Liveaboards and Continuous Cruisers

On telling people we meet along the cut that we are 'liveaboards' they are often intrigued by our choice of lifestyle and ask us how we came to do this and why.  Sometimes, though, we get a distinct 'down the nose look' and a strong sense we are people to avoid.  A clue to this negative response lies in a comment one lady made when Sue told her we lived aboard Adagio in which she said at least we did not have piles of junk on the boat's roof.  If we also tell people we are continuous cruisers then we experience a similar polarisation of views.  Some will express envy of our freedom to move almost anywhere in the country.  Others will see us as 'bridge hoppers' who must be flouting the BW terms of continuous navigation because, as they know, no one really continuously cruises the network, do they?  It is at the group of people who look down on liveaboards and continuous cruisers, that this brief post is aimed.

We did not take lightly our decision to liveaboard.  Having enjoyed canal holidays when the children were young, and having owned a 57 foot cruiser stern narrowboat SusieQ for 5 years, we have been in love with the inland waterways for over 25 years.  Our narrowboat holidays were naturally constrained by only having one week at a time so we crammed in as much as we could cruising the Shroppie, Llangollen and ranging as far as Manchester.  On SusieQ we managed rather more because we could take two weeks at a time and get out at every other opportunity we could manage.  Almost since our very first cruise we promised ourselves we would retire to live on the water when the time was right.

I must admit I was the one who dragged his feet on this decision the longest as Sue had been raring to go for some time.  A chance discussion with a chap called Gerald, whom we met on one of our longer cruises on SusieQ, got me thinking seriously about making the jump.  Then a combination of personal events nudged me into agreeing the time was right.  Not least of these was my father's death after a sudden short illness before he got around to retiring, he was 79 and still working, and a particularly stressful time at work that made me realise there is more to life than being a company wage slave.  I woke up and smelled the coffee as our American friends used to say.  Having previously served 29 years in the RAF I had a small pension and by selling our house and almost everything we owned we managed to get into a position to retire early, buy Adagio and move aboard.  So here we are continuous cruisers who liveaboard a rather nice narrowboat living as free a life as you can without breaking the law or flouting BW rules.

So what has moved me to write this piece?  Let's return to the lady's comment I mentioned in my first paragraph.  To me her comment summed up the prejudice against folks who liveaboard that exists among boaters of all persuasions.  Yes, indeed there are folk who are liveaboards who allow their boats to deteriorate into floating slums and collect a vast array of junk on their roofs as they go.  Adagio's roof has quite a bit of stuff on it including an anchor and cable, various ropes neatly coiled, a couple of top boxes with neat tarp covers, the usual boat safety gear, some flowers and, at this time of year a couple of bags of solid fuel and a some logs for the fire.  So, yes we have stuff on the roof but we try to keep it as tidy as we can and everything we carry on Adagio is essential and has a stowage  place somewhere.  (We are still shedding stuff even now after more than a year of living aboard.)  In our travels this year we have seen a vast variety of boats from the super luxurious to the downright scrapyard challenge.  The one thing they have in common is they are all homes to someone.  Some might be an eyesore but then we see plenty of houses in that category while we are cruising.

Let's now turn to the more serious issue of the continuous cruiser.  There has been much debate and even legal proceedings to establish exactly what is continuous cruising within BW rules.  To us it is quite simple.  A continuous cruiser is someone who moves around the network never staying in one place longer than the BW mooring rules specify.  Since 01 May this year we have been to Chester, Llangollen, Oxford and Bristol and all points between.  We do not see the point in being a continuous cruiser unless that is what you do otherwise you might as well stick your boat on a mooring somewhere and not move.  Now there's the rub where some continuous cruisers are concerned.  Some people want their cake and eat it!  They want the freedom continuous cruising implies but without the inconvenience of actually moving around the network.  Unfortunately, it is this latter group of people who give the rest of us a bad name.  In our view, if you do not actually want to continuously cruise the network then you should get an online mooring, or a marina mooring, and accept the fact you are really a houseboat person who needs a fixed location that consequently has a price attached.  Even so that price will be considerably less than bricks and mortar.  However, for some even that is not enough so they obtain a boat, declare themselves continuous cruisers but stay in one spot perhaps moving a short distance every now and then (bridge hopping) in an attempt to avoid the BW inspector and manipulate their rules.  (Some might say, 'What inspector' but there lies another story.)  What makes matters worse is that very often these 'bridge hoppers' take up short term mooring spaces, 24, 48 hour and 7 day moorings, denying space to legitimate cruisers.  This is simply selfish behaviour completely out of tune with the ethos of living afloat and it is this which really annoys and saddens us.

So please, when we tell you we are liveaboard continuous cruisers please do not sneer or look down on us.  We chose to liveaboard a narrowboat because we love the lifestyle and downsizing to the extent we did was a cathartic experience.  We continuous cruise because we want to see as much of our beautiful country as we can before, well, before we are unable to do this any more. Finally, make no mistake, this is not a cheap nor is it an easy option.  Running a boat can be expensive and living aboard can be tough - remember last winter!