Hi, Mooring advice in Manchester needed please

[reanimation]

Hi there everyone.

 

 

My question:

So what would be awesome would be a mooring in Sale, Stretford or even salford or any other nearby place, which would mean We could still cycle, drive bus or tram to work

Does any one know what is available, and where to look who to ask?

 

I'm worried water space might be as hard to get as land space in trendy Manchester.

 

And finally:

I want to spend very little for a narrow boat and pay with a loan, ideally less than £10k realistically £15+

I have seen one needing the interior finishing for £26k, would be nice but spending that on a boat...

 

 

Many thanks

Edited January 8, 2008 by reanimation

[gaggle]

a narrowboat fit for two and ready to live on for 10 grand , good luck.

[bottle]

Hi there everyone.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<SNIP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

 

My question:

So what would be awesome would be a mooring in Sale, Stretford or even salford or any other nearby place, which would mean We could still cycle, drive bus or tram to work

Does any one know what is available, and where to look who to ask?

 

Cannot help with moorings but have a wander down the canal and talk to people.

 

I'm worried water space might be as hard to get as land space in trendy Manchester.

 

Moorings are like hens teeth and residential even more so.

 

And finally:

I want to spend very little for a narrow boat and pay with a loan, ideally less than £10k realistically £15+

I have seen one needing the interior finishing for £26k, would be nice but spending that on a boat...

 

Do a google search for "narrowboat brokerage" etc. this will give you an idea of the boats out there.

 

Sorry if its all a bit down beat, I'm a little flummaxed about our future in this country, but we are creative thinkers and enjoy being different and think a good few years aboard a barge while we pay for it might be fun!

 

Narrowboats are not barges. They are completely different but they do both float (hopefully)

 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<SNIP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Living on a narrowboat is the same as a bedsit and you have to empty the loo

[reanimation]

Thanks for your warm welcomes and helping a newbie!

[Lady Muck]

Bear in mind, the less you spend on the boat to start with, the more you'll need to spend after the initial purchase. For me, £26k would have been the absolute minimum we would spend, we looked at a few and came to the conclusion we'd need to spend £30k-£50k Boats can be absolute money pits. Ours is only 6 years old but has still cost us a fair bit in maintenance. Our mooring is now £3k a year and that's cheap for London.

 

My neighbour bought a narrowboat for £7k last year but it had been set on fire, it was basically a burnt out shell. He spent £18k sorting it out and did most of the work himself - he's definately not a novice when it comes to refurbing, either, he does it for a living. If you're on a budget it's worth reading some of BlueStringPuddings posts - she was a novice but also very willing to learn and very shrewd and became clued up and therefore ended up with a great boat. It's wasn't £10k though. Also look at wrigglefingers posts - they make great reading too - she had to spend much more than she had budgeted for on the boat she had bought regarding repairs. Some of the boats advertised online look really good in the pics, but then you view them and they are horrific and lots of porky pies have been told about the spec /condition. I'm sure BSP will be along soon to tell you about them.

If you think it's gonna be really cheap, you'll be disappointed mate.

 

You have to be very determined. I looked for 10 months before I found the right boat but it wasn't a cheap one. I found a mooring too, I was spending about an hour on the internet every night trawling websites.

 

Finally do try boating first. It's not at all like house dwelling. There's really no space <trips over dog AGAIN> and a lot more maintenance and stuff to keep an eye on. It can be a right pain in the arse wandering about sorting stuff out in the dark outside when it's winter or fiddling about trying to get the stove going, or wondering why your batteries just died mysteriously, or why the bilge is full of water or why the pump goes off mysteriously in the night. I think a sense of adventure is needed. Plus a desire to become an absolute bore about 12v electrics and galvanic isolators.

 

Welcome

 

edited to add: Read this http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8668

Edited January 8, 2008 by Lady Muck

[reanimation]

Lady muck, Hi what a fantasically helpful post, thanks for that.

 

Perhaps I am being slightly naive, the one at 26k does look and sound great, and despite being a DIYer i might well be out of my depth specially with finding the money/loan. Hmm

 

As far as maintaining, I'm pretty realistic here and disaster prone, i fix and restore old cars for fun! and and work as an audio visual technician so i'm used to things breaking at the wrong time! LOL

 

We're gonna go and check out house prices in the town 30 miles away, but I'll have a good read of this site and the members you have highlighted.

 

Thanks again LM

Edited January 8, 2008 by reanimation

[Lady Muck]

Heres the other thread I found useful. http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...ic=3926&hl=

[Pie Eater]

Contact Mike Webb at Peel Holdings and he will send you a list of moorings available on the Bridgewater Canal or contact the AWCC for info on local cruising clubs as they have their own moorings.

 

Local AWCC clubs that I know of in that area are Sale CC, Watch House CC and Worsley CC.

 

Steve

[Kingken]

Contact Mike Webb at Peel Holdings and he will send you a list of moorings available on the Bridgewater Canal or contact the AWCC for info on local cruising clubs as they have their own moorings.

 

Local AWCC clubs that I know of in that area are Sale CC, Watch House CC and Worsley CC.

 

Steve

 

It may have changed but a while ago most of the moorings on the Bridgewater were administered by one or other of the Bridgewater boat clubs, and liveaboards were definately not allowed. The only place I have seen liveaboards is at Worsley, perhaps a good place to enquire. Add Lymm CC and the Bridgewater Boat Club (Runcorn) to the above list.

[reanimation]

Thanks for the very helpful advice, My gut feeling now is going back to the drawing board, but i have some good info to go on there. Will do some more research anyway. May be a good reason to get the Mountain bike out again for a canal ride!

Edited January 9, 2008 by reanimation

[Liam]

Hi reanimation,

 

There are moorings in Sale and Stretford. I myself am based in Sale. Both moorings do have very good links to the tram and also regular bus runs too.

 

I'm guessing there are some available at Sale as there's some room but I don't know about Stretford, but what you should know is that living aboard on the Bridgewater is not allowed as a rule apart from one or two rare, very very expensive spots along the cut.

 

If you can only stretch to £10k or at most £15K you will only able to get something which needs alot of time and attention, and as always, money throwing at it. If you are in a position where you can only afford a small amount at first but can then stump up each month to get it back up and running again it'll be fine but with the price these days I think you will find it hard to live on a boat that was bought for £10k/£15k.

 

As Steve says, I would also suggest getting in touch with Mike Webb at Peel Holdings, his email address is mwebb at peel dot co dot uk. He will be able to help you further.

 

If you're already local to the Sale/Stretford area then let me know if you would like to pop down to the moorings for a chat about boaty things and to ask any questions you may have.

 

By the way, as a side note, there are new moorings in what's being called Stretford Marina. Pontoon moorings with electricity and security (how good I don't know) going at the moment for £2,500. They are limiting size of boats but again, Mike Webb will be able to help you with this.

[reanimation]

Brilliant Liam, big thanks for that.

 

We are a bionic shot putters shot put throw from the canal in Stretford, so i might Pm you for a visit sometime, very good of you to offer.

Forgot to mention I'm originally from Sowerby Bridge, and a mate of mine borrowed a boat there for the summer (a good few months) we had a riot and he coped very well with the old boats limited facilities, they did break down attempting to move 200yards though. LOL biggest perk was it being right next to the 'Moorings' pub and village centre!

And thanks again as we now have a firm name to contact on moorings.

 

Really appreciate the advice at this research stage.

[Liam]

Yeah no probs just let me know if I can help.

 

You could always get a "normal" pleasure boat's mooring to live aboard on and take advantage but you didn't get that idea from me.

[wrigglefingers]

You'll need a fairly lively sense of humour too doing what I did. Life on Surprise continues to be 'interesting' but we're still here and still loving it. I now realise that I'm in a race between Surprise deconstructing herself and building the new boat. I shall be opening a sweepstake and taking bets as to which will happen first .........

 

Good luck with your search and enjoy whatever outcome you sort out!

 

Wriggly