The Liveaboard Guide: Living Afloat on the Inland Waterways, Paperback

The complete practical guide to living afloat on the inland waterways.

Tony Jones has lived aboard his 50ft narrowboat for over 14 years and in this very practical book he documents what the liveaboard lifestyle is really like, focusing on the practical issues of day to day living for those who want to know what living on a boat actually entails, to see how to manage it for themselves. The dream of downsizing and living on the water is perfectly possible, and this book is the complete practical guide to achieving it.

Topics covered include:
- the pros, cons, and costs of a residential mooring
- power usage and energy consumption (and how it differs from a house)
- how to stay warm - the choice of coal, electric, gas, or wood heating
- boat loos - the pros and cons, and troubleshooting typical problems
- entertainment - TV, radio, internet, DVDs
- logistical problems - no postal address, GP access, vehicle access or use

This second edition has been comprehensively revised to include updated or new information on costs (moorings, license, insurances etc), license fees for different types of craft, composting toilets and ecological living in general, living aboard in London and other cities (suddenly very popular), postal services, boat stretching, butty boats, and so on, as well as more anecdotes and profile stories about liveaboard life.

The aim of this book is to feed those dreams: demonstrating that every possible problem that could arise when living on a boat has a tried and tested solution.

Tony Jones has lived aboard his 50ft narrowboat for over 14 years, in which time he has traversed 500 miles of canals and rivers, navigated through 400 locks and moveable bridges, run aground 4 times, sunk once, and broken down more times than he can remember. He is a professional freelance writer, published regularly in Waterways World, Canals and Rivers and Towpath Talk.