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Sam

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello all.

Brand new to narrowboating (but have a navy background!).

 

At this early stage (after doing my research, hope to buy in the next 8-10 weeks or so), my prime concern is making sure that when I part with my 'green drinking vouchers', that I am comfortable in the knowledge that I haven't bought a Hire Purchase or stolen boat!

Reading up on NB's in general tells me that the fraternity is a long long way from having its "ducks in a row", so to speak. Unlike buying a house or car, there are very few (if any) checks and measures protecting the buyer.

My research to date suggests:

 

Lean more towards purchasing through a broker, rather than private sale?

Buy the boat on credit cards to be able to protect the purchase if things go wrong after the sale?

IF private, ask the seller for his/her passport and or driving license details?

 

Your advise - greatly appreciated.

 

Fly Navy.

 

Edited by Fly Navy
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I suspect most sales, even via a broker, will not be covered by the Credit Card legislation because they are in effect a private sale with the broker acting as the vendor's agent.

 

I also suspect that you will be buying the boat "as seen" unless you have a detailed contract describing the boat's condition. Unless you can prove the boat has been misrepresented or mis-described I doubt you will have any comeback, certainly none without recourse to litigation. This is why it is usually suggested that those new to narrowboats employ their own surveyor. However the report you get will probably be so full of bottom covering clauses you will have little comeback on the surveyor if they miss something important but its the best you can do.

 

Try to see invoices for past services, parts, mooring & licensing before parting with money. That way you get an idea about how well it has been looked after and it the name and addresses on the invoices match the vendor.

 

I would add avoid online sales that do not come from a broker. You may well miss a bargain but it is just a  easy to get "sold" a stolen or non-existent boat. If the price seem too good to be true its probably dodgy.

 

However, remember the vast majority of boat sales go off without problems.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

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15 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

However, remember the vast majority of boat sales go off without problems.

Indeed. Talk to the seller. Do they know the boat well? Do they have fond recollections of cruising the system? Do they have lots of receipts? What can they tell you about the boat’s little quirks or their favourite bits of it? Can they show you their insurance document? Last BSS certificate? 

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I had the same fears when looking for a boat but like what has been mentioned I sensed when I was with a genuine seller who knew a lot of history of the boat, photos and receipts etc 

I looked at about a dozen and only had doubts about one and this was from a gut feeling just from seeing the ad and from a Google search I found the boat was for sale by somebody else aswell but the other people mentioned problems not listed in the advert I was looking at, a further look at the sellers face book page showed him as a dodgy character. Google is a useful tool. 

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Hi everyone, my names Kat and my husband is Pete, I wouldn’t say we’re new to boating... yet, we are at the very early stages of wanting and saving for a boat, came across this forum on google and I must say it is an invaluable source of information on any question that has cropped up, while searching everywhere online at every narrowboat for sale. Pete and I have a very ambitious (perhaps a lottle bit naive if honest) dream, of buying a cheap doer upper, and building fitting it around us, as a live aboard constant cruiser, Pete is very mechanically minded and dreamed of owning his own boat for about 40 odd years+, I’m a crafter who whole heartedly has fallen in love with the idea of creating my own fittings and furnishings as well as help Pete whenever needed. We are never going to be in a situation where we can buy our own house, and live in rented accommodation, it loathes us to pay rent and have likened it many times to throwing money down the drain. So if we’re skint how can we afford it? Over the past 15 years we have accumulated a huge amount of ‘stuff’ motorbikes, excess tools, craft stuff no longer used or needed, which we plan to sell off to raise our boat fund (thus not getting into debt for our dream) as well as downsizing in preparation of moving aboard, once completed (if we manage to get that far which I hope we do) we want to travel around England wales Scotland. Funds may be tight but enthusiasm is endless

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Thanks Alan, the dream is rapidly becoming an obsession, the thought of being free to go where you want when you want, no more horrific neighbours (ongoing dispute over past 3 years in which our cat was shot with bb bullet and had to go to vets, stones being thrown over the back gate at the dog until she was too scared to go in back garden alone, our garage graffitied, every car we’ve owned being scratched and scraped and dented I could go on police have done nothing but give us a crime number each time) plus the cost of living where we are is too much, oh I hope we can get a boat 

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3 hours ago, Kat79 said:

Thanks Alan, the dream is rapidly becoming an obsession, the thought of being free to go where you want when you want, no more horrific neighbours (ongoing dispute over past 3 years in which our cat was shot with bb bullet and had to go to vets, stones being thrown over the back gate at the dog until she was too scared to go in back garden alone, our garage graffitied, every car we’ve owned being scratched and scraped and dented I could go on police have done nothing but give us a crime number each time) plus the cost of living where we are is too much, oh I hope we can get a boat 

As Alan, said,stick with it.

 

When we bought our boat,20 years ago next week,gawd time flies, we only had a budget of 15K. It was a 70 ft boat, we pretty much stripped the whole thing out, took out all the windows and resealed, new stove,repainted  etc etc. In hindsight, we would have been better off buying a sailaway, but , hey, we were young a stoopid. Now we are just stoopid.

 

Get a good hull, and anything is possible with some hard work.

 

ETA.It was probably easier 20 years ago (but wasn't everything)

Edited by rusty69
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Hi all,

Just an introduction I'm Alan,seriously thinking of looking to buy a NB to live on the Lancaster canal(selling house process at the mo) I posted on a separate thread(missed this one I must be blind ):)

The idea of finishing work early on Friday and being free to leave the marina and go cruising at weekends(eating out at the pubs etc) along the way is drawing me in.

 

I've done the research,pros and cons....few friends trying to advise me against for various reasons. For example it's a depreciating asset...money pit etc etc.

 

I've taken that all aboard(excuse the pun) but the way of life still appeals to me...anyway I'll be back here with an update at some point,nice to meet you all :)

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 01/02/2019 at 13:35, Tony Brooks said:

I suspect most sales, even via a broker, will not be covered by the Credit Card legislation because they are in effect a private sale with the broker acting as the vendor's agent.

 

I also suspect that you will be buying the boat "as seen" unless you have a detailed contract describing the boat's condition. Unless you can prove the boat has been misrepresented or mis-described I doubt you will have any comeback, certainly none without recourse to litigation. This is why it is usually suggested that those new to narrowboats employ their own surveyor. However the report you get will probably be so full of bottom covering clauses you will have little comeback on the surveyor if they miss something important but its the best you can do.

 

Try to see invoices for past services, parts, mooring & licensing before parting with money. That way you get an idea about how well it has been looked after and it the name and addresses on the invoices match the vendor.

 

I would add avoid online sales that do not come from a broker. You may well miss a bargain but it is just a  easy to get "sold" a stolen or non-existent boat. If the price seem too good to be true its probably dodgy.

 

However, remember the vast majority of boat sales go off without problems.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

Went to Sawley Marina this week to view a 1999 35' Fibreline Narrowboat they have for sale. Sometimes a surveyor is not needed no matter what the salesman tell you. The boat had split in half and had the worst repair in boating history ever! The salesman was insisting this is how the boat was made and the top part was made in two sections? They wasn't, but please make your own judgement. Yes, the repair goes from one side all the way around to the other side down to the hull. The boat needs gutting inside, nothing worked, it stunk, the floor is like a roller coaster and I think whoever owned it probably died from smoking way too much. And yes, they did try and hide the repair with mats and a broken solar panel. So, do you think the salesman was trying to pull the wool over my eyes or was he blind? My advice after looking at all the "tired" and "dirty" boats is to avoid Sawley Marina. I would always recommend buying private, you can still have a survey done which will be less biased as they won't be any backhanders going on and a private seller will most likely be proud of what he is selling, not embarrassed and passes it onto the broker who waves all responsibility the day you money is in their bank. Thoughts on the Fiberline, repair or factory designed? LOL1456944367_FiberlineSawleyMarina.jpg.92b5fae8f388905b060a2706314e6e9b.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone, 

 

I'm Laura, currently cruising on the GUC, initially as a trial to see if I could hack it. I'm still very much a newbie with lots to learn but I'm absolutely loving it. This winter was very kind to me but I'll be totally ready for the next. I've caught the bug and I've just had an offer accepted (subject to a pre-purchase survey) for a 58ft narrow boat so I want to immerse myself in (hopefully not canal water) the ins and out of boat maintenance and life. 

 

Maybe one day I'll even even be able to pay forward some of the fantastic advice I've already had through searches on this site!

 

Laura ;0)

 

 

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1 hour ago, Laura Elisabeth said:

Hi Cuthound, thank you, very glad to be part of this wonderful community!

 

No one warned me boating would be addictive, I've certainly caught the sickness. 

 

Laura 

 

Yes it is addictive. My first canal trip was in 1973.

 

I describe myself as a canalcoholic ?

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  • 2 weeks later...
5 hours ago, Paulaandheath said:

Hi we are Paula and Heath and very tempted do take the plunge and buy. We fancy a wide beam (baby) so interested to see what we can find out about all aspects before we take the plunge (and if we do)

Where do you intend to put it?

 

Before you even look at any boat you need to find somewhere to moor it, especially a wide boat, it ain't easy kids!

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5 hours ago, Boater Sam said:

Where do you intend to put it?

 

Before you even look at any boat you need to find somewhere to moor it, especially a wide boat, it ain't easy kids!

I would agree with Sam and additionally, consider carefully where you would like to cruise. Wide beam boats are more restricted in their cruising area than narrow boats. Have a look at one of the many waterways maps which will show where the broad canals are and which will then allow you to narrow down where you might look for a mooring. The CRT web site is also a good place to look.

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/search?q=guides

 

You may also find the boaters handbook useful if you are new to the waterways which you can also find on the CRT web site.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/search?q=boaters+handbook

 

 

Howard

 

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34 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

You are making an assumption there.

No, I am not assuming anything.  I'm just trying to help someone who asked a question by giving my opinion. If you think I am giving bad advice then why not post your views rather than making cryptic comments which don't add to the discussion?

 

Howard

 

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10 minutes ago, howardang said:

No, I am not assuming anything.  I'm just trying to help someone who asked a question by giving my opinion. If you think I am giving bad advice then why not post your views rather than making cryptic comments which don't add to the discussion?

 

Howard

 

 

I read Alan's contribution as alluding to the distinct possibility the boat was intended as a static home rather than a cruising boat. Unfortunately that is likely to have gone completely over the heads of the questioner but the question about serious cruising or not is very relevant to the answers given.

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