ex-Celtic Star

Hi, Out of interest, approximately how much does a narrowboat weigh? We've just completed the purchase of our first boat, a 2005 58' cruiser stern (10, 6, 4), and I'm curious to know approximately what it will weigh. I've guessed wildly at 8 tonnes, but I don't know what I'm talking about! It doesn't matter really - we're not planning to have it craned or shipped by road, but I'm just interested. TIA

Oops, sorry, we actually went with Craftinsure. I've corrected my post above.

Hi again, After a short delay, we're now at the boat-buying stage so we've researched and decided on our insurance. We've gone with Craftinsure on several grounds: * the policy fits our requirements in terms of the amount of personal effects and third party cover - 5 million makes sense nowadays * being able to read the sample policy on the website prior to purchase is a reassurance - unlike e.g. GJW where we couldn't find any small print to read before purchasing * it was quick and straightforward to get a quote, and then to purchase the policy online - unlike e.g. SAGA who posted out a quote, it wasn't available instantly online, and then to purchase you had to post back forms * some contributors above had used it for some time, and spoke well of their experience * and it was extremely competitive, especially as we went for the higher excess because we are not really interested in insuring (or claiming) for small amounts I hope our experience may help others to think through what would work best for them. We're not wanting anyone to blindly follow us. I would add, we have no connection with anyone in the insurance industry. We're just new boat owners. Hope that helps, and thanks to all the posters for your help.

Yes, give us a couple of days to work through the quotes, and I'll share our findings and thinking.

Many thanks to all who have responded with your experience, whether you've claimed or not. We've now got several quotes, and a lot of small print to read over the next few days. Thanks again.

Hi, my first new post here, so please be gentle! I've searched the Search function but I can't find any recent threads on boat insurance so I wondered if any of you kind people could share who you use, experience (good or bad), and how you choose your insurance cover - just by cost, or are there big differences in cover available? Our soon-to-be our boat has been surveyed and we should be the proud owners in a week or so so we want to arrange insurance. OH found boat cover through compare-boat-insurance comparison sites, and also SAGA, but we're interested in other boat insurers as well. The comparison site had prices from £191 up, for a 58' 2005 narrowboat. We'd appreciate any advice you'd share. Many thanks

We do for tunnels, locks, and if and when we get on to rivers. The logic is that if one of us goes in, the other has enough on their hands to manage the boat for the first few moments, with less worry for the wet one who should at least be floating. Oh yes, and the dog wears one too - ashore around locks and aboard when the boat is moving. We call it her 'boat coat' since 'life jacket' or 'bouyancy aid' seem a concept too far for a dog who hates water, has no intention of falling in, and who would not enjoy being made to practice swimming in it to prove its value to her. On a similar safety note, having stood beside our boat while it was out of the water for surveying, we realised we wouldn't have a hope of climbing back on from anything like deep water, so we're getting a ladder. There was a previous thread on here about this, and the reality really hit us when we realised that with head and shoulders above the water line, we'd just be able to reach the taff rail supports but not pull our wet clothed bodies up and out. We hope a rope-type ladder, fastened on to a taff rail support and quick-releasable, should do the trick. But rather like the dog and the 'boat coat', we're not keen to have a practice to check it works...