How did you decide on the length of your boat?

[Marjorie]

Hello again

 

Here's the thing. I was thinking that I would go for a 57fter (ish) for a few reasons:

 

1. It means you can go everywhere

2. You have ample space (relative to narrowboats, obviously, not palaces) - see below

3. The C&RT cruising license band is 54'2" - 57'4", so it seems like it makes sense to maximise the bang you get for your buck and be at the top end of the band (are my fenders going to cause me problems by pushing me over though?)

 

I won't have a long term mooring - I'm going to CC (the type of work I do means I can still work a little if I'm mobile, which is all I need, and if I wanted to live static on a boat, frankly, I'd just stay where I am (living on a static houseboat) and save myself the hassle of moving).

 

The other half, who is currently building a dutch barge (she's roughly 58 metres. METRES!!), would prefer to finish and live on the big 'un (he'll be like a pea in a tin can) and leave me to the little 'un, with him visiting some weekends and when his work travel coordinates with my position during the week. So for the most part it will likely just be me (and two small dogs).

 

Is 57ft unnecessarily large, do you think?

 

I know it's a 'piece of string' sort of a question, but I'd be interested to know what you took into consideration when you chose the size of your boat, and whether you are happy with what you have (pretty sure everyone always wants a few extra feet!).

[MtB]

I wanted a 57ft boat too, but like yo, found them all too anodyne.

 

So I looked at all the boats I could. Once you get away from 'formula' 57ft boats the variety in interior styles increases significantly! I ended up buying a 68ft boat not because I needed the length, but because it is a a charming fit-out.

 

MtB

[Marjorie]

I wanted a 57ft boat too, but like yo, found them all too anodyne.

 

So I looked at all the boats I could. Once you get away from 'formula' 57ft boats the variety in interior styles increases significantly! I ended up buying a 68ft boat not because I needed the length, but because it is a a charming fit-out.

 

MtB

 

Lemme see! Lemme SEE!!

[Jo_]

We started with the things that mattered to us - two of us on the boat so a permanent double, convertable pullman or l-shape dinette for occasional others, trad stern, salon at the front, bedroom at the back, kitchen bathroom in the middle.

 

Then looked at a LOT of boats (on t'web and in the 'flesh'), being ready to look at things outside our wishlist if there was a particular reason.

 

The boats that came closest were all between 57 and 62 and we kept going till we walked onto one and thought 'this is it'. And it was!

[Alan de Enfield]

.......................(pretty sure everyone always wants a few extra feet!).

 

Actually - NO - I'm quite happy with the two I have, I think anymore would be a bit awkward.

 

Regarding boat length - everyone has a different perception of space, add to that the layout of different NB's can have a huge effect on the 'apparent' space & there is no "right" answer to your question.

 

We were adament we wanted a 57 footer, we ended up with a 45 foot that has more usable, effective space that the 57's we looked at.

If money has any effect on your decision, remember that on boats virtually everything is charged by the foot - moorings, bottom blacking, painting etc

 

It is easier to find places to wind (turn) a 45 footer than a 60-70 footer

You fit in smaller spaces (in the gaps left between mored boats) easier with a smaller boat.

[Marjorie]

 

We were adament we wanted a 57 footer, we ended up with a 45 foot that has more usable, effective space that the 57's we looked at.

 

There was a 50 footer at Crick that a couple were selling (lovely couple, lovely boat - unfortunately I can't remember the name of any of them) - you would have sworn she was longer when you were inside. The polar opposite was the Viking (unfinished) 57 footer that we went into, which felt more like a broom cupboard than a broom cupboard.

[Paul C]

 

 

We were adament we wanted a 57 footer, we ended up with a 45 foot that has more usable, effective space that the 57's we looked at.

 

You must have found some pretty rubbish 57 footers to look at!

[alan_fincher]

Hello again

 

Here's the thing. I was thinking that I would go for a 57fter (ish) for a few reasons:

 

1. It means you can go everywhere

2. You have ample space (relative to narrowboats, obviously, not palaces) - see below

3. The C&RT cruising license band is 54'2" - 57'4", so it seems like it makes sense to maximise the bang you get for your buck and be at the top end of the band (are my fenders going to cause me problems by pushing me over though?)

 

Possibly one of the strangest reasons i have heard for choosing a boat of a certain length!

 

Compared to the total costs of canal boat ownership, the incremental increase as you move from one CRT licence band to another is surely fairly inconsequential.

 

You might just as well say a 54 foot boat will bee better than a 57 foot one, as it will generally cost 5% less if it needs blacking!

 

Some 54 foot boats will make more intelligent use of space than other 57 foot ones, and effectively still seem "bigger".

 

Choose whatever works best for you around that number, but don't be obsessed that 57' is "good" and that 54 feet would be "less good".

[Tuscan]

This subject always make me smile , I wonder how many marina based boats bought at 59' so that they could travel the system actually have ever got beyond the end(s) of the canal they are based on ?

[Alan de Enfield]

 

You must have found some pretty rubbish 57 footers to look at!

 

O'Boy did we.

We did find one, put an offer in, were gazumped by another offer, increased our offer, were gazumped again (broker playing one off against another) and decided to stop playing the game.

 

But I guess looking at the lower end of the market £35-£40k we were not going to find the best ones.

 

(We actually passed the 57 footer - with its new owner - on its way home, when we were taking our 'new' 45 footer home)

[MtB]

 

If money has any effect on your decision, remember that on boats virtually everything is charged by the foot - moorings, bottom blacking, painting etc

 

It is easier to find places to wind (turn) a 45 footer than a 60-70 footer

You fit in smaller spaces (in the gaps left between mored boats) easier with a smaller boat.

 

All true except for one point. My 68ft boat cost me much the same as my budget for a 57 footer, although hard to say how much as the seller was looking to downsize and we just swapped boats with a cash adjustment in his favour.

 

Longer boats seem harder to sell as lots of buyers run along the tram-line thinking of 'gotta have 57ft so we can go anywhere". Consequently the pool of potential buyers for longer boats is very much smaller meaning they tend to command a lower selling price.

 

MtB

[Tony Brooks]

I find larger boats easier to handle than smaller ones (except in wind) and wanted less than about 58ft for northern canals. I also wanted the facility of a fixed double bed , dinette, and the facility to have a sitting room at the opposite end to the dinette. Hence we ended up with 54ft. Note - sitting areas at opposite ends of the boat help enhance marital harmony. TV at one end radio & books at the other

[Marjorie]

Compared to the total costs of canal boat ownership, the incremental increase as you move from one CRT licence band to another is surely fairly inconsequential.

 

 

Good point, well made.

[MtB]

 

But I guess looking at the lower end of the market £35-£40k we were not going to find the best ones.

 

 

I beg to differ there! The 'lower end of the market' to me means sub-£20k. £35-40k is enough to get one a very nice boat indeed.

 

MtB

[Keeping Up]

We had a 58'6" boat for a few years, by which time we knew exactly what we wanted and it added up to 65ft. We sat down and planned it with our boat builder but when he started the detailed drawings he phoned up and said it wouldn't all fit so the boat would have to be 66ft. We agreed but a week later he phoned again and we needed 67ft. We agreed to that too, but then I realised we had agreed a contract price per foot, so each phone call was costing me £1000. That's why our boat is 67ft long.

[Neil2]

If you observe the market place for some time you will deduce that 45 to 57 foot is where the demand is these days, 57' for obvious reasons, 45' because that is the minimum length if you are a couple and want a fixed bed and a decent sized saloon. The boat buying public today are far less likely to accept compromises than say ten years ago, and once you go shorter than 45 foot compromises have to be made. This is the reason why boats under 40 foot, which used to be the "starter" end of the market, are really struggling to find buyers nowadays.

 

We have a 45 footer for this reason, and because we probably couldn't afford anything bigger.

 

Once you go over 45' you can start thinking about "luxuries" such as two saloons, wc's. engine room etc.

 

If you are single none of this applies.

[Alan de Enfield]

 

I beg to differ there! The 'lower end of the market' to me means sub-£20k. £35-40k is enough to get one a very nice boat indeed.

 

MtB

 

I put sub £20k at the 'bottom of the market'

If you are looking for a relatively 'young' boat (say - under 15 years), In good to very good condition needing no work, around 50 foot then I found you needed to be looking at £30k +

 

The boat we ended up buying had had something like £15k spent on the interior re-fit, had every oil change, new batteries, new engine mounts etc etc etc done by (and documented by) professionals. The water tank was 'blacked' every two years - the previous owners just liked throwing money at maintaining it.

 

We received a 4" thick lever-arch file of bills and documents showing work done, we also received a huge folder of 'manuals' for the engine, solar system, fridge, gearbox - in fact everything on board had an original manual.

 

It was what we wanted - we wanted a get-in-and-go boat not one that I needed to spend hours and hours fettling (I've done that in the past) and 're-building' and had jobs that never got done / finished.

 

Life is for living - boats are for boating (not for crawling about in the back of cupboards mending leaks and doing yourself a mischief)

We think we did get a very nice boat.

[RLWP]

 

We think we did get a very nice boat.

 

I'd hope every boat owner could say that about their boat

 

Richard

[Paul C]

 

I beg to differ there! The 'lower end of the market' to me means sub-£20k. £35-40k is enough to get one a very nice boat indeed.

 

MtB

 

I don't think you'll even find a 57ft boat under £20k.

[MtB]

 

I don't think you'll even find a 57ft boat under £20k.

 

They are about. Takes some effort finding, and usually a disaster area!

 

None on apolloduck at the moment but one at Norbury for £26k. They might succumb to £20k in a Tesco bag.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mydian-57ft-traditional-stern-narrowboat-/181418556801?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a3d637d81

 

 

MtB

P.S. I saw a 57ft Springer sell for £15k a couple of years ago. I see it around and about on the Southern Oxford now.

A very nice boat in fact, and certainly not a disaster area.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Hi ya,

It was more about Boat Capabilities, than Boat Size for me, I've had boats A lot Bigger & A lot Smaller than my current one over the 30years or so I've been boating, 27ish years as a Livaboard CCr (or my interpretation of CCr anyway).I tend to change my boat to cope with the type, & Areas of Cruising I intend to accomplish in that particular phase of my life.

That's one of the reasons why my current Boat is up for sale at the moment, as I need something different for my next intended phase of life & Chosen Cruising grounds.

[by'eck]

I chose a 60 foot nb as the absolute max length to allow access to all but a very few locks. Two years down the line having visited 26 different canals and rivers between Gargrave in the north and Weybridge in the south, have had no issues. Told it may be a squeeze into the Huddersfield Broad locks though.

[Marjorie]

You lot are right you know (of course you know). Having widened my search criteria, some boats I actually quite like are coming up. Turns out, the more you pay, the more of the lacquered oak EVERYTHING (which I think is kinda yucky) you get. Who knew.

 

Thanks for your wise words all, on behalf of myself, and those looking to buy who love the lacquered oak thing - they will no longer have me to compete with.

 

[blackrose]

This subject always make me smile , I wonder how many marina based boats bought at 59' so that they could travel the system actually have ever got beyond the end(s) of the canal they are based on ?

 

I guess a lot of people start out with the idea that they're going to travel around the system, but many don't end up doing it.

 

I started out with the opposite idea and bought a widebeam as I was happy with a limited cruising range, but I've actually covered about 8 or 9 different waterways.

[Neil2]

I was once told when considering narrowboat length you need a foot for every year of your life.

 

Some folk on this forum are clearly old before their time.