live aboard yacht uk

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Live aboard yachts for sale UK

Tarquin Trader 475 Signature

Chichester, West Sussex

First impressions when boarding this yacht is that it has been meticulously maintained to an extremely high standard. There is so much to love about the boat - the layout is very practical offering ideal cruising and live - aboard accommodation. With three double cabins and one single, there is ample room...

Westerly Sealord 39

Lancashire, North West

It is not often a Westerly Sealord comes up for sale . They have a reputation for being a strong capable cruising yacht with a lot of accommodation, and are well suited as a live aboard . The owner bought her in 2021 in Portugal and sailed her back to the UK . In 2021 he had new stainless guard rails, new...

Gentlemans Yacht Steel MFV Yacht

Kent, South East

Boatshed Kent are pleased to be presenting this unique steel motor yacht which was built to the design of a Scandinavian trawler in Norway and fitted out in London, as a yacht. When I visited this yacht I could see she has plenty of space outside and in, and provides an opportunity for both living onboard...

Freedom 40 AC Sailing Yacht - Liveaboard

Fowey, Cornwall

For the past few years this Freedom 40 has been undergoing a major refurbishment programme including a new engine, mast removal & repairs, new running rigging and new electrical wiring. Due to the owner s circumstances changing, this yacht is now reluctantly offered for sale . Although she is seaworthy and...

Endurance 35 Sailing Yacht

Falmouth, Cornwall

We at Boatshed Cornwall are delighted to list this Endurance 35. This particular Endurance has a ferro cement hull designed by Peter IBold and built by Windboats Ltd. These yachts were highly regarded as long distant cruises. Presently the yacht is afloat alongside a wall at the boatyard. It has a cover...

Nautor Swan 47 Motor Cruiser

One of seven produced this is a unique opportunity to acquire a quite rare motor yacht, ideal for cruising or spacious live aboard with good open living space and fore and aft sleeping cabins. There is a cockpit tent aft which affords additional extra internal space. The flybridge is easily accessed from...

Southerly 115

Wareham, Wareham Town

Features 1983 - Southerly 115. Popular and versatile 'go anywhere' lift keel quality cruiser with sound sea keeping. Designed by Dick Carter and built by Northshore Yachts . 'Perfect Pitch' is a stylish spacious, comfortable boat. Seven berths in three cabins, including a full width aft double owner's...

Euroship Tjalk

Shepperton, Surrey

Exterior Large open rear deck with built-in seating over lockers, connected to higher walkway decks leading to bow deck with two seat/locker 12 Barge type double-glazed Windows 6 double-glazed portlights 2 Pigeon hatches (double glazed) to saloon and fore cabin Full cover to aft cockpit on stainless steel...

39' Freedom 40 AC 1985

35' endurance 35 1972, 48' fairline targa 45 gt 2024.

Southampton, Hampshire

FAIRLINE TARGA 45 GT Twin Volvo Penta IPS650 D6-440 Approved Boats are the official Dealer for Fairline Yachts in the UK Contact us for the latest price and availability POWER MEETS LUXURY, SOPHISTICATION MEETS VERSATILITY It s time to meet world renowned superyacht designer Alberto Mancini s classic...

FAIRLINE TARGA 45 GT Twin Volvo Penta IPS650 D6-480 2 cabins - mid master layout Air conditioning to interior Blackout windscreen cover Cockpit bar with integrated griddle Cockpit canopy - Black Drawers to mid cabin (in lieu of sofa) Exterior mood lighting - Blue Feature bulkhead to mid cabin with leather,...

Coaster Boats 49 Rll Boats Nickbranson

Purchased by her current owners in 2011, Fochintulla has been lovingly cared for externally, and internally she has been brought right up to date with a very attractive galley and homely main living area. Domestic fittings throughout and upgraded 12v and 24v systems make this a perfect live - aboard to take...

Chatham, Medway

Remarks : 1991 Tania 47 for sale in Kent The Tania 47 is a spacious motor cruiser with good accommodation including two double berth cabins, 2 heads, a large galley, flybridge and aft deck for a boat of its size and would be suitable for either two couples or a family, or even to live aboard . A berth in...

Jeanneau 54

Largs, North Ayrshire

Jeanneau Yachts 54 for sale She is the deep keel version and the 3 cabin layout with 3 heads plus the bow skipper cabin. 360 docking system bow thruster for easy 'parking', electric folding aft terrace, full Raymarine electronics package, Code 0 on furler, dinghy davits, bimini, air conditioning, inverter...

Colvic Boats Suncruiser 37

Balloch, West Dunbartonshire

COLVIC SUNCRUISER 37 FLYBRIDGE MOTOR YACHT. ****MASSIVE DISCOUNT BUY IT NOW PRICE***THIS IS A VERY TIDY 2006 EXAMPLE HAVING HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT ON REMEDIAL MID LIFE UPGRADES. SHE IS WITHOUT DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST VALUE FLYBRIDGE MOTOR YACHTS ON THE MARKET OFFERED AT THIS PRICE JUST NEEDING THE...

Saunders Roe 45 ft Medina-Saro Class Twin Screw Motor Yacht 1937- 2011

GRALIAN s proud bow seems to depict the chin up attitude of her era. Cowes aircraft manufacturer Saunders-Roe s Medina / Saro Class motor yachts are brave little ships - as brave as their original owners, many of them aviators. Eight were built in the late 1930s and five are believed to survive in...

Bruce Roberts Spray 40

Poole, Dorset

Remarks : REDUCED. Well equipped steel blue water cruiser. Ideal live aboard . BRUCE ROBERTS SPRAY 40 ketch rigged, main, mizzen, staysail and headsail. All sails laundered 2021, slab reefing, long keel, Ford Dover 80hp diesel engine, Paguro 4KVA generator. Engine and generator serviced 2022. Full...

Edership Nautique President 38

Conwy, Clwyd

Edership President 38. A substantial and luxurious comfortable power cruiser in good serviceable condition. This model is popular in the USA and has spacious accommodation with two large, well-appointed double cabins (both with ensuite facilities) and a well-lit deck saloon that would enable two couples to...

Fairline Targa 45 GT

Offshore steelcraft 60 twin deck motor yacht.

1984 Offshore Steel Craft 60 x 16 Sea going cruiser/house boat for sale . Construction Builder Offshore Steel Craft UK Year 1984 Length 60' Beam 16' Draft 4' Air draft 12' Fuel Capacity 2000Litres Water Capacity 500 Litres Interior Lower Deck Double Berths Two Single Berths Two Bunk Room (Children) One Aft...

Custom Classic Pennship 60

Rochester, Northumberland

1994 Custom Pennship 60 Blue Lagoon Marine are delighted to present this beautiful 60ft cruiser. This is a rare opportunity to purchase a custom-built Dutch cruiser with steel hull and aluminium super-structure. This Pennship 60 is one of a kind and has the feeling of a much larger yacht. She has a fine...

Princess 37 Flybridge

Norfolk, East of England

Princess 37 1981 2 x Ford Mermaid 120HP diesel engines. 6 berth accommodation with two toilet and shower compartments. Specification to include; Warm air heating system, Shore power, Calorifier, immersion heater, holding tank, hydraulic steering, antifouled 2022, engines serviced 2023, Boat Safety...

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Our used boat expert Nick Burnham picks out four of the best liveaboard boats on the secondhand market right now.

One of the real joys of boating is the sheer diversity of it. Whatever you want to experience, whether it’s exhilaration, exploration, relaxation, escapism, social interaction or solitude, there’s a boating style and a boat type, specifically made for you.

And exactly the same is true for the ultimate boater’s fantasy – living aboard your floating home full time (it’s what we all dream of, right?).

So here to fulfil the fantasy are four great examples of vessels that could either take you and your family or friends around the world in a constant stream of adventures, or a more modest barge that would allow you to park up on a quiet stretch of the River Thames and enjoy a constant stream of G&Ts! Cheers!

Nordhavn 46

Built: 1997 Price: £350,000

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The Nordhavn 46 is Genesis for Nordhavn and set the tone for pretty much every model that followed. Pacific Asian Enterprises was formed by Jim Leishman and Dan Streech in 1974, originally importing and selling a line of boats from Taiwan called Transpac.

In 1978 Jeff Leishman, Jim’s younger brother, joined PAE as a part-time employee whilst still at school. Jeff completed his studies in 1987, and received his naval architecture diploma from the Yacht Design Institute.

As part of his graduation requirement, he was asked to design a vessel of his choosing. That actual design became the Nordhavn 46 and an entire new genre was born.

Saloon and galley are all on one level with stairs leading down to the owner’s cabin

Several layout options were tried in the early days, before settling down to the layout you see on this 1997 example, much of which echoes through to current models.

Designed for long-term living aboard, there’s a large saloon and galley on the main deck, with steps down to an owner’s cabin in the centre of the boat (reducing motion at sea to a minimum).

But another set of steps lead up to a proper separate wheelhouse , little-ship style. Steps forward from here drop you down to a separate guest cabin in the bow.

A wide side deck leads from the cockpit along the starboard side and up around the front of the wheelhouse in the form of a Portuguese bridge protected by a bulwark from the foredeck.

Follow it round and you’ll go back past the wheelhouse on the port side and up the stairs again to the boat deck above the saloon where the tender is stored.

The bridge deck is a few steps higher and further forward than the saloon

Performance

Nordhavns are all about range, which is why speeds are strictly limited to hull displacement speed rather than forcing more knots via a semi-displacement or planing hull.

Figure on about 8.5 knots flat out with 7.4 knots as the cruise speed, at which the 3,785 litre fuel tank should give about 2,500 miles of range.

There is a lot of boat under the water, with its full hull shape and long keel designed to help the boat plug on and on.

Nordhavn 46 specification

LOA: 45ft 9in (13.9m) Beam: 15ft 5in (4.7m) Draught: 5ft 0in (1.5m) Displacement: 20 tonnes Fuel capacity: 3,785 litres Engine: Lugger L668D 134Kw 180hp diesel engines Location: Hamble Contact: Nordhavn Europe

Aqualine Canterbury 62×10 Widebeam

Built: 2019 Price: £182,950

Widebeam narrowboat sounds like the ultimate oxymoron, but it’s a term used to denote canal barges that are, well, wider of beam. A typical narrowboat is 6ft 10in wide, and it’s constructed to this dimension in order to access virtually all of the British canal system.

In short, there are places a wide beam just can’t go. But there are plenty of places that it can. There are four main UK ‘cruising grounds’ for the widebeam owner: London and the South; East Anglia; the Severn waterways; and the Trent and North. Indeed, many owners simply use them as floating homes and never go anywhere at all.

The saloon looks more like an apartment than a boat, with proper domestic furniture…

So what’s the point of a wide beam narrowboat that can’t go everywhere? In a word, space. At 10ft wide, it’s not far short of double the beam, meaning you get almost twice the internal volume for a given length.

But it also gives you rooms that feel far more like those in a house and less like railway carriages. Given that very little of the interior is structural, it’s easy for the manufacturer to customise the layout. This particular boat has a large bedroom at the bow, a generous bathroom and a huge lounge/diner large enough for domestic furniture plus a kitchen.

Narrowboats tend to major on internal space so there is little more than vestigial side decks. There is a decent cockpit at the aft end with a large crescent of seating around a table, and a helm station with wheel steering rather than the tiller of more traditional designs. There is also a ‘well deck’ forward, which is basically a small cockpit in the bow accessed from the forward cabin.

…and the fully equipped galley could be the kitchen in a stylish new build house

Performance is probably not a word you associate with 62ft of 10mm steel plating powered by a Barrus Yanmar Shire 50hp, 4 cylinder 2,190cc diesel engine.

It will move you sedately around the inland waterways, but the fact the water tank is almost double the size of the fuel tank encapsulates the priorities of these vessels.

A misnomer – if you’re planning to put to sea, this is not the boat for you.

Aqualine Canterbury specification

LOA: 62ft 0in (18.9m) Beam: 10ft 0in (3.1m) Draught: 1ft 9in (0.6m) Displacement: 33 tonnes Fuel capacity : 430 litres Engine: Barrus Yanmar Shire 50hp diesel engine Location: Bray Contact: TBS Boats

Built: 2002 Price: £399,950

Built in 2002 by Zijlmans Jachtbouw, a family owned yacht builder in Drimmelen on the Amer River, North Brabant in Holland, this Triqual 65 has had a rather colourful history. It ended up in the Caribbean before being shipped back to Amsterdam in June 2011.

Following a tip-off from the French authorities, the HMRC intercepted the boat in Southampton. After seven days of very thorough searching, they found no drugs inside the boat. There was, however, the small matter of 1.2 tonnes of cocaine worth £300,000,000 hidden in a secret compartment located underneath the bathing platform!

The result was rather a lot of work needed when the current owner bought the boat from an HM Revenue & Customs auction in 2013. A total interior strip and rebuild to a high standard followed.

The owner wanted a boat for exploring the coastlines of Ireland and Scotland before heading over to Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea, so comfortable liveaboard boat was the name of the game and a full interior refit followed, creating a very contemporary and, above all, spacious displacement cruiser with three cabins (two doubles and a twin), a lower dinette and a large saloon area.

A total interior refit in 2013 means the saloon still feels fresh, bright and modern

A flybridge motor yacht, there is masses of space on the outside too. The large flybridge has been refitted with more seating, there’s an aft deck to enjoy and deeply bulwarked side decks encircle the boat.

A pair of Vetus Deutz DT67 231hp six cylinder diesel engines pushing over 40 tonnes of steel about (the hull is 6mm thick below the waterline, 5mm above) is never going to set any speed records, but a displacement maximum speed of 10 knots and an 8.5 knot cruise is not too shabby at all, nor is the fuel burn of 28 litres an hour, giving an impressive 1,000 nautical miles of range.

The flybridge is unusually large for a Dutch built steel displacement craft

That weight of the Triqual 65 is also going to do a pretty good job of flattening any chop offshore. Registered as an RCD Category B ‘Offshore’, it’s a boat designed for far more ambitious routes than just coastal cruising.

Triqual 65 specification

LOA: 63ft 3in (19.3m) Beam: 17ft 0in (5.2m) Draught: 5ft 7in (1.7m) Displacement: 40.6 tonnes Fuel capacity: 3,768 litres Engines: Twin Vetus Deutz DT67 231hp diesel engines Location: Lymington Contact: Berthon International

Built: 1991 Price: £385,000

Tony Fleming was the technical director of American Marine in Hong Kong, builder of the Grand Banks line of trawler yachts , before leaving to set up his own company under the Fleming brand name. He and business partner Anton Emmerton worked with an American naval architect, Larry Drake of San Diego, California, to develop an all-new range of pilothouse boats.

The Tung Hwa facility, located near Kaohsiung in Taiwan, was selected to build them. The very first model was a 50-footer, with this 53ft version following from hull number 9 onward.  Intriguingly, the boat was originally designed as a 55-footer but a dam was inserted in the aft end of the mould to shorten the hull to 50ft.

Soon after the dam was pushed back to create the Fleming 53, then in 1990 it was finally removed altogether and the Fleming 55 proper was launched as it had been envisaged all along.

Available in two or three-cabin layouts, this boat is the two-cabin version which creates a much larger owner’s stateroom with vanity desk, large guest port cabin and storage room all on the lower deck forward.

A raised wheelhouse gives great visibility but also direct access to the flybridge for easier movement between decks. Further aft, a large saloon with the galley forward on the same level makes this a great social area. It’s ideal for extended cruising as a couple with a pair of guests, which is exactly what this boat was designed for.

Spacious saloon and galley are ideally set up for liveaboards and long distance cruising

One of the most noticeable things about the decks of the Fleming 53 is just how low the side decks are. Open a door in the high bulwarks and you can step straight aboard – try that with a contemporary Sunseeker or Princess !

Back aft, the cockpit is kept completely clear for freestanding furniture and there’s another stairway up to the flybridge where you’ll find fixed seating, the tender, complete with crane for launching, and the liferaft.

The original owner of this boat specified twin Caterpillar 3208 NA diesel engines that produce 210hp each, giving a cruising speed of 9 knots and maximum speed of approximately 12 knots.

Separate wheelhouse is well suited to night passages and has access up to the flybridge

Those low side decks help keep the centre of gravity low, aiding its legendary seakeeping and minimising rock and roll (of the non-musical variety).

Fleming 53 specification

LOA: 52ft 6in (16.0m) Beam: 16ft 0in (4.9m) Draught: 5ft 0in (1.5m) Displacement: 31 tonnes Fuel capacity: 3,880 litres Engines: Twin twin Caterpillar 3208 NA 210hp diesels Location: Chichester Contact: Ancasta

First published in the September 2021 issue of MBY.

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Popular Liveaboard Marinas UK (2023): Sailors Recommend! 

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Living aboard a boat is something that has been growing in popularity over the last few years. It offers a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative to conventional living, and marinas are an excellent way for boat owners to access power and other amenities that provide a convenient standard of living. You might be wondering which liveaboard marinas in the UK are suitable for this lifestyle.

Here are 17 liveaboard marinas in the UK:

• Noss on Dart 
• Endeavour Quay
• Port Solent 
• Tarbert Harbour
• James Watt Dock 
• Portishead 

The rest of this article will tell you everything you need to know about these UK liveaboard marinas, so you can gain a better understanding of what each location has to offer and eventually make a decision that best fits your personal needs. 

Table of Contents

1. Milford 

Milford Marina is located in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The National Park offers rich, scenic landscapes, teeming with wildlife, and various opportunities for watersports. 

The marina offers excellent liveaboard deals. People who choose to call this marina home will enjoy the same benefits as 12-month berthing holders with no additional charges.

Milford Marina: Liveaboards Welcome

2. Brighton 

Why not live aboard your vessel in one of the UK’s most vibrant cities? Brighton offers something for everyone with its quintessential English quirky seaside pier, cosmopolitan bars and restaurants, and its thriving music scene. 

Brighton Marina has a friendly liveaboard community, which makes it a great place to check out if you’re looking for a place that will promote socialization opportunities.

Premier Marinas: Berthing Options at Brighton Marina 

3. Falmouth

Falmouth is a small town in Cornwall on the South West coast of England. Cornwall is one of the most popular tourist destinations, particularly during British Summertime. 

The marina is popular among boat owners, notably for its customer service, reasonable berthing rates, and friendly neighbors. 

Premier Falmouth Marina & Boatyard

4. Noss on Dart

Noss on Dart is a marina located on the River Dart very close to the town of Dartmouth on the South West point of England.

Here, you’ll come across many great opportunities for outdoor activities such as walking, cycling, and watersports in the area. The quality of life here is great, and you’ll certainly be able to enjoy this with a liveaboard lifestyle.

Noss on Dart Marina – Premier Marinas

5. Swanwick

Swanwick Marina is a trendy marina in the town of Swanwick, which is in the East Midlands region of England.

The marina facilities are modern and well maintained, and the marina has a friendly atmosphere. Because of this, Swanwick is an excellent place to call home– especially for those seeking to participate in the liveaboard way of life.

Premier Swanwick Marina & Boatyard

6. Universal

The Premier Universal Marina is based in Southampton, located on the South East coast of England. The marina’s prime location means that boat owners can access a great mixture of rural and city life. 

Universal offers 24-hour access to on-site facilities such as a canteen, which is a pretty great feature for those who need frequent access to this.

Premier Universal Marina

7. Endeavour Quay 

Endeavour Quay is based in Gosport which is located on the South coast of England. The location of this marina is an excellent consideration for people interested in living on larger boats.

This particular marina boasts that it has the biggest travel lift boat hoist on the South Coast, and it also gives direct deep water access to the Solent.

Premier Marinas: Endeavour Quay Boatyard

8. Port Solent 

Port Solent is another great consideration for your future liveaboard lifestyle. This marina has 24-hour access to Portsmouth’s harbor and is a very short distance from London. 

Frequent travelers to this marina talk about their clean bathrooms and friendly staff. However, one downside to note is that traffic can get very busy if you need to travel around anywhere on land.

Premier Marinas

9. Southsea 

Southsea Marina is in Portsmouth on the South coast of England. This marina’s location is ideal for anyone who wishes to stay close to the city. There is also a great selection of bars and restaurants nearby, which is a plus if you would still like to feed nightlife habits while living on your boat.

10. Chichester 

Chichester Marina is in West Sussex and is very close to the city of Chichester. This marina has a great selection of highly-rated bars and restaurants nearby. The facilities also include a travel lift for easier access to your boat.

The marina is also near one of London’s busiest airports, London Gatwick. This is great if you have to travel a lot for work. 

Chichester Marina

11. Eastbourne 

Eastbourne marina offers a great selection of facilities, including flexible contracts and competitive pricing. They also provide unique berth holder benefits, including 42 free visitor nights, which you can use at any of the Premier Marinas. 

Eastbourne is also located on the South Coast of England. The city is an up-and-coming area with many flocking to the seaside town in the summer months. 

12. Tarbert Harbour 

Tarbert Harbour is located very close to the infamous Loch Fyne on the West Coast of Scotland. The marina is a top destination for those looking to attend the Seafood and Music festivals held there every year. 

The marina can accommodate 100 vessels at its busiest time and gets sold out quickly, so consider booking early if you’re interested in what Tarbert Harbor has to offer.

Tarbert Harbour: Marina

13. James Watt Dock

Situated on the Clyde on the West Coast of Scotland, James Watt Dock is a great place to dock your boat.

The marina’s location boasts great sailing waters for all levels of sailing experience and provides good transport links to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

James Watt Dock: Marina 

14. Haslar 

Haslar Marina is situated very close to Gosport in Hampshire on the South Coast of England. The marina is operated 24-7 and has excellent access to the desirable amenities of Gunwharf Quays. 

Haslar Marina is also the home of the Haslar Yacht Club. This particular club provides a lot of social and networking events, which is great if you would like to connect with the local area. 

Haslar Marina

15. Portishead 

Portishead Marina is located on the Bristol Channel, near Portishead’s town.

This spot is a very popular marina situated close to the M5 motorway and has a range of facilities for those wanting to dock their vessel in the area. The marina also provides excellent access to Portishead beach and Bristol city center.

Boatfolk: Join Us

16. East Cowes 

The East Cowes Marina is well-known and situated on the Isle of Wight. It’s close to the town of Ryde and provides excellent transport links to the Solent and Portsmouth. 

The marina has a broad range of desirable facilities, including showers, toilets, restaurants, and bars.

17. Portland 

Portland is located on an island joined to the mainland of England by a shoal beach to Dorset. Dorset is on the South West coast of England.

Portland’s marina has a fantastic range of nearby restaurants that cater to all diets. You can also enjoy live music events from local bands that appeal to all areas of musical taste.

Portland Marina

When you are ready to leave the UK, I suggest checking out these 11 locations around the world that are perfect for liveaboard enthusiasts to explore. I can also help you in the search of the best liveaboard boat !

• Cruisers Forum: Liveaboard Marinas in the South Coast of the UK  
• Yachting and Boating World: UK Marinas That Welcome Liveaboards

Owner of CatamaranFreedom.com. A minimalist that has lived in a caravan in Sweden, 35ft Monohull in the Bahamas, and right now in his self-built Van. He just started the next adventure, to circumnavigate the world on a Catamaran!

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How to live aboard a yacht for years at a time

• Helen Fretter
• April 24, 2023

What if one or two years of adventure just isn’t enough? Meet the cruisers who’ve been on board for a decade or more, and find out how to make long-haul cruising work for you

“I probably wouldn’t even recognise the person that I was when I first started,” admits Brian Trautman, skipper of the Amel Super Maramu Delos (and eponymous YouTube channel ). In 2009 Trautman cast off his life in corporate America, hustling to make his own tech business a success, and set off on what he thought would be an 18-month-long cruising adventure. Fourteen years later he’s still sailing the world on Delos , now with his wife and young daughter. But if you have no idea where the future will take you, how can you plan to keep your cruising options open?

We spoke to cruisers who have spent between eight and 40-plus years cruising and living aboard. Some set out with a rough deadline, others had no stopping point in mind, but the common theme is that all were able to keep their plans flexible and had made the life changes necessary to stay afloat.

“When Jill and I moved aboard our 1984 Grand Soleil 39 Yahtzee in Seattle in 2012, we had no time frame,” explains Andy Cross. “It was, and still is, open ended with the caveat that if the lifestyle isn’t working for one of us we’d reassess and make changes. We always intended for the boat to be our home, not just for cruising, and it wasn’t a ‘one, two or three years and we’re done’ plan.

“We both had jobs, but we weren’t tied down to the trappings of a house and cars, so it was relatively straightforward moving aboard, beginning to learn the boat, and starting a family. Our goal was to take it slow, not sail to a schedule too often, and hopefully share the dream with our children. I’m happy to say, we’re still doing that over 10 years later.”

Brian Trautman’s 14-year sailing adventure aboard SV Delos has grown to include a family and a livelihood

Trautman initially thought his cruising adventure would be for less than two years, having sold all his possessions and taken out a mortgage to pay for the boat.

“When I left, the time frame was 18 months. The reason is when I ran my budget and my monthly expenditures, I only had enough money for 18 months. So my plan was to just go, get somewhere cool – my intention was to try and make it to New Zealand – and then figure something else out.

“I didn’t know if I was going to stop and work when I got there, or if I was going to leave the boat and fly home. Or if I was going to sell the boat and go back to work. All I knew was that I was going to go now and figure out the rest at some later point.

“I ended up stretching that 18-month budget to about two and a half years getting from Seattle to Australia. When I stopped in Australia, we hauled Delos out of the water for about a year. I actually did remote consulting while living in Melbourne to make money for the next cruising season because after having had that taste, I knew there was no way I could stop then.”

Like Trautman, Ginger and Peter Niemann dipped back into ‘real life’ after their first major adventure – a four-year, 50,000-mile circumnavigation west-about from Seattle aboard their 47ft sloop Marcy , including rounding both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn .

The SV Devos family onboard

“When we moved aboard we had the idea to live aboard ‘as long as it was fun’, to quote Lin and Larry Pardey,” explains Peter. “It was certainly fun for a circumnavigation , but when we returned to home port four years after departure we were out of cruising funds. We rejoined the working world while living aboard.

“I assumed that was the end of our life afloat, and asked Ginger if we should put the boat up for sale upon our autumn return or wait until spring when the market might be better? ‘Heck no, we are just getting good at this!’ she answered, ‘But maybe we should get a boat you can stand up in!’ And so we lived aboard, swapped boats and worked until the cruising budget was restored a couple of years later, and set off again.”

Ages and stages

Long-term cruising looks different at different life stages. The Cross family always planned to sail through their boys’ childhoods, but are flexible as to how long they spend afloat at any one time.

“Every year is different. Some years, we’ve been on Yahtzee almost exclusively, other years we’ve taken off a few months at a time. This has worked well for us because we’ve planned the time away around northern winters or hurricane seasons in the south – times when we might not be cruising much anyway.

“We want our boys to know and be a part of their grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends’ lives, which has meant taking breaks off the boat to spend time with everyone. Then, we return to Yahtzee excited, rejuvenated and ready to continue the adventure. Our ability to balance life ashore and cruising is one of the main reasons I think we’re still happy with the lifestyle of living on a boat.”

In the 14 years since he first sailed away with Delos , Trautman’s life has gone through huge changes. “I’ve found the love of my life, gotten married, sailed with my family, sailed with tons of friends, we’ve had a child on board,” he reflects.

SV Devos under sail

“When I first started cruising, I was absolutely in the frame of mind that I would spend 100% of my time on the boat. And as time has gone on, I’ve actually seen the value in taking time off the boat, because you don’t really understand how good something is until you take yourself away from it. So when we start to get a little edgy or a little like, ‘Oh man it’s another beach, but I don’t want to go to the beach today!’ then we know that it’s time to take a break.

“So at least once a year now, we’ll put the boat in a marina or yard, and we go back and visit our family for a few months. It’s even more important now that we have Sierra, because she’s three and a half, and I want her to know her Swedish heritage.

“But obviously, we fund our lifestyle through sailing and making YouTube videos. So if we’re not sailing and making videos, then we’re not making money.”

Some cruisers report that as they get older they find themselves spending more time ashore. After a second demanding circumnavigation, the Niemanns are shifting their sailing style. “We are just now entering a new phase of cruising plans,” says Peter, “We aren’t getting any younger, and recognise that at some point in time the stresses of voyaging will be more than we can easily handle. So for now we plan to enjoy exploring a smaller area in more detail.”

“The major life change was: cruising,” says Janneke Kuysters, who has been cruising with her husband Wietze on their steel-hulled Bruce Roberts design Anna Caroline for eight years. “After that, we haven’t had any major changes in our lives, apart from growing older and the repercussions of that re. strength and agility. In our minds we’re still 25, but the bones say different!”

Andy and Jill Cross try not to sail to a schedule but still spend a lot of time aboard Yahtzee 12 years after first setting out on their adventure

Both the Niemanns and Janneke and Wietze admit, however, that they don’t necessarily find being ashore more restful. “We have always needed to get back to the boat to regroup. Afloat is our comfort zone,” says Peter Niemann.

“We would typically fly to the Netherlands every two years for about three weeks, but the boat is our home, so that is where we feel happy and comfortable,” says Janneke.

For Janneke and Wietze, time ashore is instead spent exploring new countries. “For instance: we left the boat in Valdivia, Chile, for five months to go backpacking all over South America. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa we have rented or bought a campervan to travel inland for weeks or months on end.”

Power of knowledge

‘To cruise is to learn,’ wrote Lin Pardey in The Self Sufficient Sailor , and with experience comes confidence. Many cruisers who have sustained their adventures for decades began their adventures relatively cautiously, building the skills that would then enable them to take on longer passages or explore more remote areas.

“When we were in our mid-30s, we sailed the Atlantic circuit with our 31-footer. This was a test year, meant to find out what it was all about and to gather information,” recalls Janneke. They then bought Anna Caroline “with all the knowledge we had gathered in mind”, and began an eight year circumnavigation – first sailing around Scotland, Ireland, Portugal and Spain before completing a transatlantic, then heading south to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Antarctica and Patagonian Chile. They rounded Cape Horn, visited remote areas of the Pacific including Robinson Crusoe Island, Easter Island and French Polynesia, then headed north to Alaska and British Columbia.

The Cross family moored up

Cruisers often report that ocean crossings become progressively easier, and both faster and with less damage sustained, over the years. Much of that is down to the added knowledge they’ve gained, which feeds into making better decisions when it comes to sail selection, interpreting weather forecasts and predicting sea state, and knowing how their boat – and each other – fares in different conditions.

Also key is confidence in your own ability to handle any problems or fix any breakages when cruising more remote areas or for extended periods. Lin and Larry Pardey famously inspired many cruisers to cast off the lines with their advice to ‘Go small, go simple, go now’.

“I honestly feel that setting off cruising was a lot easier when we went because there was much less equipment that you added to your boat. So they were simpler machines, easier to take care of,” Lin Pardey says.

“I think that more people are put off cruising by the sheer hassle of fixing and having other people fix your boat, feeling like the budget is just being blown by mechanics and electricians.

“But it isn’t just keeping your boat simpler that matters, it’s being able to say, ‘Okay, I really don’t need that, so we’re not going to worry about fixing it right now’. It’s the ability to just do without it, if you can’t fix it. That’s a really important aspect of enjoying what you’re doing. I’ve seen people dream of sailing to the Tuamotus, but they get to the Marquesas with something broken and realise the only place they can fix it is Tahiti, so they just skip right through and miss the whole Tuamotus.

Ginger and Peter Niemann’s first circumnavigation was a four year trip aboard their 47ft sloop Marcy

“For example, the watermaker: if you make sure you have enough water tankage and learn to be quite happy with just limited water for a period, you can fix it later.”

Over years of living aboard, most cruisers we spoke to have made substantial upgrades or modifications to their boats to enable them to take on more adventurous cruising. “We try not to anthropomorphise, but we really have the feeling that ‘we take care of her, and she takes care of us,” says Peter Niemann.

“Our boats evolve continuously: equipment is upgraded, worn items replaced, dodgers added. Specialised Arctic (ice poles, redundant heaters) or tropical/desert (awnings, fans) items are acquired, stowed and put into service as needed. The essential major change we made to both our boats was the addition of cockpit shelter.”

“Pretty much every system has been upgraded over time. We have new instruments, a new chartplotter , a lot of solar and wind. One of the huge improvements was the lithium batteries because that allowed us to get rid of propane. And so we can really extend our range because it’s a lot easier to get diesel fuel in any part of the world,” explains Brian Trautman.

“We’ve also really upped our game with the dinghy. Our dinghy now is aluminium, it’s a little bit heavier, but we love it. It has a big engine, so it’s our SUV, our family car, and we need that.”

The Niemanns heading ashore

Pace yourself

When you have no fixed deadline, how do you plan? Most cruisers we spoke to sketch out ‘big picture’ plans determined by the seasons, but leave themselves the freedom to vary their route along the way.

“We typically plan about one season in advance, but we don’t plan in detail,” explains Trautman. “So right now, we’re planning our South Pacific season. And all we know is that we’re going to try and get to French Polynesia or the Marquesas from Mexico. We’re going to arrive sometime during April and then we have the next six or seven months to figure out what we’re going to do.

If it means we’re going to stay in French Polynesia for the cyclone season, or end up sailing west towards New Zealand for the cyclone season, we just don’t know.

“We just know we’re travelling generally westward best we can, and that’s often worked out for us. We pay attention to the big picture things: the hurricane season, cyclone season, when the good weather is, and we kind of make broad strokes to travel in that general direction.”

“Seasonally, we’ve set our plans to cruise more miles during summers in northern climates and then stopping or slowing down during the colder months of winter. It’s the exact opposite now in the tropics,” explains Andy Cross.

“Here we have hurricane seasons to contend with in the summer and fall, and insurance parameters dictate where the boat can be to continue coverage during named storms.”

The Cross family making great cruising memories

Maintaining momentum is a tricky balance, and will be different for everyone. “What made it work for us is we went without serious plans and kept ourselves highly flexible, we went cruising to just really enjoy sailing,” explains Lin Pardey. “But the thing that really kept us from getting tired of it or frustrated by it was taking advantage whenever we met somebody who said ‘Our family is on this little island, you should go visit them.’ So instead of heading south with other cruisers, we’d turn and head to some island or other, and ended up with wonderful friends who introduced us to other friends. So it was that real unscheduled-ness that kept letting us have new adventures and go in different directions.”

Lin and Larry Pardey broke up their cruising routine, which saw them voyaging for some 47 years, with periods spent working and also treating themselves to short ‘holidays’ on land.

“What people don’t quite expect is that if you set off on a voyage around the world, the seasons push you on and it can leave you feeling tired,” says Lin.

“I’ve watched people sail from England to New Zealand over a year and a half period, because that works nicely with the seasons. But when they get here, they’re just tired of moving on. The fact that we had to work meant we didn’t feel we always had to keep moving on. Every year we’d stop for at least three or four months, to let us catch up with ourselves.”

Equally, long-distance cruising can be exhausting, and without a broad-brush plan it can be tempting to linger, cautions Janneke. “It takes (a lot of) effort to keep yourself and your boat going. You are in a strange environment all the time, change is a constant in this lifestyle. It’s easy to arrive somewhere and make it your home. Especially when you have an open-ended plan, it can be attractive to stay somewhere a little longer.

“But that has an impact on everything that follows: you can manoeuvre yourself in a situation where you have to stay somewhere much longer than expected, because of the weather. Beaten paths are there for a reason, and often this reason is the weather. If you decide to leave the beaten path, you need to be independent in making your own plans and time schedule.”

And, sometimes, it’s about knowing when to stop. “When it came to planning our voyage, we sat with a lot of people that had returned from a long trip. We found that there is a tipping point after about 8-10 years. When people stay out for more than that, it becomes less of a voyage and more of a way of life. We are project-minded people, so we needed the voyage to have a beginning and an end. So we left with a plan to stay out somewhere between six and nine years. It worked out to eight years.”

Go slow, stay loose

So how do you know which pace is right for you? “My advice would be go slow and keep it loose,” says Trautman. “Write your plans in the sand at low tide, and be okay with changing them.

“And just take time. You’re not out there to check items off of a list, in my opinion. There are some places where you’ll be okay with leaving after a couple of days, and there are some places you’ll really want a few more weeks just to enjoy. That could be a factor of the place, or it could also be a factor of your frame of mind after moving for so long. That’s all part of the lifestyle.”

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Living on a Boat in London: What you Need to Know (Best Liveaboard Marinas, Costs, etc)

With rising property prices and rents in London, more people are opting for a home on the water rather than on land. If they could wake up to the sound of waves lapping against the boat and seagulls fluttering overhead, many individuals might consider giving up their land-based lives and moving onboard. Many people, sailors, and non-sailors alike are drawn to the liveaboard lifestyle. And, thousands of people have already chosen the liveaboard lifestyle over the hustle and bustle of city life. So, in this article, I’m going to give you information about the liveaboard life in London, the marinas, and general costs. If you’re interested keep reading!

Information about the Liveaboard Life in London

When you arrive in London by water, something spectacular happens. The city will never be the same again. It’s opened up by the river. Following its twists and turns from the sea, you realize that it is the reason London exists. It was founded on Ludgate Hill to trade with the rest of the world. London is an appealing city to live in for many, and boaters have been particularly attracted to it.

London’s boaters are fond of remarking on how congested the canals are now compared to ten, or twenty years ago. And, the timeline begins whenever they moved off the land. Then there’s the great toilet debate: are composting toilets truly odorless? What is the most effective approach to speed up the process? Is it better to use coffee grounds, sawdust, or peat? To someone’s eye, life on boats appears to be monotonous and exhausting. Some consider that it’s a haven for folks who enjoy working with power tools and activists with far-fetched ideas about green living. However, with an estimated 15,000 people living on boats in the UK, there are certain benefits.

According to the Canal River Trust and the Inland Waterways Association, the number of registered houseboats in London has more than quadrupled since 2012, to around 5,000 presently. Growth is expected to be 35-52% by 2022. Many new boaters have moved to the canals after being priced out of the capital’s housing market. However, there are people who have made a wise decision and have no plans to return to land. According to the Canal & River Trust, more individuals than ever are opting to live afloat on England’s canals, with 35,000 Britons presently doing so. Boatbuilders and merchants have also reported higher demand, with more boat licenses given this year than ever before.

The main motivations that lead people to live aboard a boat in London are affordability, the alternative lifestyle, and the sense of being closer to nature. The growth of interest and excitement for boating in London provides many benefits and opportunities for local communities and companies. But, it also poses significant issues for London boaters and communities. For instance, in London, it is extremely difficult to find an affordable and permanent mooring. Security is another important consideration there as high levels of crime have been reported in towpaths.

>>Also Read: Best Boating Destinations in the UK

Licenses for Liveaboards in London

Keep in mind that in order to live on a houseboat in London, you’ll need a mooring license. This comes in two varieties: short-stay and long-stay. Both are priced differently and are determined by the length of your boat as well as the length of your stay. The Canal and River Trust provides a short-stay mooring license, which costs roughly £550 depending on the length of the boat. Because you only have a short-stay mooring permit, you must relocate your boat two miles upstream every two weeks. Long-stay mooring permits differ by location since some are more attractive than others. Marinas and private yacht clubs offer these, which allow the owner to stay in one spot for a specific amount of time.

A leisure mooring — a long-term license to berth a boat but without the permission to live aboard – can take up to a year to get. It is famously difficult to get a residential mooring in London. More and more people are competing for fewer slots each year. This leads to exploitative landlords renting “slum-style” boat rooms on the one hand, and exorbitant costs for private moorings on the other. If they issue you a residential license, it will cost you £4,000 per year. And, this is a tiny thing to pay for a riverside location in zone 2 – even with council tax on top.

For continuous cruisers, the difficulty of finding a mooring in London is a major problem. Most people have come to accept it as “part of the package. But, they believe that there is more to be done so as to address the issue. One of the top proposals is to use parts of the canals that could be converted into mooring locations. Another is to tighten up the mechanisms for enforcing the restrictions. Moreover, it is obvious that a small number of boaters (particularly continuous cruisers) are physically or financially vulnerable (not simply because of Covid). And, as a result, may be unable to relocate their boat. The boating community is aware of its most vulnerable members. It also advises prudence when making judgments about enforcement processes. Or, anything else that may have an influence on boaters’ lives and homes.

>>Also Read: Best Sailing Destinations in the UK

Best Liveaboard Marinas in London

• Alexandra Yacht Club, The Cliffs, Southend-on-sea, Essex
• Halcon Marine, Canvey Island, Essex
• The Thames Estuary Yacht Club, Essex
• Brentford Dock Marina, Brentford
• Cadogan Pier, Chelsea Embankement
• Chas Newens Marine Co, The Boathouse, Putney
• Chelsea Harbour Marina, Chelsea Harbour
• Chiswick Pier Trust, Corney Reach Way, Chiswick
• Gallions Point, Greater London
• Poplar Dock, Greater London
• Limehouse, Greater London
• South Dock, Greater London
• Hermitage Community Moorings, London
• Imperial Wharf Marina, London
• Saint Katharine Docks Marina, Greater London
• Eel Pie Boatyard, Eel Pie Island, Twickenham
• Swan Island Harbor, Twickenham
• Erith Yacht Club, Kent
• Gravesend Embankment Marina, Gravesend
• Teddington Harbour, Middx
• W Hammerton & Co, Middlesex
• Wandsworth Riverside Quarter, London

Issues about the Liveaboard River Life

A major issue is that a sailboat’s keel/underside would not fit in the rivers. The Thames is alright, but anything smaller will get you stranded. Not to mention that the canal system appears to have an issue where someone leaves a lock open and the section drains to practically nothing. This causes your keel to scrape and the boat to tip as the water level drops. Keep in mind that wooden sailboats require a lot of upkeep, and repairs are costly. FRP or steel are the best options. Also note that the Thames and its tributaries are rivers, not bays, thus draft may be an issue. Because you’re most likely limited to ballasted boats rather than keelboats, your sailing performance will be affected.

If you want to live aboard rather than sail, a barge is likely to be more comfortable and cost-effective. So, if you want to dock in rivers or shallow locations, you can’t use a conventional single keel with ballast. And, this is what the majority of sailing yachts have. However, there are certain boats that will perfectly suit your needs. Twin keels are nice as well as a swing keelboat. Many more variants are available with swing keels. Bear in mind that in most portions of the Thames and its extensions, a barge is the boat you should live on. You must also be aware that you will be moving on a frequent basis. Every two weeks, they expect you to traverse 2 miles on average.

If you cruise frequently, you must move every two weeks and cover a specific amount of ground each year. This is something that many people enjoy doing because it allows them to see different parts of London and meet new people. On the water, the community is very strong and welcoming.

Amenities and the Liveaboard Life in London

The minimal amenities accessible to the enormous network of boaters is another important issue. More water points, bins, and toilet disposal places would relieve congestion at service points. And, they also prevent pollution of the waterways.

It’s important to note that Covid-19 has had a wide range of effects on boaters, some of which have been good. The boating community has become stronger as a result of the government’s movement limitations. Many people have taken advantage of the opportunity to build deeper bonds with their neighbors, which would be difficult under normal conditions. Boaters have also reported feeling more secure knowing that other boaters are nearby during the day. Furthermore, the persistence of remote working in some businesses is thought to have a longer-term influence. More boaters may move further out of London to peaceful areas if they no longer need to moor near to their work. During the pandemic, boaters have also faced difficulties. Increasing the amount of time spent on the boat depletes resources such as water and electricity. For some boaters, busier towpaths have also felt obtrusive.

Water, electricity, and the bathroom are the primary problems. You have a water tank that you must replenish at water stations along the canal and river. The size of your tank determines how frequently this should be done. Because electricity is limited, you must determine how many batteries will suffice for the items you wish to power. Toasters, curling irons, and hair dryers are prohibited because they consume too much power too quickly. Consider having four leisure batteries and two enormous solar panels. These will supply you with adequate electricity to operate lights, charge phones, and computers for two-thirds of the year. You may need to operate the motor to charge the batteries occasionally during the winter months. But, you have gauges to tell you when this is necessary. Additionally, every time you move the engine, it charges the batteries.

Finally, there’s the toilet issue. After weighing all of the alternatives, many go for a composting toilet. Chemical toilets and pump-out toilets are the other basic options. The chemical toilet must be emptied into an Elsan container (a big drain point with a hose that connects to the sewers that are located along the canal). These contain a lot of chemicals and emit a bad odor when you empty them.

The pump-out is the least time-consuming alternative since it’s like a regular toilet with a tank that needs to be emptied every few weeks. The disadvantage is that you must pay each time you wish to empty it, and you must relocate your boat to a pump-out station. Note that there are no toxic chemicals in a composting bin, and you can carry a biodegradable garbage bag to the bin once a month. There is no mess, no odor, and no fuss. But, in the end, it’s up to your preferences.

The hardest part of living aboard a boat is definitely strolling back down dark towpaths alone at night, anxious about your boat’s security. Unfortunately, central London may be just as dangerous as the outskirts when it comes to crime.

>>Also Read: 10 Reasons Why You Should Live on a Sailboat

Boat Considerations

Keep in mind that if you don’t still owe a boat it will take you several months to find the appropriate one. It’s critical to determine how you want to use the space. There’s also the practical side of things to consider, such as how you’ll heat your boat and water, and how you’ll charge your batteries. There’s a lot to consider, and there are numerous possibilities. When it comes to learning the ropes, you can talk to a lot of people, and internet forums can be quite helpful.

Bear in mind that there is more maintenance to be done than in a house, such as keeping an eye on your battery and water levels. Also, you have to make sure you replace your fuel canisters when they run out, keeping an eye on your stove fuel levels in the winter, and making sure you have enough diesel. But, once you’re up and running, it all becomes second nature. Of course, liveaboard life is not always pleasant. Having to move in the rain or strong winds, and being able to do DIY repairs as well as compromise with small spaces are some of the main issues. Living on a boat requires a lot of effort and will, and it’s not for everyone.

Make sure you’ve done your research before buying a boat or choosing a marina to live in. It’s also important not to be too hard on yourself. You’ll never know everything, but as long as you ask for guidance and learn as you go, people will gladly assist you. If you’re going to cruise, consider the size of the boat you desire.

It’s alright if you want a giant wide beam, but can you navigate the Islington tunnel securely with one? Because the canals are busier than ever, you may want to consider purchasing a boat that you can easily moor. A 30ft narrowboat can easily find a mooring site in central London, whereas a 60ft wide beam boat cannot. This is because you have to move it as well as live in it. It’s a wonderful life, with the city, the countryside, the friends, and the cruising, but it’s also a lot of work.

Living on a Boat in London – The Bottom Line

In terms of age, occupation, living circumstances, and interests, liveaboard life in London attract a diverse group of people. At the same time, the majority of boaters share the desire to live a more alternative lifestyle that is closer to nature and more economical. Boaters have a common experience of the outdoors, the freedom that comes with sailing, and the practicality of day-to-day life, resulting in a strong community of like-minded people. It’s important to note that liveaboard life in London is not for everyone. Individuals who persist with boating despite the daily struggles tend to profit more from the tranquility, beauty, and independence of being on the water. But, the financial rewards appear to be less obvious. Indeed, boaters who do not appreciate the lifestyle and just want to save money will find it difficult to cope with some of the more difficult parts of the liveaboard life.

Financial concerns frequently impact the choice to relocate abroad, whether as a result of an inheritance or a loan or as a result of job loss and the inability to pay high rental prices. And, there’s a strong desire to sail freely in nature and be a continuous cruiser rather than pay for a mooring. With permanent mooring, many characteristics of the continuous cruiser lifestyle are not considered accessible. This is due to the fact that moorings in London are very expensive and rare.

Some people have a good cause for not following the rules. Continuous cruisers are aware of the moving restrictions and claim to follow them as closely as possible, albeit it appears that this is more difficult for those with children. Note that the biggest source of concern among liveaboards is criminality. Among boaters, the potential of theft and mugging on towpaths is quite real, with many having personally suffered a boat break-in. To combat criminality on the towpaths, the canal authority is supposed to collaborate with the larger community. Lastly, finding a liveaboard berth for £200/month in London is nearly impossible. So, you need to do some research on cost and the marina’s regulations.

There are other challenges, such as learning where the nearest supermarket is when you move somewhere new, but overall, the benefits exceed the downsides. It can be a wonderful way of life since you enjoy being in nature, and being on a boat puts you closer to it. This is also the closest you can get to the countryside if you work in London. Of course, living aboard in London is exciting, and most liveaboard communities are welcoming and vibrant. But, like everything in life, there are pros and cons to every choice. What you have to do is determine your needs, do thorough research, and if you’ve come to the conclusion that the liveaboard life is for you then just go for it!

Peter is the editor of Better Sailing. He has sailed for countless hours and has maintained his own boats and sailboats for years. After years of trial and error, he decided to start this website to share the knowledge.

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Living on a Boat: A Guide to the Boating Lifestyle in the UK

Introduction.

Living on a boat offers a unique and adventurous lifestyle, allowing you to experience the tranquility of the water while enjoying the freedom of a nomadic existence. In this comprehensive guide, we will address some common questions about living on a boat in the UK. From the legalities to the costs involved, we'll explore the ins and outs of this alternative way of life.

Can you live permanently on a boat?

Absolutely! Many people choose to make a boat their permanent residence. Living on a boat offers the opportunity to embrace a minimalist lifestyle, connect with nature, and enjoy the sense of community among fellow boaters.

Can you legally live on a boat in the UK?

Yes, it is legal to live on a boat in the UK. However, there are regulations and requirements to ensure compliance. For instance, you need a boat license, a permanent mooring or permission to continuously cruise, and adherence to safety and environmental standards.

Can I claim benefits if I live on a boat?

If your boat is your main residence and you meet the eligibility criteria, you may be eligible to claim certain benefits, such as housing benefit or council tax reduction. It's advisable to consult with the appropriate authorities to understand the specific requirements and processes involved.

How much does it cost to live on a boat in the UK?

The cost of living on a boat varies depending on factors like the size and type of boat, location, and your personal lifestyle choices. Expenses typically include mooring fees, maintenance and repairs, insurance, fuel, and utilities. On average, the cost can range from £300 to £2000 per month. Again this can be much cheaper if you're frugal, on a small boat and as self sustaining as possible, or if you're on a huge boat, live fairly luxuriously and hire other people in to do your boat work, then it'll end up costing a huge amount more.

Do you pay taxes if you live on a boat in the UK?

Yes, boat owners are subject to certain taxes and fees. Council tax is applicable if you have a permanent mooring, while Canal and River Trust charges apply for cruising on their waterways. Additionally, you may need to pay income tax and other personal taxes depending on your circumstances.

Is living on a boat cheaper than a house in the UK?

Living on a boat can be more affordable than owning or renting a traditional house in the UK. However, it's important to consider all costs involved, including mooring fees, maintenance, and fuel expenses. Comparing individual circumstances will help determine the financial feasibility of living on a boat.

How much are mooring fees in the UK?

Mooring fees in the UK vary depending on location and the type of mooring. Prices range from around £200 to £1,500 per month for a residential mooring, while marina fees may be higher.  Much of this is going to depend on your location, how big your boat is, how secure the mooring/ marina is, how remote, there are so many factors, but for some context we lived in Southampton for a couple of years aboard Cadoha, whilst we worked and our mooring fees for a 38ft boat came to about £420 a month (not including electric).

Can I just buy a boat and use it in the UK?

Yes, you can buy a boat and use it in the UK. However, there are rules and regulations you need to follow. Ensure your boat is registered, obtain the necessary licenses, adhere to safety guidelines, and be aware of navigational restrictions in certain areas. But that's pretty much what we did, we bought Cadoha without any official training, licences or qualifications and moved on to her. Carly has since completed her 'Day Skipper' course though.

What is a good size boat to live on?

The ideal size of a boat for living aboard depends on personal preferences and lifestyle requirements. Generally, boats ranging from 30 to 50 feet in length provide sufficient space for comfortable living. It's essential to consider factors such as storage, sleeping arrangements, and living areas when choosing the right size.  

Our boat is currently 38ft in length and two adults and a dog very comfortably live aboard.  

What is it like to live on a boat in the UK?

Living on a boat in the UK offers a remarkable lifestyle filled with breathtaking scenery, the camaraderie of the boating community, and the tranquility of being on the water. However, it also requires adaptability, self-sufficiency, and an appreciation for the unique challenges that come with boat living, such as weather conditions and maintenance responsibilities. The warmer months are very easy, especially when you've made as many boat upgrades as we have but the winter can be a real challenge, which is why we've been building out our boats winter systems which you can always check out in our 'Project 365' page.

Living on a boat in the UK can be an exciting and fulfilling way of life. From the legal aspects to the costs involved, we have explored the key considerations for those interested in embarking on this adventure. Whether you choose to moor in Studland Bay , Poole Harbour, Portland Harbour , Mupe Bay , Worbarrow Bay , or Lulworth Cove , the boating lifestyle offers the chance to experience the beauty of the UK's waterways while embracing a sense of freedom and serenity. So, if you're ready to set sail into a world of endless possibilities, living on a boat might just be the lifestyle for you.

• BoatsAndOutboards.co.uk ⁄ /
• resources ⁄ /

Thinking of moving afloat? Living aboard in the UK

As increasing numbers are drawn to life on the water, Jo Roche considers the pros and cons.

There’s an undeniable romance that goes with living on a boat. Waking to dappled patterns of light, reflected from the water, dancing across the cabin, hearing the call of ducks through your porthole, the sounds of rainfall pattering on the deck or carp nibbling the bottom of the hull. Added to that is the intrinsic freedom that cannot be found in bricks and mortar, with the ability to cast off and set sail for foreign shores at any time. 

Many see it as an alternative way of life but waterways and marinas attract residents drawn from a wide variety of careers who often come together to form close-knit communities. Modern technology means an itinerate lifestyle is more possible than ever, with mobile Wi-Fi allowing workers to set up a laptop wherever they have signal, and an estimated 15,000 people are now living on boats in the UK. The numbers of boat-dwellers in the capital alone are reported to have doubled since 2010. 

Among famous artists, musicians and actors who have embraced this way of life are David Gilmour, who lived on a houseboat at Hampton, Damien Hirst and Nick Cave who lived in the community of boats at Chelsea Embankment and Keira Knightley who is reported to have rented a canal boat in London’s East End as a summer hideaway.

First-hand experience 

Sally, who lived aboard a 36ft yacht in a London marina with her partner for a year says it was undoubtedly cheaper than renting a flat in the same area, probably about half the price, but cautions those considering it to think very seriously about all the practicalities. Reminiscing about early morning cups of coffee on deck and the sounds of the seagulls, she recalled the things she enjoyed most about her time living aboard.

“The fact that it was quite a novel thing to do. Everybody else was talking about flats and mortgages but this was different and exciting,” she said. “And also the fact that you knew you could move whenever you wanted.”

On the downside, Sally said that in the depths of winter the boat could be cold and damp with condensation on the inside of the windows each morning. This made it challenging to turn up at the office looking fresh. However, these problems could have been remedied if they had spent money on a better heater and a dehumidifier, she admits.

As for setting sail, they never made it to foreign ports but Sally and her partner did enjoy an expedition to the South Coast, after emptying off many of their possessions. This included an exciting week racing their home at Cowes Week with friends. 

Colin, a retired publican who lives on a narrow boat in Cambridgeshire says: “There is usually no problem finding a marina where you can live year-round, except on popular canals such as the Kennet & Avon. One is allowed to stay for two weeks anywhere on the canals and some people spend their time doing this and moving on.”

He particularly likes being on the water all the time, and has a community of liveaboards around him. Moving aboard didn’t mean too much of a lifestyle change, Colin says, as he had lived alone for some time, although he did have to get rid of all his furniture. But the worst part of life on the water, he says, is having to get the boat’s sewage tanks pumped out.

Cutting the cost of living

One of the greatest attractions of living on a boat is the value it provides. Unless you’re looking for a superyacht, most boats will be cheaper than a traditional home and, if you can find the right mooring, may allow you to live in the heart of a city on a much smaller budget. 

However, on top of the price of a boat you will need to factor in both moorings and licences fees each year. Residential moorings can be hard to find in cities and are likely to cost as much as £12,000 a year in smarter parts of London or £7,000 in the Docklands, while outside the capital you may find a year-round mooring for £2-3,000. And, wherever you choose to moor your boat, the larger it is the higher its fees are likely to be. 

As with any home you will also have utility costs, although electricity is sometimes included in marina fees. Many boats will also need diesel to run their heaters, and gas bottles to cook and you should also factor in the cost of pumping out waste water.

Paperwork, licences & approval

While many busy yachting marinas are unwilling to allow people to liveaboard full time, there are some which do permit it and even say it is good for added security to have berth holders living on site. Other boat owners opt for the riskier strategy of keeping their heads down and trying to get away with living aboard without official permission. It’s unlikely your full-time presence won’t be noticed but it appears many marina operators turn a blind eye if no problems arise – just be aware you could get told to move on at any time.

Anyone keeping a boat on a river or canal will need a license which you are required to display clearly on either side of the boat. In order to qualify for this you will also need insurance and a Boat Safety Scheme certificate, costing £180, to confirm your vessel is habitable.

The Canal and River Trust, which runs most of the waterways in England and Wales, offers licences for use on all its waterways or just for rivers, as well as houseboat certificates. The cheapest option, at £800-£1,000 per annum, is a continuous cruising licence but this requires you to move your boat at least every two weeks – and not just further up a line of moorings. 

If you don’t move regularly, both the Canal and River Trust and the local authority may try to move you on and can even confiscate your boat. In recent years, increasing crackdowns have been reported on liveaboards using this sort of licence while staying in one place.

A houseboat certificate allows the holder to stay put in one location year round. The CRT defines a houseboat as “a boat whose main use is for a purpose other than for navigation, and which, if needed for the purpose, has planning permission for the site where it is moored”. Once you have found a site to keep your boat and live full time, you must be aware this will make it liable for council tax. Monthly mooring costs on permanent sites range from £80 to £1,000 a month.

Where to go to get a licence

The UK’s waterways are operated by a number of different agencies:

Canal & River Trust – runs 96 canals and navigable rivers in England and Wales

Environment Agency – operates the River Thames, River Medway and rivers in East Anglia

The Broads Authority – runs the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads

Scottish Canals – run five canals in Scotland

For more information about licences from the Canal & River Trust see  https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/buy-your-boat-licence/licensing-faqs

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Galapagos Islands Travel Guide: How To Tour The Hotspot On A Luxury Yacht & Live-Aboard

L ocated 600 miles away from the Ecuadorian coastline, the remote, volcanic Galápagos archipelago is often called a living laboratory of evolution. As Charles Darwin discovered nearly 200 years ago, natural oddities like cormorants that forgot how to fly and iguanas that learned how to swim have successfully adapted to their individual — and often inhospitable — habitats in order to thrive in a place where islands are constantly eroding and expanding. Here, what doesn’t kill you makes you more diverse. You might think such an environment would prove harsh for human visitors (and historically , it has). But we, too, have learned to adapt — thanks to a little help from luxury expedition yachts .

In the case of Ecoventura ’s vessels, the only ones in the Galápagos that are members of Relais & Châteaux, travelers can enjoy the lowest guest-per-guide ratio in the islands, hotel-worthy amenities f, and a decadent, sustainable menu with local dishes. Because the Galápagos are one of the largest marine reserves in the world, touring the park’s riches by sea is undoubtedly the way to go. Sailing with Ecoventura also offers you the chance to go deeper — literally. Certified scuba divers can extend their trip on the company’s sophisticated live-aboard Galápagos Sky , which anchors at the bucket list dive sites of Darwin and Wolf, considered by many to be among the best in the world for their schooling hammerheads and other prolific pelagic life. This is what it was like to spend two weeks cruising around paradise.

Exploring A Priceless Natural Treasure

With land-based excursions limited to the five islands that can be reached within one day, boat-based routes provide travelers the opportunity to uncover the most remote and exclusive parts of the Galápagos, where few humans have ever set foot and every moment of isolation feels like a true privilege. On Ecoventura, alternating itineraries last eight nights and seven days, with a choice of the younger, volcanically active islands in the west or the older, eroded islands in the east. Not only are these cruises the more luxurious option, it’s the best choice for the environment; routes are strictly dictated by Galápagos National Park officials to mitigate crowding and environmental stress, and Ecoventura is especially renowned for its numerous sustainable certifications.

On board the intimate 20-passenger Evolve, Ecoventura’s newest vessel, I set sail from San Cristóbal through the beaches and bays of the wondrous eastern islands and enjoyed a week of unforgettable experiences. At Floreana, I watched Galápagos green sea turtles mating in the surf and rode a panga (or zodiac) alongside a flock of flamingos. On Santa Cruz, I visited the Charles Darwin Research Station , where giant tortoise hatchlings are reared from birth before being repatriated to their native islands. At Bartolomé, I snorkeled with Galápagos penguins, the only species found north of the Equator. On North Seymour, I never quite knew where to look, as blue-footed boobies and frigates simultaneously flaunted their brightly-colored feet and scarlet gular pouches, respectively, trying to attract mates. In the Galápagos, wildlife is constantly putting on a show.

When I had to pull myself away, Evolve was the best possible place to rest and recharge. Equipped with an outdoor rain shower, beds worthy of a five-star resort, and a jacuzzi, the entire vessel felt spa-like, and it was easy to make myself at home (if my home was a glamorous yacht, that is). Each evening I had a ritual of settling in on the deck with a spritz to watch an epic sunset before heading down to the dining room for a five-course plated dinner featuring local specialties like pancetta in a guava and pineapple BBQ sauce and Galápagos prawns poached in citrus butter. By the time the first half of my trip had ended, I had seen and done more than on 99% of my vacations, while also managing to totally spoil myself.

Diving Into Adventure At Darwin, Wolf, & Beyond

Your typical dive boat is more about function than form — but scuba has its indulgent moments, too. On the Galápagos Sky, a 16-passenger yacht, divers swim in the shadow of giant manta rays, go fin-to-fin with impish sea lions, and explore the eroded, subsurface volcanoes of Darwin and Wolf where whale sharks migrate every year; all without leaving creature comforts like turn-down service, a full-service bar, Apple TVs, and made-to-order omelets.

Our cozy cabins were meticulously cleaned up in between dives (a lifesaver when you’re in and out of swimsuits and tracking water everywhere) and coffee delivered to us with the early morning wakeup call, exactly the way we requested it. But the real magic happened on the dive deck, where the entire crew pitched in to prep our gear, dress us, and wash everything after welcoming us back. (As a fellow passenger put it, “You know it’s good service when the captain himself helps you with your wetsuit.”) Every dive ended with a warm outdoor shower, a cup of tea or cinnamon hot chocolate, a homemade snack, a fresh towel wrapped around you, and best of all, lively conversation with everyone onboard about what we had spotted beneath the waves.

Naturally, a top scuba live-aboard should be filled with the greatest extravagance of all: life-changing, soul-shaking diving. Our brilliant instructors gifted us with 18 dives around the archipelago, focusing on the little-visited outlying islands of Darwin and Wolf where a confluence of nutrient-rich, sweeping currents deliver breathless encounters with pelagic megafauna. Clinging to underwater boulders, we marveled as a school of nearly 100 hammerheads — some heavily pregnant — gently undulated past us. Enormous, shimmering bait balls became mazes that we gently finned through. During safety stops, we played with sea lions and dolphins. At the western island of Fernandina, we dove with endemic marine iguanas — the world’s only seagoing lizards — as they fiercely clung to rocks foraging on algae.

Each dive was totally unique, and yet each time we emerged more in awe of — and in love with — this wild stretch of pristine ocean.

Dozens of Rohingya Muslim refugees rescued in Indonesia after night on capsized boat

An Indonesian search and rescue ship on Thursday located a capsized wooden boat that had been carrying dozens of Rohingya Muslim refugees and began pulling survivors who had been standing on its hull to safety.

An AP photographer aboard the rescue ship said 10 people had been taken aboard local fishing boats, and the Indonesian craft was saving another 59.

Men, women and children, weak and soaked from the night’s rain, wept as the rescue operation got underway, and people were taken aboard a rubber dinghy to the rescue boat.

It was unclear how many refugees were aboard the small craft when it capsized off Indonesia’s northernmost coast on Wednesday, with six survivors initially rescued by local fishermen estimated between 60 and 100 people.

It was unclear whether all managed to cling to the capsized craft overnight or whether some had drowned.

Indonesia’s search and rescue team only left Banda Aceh city in the evening on Wednesday, many hours after the boat capsized.

They initially had difficulty locating the boat in the choppy waters off the coast.

It finally found the boat and the survivors about midday on Thursday.

Amiruddin, a tribal fishing community leader in Aceh Barat district, said those rescued indicated that the boat was sailing east when it started leaking.

Then, strong currents pushed it toward the west of Aceh. The six said others were still trying to survive on the capsized craft.

About 740,000 Rohingya were resettled in Bangladesh to escape the brutal counterinsurgency campaign by security forces in their homeland of Myanmar .

Thousands have been trying to flee overcrowded camps in Bangladesh to neighboring countries, with Indonesia seeing a spike in refugee numbers since November, which prompted it to call on the international community for help.

Rohingya arriving in Aceh face some hostility from some fellow Muslims.

Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention outlining their legal protections, and so is not obligated to accept them. However, they have so far provided temporary shelter to refugees in distress.

Last year, nearly 4,500 Rohingya — two-thirds of them women and children — fled their homeland of Myanmar and the refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh by boat, the United Nations refugee agency reported.

Of those, 569 died or went missing while crossing the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, the highest death toll since 2014.

Returning safely to Myanmar is virtually impossible because the military that attacked them overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government in 2021.

No country has offered them any large-scale resettlement opportunities.

The Associated Press

Sarm Heslop: Mother of British woman missing in US Virgin Islands asks President Biden for help finding her daughter

Three years after going missing from her boyfriend's catamaran, Ms Heslop is still officially missing, but her mother now believes she was killed. The family have recruited a former Met Police homicide commander to assist in the search.

US correspondent @marthakelner

Thursday 21 March 2024 09:33, UK

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The family of a British woman who has been missing for three years in the US Virgin Islands are pleading for help from President Biden to find her.

Sarm Heslop, a former air hostess from Southampton , was living what seemed to be her dream life in the US Virgin Islands, a group of Caribbean islands known for their white sand and turquoise waters.

She had moved to be with her new boyfriend, Ryan Bane, and the pair were living and working together on Mr Bane's boat, named Siren Song.

But in March 2021, in the dead of night, the 41-year-old disappeared from the catamaran . Three years on she's still officially missing, but her mother Brenda Street now believes she was killed.

"I do believe she was murdered," Ms Street told Sky News. "There are places where people can be put in the ocean and never found. I believe that's what happened. I'd like to just bring her home, I can grieve then. I haven't grieved because I don't have her, and I don't know how to."

Ms Heslop and Mr Bane had been out at a sports bar in Frank Bay, St John, the night before she went missing. Mr Bane reported Ms Heslop missing to the Virgin Islands Police Department at 2.30am the following morning, saying he woke up to find her gone.

He was advised to tell the coastguard but didn't do so, reportedly, until nine hours later. When they eventually boarded the boat, a coastguard report alleges he was "highly intoxicated" and prevented a search of the cabin.

Island police have never interviewed Mr Bane, never forensically searched the boat and refused assistance from the FBI.

"They've not done their jobs as police officers, not done their job as human beings," Ms Street said.

Speaking from Essex, where she now lives, Ms Street called for the US authorities to remove the case from the Virgin Islands police.

"I emailed President Biden ," she said. "But he didn't reply. I'm asking for his assistance, for some department of his to help us."

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Family recruit former Met Police homicide commander

The family have recruited a former Metropolitan Police homicide commander, David Johnston, to assist in the search for Ms Heslop. He has written to Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron to urge him to push the US authorities to oversee the Virgin Islands Police Department investigation.

Mr Johnston said: "What I think we really need now is for David Cameron as the foreign secretary to hold his counterpart in the US, who's the secretary of state for the interior, to account, to demand the governor on the island, please give clear and unambiguous answers to the family regarding what they've done or what else could be done. And to consider the formal interview of the boyfriend to ask him what happened that night."

Boyfriend has domestic violence conviction

Mr Bane has a domestic violence conviction. In 2011 he was jailed for assaulting his ex-wife, Cori Stephenson.

In a statement, a lawyer for Mr Bane said: "While we empathise with Sarm's family's frustration, Ryan Bane had nothing to do with Sarm's disappearance. Ryan is heartbroken that Sarm went missing... The coastguard was twice on the vessel conducting a search and questioning Ryan. They had unfettered access to the vessel and Ryan answered all questions posed to him."

A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are assisting the family of a British woman who has been reported missing in the US Virgin Islands and are in contact with the US Virgin Islands Police and the US coastguard."

The Virgin Islands Police Department didn't respond to repeated requests for comment.

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