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KenK

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Everything posted by KenK

  1. The boat was built in the UK, hull by Pickwell and Arnold and fitted out by Mitchell Narrowboats to a specification required by the original owners. They used it in the UK for a couple of years before it was taken to Europe.
  2. My Dutch Barge which is 55ft long and 12 ft wide has two fuel tanks both of which hold 1500 litres, a total of 3000 litres and the water tank holds 3400 litres. So it is possible to have large fuel and water tanks in a 60 ft widebeam.
  3. KenK

    Buyer Beware

    No I'm not suggesting that having paperwork makes the boat more or less valuable, I said if the original paperwork was available then a more informed decision could have been made by the purchaser. As I said maybe it was and he or she still decided the boat was worth the money. As far as improvements I would say it had gone downhill rather than been improved with the exception of the solar panels. For added information I paid £60,000 for her as a new boat although of course that money buys a lot less today.
  4. KenK

    Buyer Beware

    I think my original post may have been too subtle, I was trying not to make an accusation which I could not substantiate. In my post I clearly said that when I sold the boat I included both the original sales invoice and also the invoice (RYA version) when I sold her. I'm fairly certain that if the current owner had been aware that the boat had been purchased for £50,000 in 2019 they may have thought long and hard before paying almost 50% more for a boat 3 years older. It has been pointed out many times on this and other boating forums that often a boat is the most expensive thing many people buy after a house but there is no requirement for any paperwork, not even proof of ownership, hence the Buyer Beware. The paperwork I handed over to my purchaser should have been, in my opinion, retained and passed on to future purchasers, maybe it was I don't know. Possibly the current purchaser wanted the boat so badly that price was no object. Yes, it was Winter Rose, as far as I am concerned I sold her for a fair price and I have no regrets as the quick sale meant I was able to purchase my current boat a Luxemotor barge for a very good price. The current Winter Rose Luxemotor, (the name has personal reasons), has allowed my wife and I to experience a very different type of boating in Europe from the UK rivers and canals, long may it continue. Ken
  5. I've put this into the New to Boating section as it very much applies to people looking to purchase their first boat. Yesterday I was checking out boats when I came across my old narrowboat which had just been sold by Rugby Boats for £74,950. I was somewhat surprised as I sold her at the end of 2019 for £50,000, so a 50% price hike on a boat which is three years older. Looking at the pictures on the site not much has changed, a couple of solar panels added, the Wilsons sofa / bed replaced with a different sofa and the dining table and chairs missing, replaced by a large TV, even the pictures on the walls are the same. When I sold the boat I supplied the purchaser with the original bill of sale from the builder and of course a copy of the sale details at that point along with a file containing al the paperwork relating to the boat. I do wonder how much of that paperwork was available to the current owner, I doubt if many people would be happy to accept a 50% price increase on a boat which is three years older. I know that boats have increased in price over the last couple of years but 50% seems excessive. As the topic title suggests when contemplating purchasing a boat do your research. Ken
  6. We no longer boat in the UK our boat is now in the Netherlands, on Sunday we moored up at the passantenhaven (passing mooring) the cost was 32 Euros for an overnight stay, although that does include electricity, water and rubbish disposal. Seems a lot but the Dutch canals do not require the payment of a licence fee so unless moorings are charged for there would not be any. When we had a narrowboat in the UK we followed the rules and on a couple of occasions over the 14 years we had to request a longer stay on a time limited mooring for personal reasons both BW and CRT were helpful once we phoned to explain the problem. The OP can read the sign, if he does not wish to pay then move on after 24 hours. The EA already uses car parking companies to enforce 24 hour mooring on the Thames, you certainly do not want that on CRT waters.
  7. My wife and I own a replica Luxemotor which was designed as a liveaboard, be aware that old barges were designed to carry cargo. A 17 metre barge has probably been cut down from its original size and an old boat will have needed overplating, hopefully done correctly. I would second the advice to join the Barge Association many of the members own old dutch barges of various types and will be happy to answer questions. Take a look at the DBA website you do not need to be a member to view a lot of the content.
  8. Not related to your original question however as you are based in France you may find this site useful https://barges.org Canalworld is UK based and does not have much if any European information, barges.org covers both Europe and the UK and despite the name many of the members have boats similar to yours.
  9. IMO Chesterfield very pretty and quiet. North East waterways generally quiet and very pretty in many places, also an excellent variety of canals and rivers. Marina moorings also tend to be more reasonable in the north east compared to Midlands and the South which are generally the busiest.
  10. My wife and I did it in 2019, in May, it was a late spring so the blossoms etc. were just in bloom and the weather worked in our favour. It is without doubt one of the most beautiful canals and because it does not see huge numbers of boats easy to find delightful moorings. From memory the first six locks are wide and the rest narrow, I asked a local why and was told, they were widened to allow stone from a quarry to be moved more quickly as it was used to rebuild the Houses of Parliament, no idea if that's true but it does make sense. The very end near the blocked up tunnel is a little disappointing, maybe one day it will be opened and the whole canal will be open again.
  11. Sarah, a boat just like anything else is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. As you are moving from lumpy water you must have some experience of boat costs for that environment anything from a few hundred pounds to many millions. The inland waterways are similar there are a range of prices from a few thousand up to possibly a quarter of a million. As for the boat you have looked at, judging from what information is available it looks like it would work as a live a board boat, it is a little old fashioned but if that works for you no problem. I sold a 60 foot narrowboat in Oct 2019 for £50,000, that boat was built in 2006 and was in A1 condition when it was sold, I then purchased a Dutch Barge built in 2007 for £80,000. I priced the narrowboat at £55,000 expecting people to offer lower prices, I knew I would accept £50,000 but no lower, so room for negotiation. I made a ridiculous offer for the Dutch Barge and it was accepted, you never know what the seller will accept, so make a cheeky offer, you can always go up if they say no.
  12. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other, so far this month we need a new boiler in the house, the fridge has packed up and needs repair. To balance that I just received my mooring cost for the Dutch barge based in NL and its booked in for out of water checks and blacking in March.
  13. That sounds a sensible option. With regard to looking for boats I assume you are aware of Apolloduck, website for all types of boat sales, will give you a good idea of what is out there and prices. We had a 60 foot semi trad for 14 years and covered all of the England / Wales system where it would fit which is most of it, we now have a Dutch barge currently in the Netherlands, very different from UK boating. Good luck with your search.
  14. I would suggest the obvious, take the family for a narrowboat holiday before committing a large sum of money buying a boat, your dream may not be theirs. Living on a boat is not for everyone, especially CCing with children who need to go to school.
  15. Boards are a traffic light system, Green OK, Amber a warning, Red don't travel. Lockkeepers will issue a red card if you insist on moving under red boards. You normally find them at the locks, as the level of the river rises due to rainfall the green board is covered first, followed by the amber until you can only see the red. Unlike most UK canals rivers have a current flow which increases as the levels rise, your boat may not have sufficient power to overcome the current travelling upstream or be able to bring you to a stop when travelling downstream. The Thames is a wonderful river to navigate as long as you treat it with respect.
  16. A number of the free 24 hour moorings are controlled by a couple of for the want of a better description parking companies, you need to phone and book your arrival, then you get free 24 hours. Also if you intend to cover the tidal section you need a VHF set and of course the license to use it.
  17. Our Dutch barge has the calorifier in the engine bay it is well insulated but we still half empty it for the winter as well as draining the pipework, no point in taking chances especially as our boat is in Europe and we can't get to it if temperatures drop suddenly. It happens we woke up this morning to find the house stone cold, boiler decided it did no longer wish to function, why does it always happen on one of the coldest days of the year?
  18. Current plan is to take the boat to be blacked in Maasbracht Netherlands at the end of March and possibly also get it painted. Return home and once the boat is ready go back and finally after two years cruise the remainder of our Schengen visa time on the Dutch waterways. This of course all depends on our being able to actually travel to Europe.
  19. When water freezes it expands, so if you half empty the tank there is space to allow the expansion. When we had our narrowboat I fitted a connector with a schrader valve to the calorifier and used a foot-pump to empty it and the pipework, never had a problem with damaged pipes. Our Dutch barge which is in Europe has much better insulation but even so I still half empty the calorifier, drain the pipes and leave all the taps open.
  20. Bikes get stolen in France as well as the UK, my friend had two bikes stolen this year from his boat despite being moored in a "safe" marina, They were chained up on his boat and were taken during the night when my friends were asleep.
  21. There are a couple of moorings on the river before you reach the first Bath lock, on your right in front of some newish flats, 24 hour, so you could be lucky. You used to be able to moor close to Sainsburys on the left hand side but last time I passed in 2017 they were building there, so no idea now. There are also moorings between a couple of the Bath locks and above the last one going East and more still on your way out of Bath I never had a problem finding a mooring even during August, enjoy your trip
  22. Like most items intended for boating Victron and Mastervolt inverters are expensive, if you believe the price is worth it then that's your choice. I spent all my working life as an electronics engineer and used different types of inverter for different tasks. They are mostly built in the far east, including I believe, those sold by Victron and Mastervolt the technology to build them is the same irrespective of the name on the case. Yes, Victron and Mastervolt have clever software which gives them options not available on cheaper units but are those options really necessary on a narrowboat. In my opinion a simple cheaper unit and a separate charger make the most sense, especially as the expensive Victron combi failed after four years.
  23. I ran a narrowboat for 14 years using a 3KW PSW inverter which I purchased from a supplier in Taiwan and a separate charger without any problems. My Dutch barge is on its second Victron combi as the charger failed on the first one, the previous owner replaced it with another Victron combi, if the charger on that fails then it will be a replacement standalone charger or if the inverter fails then an inverter and a separate charger. You really do not need an expensive Victron or Mastervolt combi, you can find a good 3KW PSW inverter and a separate charger for half the money, do an internet search Amazon comes up with one for less than £400.
  24. KenK

    Toilets!

    Our narrowboat had a cassette, we had a spare but very rarely needed to use it as we passed an Elsan at least every other day. We now own a Dutch barge which has two macerator toilets feeding a black water tank. So far we only have had problems with the Tankwatch system which measures the level in the tank but previous owners have virtually had to rebuild the system due to problems, not helped because the boat is in Europe which does lack pump out facilities. A cassette system is simple, virtually nothing to go wrong and free to empty unlike a holding tank, if I could I'd replace the toilets in the barge with cassettes but unfortunately Europe does not have Elsan facilities either. A tip, do not swim in European rivers or canals I'm sure you can work out why!
  25. I would expect that the general consensus would be that spray foam is best but as with everything it does depend on how well it is done. We had a narrowboat for 14 years and it had polystyrene insulation and we had no obvious issues with rust but unless you are prepared to remove the woodwork to expose the insulation you will not be able to tell if there is an issue unless it is so bad that you see stains below the gunnels or on the floor. Your photograph seems to be of an air vent which will always show signs of rust because it is open to the atmosphere. We now have a Dutch barge which has spray foam insulation and the two vent outlets in the rear toilet and shower both have rust around the edges, these areas are not painted and bare steel rusts very quickly, easily resolved with a coat of Vactan or similar. I'm afraid that rust is just something one has to accept when you mix a steel boat and water, part of the joy of boating there is always something to repair, repaint or clean.
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