Is it Cheaper to Live on a Boat?

It’s been a little while since I’ve written a proper boaty blog. We’ve gotten into the swing of boat life and don’t have so many crises, so I don’t have as much to write about! If there’s anything you want me to cover – just ask in the comments below or on Facebook. This time I’m covering something I’m often asked.

Is It Cheaper To Live On A Boat?

Well, the simple answer is: yes and no; but that’s not very simple!

Boating forums are full of people wanting to move to the water for a cheaper life. And they are often surprised at the responses from seasoned boaters.

Obviously, it is cheaper. It’s a (sophisticated) floating steel box. That has to be cheaper than living in a house? After all, isn’t that the main reason a lot of people chose to live on the water?

Council Tax

There are many things that are cheaper when you live on a boat. One of the things that I am often told is ‘Hey – at least boats don’t have to pay council tax!’. Technically, that’s true. Boats don’t pay any bills – they don’t have hands and would struggle to open a bank account! But I think they mean that people don’t have to pay council tax when living on a boat. Which is also true – sometimes. Boats are not considered to be property, so they are not eligible for council tax. But some residential moorings are although these moorings are rare and most of the time Council Tax is included in the marina costs.

So – most of the time boat-dwellers don’t pay Council Tax.

Purchase Price

For the average price of a two-bed property in my area, you could buy between 2 and 4 new build boats like the BBB. So – boats are cheaper to buy – undoubtedly! For some people, that means they can live mortgage free – others have a marine loan or standard bank loan. The interest on a marine or standard loan is higher than a mortgage, but the amount of the loan is much lower so the repayments are less. You don’t need conveyancing or estate agents – but second-hand boats do need a survey and boats over 4 years old will need a Boat Safety Certificate which needs renewing every 4 years.

So, it initially looks like boats are cheaper. But there are hidden costs.

Marina Fees

You don’t have to pay to park your house! One of the biggest expenses for many boat owners is the marina bill. This varies from area to area but is generally quite pricey. You could equate marina fees to land rent. You own your boat but have to pay to moor it. A marina which allows residential mooring will give you an address (not many places accept ‘The BBB on the river’)! The marina will give you somewhere safe to moor and often you’ll get tap water, access to a safe car park, a toilet block and facilities to empty the toilet. Some marinas have an onsite cafe/bar, engineers and will sell coal, gas and diesel. Most marinas give you the option to plug the boat into their electricity supply which gives you similar access to electricity as in a house (you can use electric kettles, hairdryers etc). Most marinas charge you separately for the electricity that you have used, using a meter or a metered cable.

Licence

The next biggest bill is the boat licence. This is another bill you don’t have in a house. Your boat needs to be licensed with the authority that maintains the rivers or canals that it will be on. If you move around a lot you might need a licence for more than one authority – if you don’t – you probably won’t! If you have a boat that you use on the river (any boat, even canoes and inflatable dinghies) you must have a licence for it. The fines for not being licensed can be quite high – they can seize the boat if you don’t pay!

Insurance

Just like houses (cars, businesses, pets…) boats need to be insured. Liveaboard boat insurance is a combination of contents insurance (like you would have in a house) and car insurance. They can vary from a simple third party only cover to covering almost everything! Most newer boats have a fairly comprehensive type of cover.

Utilities

We don’t have a gas bill. But we do have to buy gas bottles. In a house I could shop around to get the best deal (often by bundling my utilities together).On a boat, I can’t shop around to get a good deal on my utility bills. I have to pay the price of a bottle of gas. I don’t have broadband or a phone line, but I still need to be connected to the world.  We have a 4g router – similar to the hotspot on a mobile phone. That needs to be paid for. While we don’t have a landline – we all have mobile phones. We can’t shop around for a broadband/mobile/TV landline package which would make it cheaper, we have to buy them separately.

Space

The other thing people forget is the limited space on a boat. It’s hard to buy in bulk – because there’s nowhere to store it! It might be cheaper to buy 18 toilet rolls, but it’s a struggle to store more than 4! If we try to shop in bulk we end up putting things in odd places and forgetting they’re there. Like the baked beans in the bedroom drawer…

So, living on a boat isn’t necessarily that much cheaper than living in a house.

But…

There are things liveaboard boaters can do to make life cheaper.

Continuous Cruising

Continuous cruising (CC) for example. This is exactly what it sounds like. Continuous cruisers (CCers) don’t have a regular marina – so no marina fees. They roam around the waterways. There are some fairly complicated rules regarding how long a CCer can stay in one place and how far they are supposed to travel in one year. As a very basic idea – they aren’t supposed to stay in one area more than 14 days and they are supposed to travel from place to place – not just shuttle from one area to another, then back. CC information. CCers don’t have electric hook up at a marina – so no electricity bills. The engine makes electricity when they are travelling, and a lot have solar panels to make electricity when they are moored. Sometimes in the winter, there aren’t enough hours of daylight in the day for the solar panels to top up the boat’s batteries – that’s why, in the winter, you often hear narrowboats running their engines while they’re moored. They’re topping up their batteries. Although that adds a diesel bill into the equation!

Off Grid Mooring

Another similar option is an off-grid mooring. One without any facilities. That keeps the costs low,  the mooring costs are much lower and there aren’t bills for electricity, because there isn’t any!

Both CCing and living off grid are a lot more work. You need to consider where you’re going to get water from (is there a riverside tap anywhere nearby) and what will you do if the river freezes/floods when you need it? You have to sort out an address which might involve paying for one, boatmail, for example. How are you going to empty the toilet? Is there a marina nearby to empty it? Will you enjoy cruising when it’s minus 3 outside and everything is slippery with slush?

To Conclude…

Yes, it is cheaper to live on a boat, but not necessarily a lot cheaper. The cheaper you make it, the harder you make it. 

I wouldn’t live on a boat long term for financial reasons. I do it because I love it!