Plan Z.

Rob " Do you want to come over for dinner Friday?"

Jemma " I thought you were moving Friday!?"

Rob: " Oh yeah, about that....."

Oh yeah, about that!!

The house we were going to rent which
backed onto the canal.

So, its fair to say we are all over the place with this decision of ours to buy a boat. It's not as easy as it sounds. Buying a boat isn't something you can just jump into. First off, you have to consider space and how your going to fit all those belongings you have accumulated over the span of your lovely life. Realisation 1: We are going to have to downsize, i.e toss, sell, give away most of our precious possessions. That's OK, they're just materialistic things- whats next. Right, where are you going to keep it? We went over that last blog. Next, how much can we afford? Sure, your first thought may be that a boat costs nearly half as much as a house does- cheap right-, but what you don't know is that a boat mortgage is very different than a house mortgage. With a house mortgage your allowed to borrow for anywhere up to 30 years- spreading that beauty of a debt over a long period reduces the monthly payments big time. With a boat mortgage, your payback term is 10 years max! Another jollie is that with most house mortgages you can get away with putting say 10% down, with a "marine mortgage" a meagre 25% deposit is required. YAY! But its OK, we're selling a house so we're ok there (I hope) Now, whats all this jargon about engine size, anodes, locks, cratches, battery management systems, inverters, pumpout or cassette toilets? Blimey- we're going to need to take a course before we even think about seriously buying a boat. I won't continue to bore you, but can you see what I mean? This is a BIG decision.

We were never naive to the fact that it was alot to think about, in fact we thought it was going to take longer than it did, hence the reason why we were going to rent the house on the canal for the summer while we took our time looking for a boat. We had it all planned, references checked, letting agency ready to hand over agreements- then the words" but what if.... but what if we don't rent the house on the canal and just move straight to a boat", just as I finished packing most of the kitchen up into boxes ready for our move the following week. Typical male thing to do. But I knew where this was going. While the buyer of our house was around finalising a few bits, he did subtly suggest that he would let the house to us once he bought it until we found a boat, an idea I laughed hysterically at. Rent my own house!! You lunatic. Well, look who's the lunatic now.... We decided eventually that it would make more sense to stay put until we found a boat rather than deal with all the hassle that comes with moving only to just move again very soon after. This is plan Z. No one, hardly even our selves can keep up with it all. But the decision is made, the letting agents told and the hunt for a boat in full throttle.

Sleep Hollow

So shopping... my god it's exhausting. I hadn't even had the energy to post last weekend as all of our time has been spent driving up and down the country stopping at all the marinas along the way. There have been some lovely temptations, and some that were no where near what we are after. Truth is, buying a boat is ALOT harder than buying a house. There's just so much choice out there and not one boat is alike. You create a list of what you want in a boat, but it seems you can never find a vessel that ticks all the boxes. Some may tick a few, but will miss out on that one big one. For instance, we fell in love with Sleepy Hollows rustic kitchen with dark oak counter tops, vintage old diesel cooker and a walk through bathroom (which is a preference of ours that's not always easy to find). However, she lacked in seating, storage and when we researched those diesel cookers we found they're not so favourable among fellow boaters.

When we walked aboard Dignity, the in-our-price-range wide beam, the space was superb- no compromise there! But alas, there was much work needing to be done and being at the very top of our price range, we wouldn't have the funds to give her the TLC she needs. Another favourite of mine was a dutch barge that looked like she was set up for some kind of boating interior design magazine. She was gorgeous. Picture a Manhattan apartment, but inside a boat. There was of course, one small issue. The bathroom was in fact a "wet room". For those of you who don't know what that is, a wet room is a room where there is no separate shower unit. The floor is completely even with the toilet and a drain somewhere in the middle. Yuck. Just think about this for a minute. How are you meant to feel clean when your shower has a toilet in it???! would you put a toilet in the bath with you? I just can't get on with them. Shame, she was almost perfect.

Little Mel

Then there was Little Mel. Something about this boat just felt like home when you walked on board. Her paint was spotless and a classy dark blue. Walking in from the bow you entered the lounge which was fitted out with a custom made L shaped sofa. Now I must admit, there's not much room for furniture on boats and some that we have seen are just terrible. No comfort just stiff upright cushions and if anyone has come to our house before, they will know we currently have one of THE most comfortable couches on earth. No joke. Memory foam cushions, a down pillow scatter back and a depth that  just consumes you. It's heavenly to say the least. So when it comes to sitting areas, Rob and I find it a little hard to find something suitable. Little Mel however.. they got something right, her sofa was just perfect. Moving on from the sofa was the dinette booth. We love the built in booth which are raised up so you can look out the windows at the ducks while eating your dinner. Then there was the kitchen, which was nice. Nothing exciting but tidy, clean and not lacking in storage. The bedroom had a cross bed which we have decided is a MUST on our check list. Most boats have a fixed bed that is smaller than a standard double. Now - we struggle for space as is in our queen bed. I can only imagine the bedtime wars that would go on in a 3/4 bed. No way. Sleep is uncompromisable. So Little Mel ticket that box too. In fact, she ticked alot of boxes.

After seeing Little Mel, nothing we saw after compared. She was the right price, and the right fit out. We decided... lets make an offer!! Oh the excitement, oh the stress! I knew she wouldn't stick around for long. We weren't the only hunters roaming the marina grounds that weekend and every one of them had their eye on the same prey as we did. Competition was high, and in the end a cash buyer claimed the prize. But... our spirits weren't dampened too much. We knew that our boat was out there somewhere, we just have to keep looking.

And look no further we must! Friday we drove up north to Doncaster and to http://www.nationwidenarrowboatsales.com/ where we were greeted by a lively chap called Stan. He was a funny man, cracking jokes from the onset. He showed us to the boat that brought us up that way initially and left us to the owners for a tour. I know boat owners are proud people, but they were really really proud of this boat. You almost felt guilty looking, not wanting to give the impression that you didn't absolutely love their boat and that it wasn't just perfect for you. It wasn't, but we did admire their passion and we got to hear some pretty interesting canal stories from their trip around the system.

Patricia

After we kindly said our goodbyes to the owners we headed back to the boat shed office and back to the jolly man called Stan. Stan was in no rush to sell us a boat. One thing we have learnt along this journey is that boat sales people are different from any other sales people out there. Not once did we ever feel like we were being "sold" anything, just simply shown to a boat and guided around. Stan in particular is a very different sales person. We spent more time just having general banter than we did scrutinising the boats. He showed us some average boats, some new but too expensive for us boats, a boat with a very tempting price but in need of lots of TLC, and then he showed us Patricia. He casually took us aboard as if we wouldn't be at all partial. So I was almost confused when I absolutely loved it! Maybe it was the paintwork that made him think we would be put off? She is painted in maroon- which any boater will tell you is a BIG mistake. Maroon paint has a certain pigment that rapidly fades in the sun. This three year old boat looks at least 10 years old. However, the inside, the inside is another story. Everything on this boat more than suites our taste, and the price suited our budget. We had a good tour through, then had one last viewing of some others and headed over to the pub for lunch and to talk business. I already knew from Rob's face that this was going to  be our boat. I let him get on scribbling away all the costs, questions and concerns he had to discuss with Stan.

After lunch, we headed back to the office and Rob went over his scrap paper notes with Stan. We asked him what offer he would go in with and he wrote down a figure that pretty much matched our thoughts. We decided to try our luck and offer £43,000.00, hey you never know. She's going for £47,950.00 so it was a fair call when he declined the offer. Stan told us to ride the wave and call back tomorrow with another offer. I was a little nervous now as we had already lost a boat from right under our noses last weekend, and Patricia had really won my heart, but something about Stan made me feel comfortable that he was really on our side and when he smiled and said- don't loose no sleep over it Amy, I knew she was going to be our boat. The next morning, we put in an offer for £44,000.00 and negotiated to £44,200.00. She was OURS!  My neighbours must have thought I was mad by the way I was dancing in the garden.

 Wow, so we have ourselves a boat! We are just beyond excited and with summer almost hear, we hope to be enjoying her in the sunshine come July. Now to get ready. We need to book a helmsman course so we know how to actually handle the 20 tons of steel. An EBay account has been set up and our furniture up for sale. Car boot boxes have been sorted and charity shops, friends and family can have the rest. Soo much to do, but such a glorious cause. Watch this space!




But where do we park it?

Oh, hello!

 This weekend despite the grey skies and sporadic downpours- Rob suggested we had lunch at our local marina, Pillings Lock. This week has been really stressful for us both as the reality of our decision has really sunk its teeth in deep. All those'buts' and 'what ifs' started showing their skeptical faces. I have to admit, if it were up to me, we wouldn't be renting the house for the summer  and be sailing the rivers and canals by next month; but truth is I'm not known to be the most sensible one out of the pair. Rob is the analysing, spreadsheet making, budget creating one and bless him for it. I love his rational manner - keeps me grounded, but does make for one stressed out man now and again. So lunch at the marina surrounded by boats and the glorious sound of birds and ducks seemed like the perfect cheer me up.

Pillings Lock of Barrow upon Soar has always been the obvious choice to where we would moor our boat once we find one. Its close to friends,family, and work. Its a modern marina with a gorgeous club house that has bloody fantastic food! Fields of ponies, horses and sheep line the drive up to the marina making a very welcoming entrance. Set back from the main road, other than the train that passes nearby occasionally, there's hardly any noise. It was a no brainer really.


I say it was a no brainer, but now we are beginning to have our doubts. After lunch ( the best burger I have had in England by the way), we went for a walk around the moorings. There's one thing that we never really seemed to take into consideration before and that's the fact that all the moorings are pontoon based. This means that to get to and from your boat you have to walk along the dock and the dock can be quite long- not fun when your carrying your groceries or its pouring it down with rain. We have to think about our two cats as well. Preferably, we would like to be near the shore to give the cats somewhere they can easily run off and play - possibly eliminating the need for that damn litter tray. So Rob's analytical assessing mind said we needed more marinas to compare, so we headed off to spend the day looking at different options- fair enough.

 Looking online, we found a marina just outside the city of Leicester,where I work, so up the A6 we went. I was really hoping it would impress us, as a shorter commute to work would be quite nice. However, the dreary drive through an industrial park shot those hopes right down. I couldn't think of nothing more unwelcoming or unpleasant than having to navigate your way through noisy factories to get to your 'tranquil' home on the water. Hmmm, NEXT!

As we drove back down the A6 we saw the caravan park in the distance that was situated on the canal. We are very familiar with it and know that they do have moorings available, even moorings right on the river, we just never put a thought into it because- well to put it frankly and not to sound rude- they are along side a caravan park. In the UK, and in the US there are associations with residential caravan parks as being, well not the sort of place we would choose to live. I can even remember saying once, " When we get our boat, I DO NOT want to live next to a caravan site". So I can't tell you why we made that decision to drive in and talk to the manager.

When we pulled into Meadow Farms, the first thing I noticed was the view. Situated on top of a hill, the view of the country side and the canal was surprisingly really lovely. While we walked through the caravan park to get to the canal and the moorings, we started to notice that this wasn't at all like we thought it would be. The caravans were all very well kept and presented. They also didn't seem to be residential, this place was purely a holiday park. Soon, the canal boats were in view and we realised every single one not only was moored near the shore, but they even had their own little garden or as the Americans say "yard". Some even had sheds which we later found out are communal. So, not only was this marina cheaper, had better views of the country side, but we could even have a little garden space as well?! This has just changed the course completely and the captains are confused!

James, the site manager showed us available berths and gave us some insight. He was incredibly friendly, in fact everyone there was. As we walked with James to the moorings, a man from one of the caravans joined us and offered friendly banter. Everyone we passed knew James and said their hellos. Later, we went to the club house to refresh and gather our thoughts- who are we kidding, to see what beer they have on tap of course! ;) The bar maid was again, very very friendly. I felt like I had known her for years. She is the owner of a wide beam moored on the river and made the move we are making a just few years ago. "You couldn't get me back in a house if my life depended on it"she claims. That's a serious statement; I'm convinced. I don't know what we were expecting to see at the caravan park, gypsies maybe? lol. I know that sounds horrible, and we really aren't judgemental people- usually. Regardless of our expectations, we were completely won over by Meadow Farms and have some serious thinking to do. Until next time...

Bon voyage and keep it classy. x

And the blogging starts ....now.

Hello! Hello! 

or should I say ahoy! ahoy!  Either way, just wanted to welcome you to my (our)- mostly my blog :)

Let me start from the beginning which brings us back to why we are here in the first place. Rob and I met while travelling in South Africa a few years back. Me being from the good ol' US of A and Rob being from the small island with a big presence, England. We fell in love, had some wicked adventures together then settled down and got married. Now here we are living in a beautiful corner of the world, Leicestershire UK. Our meagre funds took a beaten from all the travel we had done, trips back and forth to the US and the wedding itself, that when it came down to buying a house, we didn't have much choice in location or condition. We bought an ex-council town house in a not so nice part of town, but with a lot of hard work and tough elbow grease, we soon made it into a lovely home.

Before we even moved to England, Rob showed me my first pictures of the beautiful canal systems and narrowboats. Its fair to say I fell in love instantly before even seeing their beauty in person. At the time, I was itching to get back on a boat again as it wasn't long before that I was working as a deckhand on a 65m luxury motor yacht in Canada. It was by far in the top 3 best experiences of my life, and I really wanted to be back there. Living on a narrowboat was the closest I could get and to be living on it with the man I loved - AMAZING! However, when it actually came time to come to the UK and really settle down, living on a narrowboat  just wasn't on the cards. What we did do, was make a plan for the future, and a canal boat was item one.

Two years later, and we are finally in the position to make it happen! It all started when Rob saw an adorable cottage right by the canal on his afternoon run. He came home, got on the Internet and we had a viewing that evening. A cottage- with front and back views of the canal- get in! We were so excited this opportunity sprang upon us, we acted without hesitation. A few days later, a man was outside hammering down a for sale sign in our drive. Several weeks passed, and we still hadn't received an acceptable offer on our house, but the cottage remained for sale.  The lull in movement gave us plenty of time to contemplate our decision. Was the cottage really what we wanted? sure.. we are 'near' the canal, but don't we want to be 'on' it. It was a lot of money for very little space, a tiny courtyard, and not a lot of storage. If we were going to sacrifice these things, why not just ...wait for it... get a canal boat! Then, the icing - another house came up for sale for the same price but with much much better spec; more room- plenty of storage, near the canal, and a lovely garden complete with green house and vegetable patch! We offered them there asking price- but they received a higher offer! This is unheard of in this market, who does that!? So back to the drawing board we went.

We had a cash buyer for our house, just waiting for us now to decide what we were going to do, so we knew we had to make our decision sooner rather than later. Our offer was excepted for the cottage, but we still hesitated. Yes, we lusted for this house at first, but lust fades and sometimes you realise when it does, your not so keen about what is really there. After a few very stressful days calculating our budgets, scrutinising our finances,our wants and our needs it brought us once again... to a canal boat. So what do we do now? well, it just so happened a property with a garden right on the canal- with its own mooring rights- came up for rent that day. Fate? So here's the new plan, and yes.. we have put a lot of thought into this decision and we are more than satisfied; for the summer, we rent the house with the garden on the canal so we can take our time to find the 'right' vessel, do our research, and make sure we are 100% ready for this move. All the while, enjoying the summer and all the glory living on a canal has to offer. Its a win win in our books.

Deciding to live aboard it not a decision to make lightly, there are many points to consider. As canal boat virgins we have MUCH to learn. Hence, the starting of this blog. With it, I hope to open up to the boating community, make some new friends, share my experiences with my old friends, get some advice and tips and generally just share this journey. I know what we are in for, and oooooh it won't be smooth sailing all the way. But hey, easy doesn't make for interesting read doesn't it? I hope you stay tuned to our journey. Until next time....

"Bon Voyage! "- Amy

"Stay Classy" - Rob