Boat Yards and Brokerage

[Chagall]

I need to see some more boats, just to add to my confusion......Im spinning between semi and trad stern and although pictures help I reckon I should visit more boats. Can anybody suggest the largest or best boat sales marina to visit that might have the most number of boats to view, within say two and half hours radius from the North West?

[Richard T]

Harral are probably the largest broker in the area. Venetian Marine seem to be expanding as well.

[Athy]

Whilton Marina probably have more boats for sale than anyone else. They are near the A5.

[Captain Cartoon]

Whilton Marina probably have more boats for sale than anyone else. They are near the A5.

 

 

We went there a few weeks back and they had more boats than we could look at resonably, and all price levels and states of repair - this is the ONLY place we've looked at so I'm not saying it is the best per se, just that there is certainly enough to keep you occupied!

Edited September 15, 2009 by Captain Cartoon

[alan_fincher]

I've never been to Harrall, but get the impression that Whilton probably have more boats at a single location than any other.

 

So if you just want to look at lots to get ideas, they are a very good place to start.

 

I feel confident though that I can say for the total experience through to actually buying, you are unlikely to find "biggest is best".

 

I certainly would not sell via Whilton, and (from what I hear generally), probably none of the "volume" ones.

 

If you want a (very) cheap boat, Whilton seem casual enough about handing keys to all and sundry with no controls, that I'm sure you could get some copied, then come back and remove a boat when they were not open. I'm not actually joking, by the way.

[Chagall]

Thanks, Whilton it is.... and to view rather than steal! I actually posted this question quite a few days ago but I put it in the Wanted section and I see that the mods take a while to list into the forum from there..... No problem, Ive pretty much decided on a modern trad now but I would like to see more boats to be sure.

[AlanJ]

We were at Swanley at the weekend and while they have a few boats, they didn't have many.

They said that they'd been having a good turn over of boats with several coming on the market in the last week or so

[Chagall]

Thanks, Whilton it is.... and to view rather than steal! I actually posted this question quite a few days ago but I put it in the Wanted section and I see that the mods take a while to list into the forum from there..... No problem, Ive pretty much decided on a modern trad now but I would like to see more boats to be sure.

 

 

Oh and I just noticed that the mods moved it from 'Wanted' to 'General Boating' .....Thanks. I hadn't been sure quite where to put it!

[Chertsey]

Yes, Whilton are great for research because you can have a good, unfettered look at the boats, and there's a wide variety to look at.

[Cosmic]

I went to Whilton a couple of weeks back, and it was certainly an education, not least because I got to see the difference between the adverts and the reality (the bottle of fairy liquid in the photo that cunningly hides the ugly damp patch etc.)

[Chagall]

Thanks, Whilton it is.... and to view rather than steal! I actually posted this question quite a few days ago but I put it in the Wanted section and I see that the mods take a while to list into the forum from there..... No problem, Ive pretty much decided on a modern trad now but I would like to see more boats to be sure.

 

 

oof, changed my mind, Whilton is three hours drive from me!

[Athy]

Whereabouts are you? Longport Brokerage at Stoke-on-Trent have got quite a number for sale, and most of them are out of the water on hard standing so that you can see what lies beneath. We were there last weekend, they have maybe 20 boats on brokerage.

[Chagall]

Whereabouts are you? Longport Brokerage at Stoke-on-Trent have got quite a number for sale, and most of them are out of the water on hard standing so that you can see what lies beneath. We were there last weekend, they have maybe 20 boats on brokerage.

 

Lancaster, I dont mind a two hour drive but three is a tad far....Thanks for the info.

[Dekazer]

If you fancy a bit of a weekend trip away, www.whiltonmarina.co.uk and the surrounding area are good for boat browsing - there are quite a few brokerages locally, including http://www.newandusedboat.co.uk/index.html up the road, and http://www.braunstonmarina.co.uk/ nearby. We often made a weekend of it and camped overnight at a nearby campsite, although we were only an hour and a half's drive away. Took us a week to get the boat home mind...