Boat Dealers - Recommendations/Suggestions Wanted

[bpajwhite]

Hello All,

 

I'll be retiring in the next couple of years and my wife and I are considering buying a narrow boat to live on for a few years.  I will be coming to England later this month for a family visit.  I'll be driving from London to Northampton (M1), and then on to Manchester (M6).  

 

Can anyone recommend some boat dealers/marinas where I could go to see some boats for sale along the general route that I'll be traveling?  I've watched endless youtube videos of canal boats, but have never been on one.  I'd like to try to get a sense of how spacious or cramped it would be to live on one.  We would defiantly want to rent a boat for a week before buying one, but for now, I just want to go a see a few.  

 

I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions that you may have to offer.

 

[MtB]

5 hours ago, bpajwhite said:

Hello All,

 

I'll be retiring in the next couple of years and my wife and I are considering buying a narrow boat to live on for a few years.  I will be coming to England later this month for a family visit.  I'll be driving from London to Northampton (M1), and then on to Manchester (M6).  

 

Can anyone recommend some boat dealers/marinas where I could go to see some boats for sale along the general route that I'll be traveling?  I've watched endless youtube videos of canal boats, but have never been on one.  I'd like to try to get a sense of how spacious or cramped it would be to live on one.  We would defiantly want to rent a boat for a week before buying one, but for now, I just want to go a see a few.  

 

I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions that you may have to offer.

 

 

Welcome to the forum Mr bpajwhite.

 

Northampton is barely a stone's throw from the centre of the narrowboating universe and there are probably about ten sales operations within about ten miles. The best of them for your purposes would be Wilton Marina, which is different from most others in that they give you the keys to several boats and leave you to explore them un-hassled by the usual sales person constantly prattling in your ear and asking banal questions.

 

https://www.whiltonmarina.co.uk/

 

THink carefully about buying a boat from them though. They are commercial pirahnas and will tell you whatever they think it will take to get you to buy a boat. Also much of their stock is, well, basically shyte but it is well worth a visit to get to see plenty of boats to get you off the starting line.

 

Once you are ready to buy, visit ABNB, Rugby Boats, Braunston Marina and a few others, all in the same area and who have much better quality boats but you'll have to put up with some prattling. Google is your friend finding them.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2024 by MtB

[booke23]

I would also suggest ABNB and Rugby boats, they certainly have good reputation.

 

Also worth investigating immigration requirements. As a US citizen I believe you can come here for 6 months at a time with no issue. I'm sure I've come across people from the US who come here for 6 months then go back for 6 months (during the winter). But to stay for a number of years may be problematic. 

Edited August 1, 2024 by booke23

[MrsM]

Another thing to look into is insurance. I recall there have been instances of non UK residents struggling to get insurance for a boat. Maybe not an issue if you are going to be resident here for a few years but I just wanted to raise it. 

[bpajwhite]

MtB, Thank you ever so much.  That is exactly the sort of advice I was hoping to find here.  

 

booke23, no worries on that front.  I'm English. I'm actually from Northampton and went to primary school not too far from there.  I left England at 10, so that's a big part of why my wife (also English) and I want to come to England for a while.  Neither of us have lived there as adults and there is much we want to see and do.  Plus, we have family that still live in England.  

 

MrsM, thanks for pointing that out.  I don't think it willl be a problem as residency will be simple for both of us.  My biggest concern on that front is tax status.  I'll need to consult some professional advice on that front to make sure that I don't get stuck paying both UK and US income taxes on my pension.  But.... That's a question for somewhere else.  

 

Thank you all for your thoughts.  I do appreciate you taking the time to write your responses.

[Stroudwater1]

Braunston Marina didn’t do prattling and left us to it. Rugby did as well but they apologised for leaving us alone, we were delighted to be left. We didn’t go to ABNB as they didn’t have a boat we were looking for at the time.
 

Confusingly to some Rugby boats are based in Weeden Bec and not Rugby.
 

There are reasonable pubs in Braunston and by Rugby boats to mull things over or the Gongoozlers rest in Braunston just by the marina. 

Theres a good selection of boats around at the moment too. Good luck, it sounds like you are planning things well. 

[hider]

Check on Apollo Duck as to what is for sale and where it is located. Many are private sales and you may do better with an owner who wants a quick sale and is asking a sensible price.

You need to work out what you want,

cruiser stern, semi trad or proper trad.

Floating cottage or modern all white.

Narrow or wide beam.

Turn key or a project.

How long, small weekend boat, 57' go anywhere or 70' live aboard.

BUT before you even get to buying you must work out where you are going to put it, marina, farm mooring, or are you going to cruise continuously ( That would be very brave for a newby )  Residential moorings are like unicorn scales.

 

[Stroudwater1]

3 minutes ago, hider said:

Check on Apollo Duck as to what is for sale and where it is located. Many are private sales and you may do better with an owner who wants a quick sale and is asking a sensible price.

You need to work out what you want,

cruiser stern, semi trad or proper trad.

Floating cottage or modern all white.

Narrow or wide beam.

Turn key or a project.

How long, small weekend boat, 57' go anywhere or 70' live aboard.

BUT before you even get to buying you must work out where you are going to put it, marina, farm mooring, or are you going to cruise continuously ( That would be very brave for a newby )  Residential moorings are like unicorn scales.

 

All good advise but the OP is currently just visiting and wants to look at narrowboats first, later will hire one then buy if they feel it’s right for them. Looking at private sales now isn’t ideal for just looking to see what suits them, as understandably a private seller will not be likely to let them look around on their own. They would also need to travel round looking at individual boats when most brokers currently have loads for sale in one spot to look at and get a feel for them first. 
 

Once bought if all suits it seems they will be livaboards? 

[Hudds Lad]

Rugby boats do walkthroughs for all boats they have for sale on their YouTube channel, obviously not the same as physically being onboard but it might just scratch your itch until you get over the pond  

 

https://www.youtube.com/@RugbyboatsCoUk

[Mike Todd]

13 hours ago, bpajwhite said:

MtB, Thank you ever so much.  That is exactly the sort of advice I was hoping to find here.  

 

booke23, no worries on that front.  I'm English. I'm actually from Northampton and went to primary school not too far from there.  I left England at 10, so that's a big part of why my wife (also English) and I want to come to England for a while.  Neither of us have lived there as adults and there is much we want to see and do.  Plus, we have family that still live in England.  

 

MrsM, thanks for pointing that out.  I don't think it willl be a problem as residency will be simple for both of us.  My biggest concern on that front is tax status.  I'll need to consult some professional advice on that front to make sure that I don't get stuck paying both UK and US income taxes on my pension.  But.... That's a question for somewhere else.  

 

Thank you all for your thoughts.  I do appreciate you taking the time to write your responses.

Make sure it is up-to-date advice as the rules have been changing quite a bit (aka non dom status) and are expected to change again at the next Budget.

[bpajwhite]

12 hours ago, hider said:

Check on Apollo Duck as to what is for sale and where it is located. Many are private sales and you may do better with an owner who wants a quick sale and is asking a sensible price.

You need to work out what you want,

cruiser stern, semi trad or proper trad.

Floating cottage or modern all white.

Narrow or wide beam.

Turn key or a project.

How long, small weekend boat, 57' go anywhere or 70' live aboard.

BUT before you even get to buying you must work out where you are going to put it, marina, farm mooring, or are you going to cruise continuously ( That would be very brave for a newby )  Residential moorings are like unicorn scales.

 

Well...  I'd like a 57' x 6'10" so that we can go anywhere.  My wife would want one that's 70' x 14'.  I guess we need my dimensions on the outside, but with her dimensions on the inside...  Not quite sure how we're going to make that happen.  

 

Again, I'd love a nice big cruiser stern, but as with everything, it's a compromise in that you'd have to give up interior space.  I don't think that's a trade off I'd like to make, especially if keeping it to 57'.  I think that I really need to get on some boats and see how it feels.  The trad stern obviously reserves the most space for the interior, but is it really only suitable for one person at a time to be back there.  

 

I'd definitely want a turn key boat.  I'm good at DIY and fixing, but I'm not looking for a project this time.  I'd even consider having a new boat built. 

 

If we were to do this, we would be continuous cruisers.  To me, that's the whole appeal of a narrowboat, to see as much of England as the network allows, without living out of a suitcase and having to get hotels or airbnb's where ever we go.  Because of this, I hadn't thought about marinas.  Is getting a slip in a marina really that hard?  If so, what happens when you want to leave the boat for a few weeks to go on holiday somewhere?

 

 

13 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Braunston Marina didn’t do prattling and left us to it. Rugby did as well but they apologised for leaving us alone, we were delighted to be left. We didn’t go to ABNB as they didn’t have a boat we were looking for at the time.
 

Confusingly to some Rugby boats are based in Weeden Bec and not Rugby.
 

There are reasonable pubs in Braunston and by Rugby boats to mull things over or the Gongoozlers rest in Braunston just by the marina. 

Theres a good selection of boats around at the moment too. Good luck, it sounds like you are planning things well. 

 

 Thanks!

 

I've looked up some of the marinas and dealers and they all look fairly close to where I'll be staying in Northampton.  I'll try to see if I can make it to Whilton, Rugby, and Brauston.  That should probably be enough to give me some sense of if this is going to be something we want to pursue.  It actually sounds like a fun day out.  I've been to the pub at Stoke Bruerne before, and have always enjoyed trips there.  I think my parents used to take me there when I was a little kid.

 

 

11 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

Rugby boats do walkthroughs for all boats they have for sale on their YouTube channel, obviously not the same as physically being onboard but it might just scratch your itch until you get over the pond  

 

https://www.youtube.com/@RugbyboatsCoUk

Thanks, I have seen some of their videos before, but I will certainly take another look. 

Edited August 2, 2024 by bpajwhite

[Bod]

@bpajwhite

If you are traveling north up the M1-M6.

Junction 18 on the M1 is less than 15 minutes drive from Crick marina, which has a boat sales office.

 

Bod

[Lily Rose]

21 hours ago, bpajwhite said:

The trad stern obviously reserves the most space for the interior, but is it really only suitable for one person at a time to be back there.  

If the 2nd person wants to sit down it might be a problem (or at least not ideal/comfortable) but if they are happy to stand it shouldn't be. Certainly doesn't cause us any problems on the rare occasions when Mrs Lily Rose wants to stand near me rather than sit in comfort at the more peaceful end.

 

21 hours ago, bpajwhite said:

Because of this, I hadn't thought about marinas.  Is getting a slip in a marina really that hard?  If so, what happens when you want to leave the boat for a few weeks to go on holiday somewhere?

Many people book into marinas short-term for all sorts of reasons without, as far as I'm aware, too many problems. Possibly this might be trickier in winter when some continuous cruisers book in for the toughest 3 or 4 months of the year and fewer of the year-round moorers are vacating their berths to go cruising for weeks on end.

[bpajwhite]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.  I had a great trip to England and managed to see a few boat dealers.  I went to Braunston, Whilton, and ABNB.  It was nice to finally get on a narrowboat after seeing so much of them on YouTube.