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How much should I be looking to spend on a narrowboat?


Heather22

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2 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

From the questions I used to get that also applies to far too many new boats

 

 

Yes. When I did gas work for New Boat Company when they were based at Reading, every brand new Liverpool Boat supplied would come back a week later with a snagging list as long as yer arm. Guaranteed! 

 

Although like with new houses, I also got the impression that the same new boat given to two different customers, would have generated two different snagging lists. 

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18 minutes ago, MtB said:

, but

 

Yes. When I did gas work for New Boat Company when they were based at Reading, every brand new Liverpool Boat supplied would come back a week later with a snagging list as long as yer arm. Guaranteed! 

 

Although like with new houses, I also got the impression that the same new boat given to two different customers, would have generated two different snagging lists. 

About 15 years ago I worked on a widebeam Liverpool boat that came from New boat Co in Reading. It failed t's first BSS on gas leaks. Connections to it's bubble tester leaking, but much more serious was a bad gas leak on it's stand alone cooking oven. A parallel threaded adapter bush was screwed into the gas inlet with no seal, washer, tape or sealant on it whatsoever, leaking big time. Beats me the boat never blew up.

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1 minute ago, bizzard said:

About 15 years ago I worked on a widebeam Liverpool boat that came from New boat Co in Reading. It failed t's first BSS on gas leaks. Connections to it's bubble tester leaking, but much more serious was a bad gas leak on it's stand alone cooking oven. A parallel threaded adapter bush was screwed into the gas inlet with no seal, washer, tape or sealant on it whatsoever, leaking big time. Beats me the boat never blew up.

 

EVERY Liverpool boat would arrive riddled with this sort of skoolbouy gas error and leaking like a sieve. This is why they started using to get me to check them over. Sometimes I used to wonder if my bill for fixing the long (and different) list of gas leaks on every boat must have wiped out the profit on the sales in the first place. 

 

Sadly the gravy train hit the buffers when they decided to stop selling Liverpool Boats and just sell them Polish Aqualines. The Poles were a different kettle of fish. Every boat they sent over was perfect from a gas POV. In the end they stopped using me to to pre delivery gas checks as I never found nuffern wrong with any of 'em. 

 

 

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The mention of snagging lists reminds me that when were a share owner with Ownerships (a management company) I was asked by them to carry out snagging and trials on all their new builds over a period of about six or seven years. That was before Ownerships went under and a large proportion of the boats went self managed by their respective owners, including ours. 

 

They specifically wanted someone to do a snagging survey from an owners perspective so that before the boat went to its first owner it would be "snag free" and they though I might be able to offer a useful input,  with my marine background & marine consultancy (together with a spell as marina manager, albeit mainly coastal).  This arrangement worked quite well for a few years but eventually they stopped doing it when the new boats were all built in Poland.

 

It is not surprising that many had multiple snags when delivered, ranging from minor blemishes to some more major issues, but considering the cottage industry mentality which seems to exist in many waterway businesses including boatbuilders it is not too surprising!

 

Howard

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32 minutes ago, howardang said:

The mention of snagging lists reminds me that when were a share owner with Ownerships (a management company) I was asked by them to carry out snagging and trials on all their new builds over a period of about six or seven years. That was before Ownerships went under and a large proportion of the boats went self managed by their respective owners, including ours. 

 

They specifically wanted someone to do a snagging survey from an owners perspective so that before the boat went to its first owner it would be "snag free" and they though I might be able to offer a useful input,  with my marine background & marine consultancy (together with a spell as marina manager, albeit mainly coastal).  This arrangement worked quite well for a few years but eventually they stopped doing it when the new boats were all built in Poland.

 

It is not surprising that many had multiple snags when delivered, ranging from minor blemishes to some more major issues, but considering the cottage industry mentality which seems to exist in many waterway businesses including boatbuilders it is not too surprising!

 

Howard

There was no time for snagging on Honeystreet as it was still being finished just a few minutes before the first owners went out for the maiden trip.  They had a few issues as might be expected and sent a strongly worded letter to Ownerships about the state of the boat.  I think they were expecting a 100% immaculate and fault free boat.  The head of Ownerships compiled a reply along the lines of these owners were not the sort of people he wished to have as customers, but decided not to send it in the heat of the moment, but sit on it until he calmed down.  However, somebody in the office noted it had not been sent and popped it in the post anyway!

 

Ownerships bought the share back and the owners got a full refund.

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On 28/07/2022 at 17:44, Heather22 said:

What's your 'base price' when it comes to buying boats in the current market? By 'base price' I mean the lowest price you would expect to pay while still getting a decent boat. Like how you shouldn't buy shoes for anything less than £40. I know the prices are constantly changing, but I don't yet know what issues to look for in boats the same way I do when renting a flat, so I wanted to get an idea of general price I should look for. And any advice on what boat-specific issues I should look for would also help! 

 

Also, I'm not asking for the lowest price as a way of spending as little money as possible, I plan to save up a decent amount of money by living with my mum for a few years. 

Short answer, as much as you can afford but keep £5K to £10K in hand to fix it up.

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  • 1 month later...
10 minutes ago, Sass said:

what is a solid fuel stove? compared to a what?

Coal or wood stove, most boats have what is described as mutlifuel which means they are a compromise between pure coal burning or pure wood burning, not as efficient but a good option which allows burning of scavenged wood to supplement paid for and expensive coal.

 

Some boats have diesel fueled stoves. I have no personal experience of them but those who have them like them as far as I know

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On 29/07/2022 at 09:26, mrsmelly said:

When you do your try out rental, ensure its in january or february.

I think this is harsh ok if a hire boat has central heating or a solid fuel stove.

My boat has both, it's toasty.

No muddy footpaths , I don't put coal on roof, after a few weeks I've got a non smelly cassette, I no longer run out of water, it's tougher in the first year 

I am not on the breadline, as I was in a house. 

I am retired, working would be much tougher, if on the cut I'd need a small car.

I don't like marinas as I am not particularly sociable. Those who crave company might like them, they are expensive.

 

Edited by LadyG
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16 hours ago, tree monkey said:

Coal or wood stove, most boats have what is described as mutlifuel which means they are a compromise between pure coal burning or pure wood burning, not as efficient but a good option which allows burning of scavenged wood to supplement paid for and expensive coal.

 

Some boats have diesel fueled stoves. I have no personal experience of them but those who have them like them as far as I know

I rarely scavenge wood,  I buy solid fuel, and hardwood logs and kindling, cost last year about £650, that's a warm boat, lived in all day all winter. Budget this year £750,, probably less.

Plus diesel to charge batteries and boat a bit £40 pcm last year, £50 this year per month. Not much cruising.

I can juggle heating fuels a bit to keep budget stable. Eberspacher Diesel heating has nearly doubled, it also uses electricity, so that has to be replaced.

Diesel stoves like Refleks are a different beast, a good idea for folks who work as they can be left on a low setting, no battery drain, gravity fed. Running cost probably more than coal. 

Edited by LadyG
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37 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I think this is harsh ok if a hire boat has central heating or a solid fuel stove.

My boat has both, it's toasty.

No muddy footpaths , I don't put coal on roof, after a few weeks I've got a non smelly cassette, I no longer run out of water, it's tougher in the first year 

I am not on the breadline, as I was in a house. 

I am retired, working would be much tougher, if on the cut I'd need a small car.

I don't like marinas as I am not particularly sociable. Those who crave company might like them, they are expensive.

 

 

I think the point about hiring in Winter is to get more certainty that the conditions won't be too rough for the individual concerned. 

I suspect most hire boats will have diesel CH rather than a stove, and the problem there is that a new boater might get the impression that winter with only diesel CH is not very pleasant (as I found out myself). So they might be put off, whereas if they'd tried it with a stove, they'd have been fine. So the winter 'try out' does have that risk with it, and for that reason maybe October is a better bet, before it gets really cold.

 

Setting aside the heat issue, most people cope ok with the various aspects of winter, but I think there are a few whose enjoyment is seriously impacted by one or more aspects of the conditions. That's probably one of the reasons why so few boats actually cruise in winter (compared to the other seasons).

 

Personally, I saw plenty of muddy towpaths (and muddy country lanes) last winter- I guess it depends on where you cruise, and where you moor. 

I spent a week outside Tattenhall marina last January, and even in the 100 yard walk to the road my boots and bike wheels were covered in mud.  Moved up to Chester and it was tarmac footpaths all the way, stepping out of the boat in decent clean shoes, and no mud in sight. 

But even the grassy areas around locks can get pretty muddy in winter, so your ropes get mud on them as well.

Personally in muddy places I have a procedure that I always take off my footwear as soon as I step inside the door, to avoid spreading the mud and water around.  

Coal can also be a bit messy at times, bikes, clothes and footwear need more frequent cleaning, etc.

You can sometimes feel a bit trapped in a muddy mooring on the long dark Winter evenings, when its really cold and/or wet outside, and some solo boaters have feelings of isolation on those long winter evenings. 

Like you, I'm not that sociable so I'm fine with it, but plenty of people don't take to the winters too well. 

 

Edited by Tony1
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Solid fuel stoves are generally the best option for boaters, but the smokeless fuel, which is compressed processed coal and comes in 'eggs' is the standard fuel for most boaters as it works out cheaper than logs. Hardwood logs are really lovely, low ash, clean, look nice too. The smokeless stuff comes in bags of 20/25kg, usually and costs about £14/£18 It's dirty, sometimes the bags arrive wet and dirty, but it's cheaper and usually stays in overnight.

 

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On 28/09/2022 at 17:53, Sass said:

what is a solid fuel stove? compared to a what?

 

Compared to stoves running on liquid or gas fuels, a solid fuel stove is for fuel that is solid, e.g. wood or coal, or processed coal also known as 'smokeless solid fuel".

 

E.G:

 

image.png.ac198dffae4abee03e46244b15108346.png

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, MtB said:

 

Compared to stoves running on liquid or gas fuels, a solid fuel stove is for fuel that is solid, e.g. wood or coal, or processed coal also known as 'smokeless solid fuel".

 

E.G:

 

image.png.ac198dffae4abee03e46244b15108346.png

 

 

 

 

 

Wow a flueless solid fuel stove. Great idea, saves cutting a hole in the deckhead of the boat... 😅

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6 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Wow a flueless solid fuel stove. Great idea, saves cutting a hole in the deckhead of the boat... 😅

 

 

I'll let you into a secret. The fire inside is a photograph printed onto card and propped up inside.

 

 

And here is a small boiler installation, equally unlikely:

 

 

image.png.f737eaf3ea2330f39c688fa8e7a5e562.png

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You're both mistaken: it isn't a closed system!

 

 

On 01/10/2022 at 08:18, MtB said:

Notice how the pump and the kettle are powering each other. Perpetual motion machines on youtube have nothing on this.

 

23 hours ago, David Mack said:

So it's not a pump, it's a turbine driven by the gravity circulation of the water...

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 28/07/2022 at 20:12, Alan de Enfield said:

I'd suggest that any boat under £40k will (probably) need £5k - £10 spending on it within the 1st year, and depending on where you intend to live, your mooring costs will be between £2,000 and £15,000 per year.

 

Ongoing costs (licencing, insurance, maintenance etc etc) will average another £4k- £5k  per annum, (some years will be £2k, some years will be £8k)

 

Living in a boat is no cheaper than living in a house - it is just a different way of living and spending your money

I guesx that is questionable if you live in London where the minimum cost for an apartment is 1200 a month

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1 hour ago, Noviceboata said:

I guesx that is questionable if you live in London where the minimum cost for an apartment is 1200 a month

 

Maybe you missed this line of my post :

 

"Living in a boat is no cheaper than living in a house - it is just a different way of living and spending your money"

 

Or, are you saying that living in London IS cheaper than living on a boat ?

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