Taking to the waters

To coincide with the online publication of “The Downshifters Guide to Relocation” – a book providing advice on downshifting – HowTo.co.uk takes a look at living on a narrow boat.

When Yannick Hill returned to the UK in 2006 he had £40,000 with which to buy a house and a problem shared by an increasing number of Britain’s young first time buyers: no possible way of affording a remotely desirable property.

As a professional writer with the kind of erratic income loans companies despise, Yannick didn’t want to take out a very large mortgage. “I looked on all the property websites and all that was coming up in my price range was garages and narrow boats” he recalls.

Living on a narrow boat, he then thought, could be the perfect solution. Having done some research, he found this to be an idea being adopted by an increasing number of young professionals and those downshifting. His purchase of a fifteen year-old Stowe Hill Marine narrow boat was a wise investment for several reasons.

Affordability

In a now unstable property market and with Britain poised on the brink of recession, well-made narrow boats start at reasonable prices as UK properties go: £40,000 for smart, well-appointed seaworthy vessels that hold their value whilst the grandest of houses around them plummet by tens of thousands of pounds.

Desirable Location

Rather than face the prospect of working for years for the opportunity to own a one bedroom flat in a decaying part of suburbia like most twenty-something first-time buyers, those getting on board the narrow boat property ladder can also look forward to residing in more prestigious locations. Residential moorings in central London, for example, cost as little as £500 per month.

Appeal to Young and Old

There are currently some 30,000 boats on Britain’s waterway network acting as either temporary or permanent homes. Whilst the average age of those choosing to live on narrow boats is still well over fifty, the stereotypical occupants – the grizzled hippies of yesteryear and the retired couples wanting to try something different – are in places giving way to a younger generation of boat owners and residents.

On Yannick’s pontoon of five residential moorings, all boat owners are in their mid to late twenties.

“We had a hectic time with our last landlord” confides Pheobe Pilloti, Yannick’s neighbour and fellow narrow boat owner. “We wanted a simple, quiet lifestyle to counteract the fraught one at work. So we downsized and bought a narrow boat. The things you think about living here are more pure: birds, boat repairs, fish.”

The Catch of the Canal

The catch? On the surface there isn’t one. Visit most canals today and you’re likely to find them rejuvenated places: a mixture of young and old enjoying the living benefits and the leisure benefits.

Yet maintenance costs money. British Waterways are eager to rake in as much from the revitalised trend of narrow boat living as possible. Consequently, new legislation introduced in autumn 2007 changed the way narrow boat moorings operated.

Previously, under the old waiting list system, all narrow boat owners requiring moorings in popular locations stood an equal chance of success. The wait could be a matter of years, but was likely to eventually pay off. The new tender system means that the highest bid offered would win a three year lease on that mooring. It’s hard to see cash-strapped first time buyers being able to compete: the less appealing permanent cruising licence, which restricts stay in any one location, would then be the only option for many.

Narrow Hopes for the Future?

Narrow boat living could yet become another option snuffed out for young first time buyers. With this new system still officially under a trial period, only time will tell if it will be possible for them to both have their boat and live on it.

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