Athy

Welcome to the forum. Springers are very good boats provided that they have been looked after. The price looks acceptable for an example in good condition - though it is over 10 years since I bought a Springer, so I may be out of touch. When you say that you are sure of the year,, do you mean that you ar4e NOT sure of the year? The last Springers were built in 1994. From the photo, this one could be from mid-'80s to 1994. Do be aware that this boat is powered by an outboard petrol engine.

I don't think so. There's surely not THAT much money in folk-rock. It's the Manor House, which changed hands only (at a guess) five or six years ago, but which I think had been in the same family for a long time before that. The "new" people (five or six years ago) spent a lot of money upgrading the bankside, and I think that part of the work involved dredging the first part of the arm. There was a narrowboat moored there for a brief while. But as far as I'm aware it was never opened out all the way to the house. Local rumour had it that the bankside would be let out as moorings, but that has not happened. Perhaps they didn't want boaters going to and fro across their grounds, which are spectacular.

I'm well aware of the difference, but as most people use "historic boat" in the sense of "historical" I go along with the majority. I guess 'Cressy' would qualify as a historic boat in the strict sense, also perhaps the pair which did the last long-distance commercial run in 1970; any others? Strange that the boats are dubbed "historic", yet their engines are "vintage".