lone Female new to boating

[Loubeloo]

I know that you shouldn't rush into boating but I have the opportunity to secure a mooring at a marina about 10 mins walk from my house. They are rare as hens teeth. 

 

Im a single female - and the only experience I've had with narrowboats is a holiday with another person. 

 

Would it be best to secure the mooring first then get the boat? 

 

My heart is telling me to go for it- it wouldn't be a liveaboard so I would be looking for a boat 35ft or less. 

 

I don't have a huge amount of money- would a boat costing about 17/18k be up to scratch?

 

There just seem to be various things falling into place that make me think its time to take a plunge. 

 

How difficult is it for a single middle aged female to operate a narrowboat on their own and navigate locks etc. 

 

can anyone direct me to useful advice? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[robtheplod]

You don't intend to live on the boat so its leisure only?  Thats quite an expense for something you haven't thought about in the past unless you've been mulling it over but frustrated by the lack of close mooring?  Loads of single ladies on the cut....

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Loubeloo said:

I don't have a huge amount of money- would a boat costing about 17/18k be up to scratch?

 

 

It is very unlikely that you could buy a 'decent' steel narrowboat for £17/18k you'd be looking closer to twice that.

You could pick up a very nice GRP cruiser that would suit you as a 'holiday / weekend boater for under your budget and still have some money to pay for the insurances, safety examination and licence.

[nicknorman]

Mooring first or boat first depends on your location, which you don’t mention. But since you say “rare as hens teeth” then I imagine it would be mooring first.

 

Single middle aged female should be quite capable of operating a narrowboat, plenty do.

[eightacre]

4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

You could pick up a very nice GRP cruiser that would suit you as a 'holiday / weekend boater for under your budget and still have some money to pay for the insurances, safety examination and licence.

 

"Cruising the Cut" recently posted a video in which he spent a day with a single lady who had a small GRP cruiser: 

 

[magnetman]

My mum single handed her own 55ft narrow boat around a considerable part of the network over a ten yar period starting when she was 51. No problems she was very competent. I also had a 55ft narrow boat we used to travel together.

Both boats were single hand operation. 

 

No problem for women and ladies to do this as long as you are basically physically fit. 

 

 

 

[blackrose]

30 minutes ago, Loubeloo said:

How difficult is it for a single middle aged female to operate a narrowboat on their own and navigate locks etc. 

 

I move a big widebeam by myself and I'm 61. I don't think gender comes into it. Why should it be any more difficult for a single woman than it is for a single man?

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by blackrose

[David Mack]

23 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

You could pick up a very nice GRP cruiser that would suit you as a 'holiday / weekend boater for under your budget and still have some money to pay for the insurances, safety examination and licence.

And a teapot.

[BilgePump]

11 minutes ago, eightacre said:

 

"Cruising the Cut" recently posted a video in which he spent a day with a single lady who had a small GRP cruiser: 

 

Not a one for viewing canal videos normally but watched that one the other day. Really good, shows how the deepest pockets and wealth of knowledge are not needed to get started on the canals. The lady's little Microplus 510 is really sweet and in good condition, she paid £3500 for it. With a budget of up to 18k I'd also second Alan's suggestion of GRP. There's a nice and tidy looking Atlanta 32 on ebay for £15.5k https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225858187622 . If OP is totally committed and moorings are very rare where they want to be then yes, the mooring may be the first thing to prioritise.

[Loubeloo]

23 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Mooring first or boat first depends on your location, which you don’t mention. But since you say “rare as hens teeth” then I imagine it would be mooring first.

 

Single middle aged female should be quite capable of operating a narrowboat, plenty do.

Im in Leeds, West Yorks. The beauty of the mooring is that its a nice friendly marina on the Leeds Liverpool,  I walk past it all the time! and its ten minutes walk from my house so i wouldnt need to drive and theres a great pub nearby. 

[ditchcrawler]

40 minutes ago, Loubeloo said:

I know that you shouldn't rush into boating but I have the opportunity to secure a mooring at a marina about 10 mins walk from my house. They are rare as hens teeth. 

 

Im a single female - and the only experience I've had with narrowboats is a holiday with another person. 

 

Would it be best to secure the mooring first then get the boat? 

 

My heart is telling me to go for it- it wouldn't be a liveaboard so I would be looking for a boat 35ft or less. 

 

I don't have a huge amount of money- would a boat costing about 17/18k be up to scratch?

 

There just seem to be various things falling into place that make me think its time to take a plunge. 

 

How difficult is it for a single middle aged female to operate a narrowboat on their own and navigate locks etc. 

 

can anyone direct me to useful advice? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you on Facebook, if so there is a group for single lady boaters that may help you 

[Loubeloo]

7 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Are you on Facebook, if so there is a group for single lady boaters that may help you 

yes Im on facebook, please could you let me know the name of the group? 

51 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

I move a big widebeam by myself and I'm 61. I don't think gender comes into it. Why should it be any more difficult for a single woman than it is for a single man?

 

Thanks, I'm physically fit and not scared of muck, oil, cold, spiders, ducks or water  I just wanted to know how practical it would be for  single person. 

 

 

[Bacchus]

I would say that a suitable mooring can be harder to find than a decent boat, especially in the small cruiser market.

 

Leeds and Liverpool is a "broad" canal, so you would have plenty of choice of vessel, and you will get some good advice on this forum, and in the marina, and I know plenty of single females who can handle a boat (likewise males). It's one of those things - when you can't do it, you can't do it. When you can, you can. There's a bit in between where there is a fairly steep learning curve, but even when you've been doing it for years there's always something to learn, and always plenty of opportunities to make a fool of yourself.

 

Go for it. It's a wonderful lifestyle choice, IMHO.

[blackrose]

 

2 hours ago, Loubeloo said:

Thanks, I'm physically fit and not scared of muck, oil, cold, spiders, ducks or water I just wanted to know how practical it would be for single person. 

 

Well you're doing better than me, I am scared of spiders! 

 

The best thing to do when you start out is enlist the help of someone more experienced, preferably a single handed boater, and go through a few locks with them. Try going through the locks yourself single handed with the other person as backup but not doing anything, just stepping in if needed.

[Arthur Marshall]

 

2 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

 

When budgeting, bear in mind that a shorter boat (mine's 40 foot) will cost about £1000 in annual licence above the mooring fees, and a reasonably amount on top in maintenance. If new to it, I'd join RCR immediately -  it guarantees you quick access to help (admittedly of varying quality ) if you need it, and a relatively cheap boat (again, like mine!) will. Doesn't stop it being fun.

PS singke handing isn't that hard, and if it gets tricky, there's always someone coming along, sooner or later.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Arthur Marshall

[blackrose]

2 hours ago, Loubeloo said:

I know that you shouldn't rush into boating but I have the opportunity to secure a mooring at a marina about 10 mins walk from my house. 

 

On the contrary, we think you should rush into boating and grab that mooring quickly!

[Mad Harold]

I agree about getting the mooring before the boat.

As Alan says, a steel boat for your budget is likely to be a dodgy proposition.

A fibreglass cruiser will be a sounder buy.

Asking prices are from £900 for a bare shell. (There is actually a 22ft Dawncraft advertised on Facebook in Leeds for this amount) to £15-16K for a good 'un.

If you are just going to cruise the broad canals, you don't need to be tied to a narrowbeam, but bear in mind that over 7ft beam attracts a surcharge on the licence fee.

Look for a boat that has heating, hot water, solar, decent cooker and with a current BSC.

You can expect a boat well kitted out with comforts that will be within your budget.

As to engines, my preference is outboard, but quite a few grp boats have inboard diesel or petrol engines.Some have a Z drive on the transom which I don't like, and some the engine is inside with shaft drive which I think is ok.

If you have specific questions about engine type, or boat make, just ask.

For me, I like Norman and Freeman the best, but not Dawncraft (apart from the Highbridge) as they have issues that other grp boats don't have.

[Mike Hurley]

 

[mrsmelly]

2 hours ago, Loubeloo said:

Im in Leeds, West Yorks. The beauty of the mooring is that its a nice friendly marina on the Leeds Liverpool,  I walk past it all the time! and its ten minutes walk from my house so i wouldnt need to drive and theres a great pub nearby. 

You will be fine, you obviously understand lifes priorities as you state there is a great pub nearby, far more important than a whole host of other stuff that people worry about.

[dmr]

44 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

You will be fine, you obviously understand lifes priorities as you state there is a great pub nearby, far more important than a whole host of other stuff that people worry about.

 

Just before I purchased my first house a friend gave me some really good advice, buy a house within easy walking distance of a good pub, you can drive to work, you can drive to the shops, but you wan't to be driving home from the pub,

[LadyG]

I don't see any problem as a single lady boater, I am one , and have a narrowboat.

However, I would be very carefull buying a small NB at that price, in fact I would either buy a tiny NB steel boat,  in tip top condition or a bigger plastic with heating and a cooker, in fact a liveaboard type conversion. GRP will mostly have been leisure boats 

Personally I would only want an inboard diesel engine.

 

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

Just before I purchased my first house a friend gave me some really good advice, buy a house within easy walking distance of a good pub, you can drive to work, you can drive to the shops, but you wan't to be driving home from the pub,

Lol. When I downgraded from the boat to the house a couple of years ago it was a priority. I have 3 establishments within 300 yards of my front door. Oh and the chemist is less than 100 yards plus some proper caffs for proper breakfast, lifes all about priorities innitt 

[Didne]

Hello … not wanting to hijacker’s this thread but … could a GRP boat make a suitable year-round liveaboard ? … are they especially difficult to keep warm in in the winter ? … xxx

[rusty69]

6 minutes ago, Didne said:

Hello … not wanting to hijacker’s this thread but … could a GRP boat make a suitable year-round liveaboard ? … are they especially difficult to keep warm in in the winter ? … xxx

They could, if suitably insulated, and you can find one that fits your size requirement, and cruising ground. Many are not that well insulated and tend to have big windows. Having said that, it can be done. 

 

Look at Norfolk broads type boats if you are looking at wider waterways, or one like Alan dean field has (not the cat). 

[Slim]

57 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

Just before I purchased my first house a friend gave me some really good advice, buy a house within easy walking distance of a good pub, you can drive to work, you can drive to the shops, but you wan't to be driving home from the pub,

Unfortunatly these days the pub is likely to have morphed into a house/block of flats-----sorry, apartments.