How long have you got ...?

I'm assuming, from what you say, that you know the general rules about utting a boat on the Irish inland waterways, but if not there's an overview here :


Note, though, that Waterways Ireland will be revising its byelaws, erhaps producing a single set of rules for all waterways, some timesoon, so keep an eye on our website or on Waterways Ireland's .

As you probably know, the big problem with getting a boat is finding omewhere to park or moor it. Marina spaces can be scarce on theShannon, Erne and Shannon-Erne Waterway, although new marinas arebeing developed, while (except for a small space at Lowtown) there is no marina on the Grand, Royal or Barrow.

On long-term living aboard, read this : but note that this does not refer to what UK boaters call "continuous cruising", where you move around the waterways for several months at a time: there are nospecial regulations about that, just the ordinary restrictions on how long you can spend at a public harbour.

People's definition of "barge" varies, and financially it covers everything from an ancient narrowboat on the verge of failing its (UK) boat Safety Cert to a new-build "Dutch barge" or a retired workingbarge. Although there are plenty of experienced barge-owners in Ireland, there is little published material, so if you want information on sourcing or driving barges I suggest that you look at the Barge Association's website . Its online bookshop
includes a Barge Buyers Handbook, a book on fitting out a narrowboat (much applicable to barges) and a Guide to Motor Barge Handling. There should be enough there to get you started. See also the IWAI list of boat sellers here .