Chichester Yacht Club Magazine November 2016 | Page 16

Houseboats on the Canal
Out with the Old and in with the New — by John Ascoli
In the 1930s, a fleet of sea-going vessels
- several them steam driven - lay
berthed outside the club on the main
waterway to London.
Following the end of hostilities in 1945
many of these were replaced by
houseboats of one sort or another.

Prior to the opening of the new adjacent
marina in 1965 there was a mighty clear
out. By all accounts some of the floating
dwellings were regarded as not fit for
purpose - in fact not fit for anything - and
there was a much-needed purge.
Brought ashore to be broken up, carted
off to someone willing to have them, or
burned to ashes was the ignominy that
befell them.
The canal was all the better for it and
was more in keeping with the opulence
of the spanking new marina.
Later, flat bottomed steel houseboats
became popular with a few surviving for
around 40 years. But some became very
tired and possibly unsafe.
Mooring fees were relatively low and one
can imagine that for some a rectangular
floating home in an attractive and historic
setting provided cheap housing. Some
let the side down and became an
eyesore.
Latterly, as berthing charges have risen, the
situation has changed for the better with the
area becoming more up-market and attracting
a different type of owner seeking an alternative
lifestyle.
A new generation of houseboats has arrived.
As with houses, an expensive plot can only be
justified by an expensive property.

16

Recent months has seen the disappearance of
old craft – some of which had to be broken up
on site for fear that if lifted by crane and slings
the boat might fold and break up. Two large
skips are not a happy final resting place.