Cost of hull blacking

[Capt.Golightly]

I am in the process of choosing a boat to live aboard, is bigger always better? What would be a ball park figure for lifting and blacking a 60ft as opposed to a 30ft Narrowboat for example, and are there other costs aside from the license and insurance which increase with hull size? Any help and advice welcome.

Edited July 11, 2013 by Capt.Golightly

[Martin Megson]

Most boat yards charge by length so expect a 60ft to cost twice that of a 30ft. Prices will vary from place to place but I would expect to pay around £800 for a 60ft boat.

[tree]

I am in the process of choosing a boat to live aboard, is bigger always better? What would be a ball park figure for lifting and blacking a 60ft as opposed to a 30ft Narrowboat for example, and are there other costs aside from the license and insurance which increase with hull size? Any help and advice welcome.

welcome to the forum Captain, I think and i may well be corrected ..but if you do the hull blacking yourself..well usually you just hire the dry/wet dock , where i blacked my boat ..the cost was just for the hire of the dock, regardless of the size of the boat. I am sure that other members will come along and give you more advice on that

 

Size of boat hmm.. that all depends on your personal preference.. i for example wanted a smaller boat, so that it would be easier for me to handle on my travels.. plus i wanted a cruiser-style stern .. you need to work out how much space you need, and bestest advice will be to go and have a look at lots of boats. Size is important if you want to cruise the whole network.

[alan_fincher]

Except some places specify a minimum length, so a 30 foot boat at some places could get charged as (say) 40 feet.

 

I have just paid £11 per foot for a £50 foot boat, (so £550), but that is in an expensive area where there is little competition.

 

I believe about £7 per foot can be achieved if you shop around, and can deliver a boat to a place with a lower price.

 

I accept I might have saved up to £200, (although not without spending quite a bit of that in doing so, particularly if my delivering it involved many pubs!)

 

 

....and are there other costs aside from the license and insurance which increase with hull size? Any help and advice welcome.

 

 

Well if you have permanent moorings, these are definitely usually charged by length.

 

Professional boat repainting (topsides, rather than blacking), will of course also largely be "by the foot".

 

Insurance is more likely to depend on value of boat than directly on its length.

Edited July 11, 2013 by alan_fincher

[DeanS]

Our marina also charges different mooring fees depending on boat length.

If it's "just you" then a smaller boat is ok, but if you have "extras", you'll need as much space as possible. (57ft?)

Up north we paid about £500 to get our old boat lifted out I think.

[bizzard]

I paid £265 last August for docking, pressure washer and paint, DIY at Little Hallingbury dry dock R Stort.

[Grace and Favour]

duplicated

Edited July 11, 2013 by Grace & Favour

[PhilR]

I paid £10/ft for comastic, but that is up north.

[Capt.Golightly]

Thanks for all the great replies folks, VERY helpful indeed! I will be living on a very tight budget so I was particularly heartened to hear of the do-it-yourself dry dock option of which I was until now completely ignorant. I do like the idea of a larger boat even though it is just me and the dog as I like the idea of a little ship of my own with separate cabins for music stuff etc. I intend to move only a few miles each day to replenish the batteries and heat the water so even being single handed on a bigger boat shouldn't be too taxing...I hope. The other great nightmare of course is overplating...which I assume would cost a few thousand on such a big boat and would certainly break the bank. I am viewing a boat at Nottingham boat sales next week "Celtic Eagle" and am now worrying about the Hull....not an uncommon position I reckon...though it does look like a nice live aboard...possibly? http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=303275 all opinions/advice welcome Cheers all Andrew.

[Pete & Helen]

Thanks for all the great replies folks, VERY helpful indeed! I will be living on a very tight budget so I was particularly heartened to hear of the do-it-yourself dry dock option of which I was until now completely ignorant. I do like the idea of a larger boat even though it is just me and the dog as I like the idea of a little ship of my own with separate cabins for music stuff etc. I intend to move only a few miles each day to replenish the batteries and heat the water so even being single handed on a bigger boat shouldn't be too taxing...I hope. The other great nightmare of course is overplating...which I assume would cost a few thousand on such a big boat and would certainly break the bank. I am viewing a boat at Nottingham boat sales next week "Celtic Eagle" and am now worrying about the Hull....not an uncommon position I reckon...though it does look like a nice live aboard...possibly? http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=303275 all opinions/advice welcome Cheers all Andrew.

 

If your getting a boat from Nottingham ask them if they have any deals on. When I went there in March they were offering free slipway service to take your boat out for the survey and I'm sure I saw something about them blacking every boat as well. Its always worth asking because its a buyers market out there. whatever price is being asked always offer less (i would suggest 20%).

As has already been said go and have a look at lots of boats, you will have to make the odd compromise as we all have differing ideas as to what we want. for me 57ft, would have preferred a cruiser stern but went for a semi trad in the end because the internal layout was what I wanted.

 

Hull blacking costs, just google for the websites of marinas in the area you are going to be operating in and look on their web site, many have there docking fees and costs for blacking different length's or a DIY price. or just give them a call, but shop around.

[Athy]

We had our boat blacked last week. Pull out + pressure washing + blacking (2 coats) + put back in + return to mooring two locks away, £450 for our 45 foot boat. This was by Richard Mason at The Slipway just north of Cropredy.

[Troyboy]

Thanks for all the great replies folks, VERY helpful indeed! I will be living on a very tight budget so I was particularly heartened to hear of the do-it-yourself dry dock option of which I was until now completely ignorant. I do like the idea of a larger boat even though it is just me and the dog as I like the idea of a little ship of my own with separate cabins for music stuff etc. I intend to move only a few miles each day to replenish the batteries and heat the water so even being single handed on a bigger boat shouldn't be too taxing...I hope. The other great nightmare of course is overplating...which I assume would cost a few thousand on such a big boat and would certainly break the bank. I am viewing a boat at Nottingham boat sales next week "Celtic Eagle" and am now worrying about the Hull....not an uncommon position I reckon...though it does look like a nice live aboard...possibly? http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=303275 all opinions/advice welcome Cheers all Andrew.

You won't heat the water cruising with that boat as it has an air cooled engine . You need a calorifier connected to a water cooled engine to heat the water whilst cruising .

[Richard10002]

Hi Captain.

 

Do you already know it needs overplating? If not, you will only find out at the survey. It might not have lost much since 1986. Mine had lost none between 2001 & 2011.

 

Looks a nice boat, and your gas heater will heat the water instantly. Might be worth an offer of £20k to see how the land lies.

 

A short trip each day probably won't replenish your batteries. If you are off grid, you will need a generator for battery charging, or to run your engine for longer. I work on a couple of hours each day, and 4-8 hours once a week.

[junior]

Nice looking boat. Oh and look at the engine.......

 

If you buy that i'll be very jelous. In fact if it was 10ft shorter i'd go and buy it myself.

[Capt.Golightly]

The Odyssey of boat buying goes on. I have had mulled over all the variables and decided that what I really need is a 30ft-40ft. I am one man and his dog so space isn't really such a huge factor, I spent 2 years in a caravan which was a third the size of this cabin on "Bliss" and was extremely happy there. I think the extra 30ft greatly increases the cost and financial risk involved should something major happen....like the need for overplating. Buying a smaller boat also means I can get one which is in better condition for less money which means I'll have some in my budget left to make additions/alterations.....I really like the finish and layout of this boat and as one of the first I ever looked at have returned over and over wishing it was ten feet bigger without thinking of a re-jig of the interior instead. Anyway as ever opinions always welcome. Cheers all Andrew.


http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=315906

P.S "Capt" is not self aggrandisement, it is a nickname, I was never a sailor tho' did some time as a squaddie many years ago

[Capt.Golightly]

One more thing on blacking, does the quoted price of £11 or £7 per foot generally include the haul out too?

Oh and does anyone know if I can claim working tax credit as a continuous cruiser? as I am planning to become a waterways borne busker instead of a land bound one. http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptGolightly/featured?view_as=public

Edited July 12, 2013 by Capt.Golightly

[alan_fincher]

One more thing on blacking, does the quoted price of £11 or £7 per foot generally include the haul out too?

Should do, unless they say otherwise, but ask exactly what is covered.

 

Other things to ask, (perhaps)......

 

How will they clean the hull - just pressure wash, or maybe pressure wash & scrape, or pressure wash and rotary wire brush.

How will they apply it (roller for each coat, brush for each coat, or a mixture)

How many coats

Will they apply a further coat at waterline.

How long will they leave between coats.

How long before it is put back in the water.

 

Not all blacking offers are equal, and those at the bottom end may only pressure wash, and roller on two coats, with minimal time in between and before re-watering.

 

Trouble is you don't tend to know until afterwards if someone has done a good job or not. If they have done a crap job it may become quickly evident, but only if the blacking is still reasonable after a year can you start to say they have done a good one.

[PhilR]

One more thing on blacking, does the quoted price of £11 or £7 per foot generally include the haul out too?

Oh and does anyone know if I can claim working tax credit as a continuous cruiser? as I am planning to become a waterways borne busker instead of a land bound one. http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptGolightly/featured?view_as=public

Question 1. ...... yes

Question 2 ........I've no idea. Do you claim it now as a land based busker?

As a matter of interest, what type of busking do you do and how do you go about proving your earnings and outgoings for tax credit purposes?

[Capt.Golightly]

I don't currently claim tax credits and you have hit upon another question I have..how do you prove income? I busk up tea money on my market stall but its only two or three songs and a couple of quid and I never earn near my tax free allowance anyway....I live "simply" already so boat life will be positively luxurious.

See my youtube channel for a tune or two..if it pleases you of course. http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptGolightly/featured?view_as=public...

I didn't expect you folks to know of course I just added the question in case a passing boat borne busker drops in...you never know wi' tinternet..

Edited July 12, 2013 by Capt.Golightly

[Graham Davis]

You prove your "income" by keeping accounts, which I believe they now cross reference with your Self-empolyed Tax Status, so you have to register as that as well.

If your earnings are low you can also apply for a Small Earnings Exception so you don't have to pay the Class 2 contribution.

[dor]

 

 

One more thing on blacking, does the quoted price of £11 or £7 per foot generally include the haul out too?

 

Round here, the former is for everything, the latter at a different marina is for the blacking only.

[Timleech]

Pricing blacking simply per foot is not at all logical, there are the substantial fixed costs of getting out of the water, and preparing and painting the two ends, especially the stern, which are more work than the straight sides which are dead easy.

A set price plus so much per foot makes much more sense.

 

Tim

[Capt.Golightly]

Thanks for all the responses they have been VERY informative, I am in the process of buying my first boat and as it will become my life getting it right is critical as my budget is very tight, finding out too late about a large unexpected expense could be catastrophic to the plan. I was very much relieved by the existence of the DIY option in a hired dry dock. Thanks to the information you folks have given I have withdrawn from negotiations on a 60Ft in favour of running a much tighter ship on a 30ft...so many thanks to you all.

Edited July 13, 2013 by Capt.Golightly

[Capt.Golightly]

I like the idea of a smaller boat for exploring the further reaches of the system too, I prefer rivers to canals though I'm not entirely sure of the licensing and insurance implications of rivers and tidal waters and anyway will keep well away until my handling skills are up to snuff after a couple of years on canals....it seems unless I'm careful that I could end up paying lots of different authorities for licenses and insurance to cover the whole netwotrk would be beyond my pocket.

Edited July 13, 2013 by Capt.Golightly

[i love my narrowboat]

We blacked our girls bottom ourselves last October down at Willy Watts Marina, Ringstead, we hired the wet dock, the pressure washer cost was in with the hire of the dock. We wanted to do it ourselves as we have seen 'professional establishments' doing it and did not want our girl to have a lick over which was the impression we got watching the lad with a roller and texting at the same time. It was very satisfying doing it ourselves and all in all for our 60ft ....the hire of the dock,a spot weld, 2 anodes plus the Rylards goo from the marina cost us just under £400 . If you are fit enough to do it yourself would highly recommend it..