Is purchasing a wide beam viable for the rental market?

[Dackombe1]

I am considering purchasing a 60ft - 12ft wide beam boat to rent out. I am restricted to the River Severn/Avon, is this a popular enough route for tourists? Or am I limiting my market by a) size of the boat river cruising only, would this put people off? If anyone can advise me, I would be most grateful.

[Loafer]

I thought the Severn was a bit boring with no view over the banks. Shakespeare Avon is superb.

[RLWP]

Two different licenses too, a CRT one for the Severn and an Avon Navigation Trust one for the Avon

 

Richard

Edited December 13, 2015 by RLWP

[Alan de Enfield]

Just a repeat of the oft quoted 'warning'

 

If planning on buying a 'ready made' boat ensure it was made to commercial requirements/specifications otherwise you won't be able to get it licensed and it would end up as an expensive white elephant.

 

If having a boat built make sure that the builder knows it is to be a 'hire boat'.

[Martin Megson]

I must agree with Loafer. I found the Severn disappointing from Tewkesbury to Worcester. Very limited views and no riverside pubs on route. By contrast the Avon was a beautiful river to cruise and one to which I shall return. However, the Avon can go up quickly after rain and become unnavigable which may limit your season to the summer months.

[sueb]

I love the Severn but I wouldn't want to navigate it with a widebeam. There are problems with flooding and fast flows

[Paul C]

I'd have thought the area is a little too limited to attract hirers, compared with the possibilities with a narrowboat. The Avon ring can be done in a "hard" week, and hirers tend to want to cruise full days and want to see as much as they can for their money, rather than tootle along with eg 3 hours/day.

[keble]

The Avon and Severn are popular as part of the "Avon ring", but that requires a narrow beam as part of the ring is narrow canal.

There are some hire companies on the rivers, and one did operate on the G&S too. But I don't think I've ever seen a wide beam hire boat on those waterways.

So I think it would be very restrictive; you probably wouldn't get a good return.

[RLWP]

There are problems with flooding and fast flows

 

Both rivers. Flooding must be a nightmare for a hire fleet - days lost, boats out of place, boats lost...

 

Richard

[john6767]

As has been said the Severn is not a scenic river, it is interesting, but mainly it is a through route between Stourport/Worcester/Tewkesbury/Gloucester. The Avon on the other hand is great. However a 60ft x 12ft widebeam I would have though would be a bit of a handful on the Avon for someone not experienced. Is there much of a market for big wide-beam hire boats, given the limited cruising options in that area.

[Loafer]

Sounds like a 'no', then.

Try ybw.com forum too. A bit yotty, but might have some Severn interests.

[The Bearwood Boster]

I always think the Severn is a bit like a motorway-the means to an end.There are a few places I like to stop including Tewkesbury,The Boat at Ashleworth & a couple of pubs Stourport way.

Trina

[alan_fincher]

If it is a genuine hire boat I think CRT, at least, are pretty restrictive about where they can operate from as a home base. Do you have a base available, or at least in mind, and if so have you checked with CRT it would be acceptable to them for hiring a boat out?

[NickF]

I have hired boats most years since about 1974. I wouldn't hire it for two reasons

 

1. There are so many good narrowboats in the Midlands I wouldn't want to restrict myself to two rivers,( and I like to complete a ring rather than a there and back when possible.)

2. If I do plan a river as part of my trip I always use a hire base on the canal part of my route, that way if flooding does occur I can re-plan my route rather than having to cancel my holiday.

 

I know this is only my personal opinion but I would have thought enough will think this way to make hiring a widebeam on the Severn unviable as a business venture.

 

Sorry!

Nick

Edited December 14, 2015 by NickF

[George94]

Wide-beams are for living on. If you want to let it as a houseboat in an area where rents are high then you might be onto something - if you can find a suitable mooring.