Is 7k enough to purchase a narrow boat for cruising?

[crustycrab]

hello there,

I'm worried it just isn't enough. I'll be forced into getting something at the bottom end with lots of problems?

any thoughts?

Cheers, Chris

p.s. i'm at uni and trying to invest my winnings er,, i mean student loan... :encouragement:

 

[TQA]

No 7k is not enough for a narrowboat even for one old and nasty. The only one on Apolloduck near that has in the description "some welding required. " In steel boat speak that means it is about to become a colander.

You use the word investment, a boat is a hole in the water you pour money into. The older and cheaper the boat the fast you pour.

You are probably thinking that instead of paying rent I will buy a boat and live on it maybe even renting out part of it. The first thing you need to research is the cost of a residential mooring in your location and if any are available. N.B. if you are in London the answers will almost certainly be astronomical and no.

 

[crustycrab]

Hi TQA,

thanks for this. yes that was my plan except I had envisioned continuous cruising thus saving mooring fees, I think that is the only way to make it substantially cheaper than renting a flat/room.

i'm going to look for a rich older wife instead.

 

[Richard10002]

You might get a GRP boat narrow enough for the canals for £7k or less

 

[Boo2]

hello there,

I'm worried it just isn't enough. I'll be forced into getting something at the bottom end with lots of problems?

any thoughts?

Cheers, Chris

p.s. i'm at uni and trying to invest my winnings er,, i mean student loan... :encouragement:

I was looking for a cheap narrowboat to use while working away in a contract and came to the conclusion that £20k is the least you can get away with if you want to actually live on it rather than just work on it. £40k would be better...

Boo2

 

[crustycrab]

I was looking for a cheap narrowboat to use while working away in a contract and came to the conclusion that £20k is the least you can get away with if you want to actually live on it rather than just work on it. £40k would be better...

Boo2

Thanks @Boo2.
Yeh that's about where I've got to. Although fibreglass boats can be had for a fraction of that cost, but I have heard they are hard to heat.


Can anyone verify my costings?

The costs of living aboard a narrow boat (Annually + Continuous Cruising)

*some of these costs only apply to a narrow boat?: coal, oil change, blacking
*Initial price of the boat is not included because it’s such a variable figure depending on type and condition
*Is anyone able to estimate depreciation on a Narrow boat and Fibreglass cruiser?

C&RT annual cruising licence > C£600
Insurance > C£500
Depreciation > ?
—
Engine fuel > £1560 (Max 5L a day?)
Heating > £520 (coal)
Maintenance > £500
Oil change > £700
Pump-out toilets > £100
Blacking > £400
Contingency > £1000
—
Total £5880 (£490/month)

 

[Gumpy]

You haven't factored in the court costs when CRT take you to court because they don't like your pattern of non movement.
Be aware CRT are tightening up, hanging around in one area will land you in court and you may well loose your boat.

 

[TQA]

Well whadyaknow I was looking on Apollowduck and lo and behold I found this. A glassfiber boat that is narrow enough for canals.

http://motorboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=454158

Dawncraft 22 - 6ft 10ins beam - Ideal for canals. Powered by a 9.9hp 4 stroke Yamaha engine. Very good cockpit cover. 3 berth - V berth forward and single in saloon. Oven with hob and grill. Paloma water heater. Curtains and carpets good condition but mattresses could do with new covers. Separate toilet compartment. An ideal starter boat. Could be delivered at cost. £2,250 Laying Goole

GRP so minimal hull maintainance. OB so even if it breaks down a replacement will not break the bank.

I don't know if I would want to spend a British winter in it but maybe with a calor gas heater and some solar and or a small generator it could be done and well within 7k It is not clear if it is Waterways licensed so that might involve some costs.

 

[ufans]

check out this guys youtube boat stuff.

http://sortofdan.tumblr.com/

 

[Tranona]

You haven't factored in the court costs when CRT take you to court because they don't like your pattern of non movement.
Be aware CRT are tightening up, hanging around in one area will land you in court and you may well loose your boat.

Agree. Likely to be difficult to comply with your continuous cruising licence and attend uni. That licence is not intended as a way of providing low cost accommodation but of enabling genuine cruisers to use the waterways. Not a good start in adult life to live on the edges of legality.

 

[steve yates]

But a very good start to be thinking outside the box and not just mindlessly following the herd.

 

[nauticalnomad]

Best off buying 1 in a boatyard requiring work. Live on it whilst repairing it. Youll learn and refurbish the boat. Work your way up

 

[Bru]

Agree. Likely to be difficult to comply with your continuous cruising licence and attend uni. That licence is not intended as a way of providing low cost accommodation but of enabling genuine cruisers to use the waterways. .

Not just difficult but in fact impossible

The continuous cruising licence is not compatible with a lifestyle that requires you to be in one place on a regular basis (Eg fit work, study or medical reasons)

Residential moorings are rarer than hens teeth and eye wateringly expensive

That aside, as the past co-owner of a Dawncraft 25, I would not recommend a GRP cruiser for winter use. The GRP hull is very vulnerable to ice damage (I've known of sinkings - in the days when GRP boats were common in the canals they routinely came out for the winter) and as already mentioned they're difficult to heat effectively without shore power which you won't have on a CC licence

You'll get more and better advice on one of the canal forums but frankly you'll get savaged for even suggesting the idea because the issue of illegal live aboards is a hot topic at the moment with CART actively and vigorously tackling the problem of historic weak enforcement they inherited from BW

 

[boatmike]

I am debating the relative merits / problems of older women v boats..... Suggest you "hire" both on a casual use basis before committing to either......

 

[Richard10002]

I am debating the relative merits / problems of older women v boats..... Suggest you "hire" both on a casual use basis before committing to either......

A second hand car dealer once said to me, " if it flies, f***s, or floats, RENT IT!!"

 

[Tranona]

But a very good start to be thinking outside the box and not just mindlessly following the herd.

Complying with the conditions of a licence that you voluntarily sign up to is hardly "mindlessly following the herd", but a good preparation for life in our society.

 

[steve yates]

Yes, nor is actively looking for alternative and unusual solutions to living somewhere, not to mention wondering if he can use the money wisely and get something solid for it, possibly even an investment with a return, rather than just going into halls and then paying £80 a week for a single bed in a scabby house with one bathroom between four folk.
Ok, slight exaggeration at the end, student accom can be quite smart nowadays, but it's still just paying out rent.

And it's not even grant money now, its debt money that will have to be paid back.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Not a good start in adult life to live on the edges of legality.

Best time to do it. One is only young once, and all that.

 

[Tranona]

Yes, nor is actively looking for alternative and unusual solutions to living somewhere, not to mention wondering if he can use the money wisely and get something solid for it, possibly even an investment with a return, rather than just going into halls and then paying £80 a week for a single bed in a scabby house with one bathroom between four folk.
Ok, slight exaggeration at the end, student accom can be quite smart nowadays, but it's still just paying out rent.

And it's not even grant money now, its debt money that will have to be paid back.

So you think breaking a well established rule and running the risk of losing your boat is a good idea?

By all means look at alternatives, but you find they all have significant downsides by definition and cease to be "alternative" if they are viable.

 

[lukedh]

Buy a cheap camper van and rent a garage near the Uni. You sleep in the van in the garage with no problems of parking or being moved on, no one knows your there. Be careful. Trundle up to the Uni if there is free parking or park in a street nearby, if not walk or use a bus or bike. Use the van to go home at week-ends and for shopping to Tescos. The university provide a gym for showers and a canteen for food. Forget the boat it will cost too much and end in tears. Nobody can discriminate against you if you are a traveller, you may even be given special allowances, coming from a disadvantaged group.