Narrow Boat Life Blues

Living on board a narrow boat may look incredibly romantic like an idyllic lifestyle but is it really? The freedom to travel the canals, stop overnight where you please, enjoy the peace and comfort of boat life. Could that be your dream aboard a narrow boat.

There are some drawbacks to living on a narrow boat. Before you embark on your journey, before you even think about taking up this lifestyle, you should really know and understand what those blues are. They can sound quite abstract, and living on a boat isn’t always the idyllic lifestyle that it’s cracked up to be.

Here are several reasons why you seriously should never consider living on a narrow boat. Needless to say this is a personal list of my blues and not necessarily a reflection of anyone else’s viewpoint of life on a narrow boat. All in all, boat living is a choice and if you like it you are made. This article looks at some blues of boat life, read on.

For more articles on narrow canal boat life visit our other reads here on Boat Life

Who Needs Space

A narrow boat is narrow, space is minimal, that is a fact. It is in noway a Tardis (Dr Who thing). The lack of space means you are going to have to downsize. Getting rid of most of your possessions to be able to fit everything essential that you need in the boat.

The boat space isn’t just taken up with your own belongings but also boat things as well. If you loves gadgets, trinkets or furniture it means that you have to have very limited stuff. At Christmas or birthday time when people buy you something it means that you seriously have to think about getting rid of something that you already have because there is just no space in the boat for the added gift/s. Clothes are always a good gift. Clothes get old and become rags.

Now if there were two of you living on the boat that would be even harder to fit everything. If you’re moving from a house that you’ve lived in for a while you are going to have to get rid of a lot of possessions. Even with minimal possessions the room space is small, nowhere to hide.

The Toilet

There is no good toilet situation. All of the different types of toilet you can get have one drawback or another. A pump out toilet or ideally a compost toilet are options. Most people go compost but that in itself has its own problems.

Whatever toilet you get you are gonna have to get involved at some point. You’re going to have to interact with things that you don’t necessarily want to interact with. In a boat you are responsible for getting rid of the waste.

With Composting toilets there’s no mechanics involved and there’s very little to go wrong. But things do go wrong. You can get mite and bug infestations in the compost and that sounds like no fun.

House People

Some people living in houses can give the boats quite a harsh time, don’t figure. I find it somewhat strange considering they’ve chosen to live next to the canal. A canal that has boats on it! I know boaters who’ve been untied because of unhappy house neighbors!

So if you like your privacy, think again about narrow boat life. If you like to be left alone, and not having to interact with people perhaps a canal is not the place for you. Boats are interesting and fascinating for people.

Passers By

People walking by are going to be looking in at the kitchen window seeing what you’re cooking. People will take photographs standing on your boat because they don’t really think of the boats as things that are lived in. They see them as objects, so a lot of people really overstep the boundaries.

You wouldn’t necessarily walk into someone’s garden uninvited. You wouldn’t knock on their windows, or have a photo taken with the facade of their house. But with boats, people feel completely fine to do that kind of invasion.

If you don’t want to be bothered by people don’t buy a boat. Unless you’re planning to anchor off shore or far out in the country.

Privacy Or Lack There Of!

If you value privacy then take note!. Privacy is something that you should be aware of when you’re living on the towpath. People are walking up and down 24/7 and you can hear them. They can hear you! Thankfully privacy does not bother me greatly, I can still find my own space of solitude.

If say you’re living near a city or even in London you’re probably going to be in a double moored situation. A lot of the time that means that you’ve got the towpath on one side and a neighbour on the other. Or you could be on the water side, which means you have to climb over your neighbor’s boat to get on and off.

You are living in each other’s moorings. You need to be able to get along with people, and be respectful of your neighbors. Even house neighbors who live by the canal you need to be respectful of. Some people who live by the canal don’t like boats.

You Must Be Well To Do!

If you live on a boat people are going to make assumptions about your wealth or lack there of. They will either think that you’re incredibly poor if your boat looks tatty, or incredibly rich if your boat has paint on it.

The assumptions people make are very wrong, but so varied. Many seem to think that I don’t work, or that I’m rich. The truth be told being neither rich nor poor but having to get a loan to buy the boat. Which for many they are still paying off.

Boat life is a lifestyle choice. Only the rich and famous can live otherwise.

In Sickness And In Health

Chores never end. But sometimes you can’t be bothered. When ill or just not in the mood you still have to move the boat, get water, change a gas bottle, stoke the fire. At 5am because your nose is frosting and you really just want to rest. If you could just turn your heating on, or just have a shower, sounds so good but not going to happen unless you move.

If you’re trying to make a cup of tea and all you want is to just boil the kettle, but there’s no gas! Some days you’re just really not in the mood. If you feel those days regularly then boating is just not for you. There’s no such thing as having a lazy day. When you need something it’s you who has to do it.

Safety and Security

Living on a narrow boat on a canal presents some serious security and safety issues. On occasion you have to leave your boat to go ashore for supplies or other needs. Vandals and thieves do exist and in remote locations. The number of people who travel the towpaths opens up the vulnerability of your narrow boat. Even when you are on board.

You cant leave items on deck in plain view of passers by. You wouldn’t leave say an expensive push bike on your front lawn and expect it to be there tomorrow. You wont leave solar panels on your deck unless they are bolted down and then there is the issue of vandals smashing them.

Do you feel safe inside the boat? The fanciful idea of closing the door and curtains to feel safe is really a false security. It may feel like home but there are horror stories of break-ins while people are still aboard the boat.

Security Options

There are many security options available to add some security to your narrow boat. The use of sirens, webcam recorders, surveillance, and movement detectors are all options you can utilize. They all come at a cost. Security devices don’t always deter vandals or thieves. Mooring off shore is possibly the best option. In a canal it’s not always an option.

A well trained guard dog could prove valuable but you would need to tie him up which in turn defeats the deterrent. If the guard dog can’t get to the intruder, the intruder will just work faster.

Life On Your Own

Living alone on the boat obviously doesn’t suite everyone. It is more the remoteness of boat life that is the issue. In an apartment building you are running into others all the time but on a boat in a canal it can feel even more remote. Strangers walking by on the towpath, looking, staring, talking. Friend or foe?

The boating community is generally very supportive, a community with similar interests in narrow boating and canal craft. A community of like minded adventurers. However it is also very much individual and as such remote. A good life with some drawbacks.

Living alone is not the same as feeling alone. Two very different concepts. Living alone means I am happy on my own. Comfortable without companionship, free to be who I am. I enjoy my own company and do not need others. Some interaction with passers by is inevitable and that seems to suit my demeanor.

Life Without Appliances

One of my biggest blues is appliances or lack there of. Some appliances require power and power is not something I always have access too. I do have solar and battery backup but even they run low. I’m not a big power user but you know there are limitations and that is always at the back of your mind.

Water is another blue, rather fresh clean water. I do have a rain tank set up. But you’ll be shocked at how quickly you can go through a tank of water. While you’re having a shower you’ll be thinking about how much water you are using. I usually have a bucket wash. Even while brushing your teeth you’ll be thinking water. And if you have friends over, you will start to get anxious. When someone wants to use the toilet or have a glass of water or charge their phone your appliance mindset comes alive.

As winter approaches you have to think about where you’re going to get your next load of coal or wood. You can buy a lot of that in bulk but you need to carefully monitor use. Do I have fire lighters and matches. You just can’t run down the local to buy.

Yes I could stock up in bulk, if I had the room! It’s not like you can extend the boat or add another room. Every little nook and cranny is allotted to storage without going overboard. It is a house as well as a storage cupboard. Living space and work space is necessary to allow me this desired occupation.

Conclusion

Boat life is not for everyone. It is a life of work and care. For any boat owner a boat is a daily chore. You may moor it at a marina but one day you need to come back and there will be work to do. That is boat life.

For those that can afford to take a holiday on a narrow boat, enjoy it, live it, and remember it. Those that live on a narrow boat, it is home. With all the good times and the occasional bad times, life on a narrow boat is by choice.

These are some of my blues. We all have blues even in land dwellings. Do what you want even when you know all the facts. Life is meant to be adventurous, live it well. Thank you for getting this far. I hope I have shed a little light on my boat blues. Pursue your dreams no matter what others say and you will achieve more than you ever imagined.