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What issues do you need to consider before deciding to live on a boat?

Living on a boat won't always be the ideal world you expect. Although generally less expensive than living in a house, there are many costs and pitfalls that you might not have considered. You will need to think about:

• Residential Boat Owners Association Opens new window

• A beginner's guide to boating Opens new window

Advice for buying the right boat

You can consider the following things when you are looking at buying a boat:

• boats are advertised by specialist brokers and by private individuals through the pages of several monthly magazines and websites
• always get a boat professionally surveyed. Boats do not appreciate in value like bricks and mortar do
• the average value of a canal boat is around £25,000. A top of the range new boat can cost well into six figures

• Waterscape - buying a boat Opens new window

Finding a mooring

This will be your most difficult task. Residential moorings require planning consent and there are waiting lists for almost all sites.

If you don't want to stay put, you may be able to get by without a home mooring. On the waterways, which are managed by a variety of navigation authorities like the Environment Agency and British Waterways, there are strict rules for 'continuous cruisers'. You must genuinely travel around the network, not just cruise back and forth in the same area.

• Contact British Waterways Opens new window

• Environment Agency Opens new window

• Berthfinder Opens new window

• Where to moor your boat Opens new window

The use and mooring of houseboats

A mooring within a marina with easy access to water, sewage and refuse disposal is what most people prefer. Such moorings for residential boats generally cost at least £90 per metre per year.

Cheaper and simpler moorings with fewer facilities are offered along the line of the waterway. There is no formal security, and you will generally not be able to get access by road to your boat.

All mooring agreements generally last for 12 months.

The following link will let you enter details of where you live and then take you to your local authority website where you can find out more.

• Find out about the use and mooring of houseboats Opens new window

Getting a licence, Boat Safety Certificate and insurance

If you own a boat you are required to apply for a licence, a Boat Safety Certificate and insurance:

• Contact your local waterway office Opens new window

• The Boat Safety Scheme Opens new window

• Association of Inland Navigation Authorities Opens new window

• The Environment Agency - useful boating information Opens new window

Boat maintenance and repairs

There are boatyards around the waterways that will carry out work for you. You should budget to lift the boat out of the water once every three years to check and maintain its hull.

More useful links

• Go Boating, stay safe avoiding fire afloat (PDF document, 340 kb) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

• Using your boat on inland waterways (travel and transport section)