I'd like a boat....but where to start??

[Chox]

Hi everyone,

 

I can't believe that it was September 2011 that I joined these forums! Anyway, we did hire a boat on the Llangollen Canal in September 2011 and of course had a fantastic time.

 

Time passes, and now nearly 4 years later my wife and I find our thoughts still turn towards canal boats. We have been 'land cruising' in a camper van over the last two years and travelled much of near Europe, however despite where we go we still end up near water!

 

What has changed is that since 2013 we have virtually 'retired' so therefore have plenty of time (that we did not have before) to do things.

 

So to cut to the chase, we still really want to buy a canal boat. It needn't be too big (we have spent 468 nights in our 6 metre camper van (Fiat Ducato) and lived on a sailing yacht for 3 years so small spaces are good for us

 

We would like to be able to cruise continually during the summer months, however the plan would be to leave the boat somewhere for a week or so while we go 'home' to deal with the usual house stuff then go back and continue.

 

Our list of 'desirables' includes:

 

under 45 ft

portholes

solid fuel stove

simple electric and water systems

economical and reliable engine

high security

under £20k

 

we are quite happy with the idea of getting something 'tatty' that needs general upgrading, however the engine needs to be good to start with.

 

I am posting this thread here because I have always thought it a good idea to seek advice from those with more experience than me. I will have to start 'somewhere' and am prepared to make mistakes along the way.......

 

If anyone can offer any advice I would much appreciate it. Perhaps if only on what 'not to buy!'

 

Many thanks in advance

 

Grahame

[bigste]

You will find something decent at 20k though it will probably need some work on your part. Whatever you buy you must allow for costs of a survey, that is a must for a first timer. Allow about £800. On top of that you have to licence it and insure it. It may need an MOT (BSS) and blacking so be ready for the BOAT (Bring Out Another Thousand). Good luck and don't buy the first you see.

[Phil Ambrose]

Hi Grahame, well your shopping lists looks to be eminently doable. First thing to do is look at as many boats that fill or almost fill your list of criteria, remember that you would have to be very lucky to find a boat that ticks all he boxes so be prepared to compromise.

Apollo Duck is a very good place to start your search, many boats on the site and easy to set your search criteria, usually each advert has many photos which will give you a good idea of what the boat is like.

Good luck,

Phil

[bassplayer]

My biggest tip is to view as many boats as you can before you think about putting a deposit down. The best way to do this is to go to a few marinas who have a lot of boats for sale and spend the day having a good look around as many close to your spec as possible. Ideally take someone with you who knows more about boats than you. Trust me, if I'd done that in my younger days I would have saved myself a great deal of grief!

 

Once you have settled on one, take it out for a short trip. It's surprising what problems you can discover once you are cruising.

[Rickent]

Definitely do able. Just take time and don't rush and as has been said , survey us a must. Happy hunting.

[Guest]

....but where to start??

 

A largish marina like Whilton in Daventry is as good a place as any, particularly for a boat of the type you are looking for. You also can generally left alone to crawl over as many boats as you like that way you can see lots of boats in one place and will give you an idea of different layouts and types and you may even find one that suits and is within budget.

Edited May 30, 2015 by MJG

[magictime]

Given your past experience of living happily in very small spaces, I'd be tempted to compromise on the boat length in order to get the other details right. I know this is stating the obvious, but all else being equal, a 35-footer for £20k is likely to be significantly newer, better maintained and better equipped than a 45-footer at the same price. Look round some boats of different sizes and see what you think, but even a 26-footer is likely to feel spacious compared to your camper van! And of course your running and maintenance costs will be lower with a smaller boat too.

 

I also wouldn't get too fixated on the idea of portholes; you're limiting your options an awful lot there.

 

In terms of security, nothing is going to stop a brick through a window if you're unlucky and/or leave the boat in the wrong place for too long (and I'm speaking from experience here!), but if you find a boat you like it shouldn't be an expensive job to upgrade its security in terms of new locks or even cameras.

 

As others have said, £20k is a perfectly realistic budget for a decent small to mid-sized boat, so you shouldn't struggle. Best of luck with it!

[Chox]

Wow, thank you for the replies so far everyone. It is indeed daunting but I have to start somewhere!

 

For the sake of brevity I left out some detail earlier. We have hired boats previously over the years and owned a dreaded GRP cabin cruiser once I think having the camper van for the last two years has certainly help us know what we can 'do without'.....(TV etc). The desire for a solid fuel stove comes from the days when we had a wood burner in the house......we never went cold! (kept fit tho collecting all that wood!).

 

As for the rest of it......... we want to 'keep it simple'.

 

I have a feeling that once we have a boat the days of the camper van will be numbered.......

 

Cheers

 

Gahame

[bassplayer]

....a 35-footer for £20k is likely to be significantly newer, better maintained and better equipped than a 45-footer at the same price.

This is sometimes true but newer boats aren't always better. Maintenance is indeed the key and the state of the hull is probably the most important thing (which is why a hull survey is a must). The quality of steel used and build quality on older boats can be better than that on newer builds.

[Chox]

Given your past experience of living happily in very small spaces, I'd be tempted to compromise on the boat length in order to get the other details right. I know this is stating the obvious, but all else being equal, a 35-footer for £20k is likely to be significantly newer, better maintained and better equipped than a 45-footer at the same price. Look round some boats of different sizes and see what you think, but even a 26-footer is likely to feel spacious compared to your camper van! And of course your running and maintenance costs will be lower with a smaller boat too.

 

I also wouldn't get too fixated on the idea of portholes; you're limiting your options an awful lot there.

 

In terms of security, nothing is going to stop a brick through a window if you're unlucky and/or leave the boat in the wrong place for too long (and I'm speaking from experience here!), but if you find a boat you like it shouldn't be an expensive job to upgrade its security in terms of new locks or even cameras.

 

As others have said, £20k is a perfectly realistic budget for a decent small to mid-sized boat, so you shouldn't struggle. Best of luck with it!

I agree with all that. I have 45ft in mind as the maximum we would want. Yes, anything bigger than 20 ft will seem bigger than the van..lol

[John V]

snip< We have hired boats previously over the years and owned a dreaded GRP cabin cruiser once >

 

Oi !!! Less of the dreaded...........I love my GRP cruiser !!!!

 

 

087 by mudlarker2, on Flickr

[Chox]

 

Oi !!! Less of the dreaded...........I love my GRP cruiser !!!!

 

 

087 by mudlarker2, on Flickr

 

Sorry John V,

 

I loved my old boat, I just thought I might get 'lynched' if I mentioned it here........ (it was half the size of that one)

[Phil Ambrose]

I echo John's comment, we lived aboard a GRP cruiser for about 10 years.

Phil

[Naughty Cal]

 

Sorry John V,

 

I loved my old boat, I just thought I might get 'lynched' if I mentioned it here........ (it was half the size of that one)

Not at all. There are plenty of cruiser owners on here.

[Neil2]

What does your budget of £20k include? have you accounted for the cost of a survey, lift out, boat licence, insurance, blacking, mooring fees etc? Just buying a boat can soak up anywhere between £2-5,000 so if £20k is all you have you need to knock a good bit off that before you arrive at a figure for the boat itself. It's possible to find decent boats well under £20 but you will have to get nearer to 30 foot than 45 and it could still take a long time to find the right one. OTOH if you can squeeze into a 32 footer and forget about steel you could have the best Highbridge cruiser going for under £15k. Go (almost) anywhere on the network, no worries about rust and you can still have a solid fuel stove...

 

Whatever you do beware of tired narrowboats that "just need a bit of TLC". Doing up a "tatty" narrowboat can easily turn into an expensive nightmare, there's enough case studies on this forum to illustrate that..

[Chox]

Thanks Neil2,

 

We have a 'flexible' budget......... meaning we will spend what we have to if the boat warrants it. I have spent a few days surfing the net and it is indeed a minefield. I have already come to the conclusion that a lot of boats are tired and tatty as you say. Pushing the budget up another 10k produces a lot of overpriced boats owned by optimistic owners....

 

I am seriously beginning to think about a hull or sailaway now....

[Jess--]

Thanks Neil2,

 

We have a 'flexible' budget......... meaning we will spend what we have to if the boat warrants it. I have spent a few days surfing the net and it is indeed a minefield. I have already come to the conclusion that a lot of boats are tired and tatty as you say. Pushing the budget up another 10k produces a lot of overpriced boats owned by optimistic owners....

 

I am seriously beginning to think about a hull or sailaway now....

Don't be afraid to offer what you think the boat is worth to you rather than basing it on the asking price, the worst they can say is no.

 

in my case making the offer took almost 19% off the price of the boat.

[Neil2]

Thanks Neil2,

 

We have a 'flexible' budget......... meaning we will spend what we have to if the boat warrants it. I have spent a few days surfing the net and it is indeed a minefield. I have already come to the conclusion that a lot of boats are tired and tatty as you say. Pushing the budget up another 10k produces a lot of overpriced boats owned by optimistic owners....

 

I am seriously beginning to think about a hull or sailaway now....

 

In which case you need to set aside at least two years of your life to complete a DIY fit out...

 

I think you are broadly correct though in that increasing your budget just takes you into a different level of owner optimism... We bought our current boat for half the price it was originally advertised at (nine months earlier).

 

To be honest I think the best advice I can offer is pretty much forget the tick box approach and just find a boat that appeals to you, something you just like the look of or something with an interesting provenance. All boats are a compromise and any steel boat will cost you lots of money in the long run so it's best to have something you can forgive easily...

[Chox]

It's tricky....... we like portholes, tug style, solid fuel stoves.................not easy!