Moving a narrowboat

[Lutra_lutra]

So we've made the jump and have put a deposit down on a boat.....problem is it's several hundread miles away from where we live. Current work commitments mean we can't move it ourselves as we only have our weekends free for several months.

 

So the options appear to be have it craned out and moved by road or get someone else to sail it down (lucky gits)

 

Anyone have any advice as to which you'd recommend and who'd you get to do it. We'll be moving it down from Staffs (Staff & Worces) to Devzes (Kennet & Avon).

 

Cheers

Otter

[Grace and Favour]

So we've made the jump and have put a deposit down on a boat.....problem is it's several hundread miles away from where we live. Current work commitments mean we can't move it ourselves as we only have our weekends free for several months.

 

So the options appear to be have it craned out and moved by road or get someone else to sail it down (lucky gits)

 

Anyone have any advice as to which you'd recommend and who'd you get to do it. We'll be moving it down from Staffs (Staff & Worces) to Devzes (Kennet & Avon).

 

Cheers

Otter

There are (at least) a couple of members on this forum that do this . .

 

Contact Matty40's and/or Nigel Carton

[David Mack]

So we've made the jump and have put a deposit down on a boat.....problem is it's several hundread miles away from where we live. Current work commitments mean we can't move it ourselves as we only have our weekends free for several months.

 

So the options appear to be have it craned out and moved by road or get someone else to sail it down (lucky gits)

 

Anyone have any advice as to which you'd recommend and who'd you get to do it. We'll be moving it down from Staffs (Staff & Worces) to Devzes (Kennet & Avon).

 

Cheers

Otter

 

Why would you want to buy a boat and not use it? Its perfectly possible to weekend a boat from the Staffs & Worcs to the K&A.

[sueb]

So we've made the jump and have put a deposit down on a boat.....problem is it's several hundread miles away from where we live. Current work commitments mean we can't move it ourselves as we only have our weekends free for several months.

 

So the options appear to be have it craned out and moved by road or get someone else to sail it down (lucky gits)

 

Anyone have any advice as to which you'd recommend and who'd you get to do it. We'll be moving it down from Staffs (Staff & Worces) to Devzes (Kennet & Avon).

 

Cheers

Otter

Hope you have a mooring waiting.

[the barnacle]

sounds like the ideal chance to get to know the new boat, i think the crane move would be to much hastle.

[Tuscan]

I would contact the two forum members mentioned above, I can't comment on price comparisons with road transport, but the real advantage would be that they would be able to identify any problems for you during the journey plus you could join them at the weekends.

[Guest]

So we've made the jump and have put a deposit down on a boat.....problem is it's several hundread miles away from where we live. Current work commitments mean we can't move it ourselves as we only have our weekends free for several months.

 

So the options appear to be have it craned out and moved by road or get someone else to sail it down (lucky gits)

 

Anyone have any advice as to which you'd recommend and who'd you get to do it. We'll be moving it down from Staffs (Staff & Worces) to Devzes (Kennet & Avon).

 

Cheers

Otter

When we first bought our boat we moved it over three weekends from Weedon in northants to Willington in Derbyshire.

 

Using a combination of car hops, public transport and a little planning it was a breeze.

 

PS - is your boat Lutra Lutra the Stillwater Narrow boats exhibit at Crick a few years ago.

Edited June 24, 2013 by The Dog House

[FidoDido]

Moved mine from the Old West river in Cambs to Shardlow on the T+M.. Took bloomin ages as I did it in winter. Glad I did though.. Learned a lot on the way, and saw stretches I may not see again for a long time. I commuted from wherever the boat was to Nottingham.. Probably cost as much as road transport (due to havi to stay at marinas whilst I waited for stoppages) and extra fuel in commuting, but havi done it, I would do it the same again. Took me 150 miles to figure out how to handle my boat properly and well. It's a steep learning curve.

 

Over the summer would have taken 14 days or so.. 200 miles. On canals, you can moor where you want... Not so on rivers, so you wouldn't need the extra marina charges etc.

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

The trick is called weekending. Park your car where you think you will be on Sunday night. Catch the train or bus or cycle to the boat.. Have a pint then set off to wherever you will leave the boat on Sunday. Worked for us from Ripon to Bishops Stortford.

[keble]

Brought ours down from Cheshire to Saul, T&M then Shroppie, Staffs &Worcs, Severn, finally Glos & Sharpness. We did it in a week in a very cold wet April, but as others have said, it was great fun and a fantastic experience.

[matty40s]

Most of my boat moving tends to be in the winter when daylight hours are short and people worry about ice and closures and cannot get the time off to move.

Brokerages also request moves to shift stock and hire companies ask to get boats off flooded sections that havn't been returned.

This time of year is an ideal time to get to know your own new boat, in stages if that is necessary.

Cruising days are long (light at 4am to 10pm) and there arent many closures/stoppages.

You will learn far more by doing it yourself than you would if someone(like me) does it for you.

[Lutra_lutra]

Cheers for all the comments, I'd really love to move it ourselves, learn a lot and see beautiful parts of the country - that is after all why we are buying her.

 

Problem is currently we are both flat out at work with 60-70 hour weeks, and so only have a spare weekend every 2-3. Which makes mooring in one place and walking away to return again with 14 days a real issue.

 

As for Lutra, she wasn't the one you saw at crick as it not her current name. But once the paper work is done

[blackrose]

I recently moved my widebeam from near Runnymede on the Thames to Bidford near Stratford on Avon. It took me 15 days on my own including crossing the Bristol Channel. I did most of it on weekends, bank holidays and then a final week off. I had thought about road transport but I'm so glad I moved it under it's own steam. I had a great trip, really interesting - met some forum members along the way and had some much appreciated help from a few too.

Problem is currently we are both flat out at work with 60-70 hour weeks, and so only have a spare weekend every 2-3.

 

Sounds like time for a holiday!

Edited June 28, 2013 by blackrose

[JanB]

We have a similar problem. We are 400 miles away from boat we are about to buy and don't have time (re gap in schedule) til September. We plan to pay for moorings where she is now (in a marina); dash down for a short trip to explore that area and then bring her north (not as far as we are ... but closer) in September when we have a full month free. Or maybe in the spring if we like the area and want to do more cruising there (probably wouldn't go back). I wouldn't want someone else to move her - I want to do the trip myself and learn her ways.

[Ratty & Moley]

Otter hi

 

We sat with a similar problem after buying our boat in Derby and needed to get it to Cambridge. We went through all the options and finally decided to move it ourselves every odd weekend. I'm so glad we did, not only has it improved my helmsman's skills but also have got to know the boat and more importantly the engine, not to mention the huge adventure and fun we are having. We are still moving it having started off in April this year.... We did some good deals on temporary moorings in marinas when we felt it wasn't safe to leave on the tow path. You are usually expected to move every 2 weeks but I doubt anybody would bother you much if you left it for another week.

Work around your work commitments, I'm sure there's no rush to get it home is there..... ????

 

You won't regret it :)

[Caprifool]

Life is funny sometimes. You have a boat and no time to use it. I have all the time in the world and no boat.

[Lady Muck]

Too true, I've taken the boat out for one whole day this year.

[Caprifool]

You have my sympathies. oxo