What boat to buy?
So you've decided to take the plunge and buy a boat to live on? Here's my advice on what to get and things to watch out for:
TYPES OF BOAT TO CONSIDER
Narrowboats
Narrowboats are a natural choice for many people living aboard. They are relatively inexpensive and can travel virtually anywhere inland (a 57ft long narrowboat is the largest inland craft that will fit down every waterway). The construction is usually steel which is robust and easy to maintain, although when the boat gets old it will need plates welding on which can be expensive. Most second hand narrowboats are suitable for living aboard, although the internal layout may need changing, especially if it was previously used as a hire boat (lots of bunks at the expense of living space). However, if you want a light, spacious feel then a narrowboat is not for you. They are only 6ft 10' wide and so even a full 70ft long narrowboat will still 'feel' small. The width makes it difficult to fit normal sofas and furnishings.
If you want a narrowboat that make best use of cabin space, go for a 'traditional' type. This has a minimal amount of deck space, so that only one person can stand at the back. This makes it hard to take guests out for a cruise because they have to stay inside or clamber onto the roof. However, a major plus is that most trad boats have the engine inside the rear cabin and so you can work on the engine without freezing your hands or getting soaked.
A 'cruiser' type narrowboat is one that has a large, open rear deck, perfect for taking guests out for a cruise but at the expense of cabin space. The engine will be below the deck and you'll have to work on it in the open.
A compromise is reached with 'semi trad' narrowboats. These look like a trad boat in profile but have a medium sized rear deck that can be covered with a large hatch or tarpaulin for keeping the weather out while you work on the engine.
A major disadvantage with narrowboats is that they are unsuitable for mooring on tidal berths where they take a grounding every day. You can beach a narrowboat if the ground is completely flat and soft, but if you beach on rocks, pebbles, rubbish or undulating ground then you run the risk of distorting or folding the hull. This plus the general unseaworthiness of narrowboats makes them unsuitable if you're thinking of mooring in an estuary or on the coast.
Barges
These fall into many categories but most would have originally been cargo carrying boats. Sizes range from 10ft x 50ft up to massive 16ft x 90ft + monsters. They all have their pros and cons, almost all are made of steel with a few made from concrete. Your main consideration is size. Anything bigger than 13ft x 70ft is unlikely to fit up the majority of canals, so you are limited geographically. Even ones smaller than this will still need careful consideration as they may be too tall for canal bridges or have too much draft for shallower canals. Also you will need to consider how much it'll cost to get the boat out of the water for hull maintenance. The larger the boat, the harder it will be to find any sort of permanent mooring for it. Of course, all this extra size means that the interior will feel far more like living in a house, with enough space for normal furniture and applicances.
Most barges have a large, flat bottomed hull. Although this doesn't make their sea handling very good, they are far more at home on the coast and estuaries than narrowboats. In fine weather there is nothing to stop you taking a barge across to Europe or around the UK coast. Most will ground quite happily without damaging the hull, although if you are mooring permanently in a tidal location it makes sense to keep the ground underneath free of rubbish, rocks etc. Some people peg out a cushion of roped-together car tires underneath the boat to cushion groundings.
Sailing boats
An ideal choice if you're thinking of living on the coast? Maybe but there are drawbacks. Obviously a sailing boat will have been designed for sailing first, with living aboard a secondary consideration. Most won't have any insulation so they'll be cold and damp in the winter and hot in the summer. Dimensions vary massively but will rarely suit 'normal' furniture. Single keel boats will not ground, if they did then the contents would fall everywhere. Twin or bilge keel boats will ground and also have a smaller draft so they are probably the best live aboard sailboats. Almost all sailing boats will be unsuitable for inland waters as they have too much draft. There are a few river locations with sufficient depth of water but these are few and far between.
Of course, if you are an offshore yachtsman who wants to live aboard then all this is irrelevant, a good, seaworthy boat will be your only consideration.
Houseboats
These come in all different shapes and sizes, the only thing they have in common is NO engine, so they range from narrowboats with no engines (buttys), unpowered barges, portacabins on floating pontoons, to purpose built 'floating homes'.
With no engine to worry about, more time can be spent enjoying life afloat. Licenses are cheaper, there is no VAT added to mooring fees and you will get more space for your money. On the downside, without an engine you have no way of moving on to better moorings or scenery. You will be more or less at the mercy of your mooring owner because unpowered boats are worth very little without a mooring. You will not have a battery system (no engine to charge it) so you will be reliant on a mains supply from the shore.
Many houseboats are large and this gives you very little option as to where you can lift it out for hull maintenence. Most never come out of the water and eventually sink or are scrapped. If you do go for a houseboat then make sure you have a good contract set up with the landlord. Also I would go for a concrete hull because they last more or less indefinitely. Much of world war II's concrete floating 'Mulberry' harbour is still alive and well disguised as houseboats!
Lifeboats
This is the only other definable class of boat I can think of. These are the lifeboats off ships, not the RNLI ones. Their advantages are many: Most were built to very high standards, never used but kept well maintained for emergencies and many have aluminium hulls to keep their weight down. Aluminium hulls are great because they don't rust. Plus they were designed to be used in the worst seas nature could throw at them so they are ideal for coastal moorings. The downside is that many conversions resulted in boats with low cabin headroom. Plus you'll rarely find one bigger than 40ft long, and they are too wide for the UK's narrow canals.
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
Steel
Advantages:
Low maintenance, robust, commonplace
Disadvantages:
Major repairs can be costly, makes for a heavy boat, bad insulator.
Fibreglass
Advantages:
Very commonplace, cheap, very low maintenance, modern boats will last a long time before major repairs are necessary.
Disadvantages:
Not very robust: A minor collision with another boat, lock or bankside could result in expensive repairs. Also older or amateur built boats can suffer from 'osmosis'. This eventually makes the hull leak and requires expensive repair work.
Wood
Advantages:
Wooden boats are generally cheap, fairly robust and repairs, although frequent, are inexpensive (if you are a competent woodworker). Wood is a good insulator.
Disadvantages:
Don't buy one unless you have plenty of spare time and are a competent woodworker! They are very high maintenence.
Concrete
Advantages:
Concrete is the only hull material that lasts indefinitely. It's an ideal material for houseboats where weight isn't a problem and collisions are unlikely. It's also cheap.
Disadvantages:
If a concrete hull is cracked by a large collision then it's almost impossible to repair properly, as new concrete never forms a perfect bond with old concrete. However, concrete is the perfect way to repair a steel hulled boat that's riddled with holes: Simply spray the inside of the hull with several layers of concrete, boat then lasts forever, albeit with a bit more weight.
Aluminium
Advantages:
Aluminium doesn't rust so repairs are minimal + it's light and robust.
Disadvantages:
Although it doesn't rust, it is a very reactive metal and if it's in permanent contact with another type of metal, eg a steel fitting, it will corrode very quickly. Study an aluminium hull carefully; no part of the hull must come into contact with any other kind of metal, either above or below the waterline.
INSIDE A BOAT
Well if you're going to live aboard permanently then this is the important part!
Insulation
It's vital that your boat is properly insulated, otherwise it'll be freezing in the winter and baking in the summer. And even if you put heating in, all that'll happen is you'll turn it into a sauna with condensation dripping down every surface. If you're buying a second hand boat then don't get an uninsulated boat because it's a nightmare to strip out the entire boat to put insulation in.
The very best insulation is sprayfoam. This is sprayed by a professional onto the inside of the hull, roof and cabin sides BEFORE anything else is put into the boat. It forms an airtight bond with the steel/fibreglass; no moisture can seep in between. However, it's expensive so most boats don't use it.
Most boats use panels of expanded polystyrene, glued to the hull, roof and sides. This is very cheap and can be installed by anyone. It works pretty well but over time the panels lift away from the boat, leaving a cavity where air (and moisture) can accumulate. Therefore most boats sometimes drip in a few places on cold days. If you study a second hand boat, look at the wooden paneling inside the boat, particularly where there are overhangs or where the ceiling panels join the wall panels. If you can see moisture or streaks left by water then that's an indication that the insulation isn't working 100%. If there are stains and moisture everywhere then I'd walk away, either the insulation is very bad or there isn't any! Note: Most boats, no matter how good the insulation will show streaks around stove/heating flues. This is because it's not possible to insulate right up to the flue for safety reasons.
Interior fittings
Most boats will have a lot of custom-fitted woodwork in them (beds, wardrobes, kitchen units etc). The quality of this woodwork is a very good indication of the overall quality of the boat. Have a look inside cupboards, beds etc. Does the workmanship look good even in the places you can't access normally? If it does then this attention to detail is a sure sign of a good quality boat. Are pipes, cables etc neatly installed in conduit or wooden trunking? If most of the woodwork looks good but there are some shoddy areas around the plumbing then this is a sure sign that the owner has made amateurish alterations since buying the boat!
When you move onto a boat, it's only a matter of time before every available storage space is filled to capacity with your belongings. It's a temptation to go for well designed lockers, cupboards and drawers and shut everything neatly away behind doors. Since moving aboard I've found that this is not ideal: Every enclosed space accumulates moisture to a certain extent, so I've removed virtually every cupboard door and drilled big holes in all the drawers. Since then we've had very little problem with moisture.
When you step into the inside of a boat, how solid does the floor feel? If it sags or flexes then this could be a sign that the interior is starting to rot. Find the inspection hatch into the hull bottom (there should be one). Is there much water in there? Many boats are completely dry but some are always slightly damp, this isn't a huge problem, but if there's a good deal of water in there then there may be a leak somewhere in the plumbing or rainwater is somehow finding its way in. A leaking hull is the least probable cause.