The Practicalities of Life Aboard a Broads Cruiser

[Naughty Cal]

Just a thought :

 

The draft of NC is virtually the same as these broads boats you are looking at (0.8 metres / 2' 11") and 4 feet narrower (8 feet in lieu of 12 feet)

Your air draft is 6 feet - pretty much the same.

Why don't you take NC for a 'run' up the canals that you propose basing yourself on ?

 

"Try before you buy"

 

You will have the advantage that the lowest point on NC is the drive so you can lift that a few inches (tilt) in the known shallow places, you also have the benefit that you can do a full tilt and get to the prop to clear off the dead bodies, mattresses, bin bags , ropes and cables that you pick up 'on the cut' - something that you cannot do on the broads boats (and no 'weed hatch' either - or is there ?)

 

If you struggle with NC then think what misery you will have when living aboard the broads boat.

 

I may have saved you £50,000 !!!

I'm not sure where this idea has come from that we will be based on the canals?

 

We will be based as we are now in Lincoln. Our holiday cruises would then be inland.

[Naughty Cal]

The C45 will make a quieter cruising boat with the engine at the back corner (port side?). The AF 38 has the engine under the raised helm position in the centre cockpit.

 

I think the C45 had the winding handle and chains under the side deck, system to move the canopy. Make sure they have been kept in good adjustment or the chains can slip on the drive-sprocket and lead to repairs.

 

 

We had thought that.

 

The layout would I think suit us better as well. With one of the rear cabins easily converting to a utility room leaving the other ensuite cabin as a guest cabin.

[David Mack]

Well you did ask:

 

But just how practical will a Broads boat be on the wide UK canals for example. We are sure it will be very much at home on the Trent, the Witham and the Ouse but what if we head further inland still?

 

[Naughty Cal]

Well you did ask:

 

Yes. For holiday purposes.

 

Typically we will have a main two week cruise in the summer and a one week cruise at the beginning and again at the back end of the season.

 

We will on the whole be based on the Witham and Trent much as we are now with holiday cruises further afield.

[Alan de Enfield]

I'm not sure where this idea has come from that we will be based on the canals?

 

We will be based as we are now in Lincoln. Our holiday cruises would then be inland.

 

OK I mistakenly said 'based on the canal'

You will still be based around Lincoln so why not take a couple of weeks holiday on the 'further inland waterways' using NC and see how you get on.

 

When you get up the Trent to Meadow Lane, go up the lock, thru' Nottingham, & onto the T&M (you will get as far as Burton-On-Trent before you have to turn around.

[Phil Ambrose]

 

Nothing, but I'm a narrowboater, so I don't have much expertise in this. Experience this summer is that GRP is common as far west as Leeds, but much less so on the L&L.

 

MP.

 

ETA those examples all give dafts of 3'. The L&L was fine with a 2'10" NB, but at that depth you will find the bottom quite regularly. Does that matter with a GRP hull? I'd certainly be worried about having an outdrive as the lowest point on the hull, for instance

The boats in question are not on outdrive but on shaft

Phil

Edited August 31, 2016 by Phil Ambrose

[Naughty Cal]

 

OK I mistakenly said 'based on the canal'

You will still be based around Lincoln so why not take a couple of weeks holiday on the 'further inland waterways' using NC and see how you get on.

 

When you get up the Trent to Meadow Lane, go up the lock, thru' Nottingham, & onto the T&M (you will get as far as Burton-On-Trent before you have to turn around.

NC is a different prospect on the canals and we just won't do it.

 

Why trash a set of aluminium props and potentially damage the sterndrive for the sake of it? On top of that the slow speed (well as slow as it gets at 3mph!) handling is nothing like what we will have with a Broads boat designed to go slow.

 

We have of course taken NC onto the Nottingham canal already to access Sawley and the Soar up to Loughborough. We managed.

[FadeToScarlet]

They're very expensive, compared to narrowboats.

 

How about something like.... https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=475627

 

https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=487792

 

https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=420881

Edited August 31, 2016 by FadeToScarlet

[Phil Ambrose]

They're very expensive, compared to narrowboats.

 

How about something like.... https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=475627

 

https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=487792

 

https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=420881

But twice as wide

Phil

[Naughty Cal]

They're very expensive, compared to narrowboats.

 

How about something like.... https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=475627

 

https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=487792

 

https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=420881

They are perhaps three of the most unsuited boats to inland waterways that I think you could have conjured up!

 

Per square foot of accomodation the Broads cruiser offers more accommodation for the money then a typical narrowboat.

 

Take for example the C45. It is 45ft x 12ft which makes it 540sq ft. At the asking price of £52500 that's £97.22 per square ft of accommodation.

 

This fairly typical narrowboat (http://www.bluewatermarina.co.uk/BoatDetails.aspx?boatid=278) offers 350sq ft of accommodation and at the asking price of £36,500 that's £104.29 per square ft of accommodation.

 

So the Broads boats are not expensive by comparison.

[Murflynn]

write out a spreadsheet of pros and cons, using a hard headed approach.

 

then, equipped with objective data, go with your heart.

[Naughty Cal]

write out a spreadsheet of pros and cons, using a hard headed approach.

 

then, equipped with objective data, go with your heart.

Much the same as we did buying NC then

[Alan de Enfield]

They are perhaps three of the most unsuited boats to inland waterways that I think you could have conjured up!

 

 

 

Agreed - either FtS uses very different Inland Waterways to most of us, or he didn't read the specifications.

 

Example

The 1894 DB has an air draft of 9' 9" (not many canal bridges will accommodate that, at that width.

'The 'President' has a draft of 3' 9", not many canals would be usable at that draft

The '1939 one' has a draft of 5' 11"

Edited September 1, 2016 by Alan de Enfield

[Dave Payne]

Not sure if these are being sold off separately or as a job lot, but might be worth a look?

 

http://www.johnpye.co.uk/project/public-auction-by-tender-contents-of-a-boatyard/?key1=fb&key2=carousel&key3=fb-august&key4=narrowboat-community

[Naughty Cal]

Not sure if these are being sold off separately or as a job lot, but might be worth a look?

 

http://www.johnpye.co.uk/project/public-auction-by-tender-contents-of-a-boatyard/?key1=fb&key2=carousel&key3=fb-august&key4=narrowboat-community

It's a shame we don't have the funds freed up right now to have a bid on a couple of these.

 

I quite like this one:

 

http://www.auction-solutions.co.uk/lot_details.asp?l=1&lotid=1866722&pageno=1

[ditchcrawler]

Unless this means you dump a big mortgage I cant see why you are doing it. You are buying a boat that you think you will make money on. If not surly its better to stick with the bricks until you can get what you want, there is more chance of them going up in value than a boat.

 

Or is the truth you just cant wait to live on a boat?

[Phil Ambrose]

It's a shame we don't have the funds freed up right now to have a bid on a couple of these.

 

I quite like this one:

 

http://www.auction-solutions.co.uk/lot_details.asp?l=1&lotid=1866722&pageno=1

Agreed, Vulcan was always an eyecatcher and would not say no to it myself.

Phil

[peterboat]

It's a shame we don't have the funds freed up right now to have a bid on a couple of these.

 

I quite like this one:

 

http://www.auction-solutions.co.uk/lot_details.asp?l=1&lotid=1866722&pageno=1

So do I. I tried to buy a similar boat before I bought my widebeam, even now my preference would be for a broads cruiser like this one

Sometimes you have to follow your heart I would not want to live in bricks and mortar again even though I have had some lovely houses they just dont compare to living on water

Edited September 2, 2016 by peterboat

[Naughty Cal]

Unless this means you dump a big mortgage I cant see why you are doing it. You are buying a boat that you think you will make money on. If not surly its better to stick with the bricks until you can get what you want, there is more chance of them going up in value than a boat.

 

Or is the truth you just cant wait to live on a boat?

Because the money that we are spending each month paying off the mortgage (not massive) on the bricks and mortar we don't really have any affection too would be better put in the bank and saved towards buying the boat that we really want.

 

We are under no illusion that we will make money on a Broads boat, far from it. The outlay needed to get it up to liveaboard spec will never be returned. However what it will do is a provide us with a comfortable home we want to live in whilst saving for the home we really want.

[Naughty Cal]

Couple of questions on the engines in these boats. Obviously they are a little bit smaller and a little bit simpler then we are used too. They do seem to have a wide variety of engines in them, usually around the 35-50hp mark.

 

The ones we have seen advertised have had either Nanni, Perkins, BMC or Lombardini engines in them. Now with the exception of the Lombardini we have heard of them all but which would be the "best" of the bunch? Being ex hire boats we would expect them to have high engine hours so what are the likely costs of replacing an engine?

 

The internet seems to be a bit of a black hole when it comes to replacement engine costs!

[Alan de Enfield]

Our previous boat (NB) was an ex-hire boat.

 

It had over 9,000 hours on the engine, and didn't use a 'drop' of oil, didn't smoke, didn't overheat and ran all day at 1500+ rpm on the River.

 

Maintenance is the 'key'.

I would rather have a 5000 hour ex hire boat that has been serviced every 3 or 4 weeks, than a 500 hour 'private' boat that has had (maybe) 2 services in 10 years.

 

As I am sure you know from 'NC' the secret to maintaining a good diesel is changing the oil & filters at, or before, the manufacturers recommendations. When cruising, I was changing oil & filters every 3-4 weeks.

 

"New" replacement engine - Vetus 3 cylinder around £5000, Vetus 4 cylinder around £6000.

 

Such as the BMC you will be buying someone else's 'problems', or a rebuilt one. Cost - ???????????

[cereal tiller]

Couple of questions on the engines in these boats. Obviously they are a little bit smaller and a little bit simpler then we are used too. They do seem to have a wide variety of engines in them, usually around the 35-50hp mark.

 

The ones we have seen advertised have had either Nanni, Perkins, BMC or Lombardini engines in them. Now with the exception of the Lombardini we have heard of them all but which would be the "best" of the bunch? Being ex hire boats we would expect them to have high engine hours so what are the likely costs of replacing an engine?

 

The internet seems to be a bit of a black hole when it comes to replacement engine costs!

Nanni Engines are Kubota based,as are most Beta engines

 

Not keen on Lombardini for a propulsion engine

 

Perkins are likely to be elderly

 

B.M.C are eternal.

 

CT

Edited September 2, 2016 by cereal tiller

[Naughty Cal]

We were drumming up a list of pros and cons for the broads boats this weekend whilst out on NC. So far the list reads:

 

Cons:

• Mooring. We are used to being able to squeeze NC into little spaces left on visitors moorings. At 45ft long that isnt really going to be an option with the Broads boat.
• Turning around. We are used to being able to turn NC around wherever we fancy. With the Broads boat this is going to need more thought. It should go around in the Fossdyke but it will be tight in places.
• Maneuverability. The stern drive handling we are used to will be replaced by shaft drive with a piddly rudder and a huge keel fighting against the boat turning around.

Pros:

• No canvas to faff around with.
• Loads more space.
• Slow speed handling. It will actually do slow speed!
• Domestic sized appliances.

We have decided that either early or late next year we will hire one of the similar boats that Herbert Woods have and see just how well we get on with the boat.

[gazza]

The prop is well tucked up behind the keel but yes I agree access isn't ideal. Must be possible though as we have seen several hirers rescued from the old rope around the prop trick! The boat will be shaft driven! Draft varies depending on the boat from 2 to 3ft.

If you do go for a shaft driven boat get aa rope cutter on it.

 

That set up is basically the same as ours, I fitted a rope cutter to help with shifting weed but it has its most obvious benefit for its intended use. Makes mincemeat of coal bags too.

 

I used one if these, got good write up in PBO. http://www.prop-protector.co.uk/ I went for a one piece one as I was doing a refit anyway.

 

Dad lived on a DC30 for years with no issue, something like you are looking at will be ace.

 

Good luck finding the right one. Don't forget, hiring is an option for your other planned trips if the right boat comes before you have done them, yes it would be great to do it in NC but don't let that make you miss the right boat.

[gazza]

As for handling, you will soon get the drop of it, use the prop hand to help along with current and wind, sometimes turning the opposite way to what you were traveling makes life easier.

 

 

I prefer a shaft driven semi displacement boat to one with a leg, much more positive feed back at the helm.

 

I'd be surprised if you couldn't find one with a bow thruster, I've seen an outboard powered seamaster 28 with a BT!