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Boat Pricing Conundrum!


enandess

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1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

Yes exactly although at least they were a little different from the mainstream. Its stuff like the Allaggro.......a total piece of crap in every way and peeps are paying 3k for em now and more :o The isetta bubble car absolute shite and now 20k its barmy

Exactly, and the Isetta was a totally pointless car in every respect, mind you i would like my 66 Zodiac back.

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6 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I predict in 10 years springers will start appreciating in a similar way. Unless already happening - I see braunston have a little one in good original condition on sale for £19k 

:o

It's already happened. Springers are considerably more expensive now than when I bought mine in (I think) 2010. That was a 26-footer, rather scruffy but quite sound, for £7,800. You would be fortunate to see one in four figures now.

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17 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Yeah, but finding a good one was bad enough 30 years ago.  Most of them probably have not improved since, so rarity value kicks in.

I wonder if you still have to Fix Or Repair Daily on them?

Yes. 

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1 hour ago, cuthound said:

One potential problem with buying new, rather than second-hand is that the builder can go into liquidation, leaving you without your money or your boat.

Of course a broker can go bust,  but that doesnt seem to happen as often as boatbuilders failing.

That was one of the things that attracted me to the Bridgman hull (Via Lymm fit out). They only wanted a couple grand down. Imagine putting 20k in the hat only to find the builder goes bust!

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22 minutes ago, Johny London said:

That was one of the things that attracted me to the Bridgman hull (Via Lymm fit out). They only wanted a couple grand down. Imagine putting 20k in the hat only to find the builder goes bust!

Worse than that, stage payment it could be 3 or 4 times that.

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47 minutes ago, Athy said:

It's already happened. Springers are considerably more expensive now than when I bought mine in (I think) 2010. That was a 26-footer, rather scruffy but quite sound, for £7,800. You would be fortunate to see one in four figures now.

 

You're right! (Unusually ;) )

Just had a look on ebay and the one at Braunston actually appears reasonably priced in comparison, especially as it is in excellent nick and just as built with no modifications. Has that really strong '70s' retro feel about it complete with original fibreglass hip bath and acres of nicely varnished mahogany plywood. (I had a look around it a couple of weeks ago). 

As an original and unmodified Springer I'd say this is a really rare find and may well turn out to be a good investment even at £19k. 

 

Is there a Springer Owners' Club yet? 

How long before Springers are allowed into the Braunston Historic Boat rally? I think there is a good case to start admitting them as they are iconic boats now. Some of them must be 50 years old by now. 

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7 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

 

How long before Springers are allowed into the Braunston Historic Boat rally? I think there is a good case to start admitting them as they are iconic boats now. Some of them must be 50 years old by now. 

Nearly: the first ones were outshopped in 1969 (one of them, a 54-footer, is gradually returning to nature just along from our house). So they just overlapped the era of regular commercial carrying which is celebrated by the Braunston rally.

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59 minutes ago, Johny London said:

That was one of the things that attracted me to the Bridgman hull (Via Lymm fit out). They only wanted a couple grand down. Imagine putting 20k in the hat only to find the builder goes bust!

Good thinking. When I had a shell built I gave 2k upfront and didnt pay a penny more until after it had been craned in at my mooring.

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7 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

You just made that word up didn't you?! 

I'm surprised at you, being an Ingerlish teecher and all that....

Certainly not. It is a word which I have known and used for many years. But I agree that people who are competent in a language sometimes invent new words. Shakespeare was rather good at it, I believe.

I guess it could be used in another, competitive, sense: "Armed with her husband's credit card, she outshopped everyone else in the department store"....and yes, I have made that one up, though it is quite possible that someone else made it up before me.

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9 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Good thinking. When I had a shell built I gave 2k upfront and didnt pay a penny more until after it had been craned in at my mooring.

 

In which case the boot was on the other foot. The builder exposed himself to the (small, but he may not have known this) risk of YOU going bust or doing a runner before paying up.

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37 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious :P

I agree, I had a 1963 model in 1978 that paid £500 for with a smokey lump that I rebuilt, but the carbs use to need balancing every month or so and it ate spark plugs like they were going out of fashion, not to mention rear A frame bushes. But oh how I would like it now.

Neil

13 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

In which case the boot was on the other foot. The builder exposed himself to the (small, but he may not have known this) risk of YOU going bust or doing a runner before paying up.

I think if a builder exposed himself to me I would do a runner.

Neil

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1 hour ago, Neil Smith said:

I agree, I had a 1963 model in 1978 that paid £500 for with a smokey lump that I rebuilt, but the carbs use to need balancing every month or so and it ate spark plugs like they were going out of fashion, not to mention rear A frame bushes. But oh how I would like it now.

Neil

I think if a builder exposed himself to me I would do a runner.

Neil

I swapped my 1971 lotus Elan last year for a motorbike. I owned the Elan for ten years and was very reliable. Just took a lot of looking after. That’s what the old Lotus’s need, love and care. Beautiful car! 

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A bloke I used to work with claimed he had a narrow boat built on the handshake of "one Yorkshireman to another", no mention of price, just "I will build you a boat, you will be pleased with the boat and pleased with the price". A fair few years ago though.

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

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6 minutes ago, dmr said:

A bloke I used to work with claimed he had a narrow boat built on the handshake of "one Yorkshireman to another", no mention of price, just "I will build you a boat, you will be pleased with the boat and pleased with the price". A fair few years ago though.

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

 

Any other trivial details discussed? Like length, engine, and internal layout? I can imagine this was all understood in the handshake too. 

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13 minutes ago, dmr said:

A bloke I used to work with claimed he had a narrow boat built on the handshake of "one Yorkshireman to another", no mention of price, just "I will build you a boat, you will be pleased with the boat and pleased with the price". A fair few years ago though.

 

3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Any other trivial details discussed? Like length, engine, and internal layout? I can imagine this was all understood in the handshake too. 

Yeah. I have a Bingley boat too.  It would explain a lot!

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1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Any other trivial details discussed? Like length, engine, and internal layout? I can imagine this was all understood in the handshake too. 

This was all a long time ago Mike, in the days before I became a narrowboat obsessive, so I did not get details. All that I know is that he quickly lost interest and sold the boat on. The bloke concerned was one of my customers and a very good and down to earth engineer so I expect he had the details pretty well defined.

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

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