BOAT LIFE
We moved into a 50ft BOAT to save £1,000s on rent – we only spend £350 a MONTH… but there’s a very irritating catch
Danni and Joe could never have predicted doing this in the rain
A COUPLE have revealed how they moved into a 50ft narrow boat to save thousands on rent - but are now being hit by a catch.
The couple bought their canal boat after selling their previous mobile home - a sprinter van - for £12,000 and have been living in it for three months.
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They're currently cruising just outside of London, having made their way from the West Country into the city.
Last year, they posted a video about the savings they were making since opting for a life on water.
But they just warned potential boat-buyers that new Canal and River Trust (CRT) surcharges will increase from April next year.
These are a set of fees for anyone living on canals across England and Wales.
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This means anyone on a continuous cruiser, as opposed to someone who is permanently moored, will be paying a surcharge of up to 75 per cent.
"If you're moving onto a boat to save money then you need to know this," Danni said.
For boats with a beam over 2.16m a surcharge of 10 per cent will be applied and for boats over 3.24m this will be an extra 20 per cent.
Danni and Joe said their first license cost them £886.31 but this has since increased to £1065.79.
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From April there will be a new license price, which they said will cost about £200 more a year.
When the couple bought the dilapidated boat over a year ago they were expecting their lives to be a whole lot cheaper.
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But they quickly discovered that the "boat-life" was far more expensive and complicated than they had anticipated.
Firstly, the renovation project cost between £15,000-£20,000.
Despite having some money left over from the sale of their van, they said they were living "pay cheque to pay cheque" in order to make it liveable.
One of their biggest challenges to date, the couple said, was when the boat's battery died and they didn't have a generator.
"When our battery died we couldn't use our washing machine," Danny said.
"You have to take your big bag of clothes along the tow path [to the launderette] and sometimes it's raining but you need clean pants," added Joe.
What are CRT charges?
From narrowboats to barges, canoes to large river cruisers, you need to license your boat if you want to keep and use it on canals and rivers.
All types and size of boat with or without a motor need a licence. Motorised boats include river boats, canal boats and houseboats.
You can buy your long-term licence at any time of the year. They start on the first day of the month and last for either three months, six months or 12 months.
You can also buy a short-term licence at any point of the year. They're valid for one week or one month.
Different navigation authorities have different licences and fees. If you are not boating on a CRT network, you will need to contact the relevant authority:
- The (EA) looks after the River Thames, the River Medway, and rivers in East Anglia
- The looks after the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads
- For Scottish waterways visit the website
- See the for any other navigation authorities
Another thing they hadn't accounted for were the number of logs and amount of coal they would need to keep them warm during the winter months.
One bulk bag of logs set them back £120.
"You may get this cheaper somewhere else but we don't have a car in London," Danni said.
Whilst bulk buying is more financially-savvy, she added, it can be a logistical pain.
"You need to work out how to get it to the boat," she laughed.
As for gas on the boat, the adventure-loving couple said they get through a cannister a month, which costs about £50.
Although this could be cheaper if Danni had fewer baths or Joe cut down on baking, they said.
"We're gas hungry," they joked.
Canal boats vary in prices and can cost anything from £30,000 to way over £100,000. For a narrow boat that is fully-equipped and electric it could cost as much as £200,000.
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This comes as Wayne Aspland and his partner, Angela Hughes, moved out of their home to live on their very own narrowboat.
According to this couple though, they saved a fortune, having bought the boat for just £17,000 on Facebook Marketplace.