cheap options for boat storage

[mucky]

Just wondering what the cheapest way of laying a boat up would be. We are looking for various reasons to be in another part of the country for a couple of years before returning to live onboard again. Currently on Trent and Mersey near Burton. Guess we are looking at real cheap moorings or even a farmers field?

Anyone got experience of this or even good ideas?

Cheers

[Ally]

You could ask about hardstanding her at Redhill...don't know the costs, but I imagine it's not too dear. Hello again by the way!

[Grace and Favour]

Just wondering what the cheapest way of laying a boat up would be. We are looking for various reasons to be in another part of the country for a couple of years before returning to live onboard again. Currently on Trent and Mersey near Burton. Guess we are looking at real cheap moorings or even a farmers field?

Anyone got experience of this or even good ideas?

Cheers

 

Ditto Ally's suggestion - Redhill- they've got their own slipway and equipment too, of course.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Grace & Favour

[mucky]

Ello ally :-) hope ya well. Rang redhill and its 250for lift out and about 2000for the year, the lift out price also pays for your lift back in but was hoping for somewhere cheaper as will be running a house (I know dont shoot me ) for a year or so as well as doing the dragon up a bit

[Arthur Brown]

Try to balance cost convenience and security. Where will you be while your boat is stored? -A long run will cost you a lot of money to go visit the boat, Moat fields will be far from the waterway needing a lorry as well as a crane. Can you get the boat near to your house?

[mucky]

Not really, there ain't many canals near Torquay :-(

[carlt]

Not really, there ain't many canals near Torquay :-(

I bet the hard standing down there is a lot cheaper than near a canal, though.

[Ex- Member]

Ello ally :-) hope ya well. Rang redhill and its 250for lift out and about 2000for the year, the lift out price also pays for your lift back in but was hoping for somewhere cheaper as will be running a house (I know dont shoot me ) for a year or so as well as doing the dragon up a bit

 

We're on farmers land converted to trading estate, not in your area though but we pay £95.00 per month, or £1140 pa with metered leccy for a hard standing with good room all around the boat. We are a couple of miles from the canal though so had to pay transport as well as craneage.

 

We've been on this land a long time but fortunately security has not been an issue as lots of other boats are there also and there's business units adjacent to the compound so always a lot of regular people around including other boat owners themselves.

 

TBH 2 k a year isn't bad considering you'll have many amenities available and cheap costs for craneage. I cant compare our craneage costs as they are expensive as were wide beam @ 35T and require a 100T crane and extending HGV trailer. So it'll cost us around 2k to move the boat back on the canal alone.

 

 

 

[mucky]

True Carl tho dont know many farmers down there yet, who knows.

Julynian yours is the kind of thing I'm looking for, true the crane might cost a bit but the artic with extending trailer I could borrow from work and drive it myself at a reduced cost.

The costs at redhill are not bad if living on it at the same time but it seems a fair bit to be paying for just some weekends when we visit and work on it.

[Arthur Brown]

What is going to kill of your interest in the boat is the cost of the drive from Torquay to somewhere in the Midlands like Redhill.

Getting the boat out, and onto your lorry and down to Devon somewhere means that you will at least do the work on the boat that you intend. If you moor/store at Redhill then you will not want to do the trip from Torquay every week or month and if you do the fuel cost each way will be horrendous.

 

If you feel the need to do a long journey each weekend then consider whether it would be better to sell now, save the petrol costs, and buy something newer when you are ready.

[Athy]

You're a mind-reader Arthur, I was about to suggest a very similar course of action. Sell boat, invest proceeds for 2 years,buy another boat. That way you have no outgoings and you'll be earning interest too.

[carlt]

Julynian yours is the kind of thing I'm looking for, true the crane might cost a bit but the artic with extending trailer I could borrow from work and drive it myself at a reduced cost.

Sounds Ideal.

 

Now if you can persuade your boss to get a tractor unit with a big Hiab behind the cab...

[Ex- Member]

True Carl tho dont know many farmers down there yet, who knows.

Julynian yours is the kind of thing I'm looking for, true the crane might cost a bit but the artic with extending trailer I could borrow from work and drive it myself at a reduced cost.

The costs at redhill are not bad if living on it at the same time but it seems a fair bit to be paying for just some weekends when we visit and work on it.

 

I think what we're paying is about as cheap as you'll find, unless you know a friendly farmer or someone willing to take the boat cheap or even free, for us travelling also has to be taken into account also as were in Dorset and the boat in Wiltshire, so each visit costs around £15 in diesel. ETA actually now it's £25 in diesel

 

Many farmers are diversifying and moving to commercial units to make money. Might be worth ringing a few in the area you require. They also often advertise to store caravans, so look out for adds as such as they'll probably store boats as well.

 

We're were due on the water at the end of this month, unfortunately another family tragedy has occurred so we'll again be delayed.

 

It's getting to the point where We might even leave the bricks and mortar and live on the boat on the hard standing for a couple of months before going on the water saving us £900 + a month in rent & rates just 2 months would pay for the craneage.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Julynian

[carlt]

What is going to kill of your interest in the boat is the cost of the drive from Torquay to somewhere in the Midlands like Redhill.

This is exactly why I'm looking to move my boat from the Broads to the Midlands, until it's ready to go back in the water.

 

I lost 5 weeks over the last 12 months through bad weather, that should have been spent working on the boat.

[Notlostyet]

Sounds Ideal.

 

Now if you can persuade your boss to get a tractor unit with a big Hiab behind the cab...

It will have to be a rather large Hiab lol

[carlt]

It will have to be a rather large Hiab lol

What like this lol ?

 

[Tony Brooks]

Not really, there ain't many canals near Torquay :-(

 

 

I think I read about a narrowboat that was fitted out whilst afloat up-river from Plymouth and the farmer dug a drying "canal" for it to moor in. It has now been taken to Plymouth and been craned onto a lorry for transport to the real canals. It would be best to black before and change the anodes to zinc but it must be worth a bit of research. I think it was in WWW or Canal Boat perhaps a couple of years ago.

[Ally]

how about approaching some more southern boatbuilders? They may have some space in their yards?

[mucky]

Worth a look at, cheers

[plhoug]

There is hard standing at the golden nook farm, Huxley, Chester. Don't think there are any moorings available but the farmer will always put a boat on the land. Approx £1.55 per ft per month inc vat (my bill this year £840 for my 45 footer). There is electric via card meter which everyone shares, farmer hires a crane first weekend in November and first weekend in April, approx £100 per lift. Pump out diesel, gas and chandlery all available.

Hope this is of help to you

[Arthur Brown]

If you want to work on theboat then you need it within 10 miles of home otherwise the journey becomes a drag and a cost and the work doesn't go as planned.

 

If you want to come back to the boat then hire it out for the period

 

If you want to come back to a boat after two years then sell it and buy another.

 

Storage is a lost cost if you can't either work on or sail on the boat.