Talk me out of a narrow boat? :)

[SimonM]

I've enjoyed messing about on boats for a while, doing a chunk of crewing on the Solent over the years, however my wife has never been keen on the offshore stuff. (Sea-sickness, grinding the winches, cold, .... all being cited)

 

So last week we hired a narrowboat out of Rugby Wharf for a lazy weekend. We both had a great time and been bitten by the bug.

 

I still work fulltime in a high pressure career, and taking weeks out for exploring the network style holidays is out of the question

 

Budget is £50k(-ish, flexible upwards to get the right one) and I intend paying for annual mooring at a marina for the security / convenience. It will be used for weekends and summer evenings, so kept somewhere near work and ready to go at short notice would be ideal. (I'm going into this well aware it's not a cheap way to do things, but the de-stressing is priceless to me).

 

Having had a look round a few now, getting a feel for the layouts/ size, I'm leaning toward something 50ft, cruiser stern, reverse layout.

 

The only niggle in the back of my mind is that I live in Nottingham, so both the canal network and the Trent are on the doorstep. So I have to admit a cruiser is not 100% ruled out.

 

Any pearls of wisdom gratefully received!

[RLWP]

Any pearls of wisdom gratefully received!

 

You are doomed!

 

I would suggest you do a weeks hire first, just to get a bit more of a feel, but we hired three times and ended up buying a boat, so I'm not really able to talk you out of it

 

Richard

[ditchcrawler]

 

You are doomed!

 

I would suggest you do a weeks hire first, just to get a bit more of a feel, but we hired three times and ended up buying a boat, so I'm not really able to talk you out of it

 

Richard

I managed 4 and then shared ownership before taking the plunge, I think you soon know if its for you or not, There is more than the Trent in the Nottingham area. A Narrowboat would probably be better on the Trent and a cruiser on the canal, (wait to get shot down) It really depends where you fancy boating most.

[MtB]

Yes doomed, like a fish on a hook.

 

Never mind hiring for a whole week first, that's just delaying things. Get on with it and buy one.

 

Owning your own boat it TOTALLY DIFFERENT from hiring. Running to the boat at half an hour's notice knowing it is already stocked with all the personal stuff you need, stocks of basic food etc can never be done when hiring.

[rusty69]

I've enjoyed messing about on boats for a while, doing a chunk of crewing on the Solent over the years, however my wife has never been keen on the offshore stuff. (Sea-sickness, grinding the winches, cold, .... all being cited)

 

So last week we hired a narrowboat out of Rugby Wharf for a lazy weekend. We both had a great time and been bitten by the bug.

 

I still work fulltime in a high pressure career, and taking weeks out for exploring the network style holidays is out of the question

 

Budget is £50k(-ish, flexible upwards to get the right one) and I intend paying for annual mooring at a marina for the security / convenience. It will be used for weekends and summer evenings, so kept somewhere near work and ready to go at short notice would be ideal. (I'm going into this well aware it's not a cheap way to do things, but the de-stressing is priceless to me).

 

Having had a look round a few now, getting a feel for the layouts/ size, I'm leaning toward something 50ft, cruiser stern, reverse layout.

 

The only niggle in the back of my mind is that I live in Nottingham, so both the canal network and the Trent are on the doorstep. So I have to admit a cruiser is not 100% ruled out.

 

 

 

Any pearls of wisdom gratefully received!

Trade in your wife instead, keep on sailing.

[Tony Brooks]

Getting the boat probably saved me suffering a breakdown from work pressures. To the boat Friday evening, up early and cruise to a nice mooring, stay overnight doing very little unless I wanted to (well maybe a bit of maintenance), cruise to a pub for Sunday lunch and then back to the moooring and home on Sunday evening. "Everyone" knows you can not get mobile phone reception on the canal and like wise internet so the fact you are not contactable seems to be accepted.

[Tiggs]

I suggest that you stand and the side of a canal of your choice and throw in £20 notes.

 

(More seriously I think you should look at buying a share in one of the self managed groups, there are some of these with the layout / length you are looking for. This will be much better while you are still at work)

[RLWP]

 

"Everyone" knows you can not get mobile phone reception on the canal

 

Boat is a tin box, so 'phones can't possibly work. Stands to reason!

 

Richard

[SimonM]

Trade in your wife instead, keep on sailing.

 

lol... I suspect that would cost me so much as to see me sailing a Topper Who knows though enough time on the water, and she might even join me one year on a sailing yacht

 

But back to Mike the Boilerman's point. Having something ready to go at short notice is a bit meaningless if it's a 3 hour drive to the coast

[howardang]

I suggest that you stand and the side of a canal of your choice and throw in £20 notes.

 

(More seriously I think you should look at buying a share in one of the self managed groups, there are some of these with the layout / length you are looking for. This will be much better while you are still at work)

 

 

I would agree and it would set you up for the time when you are able to do justice to owning a boat full time.

 

There is a web site - Boatshare (link below)- which lists current shares for sale on a variety of boats, and if you look around their web site you will find an explanation of how Boat Share works.

 

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

http://www.boatshare.co.uk/forsale/index.htm

[rusty69]

 

lol... I suspect that would cost me so much as to see me sailing a Topper Who knows though enough time on the water, and she might even join me one year on a sailing yacht

 

But back to Mike the Boilerman's point. Having something ready to go at short notice is a bit meaningless if it's a 3 hour drive to the coast

Didn't work for me. I ended up keeping the misses, sailing boat, narrow boat and got a sailing dinghy this year too!

[Boat&Bikes]

Your situation sounds very similar to ours a few years ago. We brought a boat whilst out looking at motorbikes. Had only ever had a day boat out previous to this. We have never regretted buying a boat, can't imagine not owning one now. When we were working we used to be out on the cut many weekends plus holidays when allowed. Haven't ever sat and worked out the figures but over the years the boat will have saved us money due to not spending money on holidays abroad and in the UK.

 

Ian.

[Sally Grim]

We´re more or less in the same place as you, except that we´re living in Norway.....

 

After 4 years of hiring, we´re in the process of starting to look for a boat of our own.

We also thought a lot of buying a share in a boat, but finally rejected it because we felt that it would restrict our flexibility to much. Both regarding to which weeks and also which weekdays you can take the boat out.

[SimonM]

...There is more than the Trent in the Nottingham area. A Narrowboat would probably be better on the Trent and a cruiser on the canal, (wait to get shot down) It really depends where you fancy boating most.

 

Interesting take. Any specific reasons?

 

I live out to the east of Nottingham. I've done a lot of cycling (another non-shared spousal hobby), and along the Trent down towards Stoke Bardolph/ Gunthorpe / Fiskerton / Newark anecdotally it seems it's almost all bigger cruisers.

 

Conversely in the central Nottingham area, esp. around Castle Marina (my most convenient Marina) it is almost all narrowboats.

[NickF]

I would go for a 57ft cruiser stern reverse layout narrowboat but that's just personal choice. The reason for 57ft and narrow is you can then go anywhere on the system with it.

 

I am sorry to hear you have caught the bug, it is I am afraid incurable!

[ditchcrawler]

 

 

I would agree and it would set you up for the time when you are able to do justice to owning a boat full time.

 

There is a web site - Boatshare (link below)- which lists current shares for sale on a variety of boats, and if you look around their web site you will find an explanation of how Boat Share works.

 

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

http://www.boatshare.co.uk/forsale/index.htm

That is no good for the odd weekend, great for the 2 weeks main holiday and a couple of one weekers at other times but they have to be planned and booked ahead. As Tony said if its close enough to go Friday evening and back Sunday its a great unwind. The only danger is its very addictive

 

Interesting take. Any specific reasons?

 

I live out to the east of Nottingham. I've done a lot of cycling (another non-shared spousal hobby), and along the Trent down towards Stoke Bardolph/ Gunthorpe / Fiskerton / Newark anecdotally it seems it's almost all bigger cruisers.

 

Conversely in the central Nottingham area, esp. around Castle Marina (my most convenient Marina) it is almost all narrowboats.

You can take your Narrrowboat down the Trent, you can't take your big cruiser up the canal. So the Narrowboat gives more options especially if you then decide to go away a bit longer, say a couple of weeks in the summer. Its unlikely you will be going out on the lumpy stuff if your wife doesn't like the sea.

[MtB]

That is no good for the odd weekend, great for the 2 weeks main holiday and a couple of one weekers at other times but they have to be planned and booked ahead. As Tony said if its close enough to go Friday evening and back Sunday its a great unwind. The only danger is its very addictive

 

Yes this is my opinion too. Having a boat of your own ready to go whenever the opportunity presents itself is a totally different (and better) kettle of fish from owning a two or four week share in a share boat.

 

Unless the OP knows three months in advance when his 'drop of the hat' opportunities to go boating are going to arise!

[The Lockie]

Got to be a narrowboat!!

With a cruiser you will only get up to burton on trent on the TM if your cruiser is wider than a narrowboat. Plus with a cruiser I was always more worried in canal locks. They don't take to the rough and tumble too well!!

[Neil2]

One consideration is if you buy a narrowboat and after a year or whatever think it was a mistake, you can easily resell. The market for river/sea cruisers is not as reliable.

 

For the same reason I wouldn't waste a lot of time agonising about things like stern design, reverse layouts, walk through bathrooms etc the fact is until you have more experience you won't really know what suits you.

 

Personally I like small boats which these days means 45 foot and under but given your intended use I wouldn't be too mean with space. If you don't anticipate doing a lot of extended cruising there's a lot to be said for a 55-60 footer though as others have said the magic length is 57' even if the vast majority of these boats never go anywhere near the Calder & Hebble.

[Geo]

Simon go for a cruiser with a beam of 9/10 feet, give the second lady in your life time to get used to a boat, but not squashed in by a narrowboat steel tube. When she wants to go further, either head for the sea or canals. By that time second lady could well be happy.

 

My boats are fully stocked with dried food, milk etc plus tins so if the mood takes me I can be up and away. Most times on the way to the boat I add milk etc.

[Bobbin]

Narrowboat every time...........Cruiser sterns are good for entertaining friends in the summer and just sitting about on. Fantastic on cold winter nights all cosy inside, the fire going melting a pan of snow on top to fill the hotwater bottle. Reading the books you always wanted to and never found the time. Boaty friends popping in. People stopping to chat when moored up. Tinkering about with the engine, I love my boat so much that if someone invented a perfume that smelt like my engine I may even wear it!!!

My only regret is I didn't get a boat sooner.

[peterboat]

I can say that a cruiser will work where you are as long as you go up North because the canals up there are mostly large and you should be able get some good trips in, Also the cruiser is better suited to the Trent as you can push the tide etc

[Tony Brooks]

I rather suspect that something like a Seamaster 27 with a BMC 1.5 in will not push the tides much better than my narrowboat and may be worse because of the even smaller prop diameter.

 

If you go for a larger engine you then may well have control problems at low speed on canals and it will sue more fuel when pushing the tide.

[peterboat]

At a 50k budget I suspect it will have a proper engine and easily push the tide. I have been looking at a 35 x 12 footer which has done most of the canals up here and can go a round to Whitby etc with no problems It is a lovely boat and at 35k a good buy

[cereal tiller]

Narrowboat every time...........Cruiser sterns are good for entertaining friends in the summer and just sitting about on. Fantastic on cold winter nights all cosy inside, the fire going melting a pan of snow on top to fill the hotwater bottle. Reading the books you always wanted to and never found the time. Boaty friends popping in. People stopping to chat when moored up. Tinkering about with the engine, I love my boat so much that if someone invented a perfume that smelt like my engine I may even wear it!!!

My only regret is I didn't get a boat sooner.

Have a greenie,your post summed up the joys and the very essence of Boating!

 

CT