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paneuro

By paneuro
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Dyad Proficient

Dyad

Posted
Posted

I've been looking at boats for a while now, might even buy one one day. My concern with Liverpool Boats is they were knocking them out at a rapid rate of knots (boaty pun intended) at one point which makes me wonder if build quality and attention to detail suffered as a result.

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Ronniesonic Collaborator

Ronniesonic

Posted
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At least Springers don't have a wooden hull......... Incoming ninja.gif .

 

The quirkier the boat the better for me.

 

If I had a large win on the lottery I would have some fun. I would ask Steve Hudson to make me a '57' go anywhere, 1ft 10inch drafted cruiser stern. Cant be deep drafted surely! It would with huge windows, as portholes look silly, a back cabin & trad engine room with a 1.5 BMC, 6 solar panels, Sat dish, the fenders must hang down & paint it a dirty yellow colour, to enhance the 400 fake rivets.

As he escorts me off his premises I open my briefcase & give him £400k................................ As the build commences the same afternoon I decide to change the boats name to 'Mercenary'...................... I told you i like quirky & im very stupid & naughty in equal measures.

 

GO SPRINGERS GO!

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boots Proficient

boots

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When we were looking for our boat, likewise we were warned off 'Liverpool boats' and regrettably walked away from a few. However, after a lot of searching we have ended up with one, and absolutely no regrets. Yes, it does lack some of the refinements of more expensive boats, but so far (had her five years now) have found that is suits us, everything works, have had no bad news surprises (or at least none that relate to the quality of the build).

 

In my mind, the description of LBL as 'ford' for narrowboats is not a bad one. What they are not is a Rolls for Ford money.

 

We did have a full survey, and the boat got a clean bill of health.

 

(Just for reference, we are not liveaboard).

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nicknorman Veteran II

nicknormanDonate to Canal World

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Posted

You turn into a troll after a few glasses of wine don't you Nick? :lol:

Its funny how "troll" has become such a ubiquitous term of abuse. A bit of a joke or a tease and suddenly one is a troll - and not getting at you specifically but it is becoming a more and more prevalent comment. However, if you look to see what a real internet troll can do it is a different thing altogether. I suppose it is a bit like an accusation of being "patronising" or "arrogant" - these terms are in the eye of the accuser and have no real meaning nor can they be proven nor defended against.

At least Springers don't have a wooden hull......... Incoming :ninja: .

 

The quirkier the boat the better for me.

 

If I had a large win on the lottery I would have some fun. I would ask Steve Hudson to make me a '57' go anywhere, 1ft 10inch drafted cruiser stern. Cant be deep drafted surely! It would with huge windows, as portholes look silly, a back cabin & trad engine room with a 1.5 BMC, 6 solar panels, Sat dish, the fenders must hang down & paint it a dirty yellow colour, to enhance the 400 fake rivets.

As he escorts me off his premises I open my briefcase & give him £400k................................ As the build commences the same afternoon I decide to change the boats name to 'Mercenary'...................... I told you i like quirky & im very stupid & naughty in equal measures.

 

GO SPRINGERS GO!

 

Except you would find that he can't be bought like that. He doesn't need your money that desperately, knows that there is more to life than cash.

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Pykebird Rising Star

Pykebird

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Although I have never owned a springer, I like the certain character they have about them! The sad thing seems to be that a lot are bought by first timers usually cheaply, in poor states with great dreams of "doing it up"!

I have witnessed this personally, the gutting of said boats is much cheaper and easy for anyone to do, the putting it back to a standard to live on, not so. Hence if you travel up and down you will see lots of springers on the cut, some needing large amounts of work done.

In the "field of dreams" here we have 3 at the moment. 1 owned by an elderly couple who have had and looked after her from brand new, another which was sunk, but according to the surveyor, in nearly mint condition with no loss of thickness and another that is not worth scrap. I know which one will still be here for years to come.

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Neil2 Veteran

Neil2

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The problem with the narrowboat world is that there is no objective professional guide to refer to which would assist the inexperienced in deciding what boats to avoid and what to prioritise. Add to that the fact that as the boat ages maintenance becomes more importance than provenance and you can understand why newcomers to the canals find it all a little bewildering.

 

Most of the scorn (if in fact there is any - I find most of it is hearsay) directed at Springers probably comes from the fact that these boats were unashamedly aimed at the bottom end of the market, but I have yet to hear any criticism from anyone who has actually owned one. If you can find one that was factory fitted, is mostly original and has been well looked after, that will be a cracking boat. Trouble is folk tend to hang on to such examples.

 

As for Liverpool boats, I struggle to understand where this negative reputation has come from as again I have never heard anyone who owns or has owned one of their boats having anything bad to say about them.

 

 

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Paul C Veteran II

Paul C

Posted
Posted

 

 

 

As for Liverpool boats, I struggle to understand where this negative reputation has come from as again I have never heard anyone who owns or has owned one of their boats having anything bad to say about them.

 

 

 

To be fair, owners of any narrowboat tend not to say bad things about their own manufacturer.

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Starcoaster Veteran

Starcoaster

Posted
Posted

Owners are at least in a position to be able to comment knowledgeably and from experience about their own make (whether good or bad), something that folk who have never owed one of the mentioned makes (or in some cases, set foot aboard one), are unlikely to manage unless they have been involved in boat building or repair work for many years and seen many of a particular type of boat during that time.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted

As for Liverpool boats, I struggle to understand where this negative reputation has come from as again I have never heard anyone who owns or has owned one of their boats having anything bad to say about them.

 

I'm certainly not a knocker of Liverpool Boats, and have regularly spoken in their defence.

 

However I do believe that at one point there was a problem that some of them at least were being turned out "over width", and I believe in one or two cases people had complete replacement shells or boats as a result.

 

It is probably prudent if considering one, therefore, to get the overall width checked.

 

Mind you that is a problem far from unique to Liverpool Boats, and is probably good practice when buying any second hand narrow boat that you want to be able to pass through all narrow locks on the system.

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Ronniesonic Collaborator

Ronniesonic

Posted
Posted (edited)

Its funny how "troll" has become such a ubiquitous term of abuse. A bit of a joke or a tease and suddenly one is a troll - and not getting at you specifically but it is becoming a more and more prevalent comment. However, if you look to see what a real internet troll can do it is a different thing altogether. I suppose it is a bit like an accusation of being "patronising" or "arrogant" - these terms are in the eye of the accuser and have no real meaning nor can they be proven nor defended against.

 

Except you would find that he can't be bought like that. He doesn't need your money that desperately, knows that there is more to life than cash.

 

 

Nick my friend, I was having a bit of fun. I may be as daft as a brush but fully appreciate that Steve's boats are 1st class.

EDIT- in relation to my quip about Steve Hudson boats

Edited by Ronniesonic
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patty-ann Rising Star

patty-ann

Posted
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Whether one buys springers or Liverpool or what ever surely condition is dependent in part on how well its been maintained--if one considers car markets there are very well maintained classic cars and absolute wrecks all made at same time by same manufacturer. Hence need for surveys.

  • Greenie 1
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Neil2 Veteran

Neil2

Posted
Posted

 

To be fair, owners of any narrowboat tend not to say bad things about their own manufacturer.

I think there is some truth in that, and I would go a step further - I don't think I've ever read a "professional" narrowboat review that was anything other than 90% positive.

 

So it begs the question where does all this bile directed at certain boats come from?

 

It may be that with the absence of realistic appraisals from the specialist media and the passivity of satisfied owners, something has to come in to fill the vacuum, however fragile the premise. It seems to be human nature that in every walk of life we need something to be the object of scorn, however unfair it might be. No doubt Freud had something to say about it.

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Bee Veteran

Bee

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Posted

Hancock & Lane were also a fairly basic boat but by now are elderly, but again this shouldn`t put you off, if you buy a boat you are buying it in the condition it is in now. Personally I would be looking to buy a run down boat by a good builder as you can always improve it to a higher standard. A realistic price for a `project boat` should really be only a couple or three thousand but such is the demand for cheap boats that the market is distorted.

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Paul C Veteran II

Paul C

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Posted

I think there is some truth in that, and I would go a step further - I don't think I've ever read a "professional" narrowboat review that was anything other than 90% positive.

 

So it begs the question where does all this bile directed at certain boats come from?

 

It may be that with the absence of realistic appraisals from the specialist media and the passivity of satisfied owners, something has to come in to fill the vacuum, however fragile the premise. It seems to be human nature that in every walk of life we need something to be the object of scorn, however unfair it might be. No doubt Freud had something to say about it.

 

I'd suggest 1) its not "bile" but reasoned observations by intelligent people assessing the age, purchase price, known facts such as the thinner hull material, less labour involved in welding (I believe Springer didn't finish the welds after (as neatly as others)), etc and 2) those people that can fairly assess or compare more than one boat manufacturer (which is quite a lot really), for example those who have hired different boats and understand them, those who have owned more than one boat, those who regularly work on many boats (eg boatyard staff, boat movers, etc) don't regularly or too strongly refute the negative image associated with cheap boats such as Springer and Liverpool Boats.

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