The canal / narrowboat thread.

The canal / narrowboat thread.

Author
Discussion

dhutch

14,388 posts

197 months

Wednesday 10th January
quotequote all
ferret50 said:
...fortunate to have a bit of skilled help nearby as well.
Priceless.

ferret50 said:
Good looking vessel, BTW
Cheers, she's a bit different in more ways than one, but I love her very much.

SimonTheSailor

12,598 posts

228 months

Wednesday 10th January
quotequote all
Cold night !!


ferret50

908 posts

9 months

Wednesday 10th January
quotequote all
dhutch said:
Cheers, she's a bit different in more ways than one, but I love her very much.
I'll not tell your 'er indoors!

whistle

Bonefish Blues

26,745 posts

223 months

Wednesday 10th January
quotequote all
ferret50 said:
dhutch said:
Cheers, she's a bit different in more ways than one, but I love her very much.
I'll not tell your 'er indoors!

whistle
She'll know - women know this stuff!

ferret50

908 posts

9 months

Wednesday 10th January
quotequote all
Bonefish Blues said:
ferret50 said:
dhutch said:
Cheers, she's a bit different in more ways than one, but I love her very much.
I'll not tell your 'er indoors!

whistle
She'll know - women know this stuff!
Voice of experience?

biglaugh

Bonefish Blues

26,745 posts

223 months

Wednesday 10th January
quotequote all
ferret50 said:
Bonefish Blues said:
ferret50 said:
dhutch said:
Cheers, she's a bit different in more ways than one, but I love her very much.
I'll not tell your 'er indoors!

whistle
She'll know - women know this stuff!
Voice of experience?

biglaugh
Hell yes!

dhutch

14,388 posts

197 months

Wednesday 10th January
quotequote all
She knows. Fortunately I also love her very much too!

SimonTheSailor

12,598 posts

228 months

Saturday 3rd February
quotequote all
Another update on the sunken boat -

https://youtu.be/CynWd5erdMI?si=XWA2guZazT-_uN-z

Nothing in anyway to do with me BTW - just thought some might be interested !

dhutch

14,388 posts

197 months

Saturday 3rd February
quotequote all
Half an hour long and he doesn't actually capture them refloating it!

GreatGranny

9,128 posts

226 months

Monday 5th February
quotequote all
dhutch said:
Half an hour long and he doesn't actually capture them refloating it!
They refloated gone 7pm when it was pitch black and he had been there 12 hours!
Give the guy a break smile

dhutch

14,388 posts

197 months

Tuesday 6th February
quotequote all
GreatGranny said:
They refloated gone 7pm when it was pitch black and he had been there 12 hours!
Give the guy a break smile
Oh I mean, its fair enough and I am not complaining, but still a little infuriating having watched most of it waiting for the outcome!

reddiesel

1,956 posts

47 months

Tuesday 6th February
quotequote all
Anyone any thoughts on a 70ft regarding desirability ? I am contemplating selling and replacing with another and dread the usual " difficult to sell " rhetoric from Brokerages .

dhutch

14,388 posts

197 months

Wednesday 7th February
quotequote all
Had to know, obviously 62ft or even 58ft like ours are done for a reason, but equally a 70ft boat gets you another 10ft on boat/room a lot of people will never venture anywhere that is an issue anyway.

The majority of people I know have historic narrowboats, most of which are 'full length' at around 72ft and this doesnt reduce the appeal or enjoyment for them. Some have been shortened, but its always been rare and is very much considered poor form these days.

Simpo Two

85,422 posts

265 months

Wednesday 7th February
quotequote all
reddiesel said:
Anyone any thoughts on a 70ft regarding desirability ? I am contemplating selling and replacing with another and dread the usual " difficult to sell " rhetoric from Brokerages .
I would be more interested in the interior layout and quality rather than a couple of feet either way in length.

MartG

20,678 posts

204 months

Thursday 29th February
quotequote all
May be of interest - Work completed on Stainforth and Keadby canal's unique sliding bridge

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-68404...

Tim the pool man

4,865 posts

217 months

Saturday 9th March
quotequote all
Extremely limited experience here, (we don't have canals or interesting rivers where I live!), I've only done a couple of day hires with my brother's family when we visit England. 1 day on the Basingstoke Canal in 2014 and 1 day on the Wey in 2022.

We've enjoyed the experiences so much we've started thinking about buying one when we retire and can spend more time in England, but the next step will be a 3 night hire when we're there in September this year. It will need to be Surrey/Hampshire to be convenient for my brother and family.
So far I've looked at Galleon Marine (their fleet is unavailable for our dates) and Farncombe boat house. I'm a bit shocked at the costs... approx £1500 (AUD $3000) for 3 days, is that the going rate?

Any suggestions welcome smile

As an aside, and a comparison of costs, I recently found this, on the Murray River in Victoria.
https://boatelluxury.com/
The houseboat is sensational, 2 story, 5 king suites all ensuite, etc... and for 3 nights just over twice the price of the canal barge!

Edited by Tim the pool man on Saturday 9th March 07:30

Simpo Two

85,422 posts

265 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
Tim the pool man said:
Extremely limited experience here, (we don't have canals or interesting rivers where I live!), I've only done a couple of day hires with my brother's family when we visit England. 1 day on the Basingstoke Canal in 2014 and 1 day on the Wey in 2022.

We've enjoyed the experiences so much we've started thinking about buying one when we retire and can spend more time in England, but the next step will be a 3 night hire when we're there in September this year. It will need to be Surrey/Hampshire to be convenient for my brother and family.
So far I've looked at Galleon Marine (their fleet is unavailable for our dates) and Farncombe boat house. I'm a bit shocked at the costs... approx £1500 (AUD $3000) for 3 days, is that the going rate?

Any suggestions welcome smile
abcboathire and AngloWelsh are two hireboat companies that manage a lot of boats.

https://www.abcboathire.com/our-locations
https://www.anglowelsh.co.uk/
And https://www.hoseasons.co.uk/boat-holidays/canals-a...

A 3 day hire will always cost much more day than a 7 day hire, and prices are also much higher during the holiday periods so you're getting a double whammy. There are also midweek breaks (4 nights) to consider.

As for convenience, if you consider travelling a bit further you'll get more choice.

Overnighting is so much more than a simple day trip - I hope you find a decent cruise and enjoy it smile

Itsallicanafford

2,770 posts

159 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
Could I ask a question about valuations for narrowboats? Looking through the endless pages of boats for sale in Apollo Duck, there looks like plenty of stock of dubious quality with what feels like very hopeful pricing. How have prices fared over the past few years? I assume there was a surge in interest and prices over covid, are the prices being asked still relatively high compared to pre Covid with owners, now faced with the high costs of upkeep looking to sell and trying to recoup their purchase cost? Thoughts would be appreciated, cheers

Simpo Two

85,422 posts

265 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
Itsallicanafford said:
Could I ask a question about valuations for narrowboats? Looking through the endless pages of boats for sale in Apollo Duck, there looks like plenty of stock of dubious quality with what feels like very hopeful pricing. How have prices fared over the past few years? I assume there was a surge in interest and prices over covid, are the prices being asked still relatively high compared to pre Covid with owners, now faced with the high costs of upkeep looking to sell and trying to recoup their purchase cost? Thoughts would be appreciated, cheers
IMHO Apolloduck is about the same level as Facebook Marketplace, and something of the Covid premium remains but perhaps optimistically.

The thing is that narrowboats cover a huge range, from a barely-floating cesspit to a brand new boat with all modcons for well into six figures.

I noticed while finding a link above that ABC do sales as well as hire: https://www.abcboatsales.com/boat-sales/

classicaholic

1,722 posts

70 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
Itsallicanafford said:
Could I ask a question about valuations for narrowboats? Looking through the endless pages of boats for sale in Apollo Duck, there looks like plenty of stock of dubious quality with what feels like very hopeful pricing. How have prices fared over the past few years? I assume there was a surge in interest and prices over covid, are the prices being asked still relatively high compared to pre Covid with owners, now faced with the high costs of upkeep looking to sell and trying to recoup their purchase cost? Thoughts would be appreciated, cheers
Prices are still stupidly high because it’s a very cheap floating house, you can’t get much of a house for 50k but you can have a nice boat. We pass hundreds of boats that never move & until CaRT enforce rules on live aboard they will stay high