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Giving up narrowboating due to age related physical impairment - and boat disposal


Horace42

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A reputable broker has a very good idea of how much somebody in the current market will pay for your boat, and they will share this with you.

This is  something most private sellers lack. And I suspect a reputable broker can obtain a premium over a private sale.

It is up to you to assess whether any premium and the reduction in the inevitable hassle, is worth the brokers fee.

In our case we really had no idea what somebody would pay for our boat, it was actually a lot more then we expected on a fast moving market. We simply weren't in a position to arrange viewings, and involve ourselves in the intricacies of accepting deposits, arranging a lift out for survey etc etc.

We left the boat with a broker and less then four hours later we were onboard a flight to literally the other side of the world, from which with covid we have not been able to return for even a visit. Within a few days we had accepted an offer well less then 5% discount from the listed price. Done deal. End of.

Still miss canal boating though!! Wonderful time.

Edited by DandV
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2 hours ago, DandV said:

A reputable broker has a very good idea of how much somebody in the current market will pay for your boat, and they will share this with you.

This is  something most private sellers lack. And I suspect a reputable broker can obtain a premium over a private sale.

It is up to you to assess whether any premium and the reduction in the inevitable hassle, is worth the brokers fee.

In our case we really had no idea what somebody would pay for our boat, it was actually a lot more then we expected on a fast moving market. We simply weren't in a position to arrange viewings, and involve ourselves in the intricacies of accepting deposits, arranging a lift out for survey etc etc.

We left the boat with a broker and less then four hours later we were onboard a flight to literally the other side of the world, from which with covid we have not been able to return for even a visit. Within a few days we had accepted an offer well less then 5% discount from the listed price. Done deal. End of.

Still miss canal boating though!! Wonderful time.

 

A broker may seem expensive but I agree it is preferable to selling privately.

 

We sent our boat back down to where bought it as we felt it would sell better down on waterways it was more suited to. This meant we were a couple of hundred miles away.

 

Everything after that, including discussing the work they recommend was via. phone or email.

 

We also had a quick offer on the boat that was withdrawn within 48 hours (before it was even surveyed) . Because it was brokered through a broker the seller lost his deposit because of the agreement they were subject to. 

 

This was subsequently paid in an agreed proportion between Rugby Boats and us. Im not sure if I would have been able to hold the buyer to that if selling privately and in the absence of a formal agreement.

Edited by The Happy Nomad
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21 hours ago, dmr said:

Do note that water frontage and an EoG will likely add much more to the house value than the estate thinks, they do not always handle water frontage well. Hold out for top price and even if a later mortgage valuation comes in a bit low stand your ground.

 

When I sold a house with mooring on a tidal estuary one of the valuations said "there is a load of mud at the bottom of the garden but I don't think it will detract too much from the value of the property".

 

Both boats and houses are selling very well just now.

 

Indeed, when we were buying our canalaide house (on the same canal.as @Horace42's) several estate agents mention that waterside properties were worth at least 25% more than similar landlocked properties.

 

@Horace42 could add the cost of the boat to the property price and sell them together as a house with boat included.

 

It will be a shame to pass Willpower's mooring and see it empty.

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On 10/09/2021 at 07:52, matty40s said:

However, given your mobility and care issues, it is far better to get the boat to a broker so they can handle viewings. If you need someone to do it but finance is an issue, ask the broker to take their fee off the final settlement.

Thanks Matty.  I am fit and able - at least enough to handle viewings any time here at home. Finance matters, in terms of a fair price, but somewhat incidental within in the restriction of the framework I have with my wife's care programme and house move....an agent can be appointed to take my boat and sell it if we run out of time..

 

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5 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Indeed, when we were buying our canalaide house (on the same canal.as @Horace42's) several estate agents mention that waterside properties were worth at least 25% more than similar landlocked properties.

 

@Horace42 could add the cost of the boat to the property price and sell them together as a house with boat included.

 

It will be a shame to pass Willpower's mooring and see it empty.

Thanks....if our retirement boating plans had gone well...our mooring would have been empty most of the time.....but it was not to be.

...but you are right about the extra value...that is what we had to pay 35 years ago when we bought it.

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  • 3 months later...

Hello to everybody who commented before.

 

Events overtook me and I had to give priority to selling the house.

Hopefully I can find time to sell my narrowboat....albeit I am talking to a broker who can do it for me....but a bit disappointed by the logic of their valuation.

...due to extensive rusting ... means £23k to have it replated ...and then only worth £15K when finished.....?

So I won't have it replated.....and that opens up a whole argument about the merits of surveyors calling for replating....that I would like to avoid ... and hence more help here from members of this forum on values of a fully functional live-aboard...but rusty boat.

I have produced a sales leaflet that I could post (..if I knew how to do it...)

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Did the broker have it surveyed out of the water, or is it just his uninformed opinion that it needs replating?

I would have thought a newly plated boat ought to be worth significantly more than £15k in the current market. That said I agree you would be better selling it 'as seen' and letting the buyer deal with the issue (or not).

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I'm guessing that the boat is fairly elderly and is not looking its best.   £15k is not a lot for a boat that has been overplated and where presumably everything works. I think I would avoid spending any money on it, cut my losses, tidy it up as best as I could and advertise it on E Bay as a project boat or Apollo Duck for offers around perhaps £10,000. If you get involved in repairs, new batteries, engine problems and everything else that boats suffer from when left then you will be spending money and work. Try, As is, where is or even spares or repair. Good luck.

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For the 32 years I've had my boat, I don't consider it owes me anything. Whilst I can still use it and it works well, even with less adventurous cruising it is still enjoyable. With similar problems to the poster, I know I will face the same situation sooner rather than later. I shall sell the boat 'as is' and quite honestly, whatever I get will be a bonus taking into account the initial cost and other significant refurbishment costs, it really owes me nothing. A purchaser's expectations will always be clouded by current standards and by those, my boat does not meet these. It has running hot and cold water and central heating, but would not support a washer/dryer, electric toaster or kettles and the like and is lined out in pine tongue and groove naturally coloured.

Apollo Duck seems to be the place to sell these older less sophisticated craft and they do not have sufficient value to interest brokers who view them as  detrimental to their stocks of much newer more expensive vessels. Take the analogy of car sales where your 10 year old part exchange goes straight to the auctions.

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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

Did the broker have it surveyed out of the water, or is it just his uninformed opinion that it needs replating?

I would have thought a newly plated boat ought to be worth significantly more than £15k in the current market. That said I agree you would be better selling it 'as seen' and letting the buyer deal with the issue (or not).

I agree unless there is a survey the broker is just guessing perhaps doesn't want potential aggravation. We had a boat built in 1967, which we bought in 1997 and spent some £1000 or so on minor overplating, painted it every few years and sold in 2011 at which time the survey showed the boat hull to be in the same condition as  after the replating - no further metal work required. Steel was better quality in those days.

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13 hours ago, Horace42 said:

Hello to everybody who commented before.

 

Events overtook me and I had to give priority to selling the house.

Hopefully I can find time to sell my narrowboat....albeit I am talking to a broker who can do it for me....but a bit disappointed by the logic of their valuation.

...due to extensive rusting ... means £23k to have it replated ...and then only worth £15K when finished.....?

So I won't have it replated.....and that opens up a whole argument about the merits of surveyors calling for replating....that I would like to avoid ... and hence more help here from members of this forum on values of a fully functional live-aboard...but rusty boat.

I have produced a sales leaflet that I could post (..if I knew how to do it...)

 

Boat local to you that requires overplating up for £15k

 

For Sale: Ramble On (nortoncanesboatbuilders.co.uk)

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I would certainly think its worth slipping and tidying up the hull paintwork. 

A boat of that age is going to attract buyers who will anticipate that they will need to do a bit of modernisation. 

I would not mention your fear, primary aim is to get a few viewers with an expectation of buying the boat at your price. If the first thing they do before viewing is to ask for the boat at half its value, just tell them you think it might be sold, that will either get rid of them or get them to view ASAP. 

A few photos are a must these days. 

Appollo duck was where I looked. 

Edited by LadyG
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18 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I would certainly think its worth slipping and tidying up the hull paintwork. 

A boat of that age is going to attract buyers who will anticipate that they will need to do a bit of modernisation. 

I would not mention your fear, primary aim is to get a few viewers with an expectation of buying the boat at your price. If the first thing they do before viewing is to ask for the boat at half its value, just tell them you think it might be sold, that will either get rid of them or get them to view ASAP. 

A few photos are a must these days. 

Appollo duck was where I looked. 

But look what you bought!!!!!!

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On 10/09/2021 at 07:47, Athy said:

I'm sorry to learn of your situation, but I'm sure that you and your wife will enjoy seeing more of your family.

   If you like, you can advertise your boat and your house for sale on this forum, just create a "Canalside House in Tamworth For Sale" and a "45 foot Gloomcraft [or whatever] For Sale" topic, and give some details and, if possible, show photographs of the house and the boat. If you decide to place your boat with a broker, I can recommend ABNB - they will sell boats off their home moorings (they sold our last one while she was moored at Springwood Haven near Nuneaton) so you wouldn't need to take the boat to their premises.

As you're in Tamworth, you could contact either Alvecote Marina or Glascote Basin to sell it for you. That may be convenient for you.

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2 minutes ago, Chagall said:

No, no, be fair, it was probably a good boat - when she bought it. 

I think that this may be  the lady that royally flipped Boater Sam off when he offered to buy her unsaleable flat somewhere north of the border.

A good boat?

I have never seen a rudder shaft shear off that way in all my days.

Was it cut off to change the top bearing? If so why? I have read the earlier posts and it seems that the rams head is not simply removable. 

I have seen Tim Tyler shells that look that way but surely no one would cut the shaft above the rudder blade rather than under the rams head if that was the case?

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6 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I have never seen a rudder shaft shear off that way in all my days.

Was it cut off to change the top bearing? If so why? I have read the earlier posts and it seems that the rams head is not simply removable. 

I have seen Tim Tyler shells that look that way but surely no one would cut the shaft above the rudder blade rather than under the rams head if that was the case?

 

It was done before she bought the boat.  A previous owner hacked through the rudderstock in the worst possible place, presumably to save lifting the boat up another foot or two while out on the hard.

 

The "repair" welding is some of the worst chickenscratching I have seen, obviously on unprepped steel.  No groove, no sleeving just a bad bead around the outside of the stock.  Jo is lucky it didn't fail on her on the River Trent!

 

 

IMG_20211119_144227987.jpg

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42 minutes ago, Chagall said:

No, no, be fair, it was probably a good boat - when she bought it. 

I think that this may be  the lady that royally flipped Boater Sam off when he offered to buy her unsaleable flat somewhere north of the border.

A good boat?

I have never seen a rudder shaft shear off that way in all my days.

Was it cut off to change the top bearing? If so why? I have read the earlier posts an

24 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

It was done before she bought the boat.  A previous owner hacked through the rudderstock in the worst possible place, presumably to save lifting the boat up another foot or two while out on the hard.

 

The "repair" welding is some of the worst chickenscratching I have seen, obviously on unprepped steel.  No groove, no sleeving just a bad bead around the outside of the stock.  Jo is lucky it didn't fail on her on the River Trent!

 

 

IMG_20211119_144227987.jpg

d it seems that the rams head is not simply removable. 

 

 

Sorry, went way off topic there.     Will tryto rembeber what I am replying to in future

I have seen Tim Tyler shells that look that way but surely no one would cut the shaft above the rudder blade rather than under the rams head if that was the case?

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8 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I have seen Tim Tyler shells that look that way but surely no one would cut the shaft above the rudder blade rather than under the rams head if that was the case?

 

Someone did.  Flush with the rudder blade, so a faff to reinforce.  And welded the ramshead to the rudderstock just to add to the fun ...

 

On the plus side, if the same bloke welded both joints it shouldn't be too hard to separate!

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When we sold our boat brokers weren't interested. We put it on apollo duck and someone turned up and paid for it without a survey. We were lucky that a friend, who knew the boat well, dealt with the buyer. I didn't see the buyer until I passed the keys over. Don't worry about brokers and boatyards your buyer probably won't. Good luck.

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On 05/01/2022 at 12:34, Tim Lewis said:

 

Boat local to you that requires overplating up for £15k

 

For Sale: Ramble On (nortoncanesboatbuilders.co.uk)

Tim.   Thanks for the tip.  I am stuck with Alvecote Mariner at the moment...   and talking to them about selling my boat.

 

 

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On 05/01/2022 at 08:45, David Mack said:

Did the broker have it surveyed out of the water, or is it just his uninformed opinion that it needs replating?

I would have thought a newly plated boat ought to be worth significantly more than £15k in the current market. That said I agree you would be better selling it 'as seen' and letting the buyer deal with the issue (or not).

Surveyed in the dry-dock in 2018 when blacked....albeit the surveyor's report did a better 'blacking' job that the boatyard....

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20 hours ago, sueb said:

When we sold our boat brokers weren't interested. We put it on apollo duck and someone turned up and paid for it without a survey. We were lucky that a friend, who knew the boat well, dealt with the buyer. I didn't see the buyer until I passed the keys over. Don't worry about brokers and boatyards your buyer probably won't. Good luck.

I suppose my only worry should be the guarantee of getting paid in full if sold 'as seen' ... I am certainly not in a position to fulfill or honour any after-sales warranty's....other than answer technical questions by email..

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50 minutes ago, Horace42 said:

I suppose my only worry should be the guarantee of getting paid in full if sold 'as seen' ... I am certainly not in a position to fulfill or honour any after-sales warranty's....other than answer technical questions by email..

 

The buyer doesn't get the bill of sale paperwork or the boat until it's paid in full, so you can't miss part of the payment.  Just don't accept a cheque!

 

7 minutes ago, Lady C said:

So you include the words 'sold as seen' in the receipt that you give to the purchaser.

 

You can do this for clarity, but as a private sale not "by way of trade" it's the default legal position anyway.  There are different rules if you are selling boats as a business, but you only have one private boat for sale.

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