Reminiscences of our First Year on Board

Our first year has been a learning curve, getting to know the boat and settling into our new lives. Without doubt, living on a boat is harder than being in a house. Lots of things we had previously taken for granted, we now think about and plan for.

But the advantages far outweigh any hardships and, with a few reservations, we would not change our decision.

Initially, we had a lot of trouble with the boat and were stuck in Swanley Bridge Marina after the launch, waiting for the builder to visit to sort snags. Eventually, after three weeks he did visit, but not all the problems were addressed. We then left the marina for a week’s trip, with long days, to reach Middlewich in time for the Folk and Boat Festival.

After the festival we were stuck around Middlewich, again awaiting the builder to sort more problems. Eventually, he washed his hands of us and we were left to sort the problems ourselves. While this was hard to deal with, we decided to put the problems behind us and just enjoy the boat and sort the problems as and when ourselves. Thankfully, after an expensive rewire and new battery bank, amongst others, the problems are now largely behind us.

Washing and drying of clothes and bedding was difficult to begin with. The washing machine uses a lot of water and so, when possible, we now do any washing while connected to a water-point. If the weather permits, drying is done on a whirly-gig that fits onto the tiller. However, when the weather is inclement, drying has to take place inside which neither of us particularly like, with washing seemingly everywhere and condensation afterwards.

There was a lot of condensation on the window frames during the winter. Having had double-glazing fitted, we did not expect this. Brenda in particular, is driven mad by the “devil’s tears” as she calls it.

Our saloon chairs from Next were an expensive mistake. They are far too big and not very comfortable. Unfortunately, the boat was built around them because of their size and they cannot be removed except for breaking them up.

Muddy towpaths are a nuisance during the winter months and wet periods. We try to keep any mess in the rear cockpit before entering the boat, but some always manages to enter. Mainly from the dog.

We miss friends and family especially the Grandkids. We always think of friends on Friday evenings and, more often than not, raise a glass. It is great when people visit and we value their efforts in getting to us, but it is sad when they leave.

Privacy is difficult when, sometimes, you need time alone. Tolerance, and just giving each other space is the key but certainly, it would not suit everybody.

We have found the lifestyle suits us although it can be hard. As retirement loomed ever closer, the thought of retiring to a house, more and more, frightened me. Now we largely, are free of stress and much more relaxed.

We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing our wonderful country. Exploring the towns, cities and villages we come across and immersing ourselves in the history which we enjoy. It was particularly fascinating travelling from Coventry, along what used to be the division between the English Kingdoms and the Danelaw, the parts of the country administered by the Vikings. At the time we were binge watching “The Lost Kingdom” and “Vikings”. It was in this very area that a lot of the activity took place. The “Angel of Lichfield”, a stone sculpture in Lichfield Cathedral damaged during a Viking raid brought a lot of history to life.

Many of the places we have visited have been a surprise and delight. Leicester, Atherstone and Tamworth amongst them. Whereas many have not been. Coventry is one place we would not rush back to.

Quite often we stop in a place, see a scene well off the beaten track that we wouldn’t see if travelling by car or have peace, solitude and tranquillity and have to pinch ourselves, it’s all real.

We always try to envisage how places have changed through the ages and imagine how much industry we have lost, changing the country and the landscape. We enjoy looking at the architecture and how this has changed. We always like to visit churches. Often they are, or have been, centres of the community they serve. However, it is always annoying when they are locked. A sign of our times. Pubs are always nice to visit. They also can be centres of their communities. It is always good to enter a welcoming pub but so many we have seen closed, abandoned and boarded up. Whenever we visit a pub, we make full use of the facilities, flushing toilets and endless amounts of hot water.  

We have met many people and have now adopted a saying, there are more nice people in this world than there are bad. We have also met a number of characters; the canal seems to attract them. During the winter months we experienced the comraderie amongst the canal community. It was a nice feeling.

We have enjoyed watching the changing of the seasons up close. From the last of the sloe berries clinging bravely on, well into the winter, to the first shoots of the horse-chestnut trees in the spring. Seeing nature has been a delight. Swans doing their intimate courtship dance, kingfishers diving into the water, emerging with a small fish, watching a water vole for over an hour, patrolling its territory.

All make for a life whose advantages far outweigh any hardships.

Our first year has been a learning curve of course. We quickly became a lot more conscious of water and electrical use. Our water tank is smaller than most and mainly dictated our movements during the winter. When you have a limited amount, water becomes almost precious. No more brushing your teeth under a running tap or showering under a continuous stream of water.

Electrical consumption can mean unnecessary running of the engine although the solar panels do much to top the batteries up. Lights are religiously switched off in not in use and we now have power packs from which to charge phones and small appliances.

We eat well and always have done. However, during the winter much of the cooking was done on top of the multi-fuel stove. Stews, casseroles and soups just simmered all day and it was funny to watch people walking past and stopping to sniff the air. There was always a kettle on the stove from which the filled a separate kettle to boil water on the stove. Yet our stove does not conform to boat safety standards and, early on, we were very nervous about using it at all and regularly monitored the temperatures.

CRT regulations have been difficult to interpret and we have come to the conclusion that they do not know a lot of their own rules. From the need to display a licence or not, time limits for staying in one place, especially during the winter and how far a boat has to move in between stop-overs. A lot of hints and tips we have discovered from other boaters.

The discovery of online shopping was a revelation and has made our lives so much easier when all you have to do is give a postcode and “hey presto” the groceries arrive. Before we were regularly walking miles and carrying huge loads back to the boat. Having said this, we mainly have the big, heavy items delivered but still like to visit local butchers and greengrocers where possible. The quality often is better, you can buy what you want and it is good to support them, use ’em or lose ‘em.

We try to learn not to move when the weather is against us. Although the rain does not particularly bother us, unless very heavy, the wind is a different matter. Narrowboats are almost impossible to control in wind and it is much easier just to sit tight and wait for it to pass. However, often after 3 or 4 days we are ready to move on.

The onset of water gypsy-ism!