Where csn I sit in one?

[Scrufts]

Hello, 

I very much like tbe sound of Narrowboating! 

Having done a little research, seen a few vlogs and read a few publications I am warming to the idea of purchasing a narrowboat, having an online mooring and then possibly go "liveaboard" when I retire. I work on deck in Merchant Navy and spent 5 years caravanning so hopefully that will be uaeful experience. 

However I dont want to run before I can walk and would just like to "sit" in a narrowboat and get the feel of it to see if it would suit me or be too cramped. Is there anywhere that I could do this? I dont mind travelling a bit from Kent. I know there are taster sessions available but I am reluctant to part with £150+ just to find that I feel too cramped. 

Any ideas please? 

[PD1964]

Just find your nearest Narrowboat broker and go and view some boats under the pretence your interested in buying. You can walk around inside, sit down and get an idea if it’s too cramped. Please remember though not all Narrowboat layouts are the same, some more roomy then others, also some have more ceiling height so don’t feel as confined to the taller person.

  Go and view some static boats before wasting your money on a taster session if internal space is your only concern.

[reg]

And remember that If you intend to liveaboard you will have to fit all of your possessions aboard. Usable space rapidly decreases once you move onboard.

[blackrose]

Visit a narrowboat broker and kick a few tyres. It's not a bad day out.

[robtheplod]

10 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Visit a narrowboat broker and kick a few tyres. It's not a bad day out.

We have done it, even though we've got a narrowboat - it is a good day out indeed!

[pete.i]

Forget going to brokers and "sitting in one" at least initially. Hire one for a week or two. Yes I know stupidly expensive but, really, it's the only way to get a feeling for it. Boating these days is not as good as it was ten years ago when I first started and, in my opinion, things are deteriorating rapidly that is why I have now given up on boating, at least on the inland waterways. I boated for ten years and whilst I didn't go too far I could see the degradation of the inland waterways infrastructure. Many reasons for this and all are documented somewhere on this forum if you care to use the search facility such as it is, If you still want to go boating THEN go and kick some tyres.

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, pete.i said:

Forget going to brokers and "sitting in one" at least initially. Hire one for a week or two. Yes I know stupidly expensive but, really, it's the only way to get a feeling for it. Boating these days is not as good as it was ten years ago when I first started and, in my opinion, things are deteriorating rapidly that is why I have now given up on boating, at least on the inland waterways. I boated for ten years and whilst I didn't go too far I could see the degradation of the inland waterways infrastructure. Many reasons for this and all are documented somewhere on this forum if you care to use the search facility such as it is, If you still want to go boating THEN go and kick some tyres.

 

Pretty much agree with this 100%. After 40 years on the canals we have given up and 'gone back to sea'.

 

We saw the system improving in the 80's and 90's but on the 00's it started to go downhill, and like a snowball rolling down a mountain the problems came 'thick and fast' in the 10's

In the 20s the condition of the system is probably as bad as we ever saw it in the 80's.

[blackrose]

33 minutes ago, pete.i said:

Forget going to brokers and "sitting in one" at least initially. Hire one for a week or two. Yes I know stupidly expensive but, really, it's the only way to get a feeling for it. Boating these days is not as good as it was ten years ago when I first started and, in my opinion, things are deteriorating rapidly that is why I have now given up on boating, at least on the inland waterways. I boated for ten years and whilst I didn't go too far I could see the degradation of the inland waterways infrastructure. Many reasons for this and all are documented somewhere on this forum if you care to use the search facility such as it is, If you still want to go boating THEN go and kick some tyres.

 

Why would it matter in which order the OP does it? Just do both.

 

In fact, if he goes and sits in a few different boats at a brokers FIRST and decides it's too cramped for him, then he'll have saved many hundred of pounds unnecessarily hiring a boat.

 

Unfortunately the popularity of the canals in recent years is also their main downfall. It's the demand on infrastructure rather than the infrastructure itself that's the issue. But "the canals" are not the waterways. After 10 years I moved off the canals and have been on rivers for the last 12 years. I don't think they've gone downhill in the same way as some canals. 

Edited December 27, 2021 by blackrose

[Momac]

Looking at boats for sale under brokerage is an excellent suggestion. That's what we did for months before we bought our first boat. If you are keen on narrowboats a weeks hire would be a good trial. Some people love boating and others just don't get it.

We bought a lumpy water boat  as we  wanted to do the tidal river and the sea and we wanted the boat to be kept close to home. 

 

Recently all boats worth having seem to sell very quickly .

 

C&RT are recruiting people like engineers and project managers so they must be getting some new funding from government. Maybe some of the decline that people complain of will be reversed .

[Alan de Enfield]

24 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Looking at boats for sale under brokerage is an excellent suggestion. That's what we did for months before we bought our first boat. If you are keen on narrowboats a weeks hire would be a good trial. Some people love boating and others just don't get it.

We bought a lumpy water boat  as we  wanted to do the tidal river and the sea and we wanted the boat to be kept close to home. 

 

Recently all boats worth having seem to sell very quickly .

 

C&RT are recruiting people like engineers and project managers so they must be getting some new funding from government. Maybe some of the decline that people complain of will be reversed .

Prior to the Government managing to get rid of the canal system  a 'valuation and state of the waterways' was commsioned by the Government and undertaken by KPMG.

 

KPMG identified that BW had identified a level of expenditure required to keep the infrastructure at a 'steady state' and in as good a condition as it was in 2003 it was intersting that when KPMG investigated the condition of the canals and expenditure they found :

 

Extract from the 45 page KPMG report.

 

 

 

Since 2012 (and the hand over to C&RT) the spending has continued to be considerably less than that needed to retain the steady state, add in the 'back-log' of underspending and the required investment to get back to the 2003 condition is 100's of millions of £'s

 

 

C&RT themselves have identified that during the 2012-2017 period there will be an increase in principal assets dropping down into category D & E

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[PD1964]

 Let’s not take it off track and confuse the potential new boater, this is about trying out a Narrowboat for size and not about Issues with CaRT spending. Please start a separate Post if you want to discuss that.

[manxmike]

I spent quite a bit of time "tyre kicking" before I bought a boat. I had a lot of fun zipping around on my motorbike to various broker and private sales, spending time looking carefully. Once I found something I quite liked I would bring the wife to see it to give the final thumbs up or down.

Unlike the chap in question I had had many years on narrow boats, so I had an idea of what we wanted. The only down-side for me was that we live on the Isle of Man, so every trip involved extra expense of a ferry trip to England, then hotel costs. I learned to fit as many viewings as possible in a weekend.

Good luck - I would recommend the idea of visiting and looking before spending a lot of dosh to hire.

[LadyG]

You have to be aware that narrow boats are not like investing in bricks and mortar, yes prices at present are rising, but generally the trend is downwards, particularly if buying new. 

I would recommend buying secondhand from a liveaboard if possible. You need two means of heating, one being a good stove, which should be installed safely. Ditto diesel heating (marinised Webasto or Ebespacher for example). You also need an invertor charger or shorepower electrics, yes you can install these things yourself, but its not as easy as it seems. 

Once you get a boat you will find that £150 is small beer, DAMHIK. 

[Laurie Booth]

On 26/12/2021 at 23:19, Scrufts said:

Hello, 

I very much like tbe sound of Narrowboating! 

Having done a little research, seen a few vlogs and read a few publications I am warming to the idea of purchasing a narrowboat, having an online mooring and then possibly go "liveaboard" when I retire. I work on deck in Merchant Navy and spent 5 years caravanning so hopefully that will be uaeful experience. 

However I dont want to run before I can walk and would just like to "sit" in a narrowboat and get the feel of it to see if it would suit me or be too cramped. Is there anywhere that I could do this? I dont mind travelling a bit from Kent. I know there are taster sessions available but I am reluctant to part with £150+ just to find that I feel too cramped. 

Any ideas please? 

If you are worried about spending £150.00 you should seriously think about giving up on the boating idea. 

[TheBiscuits]

On 27/12/2021 at 09:50, blackrose said:

been on rivers for the last 12 years. I don't think they've gone downhill

 

Rivers do go downhill most of the time ...

[Alan de Enfield]

18 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Rivers do go downhill most of the time ...

 

And some of them even (unusually) 'go' Northwards

[Scrufts]

Thank you all very much for the info, I think the best bet will be to do some "tyre kicking" to tey for size then if all goes well I will go for a taster or short break. 

[MtB]

6 minutes ago, Scrufts said:

Thank you all very much for the info, I think the best bet will be to do some "tyre kicking" to tey for size then if all goes well I will go for a taster or short break. 

 

Bear in mind whichever way you cut it, it costs £5k a year to own a narrowboat. This is why people are commenting that if you thing £150 is a lot of money, forget the whole idea! 

[Scrufts]

Thanks for the info. As I said in my post I would rather "try for size"  and if I dont like it then walk away rather then spend £150 on a whole day. If I do find its ok then I proceed further with a short break or taster and go from there.... If that goes well then I have a detailed look at finances and running costs. 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Scrufts said:

Thanks for the info. As I said in my post I would rather "try for size"  and if I dont like it then walk away rather then spend £150 on a whole day. If I do find its ok then I proceed further with a short break or taster and go from there.... If that goes well then I have a detailed look at finances and running costs. 

 

 

As you are 'down South' you should also be aware that moorings in the South are considerably higher than further North.

A residential mooring in London (if you can get one) will likley be between £10,000 and £15,000 per annum.

[dave moore]

Wouldn’t fender kicking be a better option than tyre kicking. I’ve met plenty of them in my time on the cut!

[matty40s]

2 minutes ago, dave moore said:

Wouldn’t fender kicking be a better option than tyre kicking. I’ve met plenty of them in my time on the cut!

CRT new logo...

[cuthound]

54 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Bear in mind whichever way you cut it, it costs £5k a year to own a narrowboat. This is why people are commenting that if you thing £150 is a lot of money, forget the whole idea! 

 

And that £5k is an average. Depending on what has needed doing in any one year my annual expenditure over the last 8 years has varied from £3k to £15k.

[matty40s]

3 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

And that £5k is an average. Depending on what has needed doing in any one year my annual expenditure over the last 8 years has varied from £3k to £15k.

Yes, red handrails cost far more than any other colour for a start...

[Jerra]

29 minutes ago, matty40s said:

CRT new logo...

Oh! That's what it is, I thought it was a sewer outlet