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We had a 1 week timeshare with the canalboatclub for 17 years. They do a 55ft. You choose a peak or off peak week and pay accordingly. since being managed by ABC you have a choice of marinas throughout the UK. You pay a fixed fee monthly. No unexpected expenses that you may encounter with a shared boat. We have just handed back the timeshare because we bought one of the boats.

Hi, you're clearly new to boating, and are apprehensive about cruising tidal rivers, especially this time of year. I'll be honest, as someone who has been boating for 20 years even I find rivers scary. There are many skilled boaters who as a business will move boats for owners. They have the knowledge and skills to get your boat to your required destination. Just a thought. Perhaps let someone else do it.

Hi Tony, we already have. This thread I hope has highlighted that not all surveyors, even those with self proclaiming websites should be trusted to carry out a full and thorough inspection even when that's exactly what you paid them to do .And never ever use a surveyor recommended by the seller. I don't want this to put people off buying a boat, but to proceed with any purchase with caution. So it's unanimous, the answer to my original question, surveyors are above reproach and cannot be sued.😞

Sorry, but as a working class person I thought the whole point of employing a surveyor for any purchase was to ensure you didn't end up buying a lemon.

Hi Bettyblue, just a quick question that has not been asked. Have you been on a narrowboat ?

If there was an odour it's because there was a problem. The new tank we have fitted does not omit any odours. It shouldn't be classed as outdated, when installed and maintained properly the tank will last as long as the boat. Also with the addition of extra access points on every corner we are able to totally flush the whole tank to keep every corner clean. We have spoken with other boaters who have cassette toilets and regret their decision. I suppose its what your used to and what you like.

Yes. We made the decision to remove the damaged tank, repair all the corroded metal and reinstate a new tank. It has been installed with flush points on all corners that allows it to be fully cleaned...no mucky corners and a brand new drop down thetford toilet. On inspection of the corroded tank it was determined that a lack of insulation on the wall below the window in the bathroom had resulted in years of condensation dripping down the wall and corroding the tank. With a new tank in place we have insulated the wall to ensure this cannot happen again.

As a newbie I didn't know that the integral tank could be allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that it would leak effluent throughout the boat. That's why we instructed a qualified, done it all before, loads of boaty knowledge expensive surveyor.

Let's be honest, these brand new boats look plush and amazing but they are so incredibly expensive. While at our mooring, a brand new boat came in next to us. We got chatting to the owners, they had set themselves a budget for this bespoke build, which they didn't disclose, but there overspend was more than we had paid for our boat. They had never done boating before...seriously. After one trip out, the boat came back, the lovely shiny light grey paintwork all scratched and the pram cover ripped after they hit a bridge. We moved marinas so didn't see them again, but I did see the boat advertised on Apollo Duck the following year.

I'm not looking for satisfaction, I think just accountability. I 'm not going to instruct a lawyer, what is done is done. I'm not paying someone to tell me something I think we all already know. A lesson learn't and hopefully a discussion with all you amazing people to just make others more aware and informed when buying a boat, that's all. The boat has cost us more than we had anticipated, we've ripped her apart, been on our hands and knees cleaning out sh.t, scrubbing off rust, and now putting her back together, but we love her, we have made her ours, and have no intention of selling. We are fortunate in that we could afford to do the work. There was a moment when the welder asked the question whether we wanted to scrap the boat and walk away. My concerns are for those newbies who throw all their money into a boat based on a surveyors report and they don't have extra money for repairs. I just think if a surveyor isn't doing the job he's supposed to be doing, there should be some form of accountability. Even just a list of surveyors with a rating or a review system. If a surveyor receives bad reviews then he has a choice, do your job or find a different profession.

Oh I can assure you that the corrosion was extensive, and we did bring him on board. We had the welder and another expert present, both people he has regular contact with, to say the tank was fine when he did his report would have made him look like an idiot in front of people who he knows are experts in their field. The tank is supposed to be attached to the hull, the corrosion was so bad that you could put your hand through it and it just turned to rusty powder.

His website is all about how qualified and experienced he is and that employing him offered us a guarantee that the boat was worth the money and that there would be no major issues. As a newbie we naturally assumed that when you pay someone to do a job, they do it. The surveyor saw water beneath the shower and at the stern access points inside the boat. On opening the access hatch beneath the shower which we know he did he would have been hit by the pungent odour.If the surveyor had simply made us aware that he had found water throughout the boat beneath the floorboards but was unable to determine where the water was coming from, even as newbies we would have been concerned and requested a more in-depth inspection to determine the cause of the water. However he told us that the water was the result of a leak from the shower that had been fixed. We don't know if this is the result of something he was told or simply an assumption on his behalf. So it wasn't that he missed the problem totally, he either mis diagnosed it or accepted a lie from the marina without question.

When we purchased the boat from ABC in Worcester in October 2021, we took the boat to ABC in Alvechurch. We immediately spoke with the manager at the marina about the shower. They were busy with other boats and he said they would be able to do something in the spring. That manager then left. 3 subsequent managers at the marina, and still unable to get them to do the shower we started to look elsewhere. In October 22 we moved to another marina. In March 2023 we found someone to do the work in June. Hence the timeline.

Yes, I can prove ABC owned the boat. It is an ex Canalboat Club boat. ABC now own and manage all Canalboat club boats and have done so for many years. I know this because I have been a Canalboat member for 17 years. The fees paid are supposed to be used to maintain and upgrade the fleet of timeshare boats. The boat we bought was clearly not being maintained, spray was used to hide the odour.

I accept and have read horror stories of people who have purchased boats without a survey. In fact on a narrowboat Facebook page a mum is selling all items from a boat that her daughter bought without a survey that has been scrapped, its hull was unrepairable. So, it's unanimous I can't sue, that's okay, but what about a register for crappy surveyors.