Feel free to pop along and have a nosey round sometime.
[/quote]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
bought a car last year from a guy living on a very similar boat.i dont know where i was though somewhere round about uttoxeter area. took me 25 mins driving to get to stone roundabout.i was only on the thing for 10 mins till he counted the cash,but i whacked my head 3 times .
defineatly a practiced art for living on a canal boat.
nice and cozy though.
he had a brown jag,the boat was blue,and it was in the middle of getting hand painted.parked under a bridge just like the one in the pic…
DD,almost,it was an ex Bakers ERF,with a blistering 150 gardner.
hutpik:
DD,almost,it was an ex Bakers ERF,with a blistering 150 gardner.
That distance in an ERF with a 150 gardner (5pot?) deserves a medal…or a ciiiigar… 
Harry Monk:
Beetlejuice:
Harry Monk:
Beetlejuice:
Absolutely perfect life ,Fair play to you Harry ,Do you have winter moorings or are you a perminent cruiser ?I have a permanent offside mooring on a farm between Rugby and Coventry and I generally stay put from September to March while I work, just cruising occasional weekends, then I go cruising when the clocks go forward in Spring for about six months.
Local to me then ,How very nice .
Feel free to pop along and have a nosey round sometime.
Serious question HM, how do you manage with post? Does each mooring have a post code or do you have to collect it elsewhere?
*EDIT- i see youre moored on a farm, should read before posting 
Does sound a nice life 6 months on 6months off…and the ability to change scenery outside your front door whenever it takes your fancy…
No Harry…into the bucket…lob it over the side eh…ha ha. Permission to come aboard captain…when you make it to London…would be nice H to have a beer with you…my treat mate.
hutpik:
DD,almost,it was an ex Bakers ERF,with a blistering 150 gardner.
jeeezzzz.i thought i was hard done to with me 220 ■■■■■■■■■ guy and a sleeper pod nailed onto the back…
i outran my boss in his transcontinental to the extent he swapped trucks with me when we came back and let me loose on my own.
glutton for lunishment at that time…
PLUS
i had my own version of air conditioning that worked when i woke up the seagull i caught on the ferry and slapped it around the cab every now and again. 
AndrewG:
Serious question HM, how do you manage with post? Does each mooring have a post code or do you have to collect it elsewhere?
Does sound a nice life 6 months on 6months off…and the ability to change scenery outside your front door whenever it takes your fancy…
I use my ex-girlfriend’s address in Ramsgate as my home address, she opens all my mail and phones me if there’s anything that needs to be dealt with urgently, if it’s something I need to physically have, such as a form to complete, then she posts it up to my local village post office, or a post office near to where I am at the time if I’m out cruising using the Poste Restante service and I collect it from there.
As for the lifestyle, yes it suits me. And having spent so long living in a truck all week and for weeks and even months at a time back in the day is excellent preparation for narrowboating because in many ways it’s a similar sort of thing, just a lot slower, and with a Porta-Potti rather than an empty Sunny Delight bottle and a carrier bag. 
Harry Monk:
AndrewG:
Serious question HM, how do you manage with post? Does each mooring have a post code or do you have to collect it elsewhere?
Does sound a nice life 6 months on 6months off…and the ability to change scenery outside your front door whenever it takes your fancy…I use my ex-girlfriend’s address in Ramsgate as my home address, she opens all my mail and phones me if there’s anything that needs to be dealt with urgently, if it’s something I need to physically have, such as a form to complete, then she posts it up to my local village post office, or a post office near to where I am at the time if I’m out cruising using the Poste Restante service and I collect it from there.
As for the lifestyle, yes it suits me. And having spent so long living in a truck all week and for weeks and even months at a time back in the day is excellent preparation for narrowboating because in many ways it’s a similar sort of thing, just a lot slower, and with a Porta-Potti rather than an empty Sunny Delight bottle and a carrier bag.
Harry,
Where do you empty the toilet? Does it cost? What about laundry?
Is there a call for freight being moved along canals?
I ask because I’ve considered this lifestyle a few times, and wonder if a little money could be made along the way.
ezydriver:
Harry,Where do you empty the toilet? Does it cost? What about laundry?
Is there a call for freight being moved along canals?
I ask because I’ve considered this lifestyle a few times, and wonder if a little money could be made along the way.
There’s an elsan point about a mile away from me, I just chuck the cassette in the boot of the car and empty it out when I’m passing once a week. I have a small twin-tub washing machine for laundry.
I think the only boats which operate commercially nowadays are the fuel/coal boats which supply private boaters.
Harry Monk:
ezydriver:
Harry,Where do you empty the toilet? Does it cost? What about laundry?
Is there a call for freight being moved along canals?
I ask because I’ve considered this lifestyle a few times, and wonder if a little money could be made along the way.
There’s an elsan point about a mile away from me, I just chuck the cassette in the boot of the car and empty it out when I’m passing once a week. I have a small twin-tub washing machine for laundry.
I think the only boats which operate commercially nowadays are the fuel/coal boats which supply private boaters.
That’s what puts me off going for the narrow boat or motor home is the toilet emptying . As much as I’d go before I got home i haven’t the stomach for emptying the cassette. Can the washing machine waste water go in the canal or do you have to get waste water emptied also
chester1:
That’s what puts me off going for the narrow boat or motor home is the toilet emptying . As much as I’d go before I got home i haven’t the stomach for emptying the cassette. Can the washing machine waste water go in the canal or do you have to get waste water emptied also
It’s not the most pleasant aspect of living aboard, but you soon get used to it. The toilet is heavily dosed with chemical blue (formaldehyde) which keeps the smell down to a degree. Many narrowboats have pump-out toilets with a large holding tank, normally beneath the bed, for toilet waste and these are preferred by the squeamish, although the drawbacks are firstly that you have to pay for a pump-out and secondly you have to physically get the boat to the pump-out machine whereas I just take the cassette to the sanitary station in the boot of my car. All grey water (washing machine, shower, kitchen sink etc) goes straight into the canal.
Rather sadly, I was watching a YouTube video of the Dusseldorf caravan and RV show, and there was a machine that you just slotted the cassette into , did all the emptying and then cleaned it. Doddle really.
Never done the canal boat thing but Mr Albion and I looked at pretty seriously for a while.
peirre:
I’m Keeping my options open having reached a point in life where I’m comfortable and have a small pension coming in, so if the right full time work comes along then whatever it is I’ll take it. However judging by the rates paid by local haulers I’m in no hurry to work for NMW. Till then I’ll keep the limp, and like Harry work through the winter months, leaving me able to use the time from May to September to reacquaint myself with my motorcycle that was sadly neglected while I took on my caring role, and enjoy time traveling across Europe and beyond. I still have a desire to ship a motorcycle over to the states and ride it coast to coast for the hell of it
I know someone who landed at New York and asked in a bike shop about hiring one to do a long tour, the guy said it wouldnt be cost effective...buy one, use it and bring it back, Ill buy it back less account for the mileage accrued. It was much cheaper than hiring. I don`t know the price of shipping to USA, but maybe look into this buying/buy-back thingy…?
Just a thought. He had a wonderful time.
dave19544:
February 1st will be my last day behind the wheel of a truck. Taking early retirement at 63 and a bit.
Final straw is the introduction of inward facing cameras. I have no issue at all with outward in-fact I suggested it to them a few years ago but inward recording all the time and then being saved to a server for a minimum of 90 days has done it for me.
More and more petty rules have been very annoying but I could stand that.
September 26th 1986 to February 1st 2018, I’ve had some great times, the last 15 on agency full time with one company.
Dave, Ive never encountered driver facing cameras before so Im maybe niave on the subject, but, couldn`t you just chuck a hat over the ■■■■ thing when your in there?
I’m quitting next year after 49 years starting as a drivers mate, moving to Canada as my Wife wants to go home and she insists I don’t have to work, can’t wait.