Newbies looking for a boat

[5thHorseman]

Chris/Jenny

 

The boat you buy will be a compromise.

I make the following points not to whip a storm of critiscism but just for your consideration

 

Reverse layout - Most boats are not reverse layout, will this count against you when you come to sell, because you now have the experience and have learnt what is truely important to you (and what is not)

 

Semi-trad - if you are going for a semi trad (with seating at the back - a bit like an enclosed cruiser stern) do you want people waiting in your bedroom because its raining to to be dropped of at a lock/swing bridge and then traipsing mud in? Why not go the whole hog and have a trad with an engine room or a cruiser that you can comfortably sit out on and drink your wine and beer in the summer in a deck chair

 

4 berth - is this the exact number in the family, if so what about when the children want to bring their friends?

 

52ft -60ft - 60ft a bit long for northern canals if you are not bothered about canals in the North why not longer - more space. 52ft 4 berth you may find could be a bit cramped for four adults on an extended cruise

 

Portholes - lighting, if you have a dark wood interior it can be a bit gloomy

Large windows - heat losses in the winter & can sometimes, in a busy area, feel like you are living in a fishbowl

 

Cassette toilet - five gallons and you are looking for somewhere to empty it every 2/3 days, some people can be quite squeamish about empting them

Pump-out - greater length of time between emptying but they costs more and can only be done with the right equipment.

 

Wood burner looks nice but where are you going to store the wood, who is going to saw/chop it. Coal is heat wise more efficient as far as heat per cubic foot of fuel is concerned, but both create dust and ashes. Diesel is more efficient in fuel storage, is cleaner and you get quicker heat up times.

 

Central heating - what sort of insulation has the boat? sprayed polyurethane, rockwool, polystyrene sheet, this will affect the heat losses and even with a good heater you can struggle to get up to a livable temperature in a poorly insulated boat in the winter.

 

42hp engine - to a certain extent the hp of the engine is not that important. Where you are going to use it most on rivers or canals, draught of the boat/gearbox/prop size/weight all come into play. Mine is 70ft weighs 24.75 tonnes and operates very well with only a 28hp engine. Old motors operated with a 15hp single cylinder bolinder and towed a butty.

 

Other things you will need to consider are- battery capacity, 12v or 12v/230v system with all its electrical add ons, cupboard/wardrobe space, television, gas free, method of water heating, bow thruster or not, the list goes on ......... and on

 

I emphasise I do not think reverse layout/semitrad/4 berth/ etc is wrong, each has is good points but also has its drawbacks. I merely council a flexible approach. As you have read the forum you will know there are sometimes strongly held views in favour of each and every alternative.

 

With £50k in your pocket I am sure your boat that suits you is out there somewhere, the fun is finding it.

[Loafer]

Great words above - but I would add that a pumpout doesn't always need to cost money to empty. We do our own with a £50 pump, for free.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Loafer

[Pie Eater]

Ours is a Liverpool boat which we bought in 1999 fully fitted. We have had no major problems with it but know other boaters who have had problems.

 

Steve

[Blazeaway]

Great words above - but I would add that a pumpout doesn't always need to cost money to empty. We do our own with a £50 pump, for free.

Thats interesting and intriging, well done, but how does that work out in reality ?

[David Mack]

Thats interesting and intriging, well done, but how does that work out in reality ?

 

All to often very messily!

[Alan de Enfield]

Thats interesting and intriging, well done, but how does that work out in reality ?

 

In the absence of a reply -

 

There appears to be two ways of doing this :

 

1) Pump out of the holding tank into 20 litre containers and carry to the disposal point and manually empty (pretty much like having a cassette, but whilst you empty less frequently you have more to empty at any one time.

 

2) During the hours of darkness - Get your 100 yard long 2 inch pipe out of the storage locker, connect to boat, unroll to the toilet facilities, stick pipe down the toilet, start pump, block toilet, quickly look around - roll pipe back up (giving it a quick dip in the canal to wash it down), stow pipe in locker, start boat and cruise off before anyone sees you.

 

There may be other options available.

 

Do a search (search box top-right hand corner of your screen) using key words "self pumpout" and look at some of the pictures posted.

[Laurie Booth]

1). Set up a limited company online (takes about 20 minutes and costs £12.99) called something like "Onboard Canal Photography Services Ltd".

 

2). Get the company to buy a narrowboat, a camera and a full tank of diesel.

 

3). Reclaim the VAT.

Even better will be not to have a limited company, saves getting an evil accountant in.

www.stroudweddings.co.uk

[Peter Reg]

Hi

Have a look at Rugbyboats. I brought mine with them and was very pleased.

Good luck

[Terryb]

Hi Chris and Jenny,

I have been looking for the last few months and can honestly say I never thought it would be so difficult.

I pretty much want what you do but only have around 30k. Having said that I am looking at a couple on Saturday. They are a long way from what I want, but as a starting point, having a good build quality and pleasing hull, with just a bit of interior things to sort out they are the best compromise. So I would suggest that you look for a boat thats the right size and hull that you want,then plan to make it yours over time. I have also noted the Liverpool boat price differential and can only assume that its down to the VW over Ford scenario. Where there is a "percived" quality in the less popular VW over the "mass" produced Ford. Personally, I would ignore that and go for what you like, the fact that there are lots of Liverpools out there says a lot more than it doesn't say.

Good luck to you both, and if you find any that fit your needs but are too cheap, give me a call.

[Loafer]

 

In the absence of a reply -

 

There appears to be two ways of doing this :

 

1) Pump out of the holding tank into 20 litre containers and carry to the disposal point and manually empty (pretty much like having a cassette, but whilst you empty less frequently you have more to empty at any one time.

 

2) During the hours of darkness - Get your 100 yard long 2 inch pipe out of the storage locker, connect to boat, unroll to the toilet facilities, stick pipe down the toilet, start pump, block toilet, quickly look around - roll pipe back up (giving it a quick dip in the canal to wash it down), stow pipe in locker, start boat and cruise off before anyone sees you.

 

There may be other options available.

 

Do a search (search box top-right hand corner of your screen) using key words "self pumpout" and look at some of the pictures posted.

 

Sorry for the delay. Thank you Alan for taking up the query for me.

 

My pump is a Henderson bilge pump, large black round thing with a detachable pump handle. Two lengths of exhaust hose and a 90-deg 'gezinter', that gezinter the pumpout socket. The other end gezinter a 25 litre container, for transport to the Elsan disposal either by foot, or by car to Wheaton Aston like everyone else.

 

I've never used the silly flat hose, which is asking for a chap to be showered in shit, so I can't comment on that.

 

If you use enough blue, it doesn't even smell! Even the wife helps!

Edited January 22, 2015 by Loafer

[mrbidd123]

Thanks for the message Terry, we've looked at a few and have been boating for quite a few years now so we, like you, know what we want and what works for us. We're sure that we will find something as we've just started to look in ernest, and we are prepared to compromise to a certain extent and we're not short of the skills to make alterations if necessary. We are enjoying the search but we're not in a hurry. Will let you know if we find something too cheap

[grannykins]

As you say, many boats are sold before being advertised on brokerage. Have you left your details with some decent brokers with the details of the kind of boat you are after? Then they can contact you if something promising is coming in. This is what we intend to do at the end of 2016 when we will be looking for our liveaboard.

[Terryb]

Thanks for the message Terry, we've looked at a few and have been boating for quite a few years now so we, like you, know what we want and what works for us. We're sure that we will find something as we've just started to look in ernest, and we are prepared to compromise to a certain extent and we're not short of the skills to make alterations if necessary. We are enjoying the search but we're not in a hurry. Will let you know if we find something too cheap

Im all done looking now. Alfie is my new home. See pictures in gallery.