Newbie Advice

[Ex-Member]

Hi I am new to this forum and I realise by asking the following questions that I will be opening up Pandora's box and everyone will have their own opinion but I reakon I will glean some useful advice from any comments posted. My partner and I are retired and have had boating holidays before but are about to embark on our first purchase which we intend to use for extensive travel in the UK. We live in up in the hills above Brecon and although the B&M Canal is on our doorstep it is too restrictive not being linked to the main system. We have around £45k to spend, excluding surveys etc., would like a minimum 50ftr, cruiser stern with reverse layout. So::

 

What could we expect for our money?

What should we look out for as necessities (rather than 'want to haves')

Why does the price of boats vary so much e.g. is a is a 1978 boat as good as a similar priced 2004 boat just because of the builder?

Broker or private (given we don't want to be travelling the country to view unnecessarily)

Can anyone recommend a good brokerage

 

and the million dollar question:

 

does anyone know of a good boat already up for sale.

 

I hope I am not asking too much of you all on my first visit

 

best regards

[bottle]

Numpty

 

Welcome to the forum, your questions are exactly the same as every 'newbie' that has joined the forum.

 

So possibly a search of the forum may help but expect you to get confused with so many different answers.

 

I'll start but others will be along.

 

What could we expect for our money?

 

A decent boat, if you are careful. Have a look a the Apolloduck website and have a look there, to get a feel of what is available.

 

What should we look out for as necessities (rather than 'want to haves')

 

That is entirely down to you and what you expect to use the boat for, weekends, holidays, long holidays, live aboard (and your pocket)

 

Why does the price of boats vary so much e.g. is a is a 1978 boat as good as a similar priced 2004 boat just because of the builder?

 

Possibly the older one may even be better, it is down to shell, fitout, level and quality of equipment

 

Broker or private (given we don't want to be travelling the country to view unnecessarily)

 

Again your choice but wherever you buy it from get a full survey, you may have to travel as the one you see pictures of will not be the same when you get aboard, prepare to be disappointed many times. You cannot smell damp in a photo.

 

Can anyone recommend a good brokerage

 

Cannot help with that, as I have not used one, commissioned our own boat build.

There are a couple that get mentioned a lot on here as being good and they are Rugby Boats and ABNB. I am sure there must be more.

 

edit;phat fingersss

Edited October 27, 2015 by bottle

[johnnie1uk]

i have just bought a boat, after looking at quite a lot, i paid 20k for an oldish 45ft , reverse layout, cruiser stern. but its exactly what i wanted and thats what matters, You get more value for your money up North, and for 45K you should be able to get something pretty good.

I brought through Venetian, (same company as Whilton) and i can recommend them,

Look at lots of boats and dont make any quick decisions.

good luck with your search.

[dmr]

ABNB and Rugby boats are brokers of good repute though are mostly at the upper end of the market, but with 45k you are just getting into that area.

 

Boats can start to hit welding issues at 25 years old, and insurers may want a survey etc so boats can be cheaper at this age. BUT a good well maintained boat of that age could still be perfect. Older boats might look old inside, but sometimes this can be very attractive.

Boats are like cars, Jaguars and BMW's cost more than Skoda.

Reverse layout is a new fashion so you might not find many old ones.

The cruiser stern was invented for the hire market so the whole family can stand next to the steerer. If you plan to have LOTS of family visits then it might be good, but for liveaboard use (including long term cruising) a semi trad is better and a trad could be even betterer.

 

.............Dave

[Southern Star]

You'll get a nice boat for £45,000. If you insist on a reverse layout then you will have to bide your time and wait until one comes up, they are very much in the minority, but they do come up. Bottle's post was pretty much spot-on.

[Richard T]

Look at a lot of boats before buying one. If you stay overnight in the Braunston area there are several brokers that you can visit on one trip - Braunston Marina, Whilton, ABNB, Rugby, Wigrams and may be other marinas with some boats for sale eg Weltonfield. In my part of the world Mercia, Sawley, Beeston, Nottingham, Barton Turn all do brokerage.

An alternative is that Matty40s of this parish will given criteria do the leg work for you and then take round to look at suitable boats - he does charge a fee for this but you do get the benefit of his extensive knowledge of boats,

[John V]

The preceding posts pretty well cover all the bases .....so I'll just add......Welcome to the forum

[Ex-Member]

Wow thanks for the warm welcome and advice I know a lot is common sense and personal choice but it is always good to hear other people's point of view. I appreciate all the comments made and will certainly not rush into anything although I would hope to have purchased something by early spring next year and, as I said, we will be using it extensively eg. a month onboard a week or two home and then a month onboard again. I am more interested in the history/condition of the boat/engine rather than it looking like the Ritz so on that basis can I ask:

 

ex hire or not? It's just we have seen a couple well within our price bracket with the layout we want and it would leave us the funds to 'personalise' it if we wish.

 

Thanks again

 

Paul

 

ps how to I contact Monty40s??

[ditchcrawler]

 

 

ex hire or not? It's just we have seen a couple well within our price bracket with the layout we want and it would leave us the funds to 'personalise' it if we wish.

 

 

I know people who have them who are quite happy. Just make sure it is direct from the hire company. You need a few more posts before you can PM people

[Mendip-Locks]

 

ps how to I contact Monty40s??

Matty40s has a website as well http://oldfriendscanalservices.weebly.com/contact-me.html I don't know him but everywhere you come across him mentioned it's always very positive.

Ade

 

spelling

Edited October 28, 2015 by Mendip-Locks

[Southern Star]

 

ex hire or not? It's just we have seen a couple well within our price bracket with the layout we want and it would leave us the funds to 'personalise' it if we wish.

 

Pro- well built and maintained.

 

Con- more set up for larger groups (i.e. more beds than you might want), fit-out more designed for durability than aesthetics, can be poorly insulated, not normally fitted with a multifuel stove.

[OldGoat]

As Southern Star said above - but some of the smaller / more discerning have boats that don't cram the customers in - there's a mix out there.

Again the smaller outfits my spruce up they boat / include your modifications for you.

Although -mebe- a bit bland they've been made modifiable / repairable because that's what they have to do when customer trash their boats (Surely not???)

Have a look at ABC, Oxforsdshire narrowboats, Teddesley for examples.