Opinions on a 60' trad for sale?

[jetzi]

Hi forumites, we have found a boat that we want to make an offer on. At 60 foot she's shorter than we thought we wanted, but the layout felt right for our purposes, like so many have suggested would be the case. Would love some opinions from seasoned boaters who know more about these things than me. She is in London so it's possible her asking price of 45 000 is a little inflated.

 

We will of course be getting a professional opinion as well - our plan is

1. Get an in-water evaluator to recommend a purchase price

2. Make an offer on her, on condition of an out-of-water survey

3. If accepted, get her surveyed.

4. Based on the survey re-negotiate the price if necessary.

 

And of course, look at other boats in the meantime, make the pilgrimage to Whilton and take a look around!

 

https://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/boat.phtml?id=577821

[ditchcrawler]

Looks tidy with some decent equipment,Trojan batteries,good inverter, etc only thing that may be a problem that I can see is all the work has been done since the last BSS inspection 3 years ago. No idea on price

 

[rusty69]

I'm in love with the advert.It's Smoooth with a capital S. Defnitely directed at a London market, white and sky blue with props in all the right places. Shame no engine/electronic pics.Love the central light/ventilation landing strip!

Edited August 14, 2018 by rusty69

[Boater Sam]

How tall are you or members of the family? Across bed may be shorter than you need.

Its very white and looks all very recent, very "London", perhaps that suits you.

[MtB]

Hmmmm, looks allwhite to me!! 

[matty40s]

I am not  fan of boats that only have electrics and lighting along  central strip of ceiling. 

It's a simple and cheap kind of fitout, yes, but do you really want to be mistaken for Heathrows new runway approach. 

Tidy looking boat, don't think it's overpriced for a 15 year old boat.

Am looking at opportunities for an In Water Evaluator...never seen this before, especially when going to pay an out of water surveyor for the same or better information.

[Nick D]

Appears to be in good nick and this may well be the case, alternatively it may be cosmetic.  Survey required for sure, but if all clear could be a good buy

[jetzi]

19 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

only thing that may be a problem that I can see is all the work has been done since the last BSS inspection

Are you saying you think there may be work done that could cause BSS failures?

 

18 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Defnitely directed at a London market, white and sky blue with props in all the tight places.

 

9 minutes ago, Boater Sam said:

How tall are you or members of the family? Across bed may be shorter than you need.

Its very white and looks all very recent, very "London", perhaps that suits you.

Agreed, it has a modern interior which is not to everyone's tastes, we do like it though - perhaps we're quite London ourselves! Good point about the across bed, I'm 6' tall so that might be an issue.

 

 

1 minute ago, matty40s said:

Am looking at opportunities for an In Water Evaluator...never seen this before, especially when going to pay an out of water surveyor for the same or better information.

Well we are given to understand we can get an in-water evaluation done for around 100 gbp. If that is the case, then it could save us an expensive survey if they pick up anything obvious. It's kind of insurance for our insurance you know? Also, I think we'd have to at least tentatively agree on a price before the survey was done, wouldn't we?

[TheBiscuits]

Just now, matty40s said:

Am looking at opportunities for an In Water Evaluator...never seen this before, especially when going to pay an out of water surveyor for the same or better information.

You would probably be a good candidate for doing it - I read that as "someone who knows enough about boats to look at it and say good/bad/indifferent quality/spec/value".  It's the in-person version of this thread.

[Stewart Kirby]

Cosmetically it looks good, no photos of the engine ole but Beta 1395 is a good engine. Price is OK, your budget seems to have rocketed into outer space. I can’t see the point of an “in water survey”. It’s the condition of the hull, anodes, blacking etc that can really only be assessed by an out of water survey that matters. If I were in the market for a boat, I would be very interested.

[MtB]

8 minutes ago, ivan&alice said:

Good point about the across bed, I'm 6' tall so that might be an issue.

 

I’m 5ft 8in and find a cross bed barely long enough.

[Stewart Kirby]

13 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I’m 5ft 8in and find a cross bed barely long enough.

Why is your bed cross? Have you done something to upset it?

[rusty69]

Just now, Stewart Kirby said:

Why is your bed cross? Have you done something to upset it?

Probably took it to Banbury! 

[Dr Bob]

4 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Probably took it to Banbury! 

No. Not enough water to get there.

[rusty69]

Just now, Dr Bob said:

No. Not enough water to get there.

How much water do you need to float a water bed? 

[jetzi]

19 minutes ago, Stewart Kirby said:

Price is OK, your budget seems to have rocketed into outer space. I can’t see the point of an “in water survey”. It’s the condition of the hull, anodes, blacking etc that can really only be assessed by an out of water survey that matters.

I just feel uncomfortable going through the process of agreeing to buy the boat and having the survey done, because I'd presume we'd want to make a tentative offer prior to having the survey done, and I don't know if a boat of those specifications is worth the asking price.

 

 

20 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I’m 5ft 8in and find a cross bed barely long enough.

This could be a problem then, I'll have to try the bed out. I'm actually about 5'11 if I've been carrying something heavy, so perhaps after a day of stocking the stove with coal I'll fit in the bed a little better.

 

[mrsmelly]

Cross beds are things of the devil.

[Dr Bob]

Looks a good price. I have seen a lot of boats this size and age being advertised and selling for a lot more. As said above, no pics of the engine and electrics. If they look well maintained then it looks a good option.

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

Looks a good price. I have seen a lot of boats this size and age being advertised and selling for a lot more. As said above, no pics of the engine and electrics. If they look well maintained then it looks a good option.

 

It is 'reasonably priced' because of the impractical cross bed. 

 

If the OP can cope with it, he can bag himself a bargain.

[Peter Reed]

7 hours ago, rusty69 said:

I'm in love with the advert.It's Smoooth with a capital S. Defnitely directed at a London market, white and sky blue with props in all the right places. Shame no engine/electronic pics.Love the central light/ventilation landing strip!

"With props in all the right places" How many props does a narrowboat need and in how many places? I think one, maybe two if you have a girly button.

[rusty69]

2 hours ago, Peter Reed said:

"With props in all the right places" How many props does a narrowboat need and in how many places? I think one, maybe two if you have a girly button.

Maybe more if its a springer being blacked! 

[Momac]

9 hours ago, ivan&alice said:

I just feel uncomfortable going through the process of agreeing to buy the boat and having the survey done, because I'd presume we'd want to make a tentative offer prior to having the survey done, and I don't know if a boat of those specifications is worth the asking price.

 

it is quite normal to make an offer first but you do have to be happy that the offer is appropriate  assuming no defects that are not made clear to you at that poi

if you have not looked at enough narrowboats to get a feel for the approximate  value I suggest you do some more research. Otherwise you will never buy a boat.

[Alan de Enfield]

8 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

It is 'reasonably priced' because of the impractical cross bed. 

 

If the OP can cope with it, he can bag himself a bargain.

Surely it depends -

1) The height of the bed makes a huge difference (6"-8") if the bed is positioned below the gunwhale or level / above the gunwhale.

2) How you sleep. I am a 'side sleeper' and tend to assume a slightly foetal position with legs bent.

 

I am a 'full-up' 6 foot, and on our Reeves had a 'cross-bed', (at Gunwhale height) I slept very comfortably and if I did need to 'stretch and 'point my toes' I could by lying at a slight angle across the bed.

Having a full Queen size bed with a custom built orthopaedic mattress far, far, far outweighs any slight disadvantage of having to take 30-seconds to pull the bed out of its 'day' position.

Being able to get in & out of both side for 'night time duties' , without climbing over SWMBO (or vice-versa) is another big benefit.

 

Do not discount cross-beds. Given the choice - they are what I would choose.

[Athy]

9 hours ago, ivan&alice said:

 

 

This could be a problem then, I'll have to try the bed out. I'm actually about 5'11 if I've been carrying something heavy, so perhaps after a day of stocking the stove with coal I'll fit in the bed a little better.

 

I'm 5'10 and have a bit of room to spare in our crossbed. As you say, literally try it for size.

The saloon looks quite austere, with its wishy-washy paint job, bare floor and sparse furniture, but you can soon customise it so that it looks and feels more like home.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Athy

[rusty69]

I'm 6'3" and have a hole cut in the side of the boat for my feet /head. 

 

Why, oh why did i buy a narrowboat!