Wintering in England or Ireland

[BirdoPassage]

Hi,

Planning to do England and Scotland this summer, then go south and stay for the winter where the weather is not too cold. Preferably in Great Britan or Ireland. Looking for a cheap and simple place to stay and also a job for the winter. Any simple job will do but working with boats is always fun and I have plenty of experience.

Martin

[barnakiel]

Make sure your boat has a good heating / dehumid system. Cold is not much issue but humidity is.

b.

[boatman61]

Hi 'Birdo'.... welcome to the Forum
Should find some beautiful cruising this summer mate... assuming your on a boat... you don't say..
As for 'Cheap to Stay'... gets hard to find on the S.Coast...
where the work is.... is where the costs are highest...
Regarding work... are you an EU citizen... if not it could be tough..

[pillum]

Hi Birdo, welcome...

Living on a boat in the winter is pretty harsh, even in the south of England. I only did it for a couple of weeks in Poole Harbour a few years ago and it was miserable, as Barnakiel says, get a good heater and de-humidifier. However, if you do go ahead with your plan I'd suggest looking at St Katherine's Dock, right by Tower Bridge in London, relatively cheap (for Southern England), and great for picking up a transient job.

St. Katharine Dock - Prices & Facilities

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by pillum

Hi Birdo, welcome...

Living on a boat in the winter is pretty harsh, even in the south of England. I only did it for a couple of weeks in Poole Harbour a few years ago and it was miserable, as Barnakiel says, get a good heater and de-humidifier. However, if you do go ahead with your plan I'd suggest looking at St Katherine's Dock, right by Tower Bridge in London, relatively cheap (for Southern England), and great for picking up a transient job.

St. Katharine Dock - Prices & Facilities

Their Policy is no live aboards.... but keep a low profile and 'disappear' every now and then and one can get away with it...
if your mast drops easy then go upriver past the locks and you'll find even cheaper further up...
Second the heater suggestion... if plugged into the mains a cheapo 2 bar is the best bet... keeps the boat dry and warm.
Also take a look at the electric green house heaters their pretty good if its a smaller boat.... whatever you do avoid gaz unless its flued or you'll have internal rain...

[pillum]

@ Boatman61 - I have a home in Kingston on Thames (that I seldom stay in), and I see quite a few boats berthed in the opposite side of the river. Do you know how easy it is do do this, and how expensive, more or less?

[nigel1]

North Shields up on the Tyne is relatively cheap compared to the south coast, and the marina is good, with no tidal restrictions. Plus, I would guess finding work up there would not be too hard, plenty of marine industry still going on

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by pillum

@ Boatman61 - I have a home in Kingston on Thames (that I seldom stay in), and I see quite a few boats berthed in the opposite side of the river. Do you know how easy it is do do this, and how expensive, more or less?

Looked at berths in the Richmond area and up... quite a few river marina's..
The main constraint is draught... over 2m is akward..
Drop the mast before you reach the tidal locks and motor up...
I'd check around by phone and car 1st as availability varies but prices were as little as 1/2 the cost as the main/tidal river marinas downstream...

[atoll]

check this out,100 year old sailing barge,currently in harwich,hugh the founder of the charity is allways looking for help from volunteers,will get your board and lodging,if not a proper job

..:: Generation Journey - UK ::..

[conachair]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Their Policy is no live aboards.... but keep a low profile and 'disappear' every now and then and one can get away with it...

walk by when there's snow on the ground , that's a lot of footprints to & from boats....

I thought I was hard core in flip flops til saw some bare footprints in the snow to the showerblock..

There's also southdock & limehouse marinas down river a bit. Galliens Reach supposed to be cheapest but miles from anywhere. Dunno much about upriver but Chelsea moorings now for sale if you about £5mil spare.

[BirdoPassage]

Thanks for all the interesting answers! Maybe i should say that im Swedish, 21 years old. The boat is 57 feet with a draft of 6 feet. http://www.toan.se/synb/nybygg.htm is the homepage we used as a log while building the boat. Cold weather is not a problem, the boat is well isolated with central heating and I have been living in the boat for the last 2 years in Sweden. The coldest days we had a temperature of 33 degrees celcius below zero.

I just finished high school and now I'm looking forward to a few years at sea. I have experience from a rigging workshop, i can do most basic boat jobs, or other simple jobs as cleaning, guard duty, driving (Swedish drivers licence).

Taking the mast off for the winter is a big job so we would prefer not to. Electricity is a must and preferably 3 phase, 10Amps and bicykle distance to a food shop. The London area sounds interesting. How cold is it in London during the winter? Wich months do you call winter?

Regards Martin.

[boatman61]

Have not been back to St Kate's since '99... but thats when they said "Not possible to stay on board more than 5 consecutive nights"....
I was working for Merita Nordbaken, one block behind so it would have been ideal... thats when I began looking upstream...
Problem was resolved soon after when a lot of us got layed off... last in... first out..
I know a lot of folks used them as 4 nite live ons... save on the commute..
It also stopped the 'Great Unwashed' from showing up... no way to get that cheque...
if they spot it your out.. though nowadays I believe it can be paid straight into your account..
And I'm talking way past Chelsea... up in the non-tidal part of the river...

[atoll]

for that size boat in a marina prices are scary,i know mine is 63 ft, in the south expect to pay between £600-900 a month,book now as places very limited.

if you can dry out in a mud berth ,or leaning against a wall your options are considerably more and cheaper. in the sw about £60/week.

[BirdoPassage]

Originally Posted by nigel1

North Shields up on the Tyne is relatively cheap compared to the south coast, and the marina is good, with no tidal restrictions. Plus, I would guess finding work up there would not be too hard, plenty of marine industry still going on

How is the weather in the Tyne area during winter ?

Martin

[joemac4sail]

With regard to Ireland, crosshaven south of cork city would be your best bet with 3 boatyards to try your luck for a job. There is a bus service into cork city and on to the airport so your not cut off from the world.