Email: Sweeping supposition

I have just read the two pieces published today, one about the reasons continuous cruisers choose to live aboard and one about residential boat dwellers paying council tax.

Both make sweeping suppositions about the reasons that people choose to live on their boats either as continuous cruisers or residential marina dwellers..

The reason given is so that these boaters can 'get away' with not paying council tax or they decide to live on a boat because they think it will be cheaper than a house/flat .

This might be the case with some people but in all honesty I have never in my six years of cruising the waterways, the last three of which have been spent living on my boat as a continuous cruisers, spoken to any liveaboard boater that has said that is a reason for wanting to live on their boat..

We all might mention various costs, positive and negative that come with living on our boats but most people (me included) seem to choose the lifestyle because of a love of boats, the waterways, meeting likeminded people, exploring our lovely countryside and interesting cities, etc etc..

I think that before making such statements the writer(s) should ascertain that what they are writing is in fact a fair and true representation of the facts.

Gillie Rhodes