Are Old Boats A Bad Investment?

[FORTUNATA]

There's now another boat I'm considering as a possibility. It has a Lister engine so that's a much better set up than Ducati. It's just over 30 feet with a very tall hull. The price has now been reduced to just under 20 K. It was about 23 K. but nobody is biting. This boat is actually as old as 1975 so that's pretty old. However, the plus is it was apparently rebottomed three years ago. Therefore much depends on how good a quality plating job was carried out. My plan would be to ask my surveyor to just manually look it over before advsing me whether it was worth doing a survey.

I've been inside and it's really been quite updated. There is A.C. electric sockets to plug into a marina as well as a nice bathroom, radiators, shower and kitchen. The main problem is this must be the oldest boat they have and I've noticed nobody has shown any interest - hence the price reduction.

I suppose when you view an old boat you have to weigh up how much life it may have left and how much maintenance you may need to carry out to keep it happily afloat. Would I be mad to consider such an old craft?

[carlt]

There's now another boat I'm considering as a possibility. It has a Lister engine so that's a much better set up than Ducati. It's just over 30 feet with a very tall hull. The price has now been reduced to just under 20 K. It was about 23 K. but nobody is biting. This boat is actually as old as 1975 so that's pretty old. However, the plus is it was apparently rebottomed three years ago. Therefore much depends on how good a quality plating job was carried out. My plan would be to ask my surveyor to just manually look it over before advsing me whether it was worth doing a survey.

I've been inside and it's really been quite updated. There is A.C. electric sockets to plug into a marina as well as a nice bathroom, radiators, shower and kitchen. The main problem is this must be the oldest boat they have and I've noticed nobody has shown any interest - hence the price reduction.

I suppose when you view an old boat you have to weigh up how much life it may have left and how much maintenance you may need to carry out to keep it happily afloat. Would I be mad to consider such an old craft?

 

It depends on the condition of the boat, the original builder and the amount of metal left on the hull.

 

A 30 year old, 30 foot boat would have to be pretty mint, to be worth £20k.

 

If it's a springer I wouldn't pay £10k for it.

 

Can you post pictures, or give us the broker link?

 

Edited to add a "k"

Edited September 29, 2008 by carlt

[FORTUNATA]

It's a Calcutt steel boat. It's very nice inside and the hull was rebottomed recently but where and how is unknown. One reason it may not have sold as quickly as the others is it's due for a BSS in just a year. I did notice the hull was taller than other boats. If the rebottoming job was done professionally and with the Lister engine it could be a possibility. Again, though, you need a surveyor.

 

It depends on the condition of the boat, the original builder and the amount of metal left on the hull.

 

A 30 year old, 30 foot boat would have to be pretty mint, to be worth £20k.

 

If it's a springer I wouldn't pay £10k for it.

 

Can you post pictures, or give us the broker link?

 

Edited to add a "k"

[tugstyle]

It's a Calcutt steel boat. It's very nice inside and the hull was rebottomed recently but where and how is unknown. One reason it may not have sold as quickly as the others is it's due for a BSS in just a year. I did notice the hull was taller than other boats. If the rebottoming job was done professionally and with the Lister engine it could be a possibility. Again, though, you need a surveyor.

 

Hi FORTUNATA,

 

Have you had a look at what's on at Braunston Marina?

 

Rascal £16,950

All Steel Trad Style Narrowboat 1992

Length: 30.00 ft. Berths: 2 . Production date: 1992 .

 

Rosemary £22,950

All Steel Trad-Style Narrowboat, 1985 Hull by R&D Fabrications Unknown Fit-Out

Length: 32.00 ft. Berths: 3 . Production date: 1985 .

 

Stella Maris £22,950

All-Steel Cruiser-Style Narrowboat. Hull by Liverpool Boats. Partially refitted by Owner 2006.

Length: 40.00 ft. Berths: 2 . Production date: 1990 .

 

Twyford £19,950

All- Steel Cruiser Style Narrowboat 1987

Length: 37.00 ft. Berths: 3 . Production date: 1987 .

 

Meno Mosso £22,950

All-Steel Cruiser-Style Narrowboat Hull by Dave Clarke Fit-Out by Dale Leisure

Length: 35.00 ft. Berths: 2 . Production date: 1998 .

 

I have picked out the newer ones at around the 20K mark.

[FORTUNATA]

Funnily enough, I just bought today a copy of a regular canal and narrowboat magazine and took a look at some of the boats for sale. Most of the boats for sale fell into the 30,000 - 65,000 thousand bracket which made me feel a bit poor. For me, 20,000 K would be quite a large sum.

I'll take a look at the website you forwarded, thanks. In fact, I did check out other sites people recommended and seem to be learning more as I go along.

But to answer the question, do you think I'd be wasting my time considering a 1975 steel boat? The thing is, there are a few boats I can look at right here in my area although maybe there is far more variety outside of this region.

In this case, I'd have to weigh up a hull that's been fairly recently replated against the age of other appliances such as gas and mechanical. One main reason I think they haven't had any buyers yet is the dreaded B.S.S. that would be coming up.

By the way this boat is 30 feet but it does have A.C. electrics as well as D.C. if you plug in at a marina. I'll bet they werte building that one when Macca and Wings had just released Let Em In, More than likely I was still at school!!

 

 

 

Hi FORTUNATA,

 

Have you had a look at what's on at Braunston Marina?

 

Rascal £16,950

All Steel Trad Style Narrowboat 1992

Length: 30.00 ft. Berths: 2 . Production date: 1992 .

 

Rosemary £22,950

All Steel Trad-Style Narrowboat, 1985 Hull by R&D Fabrications Unknown Fit-Out

Length: 32.00 ft. Berths: 3 . Production date: 1985 .

 

Stella Maris £22,950

All-Steel Cruiser-Style Narrowboat. Hull by Liverpool Boats. Partially refitted by Owner 2006.

Length: 40.00 ft. Berths: 2 . Production date: 1990 .

 

Twyford £19,950

All- Steel Cruiser Style Narrowboat 1987

Length: 37.00 ft. Berths: 3 . Production date: 1987 .

 

Meno Mosso £22,950

All-Steel Cruiser-Style Narrowboat Hull by Dave Clarke Fit-Out by Dale Leisure

Length: 35.00 ft. Berths: 2 . Production date: 1998 .

 

I have picked out the newer ones at around the 20K mark.

[bargeeboy]

I've got 4 options in that price range . Some with recent survey oh and a Barry Jenkins 1988 for 22k with recent survey and BSC

[FORTUNATA]

What's the norm when you buy from out of your provincial area? Do people cruise the boat back to its final destination?

By the way, I figure I could knock this boat down to maybe 17,000 K. That would be a 31 foot semi-tradit with a Lister engine and I know Listers are pretty good as engines go. Still. I already have one boat already and can afford to think things over.

I'll add to this that I currently have the most lousy cold and it's been a pain all week. Anyone else who's laid up has my sympathy. Of course, I went to work regardless.

 

 

I've got 4 options in that price range . Some with recent survey oh and a Barry Jenkins 1988 for 22k with recent survey and BSC

[bottle]

Do people cruise the boat back to its final destination?

 

Yes it is the best way to get to know the boat and have a holiday

 

Or pay for a crane (twice) and a lorry.

[stort_mark]

There's now another boat I'm considering as a possibility. ...... Would I be mad to consider such an old craft?

As several people have said here, there is a lot around right now for around 20k. I disagree when you say that most of what is in this month's magazines is in the 35-60k range. There's a LOT around the 20-30k range and even then there are a lot of boats that have been on sale all summer (if brokers won't tell you which ones aren't selling and it's not obvious from the magazines, use the Internet's Wayback Archives!) so will probably go with a further discount.

 

...and, right now, there's a genuine Dunkirk Little Ship for sale for 6 grand with a little bit of work needed. Complete, I think, with rake of machine-gun holes. OK so it's no good for the waterways, but it looks great! No-one else in the world builds boats as good as we do in Britain. Ah if only British canals had been built to the continental loading gauge!

[saltysplash]

Are Old Boats A Bad Investment?

 

 

My first Nb was a 1975 ex hire boat which I bought for 10 grand in the early 90's. Its tired Lister SR3 smoked a bit but ran and ran with almost no maintainence and inspite of its wet through bilge the hull was still sound.

 

We sold it 3 years later for 10 grand.

 

We didnt buy it as an investment, we bought it to cruise on.

[Proper Job]

Do people cruise the boat back to its final destination?

I would advise that you look at boats all over the country.

 

Distance shouldn't be an object for the right boat.

 

I recently bought mine up in Nottingham. I then got it back to Oxford - 130 odd miles, 70 odd locks, 4 1/2 days. A good shakedown cruise to get to know the boat!

[LEO]

Hi,

 

£20K for a 1975 30ft boat in today's market and economic situation is a 'lorra, lorra boodle'. There are loads of boats for sale, hunt round and remember at the moment 'Cash is King' and only a fool would not carefully consider a very realistic offer on a boat they were selling, assuming the purchser could complete quickly.

 

Perhaps vendors minds would be sharpened if brokers charged mooring fees whilst boats are up 'for sale'.

 

Albi

[Scotty]

Hi FORTUNATA,

 

Have you had a look at what's on at Braunston Marina?

 

Meno Mosso £22,950

All-Steel Cruiser-Style Narrowboat Hull by Dave Clarke Fit-Out by Dale Leisure

Length: 35.00 ft. Berths: 2 . Production date: 1998 .

That one's a bargain

[alan_fincher]

That one's a bargain

Yes it does seem very good.

 

Strange though that builder is "believed to be" Dave Clark. Quite how you possibly lose track of who built a boat only 10 years ago, I'm not sure ?

[Machpoint005]

I would advise that you look at boats all over the country.

 

Distance shouldn't be an object for the right boat.

 

I recently bought mine up in Nottingham. I then got it back to Oxford - 130 odd miles, 70 odd locks, 4 1/2 days. A good shakedown cruise to get to know the boat!

 

Couldn't agree more. We bought through VC Marine and cruised back to Cheshire - four long weekends in spring, 200+miles and 200+locks. You can always book a temporary (secure) mooring in advance and shuttle by train and car for the staging points. Having said that, we were able to get the boat into marinas with a few hours' notice, as there's always someone who doesn't need their mooring for a week or two!

 

...but I wouldn't regard a boat as an investment, regardless of age or condition. If you choose the right one it will depreciate only very slowly, though (in the long term).

[FORTUNATA]

I went to take a look at it again today and have made an offer. This doesn't seem at all like such a bad deal.

First of all the hull has been rebottomed not too long ago and a new fuel tank installed. The vendor has also seemed to have gone to a lot of trouble to modernise the boat. It has central heating, a nice tiled bathroom, plug in mains electrics for use on mariners and modern fittings. I mean, it has been totally fitted out so even if I bought a cheap old boat that had been replated the costs of fittings would be significant, unless the owner is a good DIY man.

The engine is also a big plus. You can't beat an old Lister engine - far better than a more scarce Ducati.

I did make a lesser offer and will be having a survey of the hull done again.

Maybe you could get a Colecraft these days for a lesser figure but the truth is I need to sort myself out a boat fairly soon and see something hands on.

They did have a 40 foot Colecraft for only a little more money but I think a 30 footer will be cheaper for me to moor up.

The only fear I tend to have over any old boat is mainly the hull but hopefully the surveyor can take a look.

 

 

 

 

Hi,

 

£20K for a 1975 30ft boat in today's market and economic situation is a 'lorra, lorra boodle'. There are loads of boats for sale, hunt round and remember at the moment 'Cash is King' and only a fool would not carefully consider a very realistic offer on a boat they were selling, assuming the purchser could complete quickly.

 

Perhaps vendors minds would be sharpened if brokers charged mooring fees whilst boats are up 'for sale'.

 

Albi

[FORTUNATA]

I think I've now come to the point where I'm ready to become a more serious boatowner and get myself a proper narrowboat. Having read other experiences people have had, I'm aware there's always an element of risk buying old crafts. Then there's the upkeep, regular blacking, the BSS, insurance and mooring. But I already have a fibreglass cruiser so this helps.

There are many approaches to get to the point of ownership. I've known some people buy a shell and then start fitting everything out but my own knowledge of DIY isn't too hot. The only thing I can do well is paint and I have some basic electrical knowledge. Then, with budget considerations, I figured second hand sales are a way to get going.

I also like history in a boat.

 

Couldn't agree more. We bought through VC Marine and cruised back to Cheshire - four long weekends in spring, 200+miles and 200+locks. You can always book a temporary (secure) mooring in advance and shuttle by train and car for the staging points. Having said that, we were able to get the boat into marinas with a few hours' notice, as there's always someone who doesn't need their mooring for a week or two!

 

...but I wouldn't regard a boat as an investment, regardless of age or condition. If you choose the right one it will depreciate only very slowly, though (in the long term).