Narrowboat Tour: Come See Inside Our Tiny Home On The Water!

[@thistinylife]

Hey! Thanks for watching our narrowboat tiny home tour 😀 we're moving off Flora in a few weeks and onto our new project, so thought this would be the ideal time to show you around! If you have any questions about the renovations we undertook to Flora, or boatlife in general, we'd love for you to say hi on Instagram. Head to instagram.com/thistiny.life to say hello 🙋

[@Dunkelzeitgeist]

Have you now moved on? I'm looking to buy a boat just like Flora 😅

[@janewalsh2773]

Hi thanks for your reply but I don't have Instagram X

[@Andrea29987]

Definitely think I would love this lifestyle. I have been researching and done a couple of holidays on a hike boat. Kids are grown up. So….selling my house in the spring to live aboard full time. Excited!

[@thistinylife]

Ah how exciting for you, good luck with finding the right boat!!!🎉🎉🎉

[@anniemac3075]

Thanks for the tour, I love your boat, especially the bathroom. I'd like to live on a boat, always enjoyed being near water, as I discovered the joys of minimalism while camping in my tent I could cope with the smaller space & less belongings. Plus the thought of being in the countryside most of the time would be heaven.

[@thistinylife]

Thank you so much for watching and your kind words about the renovation. It was a lot of work and we were complete amateurs! Always good to jump in and try to learn new skills. It is a lovely lifestyle, we probably need to slim down on a few of our belongings once again 😅

[@lsnowy7758]

When I was wee there was a patch of grass that was always cut down in summer and then burned. We threw spuds into the embers and cooked them in their skins . I loved that smokey flavour!

[@thistinylife]

That sounds beautiful!! What a tradition ✨

[@luthen4464]

Saw the schnauzer on the thumbnail and had to check this vid out! 🐶

[@thistinylife]

She's always the attention grabber in person too...mainly because of the barking 😅

[@luthen4464]

@@thistinylife I understand that! I’ve got one too and they looooove to bark.

[@chrisknowles7443]

Wow!!! You’ve both done a fantastic job, brought me to tears!!!! Aunty Chris xx

[@thistinylife]

Thank you! She's not always this tidy 😅 xx

[@helenaboringlifeiniceland7442]

Hopefully I will live in a similar boat fore 1 week next year.

[@pamelakempseyy9345]

I just stumbled on this episode after watching several of your videos. Such an eye opener! I often wondered how people cope with living on a narrow boat, but you have everything you need and it’s all functional. Your home looks so cosy as well as practical, and surrounded by nature. Well done to you both…. and thank you for the tour.

[@sheilajoseph9953]

Lovely boat, well done with the refurbing. Space looks good. Tilly is a cutie.

[@thistinylife]

Aw thanks Sheila for watching and your kind words 🙏

[@josephforsuh6929]

I understand how Gabby feels about her sewing machine...... 😉

[@Mark-Dixon-1]

Such a lovely and well thought out boat

[@thistinylife]

Thank you 😊 it's helped with planning our current layout!

[@rowancrafts]

Being a live aboard is something that I would really like to do, I've had many holidays on the canal network. But as a "senior" person I think that I've possibly left it too late to make the commitment to narrow boat cruising life. I love your videos and look forward to seeing how the fitting out of your second boat goes. Your experiences so far will obviously be reflected in the work that you do on the new boat. I wish you a good 2023.

[@thistinylife]

Aw thank you so much David! We will continue sharing 🙂 although age is just a number! Is it ever too late?

[@MaggieBrook]

I did quite a few narrow boat holidays as a child and have done a couple since being an adult and I adore them! Definitely one of my favourite holidays!

[@thistinylife]

Oh amazing! Must be such a fun holiday as a child ✨

[@lizjones8984]

We have a narrowboat, but do not live aboard….we love to go and spend time on it, not always travelling, sometimes just to chill, we have a mooring at the side of a farm. We also had a mini schnauzer but sadly she passed away at the end of October and I miss her so much so to see your little Tilly is lovely xx

[@thistinylife]

Oh sorry to hear about your schnozz! They're such lovely dogs with so much personality. Although Tilly is taking over all of the sofa today! Thank you for watching the video :)

[@sammyb1651]

That side hatch is an absolute stunner! Amazing self fit-out, guys! I love boats that have an unstudied air. Just nice functional pieces thoughtfully tied together, without being too 'deliberate'.

[@thistinylife]

We agree! We quite like the open plan feel and the ability to change her around if we needed to. You're right about the hatch... I think it's almost double the width of a standard side hatch!

[@MrPeterJMilner]

Good evening both of you. I live on a 1993 Johnathan Wilson Josha hull 57' narrowboat. It sleeps 7, 3 bunks in the back cabin, a double bed and the dinette in the lounge folds out into a second double bed. To answer your question on toilets, I have a bathroom much the same as yours with a Jabsco pump out toilet and a second shower room in the back cabin with a caravan style Thetford cassette toilet. I therefore have the luxury of two different types of toilet. I have a trad stern so mine is pretty unsocialble for the hlmsman, but it does mean th eengine is under a cover in the back cabin meaning its comfortable to work on regardless of the weather. Nice boat you have there. Take care, Peter.

[@dexterfitben]

Cosy. Tip: get a good flask just for hot water after you've boiled the water. Good for top ups, drinking water and saves energy.

[@sugarpuff2978]

We are doing this now because of fuel prices. It saves us boiling the kettle quite a few times a day.

[@thistinylife]

Good tip! My dad does this on his range... Means an almost constant supply of hot water

[@leedavies3629]

Nice one you done a nice job open plan a like it cheers and keep warm 🙂🐶✌️

[@thistinylife]

Thank you! The canal has frozen over again today - fire is roaring 🔥🔥

[@trevorsbarkingmadchannel4501]

Brilliant. Love the layout looks a lot bigger than it is. Best wishes

[@thistinylife]

Thank you 🙌 The open plan space really helps it feel that way, and the big windows! We chose these big windows on our new boat we're doing up too (rather than portholes) to keep it nice and airy 🙂

[@FlashGormless]

That's a really lovely boat, looks like a nice space to live in :)

[@thistinylife]

Thank you so much Steven! She is a lovely boat, we'll be sorry to say goodbye to her but we're excited about the fitout of our next project. Thank you for watching!

[@FlashGormless]

@@thistinylife I'd be interested in buying her when you decide to sell, obviously it will be when the new boat is ready to live aboard.

[@christineprice5463]

Lovely remodeling of the interior. Very nice! I am sure that I have too much stuff to live on a narrow boat. You are so talented.

[@thistinylife]

Oh thank you Christine, that's really lovely of you to say! It does take some work to whittle out what you do and don't need! Thanks for watching 🙏

[@christineprice5463]

@@thistinylife you are welcome 😊

[@alistairmoffat1307]

Love it. And yes I could be a live a board boater. Your boat is fantastic very bohemian. I fancy a reverse layout with pullman style seats and a walk through bathroom. I have watched so many boating videos now that I know exactly what I want!!

[@thistinylife]

Oh yes! Love the idea of a reverse layout! I'd also recommend putting the stove somewhere in the midships. Our heat sometimes struggles to reach the bedroom down at the stern!

[@Kay_parry]

You guys have done an amazing job I love the lay out and the design, also thanks for the vids, advice & tips throughout your journey, it’s been really useful to watch for an absolute newbie like me 😊

[@thistinylife]

Our pleasure! Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words about the renovation... Any questions you have about boatlife, feel free to ask 😀

[@rneustel388]

This video caught my eye simply because of your adorable schnauzer-I have two. But your boat really intrigues me since we don’t typically have these boats on rivers or estuaries except in just a few locations. It seems like a really great life if you’re in a place in your life where you don’t need a three bedroom house on an acre of land. lol

[@thistinylife]

Heya! The schnauzer, Tilly, really does rule the boat! Thank you for watching. Don't get us wrong, we'd love a plot of land to use grow veggies and attempt some more self-sufficiency. Not feasible at the minute however and this lifestyle suits us 🙂

[@rneustel388]

@@thistinylife I definitely know about the life revolving around the pups! We adopted a brother and sister, 12-13 years old a year ago. They’re Patty and Sammy.

[@rachaelfratczak1846]

I love the idea of living on a NB....so long as someone else did all the horrible jobs lol. And my spider phobia! But it is an absolute dream for me, the nice side of it is just amazing!

[@thistinylife]

We didn't have that bad spiders last year! Gabby used to be terrified of them but has learnt to live alongside them 😅 the positives definitely outweigh the negatives for us!

[@Mel-hl1bb]

Beautiful home 😍

[@thistinylife]

Thank you ✨

[@thistinylife]

Thank you 🙏

[@davidholloway6938]

Great idea to cook and ger heat with same fuel.

[@mattbarca89]

Finally got round to watching, a few hours later than anticipated but definitely worth the watch! I love the flow of the boat and the burner use to be my favourite spot too, growing up on our old Dutch barge (we had 4 boats in total) I use to sit in front of the fire and lay with our dog, if I could go back I'd be there in a heartbeat ❤️ The cupboards being filled with tools, I've had the same issue and I keep saying I'll tidy it, two years I've been saying that for 😂 I love the flow too, everything works well and it looks like a lot of thought has gone into the custom design you've added, that makes me even more excited to see Artichoke complete!! P.s the biscuits did last, well some of them did, I had to open the custard creams for the last section!

[@thistinylife]

Hey Matt!! Apologies about the late upload... Our internet was on the go slow! Thank you for watching. You're totally right about the tool cupboards... They've been on the list of things to sort for a while now haha! They will one day.... Probably! ps. Save us a custard cream

[@angelarochester116]

I love your boat, it’s so homely and cosy ❤️ We have a compost toilet in our boat and I absolutely hate it 😂 xxx

[@Meandmissy]

I’m just going to walk along and have a look at the canal boats I’m at honeystreet

[@thistinylife]

Hope there were some pretty ones to oggle at!! 😊

[@jonlowing7907]

I think 'roof' sounds a bit ordinary; me, I would call it the 'top deck.....or the 'sun deck''! Great video! You offered an interesting insight into the canal boat lifestyle, which, as a single living alone, I would happily adopt if I didn't live on the driest inhabited continent on the planet!

[@thistinylife]

You know what, you're totally right! We should rebrand it as the sun deck shouldn't we! Thank you for watching 🙂 It sometimes feels as though we live on the wettest continent on the planet so we need to find a middle ground 😂

[@Theritualkitchen]

Another great video guys! Flora is a beauty, I love the parque kitchen work top! I might have to bother you with some renovation questions on insta haha

[@thistinylife]

Haha thank you!! Please do ask away, although we are not experts... More just bumble along until something works haha!

[@valeriellauke2179]

If I could I would come tomorrow, I already fit my life in 3 suit cases so hard part done. I wish I wish...

[@thistinylife]

We do really enjoy small space living, it makes you concentrate on owning only what you need 🙂

[@Red-ns9ny]

Awww❤

[@thistinylife]

Thank you for watching!

[@julieyork7605]

I would love to live on water!

[@thistinylife]

It's a lifestyle which suits us very well. We love being out in nature and the freedom it gives! Thank you for watching 🙏

[@clivelogsdon1492]

Just come across this video and loved the way you both seem so content with your boat life which I do envy, so I've added you to the other narrowboaters I follow and look forward to seeing more in the future. Have a happy new year

[@thistinylife]

Welcome aboard and thank you for watching! The lifestyle suits us well, it's a really lovely way to live. The people and nature are what make it!

[@fionacrowe9216]

Great tour! I’d love to live on a narrow boat, but we’re in Sussex, not working canals our way.

[@thistinylife]

Thank you! Narrowboat holiday? 🤔🤔

[@DenaliDad]

I've subscribed for a while and enjoy what you produce a lot. I live in the US and am what we call "retired," what you would call "a pensioner." If I could somehow control these items, I would relocate to the Cut to live out my days, even in the winter you are having now, which is a lot like mine! Those are 1) the British immigration rules; they are complex, and I am sure geared toward controlling a lot of security and economic factors; and 2) the cost of buying a narrowboat, even a small one. Being an older solo boater, my needs and abilities are different from yours, so I would want a smaller boat, one with less space (where I live now is less than 500 sq ft), and I would want a hybrid. I think being kind to our environment is critical, and I really, really like quiet. I would not spend much time near your large cities.

[@thistinylife]

Thank you for watching James and I hope you get to experience a canal trip soon! The prices of boats have definitely sky rocketed over recent years. The pandemic meant a lot of people reassessed their lives. There are boats of every size and nature, so the perfect one would be out there! It's a lovely lifestyle and we too much prefer to be out in the countryside rather than the cities!

[@efortunywhitton]

I love your home!! And yes, the experience of living on a narrow boat is one which has captured my imagination for many reasons, chief among them is the nature that surrounds; I would also love to experience seeing each and every area that these vessels can get to. Thank you for sharing! x (Oh! one question: how do you do your laundry?)

[@thistinylife]

Living amongst nature is the best part of the life for us, as well as being able to travel. Life on the waterways is quite slow to get anywhere however! So, laundry.... We use laundrettes quite a bit and are those people that always turn up with a small bag of washing if we ever visit friends 🙈

[@efortunywhitton]

@@thistinylife Is it possible to have a washer in the vessel? Sorry... I appear to be obsessed with laundry 😂 ... The slowness wouldn't bother me, that would be the best part I think. :)

[@thistinylife]

@@efortunywhitton it's definitely possible, many do! However, washers use a lot of power so you tend to need to run a generator or your engine to be able to run them... Or wash when the solar is really good!

[@BrassLock]

@@thistinylife Someone like Mr Dyson (Bladeless Fan inventor) should develop a 12 volt washing machine. If you scan the history of washing machines, they developed from fairly simple manually operated paddles, then electric motors were added and so on to today's automatics. They relied on hard soap and extremely hot water. But with today's modern washing powders, perfectly good laundry success is possible in tepid water. Thus I've experimented with two medium sized plastic, stackable tubs that don't take up much space when not being used. Laundry can soak in one while you're cruising, with a "swish around the water" every so often. I modified a new rubber toilet plunger by punching 6 large holes in the rubber end, to allow a washing action to be performed easily, plunging 20 times every ten minutes or so. Then squeeze/wring the soapy water out, toss into the other tub with fresh water for rinsing (as many times as you require). The main problem with this manual washing is removing excess water (either soapy or clear). Thus Mr Dyson should concentrate on developing an efficient 12 volt spin dryer, requiring a small motor such as used in cordless drills. I think its an untapped market, and it amazes me that considering the thousands of young folk in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that live in RV's, caravans and Tiny Homes that a robust, sturdy and reliable small washer/dryer hasn't already made someone "filthy rich" 😁

[@russjones4034]

I may have missed it but I don't remember seeing a TV.

[@thistinylife]

Nope we don't have a TV onboard! Just use a laptop when we want to watch something 🙂

[@louisewaggett1841]

Love your boat, thanks so much for sharing, how long is she please? Thanks

[@thistinylife]

She was 57ft ☺️ our current boat is 54ft x

[@louisewaggett1841]

@ that’s amazing thank you I love your layout, we’ ve bought a 58ft, you’ve given me lots of ideas :)))

[@thistinylife]

@louisewaggett1841 amazing! Are you doing a sale away?

[@staciedunkley3787]

Such a lovely little home ❤ how does the compost toilet work? Are there spots to dispose of the waste? Xx

[@thistinylife]

Thank you! This was our old boat - our current one is still in the renovation stage. She was lovely though! Compost loos - So, we compost it ourselves with a hot bin. It works really well, although cold weather can cause it to slow down a bit. Some areas do have collection schemes where people will cycle and collect your waste and then they compost it :) www.circularrevolution.org/

[@glennclarke9787]

Hi to you both, Would have loved to seen in your engine compartment.What part of the country are you. Glenn and Marion

[@hananonihongo]

I never thought I would be watching the videos about narrowboats as it wouldn't be my first choice of a place to live (I would be too afraid of vandalism/someone attacking me when alone on the boat and potentially losing everything in the process, not to mention having to learn to do all the engineering and navigation on my own), but by the way things are going in the UK, I soon might have no other choice... This lack of choice really terrifies me - while I see how it could be a dream Instagram lifestyle for some, I wonder how many live on boats simply do it out of necessity and really despise every aspect of it.

[@michaeldavies9533]

Thank you for letting us come into your home,you have done wonders with the refurbishment,nice layout and cosy looking.

[@thistinylife]

Hey there! Thank you for stopping by and watching the video. Our journey to narrowboating came about as we were tired of paying rent and were not able to get a mortgage because our jobs as freelancers are too insecure. By chance, I stumbled across a narrowboat for sale and fell in love with the life. On the whole, the majority of people on the water seem to be very content. I'm generalising obviously but there is a definite different attitude to people living this alternative lifestyle, in comparison to many people living a more conventional way. Boaters seem to be happy wanting less, caring about nature and living in a fairly strong community of people, despite often the nomadic existance.

[@KatSal1606]

Hi guys, how do you get water? Is it delivered into a water tank? How often do you have to clean the water tank (if there is one?)

[@thistinylife]

Hey Kat! The canal & river trust (CRT) have water points along the canal. We have a water tank onboard which we fill up connecting a hose to the boat and tap! Every couple of years we flush the system out using milton tablets - our water tank is inaccessible but other boats you can get into to scrub out! I think most boaters just leave them as is though!

[@KatSal1606]

@@thistinylife Ah cool! thanks so much for replying 😊 love your videos so much 💞

[@lilyfulvio-mason1877]

Where did you get your standing desk from? I'm about to move onto my boyfriend's boat and it looks so handy!

[@thistinylife]

It's really useful! I think we got it from Etsy but I'll double check!! 🙂

[@janewalsh2773]

Beautiful boat. What work do you do from your boat? I'd LOVE to live on a n boat X

[@thistinylife]

Thank you!! We're on a new boat now which we're half way though the project of creating! We have done a Q&A video where we answer Qs about work. We'll do another Q&A soon ☺️

[@pierrehodgins2938]

Hi how many Wats is your invoice

[@thistinylife]

It's 1600 on this boat. On our new build we're having a 6000 🙌

[@pierrehodgins2938]

Ok verry good

[@VitaliiSediuk]

The guy is hot ❤️

[@pierrehodgins2938]

How many Wats is your invoice

[@thistinylife]

Hey Pierre, our inverter is 1600 watts 🙂

[@Woogieboogiewoo]

I’ve never seen a couple that loves to take subtle digs at each other more than these two. So toxic and they seem more like acquaintances than a couple.

[@thistinylife]

🤷‍♂️

[@wendydecarteret6825]

Love watching your vlogs. We are just waiting to sell our static caravan then we will be looking for a narrow boat .love watching your ideas.

[@sugarpuff2978]

Seriously? You want to hear me and my husband. Actually, maybe you don't if you are so easily offended!

[@Woogieboogiewoo]

@@sugarpuff2978 that’s sad for you and your husband & these two idiots in their vlog if you can’t recognize how toxic your behavior is & how toxic and damaging it is to be that way.

[@dreamer6943]

It's called good humoured banter, you weirdo. Not everyone is into PDA. They seem normal and natural, not posing and acting up to the camera like some do. So much of social media is fakery designed to resemble authenticity. These two are the real deal, confident in their own skins and relationship, getting on with their life in a proactive and positive way. Besides, when time means beauty fades, health issues kick in and the novelty has long worn off in the bedroom, what are you left with if not friendship?

[@jessicapitts7693]

Small double beds on a boat are the bain of my life 😂 loved the tour, follow you on Instagram such a beautiful account so rushed here to watch a live tour of your boat when I saw that there was one!!