will it be rubbish

[Tony marsh]

Hi there , I'm new to the whole world of narrowboats is it possible to get a boat in pretty good condition and ready to cruise that would last a good few years without any major work needed on a budget of 25000 I only need something about 40 feet as I'm on my own,  sorry if this is a stupid question but if you don't ask you'll never know. 

[Bee]

Not at all stupid and yes you can. You can also spend twice that amount and have problems though. If you have friends who genuinely know a thing or two about boats that would be helpful but a lot of people just trot out the same old myths and half knowledge. Remember, it really is just a mild steel box that corrodes and a whole lot of equipment that if you sold it on E Bay wouldn't fetch more than a few thousand.

[mrsmelly]

12 minutes ago, Tony marsh said:

Hi there , I'm new to the whole world of narrowboats is it possible to get a boat in pretty good condition and ready to cruise that would last a good few years without any major work needed on a budget of 25000 I only need something about 40 feet as I'm on my own,  sorry if this is a stupid question but if you don't ask you'll never know. 

Yes. 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Tony marsh said:

Hi there , I'm new to the whole world of narrowboats is it possible to get a boat in pretty good condition and ready to cruise that would last a good few years without any major work needed on a budget of 25000 I only need something about 40 feet as I'm on my own,  sorry if this is a stupid question but if you don't ask you'll never know. 

In the current market you will be lucky, but its not impossible, it is likely to be an elderly boat (20+ years)  and hence is more likely to have higher running costs -but - also remember to allow in your budget for :

 

£1000 for a survey

£1000 for Insurance and licence

£xxxx's for a mooring ( £2500 for a leisure mooring 'up North' to £15,000 per annum for a residential mooring in London)

 

It is usually advised to keep some cash back for 'emergencies' (when the engine stops and you are miles form anywhere and need to call out 'International rescue'). It is a fair bet that something major & fairly expensive will break within your 'good few years'

"Running costs" tend to run at around £5000 per annum but that depends if you allow it to 'run into the ground' and do no maintenance until it breaks, or, you do oil changes to manufacturers schedule, keep on top of the paintwork, etc etc.

Edited November 10, 2020 by Alan de Enfield

[LadyG]

There is a nice Springer up for sale (no connection) worth a visit (Leeds) but you must find a good surveyor due to it's age, these were built with thinner steel than is the norm today.

It will be on apolloduck, , it is green

New , modern, engine which is a super bonus.

No solid fuel stove, so if not in a marina, and not very hardy, you might need to install a tiny one. There is central diesel heating.

Edited November 10, 2020 by LadyG

[dmr]

These days, especially after the "Covid Rush" £25,000 is towards the upper end of the "banger" market. If you know what you are doing, or have a friend who can help, then you might well find a good one, but there will be a fair few dodgy ones to avoid.

 

................Dave

[booke23]

If £25k is your total budget then you really want to pay no more than £20k for a boat. That way you have budget for the items mentioned by @Alan de Enfield plus a bit for unexpected costs. Whatever you do, don't buy a steel narrowboat in this price range without a survey. 

 

I'd say it's just possible to buy a useable boat in this price range, but there will be plenty of wrecks too. Also consider that your budget would buy you a very nice condition fibreglass cruiser, and if you are not planning to live aboard that may be the better choice. 

[TheBiscuits]

6 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

£xxxx's for a mooring ( £2500 for a leisure mooring 'up North' to £15,000 per annum for a residential mooring in London)

 

£1k in some places Oop Norf, £30k in some places in London.

[Murflynn]

seems to me that every couple of days someone new joins the forum and asks basically the same question.

 

that is their right, of course, but has it occurred to them that there are already hundreds of responses already available if they do a little search?

 

there are many members who could provide comprehensive answers, but many of them are not going to repeat what they have already said on other threads.

[Athy]

21 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

seems to me that every couple of days someone new joins the forum and asks basically the same question.

 

 

It's most pleasing, as it shows that there's a constant stream of new people wanting to find out about boats and waterways, and that they see CWDF as a good place to seek advice. Long may it continue.

[Tracy D'arth]

1 hour ago, Murflynn said:

seems to me that every couple of days someone new joins the forum and asks basically the same question.

 

that is their right, of course, but has it occurred to them that there are already hundreds of responses already available if they do a little search?

 

there are many members who could provide comprehensive answers, but many of them are not going to repeat what they have already said on other threads.

Thank heavens that they are new enquiries, I thought I had deja vu ,  again.

[OldGoat]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

It's most pleasing, as it shows that there's a constant stream of new people wanting to find out about boats and waterways, and that they see CWDF as a good place to seek advice. Long may it continue.

There's a constant stream of people wanting to buy a boat as a liveaboard - but afraid to say so up front.

The inland waterway system is just not set up to accommodate them and it would appear that newcomers have absolutely no idea or wish to work out how to behave....

[Athy]

26 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

There's a constant stream of people wanting to buy a boat as a liveaboard - but afraid to say so up front.

The inland waterway system is just not set up to accommodate them and it would appear that newcomers have absolutely no idea or wish to work out how to behave....

I hope you aren't including the O.P. among that number, as Tony has approached us most courteously.

[Murflynn]

my dear old dad was a sports car fanatic.   He had a Frazer Nash before the war, then an Aston Martin 1.5 litre after the war.  He remembered how in the 'old days' the roads used to be fun and other drivers followed reasonable codes of behaviour.  In the 60's he complained that everybody seemed to have a car, and drive as if they were entitled to use the roads as they saw fit with the result that the roads had become little more than endless queues of traffic travelling at the speed of the slowest.

 

we are in danger of creating the same situation on many of our canals, particularly the endless lines of continuous moorers in so many places, where actually trying to navigate the system at more than a snail's pace is becoming anti-social.

[doratheexplorer]

12 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

In the current market you will be lucky, but its not impossible, it is likely to be an elderly boat (20+ years)  and hence is more likely to have higher running costs -but - also remember to allow in your budget for :

 

£1000 for a survey

£1000 for Insurance and licence

£xxxx's for a mooring ( £2500 for a leisure mooring 'up North' to £15,000 per annum for a residential mooring in London)

 

It is usually advised to keep some cash back for 'emergencies' (when the engine stops and you are miles form anywhere and need to call out 'International rescue'). It is a fair bet that something major & fairly expensive will break within your 'good few years'

"Running costs" tend to run at around £5000 per annum but that depends if you allow it to 'run into the ground' and do no maintenance until it breaks, or, you do oil changes to manufacturers schedule, keep on top of the paintwork, etc etc.

Last week you were advocating buying a boat after a half hour viewing with no survey.

 

Also your prices are inflated as usual.

Edited November 11, 2020 by doratheexplorer

[Murflynn]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

It's most pleasing, as it shows that there's a constant stream of new people wanting to find out about boats and waterways, and that they see CWDF as a good place to seek advice. Long may it continue.

you miss the point - if the OP relies on the few answers from those experienced boaters who are not too bored to respond on this thread (because doing so is just repetitive), then he will not be aware of the depth of knowledge that has already been documented on previous threads dealing with exactly the same topic.

 

surely the first rule of using a forum of any sort should be to cruise the previous threads and get familiar with regular topics and attitudes, before asking a simple question that has probably been answered 100 times before?

 

I regularly look for technical information on car faults, home maintenance, DIY, etc. and usually find the answers I need without asking a question.  When I have become familiar with previous discussions I may join in and ask a specific question related to those discussions.

 

 

[doratheexplorer]

10 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

my dear old dad was a sports car fanatic.   He had a Frazer Nash before the war, then an Aston Martin 1.5 litre after the war.  He remembered how in the 'old days' the roads used to be fun and other drivers followed reasonable codes of behaviour.  In the 60's he complained that everybody seemed to have a car, and drive as if they were entitled to use the roads as they saw fit with the result that the roads had become little more than endless queues of traffic travelling at the speed of the slowest.

 

we are in danger of creating the same situation on many of our canals, particularly the endless lines of continuous moorers in so many places, where actually trying to navigate the system at more than a snail's pace is becoming anti-social.

Pulling up the ladder behind you.

 

So your dad's argument was "I got here first".  And now you're applying the same thing to the canals?

[Athy]

2 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

you miss the point

I don't believe I do, no.

[doratheexplorer]

2 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

you miss the point - if the OP relies on the few answers from those experienced boaters who are not too bored to respond on this thread (because doing so is just repetitive), then he will not be aware of the depth of knowledge that has already been documented on previous threads dealing with exactly the same topic.

 

surely the first rule of using a forum of any sort should be to cruise the previous threads and get familiar with regular topics and attitudes, before asking a simple question that has probably been answered 100 times before?

 

I regularly look for technical information on car faults, home maintenance, DIY, etc. and usually find the answers I need without asking a question.  When I have become familiar with previous discussions I may join in and ask a specific question related to those discussions.

 

 

It's a discussion forum, not a library.

 

The OP has asked about a 40' boat for 25k right at the moment.  That is a unique question.

[Athy]

7 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

 

 

surely the first rule of using a forum of any sort should be to cruise the previous threads

 

 

I don't believe so, no.

A new member may not be aware of the search facility.

He may be enthusiastic and wish to pitch straight in and hear from people who have experience in buying older boats.

I just entered "Buying a boat" into the search engine and it showed ten thousand (literally) references. Were we to stipulate that each new member plough through all those before daring to post anything, we wouldn't have any new members.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Athy

[Alan de Enfield]

10 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Last week you were advocating buying a boat after a half hour viewing with no survey.

 

Also your prices are inflated as usual.

There is a bit of difference between my boat buying & owning experience and that of the OP. I don't ever recall telling someone with absolutely no idea about boats not to get a survey.

 

Which prices do you consider inflated ?

Yes you can moor against a Farmers field for £1000 - £1500, but a marina with facilities wil be around the figures I have suggested. A full survey with lift costs will not be much less than £1000 (I paid £160 'each way' for a lift out/in' and a survey will be around £500 )

 

Yet again you try and mislead newcomers into false hope.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Alan de Enfield

[Athy]

5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Yet again you try and mislead newcomers into false hope.

Perhaps we could view that more positively and say that members' responses are showing a broad range of opinions.

It's ten years since I bought a cheaper second-hand boat so I have no recent first-hand experience to offer, but other members will have.

[mrsmelly]

A good friend of mine sold a rock solid 42cfooter early this summer for less than 25k. Immaculate inside with very low engine hours kubots from new. It was about 20 years old iirc. It was not advertised anywhere but sold to someone who asked if he could buy it. All it needed was top painting and that wasn't bad really. 

Edited November 11, 2020 by mrsmelly

[doratheexplorer]

15 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

There is a bit of difference between my boat buying & owning experience and that of the OP. I don't ever recall telling someone with absolutely no idea about boats not to get a survey.

But your boast was in a thread specifically about a newcomer buying a boat!

Which prices do you consider inflated ?

All as usual, hover around the top of the market. 

Yes you can moor against a Farmers field for £1000 - £1500, but a marina with facilities wil be around the figures I have suggested. A full survey with lift costs will not be much less than £1000 (I paid £160 'each way' for a lift out/in' and a survey will be around £500 )

Moorings for 40' boats can be had for well under your estimates.  You admit your survey therefore cost a total of £820 then, and you paid at the top end for it.

 

Yet again you try and mislead newcomers into false hope.

Not false hope, just my own experience.  Just because you are happy to pay top prices, doesn't mean that's the only option.

 

[Mad Harold]

You can get a boat on your budget,but probably not south of the midlands.

Most important is,how much corrosion has the hull got.? Hence the necessity of a survey.Hull repairs are very expensive!

Then engine and gearbox.Again,if they need replacing,you are looking at £10K+.

If you are careful and lucky you may drop on a good un.

The inside is of lesser importance as it can be altered to suit.

A point in passing: don't buy a boat with a wood or fibreglass top,as they leak with age and can prove well nigh impossible to seal for any length of time.