Boathouse Rental

[Lakesailor]

I have the opportunity to rent a boathouse on Windermere.
At the moment I have a boat landing in a field which is owned by the Steam Boat Museum.
I can use it all year round, although the weather hasn't been kind this year and I have not had the boat on the landing since November.
I am not keen to put it on the landing before the Easter Weekend has passed as last year there was some vandalism and theft at Easter from yobbos who camped in the field.
The boat now has new remotes and cables fitted although I don't leave the motor on the boat.


It sounds like I have made up my mind to take the boat house.



Problem is. It's only available for 8 months of the year and it's over £100 a month.
Is that a reasonable amount. do you think? Would you pay over £800 to have your boat ready to go, securely locked in a boathouse?

 

[sarabande]

if it saves £800 of back pain and makes you feel like Thunderbirds Are Go as you hurtle out of the front doors - then go for it. And you can always use it to launch minisubmarine attacks on Claymore.

I have a feeling that you might flog a couple of pics for more than the cost.

 

[Seajet]

Just a thought, but would an electric golf trolley move the engine etc ? Don't know what they go for, just a friend of a friend has just got one due to back trouble ( for golfing, sadly ).

The boathouse looks spiffing, as long as you have a few £800 notes spare.

 

[Lakesailor]

A motorised trolley would be one problem solved, but the thieving vandals that sporadically damage boats on the landings are quite another.
The other alternative is to launch at Ferry Nab slipway. That costs £22 a throw including parking. The car does all the difficult bits.
Trouble is you can only launch when they are open and that limits the lovely early morning drifting about. Also there are sometimes queues for recovery and I don't do queues.
I'm thinking I need to justify spending that sort of money, but I want to. It's the same quandary someone posted about a bit ago. The facility will cost as much as the boat is worth.
But it will make the boat so much more useable.

 

[sarabande]

would you be able to reduce your insurance by keeping the boat locked in the boat house ?

 

[Lodesman77]

How much space inside? Any possibility to share with someone?
.

 

[Lakesailor]

Insurance is about £50. Didn't ask me about security.

The boathouse is a lot smaller than it seems. There is also an issue relating to access to the private property it is on. Sub-letting would not be allowed.

 

[Allan]

Looks like a great place to live for 8 months. I'm sure Mrs Lakesailor would be happy to contribute!
Allan

 

[bignick]

Would the boat house be big enough to put a larger boat in than you currently have and are you thinking about changing it at all in the future? (A nice wooden slipper launch springs to mind...)
Secondly, bearing in mind the level the lake got to a few years ago, how much headroom is there. You wouldn't want it crushed against the roof, although if its only across the road you'd be in a position to rescue it if necessary!

I had my boat in WXB marina for 6 months after I got it, and subsequently got a mooring as I couldn't justify the cost of a full year in there. It was noticeable how my usage of the boat fell after that - when it was on a pontoon I could nip out for an hour on my own, when it was on a mooring it took 25 mins sorting the dinghy each way etc so I wouldn't go out unless I had at least 2.5hrs spare. Some of my best sails were after 6pm when a nice breeze kicked in and the lake was empty.

 

[ProDave]

I thought you gave up your previous mooring because it was too expensive? Is this cheaper or more than your previous mooring?

Looks great, just as long as you have no intention of going back to a raggie.

 

[Lakesailor]

It is more expensive, although in view of the fact I don't need a landing (£180) it will be only about £200 more. But I have found the launch/retrieve process is a bit aggressive for my rather feeble back. So I'd rather squeeze a bit more from the budget and be active than keep upsetting my sciatic nerve.
The boat house will take up to a 22ft boat. I am guessing that a lift keeler with a tabernacle mast would be a decent option if I wanted to go raggie again (like a Post Boat or a Lune Whammel). I could drop the mast before putting it away. In the floods the water comes as high as the windows in the doors.
For the present I have the use of Feckless, which is on a mooring just near the boathouse, so I could motor out and leave the boat on the buoy if I use Feckless.

 

[bikedaft]

yes - you only live once, and the boat house looks a cracker (and its not my money you're spending )

if its too much just don't do it again next year

 

[scottie]

Go for it

 

[Seajet]

Go for it; the value of your present boat is completely irrelevant, it's your enjoyment and quality of life which matters.

Plus I suspect you'll change boats before long; the aforementioned sailing boat with lift keel & tabernacle / pivotted step opens up many possibilities, and a slipper launch might be fun too.

 

[Lakesailor]

yes - you only live once, and the boat house looks a cracker (and its not my money you're spending )

if its too much just don't do it again next year

That's my thinking.
The owner has a relative who has expressed an interest (taking her at face value, she is very straightforward) but she will wait to hear from me before offering it to anyone else.

It does work out a bit dearer than a landing and a mooring, but is so much more convenient and secure.

 

[Skylark]

Only now read your OP and share the same view as bikedaft. You can't take it with you and you're a long time dead. If it gives you freedom and pleasure and removes the weak back issue, surely it's a no-brainer.

I hope you enjoy it.

If it causes you to use the boat more we'll all benefit from the additional fuel tax revenue, as a most welcome consequence You can help pay off our debt.

Please post more of those misty lake pictures!

 

[Seajet]

Please post more of those misty lake pictures!

Careful, there's probably a 'glamour model' called Misty Lake somewhere in his archives !

 

[Romeo]

I would so love a boat house like that. The pleasure of pootling in and out for a season would easily be worth the difference between what you are paying now and what is offered, let alone the other advantages of security etc.

 

[Searush]

Even when it's peeing down & blowing a gale, you can sit on your boat snug & cosy inside the house & quietly snooze, take pics of the rain outside or fiddle with fixing summat. What's that worth, compared to being miserable at home?

 

[Lakesailor]

Mind's made up. Be daft not to. I told her I would let her know on Monday. She isn't letting anyone else have an option until she's heard from me. (Some people are still honourable)