Worried about daughter buying a houseboat advice please

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ceejayt

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My daughter is looking to buy a Sheffield Short 58 foot by 18 foot iron riveted houseboat built in 1896 and hasn't been out of the water for at least 15 years.
She is thinking of moving on to this boat with her partner and three of my young grandchildren. All sounds very idyllic but they cannot afford to have the boat surveyed in advance and I am really concerned (as she wants to borrow some money from me towards the purchase) that the boat could be in terrible repair. is t possible that a boat like this could simply sink quite quickly taking my grandchildren with it?
Please can someone advise me ASAP on what to do and wat she should be thinking about before she goes ahead with this purchase as I am genuinely very worried.
Thanks in advance
 
Danger to life and limb wouldn't be my first thought - if nothing else, houseboat moorings are often very shallow so the thing would hit the bottom before it sank completely. You would also tend to get plenty of notice in the form of water leaking in, rather than it suddenly splitting in half and disappearing below the waves.

That said, it would be foolish to buy a boat like that without a survey. Even if a buyer had knowledge equivalent to a surveyor, he'd be wise to get a second pair of expert eyes to look over it. Compared to the price of most boats, a survey is relatively cheap (granted hauling the thing out will cost, but an initial opinion of whether it's even worth going that far would be a good idea). The risk is more about losing all their (and your) money than anybody drowning, assuming this is a static houseboat that will remain moored up rather than going to sea.

In your position I would make a proper survey a condition of even thinking about lending the money.

If the survey is positive then it's not a completely crazy idea, though of course it's your decision whether to help fund it.

Pete
 
I know nothing about Sheffield short but if it's the one I think it is, you could buy a much better boat for that money and I'd deffinately have a survey before parting with such a large amount.
 
Thanks - it is moored on a river - with fairly regular flooding - couple of times a year I guess - does that make a difference to it 'hitting the bottom' in shallow water?
 
I would read the "crisis help needed " thread about the elderly gent whose son bought an old tugboat or fishing boat with no proper survey or insurance. It subsequently sank & it was only by showing much resolve that they got it afloat again.
I am sure that chap had many a sleepless night as would any parent
So being a parent one can only have sympathy
Perhaps it would help to show the thread to your daughter
Kids! Who would have them?
Good luck
 
Is it steel or iron ? It makes a big difference . Tight on money also makes a difference mooring a boat of that size won't be cheap neither the upkeep . Sorry to be so negative .
 
I second what has already been said. Don't even think about lending money towards the purchase of an old boat that hasn't had a survey.
 
Would be less concerned about sudden sinking than about general deterioration, particularly of the bottom that could be seriously expensive to fix. Almost certainly the insurance company would require a survey before insuring it, so it should be done anyway. Pete's suggestion of getting an initial survey before a lift is a good one - might save the cost of the lift!
 
TonyBuckley said:
1896! Is that a typo?
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Almost certainly not - he said iron riveted, and they haven't made boats that way since World War Two (ish).

A mate of mine is on-and-off looking for a boat to live on, and some friends of his parents suggested he might like to buy theirs which is of a similar vintage.

Pete
 
I would think the cost of getting a houseboat lifted and surveyed could be huge.
You will perhaps need a tug to get it to a yard.
Then lift it.
And if it's considered dodgy, they will refuse to re-launch it.
Unless it is very cheap, avoid.
It may be that the mooring is the only thing of value? Is it included?
Before you do anything, cost out insurance, moorings, rates etc etc.
If you are still interested, I would get a preliminary survey while afloat.
 
This one?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HUMBER-KE...164?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1e7bd77324

Looks good value. I lived on a boat as a pennyless student - but then I'm very hands-on and like a challenge. It was pure magic. But if they can't even afford a survey, and don't possess the know-how, then they should look at something more modest to begin with. An old fibreglass Broads cruiser, for instance (eg - but look for cheaper - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bounty-Bu...605?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d0deb949d).
 
lw395 said:
if it's considered dodgy, they will refuse to re-launch it.
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Really?

That seems like it would be bringing a problem on themselves. No boatyard wants their space cluttered up with old wrecks of boats that will never move again.

Far better to put it back in the water and let the owner take the problem away with him.

Pretty sure that's what our yard would do, and quite rightly. If nothing else, what gives them the right to condemn my property as "dodgy" and effectively impound it?

Pete
 
If It's the one for sale on Apollo duck (I will let others google) for just under 100k then from the look of the boat I would guess that you are actually paying for the Free Hold mooring. As for the boat I think it would need an awful lot done to make it "homely".
There are lots out there for a lot less than that one.
 
saltylegs said:
If It's the one for sale on Apollo duck (I will let others google) for just under 100k then from the look of the boat I would guess that you are actually paying for the Free Hold mooring. As for the boat I think it would need an awful lot done to make it "homely".
There are lots out there for a lot less than that one.
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No, this is on a mooring valued at around £65k to £70k and the asking pice is £90k including the boat which is acknowledged to be not in a great condition.
 
preview_296191_1.jpg

Looks quite tatty for that price
However the freehold mooring if it's the one in York must be worth a bit. Bit of a gamble but could be fun.
 
ceejayt said:
No, this is on a mooring valued at around £65k to £70k and the asking pice is £90k including the boat which is acknowledged to be not in a great condition.
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Unless you have another boat to put on the mooring walk away . We recently had a misfortune on here of an uninsured converted trawler with a penniless owner that sunk which gave the owner mega stress.
 
bitbaltic said:
If it's that one the blurb also says it's moored in 35 ft of water. So not so shallow if it did sink. I agree most of the cost here is the mooring.
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It says "75 ft river frontage (35 ft deep approx) with mains electric, water and landline telephone connection.
Parking space and open garden area."

I read that as the mooring is 75ft by 35 ft NOT that the water was 35 feed deep.

Can you not get an ultrasound survey from the inside to tell you the hull thickness remaining?

If the hull is sound, the rest can be fixed / replaced / renovated.
 
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