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SteveLevis

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Posts posted by SteveLevis

  1. After hiring for a few years we decided to get ourselves a share in a self managedd boat, and in the early years we really enjoyed it as all the syndicate members were keen and looked after the boat. However during the later years most of the original members sold their shares and we ended up with people who really just treated it like a hire boat and never got involved in actually doing anything and "dumping" all the problems on the willing few. So after about 6 years we sold up. (The boat was getting older and was needing more an  more work).

     

    I would certainly recomend it s a cost effective way of getting a boat, and there are some really cheap shares available on fairly good boats. If we were doing it again I would pay the extra and go self managed.

     

    The main restrictions are you are limited to the same marina for a few years, (we changed marina every 3 years or so), and although you think you are getting 4 weeks, in reality we probably only got 2 or 3, as the 3rd / 4th weeks can be at those times of the year (weather wise) when you may not enjoy boating! And of course you are restricted by the rota as to which weeks you can have. (We prefered the "non" school holiday weeks).

     

    In the end we decided that for the one / two weeks a year we want to go boating we preferred the flexibility of hiring a boat so we could go where and when we wanted to go, without the actual worry of having to maintain the boat, but each to their own....

     

    ,

  2. By the time you have factored in all the hastle of buying and selling, the costs of travelling to view boats, license, insurance, broker fees, survey, maintenance costs, (possible moorings), it does not make financial sense (to me). Particularly if you then find you can't sell it for what you paid for it...

    • Greenie 1
  3. ..yes, hydraulic drive not gearbox...my bad.

    In general the hydraulic drive itself was reliable, but the one time we did have a problem the unit had to go to Peachments for repair and from memory this took a few weeks, so no cruising, (syndicate boat). There probably are advantages to having a hydraulic drive, (eg no stern gland to grease), but I prefer the simplicity of a drive shaft...

  4. Our last boat was a Hexagon built (Polish), boat which had a Nanni engine with hydraulic drive. In general the engine was excellent, however initially we did have some problems with the hydraulic drive, (a leak), that took a while to get sorted. The hydraulic drive did seem to be quieter than a convention shaft, but they are not as fuel efficient as a shaft drive, (probably about 75%??), so you will use more fuel. Also I think "AR Peachement" are the only company that deal with the hydraulic gearboxes..(I could be wrong).

     

    If it has bow / stern thrusters that are hydraulic the recommendation is that you change the hydraulic pipes at around 10 years, (not cheap, but would be a right mess if the pipes "burst").

     

    If I was getting another boat I personally would not get one with a hydraulic drive... 

  5. Hi all,

     

    Just looking for suggestions really regarding an upcoming trip from Stone heading South for a total of 6 days, (3 out and 3 back)?

     

    As I see it there are 3 main options:-

     

    1/ Turn right on Shropshire Ubion and head towards Wolverhampton,

    2/ Carry straight on and turn right at Fradley and down the Coventry canal turning around just above Atherstone.

    3/ South and then turn left at Fradley and head up the trent and Mersey for a bit?

     

    Any recommendations welcome.

     

     

  6. As per all the above comment really. I would not be interested in the "continual cruising" option, (ie no home base marina), better to have a "fixed base" IMHO although this does restrict your cruising options, but in our syndicate we had an AGM and every 3 years or so and voted on a move to another marina. (This may be more of a problem if you are "managed" as this may restrict which marinas you can use). If you are buying into a "home based" marina boat it is worth checking if the synddicate have any plans for a move. anytime soon.

    ie you may think tthe current marina is a great location, but oncce you have joined you may find out the syndicate plan to move it next season to somewhere that may be less conveinient.

     

    Also important to know if managed, or self managed. Self managed is great, (and saves about £500 per year each), BUT you have to have able and willing syndicate members! When we joined our self managed syndicate all members were keen and happy to "share the workload", but over time some of the original members left and were replaced with (mainly), syndicate members who just treated it as a cheap hire boat and were not prepared to "do their share" leaving all the work to a few willing members. In hindsite it would probably have been better to spend the extra money and get a management company involved?

     

    Whatever boat you buy into make sure there is a healthy "sinking fund" as you don't want to end up paying for a share of a new engine or repaint during your first year or two of cruising!

     

    • Greenie 1
  7. 33 minutes ago, manxmike said:

    I have been looking into this possibility for myself, searching on line and speaking to people already holding shares, the prices I quoted are fairly similar to what I have found. OK, if I were to go for a new build with a butler, kitchen staff, hot and cold running chambermaids (I wish) then I would expect to pay a lot more.

    There seem to be quite a number of shares available in quite a few boats at the moment, maybe the "boom" is coming to an end and prices are becoming more realistic?

    However, I would be happy with a slightly older boat and the costs are pretty much as I said. Given that the OP rather likes the look of an older boat these charges are what he might find.

    Horses for courses - you get what you pay for!

    I think it can be a bit of a "catch 22", a lower share price would be for either an older boat which may well then require higher ongoing maintenance costs, (or possibly a newer boat with only "low season weeks available"), or initially pay more for a newer boat which requires less maintenance?

     

    When we first started looking at shares (about 7 years ago), we looked at some boats around the £2.5k for a 12th share and soon realised that we would need to spend at least £1k+ more to get a boat that we liked. We ended up in a really nice self managed syndicate which also saved us around £450/yr each in management fees, however this does mean that all the syndicate members have to take an active role in doing all the work necessary, and as time went on and new members joined the syndicate there were fewer and fewer members who actually wanted to share this level work preferring to leave it all to the ever diminishing and willing "few". We liked to keep the boat well maintained and promptly replace any items that had failed, or were likely to fail so that other members would not lose their holiday weeks. We also liked to maintain a healthy sinking fund (£6k+), so that if the engine went south we couldm get it replaced with minimal financial impact to the existing syndicate members. (ie if you do buy into a share boat ALWAYS ask what how healthy thier sinking fund is as you don't want to buy into a boat that suddenly needs a new engine or £12k repaint and nothing "in the pot" to cover it!)

     

    In some respects the actual buying cost of a share is not really an issue (assuming you have the money in the first place), as you could well get most of it back, particularly in the current climate. (We had members who actually sold their share after a few years for more than they paid for it in the first place), and the longer you are in a syndicate the more "cost effective" it becomes compared to renting. The only rel downside to sharing is that you are always limited to the marina the boat is based in, (which can be moved with agreement from all members), and the fact that the weeks you can choose very much depend on where you are on any particulr years "pecking order".

     

    I guess you pays your money and makes your choice......happy hunting!

  8. ....we had expensive tastes..... :)...

     

    .....around £1k, maybe £850/£900 some years  depending on what bits we wanted replacing each year, (eg solar panels, new cooker, fridge, annual blacking and winter works, we also wanted to maintain a healthy engine replacement / repainting / sinking fund should we need it being an older well used boat.

     

    Also turnaround maintenance, every 1or 2 weeks as the the boat was more or less in constant use both high and low seasons, and as an an older boat that regularly required maintenance to the standard we wanted...

     

    ......and a "Marina of the year" that liked to charge you for the priviledge!

    • Greenie 1
  9. 1 hour ago, manxmike said:

    To go back a few steps - are you looking for a narrow boat you can use that would hopefully pay for itself (unlikely), or are you looking for some sort of investment that would return a decent amount each year (equally unlikely)?

    The suggestion made earlier in this thread about a share boat might be the sensible way to go, total cost £2,500 initial outlay (or thereabouts) for the share, then £50 (approx) per month giving you four weeks per annum holiday on a maintained boat.

    Invest the balance - interest rates are starting to rise and £60,000 at 2% would give you £1,200 per annum. OK, that's not a lot, but then £70K isn't a large investment amount anyway and £1,200 is twice the annual monthly charge giving you £600 in your pocket, a boat for four weeks a year - fully maintained and serviced, insured and licenced, just fuel required.

    Certainly that's something worth looking into in my opinion.

     

    ...I think this is a good suggestion/compromise, but I think the costs quoted are a bit low, (....in the current climate), particularly if you go with a "managed" boat. We were a self managed (12 shares) boat and probably paid around £1k each per year to cover all our running costs, (eg maintenance, replacements, licenses, mooring fees). We  approached a management company and were advised we would need to pay an extra £450 'ish (each) on top of this.

     

    When we started looking £2.5k would not get a "decent" quality/newer boat and we ended up spending around £4.5k. (You can get lower costs if you buy shares with weeks that are "out of season"). Mind you whatever you pay for the share you may well get back when you come to sell given the popularity of canal boat sharing?

  10. We had our last (syndicate) boat repainted in the same colour scheme as it seemed a simpler option than having to "vote" on other options. This design involved 3 basic colours with lines, however in hindsight I think we should have changed it to a simpler design that would make touching up a lot simpler.....particularly as the paint started to peel off within the first 3 months.....

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