

The waterways of the British Isles are a vibrant place(although less so in Scotland where the authority is trying to stifle enjoyment). There is a community who live on, and are joined by folks who don't quite live on, but spend lots of time on. These are added to by people who hire boats, people who cruise occasionally(mainly in the Summer) and the leave your boat to rot brigade who may well have forgotten they own one, but it is still there.

There are certain hotspots (especially in the South East) where liveaboards have changed the character of the waterways massively in the last 10 years due to the housing costs in the UK(both owned and rented) - examples are London, Leighton Buzzard, Bath, and Milton Keynes .

Hope this helps.

[Marie-Claude Tremblay]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your replies! This is enlightening.

I am a non boater indeed plus I live in Quebec where canals and waterways such as the ones you have in the UK are not common at all. I thus have zero knowledge when it comes to the types of boaters! But your answers and what I have read so far helped me begin to understand what it is like. I still have a lot to learn but I think it is fascinating. And should we go ahead with a filming in the UK (which would be lovely!) I would keep that in mind for sure (the fact that there is no typical day in the life of a boater, as there are no typical boaters) for an official pre-interview with a boater. 

I probably should have been more specific from the beginning that what I had in mind was a person who lives on a canal boat year round or almost. 

The writing of my script is going well so far.

Many thanks again (especially to Tony).

 

Edited July 6, 2017 by Marie-Claude Tremblay

[Bewildered]

5 hours ago, Marie-Claude Tremblay said:

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your replies! This is enlightening.

I am a non boater indeed plus I live in Quebec where canals and waterways such as the ones you have in the UK are not common at all. I thus have zero knowledge when it comes to the types of boaters! But your answers and what I have read so far helped me begin to understand what it is like. I still have a lot to learn but I think it is fascinating. And should we go ahead with a filming in the UK (which would be lovely!) I would keep that in mind for sure (the fact that there is no typical day in the life of a boater, as there are no typical boaters) for an official pre-interview with a boater. 

I probably should have been more specific from the beginning that what I had in mind was a person who lives on a canal boat year round or almost. 

The writing of my script is going well so far.

Many thanks again (especially to Tony).

 

Even if you were more specific stating that you wanted to hear about an average day from a full time live aboard you still would struggle to find a typical day. Some live aboards work full time which means daily/weekly boat tasks such as charging batteries, emptying toilet cassettes or filling the water tank have to be done in the evenings. Not too difficult in the summer but a pain in the winter when it is dark before you go to work and dark when you get home. Whereas some boaters are lucky enough to be retired or not need to work and have all day to do theses chores.

On the uk canal system some live aboards reside in marinas that usually (but not always) have all necessary facilities on site.

Some live aboards have online moorings; this can be either an official Canal & River Trust mooring or on private land opposite side to the tow path. These moorings can have full facilities or none at all. Some may have electricity and water available and possibly even toilet disposal but the majority are more likley to have nothing at all, just a spot to moor the boat. In this case either the boat needs to be taken to the facilities (if any are local) or water, diesel/petrol, gas bottles, coal/logs will most likley need to be transported to the boat by car and possibly wheelbarrow. Toilet casstttes and domestic rubbish need to be taken away to the facilities by car also; unless your boat has a holding tank for toilet waste and you moor on the route of a working boat that does toilet pump out.

Some live aboards are what are known as continual cruisers. This means they don't have a home mooring but continue to cruise around the network. A licensed boat has the right to moor on the tow path for 14 days before they have to move on. How far they move is a matter of contention; under parliamentary law you have the right to navigate, there is no minimum distance specified; however CRT try to specify in their terms and conditions how you should do this but won't specify how far you should move, because they can't. There are plenty of threads on this site that cover this topic if you are interested. Continual cruisers really should have no problems with getting to facilities as they are, for the most part, fairly frequent on the network and by cruising they should pass them often.

The last category of live aboards are what are known as "Continual Moorers" these are boaters who have registered as continual cruisers but just stay put in one place (usually hogging the best mooring spots and spreading all sorts of crap over the tow path as if they own it) and cause problems for CRT refusing to move and giving genuine CCer's a bad name. This group are most likley to have a similar routine to the online moorers but need to shuffle the car along as well as the boat when they are finally forced to move on.

So you see with this much variety it is going to be dificult to nail down a standard average day.

The best I can offer you is my average day. We are CCer's and we are fortunate that we don't need to work at the moment. We are busy exploring the system, we have plenty of time and are in no rush. Sometimes we cruise 2 or 3 days in a row, sometimes every other day, sometimes we may stay put for 2-6 days in a row. There is no plan we just move when we feel like it. Our only concern is planning the next visit to an elsan to empty the toilet cassettes. Our boat has a cassette toilet and we have 4 cassettes, these last 2 days or so each so a total of 8-10 days (we aim for 8 days max to be on the safe side) before we need to reach the next elsan point to empty them. Usually there are water points near to the elsan and we fill the tank whenever we stop. Our water tank holds 10-14 days worth depending on how conservative we are. As we cruise a lot we don't need to be conservative as we pass plenty of water points.

We need to plan ahead for water, elsan and rubbish disposal, and grocery shopping. It is usually grocery shopping and elsan disposal that dictate our next move. We need to use maps and apps to locate shops within walking distance of the canal as we have no transport other than bicycles. Also locating garages to get petrol for the generator, only diesil is readily available on the canal.

On days that we are cruising we don't need to worry about charging batteries but on days that we aren't moving we need to run either the engine or the generator. The generator cost more to run but saves wear on the engine; the engine also heats the hot water. So it comes down to what is needed that day.

An average day is feeding ducks, walking the dog, charging the batteries and grocery shopping. A good day also includes a trip to the pub

Edited July 7, 2017 by Bewildered

[magictime]

Hi Marie-Claude

As you have already grasped, there are no 'typical' boaters and no 'typical' days.

I would say this, though: from a viewer's perspective, I can't see that there's anything particularly interesting about a day in the life of a liveaboard boater who wakes up in a marina with water and electricity connected, goes out to work all day, comes home again, watches some TV and goes to bed; their lifestyle will be very similar to a non-boater's in most respects.

Much more interesting, I'd have thought, is a continuous cruising lifestyle, which will generally mean doing all of the following as part of day-to-day life:

- moving the boat, including through waterways features like locks and tunnels, finding a suitable spot to moor, and tying up (at least once a fortnight)

- emptying the toilet cassette at a sanitary station (every few days) or using a 'pump out' facility (every few weeks) depending on toilet type

- using a hose to fill the water tank at a canalside water point (every few days)

- using the engine and/or a generator and/or solar panels to generate electricity, recharging the batteries that provide all domestic power (every day)

- from late autumn to early spring, using a stove to burn coal and/or wood to heat the boat (every day)

 

Edited July 7, 2017 by magictime

[MtB]

A wonderful summary from Bewildered in post number 8.

I would add that around here, CRT have more or less stamped out the 'continuous mooring' style of boating he describes. We still see the occasional boat colonising the towpath but these days it is usually temporary, and they load their stuff back onto the boat and move to a new spot every two weeks. Stuff on the towpath doesn't necessarily = CMer. There is however a seething resentment in a small subsection of CCers at being made to CC, and it is a subject few boaters do not hold strong opinions on. 

[Bewildered]

Of course as a CCer on a limited budget trips to the pub are only an occasional treat; the big challenge is finding a shop near enough to the canal to easily haul large quantities of tinned beer back to the boat 

[mrsmelly]

44 minutes ago, Bewildered said:

Of course as a CCer on a limited budget trips to the pub are only an occasional treat; the big challenge is finding a shop near enough to the canal to easily haul large quantities of tinned beer back to the boat 

Terrible life innitt 

[Marie-Claude Tremblay]

Quote

 

What a nice surprise to find these replies this morning in Quebec! Thank you so much Bewildered for your detailed explanation. I really appreciate it. And I do realize my inquiry was too general. I have a lot of things to learn about boaters and canal boats.  

Thank you also magictime, Mike the Boilerman and everyone. All of this is really helpful, just to know what the basic tasks are about, etc. 

I have a lot to work with!

One thing for sure, next time I am in the UK, I will seek the canals to observe narrowboats for sure! I went to London and Bath 10 years ago (already) and was not aware of this way of life. It sounds like a lot of work but like a lot of fun and freedom as well. 

Many thanks! :-)

[Jim Batty]

On 5 July 2017 at 21:20, Marie-Claude Tremblay said:

We are currently developing a documentary TV series about various kinds of boats linked to the way people live and use them in different countries. ...

I would like to have a better understanding of the day to day life on a canal boat, in order to break it down in a script for our TV series. ...

How would you describe a typical day (let's say in winter and in summer) on board a canal boat? What do you have to do when you get up in the morning (in relation to the boat) and before you go to sleep? What kind of maintenance does one have to do? What are the most common problems one can face on a canal boat? What are the challenges (positive and negative) of living on a canal boat every day?

Bienvenue Marie-Claude

I think you are learning that for every person or family that lives on a boat ... there is a different way to live on it! Perhaps in a marina, at the end of a garden, along a canal cut, or continuously cruising.  Some people like to be near other people; others are quiet, elusive and nomadic. Some boaters like the playful bobbing of their craft on a river; and some enjoy the calm waters of forgotten canals tied up in the shadows of tall willows. For some boating life is a great party and moveable feast. Others view it is an easy way of being ‘green’ and leaving little impact on their environment. Boaters work 9-5, 2-5, full-time, part-time, on contract, ad hoc, only when necessary, from their galley table, out of cafes, in a nearby workshop or shed, out of their van, or via a modem tapping in to the cyber hive.

So, for sure, this is going to affect people's day to day life on a boat! Nothing typical here.

Speaking personally, even each day can be quite different. My partner and I have been continuously cruising in a 53-foot narrowboat for over 8 years now. K is a self-employed tour guide and lecturer and promotes herself through a website, email and phone. Sometimes she does research down the line from the boat or coffee shop, and other times can be found keeping out of the sun in a local library. (We belong to lots of different library systems). I work part-time for someone else in photographic design, and otherwise develop personal projects from the boat.

Because we move at least every 14 days, commuting days can be quite different from each other -- depending on how far out or close to work we are. For a while, when we wanted to get as far out to the countryside as possible, I commuted from Wiltshire to London -- which could involve walking 20 minutes down a towpath in the morning to a local train station, travelling 1.5 hours on a train into Paddington Station, then 40 minutes on the Tube to get across the city ... and finally repeat the process in the opposite direction in the evening. Not much sleep (or wild fun) on those sorts of days! On the other hand, this past week I have had a beautiful 15-minute cycle ride in through deep, cool wood and open spaces alongside the River Thames each morning. Nice. Of course the best days are when we don’t have to do anything or go anywhere ... have long breakfasts, absorb the surrounding countryside, stare into the rippling water, muse on a duck’s life, read novels under a stripy umbrella on the bow, take the camera for a walk, climb a hill to sit under that perfect tree with a view and sip tea from a Thermos. Whatever chugs our engine really.

If you have a pet you soon learn that for every animal living on a boat ... there is a different way they live on it too! Funny that, people and animals living afloat in all these different ways.

[Bewildered]

1 hour ago, Marie-Claude Tremblay said:

One thing for sure, next time I am in the UK, I will seek the canals to observe narrowboats for sure! I went to London and Bath 10 years ago (already) and was not aware of this way of life. It sounds like a lot of work but like a lot of fun and freedom as well. 

Many thanks! :-)

The next time you are in the UK you could always book a week or two on a hire boat. It isn't the cheapest holiday (especially added to the cost of the flight over here) but you will get to experience some of what life afloat involves. Ok so most hire boats have pump out toilet systems taken care of by the operators and they don't usually come equipped with a multi fuel stove for heating, but if you find an area with plenty of locks to tackle you will have ample opportunity to talk to other boaters whilst waiting for the lock to fill.

There are also quite a few YouTube vlogs made by boaters than can give you some ideas.

[Marie-Claude Tremblay]

Thank you Jim Batty! I am learning indeed! :-) Your input is interesting too.

And Bewildered, I would love to book a hire boat when I visit the UK again. However, I doubt I have the budget for this! A hire boat means that someone else (the operator) is "piloting" it?

Again, thank you everybody for your swift and detailed replies! And have a great week-end on your canal boats!

[johnmoly]

6 minutes ago, Marie-Claude Tremblay said:

Thank you Jim Batty! I am learning indeed! :-) Your input is interesting too.

And Bewildered, I would love to book a hire boat when I visit the UK again. However, I doubt I have the budget for this! A hire boat means that someone else (the operator) is "piloting" it?

Again, thank you everybody for your swift and detailed replies! And have a great week-end on your canal boats!

Not the operator, you are , or one of your crew. That's if I have read your question correctly !. If not been on a boat before the hire company will provide you with some training before you take command.

[Marie-Claude Tremblay]

3 minutes ago, johnmoly said:

Not the operator, you are , or one of your crew. That's if I have read your question correctly !. If not been on a boat before the hire company will provide you with some training before you take command.

OK, thanks! I was not sure. The first time piloting a narrow boat must be a bit scary, especially if there is a lot of boats around. I would not want to break anything. Do you need a permit to take command?

[Phil Ambrose]

A hire boat doesn't come with any crew at all, you get the boat plus some basic instructions and off you go 

Phil

[cuthound]

39 minutes ago, Marie-Claude Tremblay said:

OK, thanks! I was not sure. The first time piloting a narrow boat must be a bit scary, especially if there is a lot of boats around. I would not want to break anything. Do you need a permit to take command?

No permit needed. Just pay the money, turn up and go 

Beware though, it can lead to addiction, and eventually boat ownership to ensure you get enough canalling "fixes". Unfortunately by the time that happens you will be an incurable canalcoholic (like me). 

[magictime]

42 minutes ago, Marie-Claude Tremblay said:

OK, thanks! I was not sure. The first time piloting a narrow boat must be a bit scary, especially if there is a lot of boats around. I would not want to break anything. Do you need a permit to take command?

It takes a little bit of getting used to, but only a little bit, and at the end of the day you're moving very slowly in a very sturdy vessel that's built to survive a lot worse than a few bumps and scrapes! There's no need for any kind of permit, which reflects the simplicity and relative safety of the task. Yes, there are basic things you need to know to be safe in locks etc., but it's really nothing to worry about. (And I'm the nervous type when it comes to vehicles - won't drive a car and never felt very comfortable on a bike!)

[MtB]

3 hours ago, Marie-Claude Tremblay said:

Thank you Jim Batty! I am learning indeed! :-) Your input is interesting too.

And Bewildered, I would love to book a hire boat when I visit the UK again. However, I doubt I have the budget for this! A hire boat means that someone else (the operator) is "piloting" it?

Again, thank you everybody for your swift and detailed replies! And have a great week-end on your canal boats!

 

I worry when people are advised to do this. Hiring a boat is a totally different experience. Hire boats have all the personality of a glass of water while private boats have all the personality of a glass of wine, or champagne, or bitter, or lager, or sherry, or Pimms, or orange squash, or tea, or coffee, or milk, or, or, or.... you get the picture?

[Robbo]

On 05/07/2017 at 21:20, Marie-Claude Tremblay said:

Hi!

My name is Marie-Claude Tremblay and I am a researcher for Groupe PVP (www.pvp.ca/en), a TV producer in Quebec, Canada.

We are currently developing a documentary TV series about various kinds of boats linked to the way people live and use them in different countries. It is a co-production with France.

I would like to have a better understanding of the day to day life on a canal boat, in order to break it down in a script for our TV series. I have read quite a lot of article about the topic and watched a few videos online as well but I thought I might find helpful answers on a form such as Canal World. So here I am!

How would you describe a typical day (let's say in winter and in summer) on board a canal boat? What do you have to do when you get up in the morning (in relation to the boat) and before you go to sleep? What kind of maintenance does one have to do? What are the most common problems one can face on a canal boat? What are the challenges (positive and negative) of living on a canal boat every day?

If you have any stories or experiences to share, I am interested!

Thank you!

Marie-Claude 
Researcher
mc.tremblay@pvp.ca 

@Starcoaster wrote this a while back which is pretty much spot on!

 

[Bewildered]

On 7 July 2017 at 23:47, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I worry when people are advised to do this. Hiring a boat is a totally different experience. Hire boats have all the personality of a glass of water while private boats have all the personality of a glass of wine, or champagne, or bitter, or lager, or sherry, or Pimms, or orange squash, or tea, or coffee, or milk, or, or, or.... you get the picture?

 

I quite agree Mike, however when I made the suggestion I was thinking along the lines of actually being on the water, getting a feel for boating, albeit in a slightly sterile way, but mostly the opertunity to negotiate locks and chatting to boat owners whilst doing it. Of course with the advantage of a boating holiday thrown in.

She would of course then be in a position to talk to boaters and get some first hand experiance of what canal life is like.

[MtB]

On 09/07/2017 at 14:58, Bewildered said:

 

I quite agree Mike, however when I made the suggestion I was thinking along the lines of actually being on the water, getting a feel for boating, albeit in a slightly sterile way, but mostly the opertunity to negotiate locks and chatting to boat owners whilst doing it. Of course with the advantage of a boating holiday thrown in.

She would of course then be in a position to talk to boaters and get some first hand experiance of what canal life is like.

 

Yes true, but this will cost typically a grand or so and an almost equivalent amount of info can be gleaned just by spending a day walking the towpath and chatting with boaters. Most are delighted to natter about their lifestyle and their boats! Another free way to get boating experience is to volunteer to crew one of the charity/museum historic boats (can't recall the correct term for them) on the cut such as Brighton and Nuneaton, Atlas and Mallus, Raymond, etc. I'm sure there are others too.