MajorB

Thanks for the quick response. I'd be really interested to hear from it's current owner if they are part of this forum. When I helmed it with a group, I always stayed in the boatman cabin with my young son. Memories fade, but I seem to recall that it hadn't changed much in over 50 years since it was built in 1936. Barry

Just spotted this post, and would recognise the BELFAST anywhere. It has to be my favourite Narrowboat of all time, and I wondered whether it was still around. I used it regularly about 25 years back when I was working in Hemel Hempstead and it was owned by the Dacorum Narrowboat Project. I have a lovely watercolour of it moored up. Is it still in their hands or is it owned by someone else these days. It certainly looks a lot smarter than it did when I took it out with a group of youngsters, we did a trip with Belfast and another Nash Mills Project Boat - "Narrow Escape" I think we had 24 youngsters helped by 4 or 5 adults. It's a long time ago, but I'm sure that somewhere in my scrapbooks I had a picture of it. Be interested to hear of it's present story

Reluctantly we have put our share in "Sunseeker" up for sale. The successful buyer will own 10% of the 58' narrowboat and therefore have access to at least 4 weeks cruising per year - sometimes 5. As from March 2016 we will be based in Droitwich Spa Marina, so an ideal base from which to cruise the Avon ring. Price for the share is £2,000 but we are open to reasonable offers. We are privately managed, so annual costs are kept low; this year is £1,000 per owner, as we have just purchased new dinette upholstery and armchairs (which convert into single beds). It could be possible to have special share status, but this carries a 25% premium, in return for guaranteeing school holiday bookings. If the share is sold before we take any cruising weeks, this will be added to the sale price. If sold after April but before August, we will cover 50% of the annual management cost. Further details can be found on the boatshare website. In 2016, our cruising dates are 15th - 29th April and 19th August until 2nd September. Dogs are allowed on Sunseeker - but dog owners are required to ensure that the boat is free from doggy smells at the conclusion of their trip. Shared ownership has worked for us over many years. It enabled us to go cruising at a fraction of the cost of hiring. Sunseeker is a delightful boat with some very friendly owners, who meet annually in November to discuss all the important aspects of narrowboat ownership.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-32958732

I think that this is an interesting thread, and when we opted for shared boating we took that to mean that we would be ... well "SHARING"- we discovered new friends along the way and it was a bit like family - not always plain sailing (pun intended) and we were all literally in the same boat. I didn't always enjoy the corporate AGM meetings under Ownerships, but without that initiative we probably wouldn't be boating four weeks a year now. A good private syndicate is where people are willing to share their shared possession including "give and take" works well most of the time. Sharing isn't so easy when you never meet up with the people you share with, so not attending the annual owners meeting may cost a syndicate member in time and money, but those members miss out in the cut and thrust of discussion and, as a consequence, don't always understand how decisions are taken. We don't often get absentees from our syndicate AGM, which we hold at a Midlands venue, and all of us have to travel some distance to get there. We have found some flexibility in the booking system at certain times, and we have reached agreement on how most things are stored whilst on board. If another owner chooses to put things in a different place, the boat isn't so big that those items cannot quickly be found. We really enjoy sharing - especially when it comes to sharing the cost of boating. It is no substitute for owning our own boat, neither is it as convenient as hiring from a boat hire company - but the benefits in terms of sharing costs cannot be ignored, especially when on a fixed income.

We just have ten owners on our 20 year old boat. We agree to enable family members to take out our boat, but you might need to check your insurance cover. Our syndicate agreement has this clause . "A syndicate member may allow members of their family to use the boat in their absence, provided that the person they nominate to take charge is not less than 21 years of age, and has proven experience in the handling of a narrowboat. In such circumstances it is the responsibility of the syndicate member to ensure that the insurance cover is not compromised by this arrangement, and that they realise they are personally responsible to cover the cost of any uninsured injury, loss to the boat or any third party involved."

I've been boating for around 50 years but owned a boat share for the last ten years, and it works for us. I guess there are close to 100 shared narrowboats remaining from the days of "Ownerships" plus others from the Challenger scheme, and also others, so it would seem to work for over a thousand shared owners. In the last ten years I reckon we have spent just over a £1,000 per year for our share, in return for four or five weeks per year on the canal - I couldn't afford to hire a boat for that many weeks. If you like boating, then you won't mind using most of your holidays on the water. Boat shares can be purchased for as little as £1,500 to a maximum of around £10 k. Yes, there are conditions, and each syndicate is different. When Ownerships went into liquidation we chose to become a private syndicate, and our syndicate members take responsibility for things like finance, boatyard liaison, operating the booking chart and secretarial stuff. We still meet up once a year, spending a day in the Midlands - the meeting doesn't have to be close to the boat. We move our boat every two or three years so we can explore different locations. Those with children in school (or who work as teachers) can opt for a special share which gives them priority access to school holiday cruising and pay an additional premium for the privilege. We chose shared ownership when working as we knew that we had limited holiday time and it made no sense to us to have a boat sitting in a Marina for 48 weeks per year. We have a great group of owners, and we don't always think the same but we all want to enjoy our boating and most of us are willing to compromise to achieve that.