Narrowboats.

[ajlelectronics]

I know little about them and have only had a few days experience aboard. However with my recent bereavements etc I am starting to think that if I am going to realise my long held interest, then I should do it forthwith.

I see many around the £45K mark with little to choose between them, but have come across one that stands out for being light and airy. It is also far lower in price (£17k) than many others, so low in fact that it may be a scam. It is a 56ft built in 2008 : - blacked in 2023- hull survey start of 2025- bsc until 2028- solars - newly refurbished - freshly painted - perfectly running - no issues - 42hp Beta Marina engine - 150 PRM Gearbox. Advertiser has invited appointments to view in the north Midlands.

I wonder if I could be educated about such matters please?

 

[TEO]

I've had many happy days just pottering up& down the cut, it's a lovely way to be whether you're living aboard or using it as a floating holiday home.
My advice is that if you only need one bedroom then 45 to 55' is fine, the shorter the easier not just cheaper to licence but easier to find moorings, cheaper to paint.... just cheaper all round.
Are you looking at a permanent mooring or constant cruiser?
Take someone who knows what's what to have a look with you, v easy to be sucked into the charm of a nice boat only to have missed a critical issue.
Personally I don't trust other people's surveys. Everyone on the cut will know who to get a survey from if they're selling and a different person if they're buying ie. He who pays the piper will get the survey they need.
Chances are that sub £20,000 it's not worth getting the boat hauled out for a survey as both the boatyard & the surveyor are expensive.
Have fun, there'll be plenty of old hacks telling you that the two best days of boat ownership are the day you buy & the day you sell but I will always treasure the memories of long days gently moving through the country & seeing things from a completely different perspective.
Bear in mind that it's v involving, living aboard is not like life in a house, better, way better in my opinion but not always convenient..... Occasionally v. inconvenient.
I'm a big fan & the downs are outweighed many times by the good times.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Are you looking at a permanent mooring or constant cruiser?

Not as a liveaboard. I was thinking of being really stupid and getting a quote for a tidal mooring on the Severn, where it was bypassed by the Sharpness canal. It is just spitting distance from the house, but I think that the tidal surge will render it impossible.
There are various moorings available around here, Monk Meadow had a 60ft mooring free currently, so it would live there except when taken out to play.

 

[Barking Mat]

If it's for a few weeks a year, you're better off renting.

 

[voipio]

Consider the annual costs of mooring fees, river/canal licence, insurance, boat safety check (done for now), lift out for maintenance every few years (some lift theirs out for wintering). Travel distance to marina is key, if you want to use it regularly. Consider vehicle access to the mooring, especially for lugging gas cylinders, fuel, food shopping, tools for repairs, and the like. We had a mooring about 4 miles away. I could come home after work, have dinner, leave the house, and be on the river in 10 minutes, for several hours of bliss in the summer. Watching the world glide smoothly by can be quite mesmerising, and relaxing, and not forgetting the river wildlife. Most proper river/canal folk are helpful and good natured. Watch out for the week(end) hires, who know little or nothing about waterway etiquette, nor boat dynamics (they rotate around their centre of gravity...who knew?). The backs of your hands can get quite sunburnt from holding the tiller, or the helm. They can be a bit of a liability if you ever start thinking of moving out of the area. The canals and rivers are surprisingly well interconnected. Get some good river maps, for planning journeys. If the vessel is "narrow" (cabin cruiser or narrowboat), It's possible to go all the way from the Wash to Llangollen, for example.

 

[ajlelectronics]

If it's for a few weeks a year, you're better off renting.

At over a Grand a week and non local, else I would definitely have taken your advice. As it is, the cost of buying one would soon make sense in my head.

I still fancy an end of garden mooring if it were possible.

 

[frank horton]

my long lost friend said boats n swimming pools are just big holes that suck money......
Having said that a close friend just sold up and bought a 55'er to live on in cambridge....
She said, limited power and water plus mooring was £500 per month....ouch.....

 

[GRW]

At least you're not thinking of buying horses


(My mother had them. You can make a small fortune out of horse ownership.... just start out with a much larger fortune )

 

[addjunkie]

Bring
Out
Another
Thousand.

Like most things you get what you pay for. Things are usually cheap for a reason.

 

[Robotstar5]

And you can go /maritime mobile

 

[ajlelectronics]

And you can go /maritime mobile

This is of course a valid point!

 

[bert]

Tidal Severn and a canal boat are a definite no.

Definitely have your own survey done even for 17k as that's very cheap

 

[dave h 2]

Talking of hulls, did we not have a thread or two about overplating narrow boat hulls? Some of them looked appalling.

 

[addjunkie]

Talking of hulls, did we not have a thread or two about overplating narrow boat hulls? Some of them looked appalling.

We did, and a forum member if I remember correctly called @spaffmonkey does such things for a living.

 

[not done it yet]

I know a lady in Stourport who had a narrowboat - we spent some time on it several years ago. There was another boat moored at the end of her curtilage for some years. More recently the second boat has been retained and she has sold off her boat, as they are now an item (a well suited pair!) and only need the one boat, which gets a lot of use!

 

[ajlelectronics]

even for 17k as that's very cheap

Far too cheap, I'm convinced that it is a scam.

2008 56ft narrowboat Re-fitted & new survey

Narrow Boat Available with optional full residential mooring in Coventry. Selling fully furnished ready to move into ( items and either stay or be removed ) buyers choice.. Living area:...

www.facebook.com

 

[addjunkie]

At over a Grand a week and non local, else I would definitely have taken your advice. As it is, the cost of buying one would soon make sense in my head.

I still fancy an end of garden mooring if it were possible.

Properties For Sale - Waterside Estate Agents

Specialising in Waterside Property For Sale - All types of property: Riverside Residence, the perfect holiday let, an idyllic second home, Mooring plots.

www.watersideestateagents.com

Plenty options on here….

Google the boat registration….might lead you to the owner.

 

[Morrisman]

Far too cheap, I'm convinced that it is a scam.

2008 56ft narrowboat Re-fitted & new survey

Narrow Boat Available with optional full residential mooring in Coventry. Selling fully furnished ready to move into ( items and either stay or be removed ) buyers choice.. Living area:...

www.facebook.com

His Facebook profile is very sparse of information or history, a good sign something is amiss.

 

[ajlelectronics]

His Facebook profile is very sparse of information or history, a good sign something is amiss.

I expect a response overnight if I get one at all. That will be another clue. No doubt there will be a "holding" fee.

 

[Misterg]

Far too cheap, I'm convinced that it is a scam.

Exact same boat is £75k here:

Tracy Jane

Tracy Jane offers a well thought out spacious narrowboat for either liveaboard or extended cruiser. Featuring a reverse layout with large kitchen and saloon with Sterling Inverter/Charger, Solar Panels, Washing Machine and Diesel Heating. Tracy Jane has a spacious bathroom with walk in shower...

narrowboats.uk

scam-scam-scam

I doubt you'd get much for £17k:

Narrowboats for sale UK, used narrow boats, new narrowboat sales, free photo ads - Apollo Duck

narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk