Various folk have written the following:- > As a *total* newbie to the canals I have been following the various > threads here with interest - BUT ...Is this the right group for me to > start asking (the *most* basic) questions about narrowboats, > both buying and and living aboard, or should I really be doing > this elsewhere?
I'm in a similar boat, as one might say! Retired and considering our future home. The present bricks & mortar is much too big now retired (I worked from home) and the local taxes too high. > You will then have to sift the points raised and decide what is > important to you, what is unimportant and what is the > 'Wow, I hadn't thought of that point'. So true. A few years ago we decided to build a motorhome on a Land Rover. We were unable to find a suitable production model on any chassis. Too many seats and limited storage, with a payload much too small for all the items needed to live for months at a time. We've now been using it for three years, but only part-time. > Let's start with with the most important question - what sort of > lavatorial arrangement do you fancy ? > Sorry - that's not allowed out for AT LEAST another month! One of our most important questions. Having had a bucket with a posh lid in my first caravan in 1967, up to a bench style Thetford in the last caravan, we considered the newer swivel Thetfords. But the cassette capacity had been reduced. Fortunately the new bench style has a larger capacity. We decided on a second spare cassette. We also had fitted a SOG unit. This is an exhaust system that sucks air from the bowl, over the waste to the outside. The fan operates automatically as the flap lever is opened. It has major advantages. No chemicals are used, so cheaper to use and no need to store the chemicals. No permanent smell of chemicals. Removes the natural smell while in use. It also means that disposal from a motorhome can be easier as there are no chemicals to contaminate certain methods of disposal. Not sure if that would be an advantage on a NB. It's very 'green'. We're not 'green fanatics' but have found that being eco-friendly can in the long term be more economical for folk in retirement! > Do you want a Thetford cassette toilet with spare > tanks (UNDOUBTEDLY THE BEST ;-)))) Agreed. (In a motorhome, which also has disposal problems at times.) We plan to travel for most of the year in the UK and Europe, maybe to Morocco. But the wife wants to keep a 'main home', for when we are too old to drive about. So a NB looks a good possibility. Initially, we would only live in the NB for about a month each year, but would expect that to increase after a few years to a few months each year. Eventually, we would sell the motorhome and stay full-time in the NB. Presumably, like park homes (pay council tax) and holiday/lodges (pay no council tax) there are similarities for NBs Reg.
