Hi All

[mightyslay3r]

Hi guys, i am new to the forum & canal boating....

Looking to buy our first narrow boat & find a mooring in the near future

 

[magpie patrick]

Bumped - it took us a while to release posts this morning! 

[Tracy D'arth]

Wrong way round!  Find a mooring first them go boat hunting. Moorings in some areas are rare.

[dmr]

Welcome to the forum.

I know who you are 😀.

You will get a lot of advice here but only some of it will be based on real boaty wisdom.

Its a sort of game where you have to decide who to believe.😀

[Lily Rose]

I looked for a boat before looking for a mooring. The broker I bought through was based in a marina and that marina and another one very nearby, and in the same group, both had moorings. I'm still there nearly 8 years later. It's a lot fuller than it was back then but there do always seem to be vacancies.

 

I suggest looking for a boat and enquiring about a marina mooring at the same time. You can always look for another mooring elsewhere at a later date if that's what you want.

[mightyslay3r]

ok, has I said.. brand new to boating on our canal & river system....

Thanks for the warm welcome & replies

I have questions.. lots of them.

firstly.. what licences/permits/courses do I need to take before even considering buying a boat?

I know of BSS checks & pre-buy surveys but cant seem to find anything on what you require to be able to pilot a vessel....

thanks in advance guys

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by mightyslay3r

[Tony Brooks]

46 minutes ago, mightyslay3r said:

cant seem to find anything on what you require to be able to pilot a vessel....

 

That is because there is nothing. Just get on board and go, although for your own peace of mind you may prefer to take an inland helmsman course. You will a CaRT or EA licence, depending upon where you are (there are other navigation authorities) and to get that you will need a BSS and at least third party insurance.

[mightyslay3r]

mmm, i read somewhere... maybe the BSS site that courses need to be had to permit you to pilot a vessel on uk waters (im in Leeds, w. yorks)

i've had a car licence since 1985, +20 years no claims and spent 14 years driving HGV vehicles.. so im used to long vehicle manoeuvring...

all be it sat at the front & narrow boats are piloted from the rear....

once we have a marina mooring & craft.. i dont think i will be moving it until i have all the tips n tricks from other canal users.

another question... say i find a vessel in cheshire.... do i go to cheshire to bring it back via the waterways or is it delivered?

thanks all

[mightyslay3r]

18 minutes ago, mightyslay3r said:

mmm, i read somewhere... maybe the BSS site that courses need to be had to permit you to pilot a vessel on uk waters (im in Leeds, w. yorks)

 

actually, i just tried to PM DMR (his partner told me about this amazing site)... i need to have 10 posts before i can

another question... what is the rough average of a marina mooring in the yorkshire area? i've not been able to find that out either...

looking to buy a narrow boat of around 15 meters.... so just rough estimates will do

thanks again guys n gals

[Lily Rose]

3 options for moving the boat to a new area...

 

1. DIY

2. Hire a professional (insured) boatmover to do it for you.

3. Have it craned out and taken by road.

 

In terms of "pilot" licenses etc, there are no requirements. Thousands of people hire narrowboats with no previous experience and get perhaps an hours tuition a d then they're on their own. Have you tried hiring?

It's a good idea to do so before buying anyway. A weekend or midweek hire out of season is probably money well spent.

[mightyslay3r]

Hi Lily Rose,

No we havent hired but do spend a lot of time walking canals & talking to boaters....

we have been thinking about it for some time....

and due to the cost of living, my daughters peace of mind (she will be living with us has too mentally unstable to live alone) 

due to the current area we live in & most neighbourhoods being the same....

we want to get her out in to an area where the view changes all the time, meeting new same minded people for her to talk to rather than be cooped up in a brick house not wanting to go out etc....

we arnt just doing it for her, but thats a big part of it.. we want to do it so we have more "us time" too....

thanks

[Lily Rose]

I now see you are planning to live aboard. It's worth having a good look at the many posts on the forum about buying a boat to live on. Many pros and cons but not for me to say as I don't liveaboard and wouldn't want to.

Some people do want to, others do it out of necessity.

 

I expect you'll be getting many replies on the subject before too much longer. Some of them will be saying things you don't want to hear. At that point some people get the hump and storm off never to be heard from again. Try to resist that, there is a lot to be gained by sticking around and hearing what peop!e with far more experience than me have to say.

[Bod]

With regard to your daughter, it might be worthwhile hiring a boat for a week or two, to see how she reacts to the movement, both of the boat it's self, and the ever varying scenery.

 

Bod

[mightyslay3r]

Thank you my friend, i wont be barged away ... this is a "we are going to do this" thing.... for reasons stated above.... 

i can DIY, i have renovated the house we now live in, wiring, plumbing, brick & plaster work (not that that is needed on a boat lol ) 

im also a proficient mechanic so can do services etc myself....

thank you 🙂 

[Lily Rose]

Also, hiring this time of year, rather than during the warmer months, gives you a better idea of what being on a boat all year round is going to be like. 

[mightyslay3r]

2 minutes ago, Bod said:

With regard to your daughter, it might be worthwhile hiring a boat for a week or two, to see how she reacts to the movement, both of the boat it's self, and the ever varying scenery.

 

Bod

Hi Bod, our daughter is 33 years old... she has all of her faculties... its the built up areas, too many people thing.. mainly anxiety to be fair...

she is all up for doing this too... even been speaking of maybe buying her own in a few years once she's got the hang of living on a boat

[Lily Rose]

Keep replying, you'll soon be able to pm dmr!

[David Mack]

People live on boats of all sizes, but if you want space for the two of you plus your adult daughter, where you can all have your own space, you would be better looking larger than smaller. Which then leads to the question whether you go for a narrowboat, which is pretty much a go-anywhere boat, or a wide boat, which will be much more spacious inside, but will limit you to either the northern or the southern waterways, but not both, as there is no wide connection between the two (except by sea or by lorry). If you are in the North you want a boat no longer that 57'6" (60' at a pinch) whereas a 70 ft narrowboat gives you extra space and is fine for the Midland and Southern waterways, but too long for some of the northern canals.

[mightyslay3r]

10 minutes ago, David Mack said:

People live on boats of all sizes, but if you want space for the two of you plus your adult daughter, where you can all have your own space, you would be better 

thanks for your reply David, yes.. i was thinking 50 - 55 foot which should give us ample space... and allow us through all the locks in northern england... and has you say through the midlands to the south of england eventually.

we dont need to be extravagant, we are a simple family.. but we do hoard .. so being on a narrow boat will nip that right out... hopefully.

just a simple but pleasurable life... thats all that is required

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by mightyslay3r

[MtB]

8 hours ago, magpie patrick said:

Bumped - it took us a while to release posts this morning! 

 

Eh? 

 

Are you now holding back new registrations subject to mod approval? 

 

 

16 minutes ago, mightyslay3r said:

thanks for your reply David, yes.. i was thinking 50 - 55 foot which should give us ample space... and allow us through all the locks in northern england... and has you say through the midlands to the south of england eventually.

we dont need to be extravagant, we are a simple family.. but we do hoard .. so being on a narrow boat will nip that right out... hopefully.

just a simple but pleasurable life... thats all that is required

 

I think you misunderstood David's post. On a widebeam you can't go through the midlands to the south. So you'll have to decide between a WB and stay stuck in the froze north, or NB and go anywhere. 

[IanD]

23 minutes ago, mightyslay3r said:

thanks for your reply David, yes.. i was thinking 50 - 55 foot which should give us ample space... and allow us through all the locks in northern england... and has you say through the midlands to the south of england eventually.

we dont need to be extravagant, we are a simple family.. but we do hoard .. so being on a narrow boat will nip that right out... hopefully.

just a simple but pleasurable life... thats all that is required

 

With three of you on a narrowboat every foot of usable internal space makes a difference -- with most boats you lose about 14' at bow and stern, so a 58' "go-anywhere" boat will usually give you about 42' of living space. Which sounds like lot, but for three of you isn't really, and that extra few feet over a slightly shorter boat makes quite a difference.

 

(you can take a 60ft narrowboat through the shortest locks but a lot of care is needed, wouldn't recommend this for a beginner)

 

A longer narrowboat (up to 70' or 72') is more spacious but you can't go on some of the Northern canals which are among the finest in the country.

 

A wideboat gives a *lot* more living space, but is *much* more restricted as to where you can take it -- this is the biggest decision you need to make.

Edited February 25, 2023 by IanD

[MtB]

20 minutes ago, mightyslay3r said:

just a simple but pleasurable life... thats all that is required

 

Boating life is never simple....  

[LadyG]

19 hours ago, mightyslay3r said:

Hi guys, i am new to the forum & canal boating....

Looking to buy our first narrow boat & find a mooring in the near future

 

You have a lot to learn

[LadyG]

I've been on board three years seven months: this year I had to buy a blanket box to store all my extra stuff, there is one chair and one uncomfortable bench for visitors. 

I'm thinking I will have to move back to bricks and mortar soon, so I have a mattress, and a blanket box, plus cutlery etc. I visit charity shop every week, one in one out.

Edited February 25, 2023 by LadyG

[mightyslay3r]

22 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

I think you misunderstood David's post. On a widebeam you can't go through the midlands to the south. So you'll have to decide between a WB and stay stuck in the froze north, or NB and go anywhere. 

we will be going for a narrow.. not wide buddy 🙂