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Dutch cruiser constant cruise around london


Tara1234

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Hello so im tginking of getting a dutch cruiser. Problem is most have an airdraft of about 7-8 ft which means I cant get through the tunnels. 

 

Is this type of craft viable, I cant afford a narrowboat and would rather live on a nice steel boat instead of going with grp.

 

here is the boat im thinking about 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dutch-Cruiser-liveaboard-river-cruiser/182966857035?_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=49130&meid=a48155c0687d40b485bc489f0a64cddb&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=122877131353&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_mwBanner=1

 

Edited by Tara1234
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Quite simply, that's just not a canal boat in the sense of the English canals. It's too tall and too deep for our canal network and a 6 cylinder Mercedes is way overpowered and therefore unnecessarily hugely thirsty. It'll be fine on the Thames and for trips to and around the Dutch canals.

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Tarra,

Have you visited the London waterways to assess the mooring situation AND studied CaRT's requirement for those who license as Continuous Cruisers?  If not I suggest you do so PDQ before you spend any money.  Then look into how easy and how costly it will be to get a mooring that you can live on. I am not convinced that to live on a boat in London without constant worry would cost much less than a  small flat in the outer suburbs. Anyway you may end up in Hertfordshire simply to get a mooring.

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7 hours ago, Tara1234 said:

Hello so im tginking of getting a dutch cruiser. Problem is most have an airdraft of about 7-8 ft which means I cant get through the tunnels. 

 

Is this type of craft viable, I cant afford a narrowboat and would rather live on a nice steel boat instead of going with grp.

 

here is the boat im thinking about 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dutch-Cruiser-liveaboard-river-cruiser/182966857035?_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=49130&meid=a48155c0687d40b485bc489f0a64cddb&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=122877131353&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_mwBanner=1

 

I think that it would be fine around London but I'd do some very careful measuring before committing myself.

Keith

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I have been moving a boat around for about a year, my current boat is a norman 27 grp, its cold, it leeks. I moved back into a squat over winter. 

 

I want something thats livable. 

 

Also I found this steel cruiser, how is life on then compared to narrowboats? Are they much colder?

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/steel-cruiser-for-sale-again-viewing-recommended-px-swaps-van-motorhome/1280339550?utm_source=systemedm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=adreply

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The second boat looks like a lot of difficult re fitting for not much result, I doubt it would ever be much more comfortable than your present boat. The first boat is a better prospect as a boat and as a home. What I would do is contact the seller and ask him how he got it to Guildford, if it came down the river Wey then I would carry on being interested, if it arrived by road I would give up, it looks too high to ever leave by water, there is a low bridge not far out of Guildford that I doubt it could get under even with a bit of surgery. Cruisers are not so comfortable as narrow boats, they tend to be designed as holiday boats and the space is not so easy to use. However lots of people do live on all sorts of boats and vans that are far from perfect.

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19 minutes ago, Tara1234 said:

I have been moving a boat around for about a year, my current boat is a norman 27 grp, its cold, it leeks. I moved back into a squat over winter. 

 

I want something thats livable. 

 

Also I found this steel cruiser, how is life on then compared to narrowboats? Are they much colder?

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/steel-cruiser-for-sale-again-viewing-recommended-px-swaps-van-motorhome/1280339550?utm_source=systemedm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=adreply

Depends on how well insulated it is, my guess is that that one has none.

The Dutch cruiser is likely to be insulated but you'd have to check that. 

Keith

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I also found a NB its only 26ft tho. Would I find this to be cramped or are NB optimised in a way that they feel bigger than they are?

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/26-foot-narrowboat-£8-500/1278209965

 

also found a grp widebeam all set up. Owner did 3 winters on it, my concern about that though is that is it going to be vulnerable on londons waterways. I want something I can live on for at least 10 yrs as thats how long the loan is gonna be.

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/houseboat/1279797203

Edited by Tara1234
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13 minutes ago, Tara1234 said:

I also found a NB its only 26ft tho. Would I find this to be cramped or are NB optimised in a way that they feel bigger than they are?

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/26-foot-narrowboat-£8-500/1278209965

Take off 6 foot for the front, 6 foot for the back and your 'living space' (Bedroom, Bathroom, Toilet, Kitchen, lounge) is 11 foot long x 6 foot wide x 6 foot high, or, about the same size as a small van or car.

Try marking it out on the floor and see what it looks like - its not a lot.

Folks have been known to liveaboard 26-30 foot boats, but It wouldn't be for me.

One of our current boats is 36 feet - however it is 14 feet wide (compared to 6 feet wide) and much higher (such that the cabin is built over the engine room)

For comparison :

1) 32 foot narrow-boat to 36 foot widebeam.

2) Interior of a 30 foot NB, (1st Bedroom, & then Lounge)

3) Interior of a widebeam (1st Lounge & then Bedroom with en-suite)

CAM00020.jpg

IMG_20130912_123210.jpg

IMG_20130912_122235.jpg

Versatility-35-15.jpg

Versatility-35-28.jpg

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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OK so here's my contribution - first boat too deep too tall wrong design and wrong engine and totally unsuited to London canals and particularly to breasting up against other canal boats on towpath moorings - there is a reason why canal boats are so called that its because they fit also this one wouldn't be that easy to control single handed!

It might be fine on Thames Wey Medway and connected river related channels/networks others know better than me how that works but probably expensive 

Second boat probably better but still not really a live-aboard as others have said before me

Might be better to see if you can buy jointly with a friend so your budget can get to something better £10k is a real challenge £20k is very doable - try not to go shorter than 40ft or 50ft if there's two of you living apart.

Have fun with your project soak up everything you get from here but be realistic and look around you there is a reason why no-one else on the canals has a boat like the first one

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2 hours ago, Tara1234 said:

I have been moving a boat around for about a year, my current boat is a norman 27 grp, its cold, it leeks. I moved back into a squat over winter. 

I'm not sure why, with a year's experience under your belt, you're still at square one. You really ought to have a much better grasp of what might suit your boating needs than picking a random, unsuitable craft and asking for other folks to help decide your fate. Are you sure you're really cut out to be  a boater?

That may sound a bit harsh, but reality checks usually are and you really need to have one before you commit 10k into something you appear not to have gained much idea about even after a year of doing it. Sorry for being blunt. :)

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9 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Titanic was steel and that sunk.

What do you intend to do that would damage a GRP boat ?

I plan to live around london, Im borroriing the money off my dad and he thinks that in london the boats get knocked around a lot so a steel boat will last longer. My plan is to live on my boat full time and constant cruise between hackney and brentford. Am I being unfair towards GRP because of a bad experience i've had with my previos boat?

Heres the GRP boat im interested in. Is there anything I can do to convince my dad that GRP boat is suitable for living on if its built well?

I need a boat that I can live on for 10 years at least, preferably with little maintenance.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/houseboat/1279797203

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Are you sure you can find new moorings between Hackney and Brentford regularly enough to keep within mooring time limits on that stretch? Are you sure you can shuffle that small stretch and still claim to be continuously cruising without coming into conflict with CRT? You simply can't own a boat for ten years with little maintenance, whether it's GRP or steel. The boat you identify above is described by the seller as a "project" - this is almost always a euphemism for something in a bit of a state that needs more money spending on it than the owner has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future. Your boat knowledge appears flimsy at best, you're buying in the cheaper (also frequently dodgy) end of the market and your Dad is funding it - what could possibly go wrong?

There's little point posting questions here and only giving credence to the answers which you like or which fit your dream. The ones that will help you most are those which highlight the difficulties you need to overcome. As you build your knowledge of the pitfalls and can mitigate for them, your dream grows ever closer. If you don't, your (and your Dad's) nightmare draws the nearer.  

I suspect you won't thank me for the tough to take advice above, however, it sounds like your Dad has misgivings but maybe has too little boat knowledge to advise you himself.

  • Greenie 1
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Something to think about is that as an ex Broads cruiser it was probably a summertime rental boat, so possibly little insulation - cold with condensation in winter - and with a layout suited for 4 adults on holiday rather than one or two living on.  Probably needs a fair bit of work doing.  Also CRT is getting quite strict on enforcing the movement rules for cc licence holders, so do consider how you will satisfy them otherwise you are looking at a lot of trouble.  Just make sure you go into this with your eyes fully open.

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I agree with all that Sea Dog has said - wise words indeed. 

The boat on Gumtree is not a "houseboat" as claimed, it is a Broads cruiser. The forward steering position means that they can be more difficult to handle than traditional narrowboats. I would like to say that it looks "cosy", but it doesn't. It looks old, shabby and dated. Insulation is likely to be non-existent or very thin, as it is basically a holiday boat for spring to autumn. 

It is highly recommended to have a survey before buying a boat, and the surveyor should also be able to give an opinion on the asking price. The seller says, "make me an offer". That suggests that he or she may be in a hurry to sell. I wonder why?

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There's a couple of those broads cruisers on the K&A so you try joining the K&A facebook page and see if you can get any help (though not everybody does facebook). I know one gave quite a lot of trouble.

I would choose a steel narrowboat everytime, but as you want to buy a very cheap boat and dream of having no trouble for ten years then it is possible that a plastic boat just might be the better option.

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

 

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4 hours ago, Mike on the Wey said:

I(snip)
The boat on Gumtree is not a "houseboat" as claimed, it is a Broads cruiser. The forward steering position means that they can be are a lot more difficult to handle than traditional narrowboats.(snip)

 

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17 hours ago, Tara1234 said:

I plan to live around london, Im borroriing the money off my dad and he thinks that in london the boats get knocked around a lot so a steel boat will last longer. My plan is to live on my boat full time and constant cruise between hackney and brentford. Am I being unfair towards GRP because of a bad experience i've had with my previos boat?

Heres the GRP boat im interested in. Is there anything I can do to convince my dad that GRP boat is suitable for living on if its built well?

I need a boat that I can live on for 10 years at least, preferably with little maintenance.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/houseboat/1279797203

A boat, any boat, needs continual and regular maintenance!
Take that attitude and your boat will not last long.

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19 hours ago, Mike on the Wey said:

I agree with all that Sea Dog has said - wise words indeed. 

The boat on Gumtree is not a "houseboat" as claimed, it is a Broads cruiser. The forward steering position means that they can be more difficult to handle than traditional narrowboats. I would like to say that it looks "cosy", but it doesn't. It looks old, shabby and dated. Insulation is likely to be non-existent or very thin, as it is basically a holiday boat for spring to autumn. 

It is highly recommended to have a survey before buying a boat, and the surveyor should also be able to give an opinion on the asking price. The seller says, "make me an offer". That suggests that he or she may be in a hurry to sell. I wonder why?

And it also has a full size sliding roof over the saloon. Any siding cabin top or roof is likely to be draughty, especially in winter, you may even get snow and rain driving in.

Many GRP Broads cruisers hulls were built like the brick built proverbial so may be stronger than many think. Yes they flex and smash inner linings but unless its a point contact may well not puncture but I agree its probably far from  ideal.

  • Greenie 1
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Ok thanks for this advice it doesn't seam like anything I can afford will be mych of an upgrade. My current boat is having a cabin built on the middle section. I might see if I can sort the layout out in a way that makes me comfortable and then sort out the gas/water and leeks.

 

Current boat is 27ft x 7ft amd is a center cockpit norman cruiser.

If anyone lives on something like this id like advise as to how I could make it livable. 

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On 31/12/2017 at 15:41, Bee said:

The second boat looks like a lot of difficult re fitting for not much result, I doubt it would ever be much more comfortable than your present boat. The first boat is a better prospect as a boat and as a home. What I would do is contact the seller and ask him how he got it to Guildford, if it came down the river Wey then I would carry on being interested, if it arrived by road I would give up, it looks too high to ever leave by water, there is a low bridge not far out of Guildford that I doubt it could get under even with a bit of surgery. Cruisers are not so comfortable as narrow boats, they tend to be designed as holiday boats and the space is not so easy to use. However lots of people do live on all sorts of boats and vans that are far from perfect.

I've been under that bridge and I can state that no way did that big Dutch boat linked to in post #1 ever get up the Wey to Guildford, the item location listed on eBay.

However the eBay advert further states that the boat can be viewed at postcode GU32, which is Petersfield and the area just west of it, and the photo shows it in a dry dock. Aha, I thought, maybe it's on a river with access to the south coast, but as far as I can work out there's nothing in that postcode navigable by a boat of that size. Puzzling, and definitely something any potential purchaser should ask about! My guess is that the ad is genuine and the boat's actually somewhere around the Solent. And highly unsuitable for canal use.

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