Choosing a boat

[clyde]

3 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

But as 'visitors' they can only spend 6 months in the UK and 3 months in the EU

 

Unless he can get someone to find, survey and buy the boat for him before he arrives he will probably 'lose' 2 or 3 months of his 6 months getting to actually own a boat.

 

I'd actually suggest that a 6 month long term hire £1,000+ per month) would give instant access to the UK canals, walk away at the end with no boat to try and sell, travel to France and take a 3-month rental on a boat suitable for the French waters.

 

It will cost £9,000 ($12,000) but is that expensive for a 9-month holiday ?

 

https://www.etrr.co.uk/

 

Escape the Rat Race

We have been enabling clients to 'liveaboard' narrowboats long term now for 13 years. We have a diverse fleet of boats available by the month, at a far lower cost than long term holiday hire. We were the first to specialise in long term canal boat breaks and pride ourselves on our expert service.

Our service is fully legal, and all of our boats are properly insured and licensed, as well as being professionally prepared and maintained. We provide you with everything you need to enjoy your cruise and our monthly fee covers this care.

Whether you are looking for a longer term Narrowboat holiday, or to live on a narrowboat permanently, we can serve you. Bookings range from 3 months upward.

• Perhaps you're visiting Great Britain for a few months, newly retired, or would like to try things out while deciding whether to 'liveaboard' permanently.
• Perhaps you want to live on a narrow boat but without the hassle of maintaining or investing in a boat of your own.
• Perhaps you've enjoyed narrowboat rental holidays in the past, but would like to spend time enjoying Britain's huge canal network over a number of months.
• Maybe you have a narrowboat of your own but would like to invest this with our management service.

Escape The Rat Race supports you while providing maintenance as required. You are simply responsible for what you use in the form of gas, diesel and logs etc.

Thank you Alan. I just emailed Rat Race. And thanks for acknowledging the "visa" issue. If we could stay in the UK year-round this would be a completely different conversation. We may be trying to bite off more than we can chew, especially adding France into the mix. But that stretches our holiday from 6 months to 9 months. That's why I'm turning to you folks for advice.

 

Just for clarification, we will not be wintering in Europe. We have a 31' Prout catamaran (thank you again UK) in Florida. So, we're basically staying somewhere in Europe from March through November. Our weather in Oregon is similar to your weather. Our tentative plan is to do this for 3-5 years. That should give us enough time to at least make a dent in your waterways.

 

Anybody have any direct experience with the Wilderness 23' Beaver? Thanks again to all of you for your insightful input. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!...clyde

 

 

7 hours ago, Halsey said:

If you are able to regard the money as "invested" and not "spent" then if you could stretch to a sea otter you will safely get it back and that would do the UK very well then as has been suggested sell it and buy a Locaboat Penichette and re-sell that - I appreciate the problem with this is you still need the money available in the first place but it would be wisely "invested".

You will add more fun factor by having 2 boating experiences and save a lot of costs on shipping etc .

I love the Albin as well hence I now have a Hardy 25 which is a similar genre.

Have fun sounds a great plan.

Love the Hardy 25. Great boat.

[clyde]

6 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

Due to current circumstances and  a lack of holidays abroad it is becoming increasingly difficult to find any decent boats around at all never mind ones in the £15-20k price bracket.

 

Boat sales have gone mad! (along with caravan, camping equipment and motorhome sales)

Same here. There's a year wait for a good kayak! And expensive motorhomes are the only thing keeping the auto industry alive.

2 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

Including most of the nicest canals.

 

Great map! Thank you.

[clyde]

2 hours ago, Dav and Pen said:

There is virtually no pleasure boating in France after October as the canals in the center of the country close down. In the north the large commercial waterways are in use as is the Rhone but these are not recommended for small leisure craft . Those people who live aboard year round are moored up in a small number of places plugged into the power and well stocked up with logs and red diesel for the central heating.

Good information. Thank you.

[clyde]

1 hour ago, KenK said:

Six months in the UK followed by three months in Europe is of course possible for an American however it is not practical for boating. The waterways systems in the UK and Europe operate roughly in the same time frame, spring into early autumn (fall), after that they close down for maintenance, except for the larger commercial waterways. You need no qualifications or experience to boat in the UK but you need an ICC ( International Certificate of Competence ) in Europe, essentially a practical test to ensure you can handle a boat and a written test for the CEVNI regulations, that can be done on line, VHF is not necessary in the UK except for very few larger rivers but you really do need it in Europe, so a licence required.

We ran a narrowboat in the UK for fourteen years and contemplated taking it to Europe but they really do not work over there, we now have a Dutch barge currently in the Netherlands.

For a boat to work in both the UK and Europe it needs to be less than 15 metres (49 ft) long, moorings in France are limited for anything larger, and assuming you wish to cover all the UK canals it needs to be 6 ft 10 ins wide. A cruiser either steel or plastic with those dimensions would fit the bill, you might want to take a look at boatyards in the Netherlands on the internet, the variety of boats available there is much higher than the UK and the prices tend to be lower.   

Thanks Ken. Our very original idea was to do the French canals and try to get a long-term visa from France. COVID changed all that. Sam and her sons spent some time on a narrowboat years ago and loved it. That started this search. You're absolutely right about the availability and prices in the Netherlands. 

 

From the input we've received, it sounds like we may have to shorten our stay from 9 months to 7-8. That's doable. I've checked into the ICC and CEVNI. Seems ironic that any tourist, myself included, can charter almost any boat in France without a license, but an owner has to be licensed. Thanks again.

1 hour ago, Athy said:

Clyde, have a look at the new topic "35 foot narrowboat For Sale" in which an established member of this forum is selling his boat. It could be what you're looking for.

Thanks!!

2 hours ago, JamesFrance said:

A 26ft Sea Otter with trailer might be a good choice but finding one could be difficult.   Much better equipped than a grp cruiser and I think they have water ballast which keeps the weight down.

Thanks. They are hard to find!

[KenK]

Clyde, as you want to do Europe as well as the UK I would suggest forgetting the UK narrow canals and purchase a boat which is suitable for the wider UK canals and rivers.

Some of the UK narrow canals are worth a visit but a lot are not worth the effort, just my opinion but I have covered them all.

Narrowboats are seriously under powered for the European canals and rivers, so by purchasing one you will compromise your European boating.

Unless you have already done so have a look at the DBA website www.barges.org you can't access all of it unless you are a member but there is a lot of useful information about boating in Europe. 

Edited August 22, 2020 by KenK

[Onewheeler]

Worth noting that if you were buying in France, you'll pay a lot more than if buying in the Netherlands. For some reason France is very expensive for boats (and cars).

[Athy]

In addition, you have to pass a test before being entitled to drive your own boat on VNF (French) waterways - but hirers do not need to take a test.

[clyde]

4 hours ago, KenK said:

Clyde, as you want to do Europe as well as the UK I would suggest forgetting the UK narrow canals and purchase a boat which is suitable for the wider UK canals and rivers.

Some of the UK narrow canals are worth a visit but a lot are not worth the effort, just my opinion but I have covered them all.

Narrowboats are seriously under powered for the European canals and rivers, so by purchasing one you will compromise your European boating.

Unless you have already done so have a look at the DBA website www.barges.org you can't access all of it unless you are a member but there is a lot of useful information about boating in Europe. 

Thank you Ken. That's really good information.

2 hours ago, Onewheeler said:

Worth noting that if you were buying in France, you'll pay a lot more than if buying in the Netherlands. For some reason France is very expensive for boats (and cars).

I did notice that. Plus it seems like there are a lot more available. Thanks for the confirmation.

2 hours ago, Athy said:

In addition, you have to pass a test before being entitled to drive your own boat on VNF (French) waterways - but hirers do not need to take a test.

That boggles my mind. Guess it's all about the money, isn't it?!

[Athy]

6 hours ago, clyde said:

 

That boggles my mind. Guess it's all about the money, isn't it?!

I don't know, but forewarned is forearmed.

You won't need to pass a test in Britain.