Childminding on a houseboat

**Madminder** · 04-10-2009, 07:21 AM

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this but here goes.

Do you think that you would be able to childmind on a houseboat? We live in the southeast and cannot afford to buy a house but a 4 bed, 4 recep, 4 bathroom houseboat has just come on the market that we could afford! We are hoping to go and view it today so I will know more about the layout later but obviously I need to know if I could mind from it.

As far as I can see, as long as I have safe access onto the boat there shouldn't be a problem. The mindies probably would not be allowed to play on the deck area which means no outside space but that is the same as a flat, or my current house which has an unsafe garden, so just means lots of visits to the park and other minders gardens! But with 4 reception rooms then there is lots of space indoors that I don't have at the moment to make up for it.

Can anyone think of any other potential problems please?

Thanks

**ajs** · 04-10-2009, 07:29 AM

not sure but i do know that i had a friend who nannied on a houseboat and the kids loved it when we visited.
i suppose if you risk assess every thing then it could be ok

good luck
do you have a link to the sale the boat we could see

**Madminder** · 04-10-2009, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by ajs

good luck
do you have a link to the sale the boat we could see

Thanks, will put the link up later and maybe some photos but till we have decided whether or not to put an offer in I don't want to jinx it!

Pipsqueak · 04-10-2009, 07:58 AM

How exciting for you - piccies would be great if/when you get some.
Not sure re the minding I would think you'd be better of speaking directly to the powers that be. I would perhaps draw up some preliminary RA's for when you speak to them so you are armed (and dangerous) - just to show you are aware of possible dangers/risks and also what you'd intend to do re the outdoor play.

Good luck

**sweets** · 04-10-2009, 07:58 AM

sounds exciting, living on a house boat i bet the children will love it. cant see it being a problem for minding as long as you have a full risk assessment, if the deck is fenced off then you would be able to use it. would love to see a link too.

**Blackhorse** · 04-10-2009, 08:05 AM

I would imagine that you might need additional safety things...like one of those rings to throw in the water....

like what happens if there is a fire and your exit is blocked...does this mean you have to jump into the water or wait for rescue services??

like in my house I say we go out the window (downstairs) if the doors are blocked by fire...

I am sure it will be fine, but you just might have to have a few additional bits and bobs in place....agree with above...speak to Ofsted directly to find out everything...

it sounds very exciting and I would imagine the kids would absolutely love it.
As a parent I dont think I would have an issue with a house boat but maybe some will be turned off by it...but you can never please all parents so I wouldnt worry about that....

cant wait to see some pics...Good luck with it!

**RedDragon** · 04-10-2009, 08:07 AM

Ooh, that does sound very exciting! What a learning experience for the children.

**Madminder** · 04-10-2009, 09:24 AM

I know the kids will love it, as would I, I have always liked homes that are different! I have a friend (ex-minder) who has a caravan about half an hours drive away near the sea, she lives there from March to September and we often go down there in the holidays for a day - the kids love it! One of my main concerns is the stairs though, it is on three levels and I am hoping that I would be able to restrict the minding to one level only as I know that stairs on boats are often more like ladders!

Hadn't thought about fire escape yet. In some ways it would actually be safer going out of a window into water than onto a hard surface! but obviously only for swimmers! I would imagine I would need to have a selection of child sized lifejackets to cope with emergencies though and it may be possible to have gangplanks at each end too.

The outside space isn't really an issue as the garden I have now is not registered as virtually impossible to make it safe for the kids so Ofsted already have my alternative planning for that.

Just waiting for the agent to call me back with a time to view now!

**margimum** · 04-10-2009, 09:35 AM

It sounds great, but don't let my dh know!
He is desparate to buy a houseboat on the Leeds/ Liverpool canal to live on, but I keep laughing and saying I couldn't possibly mind on one!!.
Hope your dream comes true

**Madminder** · 04-10-2009, 06:37 PM

Houseboat details HERE and HERE

Only found the second link after we had seen it.

It is fantastic and as it is currently being made into two seperate flats downstairs, would be ideal for childminding as there is a seperate entrance! Would be able to have 2 playrooms, one for little ones and one for the older children, a sleeping room, toilet and full bathroom, kitchen and my own craft room down there! Even though it is on the lower level it is quite light in most rooms and would be in the other rooms once the dark wood panelling was painted white.

Would still have large lounge, dining room, sun lounge, kitchen, bathroom, shower room and two bedrooms on the upper floors as well!

Needs a fair amount of work doing but would be liveable, and workable, in virtually straight away so could take our time doing it up room by room. Would just need to add balustrades and handrails to the stairs.

There is some outside space that is fenced in but the fence is only 3 foot high and the only access is through the master bedroom so no good for mindies. The owner is currently in the process of putting railings onto the boat all the way round and once they are done then we could childproof them, add some decking and there would be a small outside area for the mindies.

Just got to make lots of phone calls on Monday now to Ofsted and Marine Mortgage brokers and the estate agents has got to check that it has all the necessary safety certificates and licences. Then it will be decision time, though if all the phone calls pan out then my decision is already made!

**sweets** · 04-10-2009, 06:45 PM

wow how exciting, it looks brill, i want one! lol.

did i read right tho thats its £1000 a quarter for mooring? is that the norm?

TheBTeam · 04-10-2009, 06:52 PM

Hi, Madminder, did you see this bit in the literature for it?

'The mooring may be available with some negotiation.(no dogs or childreen ) OR take it to your own mooring',

would this affect you, or would you be looking to move it, as it sounds like you can't have kids on it where it is?

**Madminder** · 04-10-2009, 07:16 PM

At present it is moored behind a car showroom and the owner won't rent the mooring to anyone who has children or pets or might have them visiting as he thinks they will damage his nice new cars!

However, there is a mooring 2 spaces down that the current owner has arranged to move it to and it is much better as will have a more level access and a brand new jetty too. It is also cheaper at £85 a week including all electricity and water! Apparently it is about £1 per foot per week for moorings around here and that is just for the mooring so this would be a very good deal, just got to work out if we can afford it now as marine mortgages are not usually as long as house ones so that would put the repayments up.

**ajs** · 04-10-2009, 07:22 PM

oh it looks fantastic

i hope ofsted give you the ok ( but i can't see why they wouldn't to be honest)
and of course that you can afford it

let us know what they say

**Eileen322** · 04-10-2009, 07:26 PM

I know of someone who is going through the childminding registration process and she lives on a houseboat! So I cant see it being a problem with Ofsted.

TheBTeam · 04-10-2009, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by Madminder

At present it is moored behind a car showroom and the owner won't rent the mooring to anyone who has children or pets or might have them visiting as he thinks they will damage his nice new cars!

However, there is a mooring 2 spaces down that the current owner has arranged to move it to and it is much better as will have a more level access and a brand new jetty too. It is also cheaper at £85 a week including all electricity and water! Apparently it is about £1 per foot per week for moorings around here and that is just for the mooring so this would be a very good deal, just got to work out if we can afford it now as marine mortgages are not usually as long as house ones so that would put the repayments up.

Glad that wasn't a problem, cant help but notice these things! We are looking for land in cornwall and have to look carefully as they often have a purchasing clause in it!

It does look pretty fantastic, if my dh saw this he would buy it and move it to cornwall, he was looking at one down there, i put my foot down, i would be seasick just sitting on it!!!!

**Madminder** · 04-10-2009, 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by Eileen322

I know of someone who is going through the childminding registration process and she lives on a houseboat! So I cant see it being a problem with Ofsted.

That's great news! If we do decide to buy it maybe you could put me in touch so we could chat about the safety issues?

**Madminder** · 04-10-2009, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by TheBTeam

Glad that wasn't a problem, cant help but notice these things! We are looking for land in cornwall and have to look carefully as they often have a purchasing clause in it!

It does look pretty fantastic, if my dh saw this he would buy it and move it to cornwall, he was looking at one down there, i put my foot down, i would be seasick just sitting on it!!!!

Oh ,Cornwall, my favourite place to be! Funny you should mention moving it there cos I was just saying to DP that we would never have to move house, just get the boat moved, and when we retired we could reconvert the bottom to two flats and move it to Cornwall! The income from the flats would pay for the mooring and make our pensions go further.

Just gets better and better!