GO W TH THE FLOW
Life on a riverboat looks dreamy, but it doesn’t come cheap, reports
THe Diamond Jubilee River pageant did wonders for the British spirit. But what did it do for riverboat living? As the cavalcade of great and small boats passed by, cameras lingered on the posh interiors of residential boats lining the banks of the thames.
As a result, the usual summertime level of curiosity for houseboats has soared, according to Alan Wildman, chairman of the Residential Boat Owners’ Association (rboa.org.uk). there has been a marked increase in both leisure and residential craft for sale — although anyone thinking living on the water is a cheap option might want to think again.
A basic boat with a cabin will cost from £10,000, while a Dutch barge could set you back £250,000. the Ark, in London’s Cheyne Walk, is for sale (020 7590 2450, knightfrank.co.uk) for £1.2 million — not including mooring fees.
A static houseboat ( with no motor) varies in cost enormously depending on location and spec, with mooring fees based on the length of the craft. One-bedroom Water Margins is available on the Chiches- ter canal in sussex for £115,000, not including mooring fees (01243 672 217, baileys.uk.com). Mooring fees would be £4,300 per year, which includes sewage disposal and electricity connection.
A residential mooring in London can cost £7,000 to £12,000 a year, with freehold moorings costing many times that.
Wildman says: ‘Outside London, say in the Fens, you might find a rental leisure mooring — where you couldn’t live the whole year round — for £1,000 if you are lucky.’ More typically, expect to pay £2,000 to £3,000. And you shouldn’t buy a houseboat to live in without having a mooring lined up.
there are other costs, too: you must have an annual licence which, depending on where you are located — and whether it’s for rivers only or canals and rivers — costs £500 to £1,200 a year.
if you use a residential mooring, you must pay council tax (at the lowest rate, normally Band A). A leisure mooring will be subject to business rates. there is annual insurance, for which you should allow £400 to £500, a boat safety inspection every four years, £150 to £200, and your craft should come out of the water every two to four years for a hull check — which can cost £2,000.
A boat, unlike a house, is a depreciating asset. Freehold moorings tend to maintain value in line with the property market.
A leisure mooring will be for a number of days a week, or a number of months a year. For residential moorings, it is usual to have a rolling annual agreement, even in a dedicated marina. ‘people who live afloat have less security of tenure because the owner of the mooring wants control,’ says Wildman.
WHiLe some houseboats are connected to utilities, you need to think about everyday things you take for granted in a house, like filling your water tank and emptying effluent. if you get frozen in, where is your next load of coal going to come from, for example.
‘in summer, when you see us sitting out on deck with a glass of wine and it looks idyllic — it is, but that is not the whole story,’ says Wildman. ‘But it’s a delightful oldfashioned way of living. Boat people are a community of all sorts.’
static houseboats tend to be gathered in small clusters. And for those looking to be mobile, there are 2,000 miles of adventures waiting out there. ‘the waterways are probably in better fettle than at any time in the past 50 years,’ says Wildman.
the first thing you should do, if you are interested, is hire a boat for as long as you can afford, then research some of the magazines such as towpath talk and Waterways World.