Is Now the right time?

[Dunworkin]

We owned a narrowboat from 2018 to 2020, we sold due to family commitments. We’ve been longing to have another boat, and have now seen a 2012 boat that seems (from the videos) to be in excellent nick, and we can afford the purchase price and ongoing costs. It just worries me that we’re almost in the perfect storm of stresses on the canal network and now WW3 seemingly having already broken out. Are we being reckless in even considering this now? We’re 66 and 64 and if we don’t do this now we may have quite literally missed the boat for good. I’d welcome some thoughts and opinions on the state of the network now. Thanks 

 

[Rob-M]

As you say, if you don't do it now it may be too late so is it a case of now or never so get on and do it.

[Stroudwater1]

3 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

As you say, if you don't do it now it may be too late so is it a case of now or never so get on and do it.

Completely agree. Plus it’s easier to escape the news on a boat as you watch the world go by and don’t have time to bother with it all. 

[Alan de Enfield]

14 minutes ago, Dunworkin said:

I’d welcome some thoughts and opinions on the state of the network now.

 

Well, its not going to get any better, its in a state of managed decline so it'll get steadily worse - if you want to get back boating on the canals, do it now, in 5 years it may not be an option.

[Dunworkin]

That’s what my wife says….im just nervous that this is not the time to be shelling out thousands when God knows what is storming down the track straight towards us…

[phantom_iv]

4 minutes ago, Dunworkin said:

That’s what my wife says….im just nervous that this is not the time to be shelling out thousands when God knows what is storming down the track straight towards us…

You can use that argument quite effectively to convince yourself to not do anything ever

[Dunworkin]

I’m sure you’re absolutely right…it’s a bloody difficult mind set to break free from nonetheless 

Is the network in a grim state now…managed decline seems pretty ominous…how do you describe the next 5 years?

[Rob-M]

If you have no ties to be in a certain place at a specific time then it doesn't really matter if you get held up somewhere.  If you do have ties then it can take a bit of careful planning.  Last year when canals were closing due to lack of water we planned a fortnights cruise and had no problems achieving our chosen route.

[mrsmelly]

Blimey at age 66 its now or never surely. One life live it you will never get another chance. 

[Col_T]

If you genuinely want to get another boat, do it now. Worrying about shelling out thousands is likely to be an excuse because you don’t actually want another boat.

[Dunworkin]

Just worries me that if the canal bubble really bursts and the network gets really bad, I don’t want to be part of a huge queue of people who can’t sell a narrowboat….i my be missing the point entirely, and my wife has said “it’s now or never” a hundred times. There again I suppose the decline would be gradual and not a cliff edge and we’d have time to react.

[LadyG]

I'm happier on my boat, security-wise than living in a city these days. I got a bit of a wigging on here for prepping, but i think some extra food, some diesel, and even some bottled water is a sensible plan, even if it just makes you feel more relaxed. I have of course experienced more food and fuel shortsges than most on here. I remember sweet rationing!

I've given up planning journeys, i just keep going in one direction, and turn round if i meet a stoppage! If i really want to be somewhere, i take the train!

Whrn you own your own boat, the idea of counting locks and miles becomes irelevant, its a slow pace of life, in my case.

12 hours ago, Dunworkin said:

That’s what my wife says….im just nervous that this is not the time to be shelling out thousands when God knows what is storming down the track straight towards us…

Having thousands in the bank wont make you happy if you really want to have a boat, be realistic, its not an investmrnt, its almost certainly a depreciating asset, but its not as if you are proposing to conquer K2.

No point in worrying too much about things you have no control over.

I think the economist would discuss 'opportunity cost'   Money in the bank is depreciating faster as inflation rises, you are too late to put it in to gold, Grorge Sorus bought it all up three months ago, so you have to trust in the Superior Being that we will all be fit and well by this time next year.

Edited March 29 by LadyG

[Tonka]

8 hours ago, Dunworkin said:

Just worries me that if the canal bubble really bursts and the network gets really bad, I don’t want to be part of a huge queue of people who can’t sell a narrowboat….i my be missing the point entirely, and my wife has said “it’s now or never” a hundred times. There again I suppose the decline would be gradual and not a cliff edge and we’d have time to react.

Buy a boat or get a different wife

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

10 hours ago, Dunworkin said:

Just worries me that if the canal bubble really bursts and the network gets really bad, I don’t want to be part of a huge queue of people who can’t sell a narrowboat….i my be missing the point entirely, and my wife has said “it’s now or never” a hundred times. There again I suppose the decline would be gradual and not a cliff edge and we’d have time to react.

Will you be living on the boat full time or just using it a few times a year and could I ask you rough budget to spend and the length of boat you’ll be looking at?

Edited March 29 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

[Dunworkin]

No, not full time, we still have our house. It will be extended cruising, and shorter breaks….on a 60 foot appx boat. 

[Col_T]

Buy the boat.

 

The network may well be in a state of managed decline so it gets increasingly difficult to make extended cruises. As that happens, it is likely that those areas which become difficult for cruising will become more used as ‘under the radar’ residential moorings. Boats will be in demand to put in those areas, so there will still be a market for narrowboats. Would you lose money? Absolutely, but it’s highly likely you’ll lose money however we’ll the network is maintained.

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

14 minutes ago, Dunworkin said:

No, not full time, we still have our house. It will be extended cruising, and shorter breaks….on a 60 foot appx boat. 

So your boat will be in a Marina most of the tier £3-£5K mooring?  CaRT Licence  £1500 yearly, plus diesel, gas, maintenance, it all adds up. Add this to your initial purchase price, say £60K?

 Why don’t you just hire once or twice a year? As you don’t sound a 100% committed to owning/living the dream??

 The system is suffering with maintenance issues, there’s a lot of boaters continuous mooring, lots of encamped plastic/wrecks spoiling areas. Service facilities closing down, prices going up. Everyone can see this, unless they don’t want to see it. Everyone is great at spending other peoples money, like people saying “just do it” “you’re not getting any younger go and buy a boat”  I wonder how many people replying on here actually own a boat or do months of cruising the system?

Why not just try hiring this year and get a feel for it, instead of jumping into it straight away? 
 The other thing is why not think about a 45/50ft boat? I see a lot of couples on these boats, only out for a few weeks throughout the year. You don’t need a 60ft to be comfortable on the water, especially if you’re not living on it.

 The future is a little uncertain, especially after last year’s hot weather and water shortages. People can’t deny that, it’s fact. Just take your time, as the last thing I would want is regret after a year and a large financial loss.

[mrsmelly]

A day has nearly gone of your one life since you posted this. How much fun has the money given you sat in the bank since yesterday? When will you be 67? how is your health?

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

24 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

A day has nearly gone of your one life since you posted this. How much fun has the money given you sat in the bank since yesterday? When will you be 67? how is your health?

But his boat wouldn’t have given him much joy also, as it would have been sat in a Marina. Mind you he could always check what his solar and batteries are doing from the the comfort of his living room, using his Victron set up, whilst watching Saturday night TV😂

 There’s other options to enjoying the canal system then buying a new boat, especially if you’re only going to use it for a few weeks of the year and not 100% sure.

 He could buy into a share boat or obviously hire a boat and if the canals close like last year, he could always go and hire a boat abroad. Lots of options to think about, if you don’t need a Narrowboat to live on.

 

Edited March 29 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

[mrsmelly]

11 minutes ago, BoatingLifeUpNorth2 said:

But his boat wouldn’t have given him much joy also, as it would have been sat in a Marina. Mind you he could always check what his solar and batteries are doing from the the comfort of his living room, using his Victron set up, whilst watching Saturday night TV😂

 There’s other options to enjoying the canal system then buying a new boat, especially if you’re only going to use it for a few weeks of the year and not 100% sure.

 He could buy into a share boat or  obviously hire a boat and if the canals close like last year, he could always go and hire a boat abroad. Lots of options to think about, if you don’t need a Narrowboat to live on.

 

Agreed, all true but myself I am a better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all type of bloke so have gone for it most occasions lol. As a for instance it never made sense for a working class bloke to run a Rolls Royce but I fancied one so bought the one used for my wedding and gave it to the wife for a laugh. One life and all that. 

Its a while ago now thats youngest sprog who is now 41

 

Edited March 29 by mrsmelly

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

it never made sense for a working class bloke to run a Rolls Royce but I fancied one so bought the one used for my wedding and gave it to the wife for a laugh.

 

 

Child bride ?

 

 

[Arthur Marshall]

If you're serious about extended cruising, then it's worth it. You need to be able to be flexible as there are a lot of stoppages these days, but as long as you're just cruising they don't matter much. I generally do about three months cruising a year which makes the boat worth the money, in my opinion, though it's been a close balance the last few years.

If the plan is to spend summer on the boat, plus a week or two at other times, and then back in the house over winter, I'd reckon its worth the money. and there will always be people to buy boats when you've had enough. Any loss financially you have to set against the enjoyment you've had. 

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

41 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Agreed, all true but myself I am a better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all type of bloke so have gone for it most occasions lol. As a for instance it never made sense for a working class bloke to run a Rolls Royce but I fancied one so bought the one used for my wedding and gave it to the wife for a laugh. One life and all that. 

Its a while ago now thats youngest sprog who is now 41

 

Winner, winner. Yes, he could buy into a share boat and still have money left over to buy a child bride and a pimp car.😂

33 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

If you're serious about extended cruising, then it's worth it. You need to be able to be flexible as there are a lot of stoppages these days, but as long as you're just cruising they don't matter much. I generally do about three months cruising a year which makes the boat worth the money, in my opinion, though it's been a close balance the last few years.

If the plan is to spend summer on the boat, plus a week or two at other times, and then back in the house over winter, I'd reckon its worth the money. and there will always be people to buy boats when you've had enough. Any loss financially you have to set against the enjoyment you've had. 

How much is your boat worth, a few thousand? Would you go and spend say £60K on a boat now and do the few month?

Edited March 29 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

[Dunworkin]

We had our own 60 foot boat back in 2018, so we know exactly what’s involved. That size is perfect. I couldn’t bear to be the butt of boaters jokes if we hired a boat, and share ownership is too inflexible for us. I guess we’ll end up taking the plunge….

[Mike Coombes]

13 hours ago, Dunworkin said:

We owned a narrowboat from 2018 to 2020, we sold due to family commitments. We’ve been longing to have another boat, and have now seen a 2012 boat that seems (from the videos) to be in excellent nick, and we can afford the purchase price and ongoing costs. It just worries me that we’re almost in the perfect storm of stresses on the canal network and now WW3 seemingly having already broken out. Are we being reckless in even considering this now? We’re 66 and 64 and if we don’t do this now we may have quite literally missed the boat for good. I’d welcome some thoughts and opinions on the state of the network now. Thanks 

 

 

My wife and I have just-albeit reluctantly due to a medical issue-retired from Ocean Cruising. We sold the Motorsailer and have bought a trad Steve Hudson 57. We are 77 and soon to be 79.

 

Get on with it-live is for living.

 

A truism I like, from Billy Connolly IIRC, is that you only regret that which you did not do.

10 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

If you're serious about extended cruising, then it's worth it. You need to be able to be flexible as there are a lot of stoppages these days, but as long as you're just cruising they don't matter much. I generally do about three months cruising a year which makes the boat worth the money, in my opinion, though it's been a close balance the last few years.

If the plan is to spend summer on the boat, plus a week or two at other times, and then back in the house over winter, I'd reckon its worth the money. and there will always be people to buy boats when you've had enough. Any loss financially you have to set against the enjoyment you've had. 

 

And there you have it! Well put Arthur!