A right time of year

[sharma]

Hi All

Newbie here.

Been reading the forum for a few weeks now and you all seem a friendly bunch so decided to take the plunge. Reading everything i can at the moment....and this forum is a mine of info.

My partner and i (and two daughters) are seriously thinking of selling up and getting a barge. We are looking at buying a widebeam as my partner is built like a......well, a widebeam it has to be!!

We will be based in Bristol or Bath area so any moorings you know of avaliable would be good.

 

A couple of questions:

Is there a time of year when its best to actually purchase a barge? My partner seems to think it would be better to wait until autumn as this time of year will be more expensive?

 

Also...a silly question maybe, but is it still considered bad luck to change the name of a boat/barge?

Thanks

Sharma

[Guest]

Hi All

Newbie here.

Been reading the forum for a few weeks now and you all seem a friendly bunch so decided to take the plunge. Reading everything i can at the moment....and this forum is a mine of info.

My partner and i (and two daughters) are seriously thinking of selling up and getting a barge. We are looking at buying a widebeam as my partner is built like a......well, a widebeam it has to be!!

We will be based in Bristol or Bath area so any moorings you know of avaliable would be good.

 

A couple of questions:

Is there a time of year when its best to actually purchase a barge? My partner seems to think it would be better to wait until autumn as this time of year will be more expensive?

 

Also...a silly question maybe, but is it still considered bad luck to change the name of a boat/barge?

Thanks

Sharma

A broker whom I contacted once told me that prices tend to be higher in spring, and then again late August, because all the hirers tend to be "looking" after being bitten by the bug in summer. Can't honestly quote this from experience. I sold our previoua boat in springtime without any advertising. I mentioned to somebody that I may be selling it soon, and it was bought before I had time to think about it.

 

The story goes that you should lift a boat out before renaming it. Personally I don't do superstition, but there you go.

[Typowriter]

I think that prices are on the rise about now, I've been looking for ages and only just bought my boat in the past week (moving on within the month). From what my long term boat dwelling friends tell me, when the winter stoppages have finished the price jumps quite drasticly.

I consider myself very lucky to have bought well under budget at this time of year. If you need to sell your house before moving I would guess at October onwards being a good time from a buyers point of view.

Others may prove me wrong though.

 

Good luck by the way.

[sharma]

Thanks for your replies. Yes october probably is the best idea. It would give us time to sort things out properly, try and find a mooring etc. Still wondering the route to go at the moment. Do we sell up? or do we rent out the house and get a loan for the barge? Im the more impulsive one ie:'yeah sell up and go for it' while my partner is a bit more sensible i suppose!

 

We have spent the past year selling the idea to the girls (8 and 12) who were dubious at first. Every weekend we go to one canal or another walking the dog and theyre now quite excited about the plan. Reading this forum has been quite an eyeopener...all the hard work in the winter especially, the work that needs doing on the barges, the rules on cruising, mooring etc..,.its kind of mind boggling at times!

It all seems worth it though.

We had a good chat with an elderly guy last week at Bradford on avon. He was just mooring up opposite a beautiful field, filled with sheep and some gorgeous trees, and the sun was just going down. He said....this is my tv for the night and motioned over to the view.....how great is that!

[Bones]

if you can afford to rent your house out and buy a boat, then that is what I would recommend you do. You can always sell up in a few years time if you love the boating, or go back to the house if it just doesn't work out.

[sharma]

Sounds sensible. Neither of us have any kind of pension, to the horror of our friends! So to keep the house would be a good thing. Only trouble is the money they are asking for widebeams is quite a lot (the ones ive seen that we like are in the £80,000 bracket!) so we'll have to see what kind of loan we can get. I have been looking at some old threads here on this type of thing and there is a lot to look into.

Thanks for the replies.

Also ive found some threads now ive learned to use the search facility...on the renaming of boats. Good stuff....no superstition for me.

Had a look at some of the humorous names....my partner absolutely loved the name 'passing wind'.

NO WAY!!

 

When we get our boat its gonna be called Thunder Road!

[Supermalc]

Probably doesn't apply to larger NBs or widebeams to live on, but obviously in the spring prices are going to rise. As summer approaches and the supply dries up, prices generally tend to increase, but in the autumn, when you would expect boats to be cheaper, they seem to fetch top prices. Best time to buy is the middle of December, or January after a severe storm.

[alan_fincher]

Thanks for your replies. Yes october probably is the best idea. It would give us time to sort things out properly, try and find a mooring etc.

My only observation might be, that if you buy a boat in the late autumn, and intend to live on it from the outset, you need to be very confident in your purchase.

 

By that I mean things like, heating working, no leaks at windows or hatches, power sources that will survive long winter evenings and nights, etc.

 

If you are looking reasonably well up the price range, this might not be so much of an issue. But I can imagine people who have bought cheaper boats with good intentions struggling, if they have not had the summer months for a "shake down", and to attend to anything that would be hard to tackle in the winter.

 

Just something to bear in mind, anyway.....

 

Alan

[John Orentas]

My only observation might be, that if you buy a boat in the late autumn, and intend to live on it from the outset, you need to be very confident in your purchase.

 

Alan

 

 

I would agree with that, far better to begin your new life in early summer, get used to the boat and your new ways of doing things with light nights and reasonable weather.

[sharma]

I would agree with that, far better to begin your new life in early summer, get used to the boat and your new ways of doing things with light nights and reasonable weather.

I suppose there is always a right and a wrong time. But the right time is when your ready to 'do it' i guess.

A bit morbid but how many of us know people who have passed away way before their time or became ill and unable to live their dreams.. And how many times do we say....life is for living. If you want to do something to make this life happier and more fullfilling....which it would be for my partner and i....then live the dream

I think we'll just take things as they come...find a mooring first then do what we have to!

 

Hey just another question...

 

Have you ever had anyone join this forum, get a barge then say....ughh this is an awful way of life...im back to a house sharpish!!

Everyone on here it seems (problems aside) love it and wouldnt live any other way!

[bottle]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Snip

Everyone on here it seems (problems aside) love it and wouldn't live any other way!

 

True, but we are all on day release from the asylum.

[Lady Muck]

We got our bargain in the month of March. Before I bought I had a conversation about best time of year to buy a NB with a friend (he delivers boats for brokers), he said due to the advent of the internet, he thought prices were pretty much the same country wide and year round. I suppose if you buy private there might be more on offer at a higher price in the Spring.

I agree it's better to get used to it in the summer, if possible. It's not the cold that's a problem (like many people might think!), it's the lack of daylight in my opinion. If you have just bought your boat you will probably want to do some repair, alteration or improvement work on it. For that you need daylight.

[anhar]

...Hey just another question...

 

Have you ever had anyone join this forum, get a barge then say....ughh this is an awful way of life...im back to a house sharpish!!

Everyone on here it seems (problems aside) love it and wouldnt live any other way!

Hello sharma

 

I don't know about this forum but the fact is there are many almost new boats for sale no more than a year or so old, which I presume are precisely from the kind of people you mention, who let their heart rule their head then quickly became disillusioned when the stark realities set in.

 

You can't judge things from the forum because it will be heavily biased in favour of those who love canal boating. The disillusioned probably wouldn't bother with writing here so are not represented much if at all amongst our readers.

 

regards

Steve

Edited February 26, 2007 by anhar

[carlt]

The story goes that you should lift a boat out before renaming it. Personally I don't do superstition, but there you go.

 

What's the little fish for in your signature then? (only leg-pulling btw this isn't the thread for theological debate)

 

edited to remove double click (divine retribution?)

Edited February 26, 2007 by carlt

[Guest]

What's the little fish for in your signature then? (only leg-pulling btw this isn't the thread for theological debate)

 

edited to remove double click (divine retribution?)

[Guest]

Hey just another question...

 

Have you ever had anyone join this forum, get a barge then say....ughh this is an awful way of life...im back to a house sharpish!!

Everyone on here it seems (problems aside) love it and wouldnt live any other way!

 

We know of one person who couldn't hack it. It was a 60 foot narrowboat in this instance, and they found it very claustrophobic it seems. That said there are several other livaboards who love the lifestyle. We don't live aboard yet but spend extended periods on our NB. I hate going back to the house personally, the inconsiderate neighbours, the manicured gardens, cars and four or five TV sets and stereos blaring out. But of course we are all different (thankfully or there would be 60 million folk living on the cut).

[honey ryder]

we bought ours in the depths of winter, well middle of december 2006.

we wanted to buy something sooner but we couldnt find anything we liked, it took from April/May until end of October to find one, put the offer in, sort the finance, finalise the sale then do some immediate essential repairs/updates. we didnt really pick the time to buy the boat, it just happened that way.

 

I think if you move onto a boat in winter, while it is still all new an exciting you dont let the winter bother you too much.

you get the worst over with first and then it only gets better from there on, until the following november. by which time you will be seasoned enough and already have an idea of what your boat is like in the winter, its not so bad really.

its probably a good idea to find a marina to stay in or somewhere quite domesticated at first so you can get used to living on a boat without all the other worries, such as filling the water tank regularly, charging the batteries, doing maintenance like servicing the engine and wot not.

 

( we live on it now, but its not been very long ( since xmas ish) and the boat still isnt ready to go canal side 100%, as the previous owner was a soft marina dweller the boat is heavily reliant on shore power, which is not the best way at all.

we are also changing the name of our boat and there is no such thing as bad luck. only if you believe in it )

Edited February 26, 2007 by honey ryder

[Lady Muck]

Hey just another question...

 

Have you ever had anyone join this forum, get a barge then say....ughh this is an awful way of life...im back to a house sharpish!!

Everyone on here it seems (problems aside) love it and wouldnt live any other way!

 

Well, I admit I was a bit worried I'd hate it. Many of my friends thought I was insane and tried to put me off too. The first month was hell - it was a heatwave, the boat was too hot in the daytime, so unpacking took us forever, we had a horrific house move - moving onto a boat is really quite difficult and it took us a long time to figure out how things worked. Both of us are no strangers to boats either and we'd spent lots of time on them in the winter.

 

I was really worried about the winter, thought it'd be depressing and I'd hate it. BUT, our mooring isn't in a cutting, so it's bright all year round, we're out with the dog twice a day, the boat is cosy inside (I've got the windows open again - overdone it with the Homefire ) and I now think - what was all the fuss about? Winter is great - the marsh is deserted, the snow was beautiful and there are lots of migrant birds to look at.

 

On the other hand - was reading an entry on a bulletin board t'other day, where a poster said his girlfriend had left him because she was too cold and damp and hated walking to the outside showers, he liked it but wouldn't do it permanently.

 

I think it depends on so many variables whether you'll like it or not. Are you an outdoorsy person? Like camping? How much boat can you afford? Can you afford a new one with sprayfoam insulation? If you like it warm, do you know how much gas /coal you'll need to buy? Can you deal with lack of space? The latter we haven't missed. But we spent most of our working lives crammed into a single bedroom (our office) in our old house.

 

Anyway, enough blathering on

[Bones]

when you have a family there isn't just you to consider. Adults can decide something is going to be good and make the most of it, but kids can be quite different. If you have had a holiday on a boat you will know how you all get onin a confined space, and the kids will know how they can cope with privacy. I lived on a narrowboat with a 16year old, and by all accounts privacy wasn't an issue, we were both pretty understanding of the other, and the boat size and layout allowed for privacy. My current boat is 10ft shorter and the current layout isn't suitable for 2 aboard. Ofcourse, if she wanted to come back I would change things, but as it is it wouldn't be quite so easy to maintain an equal privacy, and I think privacy is the main issue.

 

Many people think they will like it and don't, and many people think they will hate it and don't. You know you and your circumstances. I think more research is required if you have a family (I did none at all) and other people to think about.

[sharma]

when you have a family there isn't just you to consider. Adults can decide something is going to be good and make the most of it, but kids can be quite different. If you have had a holiday on a boat you will know how you all get onin a confined space, and the kids will know how they can cope with privacy. I lived on a narrowboat with a 16year old, and by all accounts privacy wasn't an issue, we were both pretty understanding of the other, and the boat size and layout allowed for privacy. My current boat is 10ft shorter and the current layout isn't suitable for 2 aboard. Ofcourse, if she wanted to come back I would change things, but as it is it wouldn't be quite so easy to maintain an equal privacy, and I think privacy is the main issue.

 

Many people think they will like it and don't, and many people think they will hate it and don't. You know you and your circumstances. I think more research is required if you have a family (I did none at all) and other people to think about.

 

I think it depends on so many variables whether you'll like it or not. Are you an outdoorsy person? Like camping? How much boat can you afford? Can you afford a new one with sprayfoam insulation? If you like it warm, do you know how much gas /coal you'll need to buy? Can you deal with lack of space? The latter we haven't missed. But we spent most of our working lives crammed into a single bedroom (our office) in our old house.

 

I think the realities of the living aboard are ok with us. We all love the outdoors and camping/roughing it etc. Now we have the dog all we do when we get the chance is to go to the countryside. Living as we do in a city and on a main road, its a total drag to take him for a walk around the streets. None of us enjoy it in the least. First plan was to move but prices in our desired locations are totally out of our range. We always said we would get a barge when the girls were older....now they are quite excited about it (i think getting their much wanted dog last year may have something to do with it).

 

Also we are quite lucky in the fact that all our holidays are usually in lodges in out of the way places with nothing but either river, fields or sea. Friends with kids always say.....dont the girls get bored? They're not the type of kids that need butlins style entertainment thank goodness!

They also stay with their mum for 3 days a week so they said they would love the house at mums and the barge with me and dad....best of both i suppose!

My kids are older and left home and are already thinking...hmm barbies and beer in the summer

I also have a thing about woodburners....i love em! We have two at the moment...one in the lounge and one in our conseratory always on the go in winter...

 

The main problem we are worrying about is the way to do it.

If we rent out our house...it pays the mortgage...all well and good, but we have to work out how much we can afford to borrow....plus mooring fees, licenses, upkeep etc.

Like knotty was struggling with....rent out then get a cheaper boat or sell and get a better one.

My head aches