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Canal Squeeze As People Take To Living In Boats


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HOLA441

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-32593927

A rise in the number of people choosing to live on canals in London is starting to put a strain on London's waterways, experts have said.

The Canal and River Trust said there was one new boat in the capital every working day in the last year.

A spokesman said rising house and rent prices were driving people to chose houseboats as an alternative.

Over the last five years, the numbers have increased by 36% s to 2,964 boats in March 2014.

Boats without a home mooring are particularly increasing, with hotspots like Hackney seeing an 85% hike in just 12 months.

The increasing numbers, however, are squeezing the system with more and more people having to share the same space and facilities.

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The crazy thing is rental prices make living on boats an option. I know quite a few boat dwellers, mostly in marinas or moorings. One guy was renting a house for £1100 with ex. Now has a narrow boat, a car and one van. That van doubles as a tool shed, good security 2 gates. Another family (2 kids 2 adults) I know is on a wide beam about £600 a month, 2 dinky bedrooms and a small double. A friend of a friend is living on a simple mooring with no leccy, for around £3000.

Firewood can be annoying, chap I know goes into the woods and does a bit of maintenance, flogs it on site lol. Not for everyone, I have a ton of hobbies and I like gaming too much. Mindu you can get yourself classed as a traveler, then take the kids out of school with no fine :D.

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The crazy thing is rental prices make living on boats an option. I know quite a few boat dwellers, mostly in marinas or moorings. One guy was renting a house for £1100 with ex. Now has a narrow boat, a car and one van. That van doubles as a tool shed, good security 2 gates. Another family (2 kids 2 adults) I know is on a wide beam about £600 a month, 2 dinky bedrooms and a small double. A friend of a friend is living on a simple mooring with no leccy, for around £3000.

Firewood can be annoying, chap I know goes into the woods and does a bit of maintenance, flogs it on site lol. Not for everyone, I have a ton of hobbies and I like gaming too much. Mindu you can get yourself classed as a traveler, then take the kids out of school with no fine :D.

There a residential mooring in the Leeds Liverpool canal a short walk from where I live. Got talking to some of the residents. Lovely and very alternative people, seems like real community.

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HOLA4416

You're bailing out?

I just hope the loans don't end up under water.

Freeboard is the best alternative, as it helps get your finances back on an even keel..

I'll get me tender..

Edited by juvenal
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I live on a boat. I have no (grid) leccy, and I'm a gamer (long stints take their toll in the winter though! Summer no problem)

What is your internet access like?

I'd like to get a narrowboat to live on (home counties, not central London), but I need good quality internet access (enough to have skype video calls) for my work.

Residential moorings with BT landline are as rare as hen's teeth, so I'm considering continuous cruising now instead.

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The 4g is as good as I need (in fact is better than when I had a mooring with a land line). I need it for work too, but remote desktop is about as intensive as I need workwise - but I do often watch netflix or play movies and rarely have a problem. I do use an external antenna for that though (outside the boat, connected to a 4g router and distributed via wi-fi - just a phones internal antenna wouldn't do the trick where I am).

Bear in mind that you might get moved on to somewhere with a poor reception, if you're continuous cruising.

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What is your internet access like?

I'd like to get a narrowboat to live on (home counties, not central London), but I need good quality internet access (enough to have skype video calls) for my work.

Residential moorings with BT landline are as rare as hen's teeth, so I'm considering continuous cruising now instead.

A decent 3G signal is enough for that. If you can get 4G you're laughing.
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The 4g is as good as I need (in fact is better than when I had a mooring with a land line). I need it for work too, but remote desktop is about as intensive as I need workwise - but I do often watch netflix or play movies and rarely have a problem. I do use an external antenna for that though (outside the boat, connected to a 4g router and distributed via wi-fi - just a phones internal antenna wouldn't do the trick where I am).

Bear in mind that you might get moved on to somewhere with a poor reception, if you're continuous cruising.

Indeed we have just spent 3 weeks doing the 4 counties on our boat with a router and high gain antenna, never had less than 3G reception, and the shropshire union is pretty remote in places.

different but rather obvious observation, they are very cramped. i am 6'2" and it took me a long time to stop clobbering my head in the engine room

heating's great uses red diesal burner or wood burning stove. Also worth pointing out that the system is essentially closed in winter due to work on locks etc.

also there are thieves who target canal boats, some of them serially break in for food/booze

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