Life Afloat

I've been meaning to write this post for months, but I had to wait until I had a phone that had a decent camera, that also made it easy to upload photos.  Having got a new camera for Christmas from OH, I decided to get on with it.  So here goes.

One of my favourite pastimes when I'm walking the dog along the canal near where we live, is to see the different types of boats that people make into homes here in London. They are so varied in size, shape, type, age, etc.

Some are very short, compact and bijou to put it politely.

Some are incredibly long.

Some are just strange.

The orange one is a kind of small submarine type vessel. 

(Apologies for the finger over the lens here and the fact that I didn't zoom in - I hadn't worked out how to use it at this point.)

Some look like pleasure crafts of various kinds.

(Here's our little dog)

Some look like tug boats.

Many are traditional canal boats, of course. (Some with very cute names and side hustles)

Some are narrow, as is traditional on the canals, hence the name narrowboat.

Others are much wider and barge like, allowing much more living space.

There are quite a few very ramshackle affairs.

(I forgot to photograph any of these)

But some are very slick minimal hipster conversions, complete with shiny stainless steel, solar power and modern paint jobs.

I am constantly amazed at the diversity and resourcefulness of those who live their lives afloat on the canals of London, and due to the licensing laws of the canals, many of them have to move every two weeks. As a consequence, a regular stream of different boats appear all year round, creating an endless supply of fascinating tiny homes to observe.

I think I probably view life afloat through slightly rose tinted spectacles.  I'm sure it's cold and damp in the winter, but to me, the smell of wood smoke gives the impression of them being cosy and warm, with no room to keep lots of clutter.

Do you see canal boat homes where you live?