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Great Escape

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Hi all 

I’m new here please be gentle?

 

im currently in the process of selling up and would love the benefit of some of your experience.

I’m looking to but a 58-60ft x 11ft wide beam for live aboard and would like any recommendations of builders or places to look for pre owned, also if possible a likely cost for the new build with any particular builder if possible.

 

kindest regards and thanks in advance

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1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Welcome on board. If you want a boat any time soon I would suggest a quite new second hand one.  You do appreciate the disadvantages of being over 7 foot wide, don't you? 

Hi Thanks for the swift reply, if you’re referring to it being too fat to go very far then yes , beyond that no?

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12 minutes ago, Great Escape said:

im currently in the process of selling up and would love the benefit of some of your experience.

I’m looking to but a 58-60ft x 11ft wide beam for live aboard and would like any recommendations of builders or places to look for pre owned, also if possible a likely cost for the new build with any particular builder if possible.

 

A guide to your budget may assist in getting relevant recommendations.

As with most things, you can buy a Rolls Royce, or, Lada ( Wartburg, Trebant, Reliant Robin etc etc)

 

What sort of fit out you are looking for will make a huge difference to the price and the choice of supplier, for example do you want Mdf / Chipboard / Wood ?

 

How much experince of canal boating do you have to decide the difference between 'want and need' ?

 

For a newbie it is suggested to be a much better bet to buy a secondhand boat that appears to fit what you think you want, then after a couple of years when you really know what you want you can have a custom build made for you.

 

What are the benefits of a cross bed to a longtitudinal bed ?

What are the downsides of a composting toilet compared to a pump-out, macerator, dump thru, or cassette.

 

You could easily make the second most expensive mistake in your life - spending £150,000 + and regretting every minutes of it.

 

Do some research before deciding, talk to real boaters (walk along the tow path) look, listen and learn.

 

Hopefully you are not planning to live in London ?

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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17 minutes ago, Great Escape said:

Hi Thanks for the swift reply, if you’re referring to it being too fat to go very far then yes , beyond that no?

It's not just you can't go very far, there are whole areas of the canals/country that you can't access or moor in, and you can't get from the northern part of the system to the south.

 

So long as you realise that (and the location you want to be in can accept them, and has space free), a widebeam does offer a lot more space to live on if that rather than moving around is your first priority.

 

As Alan said, unless/until you've spent considerable time on boats and really understand what you want/need and what does/doesn't work for you, buying a new boat (or having one built) is a lot of money which you might regret spending -- and like a new car, the value drops instantaneously as soon as you leave the builders. Also most reputable builders have long waiting lists at the moment, often a year or more.

 

Try and find a secondhand one that you like and fits your budget, and put off a new build until you know a lot more. Also be aware that the boat market is red-hot at the moment, decent boats are being snapped up within hours of hitting the market or often before they ever get advertised for sale, so you need to know what you want and be ready with a wodge of cash -- if you wait even a few days to investigate further and make your mind up, it'll probably be gone.

Edited by IanD
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Thanks for reply’s so far, I feel a little more background is called for. 
i have family living aboard a wide beam and have a fairly good insight into where I can get and can’t as well as years of their pesonal experience with living aboard and some suggestions from them as regards mistakes they’ve made., I have secured a mooring that can accept the size boat I’m looking at  so that’s not an issue. The main thing lacking is knowledge of builders and where to find a good second hand boats. I suppose builders to avoid would be handy too. Apologies for not stating some of this info in op.

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24 minutes ago, Great Escape said:

Hi all 

I’m new here please be gentle?

 

im currently in the process of selling up and would love the benefit of some of your experience.

I’m looking to but a 58-60ft x 11ft wide beam for live aboard and would like any recommendations of builders or places to look for pre owned, also if possible a likely cost for the new build with any particular builder if possible.

 

kindest regards and thanks in advance

When you talk to builders you may be surprised by how far in the future  it will be before you get your new boat.

Go for new if you want, but in my opinion it’s financial madness: vat to pay, builder’s profits to pay, the total cost will be huge....

Good luck anyway, and hello.

Oh, and get a mooring before you get the boat, and read the mooring contract carefully.

 

eta, you have just answered many of my points!

Edited by Stilllearning
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8 minutes ago, Great Escape said:

Thanks for reply’s so far, I feel a little more background is called for. 
i have family living aboard a wide beam and have a fairly good insight into where I can get and can’t as well as years of their pesonal experience with living aboard and some suggestions from them as regards mistakes they’ve made., I have secured a mooring that can accept the size boat I’m looking at  so that’s not an issue. The main thing lacking is knowledge of builders and where to find a good second hand boats. I suppose builders to avoid would be handy too. Apologies for not stating some of this info in op.

Good, you know a lot more than most people who ask the same question then ?

 

What's your budget? In boats as in everything else you tend to get what you pay for, nicer or newer boats from better builders cost more -- a boat that size could be anywhere from 50k to 200k...

 

New boats are an expensive luxury, but can be worth it if you know what you're doing, want something specific that you can't find second-hand, and you have deep enough pockets. I've ordered a new series hybrid narrowboat for all those reasons, but delay from order to delivery will be about 18 months and the cost will be even higher than the upper figure I gave above...

Edited by IanD
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Just now, IanD said:

Good, you know a lot more than most people who ask the same question then ?

 

What's your budget? In boats as in everything else you tend to get what you pay for, nicer or newer boats from better builders cost more -- a boat that size could be anywhere from 50k to 200k...

120k ish

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3 minutes ago, Great Escape said:

120k ish

I'm sure somebody will be along soon to point you at a few possible boats... (which will probably have been sold by the time you look at them. if they're good)

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You will get a far, far better secondhand boat at under £100k, than you will paying £120k for  new one,

 

The other advantage of buying second hand is that you get it 'today' but buying a custom build you will find that all the reputable manufacturers will have a ~2 year waiting list (or you could by a Reliant and get it in 9 months)

 

Will the mooring you have found still be there in 2 years time ?

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

You will get a far, far better secondhand boat at under £100k, than you will paying £120k for  new one,

 

The other advantage of buying second hand is that you get it 'today' but buying a custom build you will find that all the reputable manufacturers will have a ~2 year waiting list (or you could by a Reliant and get it in 9 months)

You won't get a decent new fitted out 58'-60' x 11' widebeam for anywhere close to 120k, you'd have a job getting a Reliant for that price ?

 

And you'll get a better secondhand one for 120k than for less than 100k...

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12 minutes ago, IanD said:

You won't get a decent new fitted out 58'-60' x 11' widebeam for anywhere close to 120k, you'd have a job getting a Reliant for that price ?

 

And you'll get a better secondhand one for 120k than for less than 100k...

 

 

Even the middle range manufacturer Collingwood prices are :

 

57 x 12 (Euro range) = £120,000 + extras + VAT + Delivery

60 x 11 (basic range) = £105,000 + extras + VAT + delivery

 

A bow thruster is +£4000 + VAT

A washing machine is + £885 + VAT

A Freezer is +£885 +VAT

A 3KVA inverter upgrade + £1665 + VAT

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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55 minutes ago, Great Escape said:

Hi Thanks for the swift reply, if you’re referring to it being too fat to go very far then yes , beyond that no?

 

Ok good, now before you go any further are you completely sure you fully appreciate the advantages? ?

 

 

CAM00234.jpg

Edited by blackrose
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2 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Ok good, now before you go any further are you completely sure you fully appreciate the advantages? ?

 

 

CAM00234.jpg

My house is a lot bigger than that, and it doesn't move either... ?

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18 minutes ago, IanD said:

You won't get a decent new fitted out 58'-60' x 11' widebeam for anywhere close to 120k, you'd have a job getting a Reliant for that price ?

 

And you'll get a better secondhand one for 120k than for less than 100k...

Should’ve said , I am looking at getting it minus a kitchen or lounge and fitting those myself if new.

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2 minutes ago, Great Escape said:

Should’ve said , I am looking at getting it minus a kitchen or lounge and fitting those myself if new.

You realise it would save a lot of pointless typing if you gave all this information up front? ?

 

(I assume you're aware of how much time and effort you'll spend fitting out before you have something you can live in, but maybe not...)

1 minute ago, blackrose said:

 

But my boat does move and I've done more of the southern waterways than most narrowboaters I've met.

It was a joke... ?

Edited by IanD
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5 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

It was a joke... ?

 

It's the way you tell 'em. ☺️

8 minutes ago, Great Escape said:

Should’ve said , I am looking at getting it minus a kitchen or lounge and fitting those myself if new.

 

It will probably cost you as much to do that yourself as getting the builder/fitter to do it. More if you have to pay for the labour.

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8 minutes ago, IanD said:

You realise it would save a lot of pointless typing if you gave all this information up front? ?

Not pointless, still typed it whether now or earlier ?

(I assume you're aware of how much time and effort you'll spend fitting out before you have something you can live in, but maybe not...)

Absolutely but you’d be surprised where I could live ?

It was a joke... ?

 

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27 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

What part of the OP's request to be gentle did you not understand? ?

I thought I was being gentle ?

 

It's just if all the info had been there at the start (knowing about widebeams, family, being aware of mistakes, knowing about restrictions, wanting to do fitout himself, budget of 120k...) we could have got here a lot quicker with less keyboard-bashing...

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