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[GeoffKB]

Hi

I'm at the very early stage of considering making the leap from land to water. Of course I have many questions, but not sure where is the most appropriate place to post them.

1. Do narrowboats hold their price? I've never seen any information on whether they rapidly depreciate, (assuming they're well maintained) or do they appreciate in some circumstances?
2. I realise there are brokers, boat yards and of course individuals selling their own boats. Where is a good place to look for boats for sale, is there one place which covers many sources?  
3. They appear to sell quite quickly, does the time of year make much difference to the availability?
4. I'm intending to hire a boat for a week or two and probably take a 'familiarisation' weekend before I buy one. I'm wondering whether I need to think long and hard about the type of boat to buy. Would it be better to buy something which I think will suit, with the idea of changing it in a year or two when I'm older and wiser?
5. I have watched many dozen YouTube videos which have been enormously helpful. Are there any other invaluable sources of information?

If anyone has any advice before I start it would be much appreciated.

 

Geoff

[Alan de Enfield]

22 minutes ago, GeoffKB said:

Do narrowboats hold their price? I've never seen any information on whether they rapidly depreciate, (assuming they're well maintained) or do they appreciate in some circumstances?

 

Yes, no, sometimes.

It depends on what you start with a 'Lada' will always be a Lada and not well thought of, buy a Rolls Royce and it will hold its price.

Buy 'right' and sell 'right'. I have only lost money on one boat (I have had 18 boats n the last 40 years)

 

22 minutes ago, GeoffKB said:

I realise there are brokers, boat yards and of course individuals selling their own boats. Where is a good place to look for boats for sale, is there one place which covers many sources?

 

ApolloDuck (Boats for sale UK, used boats, new boat sales, free photo ads - Apollo Duck) is a good place to start

 

22 minutes ago, GeoffKB said:

They appear to sell quite quickly, does the time of year make much difference to the availability?

 

Yes 

No

Currently a good quality boat at a fair' price will sell within an hour of two of being advertised (and has been doing so for many months) Some never even get to go on brokers websites, the brokers have a waiting list and just call up to 'you' and say "your ideal boat is on its way in, if you can be here in 30 minutes you get qet the 1st crack at it"

 

22 minutes ago, GeoffKB said:

I'm intending to hire a boat for a week or two and probably take a 'familiarisation' weekend before I buy one. I'm wondering whether I need to think long and hard about the type of boat to buy. Would it be better to buy something which I think will suit, with the idea of changing it in a year or two when I'm older and wiser?

 

Yes hire for a couple of weeks in Winter and see how you cope.

 

22 minutes ago, GeoffKB said:

I have watched many dozen YouTube videos which have been enormously helpful. Are there any other invaluable sources of information?

 

Few you-tubers are actually experienced boaters just part of this modern 'tell everybody what time you had breakfast and how many times you flushed the toilet' social society.

 

 

You'll get some recommendations of who is worth watching soon.

Edited March 20, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, GeoffKB said:

Hi

I'm at the very early stage of considering making the leap from land to water. Of course I have many questions, but not sure where is the most appropriate place to post them.

1. Do narrowboats hold their price? I've never seen any information on whether they rapidly depreciate, (assuming they're well maintained) or do they appreciate in some circumstances?
2. I realise there are brokers, boat yards and of course individuals selling their own boats. Where is a good place to look for boats for sale, is there one place which covers many sources?  
3. They appear to sell quite quickly, does the time of year make much difference to the availability?
4. I'm intending to hire a boat for a week or two and probably take a 'familiarisation' weekend before I buy one. I'm wondering whether I need to think long and hard about the type of boat to buy. Would it be better to buy something which I think will suit, with the idea of changing it in a year or two when I'm older and wiser?
5. I have watched many dozen YouTube videos which have been enormously helpful. Are there any other invaluable sources of information?

If anyone has any advice before I start it would be much appreciated.

 

Geoff

ABNB website have a lot of usefull info on boats.

New boats depreciate fastest.

Very old boats may be very expensive to upgrade.

Boats, generally are a a bit of a liability rather than an asset.

At the moment demand is high.

Edited March 20, 2021 by LadyG

[David Mack]

2 hours ago, GeoffKB said:

I'm wondering whether I need to think long and hard about the type of boat to buy. Would it be better to buy something which I think will suit, with the idea of changing it in a year or two when I'm older and wiser?

What you want in a boat will probably change with experience. So better to buy a second hand boat and see what works for you, with a view to changing/ upgrading in due course. A reasonably well maintained second hand boat will hold its price. A brand new boat will depreciate significantly in its first few years. And if your first boat does turn out to be just what you always wanted, then so much the better!

[GeoffKB]

Thank you David, LadyG and Alan and that's very helpful.

Edited March 21, 2021 by GeoffKB

[Jayj]

Hello all my name is jay j , I’m a Newb!, excited and a bit scared!.... looking to buy a boat , currently living in the desert in Qatar on an oil field , moving back to Uk in September ,narrow or wide beam, even a sail away ?....just looking for honest advice and help

[Laurie Booth]

50 minutes ago, Jayj said:

Hello all my name is jay j , I’m a Newb!, excited and a bit scared!.... looking to buy a boat , currently living in the desert in Qatar on an oil field , moving back to Uk in September ,narrow or wide beam, even a sail away ?....just looking for honest advice and help

https://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/ is a good starting place for boats.

 

[LadyG]

General advice is to buy a good boat, second hand.

If you intend to stay on the Northern canals, a widebeam might be more comfortable.

Narrowboats are more common, and can transit the whole system. 

If singlehanding a 52 - 55 ft boat might be easier to handle than a 57.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

Hi I'm Barry, 

 

Thank you for letting me join your wonderful forum!

 

I love narrowboats which probably started from my childhood home which overlooked the Shropshire Union Canal.  Sadly due to my financial position my boating experience has never been more than a few day drips on them.

 

I have always wondered if money were no object what is the most you could spend on a narrowboat (not widebeam) and is there a builder who is considered the Rolls Royce of narrowboats?  Purely a hypothetical question until I win the lottery but I always like to dream.......

[Alan de Enfield]

31 minutes ago, Barry Chuckle said:

Hi I'm Barry, 

 

Thank you for letting me join your wonderful forum!

 

I love narrowboats which probably started from my childhood home which overlooked the Shropshire Union Canal.  Sadly due to my financial position my boating experience has never been more than a few day drips on them.

 

I have always wondered if money were no object what is the most you could spend on a narrowboat (not widebeam) and is there a builder who is considered the Rolls Royce of narrowboats?  Purely a hypothetical question until I win the lottery but I always like to dream.......

 

There was one a few years ago that was built to the owners design and cost over £250,000, it was for sale about a year later as it turned out to be impractical, and has been for sale on and off ever since - I think last time it was advertised it was something like £80,000

 

Cannot remember what it was called - someone will post the details, and probably a link to some of the threads about it.

[BilgePump]

33 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

There was one a few years ago that was built to the owners design and cost over £250,000, it was for sale about a year later as it turned out to be impractical, and has been for sale on and off ever since - I think last time it was advertised it was something like £80,000

 

Cannot remember what it was called - someone will post the details, and probably a link to some of the threads about it.

Was that Whitefield? all space agey, joystick steering, motorised canopies etc?

[Alan de Enfield]

7 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

Was that Whitefield? all space agey, joystick steering, motorised canopies etc?

 

Thank you - thats the one.

 

(Old age and lockdown having its affect)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[BilgePump]

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Thank you - thats the one.

 

(Old age and lockdown having its affect)

tbh Alan, as soon as I posted I had to check I wasn't imagining it. Not 100% sure on my own memory after groundhog year!

[David Mack]

There was also this one that was for sale at a pretty hefty whack, but got no takers. I think it was repainted in more conventional style eventually.

[Barry Chuckle]

5 minutes ago, David Mack said:

There was also this one that was for sale at a pretty hefty whack, but got no takers. I think it was repainted in more conventional style eventually.

Wow thanks! Some of these boats almost seem like vanity projects more than high end boats, I even thought the last one was in Burberry at first glance, bit bling for my liking!!!!

 

Is there a specific boatmaker who are known for producing ultra high end narrowboats or people just have to retrofit standard boats if they want to go all out?

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Barry Chuckle said:

Is there a specific boatmaker who are known for producing ultra high end narrowboats

 

 

Everyone will have their own definition of 'high end' for some it will be the gold taps in the bathroom, but for people who buy a boat to boat, high end will generally mean quality of the design (yes even skip shaped narrowboats have some design input) and the quality of the build of the hull.

Quality of the internal fittings will be secondary, interiors can be changed but the hull is what you get and are stuck with.

 

Many will suggest their own favourites for a high end design and hull, but there will probably be less than a handfull of names that consistently crop up as being of 'Rolls Royce' quality.

 

Remember that in principle that a steel narrowboat is simply sides and a roof welded onto a flat base plate and differs little from a waste skip - in fact some skip manufacturers also manufacture NBs when times are 'quiet'.

 

As previously said - it is the design, shape and 'curvatures' that make a good NB.

 

 

[Barry Chuckle]

27 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Everyone will have their own definition of 'high end' for some it will be the gold taps in the bathroom, but for people who buy a boat to boat, high end will generally mean quality of the design (yes even skip shaped narrowboats have some design input) and the quality of the build of the hull.

Quality of the internal fittings will be secondary, interiors can be changed but the hull is what you get and are stuck with.

 

Many will suggest their own favourites for a high end design and hull, but there will probably be less than a handfull of names that consistently crop up as being of 'Rolls Royce' quality.

 

Remember that in principle that a steel narrowboat is simply sides and a roof welded onto a flat base plate and differs little from a waste skip - in fact some skip manufacturers also manufacture NBs when times are 'quiet'.

 

As previously said - it is the design, shape and 'curvatures' that make a good NB.

 

Tha

27 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Everyone will have their own definition of 'high end' for some it will be the gold taps in the bathroom, but for people who buy a boat to boat, high end will generally mean quality of the design (yes even skip shaped narrowboats have some design input) and the quality of the build of the hull.

Quality of the internal fittings will be secondary, interiors can be changed but the hull is what you get and are stuck with.

 

Many will suggest their own favourites for a high end design and hull, but there will probably be less than a handfull of names that consistently crop up as being of 'Rolls Royce' quality.

 

Remember that in principle that a steel narrowboat is simply sides and a roof welded onto a flat base plate and differs little from a waste skip - in fact some skip manufacturers also manufacture NBs when times are 'quiet'.

 

As previously said - it is the design, shape and 'curvatures' that make a good NB.

 

 

 

 

[Barry Chuckle]

@Alan de Enfield

 

Thank you for your really detailed response it makes sense now!

 

I suppose there are certain fitters who specialise in fits for high end budgets and others which focus on more run of the mill fits.  

 

Overall, I thought the very expensive boats would be much more, for example you can spend over £1m on a motorhome and even £500k on a 4 berth so a narrowboat is cheap in comparison !!!  Still full time ownership is a pipedream for me, so I'll stick with day hire until my numbers come in......

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

There was also this one that was for sale at a pretty hefty whack, but got no takers. I think it was repainted in more conventional style eventually.

I think this was on show at the IWA National at Red Hill. It looked as if the rudder was held on by a couple of 5mm stainless screws. The paint work is vinyl wrap 

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

I think this was on show at the IWA National at Red Hill. It looked as if the rudder was held on by a couple of 5mm stainless screws. The paint work is vinyl wrap 

Yes, I saw it at Redhill.

 

I thought the leopardskin was paint. I vaguely recall reading something about how it was painted. Still didn't appeal to a buyer though!

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, David Mack said:

I thought the leopardskin was paint. I vaguely recall reading something about how it was painted. Still didn't appeal to a buyer though!

 

 

Where is Bet Lynch when you need her ?

 

[alistair1537]

I find the idea of remote steering very appealing. The best place to sit on the boat is the foredeck as you're drifting along. Imagine having a portable wireless joystick to steer with whilst sitting up front, away from the clamour of the diesel?

[ditchcrawler]

4 minutes ago, alistair1537 said:

I find the idea of remote steering very appealing. The best place to sit on the boat is the foredeck as you're drifting along. Imagine having a portable wireless joystick to steer with whilst sitting up front, away from the clamour of the diesel?

Not as good as you think, the Caribbean cruisers on the Broads are like that

[alistair1537]

17 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Not as good as you think, the Caribbean cruisers on the Broads are like that

I wonder if there's anything you enjoy...

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, alistair1537 said:

I wonder if there's anything you enjoy...

Strange comment