When life hands you lemons you’re supposed to make lemonade right? Divorce, separation, ill health, or some other unexpected change of circumstances may force you to sell your boat. I lived aboard for thirteen years and wrote a blog called The Real Life of a Narrowboat Wife. When my marriage broke up we decided to sell our boat. I thought ‘The Narrowboat Ex Wife Who Lives in a Cottage in Devon But Still Writes Several Narrowboating Blogs’ was just too long for a new blog title, and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life next. So if you’re in the same boat (ha ha!) here are some tips on how to manage the change.

1) Look Upon it as a New Adventure

Selling a boat you have loved for years can be a very difficult decision but try to look forwards and not backwards; think positively. Your happy memories will remain with you. If you live aboard you will be relocating to a new community, where there’s the opportunity to make new friends - and when one door closes another one opens.

2) Keep in Touch With Boating Friends

Boating friends often welcome the company and the help with the locks, so keep a windlass in the cupboard under the stairs, because you never know when you might need it. You know it’s always handy to have someone to take the tiller whilst you pop below to make a pot of tea.

3) Keep in Touch With the Canal World

There are many friendly Facebook groups for socialising online and you don’t usually need to own a boat to be a member. For many groups you just have to have an interest in the waterways. You could also subscribe to a canal magazine or Towpath Talk and get it sent directly to your home. I do!

4) Have Boat-Related Adventures on Dry Land

Try getting involved with community boating, canal museums,or CRT volunteering events. Remember, the waterways will always be here for you to visit and enjoy, and you will always be a boater in your heart!

5) Sell Quickly

New Year is a great time to get on with those things you didn't get around to last year – like listing your boat for sale with a reputable brokerage. Here are 5 Reasons We Can Sell Your Boat Twice as Fast as Other Brokers.

You may also like our free eBook How to Sell a Boat: The Ultimate Guide

Peggy

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Living on a Boat: The Boatshed Guide (free) / How to Sell a Boat: The Ultimate Guide (free eBook) / How to Buy a Boat: The Ultimate Guide / Our Top 5 Articles From 2014 / Don’t miss:The Boatshed Grand Union Daily/ More articles.

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