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Airbnb boat?


Beki Turner

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2 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Don't be a grump Richard. Only tell the OP what she wants to hear and don't let anything get in the way of that. No comments or opposing views allowed by order of the OP. From another apparent grump.

There is a very big difference between being realistic and being grumpy, realistic adds to the conversation and keeps things healthy, being grumpy is driving any new faces away. I'm not suggesting that people should only be told what they want to hear but I do think that there are some of the older posters could try to think a little broader; I also realise this is not comfortable to many people. 

 

In the few years that I've been reading this forum and then posting on it it has morphed from a vibrant diverse forum community into something that more closely resembles and older gentlemen's private chatroom. I love this forum and I want to see it continue and thrive, but if it doesn't remain relevant to a more diverse demographic it will not stay up in the search engine rankings and all the people who could be learning from your knowledge with be headed off to facebook groups. In the wonderful work of the internet that can happen pretty fast too, so don't go assuming it's years in the future. 

 

8 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

As for you Tumshie :P :D

:hug:I know - But you know I love you - all of you. But we all need to shake ourselves out of our rut occasionally. 

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10 hours ago, LadyG said:

  I think if one had "a perfect location" and the right boat, it's possible it might work , too many iffs imho.

I understand there are several on the Thames who do it, for them I suppose its how you define the right boat.

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1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

As another forum grumpy, I feel driven to join in... :D

 

Firstly, anyone with the land and resources to keep retired horses can't possibly be hard up for a bob or two, can they? Just buy a boat and use it!!

 

Secondly, another strand not yet mentioned by anyone. If the neighbours of any of my boats started AirBnB-ing their boat and had a continuous string of strangers loafing around and treating the place like a hotel I'd be straight into the marina office demanding to know what they were going to do about it, and if nothing I'd be taking my business elsewhere to a marina that doesn't allow Air BnB.

 

Just sayin', like, so you know what you're up against...

 

 

Some marinas wont even have shared ownership

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17 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

Err? 

No you can't. This is a public discussion forum and anyone can join in with any views. 

As to your proposal:

How are you going to let renters have the key to the doors of the boat?

How are you going to check the water tanks for each renter?

How are you going to check the gas bottles?

How are you going to check the toilet tank?

What type of toilet will you fit?

What arrangements will you make to empty said toilet?

How often will you check the boat?

How will you charge the batteries?

How will you deal with emergency call outs?What

Who will clean the  boat after each rental?

What provision will you make for parking?

 

and I could find another hundred questions!

 

To be honest I think at least half those questions are easily answered. Most Airbnb are quite short duration stays. 1 to 3 nights, so it easy to ensure there is at least half a gas cylinder, the water tank is full, toilet empty, although I am not sure which would be best when you meet the guests. when they leave you clean the boat and get  it ready for the next guest, there are people doing that quite successfully now. If its in a marina you have a shore supply 24/7 so the batteries are always charged and the immersion heater supplies hot water. Most marinas have car parking.
So all those points are easily handled, but as the OP has found out, finding a location for this is the problem

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53 minutes ago, RLWP said:

Blimey, you are good at opening cans of worms, aren't you :D

 

Try searching the forum for horse boating and see what you find. You'll rapidly be into a mire of stuff about unsuitable infrastructure, horse riders and (probably) cyclists

 

Richard

it was a joke

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26 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

Err? 

No you can't. This is a public discussion forum and anyone can join in with any views. 

As to your proposal:

How are you going to let renters have the key to the doors of the boat?

How are you going to check the water tanks for each renter?

How are you going to check the gas bottles?

How are you going to check the toilet tank?

What type of toilet will you fit?

What arrangements will you make to empty said toilet?

How often will you check the boat?

How will you charge the batteries?

How will you deal with emergency call outs?What

Who will clean the  boat after each rental?

What provision will you make for parking?

 

and I could find another hundred questions!

 

I'm going to do pre checks before every rental and turn up every time to greet - make sure they are clear on everything - talk through the rules and hand over the key personally - if I think the people are legitimate and responsible. I will also clean and check and restock after every rental and be on the end of a phone 24/7 in fact I will deal with it just like I do with my current Airbnb. We will use the boat too. Hence why I need a mooring near where I live.... 

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27 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

As to your proposal:

How are you going to let renters have the key to the doors of the boat?

How are you going to check the water tanks for each renter?

How are you going to check the gas bottles?

How are you going to check the toilet tank?

What type of toilet will you fit?

What arrangements will you make to empty said toilet?

How often will you check the boat?

How will you charge the batteries?

How will you deal with emergency call outs?What

Who will clean the  boat after each rental?

What provision will you make for parking?

 

and I could find another hundred questions!

Really.... Seriously :rolleyes: Now you really are just nitpicking for the sake of it. 

 

 

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18 minutes ago, Beki Turner said:

We are not hand-to-mouth, I just don't feel its fair to my horses to kill 'em off just because they are no longer rideable and are still enjoying life. We rent our land - it's not expensive.   I do just want to off-set some of the costs of a canal boat by letting it out when we can't use it. My experience with Airbnb has been overwhelmingly positive. I have not had a single person who didn't respect our space/posessions and my rules.

 

Don't you every find yourself moored up against some complete f*ckwits that own their boat/mooring but behave appallingly?

 

 

Yes, we have had neighbours that were a PITA, but with long term moorers in a marina, they either toe the line, or they are asked to leave, so the problem vanishes, and you end up with neighbours who are fine who stay for many months.

 

A constant stream of airbnb users wouldn't have the same checks and balances, and if the marina I am in allowed it, I would move to a marina that doesn't allow it.

 

You make choices about security risks to YOUR property, but when you airbnb in a marina you are making choices about your neighbours security too, and it isn't just your clients that are at issue. As soon as you start having random people in the marina, strangers don't stand out like a sore thumb any more, and people start to assume that the guy who is looking to break into boats is just one of your airbnb clients.

 

If people seem unenthusiastic, it would be because however good it may be for you, it is bad for your neighbours, and we've all heard the same idea hundreds of times before.

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35 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Trouble is its like the millions we get every year who want to " Live the dream :rolleyes: " They want a cheap or freedom lifestyle and ask the usual questions. When it very quickly becomes apparent that reality is far from what their dream is we often get accused of being negative when realy we are often being realistic. Letting out a boat is so far removed from letting out property as to be on a different planet. I have met quite a few people over the years who have done it both within and outside the law and generaly it all ends up in tears. There are several reasons why narrowboats as a for instance appear expensive to hire for a holiday. Personaly when I go away for a break I would rather be in a premier inn or somett rather than a static sewer tube. I stopped earlier this month in a new Premier Inn in a city centre for 29 pounds on a saturday night. Many valid points have been made to the OP from many " grumpy " forum members. As for you Tumshie :P :D

Can you stop assuming I know nothing. I haven't owned a canal boat before - no - but I have had a family catalac and I have spent years holidaying on the canals and incidentally won a trophy as 'canal boat handler of the year' many moons ago after handling a boat with 3 others around a difficult course at the launch of a newly renovated canal in  Northern Ireland...  and before your purists start yelling, yes the locks in Ireland are push button operated but I have done many that aren't....

3 minutes ago, mayalld said:

Yes, we have had neighbours that were a PITA, but with long term moorers in a marina, they either toe the line, or they are asked to leave, so the problem vanishes, and you end up with neighbours who are fine who stay for many months.

 

A constant stream of airbnb users wouldn't have the same checks and balances, and if the marina I am in allowed it, I would move to a marina that doesn't allow it.

 

You make choices about security risks to YOUR property, but when you airbnb in a marina you are making choices about your neighbours security too, and it isn't just your clients that are at issue. As soon as you start having random people in the marina, strangers don't stand out like a sore thumb any more, and people start to assume that the guy who is looking to break into boats is just one of your airbnb clients.

 

If people seem unenthusiastic, it would be because however good it may be for you, it is bad for your neighbours, and we've all heard the same idea hundreds of times before.

as I have stated - its not necessarily a marina I'm looking for...

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Some marinas had terms placed on them in their planning consent limiting the number of nights stay on boats per year and have these in the T&Cs. Hire boats are different as the hirers do not stay in the marina.

 

I recall a number of years ago someone hiring out their boat, I am sure it was not an official hire arrangement and the hirers stole it.

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You haven't said which marinas you've been in touch with, but I notice that the new Campbell Wharf Marina in Milton Keynes, has some berths set aside for what they call Trade Boats.  I believe these are actually on the opposite side of the canal, so not in the marina itself.  Details here:  http://www.campbellwharfmarina.com/downloads/Campbell_Wharf_Marina_Tariff.pdf  The fees look sky high, however...

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3 minutes ago, adam1uk said:

You haven't said which marinas you've been in touch with, but I notice that the new Campbell Wharf Marina in Milton Keynes, has some berths set aside for what they call Trade Boats.  I believe these are actually on the opposite side of the canal, so not in the marina itself.  Details here:  http://www.campbellwharfmarina.com/downloads/Campbell_Wharf_Marina_Tariff.pdf  The fees look sky high, however...

 

Good call!

 

£1025.96 per quarter for a 60ft mooring hardly looks 'sky high' to me though, given this is for a 'trade' mooring (whatever that is, exactly!)  

 

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Thanks Adam - I have tried them and they have said no. Not sure what 'Trade Boats' are - maybe a cafe boat like the lovely one just outside Braunston or Rentals.

29 minutes ago, RLWP said:

So, what other routes to owning a boat have you looked at? I know it is expensive, lot's of people find ways of making it work for them and get a lot of pleasure from it

 

Richard

We would like to buy a shell and fit it ourselves ideally as my personal Mr Grumpy is very handy and also a perfectionist... The initial outlay is not a problem but we are looking at ways of making it less of an ongoing expense and as it will be a very modern style and beautifully appointed we were hoping to attract "the chiswick lot" as my husband calls those discerning people who like something quality and a bit different and are prepared to pay a premium.

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12 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

£1025.96 per quarter for a 60ft mooring hardly looks 'sky high' to me though, given this is for a 'trade' mooring (whatever that is, exactly!)  

 

Well, the trade boat price seems to be the same as the non-trade boat price, and I was comparing it with what I pay in a small marina a few miles north.  The new marina is 70 per cent more expensive.

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35 minutes ago, Beki Turner said:

We would like to buy a shell and fit it ourselves ideally as my personal Mr Grumpy is very handy and also a perfectionist... The initial outlay is not a problem but we are looking at ways of making it less of an ongoing expense and as it will be a very modern style and beautifully appointed we were hoping to attract "the chiswick lot" as my husband calls those discerning people who like something quality and a bit different and are prepared to pay a premium.

If you have some land (even rented) you are in an ideal situation for fitting out a boat. Setting it up level makes the whole process much easier, as does having mains electricity. You can avoid license/insurance/mooring costs while fitting out, and if you have access to a shed of some sort for cutting life gets a lot easier. You can also spread out you costs

 

Richard

 

 

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22 hours ago, Beki Turner said:

We would like to buy a shell and fit it ourselves ideally as my personal Mr Grumpy is very handy

 

This is good, so a good plan. Especially as Richard points out, no mooring or license costs while you do it on your dry land.

 

 

22 hours ago, Beki Turner said:

and also a perfectionist...

 

This is very BAD. He will need to get the perfectionism under control and learn to compromise about stuff or the boat will stay on your land for ever. 

 

"Perfect is the enemy of the good", I keep hearing mentioned on the wireless these days. Very true. By which they mean if you insist on perfection instead of 'good enough', it never gets done. Guess how I know.

 

 

Edited by Mike the Boilerman
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I think Beki's problem is that regardless of how good an idea it seems to her -- and getting use (and some money) out of boats that would otherwise just sit there empty *ought* to be a good thing -- neither CART or marinas or insurance (or almost everything to do with the canals...) is set up to deal with this usage case, and there are more losers than winners from it.

 

Many of the objections are exactly the same as to non-boat AirBnB but many people do make this work (including Beki). However for sure both marinas and other boat owners would only see negative points with such a scheme on a boat -- basically it's to the benefit of the boat owner (and the AirBnB customers) but possibly to the detriment of everybody else, hence the objections on this forum.

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1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

This is good, so a good plan. Especially as Richard points out, no mooring or license costs while you do it on your dry land.

 

 

 

This is very BAD. He will need to get the perfectionism under control and learn to compromise about stuff or the boat will stay on your land for ever. 

 

"Perfect is the enemy of the good", I keep hearing mentioned on the wireless these days. Very true. By which they mean if you insist on perfection instead of 'good enough', it never gets done. Guess how I know.

 

 

I have a friend who was a perfectionist and fitted a boat out on land, he was a cabinet maker, after the boat was lifted , transported around 100 miles and then launched lots of the doors wouldnt open and close properly 

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38 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have a friend who was a perfectionist and fitted a boat out on land, he was a cabinet maker, after the boat was lifted , transported around 100 miles and then launched lots of the doors wouldnt open and close properly 

oh so true, happens the other way round too. When boats are taken out of the water they twist/sag and doors jamb.

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1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

The plan would probably work well if the OP had their own end of garden mooring at their home.

 

I doubt it, the CRT terms and conditions on my EoG mooring specifically prohibit staying on the boat overnight whilst it is at its mooring.

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12 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

I doubt it, the CRT terms and conditions on my EoG mooring specifically prohibit staying on the boat overnight whilst it is at its mooring.

But who would know unless it upset the neighbours or a nuisance as caused. I doubt CaRT come round at night to check.

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