The Lea's Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Hi everybody, We are looking for a project boat. Nothing fancy. We have been scouring the internet but just wondering if anyone knows of any good boat yards that sell fixer uppers. Inside or outside work doesn't faze us. This will end up being our home so we are willing to do the hard work no matter how long it takes. Any advice on marina's or boat yards that are not looking for a great deal of money for a project would be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks The Lea's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giant Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Welcome to the forum. What sort of boat are you looking for, how much are you looking to spend, and where are you planning on using and mooring it? Do you have any experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Mack Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Ebay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul C Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Whilton Marina? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickent Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Whilton Marina? problem is, they are full price fixer uppers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Saunders Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 It may be productive to walk the canal and leave a letter with a sensible offer on any obviously neglected boat that appeals to you. Sometimes an offer to buy will encourage the owner to get rid of a liability: Insurance, Licence and Mooring fees. Please, do not offer £400 for a boat worth £5,000 as someone did for my boat! Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starcoaster Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 (edited) I dunno though it can be worth a punt! Some people find they're sitting on an ever depreciating liability, while still paying out for costs on it, thinking they'll never get rid of it in that state, and preferring just to forget about it and wait in the secret hope someone nicks it or it otherwise gets taken off their hands... A well-placed offer of a no-hassle few hundred might be well timed, although of course yes, will sometimes be taken for very cheeky! It has happened to me a lot when selling my old (motor) bikes on Ebay, none high value but all well worth £700-£1k reliably, I have got at least five messages from each of the three bikes I have sold offering me £100 cash to take it away right now... It pissed me off, but I reckon if you throw out enough messages like that, eventually someone will bite! Edited May 21, 2015 by Starcoaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 £4000-£5000 should get you a reasonable length narrowboat as a 'doer-upper' but it will take many, many £1000's and hours of work - make sure you realise the implications before starting. http://www.boatwrecks.com/power.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty Cal Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Have a wander around a few boatyards. Often they have a bot of a boat graveyard somewhere where the wrecks are stored. Don't under estimate the price of putting one right though. You are sometimes better off slightly upping your original budget and buying something ready to use but in need of tidying up rather then a full blown project boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 The cost of the tools and the materials to do repairs is usually bigger than you thought by a factor of up to ten, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lea's Posted May 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Welcome to the forum. What sort of boat are you looking for, how much are you looking to spend, and where are you planning on using and mooring it? Do you have any experience? Thanks for the reply. We are looking for a boat 40+ in size. Probably between £4,000-10,000. We are based in Cheshire so on the Bridgewater Canal. My husband is a Plater / Fabricator welder by trade and so any outer work is not an issue for the right price. Thanks again. Have a wander around a few boatyards. Often they have a bot of a boat graveyard somewhere where the wrecks are stored. Don't under estimate the price of putting one right though. You are sometimes better off slightly upping your original budget and buying something ready to use but in need of tidying up rather then a full blown project boat. £4000-£5000 should get you a reasonable length narrowboat as a 'doer-upper' but it will take many, many £1000's and hours of work - make sure you realise the implications before starting. http://www.boatwrecks.com/power.asp Many thanks. Ebay Yes we are scouring ebay lol. Many thanks. Whilton Marina? Many Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinl Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/display.phtml?aid=411835 http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=411205 http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/display.phtml?aid=394522 There's a few, there's plenty around but most of the best possibilities will probably be a sign in the window rather than on Apollo Duck. The boat rally is on at Lymm this weekend you often find a few there with for sale signs in the window, alternatively e-mail people like the Lymm crusing club or contact the marinas and see if they know of anything, there are a couple for sale that I know of but there not on the net just a sign in the window. I'll see if I can get some pics over the weekend. K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lea's Posted May 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/display.phtml?aid=411835 http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=411205 http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/display.phtml?aid=394522 There's a few, there's plenty around but most of the best possibilities will probably be a sign in the window rather than on Apollo Duck. The boat rally is on at Lymm this weekend you often find a few there with for sale signs in the window, alternatively e-mail people like the Lymm crusing club or contact the marinas and see if they know of anything, there are a couple for sale that I know of but there not on the net just a sign in the window. I'll see if I can get some pics over the weekend. K Thank you. We are going to Lymme possibly on Saturday. Thank you for your help. It is much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starcoaster Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Don't bother with Boatwrecks. I contacted them in 2011 about three boats shown on the site, and was told all were either sold or no longer available. All three of those boats are still showing on the site now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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