LyndseyG Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) As you may know my husband, Brett and I live on a narrowboat... We have lived aboard Elsie for five and a half years and have decided its time for bricks and mortar. We've been talking about it for a while now. Neither of us want to stay aboard for another winter and we both want to be closer to family. We have handed in our notices at work and are going to move away from Shropshire in the West Midlands and move in with Brett's mum in Clacton-On-Sea, 250 miles away on the south east coast to begin with, then once we have secured jobs we're gonna get a place in Colchester which is about 20 minutes from Clacton... At least that's the plan!! Brett put Elsie on a boat sales website last week and if by this Friday she hasn't had any interest from buyers, then we are gonna take her to a brokerage and they can sell her on our behalf. So our adventure on the canal is ending and a new one's about to commence. :) The lyrics to Rush's Headlong Flight would seem appropriate right now.... With a couple of changes: "I have stoked the fires on Elsie's stoves,Steered our little ship down the canal..." :) Edited October 20, 2013 by LyndseyG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 That sounds really interesting. Do you have any pictures of the boat, and the area you live in? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) Yeah I have! Here you go! http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb414/lyndseyg2112/1FD08F4E-CB8E-4180-B81C-A8E04E2CB7E5-6650-00000693C2B36421.jpg I would post some of the surrounding area but for some reason photobucket won't play ball. The above picture was already on there... :fuckinputer: Edited to add: Ok it's working now... Sort of... http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb414/lyndseyg2112/null_zps5a9dba34.jpg http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb414/lyndseyg2112/null_zpsf2136f0c.jpg http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb414/lyndseyg2112/null_zpseea3495e.jpg http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb414/lyndseyg2112/null_zps8948bf01.jpg Edited October 20, 2013 by LyndseyG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 That's way out in the boonies! Will you miss it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 That is really cool...At least from the perspective of someone who has never lived on a narrow boat. Sorry to hear you aren't happy with your unique living situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 The two happiest days in a boat owners life...the day you buy it, and the day you sell it. Good luck with the transition to life as a landlubber! :cheers: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 (edited) What beautiful pics, Lyndsey! Also, what about Scooter? Edit to add: thanks for the tag! :ebert: Edited October 21, 2013 by Babycat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken hawk Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Looks like a train instead of a boat ! Its great ! :yay: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 That's way out in the boonies! Will you miss it? It is a bit stix-ville.... Yeah I'll miss the peace and quiet and it's great for looking at the stars as there's no street lighting... But I can't drive so I'm kind of stuck here. My work is 20 minutes walk away but it's hard because it's like "work home, home work" and not much else for me and I'm missing being amongst people. We're not looking for living right in the city, that would drive Brett nuts. What we want is a quiet street either nearish the shops or a bus ride into town. That way it'll be closest to both worlds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 That is really cool...At least from the perspective of someone who has never lived on a narrow boat. Sorry to hear you aren't happy with your unique living situation. Don't get me wrong, it's great at times! During the summer for example! :D I think if there was a transport system and we weren't so cut off from humanity it wouldn't be so bad... We can't afford to have the boat in an in-town marina, and if we did then it would be like being in a flat, which we don't want. We had a flat. This time we want a house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 What beautiful pics, Lyndsey! Also, what about Scooter? Edit to add: thanks for the tag! :ebert: Then you Babycat!! :hi: You're welcome on the tags! :ebert: YES! Scooter is coming with us!! :yay: She won't like having to live in a house with two boy cats but were hoping she'll settle and it won't be forever. We spoke to a vet for some advice and we are gonna spray the car with Feliway and give her Calmex on the way down as it will be a long drive for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 The two happiest days in a boat owners life...the day you buy it, and the day you sell it. Good luck with the transition to life as a landlubber! :cheers: Yeah! We absolutely do not regret doing it!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 Looks like a train instead of a boat ! Its great ! :yay: Yeah it does look like a train! I never saw it like that before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 What beautiful pics, Lyndsey! Also, what about Scooter? Edit to add: thanks for the tag! :ebert: Then you Babycat!! :hi: You're welcome on the tags! :ebert: YES! Scooter is coming with us!! :yay: She won't like having to live in a house with two boy cats but were hoping she'll settle and it won't be forever. We spoke to a vet for some advice and we are gonna spray the car with Feliway and give her Calmex on the way down as it will be a long drive for her. Thank goodness Scooter's going to be okay! :yay: :cheerleader: :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your_Lion Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Great pics Lyndsey :ebert: and best of luck with the sale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 Thank you, Your Lion!! :hi: :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 Update: We've had a lady email from someone who's interested! She asked for pics of the inside and has asked a few questions about Elsie and living aboard, which Brett has answered. She said she needs time to have a think and we told her about our plans to move off next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 When I first saw this thread I thought it was ILSnwdog celebrating shaving off his beard! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 When I first saw this thread I thought it was ILSnwdog celebrating shaving off his beard! :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alsgalpal Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Ok, so I have some curiosity questions about boat living. How do you go to the loo? Where does it go? Right into the river? What happens when people go by on their boats and what not? Does it rock the boat? How wide is it? Do you have electricity? I think that's one of the dadgummed coolest things I've ever seen!!! :ebert: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 Ok, so I have some curiosity questions about boat living. How do you go to the loo? Where does it go? Right into the river? What happens when people go by on their boats and what not? Does it rock the boat? How wide is it? Do you have electricity? I think that's one of the dadgummed coolest things I've ever seen!!! :ebert: Well there's three types of toilet you can get: the pump out tank, the cassette system, the composting toilet. The pump out toilet holds the waste in a tank which is under the bed. When it's full you have to take it to an Elsan point, which are situated up and down the canals and pump the waste out. The waste then goes into the sewage system. Elsie used to have one of these but we took it out. The composting toilet is the most expensive and pretty much does what the name suggests. The pee goes into the canal/river with that one. It only needs emptying every 6 months. The system we replaced the pump out is the cassette which is basically a toilet with a plastic box underneath. Every few days when the cassette is full you shut it up and pull the cassette out, replace it with an empty spare and empty the full one into the Elsan point. Yes, the boat does rock when another boat goes by. There's a sort of etiquette you follow where you should slow down when passing moored boats as the faster you go, the more the boat rocks. It also rocks when it's windy... Or when playing :rush: loud!!! :D Our boat is 6" wide, hence the term "narrowboat" but you can get wider and these are called "widebeam" We have two electricity setups: the 12v which is the same as a car. Everything, except the DVD player, is run via 12v. We also have regular 230v ring main, like a house, but we need to run the generator or an inverter for that. :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 Update: This is our plan for the next few days:Saturday we are picking up a van and packing and loading it, except for some clothes, food and the cat. Sunday Brett is going by himself to take the van to his mums and unload it. I'm staying aboard to sort out any remaining bits and clean the cupboards. Monday Brett is coming back. Probably Wednesday we are taking Elsie to Norbury brokerage. Also: The lady who's interested in buying is coming to visit and have a look on Saturday afternoon! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your_Lion Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Update: This is our plan for the next few days:Saturday we are picking up a van and packing and loading it, except for some clothes, food and the cat. Sunday Brett is going by himself to take the van to his mums and unload it. I'm staying aboard to sort out any remaining bits and clean the cupboards. Monday Brett is coming back. Probably Wednesday we are taking Elsie to Norbury brokerage. Also: The lady who's interested in buying is coming to visit and have a look on Saturday afternoon! Hope everything goes well on Saturday :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Ok, so I have some curiosity questions about boat living. How do you go to the loo? Where does it go? Right into the river? What happens when people go by on their boats and what not? Does it rock the boat? How wide is it? Do you have electricity? I think that's one of the dadgummed coolest things I've ever seen!!! :ebert: Our boat is 6" wideSTONEHENGE!!!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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