SailorJerold

Are you still here! Haha. reading it back I can see how stupid that sounds. Look I get the picture, you may as well throw 10k in the canal rather than buy a boat at that price. Thanks for everyone's helpful advice, I will repost this question again when I have £20k. This thread blew up and I'm grateful for everyone's input. I'm just a man with a dream and hopefully one day i will float past ya.

I don't know whether to just save up for my own shell, and fit an outboard or tow it my mooring. Start working on the internal fitout etc. The boat builders are all local(ish). I could get a diesel generator in there for my power needs initially and camp in it until I can afford to get an engine fitted.

Haha I love that story. Sam Springer sounds like my kind of guy. Thanks for this. Good example of what kind of boat you can expect for the price probably.

I did the exact same thing before you mentioned it. It's weird they would sell that in an auction format! I'm thinking buy the engine and get someone else to fit it. But like Menagerie says there is paying the guy to travel, the uplift expenses etc etc. I'm fairly handy with fitting car parts. Changed a fair few alternators and serpentine belts in my time but an engine is a whole different kettle of fish, especially on a boat I wouldn't have a clue. Not easy to cheap out the build process it seems.

Definitely need to work out the costs, I think I'm quite lucky in terms of the amount of boatyards/marinas within a days trip from my location. I'm going to have a drive round the local boatyards/marinas and ask the questions. Really should be keeping a journal with all the associated costs of key repairs to plan long term but as mentioned on page 1 there seems to be an endless list of things that could go wrong! But knowing how much it will cost to get the boat out of the water would be a good start. Thanks,

I read that as "Don't immediately accept my wisdom then p*ss off." And this I read as smug sardonicism. But written words don't convey the nuances of human communication, just thought it was a pointless post that had nothing to do with the question asked. No offense taken by it though. I'm not sensitive. I'm not sure it's not you who's just a bit of a moody Trudy. I do appreciate the replies here. People have given me a lot to think about so far.

There are CRT facilities within 5 miles of the mooring and some private ones 2 miles the other way. I do have back up couches; parents, brothers etc. To be honest I was thinking of doing most of my showering in the gym anyway. I must pass it 15 times a day! I've been to the site and my 4G phone internet has decent signal, so would be tethering for my internet usage. Rubbish I could take to the tip a couple of times a week on the way into my town.

Same thing though depending on specs of their shell. Why is it double for an engine? Is there money to be saved buying a shell + second hand engine and getting it fitted elsewhere (for future reference) Nice. But I think the link you posted is for water safety lessons! I almost bid on it earlier! Thats a scary read. Point taken. Glad everyone made it in that case.

Im probably looking at several years ago prices then. My mistake. Like I said I saw a video of them and looked them up.

Liverpool boat builders do a 45 ft sailaway for £19.5k

Liverpool Boat Builders http://www.liverpoolboatco.co.uk/id6.html Saw a video of the guys making it, looked legit I think they said 10" base plate 4" superstructure but thats from memory don't quote me on it.

True true. This would only be if she was a proper fixer upper. If I could feasibly live there I would do. To answer your previous question I'm a cabbie in Cheshire. Thanks for this I will definitely bare it in mind whilst browsing.

I do have the time to chug it home but would prefer not to if it was anything like the hellscape in the 2nd link on your previous post. I will definitely have to take into account transport costs though, thanks for the rough idea on prices I can expect to pay should it need moving by truck

This makes a lot of sense I'd be loathe for it to happen several times at £1k a pop. How much for a structural survey? I will research unfinished project boats to see whats lying around. A prerequisite at the moment is that it floats and drives. Pretty much the only criteria I want.

On ebay at the moment a couple caught my eye. But have so far not made any visits. There is this shed on steel: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F124027521930 This has a bit of a wierd survey in the pictures but looks pretty: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F274132893811 This one I would love to go and buy: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F202861508135 Thats slightly over though at £13k but I could probably stretch to it. Should mention also that once I purchase a boat I will still be saving and would not be moving in for probably another 6 months to a year depending on when I buy it to save for an emergency fund and pay for any repair work that I can't do myself. It won't be a case of life savings in then I'm destitute if I need a repair.

I'm sorry but the first reply was less a note of caution and more of a 'get lost' with a heavy hint of sardonic. The reply to your reply fair enough. I've not said that this is my plan. I've not said this is what I'm doing. I've said I'm always tempted when I see the boats come up on Ebay. These boats get sold, so some people clearly buy them and I was hoping to hear from them people. So far the replies I've had suggest that the boats are write offs or that it would cost more to repair than buying a boat 4 times its price. I am interested to know what the cost and effort implications are of such a boat.

Your entitled to your opinion but again I was asking for people's experience and this reply adds absolutely nothing to the discourse. Perhaps you are the one who should leave this thread, as, unless a mod asks me to leave I think I'll elect to stay.

Who said cheap? It is for a fact cheaper. There are no sour grapes towards you my friend. I've no doubt you worked hard. Lots of people work hard and I intend to one day own my own house mortgage free.(or a nice widebeam with a 2000Ah battery bank). I spoke to an old chap who was in my taxi the other day, he told me he bought his house for the princely sum of £6.5k and has lived in it all his life. Its now worth upwards of £500k. His salary as a state school teacher at the time was £2k. How many times more the average state school teacher salary of £23k is £500k? A lot of people with £80k boats say that its too expensive though for an average joe to start out. I'm also aware of the increasing number of people who choose to live this way and the stigma that this can create for the more 'traditional' people who live aboard in terms of wanting to protect that way of life. My grandad had a narrowboat in his youth, I want to live on one. I'm going to buy one. This is majorly off topic and I don't know why everyone has got their backs up about the fact that it CAN be cheaper. Has anyone bought and successfully renovated a sub 10k steel narrowboat or regretted such a purchase? I am trying to get peoples personal experiences rather than opinions on whether or not it would or wouldn't be a bad decision to do so. If no one has. Fair enough.

Yes I am aware of the associated costs, I already pay £1365 per annum for a CRT mooring of up to 50 ft near a small village just outside my town. Its currently unoccupied pending me buying a boat but wanted to secure the location. Whilst I understand its not necessarily cheaper and that costs can be a bit lumpy and awkward in terms of when they are due. It will be my boat. And all the money I save day to day will go into the kitty for repairs. Plus you cant put a price on the satisfaction of not paying down someone elses mortgage whilst they are living it up on their boat!!

Well it would be my house. But im not looking for anything fancy. Im 30 with no prospect of a mortgage and am currently paying around £10k per annum in rent. We should keep in touch if you are not selling it immediately it would be a couple more months before I have the cash together. I'll check them out, thanks.

Jeez. Quite a list. I mean you can get a brand new insulated shell with tanks for 13k. Whats the going rate for a 2nd hand engine for a 30ft boat? Whats the average price of an engine installation? If your doing the internal fit yourself is it cheaper to buy a brand new shell than a 2nd hand project boat? The boatyard adds around £10k for the engine to be fitted, is there money to be saved there? I don't believe that you have to shell out £30-40k for a small narrowboat in good working order. Let me know if you pick up another sinker.

Thats the conventional wisdom I know. Have you ever bought a cheap steel boat? What can go wrong? I'm trying to think of the possible issues and what it would take to resolve them. Issues with the hull and superstructure, issues with the engine, when it next needs blacking, what else? Im competent with electrics and carpentry, are there any other boat specific structural/mechanical issues you can add to the list. Even if you pay 20k you are probably pushing these issues a couple of years down the line. I'd rather sort issues myself now and know where I'm up to. You are not going to get a perfect boat for this price. Maybe a shell of a small old boat with a working engine and propulsion system is possible though? I was really just wanting to hear from a few people stupid enough to have done it to ask did the risk pay off or did they regret their purchase. Not that I don't appreciate your input! I honestly don't mind a bit of a project as long as it floats and drives!

Nice one, if in good working order sounds like a bargain for the person that bought it to be fair!

I'm new to narrowboating, have been on a holiday or two. Every so often a 32 ft narrowboat comes up for less than 10k on ebay etc and it always tempts me to take a punt on it. Is this a reasonable price for a small oldish boat in working order direct from a private seller? What is the cheapest boat you have bought and lived on for any length of time? Did you regret your purchase? What are the dangers and pitfalls to look out for when buying an old boat? I realise that these are really general questions but I'm just interested in peoples personal experience.