Credit Crunch

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funinthesun

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My boat needs a service soon and a decent home for 2009. Given the fact we are headed for trying financial times should i commit to my engineer and marina now or wait for:

1. 2 for 1 engine/drive servicing
2. Get 6 months free moorings when you buy 6 months
3. 50% off Thames Licence
4. Pigs to start flying

This is my first year as an owner, and i have to say whilst i didn't go into the hobby blind, it's bloody expensive! Any donations of course will be thankfully received and faithfully applied.....
 
Why dont you service your engines yourself? I am assuming they are not 10litre beasts with turbos and superchargers?

Always worthwhile getting to know your engines, so that if you get stuck somewhere you can get yourself out of trouble...

For most people, an oil/filter change and fuel filter change is not exactly taxing.?

I have for the last three years had a different mooring in the summer to the winter to save a few quid and it has worked well. Many marinas offer winter deals for the cold 6months at substantial discounts due to lots of vacant moorings while craft are on hardstanding.
In the summer I occupied a mooring with few fringe benefits other than the price. (I have moved into a marina now in order for a change of stretch of river but thats another story...)

You may wish to get yourself on to the EA Mooring waiting list for moorings at one of their locks. You will have to wait a few years but from what I here the prices are lower than marinas.

As to the license, yeah right "Dream On..."
 
While I own just a humble 25 footer, it costs just £3000 per annum to run, in entirety.

In real terms, this is a 10 day holiday with Virgin or Kuoni, which represents good value, considering the amount of weekends we enjoy, and the excellent people we meet.

Sod the holiday, lets go boating /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Thought you'd sold the B25?

You reasoning makes sense though, until you get a year or two with the crap weather we've had lately, where you have the boat and STILL want that £3,000 holiday abroad!

Seems wrong to have a boat and then go elsewhere for your summer holiday but with the weather we've had the last few years it has been a very tempting option to go abroad...
 
The B is sold, STS etc, but a career change means we'll have all Summer to enjoy the Broom /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I have to say sometimes I wonder why some people go to the expense of boating on the Thames when for the same money ..or even less they could go to some grubby sandpit and lay beside a pool and be roasted alongside lot of sweaty Germans then ..have a night out in the Spanish equivalent of a working mens club eating overpriced junk food and getting ratarsed on wallaby piss…the highlights of the holiday being a singalong with Cher, Elvis and Gary G lookalikes…oh and the last night when you win the schitty shirt competition….
No Thanks….Theres nothing wrong with the weather in this country ..er,..alright it may rain a bit but that only serves to give us a lot of greenery which I might add I much prefer to tumbleweed…
I have had a brilliant first season on the Thames …Me and my trusty crew have had weeks away and a few weekends going from nowhere to nowhere and not only did the sun beat down on us but we had all sorts of adventures ….the kids survived without TV and loved every minute….

I`m with John…….Sod the Costas, lets go boating


….
 
Well yes, if you compare it to a week or two on some crowded costa, why bother. I took No Regrets £3,000 to indicate a better "class" of holiday, for instance during the floods of 2007, we went to Egypt for a fortnight and cruised the Nile. Same murky brown water as the Thames but guaranteed sunshine and some rather interesting sights to see.

Having been boating on the Thames for 7 or 8 years now, you do occasionally feel the need to leave home and try something different.

Think the main reason to keep the boat, as opposed to just hiring one for the summer hols is the many weekends away during the year, hopefully a good proportion of which will be warm and sunny.
 
Thanks for the advice apollo, I'm sure i can undertake some of the work myself. Sorry about your continental experiences Uncle Albert, you really should give up those club 18-30 trips.... Oh and No Regrets, did you factor in the depreciation on that B25?? Also, since when did £3k get you a proper family holiday?

I suppose my initial rant was based on the fact its nice to have some sort of incentive to spend, a sweetner, not always some sort of sales gimmick, but just good service at a fair price, i'm not sure i have yet discovered that boating.
 
I think you will find Birchwood 25s are too old to depreciate!

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
You`re right of course it would be nice to get a deal now and again but I think the general rule with boat yards is don`t let them get their hands on your boat…I have seen a Silver go in for a job on the stem with a quote of £350..to come away with a bill of £3200.00...but the worst I`ve seen was a fit out carried out by a boatyard for a chap to set up business as a trip boat….He came round my boat in tears after being presented with a bill for £22,000...He eventually had to sell the boat to pay it….
Of course most boatyards will do a reasonable job but it is important to get a fixed quote ..set in stone ..and if they won`t give one …walk away..



..
 
Indeed, depreciation isn't an issue in certain vessels, either due to the latent value for money, or the make/ model of boat.

Running costs are the issue, but a 25 footer can be properly berthed, comprehensively insured, serviced in a reasonable fashion and fuelled for £3000 per annum.

Thats stonking value for money if you get out at every opportunity as we do.

The social life, in the right place, is priceless though, never mind the pleasure of wafting down the Thames whilst sipping a Martini or two.

Not three though, the locks go all pear shaped /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
It's when all the costs come at once which really make my eyes water, but NR is right when he compares the cost to a half decent package holiday.

We had excellent use of the boat last Summer despite the poor weather. Highlights included a stop at Racecourse Marina for the Monday night racing, a very warm two days at Penton Hook and a visit to Thorpe Park (to keep the kids happy), being invited to share the barbecue of a delightful Sikh family at Windsor, probably the most delicious chicken and lamb I have ever tasted, and a surprisingly successful trip upstream with another family after plans to find a late availability break somewhere fell through.

Add in the weekends and odd days out just pottering up and down, plus the occasional trip down to the boat for dinner just on a whim (we live 15 minutes from the marina) and it all starts to make much more sense. Add in the way the stress of everyday life just drops away as soon as I walk down the pontoon at the marina and I start to wonder whether boating should not be available on prescription.

So I say phooey to the credit crunch, knickers to the rain and red boards and b**ll***ks to selling the lock cottages. I am off down the boat this weekend just to make sure...? well probably just to make sure the kettle still works and the tea bags have not got damp.
 
[ QUOTE ]
phooey to the credit crunch

[/ QUOTE ]

whilst I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of your post, a quick look at your bio/occupation - "Insolvency practitioner" - happy days eh?

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Good post DWT…my thoughts exactly…..take no notice of rimmer or his unfortunate signature ….nice to see someone with a positive attitude ….although I would hate anyone to think my costs were equivalent to a package holiday….Here at Win Marina it`s more like a stay in a Barbados 5*…
but worth every penny…

….
 
[ QUOTE ]
take no notice

[/ QUOTE ]

I resent that, if you read between the lines I was agreeing too, the clue, subtle though it may be for some, lies in the words "I wholeheartedly agree".

I'll try and make it clearer next time!

R
 
Its good to hear such positive comments, I now feel very happy about parting with s**t loads of cash to keep the old girl in good shape and am pleased to spend on the boat aswell. Afterall its only by parting with hard earned that we will see off this financial hiccup.

Well done chaps, top motivators.
 
Good man Mr C …that’s the spirit…first rule of boating, never never ever count the cost.
Rimmer ..I know you was only having a laugh….er, so was I….
Boating is a crazy pastime …even the people who make them and sell them seem to always be in financial trouble…but it seems I have always had a boat…I got rid of it once but after 2 months I ended up in the dog basket ..sucking my thumb….people say to me how can you justify the cost when you only use it in the summer …I tell erm not so..I enjoy my boat 365 days a year….I think about it….

…
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
phooey to the credit crunch

[/ QUOTE ]

whilst I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of your post, a quick look at your bio/occupation - "Insolvency practitioner" - happy days eh?

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah yes, good point, forgot about the bio. I tend not to mention it in social circles as when I tell people what I do they either look at me blankly or take an involuntary step backwards (or is that to do with the soap I use?)
 
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