Boat browsing

[Paul & Andrea]

As you may know we are in the process of selling our house, and buying a boat to live on.

We have seen a few boats already, and this one below seems quite good, however we have a few concerns;

 

- It's been for sale for almost a year and hasn't moved much from its place

- It has only been used for cruising

- The boat is in London and would need to be moved to the Midlands and we are rather short on holidays.

- It's a bit overpriced

 

Just curious really if someone else has seen it, and what they thought of it, or any other opinions are welcome.

Little odd to be for sale for such a long time?!

 

 

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/HAR068/[/url]

[Canal Shop Man]

- It's been for sale for almost a year and hasn't moved much from its place

It's not at a popular place for buyers. Some boats don't sell for no apparent reason.

- The boat is in London and would need to be moved to the Midlands and we are rather short on holidays.

There are always people willing to move boats for you - depending on where in the midlands you want to go it would only take a week or 10 days to move.

- It's a bit overpriced

It looks OK for the price to me - why do you think its overpriced?

[NB Alnwick]

It looks like good value to me! It would take less than a week to get it up to the Midlands and there are always plenty of folk willing to move it for you . . .

[Supermalc]

Simply by comparing with others looking at boats recently, it seems you can get a 60ft boat for this money. For a liveaboard I would think this should be a concern.

 

As to being overpriced, well because of my circumstances, any boat over £1000 is overpriced :lol:

 

As I've said several times now though. To be serious I would not consider all these tens of thousands of pounds when you can buy a boat that only costs around a third, has more living space, is easier to maintain, cheaper to maintain, and half the licence and mooring cost.

 

The ONLY real disadvantage being there are a few canals you cannot travel along i.e narrow ones. And you have to get it transported by road for a few miles to go from north to south.

[blackrose]

As I've said several times now though. To be serious I would not consider all these tens of thousands of pounds when you can buy a boat that only costs around a third, has more living space, is easier to maintain, cheaper to maintain, and half the licence and mooring cost.

 

I've obviously not seen your previous recommendations. What kind of boat are you talking about?

[Paul & Andrea]

Simply by comparing with others looking at boats recently, it seems you can get a 60ft boat for this money. For a liveaboard I would think this should be a concern.

 

Thanks for your replies!

 

Malc, could you tell me where these boats are? We only seem to be looking on the internet at the moment, as we are still getting the house ready for sale.

 

I cannot quite decide on the price however, as this seems to be a good quality boat, both shell and fitout. It only had one previous owner, who now bought a smaller boat, and it hasn't been "messed" with. But then again it still needs £ spending on it, ie repainting...

[RichardH]

Looks a pretty decent buy to me.

 

What is your budget? Black Prince still have some 2003-4 ex-hires for sale. We looked at one last year and for the money they are asking you can't go wrong (if you don't mind the dodgy vinyl wall panelling !)

[Supermalc]

Thanks for your replies!

 

Malc, could you tell me where these boats are? We only seem to be looking on the internet at the moment, as we are still getting the house ready for sale.

 

I cannot quite decide on the price however, as this seems to be a good quality boat, both shell and fitout. It only had one previous owner, who now bought a smaller boat, and it hasn't been "messed" with. But then again it still needs £ spending on it, ie repainting...

 

Hello Paul - I'm only going on what others have said about viewing ex hire NBs. As you say, as yours is a one careful owner jobbie, it probably is priced about right. When I first started looking for a cheap old boat, just as an excuse to take Barney (my dog) into the countryside, I too didn't know where to look, what to expect etc. Have a read of my site to find out the whole story.

 

I was told you get a lot more boat, for a little more money, and to be honest this is often the case, so given you get a well used boat that will obviously require more of a refit at some stage, larger boats for this sort of money will actually cost more in the end.....unless you can live with what you have got.

 

However as others have said, have a look at ex hire. A local man I know bought his this way a few years ago, and it is now finished. They have a smaller and are selling. I've mentioned it on here, so will look for you. It's more money but a good boat for a liveaboard.

 

Possibly the reason that one hasn't sold is simply because of the shorter size? I only know of NBs and prices from reading on here, and looking on the net of course. I see there are a few listed on ebay.

[NB Alnwick]

In contrast to Malc's experience - in our case, when we found the boat that we wanted, the price ceased to be a consideration - we did everthing possible to raise the money. Its all a matter of balance.

Edited March 22, 2007 by NB Alnwick

[Supermalc]

Just met a couple in passing who said they are selling theirs. 60 or so footer, £42,000. Called Frankitty. Still moored in Lincoln I think.

 

Here we are, a few weeks ago, but doubt theyve sold it yet. It is 60ft, I visited later that day. I've not been and looked since though.

 

 

 

 

 

[honey ryder]

As you may know we are in the process of selling our house, and buying a boat to live on.

We have seen a few boats already, and this one below seems quite good, however we have a few concerns;

 

- It's been for sale for almost a year and hasn't moved much from its place

- It has only been used for cruising

- The boat is in London and would need to be moved to the Midlands and we are rather short on holidays.

- It's a bit overpriced

 

Just curious really if someone else has seen it, and what they thought of it, or any other opinions are welcome.

Little odd to be for sale for such a long time?!

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/HAR068/[/url]

 

I viewed this boat when i was looking for mine last October time.

 

In my humble opinion it looks like a very nice boat, well fitted out ready to go. its not actually in london, its on the GU at harefield which is quite easy to get to from the M25, north of Heathrow.

 

it needed a bit of paintwork outside but it was nice inside. not sure its suitabe for living on though which is why we looked elsewhere. it has a double bed , decent storage, a niceliving space

 

cant comment more than that but Id say its worth a look.

 

At first I thought it was the other boat we looked at, also at harefield. i seriously considered this boat, I dont mind the interior look, it wouldnt cost much to give the personal touch. lick of paint to brighten it up, change the chairs maybe.

 

Ilooked at sailaways too.. but thought better of it.

I dont like the idea of all these new boats being built and fitted out by amateurs. when i went looking at baots in the first place i was astounded at the difference in fit out and how the price didnt reflect that. I looked at a boat up for close to £50k and it wasnt nearly half as well fitted out as the boat i eventually bought, for just 34k.

 

it definitely pays to keep looking and keep looking and keep looking.

 

i thought i would never find a boat just right for my purposes... i still havent to be brutally honest but i think the baot i have now is as close as i could get in the shape of a narrowboat.

my next boat will probably not be a narrowboat.

Edited March 22, 2007 by honey ryder

[anthony]

Hi .

Its just my opinion but I think you should hold off a bit.

Think about this alternative.

That boat is 36 grand and the fit out needs updating unless you like that look of course.

Its around 16 years old and will have lots of bits needing doing.

I dont know what your diy skills are like but if your husband and yourself are prepared to have a go you should consider a sailaway.

You will pay around 20 grand have a brand new engine and gearbox and a blank canvas to stamp your identity on.

Some on here would say just buy the shell with the engine and ballast it and line it yourself to save even more money.

The spare 16 grand you can use to fit the boat out yourself.

You dont have to have all bespoke fitted units you can go open plan and freestanding and have a very modern lovely look at the end of it.

Why not buy a cheap cruiser for now and do it up and use it for weekends ect.

I got mine for 50 quid.

Its great as IM learning all the little things you need to know to maintain and fix a boat.

Then when I come to buy another (i had one before big mistake)narrow boat I will know the crack so to speak.

Whatever you do make sure you have a survey no matter what.

I spoke to an old couple last week who spent 18k on a boat that nearly sank as the botton was paper thin.

If the dreams worth living its worth waiting a bit longer and not making compromises.

Take care.

Edited March 22, 2007 by anthony

[Paul & Andrea]

Hmm, certainly all worth thinking about....

 

The only thing is with a sailaway, how long would it take to get it fitted just for our basic needs? I have been reading Graham Booth's Narrowboat Builder's book, and it took him a lot more both in time and £ than originally anticipated. Nice idea though, perhaps our second boat will be custom built...

[stuart]

Hmm, certainly all worth thinking about....

 

The only thing is with a sailaway, how long would it take to get it fitted just for our basic needs? I have been reading Graham Booth's Narrowboat Builder's book, and it took him a lot more both in time and £ than originally anticipated. Nice idea though, perhaps our second boat will be custom built...

 

I've done the sailaway thing, and although now complete, theres still a few "touches" needed here and there to finally be 100% ! Taken nearly 2 years to get to this point.

 

 

However, I did all the work myself, so if you have the money, and from the breakdown mentioned earlier £16k should buy you a reasonable amount of labour and materials. If you go for an openplan style - the fit out is fairly straight forward.

 

Alternatively, there are places that will sell a boat to any type of completed finish, I think liv. boats do one with a kitchen & bathroom installed and then the rest is up to you.

 

http://www.liverpoolboatco.co.uk/id14.html

 

For £38,879 you get a 55ft boat, engine, insulated, lined, externally painted, with working galley and bathroom. Obviously this is brand new boat - so you can then pick your own colours, style and finish. Slightly more than you wanted to pay - but I'm sure this option would probably be worth more in 4-5years than the boat your looking at now.

 

With second hand boats, even with a full survey, you can still run into engine problems in 6-12months later - theres no guarantees so you could end up paying canal-side repair costs. Not trying to scare you just being realistic.

Edited March 25, 2007 by stuart

[Jo]

Hi Paul & Andrea.

 

I am speaking from a womans point of view. Like already has been said, if that boat has been on the market for a year, it will wait a little longer if it is ment to be yours. I would look around a little more. Whilst the price seems resonable, it looks like it needs updating a little when time and money allows. And if the outside paintwork needs doing that needs to be taken into consideration, you can ask to drop the price for that as your the one who either has to pay to get it painted or do it yourself. I would definately consider putting in an offer if you are really sure you want her and no other boat. If you want it as a liveaboard, it does not say about a washing machine, if your a liveaboard I would say a washer is needed otherwise you will need a laundrette close. We bought a boat to live on whilst our new one was being built and it had no washer, it was costing a fortune for the laundrette, these things need to be thought of.

Also have you allowed in your budget for a servey. I would definately have her or any other boat taken out of the water and gone over properly. Save heartache in the long run.

When you looked at her did you go through it with the vender, and did they explain about how things worked?

Did you also ask to see the engine running?

 

As for sailaways............ So often we have seen started projects up for sale due to the fact that the person had no inspiration to finish it, or relationship breakdowns due to the boat etc. Think very carefully before taking on a sailaway.

 

1). Do you have the time to do it?

2). Do you have all the skills needed? (it is not like house DIY).

3). Do you have a mooring to put her one to carry out the work?

4). What is your time schedule do you have a place to live in the mean time?

 

So many think oh I can do it at weekends and holidays and it never gets done. Give it a great deal of thought. After all it will be a lot of money wasted.

 

Hope my side of things helps. I do wish you both a lot of luck.

[RichardH]

http://www.liverpoolboatco.co.uk/id14.html

 

For £38,879 you get a 55ft boat, engine, insulated, lined, externally painted, with working galley and bathroom. Obviously this is brand new boat - so you can then pick your own colours, style and finish. Slightly more than you wanted to pay - but I'm sure this option would probably be worth more in 4-5years than the boat your looking at now.

 

With second hand boats, even with a full survey, you can still run into engine problems in 6-12months later - theres no guarantees so you could end up paying canal-side repair costs. Not trying to scare you just being realistic.

 

I've just realised I've never heard anyone say anything critical about a Liverpool. To say they are relatively low cost, how do they do it so cheaply and clearly so well?

[honey ryder]

ive heard lots of critical comments about liverpool sailaways.

basically you get what you pay for, and liverpool boats, from what ive gathered from lots of people in different marinas, represent the value side of the market.

 

ive looked around a liv sailaway and although it felt quite nice, it should do because it was new, the quality of the liner, the basic fitting of the roof liner panels and things like that felt a bit "rushed". I dont want to slag them off, but i felt that the standard I was seeing wasnt up to my own personal standard. I also saw much much worse than that on lots of other boats mostly self fit outs so they are definitely not rubbish when you compare them with the wider spectrum of boats available.!

But if you walk onto a second hand well fitted out boat you will see the difference.

 

its all down to what you want to live with.

[WJM]

"I've just realised I've never heard anyone say anything critical about a Liverpool. To say they are relatively low cost, how do they do it so cheaply and clearly so well?"

 

 

 

They are possibly the only people in the UK operating a production line - it was an idea Henry Ford had some time back, it didnt put the likes of Morgan out of business - it was aimed at a different market - any colour you like as long as it is black, and at a better price.