Movin' on

I know I remember her in her "day" and much later when we moored a few boats away from you when at Napton with "Benji" and 3 dogs - just the other side of Ray and Liz - nice boat

They will - we bought an ex hire viking many years ago and were disgusted as to how we were treated before we repainted her esp when meeting at/in bridge holes.

The Seamaster 27 would be a good choice as that is app a £10k boat if/when you are looking to buy........

I would think the broads is the only place you might achieve this with both GRP and or Wood short boats and yards offering a classic experience - worth a look

they won't care..........avoid Note to self DON'T buy a boat from you then?????

Helped him a couple of years ago getting to the RN rally on the BCN - even then sadly he didn't really know where he was going - I think that was his last trip on Hecla which is now in the hands of a good guy in Alvecote who loves it. Bob was a nice guy Old School - its always a shame to reflect on the knowledge that is lost when these characters pass on to the long pound in the sky.

Definitely do the Oxford and you might even have time to do a day trip on the Thames (and turn around) - IMHO GU to be avoided esp the closer you get to the M25! Enjoy

Just a general comment IMHO you should be wary of buying an existing live aboard in a popular live aboard location (London being the worst example) - buy a well cruised boat fitted with tried and tested kit - buy in non live aboard locations/marinas (K&A and London being the worst examples) you will pay a premium - are you intending to cruise or float?? Having said that it doesn't look bad at all although I have never been keen on Nene based builders - if your photo of the cratch board is typical of the outside then it might be a bit too much.. PM sent with a suggestion

Sadly of late we have met more people thinking we are pushing them to go too fast and wanting us to have nothing to do with their safety (even when they are doing something wrong) and nothing to do with their precious boat (that was a couple literally using white gloves and handling the boat out of the lock to ensure it didn't get scratched!) As has been said it isn't what is used to be - but then what is - COVID has just made it worse and told people to become more insular. The best anecdote I know was a hire boat sitting in a long queue on the Llangollen properly tied up with the crew inside the boat drinking coffee waiting for the lock to be made ready for them - needless to say after they had seen a couple of boats leapfrog around them they got the picture ..................

ah but sometimes being too close encourages complacency. - so long as lockdown doesn't lock you away from it .............I assume the target is cruising by the start of next season - enjoy its a great boat and will be well worth it (not financially obviously but then they never are). J

I do think restoration boatyards on the broads are the way forward ...................

that sounds like a pretty good reason to properly stay at home and keep away from the system for the next 6 weeks then .....................

No possibly not but it is a classic which merited saving - hope the project is going well - is it still on dry land??

I agree - the price was a shock but you must remember its selling a lifestyle! Not original enough inside to attract an enthusiast and a lot of maintenance to concern a floater so it will be interesting to watch it I remember them when they were built and always loved them and I would buy a good (this style but GRP hull) one now if I saw it - was it Nike III that was the famous one (owned by John Gagg) I cant quite remember So why did they buy Dory and not Ibex I wonder - IMHO Manchuria was a loverly boat

If it helps, as I was boating at the time, I'm pretty sure it would have been a proprietary "diamond" pattern material that came in sheets but can't remember the name of it - it was pretty universally used on wooden boats at the time notably on the broads - if the intelligence cant be found here perhaps you could contact a traditional broads boatbuilder I know your boat and respected your bravery when you took her on so keep up the good work! J

A few years back I saw a Barry Hawkins done in grey white and red and it looked very good - even as a lover of trad schemes it is true to say a trad back cabin can be very dull/gloomy on a dark July day like yesterday - I wouldn't do it but as others have said it is your boat!

That doesn't follow - try dealing with Currys PC World at the moment - av 1hr wait for service via auto response phone number and if you want customer services to actually do anything just forget it - they tell you to write a letter as the email system is "temporarily" suspended which they never reply to.......... their price match or price g'tee can only be done via customer services so effectively it doesn't exist for the duration - off topic rant over! Some organisations are rising to the challenge and others are hiding behind it.........and taking our money

sent you a PM............

Buy good used - the worst boat I ever owned was a new build - you spend a season finding problems and sorting them before you can relax. So 1-2 years waiting for a slot, 1 season building, and then 1 season sorting - who has 4 years of their life to waste AND whilst boats are generally pretty good at holding their value the first year is a bad year for depreciation. Lots of boats around that are nearly new and well priced £60-80K unless you are looking for a top named builder..... What about the Brinklow Sailaway at Norton Canes - the shell and engine alone are worth £70k.

Bring Out Another Thousand.......... I rate Rugby very highly and their integrity/process - as to your other comments I couldn't possibly comment - BUT remember they are working for the owner and are very good at achieving quick sales so get on their email list and be prepared to travel the day after you get a notification I'd like to say this will be a fun process - the end product will hopefully be worth it but the process particularly at the moment will be fraught!

Proper paint jobs start around £5k and range to £15K - they are called "maintenance" and add limited value unless just done and you know by whom and can see pictures of before and after - they are however one of the main reasons a boat is put up for sale and a good bargaining point for you - don't rule out doing it yourself On price/valuation quite simply you don't know enough to make sense of it but generally brokers are pretty accurate - they don't want boats on their books for ages - that is where a private boat will sometimes catch you out they may be pushing too hard and not finding a broker to agree to sell at their figure so they try it themselves