Cruising Qisma - Narrowboat Off-grid Solar & Lithium Battery Setup plus Starlink Wi-Fi on a Boat!

[@Sue_Anthony]

I'm seriously considering this lifestyle once I'm freer of some responsibility that keep me on land. Where did you buy your narrow boat, do you cruise all the time - like constant cruising in UK? are there many services, water, fuel, rubbish etc. How do you get your shopping. Thanks

[@CruisingQisma]

Hi Susan thanks for your comment you're asking all the right questions! We are based in Northern Ireland so our experience is different to the UK but there are a few parallels. We bought our narrowboat through Apollo duck which is the best place to go. It's a little tricky to use but everyone goes there. We don't cruise all the time as the rules are different here. In England you pay a license fee and that gives you access to services. You can get fuel from fuel points or bring it yourself. We also have a car that we use to get shopping but that's because we cruise around big lakes and there's not many transport options 😊

[@stuartcox2785]

What a great video fella I’m fulltime on a narrowboat too with lithiums. Does the starlink have to be on 240v or can you get a converter to run the router from 12v? To keep the invertor off when needed

[@CruisingQisma]

Hi Stuart, thanks for the comment! Yes the Starlink is 240v which is ok for us as we have big batteries. Plus it auto sleeps during the night. Maybe the more expensive roaming one can run on 12v.

[@majordolbyscat]

Hi there. I was wondering, as it seems like you are on the move a lot, do you have a Starlink residential subscription or a roaming one? I see there is a £10 difference in subscription cost? At £75 a month for a residential subscription it’s already costly.

[@CruisingQisma]

Hi yeah I had this same question too. The roaming one is flat and apparently is made for campervans that travel big distances. Since we move slowly and not over big distances I went for the standard one to save money 😁

[@majordolbyscat]

@@CruisingQisma so you’ve had no problem with them trying to change your subscription? No query about why every so often your house moves by itself? I mean I know subsidence is a thing, but to this extreme 😉 thank you for the heads up. This is something I am seriously considering myself as the Internet in the marina, I’m moored at, is powered by one tiny, hamster wheel, that someone has forgot to put the hamster in.

[@CruisingQisma]

No hassle at all. It's designed to be as portable as possible and as long as you don't leave the continent with it you'll be fine. It even works while cruising.😂 You do need a 240v plug for it though. A few people know were considering it but they only have 12v available.