Chicken or Egg situation

[Gingers Girl]

Hi readers

 

We are in a bit of a quandary. The OM and I have decided to bite the bullet and buy a narrowboat. That is when we find one to match our needs and falls into our price bracket. I thought that might be the easy part...looking for a boat...but it isn't. And another thing.... neither OM nor I seem to be clear about whether we find a mooring first or purchase a boat and then look for a mooring. I know that some brokerages / sellers offer moorings (good will gesture, or otherwise) until you find a mooring...but what happens if you buy a boat and don't have a mooring. Neither of us are retired so can't spend our days moving around till we find one.

 

Any suggestions, gratefully received.

 

Only helpful ones please...remember...we are new to buying a boat.

 

Thank you.

[sam pig]

Put your name down at Marinas you like the look of whilst looking at boats..

 

What area? Uplands at Anderton has vacancies at a reasonable price

 

Down that London way is completely different to the North west. In London, they charge you to breathe

Edited April 26, 2011 by sam pig

[Guest]

A good marina will take a deposit on a mooring and not quibble if your purchase goes belly up - ours were ok with this arrangement.

[alan_fincher]

It probably really would help is you gave a clue as to where you would ideally locate the boat, as the situation varies enormously around the country.

 

And will you be living on it, full time ?

 

Welcome, by the way........

[Boatingbiker]

Hi,

 

Well we just brought our first narrowboat (picked it up on Good Friday) and brought the boat first and then found a mooring afterwards, all within a week! I think a lot will depend upon the area we wish to be based. We were looking in the Rugby area and had no problems finding a mooring. We have just left a shared boat that was moored in the Nanwich area and again two 'new' marinas in the area were far from half full but not neccerssary the cheapest moorings, but gives you time if you wish to look around.

 

Boatingbiker

[Midnight Rider]

5 years ago, I think the advice would have been 'get a mooring first'

 

Now, there vacancies at most marinas, so I would say 'sort your boat out first'.

 

However, as others have said, it depends on the area that you want.

[Laurie Booth]

Avoid the Kennet & Avon

[dor]

Again it depends on where you are looking, but most marinas will offer temporary moorings. Whilst the marina at Church Minshull is just about full, there is usually one or two spare berths for short term use, or the boat can be put on hardstanding.

[WJM]

Find the boat first, not the mooring. Anything else is just tail wagging the dog! There is nothing quite like owning a homeless boat to focus the mind on finding a place for it. And there seems to be an oversupply of moorings right now.

[Chalky]

I had this problem a few years ago when we bought the boat. I rang round all of the marinas and on-line moorings in the area and most were very helpful. Quite a few could offer me a temporary mooring for a couple of weeks or even months until we'd found some where permanent.

[ymu]

As long as you can get away every other weekend, you can CC your boat without living on it. Chances are you'll buy it from somewhere a fair way away from where you want it to be eventually anyway, so you can just move it slowly to where you want it, instead of taking a few days off for one big trip.

 

You might not be able to find the best value moorings for your circumstances at short notice, but if you can afford to pay more in the short-term, you shouldn't have trouble finding a suitable place once you get her home.

[Gingers Girl]

Evening again all.

 

Well what a nice helpful lot you are. Thanks to each and everyone of you for your advice.

 

Regarding our location, we live in West Yorkshire and intend to moor somewhere within an hours drive or so from home. So anywhere really for mooring in the north of England (east or west)...for starters anyway.

 

We have started compiling a list of marinas and mooring fees and intend to make enquiries....all we need now is the

 

Once again...thank you kind people

 

Ginger's girl...and Ginger!!

[mrsmelly]

Hi readers

 

We are in a bit of a quandary. The OM and I have decided to bite the bullet and buy a narrowboat. That is when we find one to match our needs and falls into our price bracket. I thought that might be the easy part...looking for a boat...but it isn't. And another thing.... neither OM nor I seem to be clear about whether we find a mooring first or purchase a boat and then look for a mooring. I know that some brokerages / sellers offer moorings (good will gesture, or otherwise) until you find a mooring...but what happens if you buy a boat and don't have a mooring. Neither of us are retired so can't spend our days moving around till we find one.

 

Any suggestions, gratefully received.

 

Only helpful ones please...remember...we are new to buying a boat.

 

Thank you.

 

In 22 years we have never had any problem getting a mooring and we have moved all over the place, things today are even easier than a few years ago as many many more marinas now exist and many of them have spaces available.