stoner

I'm at the stage where I'm looking for a liveaboard mooring for my first boat, around the Huntingdon area. What whould I look for in the way of services? Is there a guideline rental cost I could budget against? One thing I was considering was a mooring on the river itself, I'd prefer to be 'side-on' to the water, but are there any disadvantages to a riverside mooring? Thanks

Thanks Maffi, I only wanted a sensible answer to my questions

Hi Carrie, thanks, some good advice there! I guess we all start with an idea of what we want and then end up wanting something a bit different! I'm also looking for something with enough space for two and for entertaining. Unfortunately, work means that I can't cruise that much, and the systems are all widebeam friendly round Cambs You hit on one of my concerns about a new boat - I'm likely to prang it a few times, and I'd hate to do that on shiny new paintwork!! I've looked at bow thrusters, are they a big advantage? I think I'll mostly be travelling alone or with one other, so it would be nice to have some extra maneouvarabilty (sp)! I have to be quite ruthless about 'stuff', I have loads of unneccessary clutter in my house, and it will all have to go. One of the appeals for me is that I am forced to be tidy!!

Hi, I'm Andy, not got a boat yet, but I'm looking at buying a liveaboard narrowboat in the next few months (look out River Ouse). I'd be keen to hear from anyone in the St Ives or Huntingdon area who can give me the rundown on liveaboard life, and answer all my stupid questions!

Hi, first post so I hope I'm in the right area! I've been researching the possibility of buying a boat as a liveaboard, and I need some help in making a choice! Firstly, widebeam or narrow? Obviously, the price difference is considerable, but then so is the increase in space on a wide beam! Are there any other advantages in a wide beam that justify the extra cost? Are mooring fees only based on length or is the width taken into a account too? I know that widebeams are not suitable for some canal systems, but I will be moored on the Ouse, so all the local systems would be OK. My second choice is whether to buy new or used, I am considering a 'sailway plus' boat where I just need to fit it out - the price difference between a fitted boat and a sailaway plus seems quite high to me, I'm sure I could fit it myself at a considerable saving. Or is there something I am missing? What is depreciation like on a new build? Am I better off with a 'nearly new' boat instead? I would ideally like to spend a maximum of 60K, but could go to 75K for something special! Sorry for so many questions! Hope you can assist. Thanks. Andy