Rivelin

Thanks Peter for pointing out that the mouth of the Nene is in fact the scary end that goes into the sea! My final destination is the River Lark in Cambs. I am planning to head for Oundle Marina initially, who will clean and black the hull, before heading out to the Lark. Thanks Scholar - sounds like I need a few pointers for my trip up / down the Nene. Cheers all!

Thanks all for your great suggestions and offer of support - it certainly feels like I'm joining a very friendly and welcoming community! Sailing her back does feel like it would be a great adventure, and a way to get to know the boat well. As soon as the survey is done I'll decide what works best and update this thread / contact folks. Cheers!

Hi, Could anyone recommend a surveyor for a boat on the Trent and Mersey in the Derby / Stoke on Trent area? Thanks in advance, Nick

Thank you all for your comments so far - the boat is a standard beam (6' 10")

I'm starting from Mercia Marina on the Trent and Mersey, near to Derby.

Hi everyone, Being the new and proud owner of a boat, I am looking at the alternatives for getting the boat to my mooring in the East Anglian river network. Transport is costly, especially as the boatyard where the boat is currently at wants to charge £500 to crane the boat out onto a lorry. I checked on canalplan.eu for a route to sail her, and it suggested going west along the Trent and Mersey to the Coventry and Oxford canals before heading east along the Grand Union to the mouth of the Nene. Looking at the waterways map, it seems a fair bit shorter to head east to the river Soar / Grand Union then south past Leicester down to the Nene. Is there any reason I shouldn't go for the shorter route? Thanks in advance! Nick

Hello to all, After many years of hiring, I am working on a plan to own my own narrowboat in the next 2 - 3 years The Canal World forum seems to be a treasure chest of useful information on how to find the right boat and what to look out for. One thing has surprised me though; the cost of mooring. I would hope to travel the canal network for several weeks each year, so I think I would need a permanent mooring space. Looking at the available options for mooring, it seems I might pay tens of thousands of pounds over the years I would hope to own the boat. Is this something I need to accept and plan for, or are there any alternatives? Thanks in advance! Nick