Cairokid

A couple of people have mentioned Crick Boat Show so I looked it up. Seems like an enjoyable event. Do they have second-hand boats there as well as new ones?

Thanks everyone. Very useful comments. We're not looking for a new boat, mainly because we can't afford one, partly because I suspect as we don't know anything about canal boats and what works, we could mak an expensive mistake I've been keeping an eye on apolloduck and it's very useful. I've also just received 'The Inland Boat Owner's Book' which I ordered from from Amazon. It's very informative and has a huge list of both builders and fitters-out in it. I now see just how many there are. They have a Who's Who in it with photos of different boats so I'll study that. From the point of view of appearance the boats that appeal to me most have fairly modern looking but comfortable interiors, not too minimalistic. I like wood but also light. Entering through the galley rather than cabin also seems very practical as we have two Labs with muddy paws. Some boats have nicer lines than others and some are painted more attractively but I haven't got to the point where I can say exactly what I like. We're going to look at two or three boats in early December so that may make it clearer. Haven't decided between widebeam and narrowboat either yet. We'll be on rivers. The idea of being able to venture further afield appeals but so does the additional space for living on board for extended periods ...

Sorry, should have made that clear. I'm talking about narrowboats and widebeam boats.

I've seen references here to certain boats being of a better quality due to their builder. As a sailor I know the difference between a Halberg Rassy, an Oyster, a Beneteau, and a Bavaria ... but I don't a have clue when it comes to river boats. Can someone give a general synopsis of builders - which are top-notch but expensive, which build in bulk and are affordable etc.?

I wondered if some of the photos might be from when it was sold last time? They are wide-angle which I'd expect from a broker rather than a private seller. Anyway, plenty of suggestions here as to things to ask about. We're not in an hurry to buy so if it doesn't seem quite right we'll wait and see what else comes on the market.

Ooh, good point. Thanks. Will PM you. I'm a lifetime RYA member so I guess I should go and look what information they have on their site as well. That sounds just like the sort of comment my husband would make.

Thank you all very much. I did try to do a search for the information before I asked as I thought it would be here somewhere but couldn't find it easily. Will try again. My husband spoke to the owner last night. He says he is the second owner and has had the boat for two years (which would tie in with the January 2014 entry mentioned by someone above). I gather he and his wife have been cruising in it but there has been a marital breakdown which is why he is selling. Apparently he sounded very upset as he says he planned this for a long time. Poor guy. We will examine all the documents carefully Thank you so much for the suggestions. Think I'll photograph important ones. Is there a standard type of Bill of Sale that is used? I'm not sure what address he has, if he's living on the boat. He's arranged to meet us in a nearby pub. By co-incidence it's in a town my brother lived in and he knew the person who ran this pub. He still has a good friend there so he may be able to do some subtle digging locally. We will be spending quite a lot of time in a marina, just to confirm everyone's prejudices but want to be able to go off for a week now and then to explore. We're looking at marinas in the Huntingdon / Ely area to be near to family, and I'm aware that will limit our cruising too. I thought 10ft might be a nice beam as it gives more 'living' room than a narrow boat without being too broad and bulky for narrower parts of rivers. I'm gong to ask a newbie question now but how do you turn a boat this size round in a river or canal? I know how to spin a yacht in a confined space so I imagine it's the same principle, but are there sections of the river / canal that are slightly wider that you can use? 57' / 58' is quite long to turn. I've never driven anything longer than 45ft before. Do these type of boats normally have a bow thruster fitted? (My husband poo poos them but I think I might need one ...) If we do buy this boat we'd plan to sail here to as near a point to the Great Ouse as we can and then get her taken by road the last bit. I think it's impossible to get from Henley to Huntingdon by water with a boat this wide. Will check out why the cooker / washing machine were replaced. Thank you so much again for all the useful comments.

Having seen some very useful comments in other threads, could I ask you experienced boaters what you think of this boat please? http://www.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=445978 Haven't been on board yet as we are not in the UK but plan to see her soon. About us - we are well into our 60s and completely new to riverboats although we're both experienced sailors. My husband was in the navy from age 14 so knows his way around most sorts of boat but I've only dealt with ones with sails before Our plan is to live on board for several weeks or even months at a time. The boat is being sold privately, not through a broker. Are there any particular things we should be aware of with a private sale? We intend to get a survey but should we involve a solicitor? Hiw do you check that the person actually owns the boat and doesn't owe any money on her, for instance?

Thanks Peter. I know Bishios Stortford. Nice place so that's a thought definitely. Can anyone answer my question about how you get a hull survey done? How do you get the boat out of the water?

I have some more questions please. How do you get a hull survey done? Are there places where the boat can be craned out? If so, roughly how much does this cost? As not everywhere is 'joined up' with rivers and canals does this mean we should restrict our search for a suitable boat to places reachable afloat or are there ways of transporting a boat overland if we were to find something suitable in another part of the country?

I should have clarified that we have no particular wish to be in Cambridge itself. My daughter and her family live in a village near Royston so I'd like to be within travelling distance of them by car. Cambridge was just the nearest place I thought people would recognise the name of. Thanks for these. I will investigate them. I think we'd need a little car of some sort from what you say which is okay. All sounds good. I'm going to hire a car for a look around when I'm there in mid August, then we plan to hire a boat for a short time later in the year to see how we get on. Seems sensible to try it out before making such a big investment. Are there ever any boats available for longer term rent than just a few weeks?

Fantastic resource. Thanks so much for the link.

Thanks. I'll investigate this. Is there a book or chart I can get that shows the canal system in the UK?

Hi. We've just begun investigating living on board a canal boat and would appreciate any advice. We're both in our 60s, have lived aboard a sailing yacht for a couple of years in the past (in the Med not UK), and husband was 30+ years in the RN handling boats so we're not new to boats.. However neither of us know the first thing about boating on canals, or anything about canals themselves. We'd appreciate advice on suitable size. I think we'd want something wide for living on but what are the size restrictions, advantages of bigger/smaller boats? We'd want a permanent berth near Cambridge but would hopefully make a few journeys each year to explore. Any advice about options please?