What would you say is the most positive thing about life on a boat here on the King’s Cross canal?
“I’m sure anyone living in London would agree with me that rent prices nowadays are soaring higher by the minute. Living on a boat gives you the opportunity to take that aspect completely out of the equation. It relieves your mind, you feel more free because you’re not panicking every month,” the first man responded.
“For me, the most wonderful thing about living on a boat is that you get rocked to sleep at night and rocked awake in the morning. Only a canal can do that of course.”
What would you say is the most burdensome thing about this lifestyle?
“The biggest burden on a boat? Well that has to be people asking you ‘what’s it like living on a boat?’” one piped up.
The other was more particular. “Well, it’s a bit like camping, which is fine, but sometimes you wake up and it’s raining and freezing. Simply put, it’s not for the faint hearted. Imagine if, well my boat doesn’t leak, but imagine you could get a leaky boat. When something breaks I suppose is the biggest problem, but you just get over it.”
How long have you been living this way and what would you say motivated you to make the change?
“I’ve been living on a boat for about 20 years, I’m 60 now, so I had the usual mid-life crisis and that’s none of your business, " he smiled mockingly at me. I nodded with acceptance. “There are lots of blokes on the water, with a boat, that’s when you know she got the house.”
“Well, I’ve always been a bit of a nomad,” the other began, “and I used to have a van, which I did well in, and then I discovered a boat and just felt like that could be fun. To try and live here in any other way, you know, it costs a fortune.”
Would you say there’s more mobility with a boat? Or do you feel quite static?
“There’s lots of mobility!” he exclaimed. “I haven’t moved for a while, because we don’t need to at the moment. We’ve got the google lot over there and they own this spot so we’re not encouraged to go. But I’ve been all the way to Oxford, which isn’t really far, but on a boat it’s quite a journey.” I nodded in agreement.
Have you met any interesting people since you’ve moved here that you wouldn’t have met if you stayed in a house or in a van?
“Absolutely, tons.”
Can you give me an example?
“Well, I’ve met a lot of artists, you know, performance artists. The man down here is a tarot reader. Just lots of great characters. James here owns the book boat.”
That excited me. I’d spent lots of money there, I thought it was beautiful, and only now was I realising that I’d been talking to the owner the entire time.
“But yeah, all sorts. I’ve not had any particularly bad experiences, all I’ve met have been ,you know, alright. That’s the beauty of this whole thing I suppose, if you don’t like them you can just go away.”
“Any interesting people since I’ve moved on a boat? The other laughed. No. None at all, they’re all dull as f—. I mean, they all wear hats, but they’re really dull.”
