RobMcD
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Posts posted by RobMcD
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Expensive buyers premium +20% +vat...
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Because they would have to employ someone to read and respond to the vast number of comments they would get.
That would be a waste of CRT's limited funding, that I for one would rather they spend on maintenance.
I can understand having to go through the messages, some people who upload don't answer questions but some do. Just thought it was odd as not one Narrowboat/canal/cut channel does this, that I have come across anyway.
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I don't find it odd. YouTube comments are practically unmoderated, and if ever you want to see what happens when you mix together bored, semi illiterate children, young opinionated adults with nothing else to do, and trolls from every corner of the world, have a look at the comments of a very popular video.
All comments are moderated by the owner of the channel & can be removed at any time as the owner of the channel has full controll over what is left on or removed.
How many visitors do you receive, for your 400 or so YouTube videos? I suspect its a tiny fraction of those that CRT's videos receive.
Well so far have 91,197 views so far on my channel, so guess you are wrong there & like I said not one video has comments disabled.
Well done CRT!!
A well thought out and presented video that covers the major points in an easy to understand non technical way.
Just need to get the hirers and newbies to watch the thing..thats always the tricky bit..
The video was very good like I said, just was not sure why they block all comments on all video's.
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Hello all.
After catching up with some video's on YouTube it linked me to the next one that happened to be a CRT one. I watched it and found it to be well made and quiet useful.
But what I also noticed is that all comments are diabled, so I looked at a few more & then a few more just to see if they were the same and all the ones I checked the
comments were disabled for every one of them & I found this quiet odd for a transparent charity to activly censor every one of there own video's and stop any form of chat
&/or debate on the subject of the video!
New to the forum but like I said found this quiet odd as I upload a lot to YouTube myself & have never disabled comments for any of my 400+ video's.
Anyway, all the best.
Rob
PS the video I watched was this.
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Odana isn't a boat seller, she just knows a couple of boats that are for sale, and she's offering her service to put you in touch with these people.
To avoid giving the contact details of these people to the use (abuse) of everybody, she wants you to send her a personal message by clicking on her details at the left of the message, and help you further.
Good luck with your boat search.
Peter.
Oh right, ok thanks Peter.
No previous experience beyond a holiday when I was 15, but we like camping and surfing!
There's a thread somewhere in here about my survey, which I broke the "rules" on and just had an in-water inspection. It was a brokerage, which was a bit more safe-feeling in that you know they aren't going to take your money and run, leaving you with no boat and no money! But if the right boat had been sold privately I would have gone for it, it wouldn't have put me off. The broker I contacted was good with my tricky situation and found me a few good boats to look at, they also would have arranged the survey with my nominated surveyor, sorted the dry docking and blacking if possible...
I also didn't make deal-breakers about things like pump-out vs cassette toilet, because I didn't feel I knew enough about either to make it a crucial issue. I wanted a cruiser stern because I wanted somewhere to sit and to keep plants, but the other boat I would have bought was a trad stern. Storage/potential storage was a big thing and also not having too much work to do as I wanted to move on straight away. It was just great to see lots and lots of boats in, under and just above my budget (though I don't think there's much wiggle room in price at the moment for the nicest boats, they're selling like the proverbial hot cakes) to see what you could get at the different levels, and what you feel is something you can live with or not (in the end I thought we needed the potential at least for two permanent beds up, I'm not going to be up for building a bed every night before I can go to sleep!).
Do PM me if you want to, and best of luck!
Thank you for geting back to me, loads of good advice there, I will be going for the fixed beds myself, not wanting to sleep on bed sofas or make up a bed every night that's for sure. Thanks again.
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There are two good starter liveaboard boats soon going up for sale at our mooring (Hockley Port) in Bham - if you want (PM me with contact details) I can put you in touch with the owners. One (50ft trad?) will be on the market imminently as they are having a new sailaway shell delivered. The other (similar) will depend on how soon he gets his replacement boat how he wants it. Both sound as far as I know and used for cruising a lot. Somewhere in the £25-40k range, not sure.
A third is a 70ft wooden top one which may go on the market in the summer - maybe less suitable for cc as it hasn't been used much
Thanks for the info, will they be on your website? Not sure how you sell your boats but will have a search for you now, once again thats for leting me know.
It's worth mentioning that AB NarrowBoats, a reputable brokers, are based at Crick and usually have a stall at the show, so you can look at second-hand boats as well as new ones.
I will have a look at AB now, thanks for the info.
I just bought a boat (got her on Good Friday) and found it invaluable to view at least 12. Of those, most ruled themselves out straightaway, one I offered on but was relieved not to get, one I couldn't stretch to although I love her (think is still FS so maybe was overpriced) and one was just right. Like Baby Bear's porridge! Anyway the more I saw the more I could get a feel for what was right and what was nice but wrong for us (me and dd, 5). Good luck and let us know how you get on!
Sounds like what I have to come, did you buy through a broker or private and what was your experiences (no need to mention name if you don't want to) just interested, also how did you get on with serveys and any work if you had any done. Thanks again, look forward to hearing more of your buying experience. One last thing have you got much previous narrowbat experiance before buying?
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Thinking outside the box would it be worth looking at a bit bigger boat say 57 or 58 as although you are on your own at the moment you might meet someone and need the extra space, but whatever you choose I wish you luck with your new venture.
Neil
Thanks Neil, I was just thinking about running cost and maintenance also as I wanted to do a lot on my own, not really sure yet. Will have to see if the right boat comes along and as for company that stays over for the night...I'm in zero rush what so ever
You have already said you are looking to buy second hand but the Crick boat show is at the end of May. The boats are new but it would give you a good idea about layouts, ask questions etc. Even have a chat with C&RT, some of them are very nice people. Probably give you the chance to talk to a few boaters as well, also generally very nice people.
Ken
Sounds like a good idea Ken, think I might have to pop down there, visited two boat yards already to get more of a feal for what I want in the flesh. Thanks for the info.
But be careful with Canal Plan and Birmingham, especially if you go off the beaten track. It can take twice as long as you expect due to frequent weedhatch visits etc. Going into Walsall proper for example, takes ages, some lock gates don't open fully and you need a team of helpers to lean on them, Its shallow in places and you can get well stuck on things on the bottom, and because its not used much at some times of the year the water-lilies and weed can slow you down to the pace of a snail.
...............Dave
That don't sound good Dave but will keep it in mind as it's a trip I will have to do but thanks for the advice as I had no idea about the pitfalls of a Walsall run...
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And playing with options on the site shows that it only takes about an hour and a half longer to go via Horseley Fields (Wolverhampton), and only pass through 4 locks (1 of which is the guillotine lock at Kings Norton which you don't have to work anyway).
Or if you really want to do locks you can go via Salford Bridge and do 47 of them,
I did have a play with the options and noticed the ammount of locks that it cuts out, think I would go for the 4 lock option
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Please excuse me if you're already aware of it, but there is a very useful web site called "Canalplan AC" , one facet of which allows you to plan a journey: you put in your departure and arrival points, and it tells you how long the trip should take. For longer trips it will suggest overnight mooring places too.
Not seen that before so will have a look at the site, thank you for the info.
Here's the link to the website Athy mentions:
For the trip you describe, Brandwood Tunnel to Anchor Bridge, it calculates a journey time of just over 13 hours to do 26 miles and 18 locks. So you could call it two days' cruising.
Thats good to know and will be bookmarking that site as it sounds very handy, thank you for the link and the info, it has come in very handy.
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CaRT really do not like court cases, its expensive, bad PR, and the loss of a customer. They do it as last resort and you will get lots of warnings before it gets serious. Unless you get warnings I would just relax and enjoy boat life. If you go out through Edgbaston you've got a whole load of countryside to play in less than a days cruise from central Brum.
(I spent the first 6 months of my life just outside Gas street in Ickneild Port road but sadly I can't remember any of it.)
................Dave
I'm looking forward to it and once past the maypole & kings heath the country side should be nice this time of year. But of a short question off topic, one trip I am thinking of doing is B,ham to Brownhills Walsall how long is the trip about in terms of time as it sounds like you know Birmingham well, so say I start from bridge 3 not far from brandwood tunnel and want to get to anchor bridge browhills any idea how long that would take?
Thanks again for your help.
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I think a healthier approach and better boating philosophy would be "I am going to use my boat bona fide for navigation and not worry about CaRT" rather than "I am going to gather evidence ready for my confrontation and legal battle with CaRT". This forum is becoming a little dominated by those who have had battles with CaRT, but this is not representative of the real world. There is a lot of canal in Birmingham and so unless you choose to set up home in the Gas Street area you should be fine.
................Dave
Sounds good to me, my brother & mom live 5 mins away from the moorings in the city by gas st, but don't plan on staying around there, maybe just a day trip hear and there. I understand what you are saying about the evidence type of thing but I recently won a court case against the NHS & local gov & if it was not for my evidence 2 years of court cases & legal action would have been a waste of my time and money. I won all of my cases because of my evidence, took two years to win but I got there. Don't get me wrong I'm not looking to do anything more than cover myself & will be doing so, but nothing more. My goal is to stay within my boundrys and keep to the rules of the waterways. But most of all enjoy my new home and suroundings & might meet some new friends along the way. Thanks for the advice it is appreciated
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Bear in mind that there's always the 'halfway house' option of CCing from spring to autumn, and taking a mooring over winter. CRT make some of their visitor moorings available for this purpose from November to March. It's a lot cheaper than paying for a year-round home mooring, but saves you having to worry about moving when the weather's at its worst and there might be stoppages making it hard to get around.
Thats good to know, thanks for the info, I will keep it in mind and have a look when the time comes, you never know
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I'm sure most of us have been called worse as I know I have, water off a ducks back in my opinion. Now get him on films talking about how he really feals and thats a different matter. Get your cam's out and film all interations with CRT that come a knocking, people soon change there tune when a camera is pointing at them
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I seen this myself a few days back, think the seller had three of them up for sale, have seen them on the water and the seem to go quiet green if not given a regular clean, love the engines though, they look very nice with a ton of torque.
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I really wouldn't let that put you off. Not that the cosmetic side of things doesn't matter - you need to like the look and feel of your home at the end of the day - just that new curtains, cushion covers etc. are not expensive things to change in the grand scheme of things. In fact, changing them can be a good and fairly cheap way of putting your own stamp on a boat.
Sounds like you should have no problems then Rob...
...in fact, with your work pattern and family all over the area, you sound like an ideal candidate for CCing because the lifestyle suits you rather than just because you're trying to avoid the expense of a mooring.
Within reason whats inside the boat makes no difference to me and can taken away by the previous owner as I have enough of my own items to find places for on the boat, as long as the fittings are good and kitchen etc are all in good condition they can take the pillow cases etc with them
With reguards to the mooring and fees I have looked at some to get a price guide but have zero intention of going after one, that may change in a year or two but will stick it out for a year CC. The main reason is we are coming into summer but I want to see the winter side of things too. I have read a lot of winter type situations but as we all know 1st hand experience of everything can not be beaten. PS I'm not a cold weather buff or masochist lol
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Why not look for a permanent mooring in the West Midlands, so that you would not need to move every 14 days but could just go out for a few days when the mood took you and when your work schedule allowed it?
I might well do that after a year or so, but want to find out 1st if I prefer the CC side of Narrowboating. I don't think I would like to be in the same place for most of the year even though you could come and go as you please, plus I don't think there good value for money from the prices I have seen. But might consider it in a years time. Thanks for the feedback.
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The thing is Rob, and I'm sorry if I seem to be scaremongering here, CRT wouldn't have to take you to court in order to refuse to renew your licence (say). You'd have to take them to court, at your expense, to try to get any such decision reversed. Obviously you don't want it to come to that, and it probably wouldn't, especially as it sounds like your intended cruising range is more than the 15-20 miles they say is unlikely to be acceptable to them. But as I say, erring on the side of caution by cruising outside that local area when possible could only be a good thing. (And work etc. permitting, hopefully you'll be able to treat it as an opportunity rather than a chore!)
I think my distance will be good enough for any one to be happy with & I look forward to it the distances as staying in one place for me isn't the goal but geting out there and seeing a bit of the country from another prospective. Plus I will be keeping a GPS visual and photo record of where I am and the times I arrive and leave, somewhere down the line they may come in handy and from what I have read all CC people need to be doing this. Work will not be a problem with moving around either as I currently work on secure units for the home office & only have to do 12 shifts per month (legal requirement can't work longer than that doing my job) So looking good for the time being. Thanks for the advice it is well appreciated.
Just the opposite for us. We found our ideal boat at 20% below our budget.
Sounds good to me hope I have the same luck
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I Would advise you hire one out to get the feel of one. You don't say your budget, as whom has built the shell may be of interest. Then you may prefer trad, semi or cruiser stern. What layout inside do you want, front or back bed/kitchen/living area. How big do you want the boat .Is engine make and horsepower important to you, and how old can the boat be. What type of bog are you happy with. What are your electric needs, how many batteries and inverter size have you thought about,.They were important questions to me that I wanted as close to my preference as possible ,if I could get all that at the right price, I would go anywhere to get it .But to some they may not be important, and budget will obviously dictate a lot of your choice decisions.
The ideal boat would be a semi trad, around 40ft-50ft, bed at the bow end, then saloon, kitchen, not bothered about the bog/shower location, was looking at 2x 240w panasonic solar panels with inverter/charger that will work well with the panels. Can not have flower patterns furniture and that sort of thing, must be maintained and a good standard from the engine to the hull point of view. Seems like a good start but other considerations will be a buy or not to buy. I'm not rushing but want to be confident in myself just incase I find the right one at the right price sooner rather than later Utrinique Paratus has been my moto for a number of years and I live by it.
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This is a great plan, and is what we did. It will probably change what you have in mind quite a bit. In our case, we increased the amount we were prepared to pay
Richard
Seems like the best thing to do in order to get a better idea of what I want to end up with, I'm not in any rush so guess I will start looking for close marinas to visit.
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I suggest you don't restrict yourself to boats for sale in the Birmingham area. The boat that's right for you could be anywhere, and as a rule boats are cheaper in the north.
If you buy a boat some distance away ther are professional boat movers who can move it for you by water, for less than the cost of craning out and transporting by road. And there are some forum members who will crew for you for free if you want help bring it back yourself.
As well as brokers don't dismiss private ads. Take a look at Apolloduck.com, boatsandoutboards.co.uk and Ebay.
I have been look on Ebay and Apollowduck as well as a lot of other brokers friday ads and private ads, distance is not a problem for me for the right boat as I don't mind geting my hands dirty & cuting my teeth on a maiden voyage back home. I would move it myself and even though my farther own's a haulage/crane company I would still do it myself with the help of others if anyone fancied a few days trip on the boat. Thanks for the info well appreciated.
If I have read correctly, you have looked at boats online but not in the flash, so to speak?
If that is the case my advice would be to get out their and actually have a look at some boats. This is easiest done somewhere like Whilton Marina because there you ask to look at whatever boats you have previously identified online and they give you the keys so that you can go looking on your own. It means you can have a really good look and not have a broker/sales person looking over your shoulder all the time.
You may well then recognise that boats in real life are not exactly as you perceive from the sales photos. And you can begin to pin down what you really like, and especially what you don't like!
Cheers
Sounds like good advice and yes I have only been doing arm chair viewing online, I have been looking at Whilton Marina for a few weeks now and when I see something I like I will give them a ring and go down for a closer look. I think I will also start viewing others that maybe not for me but will give me an better understanding on sizes, engines etc. Thanks for geting back to me and I appreciate the advice.
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...although with so many miles of canal in and around Birmingham, in theory at least it must be one of the easier places to cruise some distance while staying within the area. Assuming there are plenty of safe and convenient places to moor, that is.
Of course, the more cruising you plan on doing for pleasure every year, taking you outside the area, the easier it should be to stay on the safe side. You'll be very much at the heart of the network, with all sorts of popular routes on your doorstep.
I was planning on moving from Walsall (Brownhills) to Hockley Heath and maybe a bit further, I think for CC that is a decent distance to be starting with and I am very aware of all the not so good parts of Birmingham where I will not be staying. Like I was saying all my family & there is a lot of them all live very close to the Birmingham network in various places so that will be a massive help for washing clothes etc in exchange for a day trip out
Thanks for geting back to me with the info. -
Probably the easiest first step would be to post links to a couple of boats you like here, and solicit general opinions about them. There are people who will come and have a look at boats with you, but nobody can tell how sound the hull is while it is in the water.
Be aware that CRT seem to be taking an ever increasingly dim view of continuous cruisers.
I have noticed that to be honest, but am not put off by bully tactics that they may try. I'm sure that after multiple tours around the world I will be able to handle loging and documenting my movements to produce in any court. I guess only time will tell, Thanks for the info.
Welcome to the forum.
Firstly its not uncommon for a broker to require a largish deposit to take the boat off the market prior to the survey. It is a way of checking how serious you are about buying a particular boat. There are circumstances under which that deposit would be refundable post survey so check with the broker what these are. Basically if the survey reveals the thing is a colander and about to sink and will cost thousands to put right you can normally walk.
However if you just 'change your mind' and either don't have a survey or the survey reveals nothing major you are likely to lose that deposit. Somebody who looked at our boat when we put it up for sale this time last year simply changed his mind a couple of days later after making an offer and it being taken off the market and he lost a substantial amount of cash in the process.
Check the terms you are making an offer and placing a deposit under with your broker.
Also do not be afraid about making an offer below the asking price and don't be afraid of being cheeky, if a boat has been up for sale for a while the vendor may just agree to sell it at the offered price. If not you can always increase the offer - no harm is done.
Think with your head not your heart - it's effectively a business transaction, if someone chooses to get offended by a cheeky offer that is their problem not yours.
Good luck in your search and keep us posted.
Thank you, good to be hear. I think I will be having to post some details of boats after viewing them to get some feedback from the people on hear to see what you all think. Thank you for the info, very helpfull.
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Hello all,
My name is Robert & it is good to be hear.
For the past few months I have been viewing Narrowboats online and reading all info I can find about boating life on the waterways of this great country of ours.
To try and get a grasp of the buying, running, pitfalls etc of being a Narrowboat owner.
After serving in the Army from the age of 17 I am now in my 40s & find myself looking down the barrel of a a costly divorce, after spending a small ammount of time in
large four bedroom house with just my dog I have come to the conclusion that this is not for me & I hate it. Don't get me wrong I am not looking at the Narrowboat lifestyle with blinkers on
& realize it isn't all bright blue sky's & perfect running engines.
Anyway thats a bit of a back story, so hear is the meat and veg.
Any help with the following will be a great help.
I'm looking at continuous cruiser in and around the Birmingham area, work is not a problem at all & will work around moving my car & try to keep within walking distance.
All of my family live all over Brum and happen to all be clost to the canal network so that will help.
I have looked at a lot of websites/brokers etc in the Birmingham area and don't like the look of some of there options. EG one that I come across wants £1000 deposit but will not refund
any of the deposit if the sale does not go through, this puts me off in a massive way, paying £1000 deposit before a survey that is non refundable is total madness to me.
Any boat buying tips would be a big help, also marinas do and don't plus what are the good ones. I have no trouble in traveling to marinas/sales outside of Birmingham as geting the boat back to Birmingham
would be something good to cut my teeth on in my opinion.
I also find pricing quiet hard as a boat can be 25k on one site and 23k on another for the same boat, then three weeks later it is £19,950, seems like car buying to me & if I offer 5k under the price straight away will I be made to walk the plank.....Even though three weeks later it's down in price by 5k.
The more I read the more variables there seems to be with buying a Narrowboat but this has not put me off.
Also are there any Narrowboat groups or owners that will look around boats with you? As I know not one person with a boat or have ever owned a boat. Could be a good way to earn some extra cash on the weekend.
Anyway my first post has been long enough so far but there will be more to come. This looks like a good place to get some advice and look forward to your comments.
Thank you all in advance & bye for now.
Rob
Owner or not selling on ebay
in General Boating
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seen this one for sale myself & did not like the wording in the advert. But did laff at the T&C's as some sellers don't realize that ending a listing early on Ebay with bids on it will incur fees, as this was the case with a Narrowboat seller last week who ended the listing early with 17k worth of bids on it, bet that was a big surprize for them when Ebay billed them on the 17k bids it already had....Outch!