How much does it cost to buy and live on a NARROWBOAT? 

Watching you guys build your boat was a great experience for me. I have a great deal of respect for your skills, your patience, and your perservance!

Absolutely made it til the end! You did a great job (and honest one) letting us know your costs. I live in a three bedroom, two story which is thankfully paid off after many years. Taxes and utilities will go up even more this year. Unfortunately there are no canals in the Midwest of the USA! All the best from Missouri.

Thank you for sharing this info. It is good to be able to hear from people who are living it. Take care, all the best and God bless.

Love watching you too your boat is fantastic keep up the good work you are doing look forward to seeing you next week keep safe x

I love my air fryer. I think everyone should have one.

Thank you so much for this! You're both such lovely people, I'm watching all of your videos in backward order as I started at your latest. Great work both! Love your channel and thanks for giving me a great watch in the evenings. Subscribed. 👍🏼

Hello Danni & Joe, Thanks for the heads up about the pros & cons buying narrow boat your videos . Good luck to you both

So nice to see you on camera talking together for over half an hour, painting a very clear picture on various costs. Well thought over and realistic explaining pros and cons, you did well! I pay the same amount on rent only, so you are definitely cheaper off since you included all basic expenses! And it's always nice to have plans ahead.

Danni, Jo, I got to the end. Your Vlog on the costs of Narrow-boating, Pros and Cons was really interesting. Really enjoyed this video. Have a great week. Take Care.

Good and honest look at boat life, which definitely takes more effort and planning than a landlubber's existence, but as you say it's an adventure and great community support with many worthwhile benefits.

Hi both lovely video. You gave some excellent advice. Just wished I was younger I definitely would have loved what you are doing. What’s not to like,scenery wildlife, and go wherever you want to. You have done an amazing job with your boat you should both be very proud. Have great week. 👍

Well explained by the both of you. I lived on a boat since the late 80s and wouldn’t go back to a house. Schooling was are biggest problem but we got round it. Keep your vlogs coming

Hi Danny Joe,This was such a interesting blog you told it as it was it’s still cheaper then a house you get running repairs as you do on a boat yes the house should last longer then your boat ,but you look out you bedroom windows in a house you see the same things all the time ,on the boat you can have a different view every day ,you two should be a inspiration to lots of young people looking for somewhere to live ,I love what you have done to you boat you should be so proud of yourself till next time take care keep yourself safe,John 😂🌹👀🤝🙌🙏👍👏👏😍🫶✋🤭

Such a really lovely frank young couple sharing their knowledge with others.

Here is a huge pro for narrowboats, con for houses: scenery. Many years ago I visited England with my parents (I live in Central Florida and the nearest canal is Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney World). We were riding a tour bus back from somewhere and looking out the window I saw the stereotypical rolling hills and sheep. At first I thought it would be awesome to live in that area if only for the scenery. Then we went through a town/village and I saw people at a fast food restaurant and I had a realization: after a while you get used to the scenery and eventually you don't even notice it anymore. You become more concerned with taking the car in to be fixed or that meeting on Monday. Even with limited cruising you will frequently be around new scenery, during the cruise and while moored.

Really great vlog, loving your channel. Thanks for sharing 👍

Good luck with Autumn here now guys. Great video shows how your not biased towards your way of living.

Admire your tenacity. I've lived in challenging circumstances, having being knee deep in snow with a 30 litre container, off to get water. Although a toil, the woods I walked through were inspiring. Spring and summer I'd be woken by the birds, not an alarm clock. The views through a window change with the seasons, always different but the same perspective. There is no price to be put on that. You are both on the right track to finding personal equilibrium. keep it up. Don't be swimming in the Kennet n Avon. My wife's ashes are in there. She loved it so much. Love.

great video guys your doing well keep up the great work we to will be on the canal soon are new 65 ft narrowboat should arrive by the end of this month after waiting 16 months for it living in a caravan for 7 of those months now living in a flat with my father for nearly 9 months ish time for the boat to come and normal living again maybe we will see you out there some time . Steve & Sandra.

I watched to the end, LOL! Loving all the DIY of refitting the boat.

Perfect episode. Thanks for all the information

Watched to the end, and grateful for it too. So interesting and actually well presented, lol.

Well thought out and informative video, thank you! I’ve lived aboard sail boats for 23 years, but health issues have me looking at the canals. Took a week on the Shropshire to test it out - decision made. Goodbye Salt, hello trees and pubs. No more tides, rocks, waves, dragging anchors, expensive marinas. I’ll miss many things, but have more to look forward to. A few things I noticed on a narrow boat compared to sail boats: they’re ridiculously easy to manoeuvre, super safe, completely self contained, insanely comfortable and most important of all - they feel like a home. I add that being off grid (I will continuously cruise as retired) is a huge bonus and having no address in my view is a privacy guarantee. I guess if you’re younger that is a difficulty though. My cat loved the boat too! Thanks for your advice, your figures were pretty much identical to my estimates which has given me confidence in the decision. Happy Cruising to you two!

Great show watched to the end👍

Really interesting to see the costs, thanks for sharing 🙂

Great vlog. Loved it. Was like being there with you. Great comparison. Living in Hampshire and my house is now on equity release so I have no mortgage or rent but I loose about £7k a year in its value. I’d love to live on the canals but fear my health issues don’t make it practical as all my support network is here. Absolutely every best wish. Take care.

The cost differences is quite massive. I'm thinking of coming back to Wales from Australia as my parents are getting on a bit, but don't want to commit to the UK so Living on a Narrow boat with a van for travel sounds like a good combination.

Nice summary of costs. As someone who has not lived in UK for a long time this is better than most vlogs as you compare a boat with a similar option of flat. The idea of it being about 7,000 a year cheaper to live on a boat that also allows you to move as you like seems a deal deal - 7,000 should offset what you are losing in terms of a landed property increasing in value. We would be looking at this as an option after decades abroad (actually my wife has only had about 3 years in UK in total), so we really don't even know where we would want to be. Living on a boat would allow us to move around for a long time until finding the right part of the country, and then to test that for a while. As you say, 'don't like the neighbours? move!'. Same applies to a town, county or even region of the country. Only problem is if we find we don't like the country anymore. I watched my grandparents and then parents in their golden years spending most of their time simply sitting watching the world go by the window. On a boat at least you can vary that view. Also, on a boat you can still move at a stage in life where you really don't want to move house or even be away from home comforts. You simply take them with you for as long as you can manage the steps in and out of the boat. Cruise for as short or long a time in the day as you feel like doing so, then simply moor up. Not like driving a car where you need to get somewhere, be it home or a family member's house or a booked hotel even. You can't just decide to stop and sleep with a car. Did you actually make a list of the costs that could be shared? I'd love to examine the figures and compare them more closely house v boat. Thanks again.

Really enjoyed this, great insight to living on the canal in a narrow boat, thank you

Great video guys!

love your content guys i had a few people suggest a houseboat before I got my flat and the only thing that put me off was the insecurity of having all my stuff stuck on a boat that could sink in rougher/winter weather "the local rivers and canals near me heavily flood each winter could go for a wander each day and see a different boat that's gone down 😩

As soon as you mentioned at 11.50 into the video that you were not using a lot of diesel I thought condensation and water at the bottom of the diesel tank plus diesel bug treatment. Best to check for both regularly probably something you already do but better to be reminded than go for a cruise one weekend and find yourself needing a tow back to the marina.

I watched to the end, but I always find your videos interesting.

I’ve just got a ninja foodi multi oven. Its awesome saves on electricity. It’s a pressure cooker,slow cooker, air fryer, you can even make yogurt in it.

I came really close to living on a narrie boat back in 1987 when I was kicked out of my parents house due to the family breaking down, I ended up buying a shared ownership house with a friend and it took every penny from 4 jobs between us to make ends meet, would have been much easier and nicer imho to do the boat thing. But some 40 years later house is paid off so it's just the Bill's to pay which are actually pretty substantial still tbh, I do have the option of renting out my house and going to live on a boat though which I am very tempted to do. Back in 1988 the difference between renting and buying a house was not so big and in fact renting was cheaper. Buying a house in Italy sounds like a dream.

I wish those of us retirees who live in the USA could buy a liveaboard and just stay on the canals. Alas, we can’t, so I live vicariously through you and others like you. I am glad I found you!

Great vid, informative and interesting. Now, go get yourselves an air fryer! Best purchase I've made as far as household appliances are concerned. It's perfect for cooking chicken, chops, steaks, sausages and the like. I'm hooked up to the grid, so it's a lot cheaper using the air fryer than heating up the oven - just to cook a pie or fish & chips. Best £125 I've spent. Only problem you guys might have is that they are a bit of a bulky worktop appliance and do take up space. Go for a square one rather than circular, you'll fit more in it. All the best.

Best so far, All my question answered plus more

Very detailed and insightful - thank you!

Gas ran out that night! Of course it did 🙂. Love watching you two every week.

Van vs Boat would definitely be an interesting video, yes please! Nice content!

Loved this… We jumped in feet first and no regrets … x

Definitely bulk buy the gas and coal before the prices go up at the end of the month 🤓 Thank goodness you made sure to future proof yourselves with a decent solar set up and you’re both not afraid of learning the skills to maintain the boat. I’m sure that with all the hard work you both have poured into your boat that you will make a profit from it whenever you do decide to sell (hopefully enough to give you a great deposit 🤞🏻) One thing you can’t buy is great well being and as you said the community. Such a helpful post which I’m sure will help some many especially over the next few months 🤗🤗

New subscriber. I have back dated on your videos. What an amazing job you have both done on the boat. You should both be so proud. It’s my dream to live on board maybe one day

Very informative vlog guess it will help many of your viewers tc now see u next time the oldies 👋😉

I bought my first flat in 1991. I sold it in 95 and went to Uni and got my second house in 2000 and third in 2003. Finished paying for it last year and bought my fourth house cash last August. You got to look at the long term with property and I struggled to get an initial deposit and pay the mortgage but it got easier.

I love my airfryer, couldn't live without it now, you guys are great 😊 xx

Very informative! I used to have a tiny house on a rented space here in NZ, and although it was cheaper than the boat, ( and lthough there 8s the highest per person ratio of boat ownership than anywhere else in the world here, there isn't the network of waterways) however is cost a lot more to build as materials are mostly more expensive here.

I watched til the end! 🤣Thanks for all this, nice and clearly given.

Great presentation! I wish we had your canal life style here in Texas.

Good information there guys, thanks

Hi Danny / Joe, I was lucky in finding my narrowboat Misty J and purchase for £15,000 just before covid, (told by the dealer based at the marina, it's now just under £30,000!) I had no trouble with getting residency on a marina. Cons I agree with you. But health wise my mental status has improved, (the village I lived for 24 years I know just 4 people, with a N/B there is a much wider community).You mention using fire wood (logs) they burn quicker than coal. I used to live in a rented house £800 a month which increased 10% each year, my berth cost me now £2,400 a year which includes water. hot showers & loos. Overall I never had any savings living in a house, for the first time I now have some (not but sum)! For me purchasing a N/B has been a good thing, if your adaptable

An excellent balanced review

This is not relevant to the vlog but watching for half an hour I love how you both fiddle with your wedding rings. It was a very interesting comparison of costs and you must have put a lot of work into it. Best wishes Christine x

I made it to the end of your video. Very interesting, since I'm being evicted from my rented house next month, making me homeless. Rents around here are uber expensive and house prices are crazy. I've got a van build underway which will probably be my first step, but the canal is an attractive option because it's so handy for my daughters school, so if be even closer than I am now. I spend more on gas, electricity, water and council tax than you do in total. I'd be saving a small fortune if I got a boat, even with the cost of buying it and getting it ship shape. Constant cruising is also attractive on the Bridgewater canal but I guess a mooring would be good, especially in Winter. Great insight. Thanks 👍🏻

Hi really nice videos. We fulltime in a motorhome, and have done so for a long time. We sold up our house in UK and France. We will never buy again, no point , as for making money, yes you can, but then with the profit it's buy a bigger house. We bought our dream home detached 4 beds 10 years old. Windows needed replacing, boiler needed replacing etc etc. Noisy neighbours. Council tax . We have solar 475 Watts of solar, free camp in UK and Europe. Fulltime insurance £1200 a year. Refillable gas bottles, freedom. Good luck.

Hi, thank you both for your videos. I am hooked lol. I am trying to sell my house in Wales and buy a narrowboat which I can't wait. Look forward to your next videos. Rob C

Great video. Regarding gardens you have a 2,000 mile garden that you don't have to tend to

Hi both, we live on a wide beam, have been for 7 years and the mooring cost is the only pit fall it is a 60x10 £4300 per year soon to sell for narrowboat , we may see you 😀

Hi very god informative episode.Before the. Cold weather upgrade the windows to double glazing

I agree. You are both cool.Talented, artsy and refreshing. Buy an air fryer. We love ours. Apparently I love short sentences, too. Just want to know if you Sleep better on the boat.

I loves my air fryer. If I lived on a boat at the moment, I wouldn't bother having a cooker. I'd just have the air fryer. 10 in 1 with shelves in. Much cheaper & quicker than an oven x

Excellent analysis of the pros and cons of a mobile life. Lived in mobile caravans, a converted bus and a sea going catamaran. Great when I was younger and the UK had less restrictions. A good example is the attitude of the police then. Occasionally we would get a complaint about our park-up in a rural layby. The police would knock on the door and suggest another location, all very friendly. Geriatric now but if I had a choice I would live in a seagoing catamaran. Own my own house so would have no financial problems, but look after young grandchildren so the parents can work. They are the priority.

Enjoyed that!

Loved the video ❤ just subscribed:)

Thanks for this! Very informative 😊♥️

Great video guys 😊👍🏽

We sold our house in 2020 to move onto a boat. I don't think I could ever go back to a house now tbh.

All sounds good to me, surely a good water filtration system (maybe reverse osmosis) for grey water washing bathing, etc with a small tank for drinking would work. We live in a house that uses well water for everything except the drinking water you really don't use that much drinking water.

Anodes - You and the Canal Boat is matter a positive and the water is the ether (space) this causes "electricity" and the anodes has a lower resistance between these materials (Matter & Ether) and corrode the corrosion is the gap... I think this is correct.. Great video

Great video. I've been waiting ages for someone to compare costs of living in a house in UK to living on a boat. I've been working away from UK for decades, so I'm wel out of touch with the true cost of living in a house in UK. A few others have done videos on the cost of living on a boat, but they did not compare with the cost of living in a house. A few of your points were a little jumbled, so I am not sure whether the following were fully covered or not - we did watch all the way through begining to end. I would love to have seen a spread sheet with 2 columns - house and boat costs, fixed and variable items. Council tax - I've heard of it, but is was not yet a thing when I first took a job abroad. How much is council tax for 2 people in a house? I know my late father didn't have to pay as he was a pensioner. Water. I saw a piece on FB where someone had just paid their water bill, but only paid for the supply side as a protest over water companies pumping raw sewage out these days (why pay a bill that is for sewage treatment if it is not being treated). Their full bill was over 200 quid - but I do not know how often the bills come around. (They paid 66 and sent a letter with copy on FB explaining the reason for the short payment. I'm waiting to see them publish the water company reply). I understand water is on meters now for all houses, so I'm guessing there is as much worry about water use in a house as there is on a boat, but about cost rather than where the next water point is. House maintenance. I was always told that you should budget at least 5% of the value of a house for maintenance per year. That does not include things like a new roof or other major repairs. I keep seeing posts on FB about energy cost shooting up in UK - frightening, utterly crazy. Inflation appears to be the worst in Europe too. If you live full time in a marina, never leaving it do you still have to pay for a CRT licence? (We favour the idea of continuous cruising, so it is an academic question.) My wife has never lived in Europe, let alone UK, so it would be a way of gradually seeing a large part of the country fully rather than disjoined short visits by car. Keep up the good work on the vlogs. Loving them. Danni, I fully understand you continuing to work, even if it is a zero hour contract. If you are working you can shope around for jobs and be taken seriously. If you haven't got a job and haven't worked for a while any interview will be full of questions about that. Once out of employment it is hard to get back into it again.

Hi just been watching and danni said about growing food etc well since space is a premium have you thought about hydroponics gardening with water no digging soil. You'll need a fish tank 1mtr x30cm x30 cm and a lot of plastic tube enough to make some thing size of a towel rail in the bath room. So connect fish tank with small pump to rails at the top water flows around tubing and back to the tank. So drill holes in the top of the tubes 20 mm 26mm 150 to 180 apart wrap seeds in loft insulation wool plug in holes this will soak up the nutrition in the fish water returning all water back into the water tank. There is plenty of info on the subject I am not sponsored it's just interesting. There is a large operation in London called grown up huge warehouse 2000 fish and pallets up to ceiling. It takes a bit to work out the speed and some plants quicker than the others adjust the slope. If you don't like it you've still got a fish tank and fish looking for Bob and a towel rail just a thought and it's all year round growing indoors.

Love my air fryer, get one! Love your channel.

Watching this video after the next, that bit about getting a magnet was quite prescient. If Joe only knew then what he knows now 😄

Really wanting to do this & looking at getting myself a narrow boat & yeah I’m doing the same looking,looking 😂 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻I find one soon , great content guys ❤

all the C&RT bins are sorted and recycled so don't worry about them not having separate bins on the side of the cut for you

Great vlog, I’m sure a lot of people will find it useful. Danni can I ask what make are your dungarees thanks x

Since I'm now on Social Security Disability income both a house and a canal boat are off the list of housing options even before we get to the profound shortage of canals in the US midwest.

Well done love from Grumpy

Air fryer fantastic bit of kit I can’t stop using mine

Interesting to watch a video like this that talks about the very real downsides of boat-life. I have been dancing on the edge of this sword for five years or more - whether to take the plunge and buy a boat or stick it out in bricks and mortar. Cost-wise it would seem to make sense, especially with the freedom to move about and visit different regions. But, as I enter my retirement years, I keep returning to the thought of do I really want to be dealing with porta-loos and water tanks and Calor gas and the limitations of those things?

Thanks for sharing

Just a comment. Even though you have bought the boat outright, you still need to included the interest on that money as it is tied up in the boat to compare it to renting. After all, if you rented you would get that money back and would earn interest on it (or in a house you would pay down the principle and it would lower the interest component of your mortgage payment). I hope you are taking time to enjoy what you are doing. You will look back on it very fondly. Good luck you both.

Hi. You can boost your Wi-Fi router signal by 10% - 20% by making a signal booster, using cardboard wrapped up in Aluminium foil, Blue Peter style ! - Once you've made it, you place it behind your router, and it should overlap the height and width of your router by 2 or 3 inches, for the best results.

I live on a boat. Filling up the water tank and emptying the toilet is a price I'm happy to pay in return for a lifestyle so cheap that I don't have to work all the time.

That vlog was sound as a pound, I was hoping you'd talk about the youtube income but it was all really informative, thanks for taking the time, not boring at all.

Very well done 👏 👏 Next project live aboard sail boat ?

Did you know that you can save almost 50% on heating costs just by installing double-glazed windows instead of single-glazed ones? Nice vlog! Thank you

I love your channel.

Thank so much enjoyed it slowly getting Devore (. Separating ) and thinking would a norrow boat suit me 67 yrs and retired .?

Take note govts....the answer for helping many young couples get a first home together. With a net work of canals in place since the 18th century its surely makes sense to build more marinas and other infrastructure along existing canals without ruining the protected scenic way of life. Areas such as Devon & Cornwall have very few canals, which could supply first home dwellers some opportunity.

Hello, I have tried lots of wood I find ash worked out cheaper as it burned longer, this year I have also got smokeless coal to put on overnight.

Air fryers are great and it would make use of your free electric rather than using gas

Thanks for this..

Hi Guys, it's my first time on your channel and I enjoyed watching. I'm in America -Arizona . Where did you go when you came for your holiday? Is there a program in the UK to help with the down payment on a house if you're a first time home buyer like in the US? Thank you for sharing I love watching videos on narrow boats like Ben and Emily

It is cheaper living on a boat obviously than renting But if your work is funding your rent then you're trapped. If you have an income you don't have to work for then boat life is good. It doesn't suit everyone and as you say the energy crisis will push many over the edge to look at alternative living styles I would happily go back on about providing we could keep a land base that is simply because of our ages. If you like boat life and can adapt to it's challenges then it's a fantastic way of life.

Watched it all the way through

How deep are canals? I suppose some canal depths nearer to rivers may be deeper but narrow boats or wide beams don't require much clearance in marinas?

Boat was a good move. House in Italy, that too.

what about house maintenance? thanks, love you.