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Bishop Brennan

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Everything posted by Bishop Brennan

  1. There's at least 3 boats that haven't moved since the first lockdown. They're 48 hour moorings 🤣
  2. I live in Northampton. I walk along the section you're talking about roughly once per week. This week around half the boats showed remnants of raw eggs and shattered egg shells all over them. I personally wouldn't like to moor there, although plenty do, as it's always full.
  3. Me too. I'd never considered outstanding finance on boats. Surely the debt is attached to the person who borrowed rather than the boat?
  4. Thank you all for your replies so far. There are too many to quote individually, but most have given me good insight and tips.
  5. After reading the "identifying a stolen boat" thread, it seems as if there are more scammers selling boats which don't belong to them, boats which don't exist, or going bust mid transaction than honest sellers with honest boats. It's got me wondering: how do you guarantee not to lose your money, and to receive a legitimate boat? What is, and who are reputable brokers?
  6. Blimey! Who'd buy brand new then? Thanks all for your replies. I've learnt a lot in just 2 pages from all the considerations put forward. The common wisdom regarding steel narrow boats appears to herald the merits of being the second owner of a 4 or 5 year old boat from a quality builder. This makes a lot of sense, and feels more intuitively comfortable.
  7. I wouldn't struggle to pay the ongoing costs of a steel narrowboat, and would without doubt pull it out of the water every 2-3 years for blacking. My biggest concern, and the reason I'm mulling over a new, but lower cost boat, is that I cannot guarantee there aren't any horrors with second hand. Dodgy surveyors, get out clauses in surveys, the strongly held opinion by many that surveys aren't worth the paper they're written on, careless or neglectful previous owners, and so on and so on. All of those considerations don't exist with brand new. But, I also don't have nor want to spend £150k, nor do I want a larger than 40ft boat. I've lived my whole life in small spaces, and favour minimal possessions. @Steve_C thanks for that link, it was interesting, and worth knowing about Cunliffe boats offering brand new 35ft boats.
  8. @Tony1 Thank you. No apology needed, I always appreciate people spending time typing replies with their thoughts, knowledge, and opinions. Noted about the Viking 23cc, thank you for mentioning. I've never investigated whether outboard diesels are a thing, and how much one could be purchased for. I'm assuming, perhaps a little optimistically, a petrol could simply be swapped for a diesel, if it's a matter of hanging it on the stern.
  9. @Tony1 Thank you. Yes, I'm certainly considering GRP boats - I've also read through threads debating the pros and cons of GRP vs Steel, so am aware of the pitfalls of GRP. However, it's difficult to find one with a diesel engine, a 6ft 10in beam, and with decent heating and insulation, as I'm looking to live year round on it, and want access to as much of the network as possible. I'm sure such a boat exists, or could exist if I'm prepared to modify it myself. I found what I think is a GRP narrowboat on ebay earlier. A 32ft Dawncraft Roamer. I never realised such boats existed. It's only £12k, although I can only imagine the issues one would have with it. Was wondering how much it would cost to convert to diesel and bring it up to scratch as a viable live-aboard. Probably way too much.
  10. I just saw a builder who is selling a build slot for £2k. It's on ebay Surely that's not the norm? I know precisely what you mean. I wholeheartedly use this principle in the rest of my life. I've always found it bang on.
  11. I need a reliable boat to get me of this godforsaken island quick, and Ted's spent all the funds! Thanks all for your replies so far. I had noted Aintree Beetles, but their prices are missing from their website, and I wanted to gauge opinion on them before making enquiries. Thing is, I'm quite overwhelmed at all the potential pitfalls of buying secondhand. There seem to be so many potential horrors, such as tens of thousands of pounds of overplating that might need doing, potential fraud, surveys and surveyors being potentially worthless, incompetent, or outright corrupt, complete exploitation of n00bs, etc etc. So I'm exploring the options. I was contemplating a Sea Otter aluminium boat (second hand obviously). Then the idea of a brand new boat popped into my head, which, I wondered about, especially as I'm looking for a smaller boat, I wondered if the cost was in my quoted ballpark. That nearly new Beetle looks interesting, as does the Little Boat Co.
  12. I'm interested in the smaller end of brand new narrowboats, around 35ft, and can't seem to find anything, and when I do, prices aren't listed. Is it possible to find such a boat for about £50-60k?
  13. I can't believe it's butter. Nevertheless, notepad opened, evidence recorded, thanks.
  14. Would you mind elaborating on how to choose the right location to moor? I assume the primary thing would be avoiding urban mooring, but what would some of the other things be? Some tips would be very useful.
  15. There's some interesting insights and advice here, thank you all. I like the insights regarding padlocks, i.e a lock advertises absence; big locks little hinges etc. I'd not thought of those small details. And keeping food and alcohol out of sight, I'd never have thought that. Regarding the theory that those who find trouble everywhere are good at provoking it, I couldn't agree more. I'm a firm believer in the law of attraction. I work with people who seem forever to be attracting drama, and they're obviously looking for, and thrive on it.
  16. Living aboard, continuously cruising is what I'm aiming for. But one important topic I rarely see covered in any detail is that of ongoing security, hassle from the public, and ominous goings on, and I'd like to get an understanding of what to expect. I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but my worst fear is waking up to an intruder who has broken in whilst I'm asleep. Another would be wanton vandalism, cutting mooring ropes for a laugh, arson, or mindless aggression, such as the type some vanlifers experience (getting egged, rubbish thrown at their vehicles, etc). One vanlifer couple posted a story about a time parked in a layby. At 2am a car pulled in, and a bloke was hovering around outside their motorhome, walking around it for a fair while before eventually driving off. I'm after people's experiences with the general public, getting grief without good reason, break ins, or any weird or dodgy characters hanging around towpaths or boats of a late evening that give cause for concern. Do you sleep well when randomly moored up by a public towpath? Was it something you were anxious about? If so, when did it eventually subside? Or has it not? What's the dodgiest thing you've experienced?
  17. Thanks all. It seems I should mostly consider boats from £40k up. A survey will be carried out without doubt. Regarding waiting for a year... what a gamble... I thought that about houses 10 years ago, convinced they'd crash from their mad gainz. But no. Then Brexit. Still didn't crash. Then the pandemic. They rose by over 10%. So God only knows what'll happen to boats.
  18. Hello all, I'm new to this forum, and this is my first post. From reading and looking around, this forum looks very helpful and informative. I've reached a point in life where I want to make a large change from my current life. I've been looking into, and thinking about living full-time on the canals and rivers for some time. But enough of magazines, ebay, and Youtube. I now want to put the leg work in with proper research. My primary question is, what sort of budget should I set aside for a 40-45ft narrowboat in good condition these days? When I say good condition, I primarily mean a good hull, engine, and gearbox, unlikely to be hiding horrors which need tens of thousands to rectify. I thought £40k would do it, but after some things I've read in some threads it looks as if it could be considerably more. If you were in my position, how much would you set aside? I'm not looking for a sailaway. I'll be looking for a boat I can more or less move into and use immediately after purchase. Thanks in advance.
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