Driver-Once-More:
think Alex Lester lives on one during the week
He used to own one called the Blue Pig, but that was when he broadcast from Birmingham. Think he now does his show from London, and lives down that way.
Ken.
Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice. 
Bristol to London is possible in a canal boat.Then Manchester has miles of routes.I have seen drunk canal boat captains.In hot weather around Bradford on Avon its chaos.Party boats.All drunk.
alamcculloch:
Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice.
You sure 
Lusk:
alamcculloch:
Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice.You sure
Apparently that’s true.
However, Birmingham is at the hub of the country’s canal network. There are 35 miles (56 km) of canals within the city, of which most are navigable. Birmingham is often described as having more miles of canal than Venice. This is technically correct (Venice has 26 miles). However, Birmingham is far larger than Venice,[24] so the latter has a far higher concentration of canals; and the type of waterway is very different. Counting water volume and taking into account depth measurements, Birmingham has more cubic meters of water pass through its canals than any other city in the world.
Live and learn
Lusk:
Live and learn
Always 
Would love to do it, These days Narrowboat’s tend to fetch a fair sum and speaking to a couple of the guys at the clubs we deliver to they say they are never short of needing maintenance, to what scale I do not know,
But somehow the Rochdale canal round the back of Kingsway or Stakehill has never really appealled to me 
The narrow boat industry ha reached SATURATION point in some parts of the country.I think that they are quite viable up here on the Forth and Clyde canal with the Falkirk Wheel they are also working on reopening the Union Canal in the same area.
One guy from trucknet considered it, but he came to conclusion, that converted double decker will be even better option.
There was his thread on this forum somewhere, and I had a pleasure to interview him for my on-line magazine (it’s in English), first part is here: gazetae.com/artykuly/our-house-middle-street
and second part is here:
gazetae.com/artykuly/green-house-wheels-part-ii
From my conversation with him I can say, it sounds great.
I really really HATE to have to say it Orys, but I actually enjoyed reading both parts of your interview, first time I have ever appreciated one of your posts.
alamcculloch:
The narrow boat industry ha reached SATURATION point in some parts of the country.I think that they are quite viable up here on the Forth and Clyde canal with the Falkirk Wheel they are also working on reopening the Union Canal in the same area.
A middle aged couple from where I live, Moray, sold their big house after their kids had ‘flown the nest’ and bought a smaller house and had enough money left over to design the interior to their liking of a new build canal boat and during the summer months live on that, not sure where it is but in the vicinity of the Falkirk wheel when they aren’t mobile. But they do have more money than sense ! 
raymundo:
I really really HATE to have to say it Orys, but I actually enjoyed reading both parts of your interview, first time I have ever appreciated one of your posts.
It might then make you feel better if we note, that all credit goes to Phil, who not only have so interesting life but is also a great guy to speak with
Yes, I intend to sell my truck in 2016 and buy a trad stern narrow boat, then spend the next few years travelling around the canal network on a continuous cruising licence.
This is the type of thing I’ll be getting, this one will be sold by then but it’s a 39’ reverse layout trad stern.
That’s up for sale at £19,500, and has a 1.5 litre BMC diesel engine. I calculate around £2,000 a year running costs including putting money by for blacking and anodes as and when, plus the cost of diesel at about a litre an hour.
Melchett:
mrpj:
Melchett:
… no council tax,Really? I thought these zbs had every area covered and no-one escaped
Nope, no council tax. I did say there are bills to pay & the waterways licence is one of them, according to BIL it’s costing him around half of what he paid in council tax.
You have to pay Council Tax if you have a permanent mooring, but not if you are a “Continuous Cruiser”. Continuous Cruising means that you can moor canalside for a maximum of two weeks before moving on, although you have to be genuinely cruising and not just “bridge-hopping”.
The cost of the licence and most other things is determined by the length of the boat, so much per foot. The licence for the boat I want, around 40’, will be about £750 a year, insurance will be about £300 a year but they will be the only two regular fixed overheads. You need to get a Boat Safety Certificate every four years, the equivalent of an MOT, and as you have to get it lifted out of the water to have this done it’s a good time to get the bottom re-blacked and have new anodes fitted, again the cost of re-blacking and anodes is determined by the length of the boat but is getting on for £1,000.
If you do need to moor permanently then that’s about £200 a month, although once again cost is determined by length. I may moor somewhere overwinter and do a few months casual work driving a truck just to top the funds up, I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
Living on a narrowboat is far cheaper than living on dry land, but the advice I always see is “You have to do it because you want to, not just because it’s cheaper”.
Have a look at the Canalworld forum, it’s like TruckNet for narrowboat owners and wannabes, I’ve had some fantastic help so far although of course like any forum it does have its share of idiots.
canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showforum=6
Good luck!
I am sure a couple took a canal boat over the Channel to get to the South of France.
Inland rivers/ canals to Marseille or Toulouse to the sea.
If any one is interested a ship or boat can be made of steel and it doesnt rust in the water because there are sacrificial anodes of magnesium screwed to the hull.Those anodes rust and have to be replaced regularly.
Harry Monk:
Living on a narrowboat is far cheaper than living on dry land, but the advice I always see is “You have to do it because you want to, not just because it’s cheaper”.
It’s true enough. It’s a great life, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, but yes, you do need to have an affinity with the canals rather than just a desire to live cheaply. With any luck, I and my fiancee will be selling our house and getting a 60 foot narrowboat to live on sometime next year. I loved living on a boat when I did it fifteen years or so ago and can’t wait to do it again. See you on the cut!
toby1234abc:
I am sure a couple took a canal boat over the Channel to get to the South of France.
Inland rivers/ canals to Marseille or Toulouse to the sea.
Narrow Dog to Carcassonne is the true story of two pensioners and their whippet who set out against informed advice to sail in their narrowboat from Staffordshire to the Mediterranean. The pictures show the crossing of the Channel, Paris, the Burgundy canal, the Rhône, and the city of Carcassonne. (The first two pictures and the last were taken by the producer of ITV Waterworld, Keith Wootton.)
In my ignorance, how far can you travel on the canal network in this country? Do all the canals join up or is it a case of having to get the boat lifted out of the water and transported to the next canal?