Living in Europe
The decision to be immersed in Europe drove the need to have a boat suitable for year-round living. We could have kept the house in Vancouver and rented it and put a mortgage on it in order to pay for the capital cost of the barge. But there are tax implications with this approach and, more importantly, we didn't want the house converted to a grow operation while we blissfully cruised the canals.
Economically two factors come into play in determining the feasibility of living on board full time: The cost of the boat and the cost of living. We have prepared two charts to represent these factors to assist in evaluating options. In addition, we have put together a budget for living costs as we see them. These include the cost of existence on a barge, the cost of operating the ship, the optional cost of a car in France, and the optional cost of a vacation from your vacation. These last two items are optional in any given year, but we have found them to be important additions to the lifestyle so some provision for these "luxuries" should be made. Click on the red buttons to the right.
The first chart shows that the minimum cost of living is in the order of 1800 Euros a month for year round accommodation and cruising costs. This increases by about 500 Euros a month if you run a car for the winter, and can be expected to increase by a further several hundred Euros to cover optional or winter travel. The higher amounts in the second column reflect a slightly more expensive lifestyle, but you can only eat so much, or travel so much, and while you could drive a Rolls it would not be included in this budget.
The second chart shows that the entry level boat can be quite reasonable but that the barge is the most economic provider of living space. As one moves into the more specialized boats like trawlers the price includes a lot of costs related to being able to cruise comfortably in 30 foot waves, and less for just lolling about and living. Trawlers present a particular difficulty in that they generally have quite deep hulls. We met several boats last summer that were keeping clear of certain canals because they couldn't meet the maximum depth limits. This is much less the case with the Dutch Cruisers which are generally built for canal and shallow water use.
The conclusion of these charts is that with a monthly income of some 2000 Euros (1500 GBP, 2400 USD, or 3000 CAD) one can afford to live on board providing the boat is paid for or self financed. Secondly, while not all choices will be ideal in terms of space, there is a boat that will provide accommodation at a cost between 70,000 and 400,000 Euros.
If one's capital is restricted to the lower end of the vessel costs but the house is paid elsewhere perhaps the best bet is to buy a small unit and cruise for 4 months rather than remortgage the house and take on a more expensive vessel for full time living. Having said that, many people do follow the remortgage approach and rent out the house until they stop cruising. Notwithstanding the risks associated with renting this can be a more expensive approach since there is vacancy cost, repairs and maintenance, management fees, insurance, and borrowing cost associated with the mortgage. On the other hand, there is capital appreciation associated with the housing market that can mean a very significant gain.
It is possible to finance a barge. The most often quoted rate is something like 10% interest on a maximum of 50% of the appraised value. On a new build you can secure financing on 80% of the hull value at standard banking rates. For an old hull the percentage may drop but is dependant on the surveyors report. If you contact fellow barger David Webb at office@associatedmarinefinance.com
he can provide a lot more business-like rate than the usual "oh-you've-got-a-boat-so-we-will-charge-you-more" service. David is located in the UK but handles financial transactions in a variety of countries.
