Looking for a boat
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Buying a Boat is going to lose you a great deal of money. They are all money pits.
Surely you are better off hiring a boat for when you want to take a holiday. Many many years of holidaying for £200,000, I would wager.
A large cruiser on the Broads, for example, is around £2000 for a week in peak season. (July/August) Around £1200-£1500 outside of that.
Say you do three holidays a year, one in summer (2 weeks) and two outside summer (July/August). Let’s call that an average cost of £7000 being conservative.
That is 28 1/2 years of holidays with no ongoing costs (maintenance, mooring fees etc etc etc)
Surely you are better off hiring a boat for when you want to take a holiday. Many many years of holidaying for £200,000, I would wager.
A large cruiser on the Broads, for example, is around £2000 for a week in peak season. (July/August) Around £1200-£1500 outside of that.
Say you do three holidays a year, one in summer (2 weeks) and two outside summer (July/August). Let’s call that an average cost of £7000 being conservative.
That is 28 1/2 years of holidays with no ongoing costs (maintenance, mooring fees etc etc etc)
Yep definitly rational thinking. Unfortunately rationality doesn't really come into it with boats. It's an emotional purchase. No one else on their right mind would stump up the expenses otherwise.
A purchase just as an alternative to holidays abroad is a very expensive way to get alternative holiday in the UK. When your £100k boat in covid times drops £20k in one year once normality returns, and you've spent £10k on mooring and maintenance in that time. It suddenly becomes a rather expensive holiday in the UK.
A purchase just as an alternative to holidays abroad is a very expensive way to get alternative holiday in the UK. When your £100k boat in covid times drops £20k in one year once normality returns, and you've spent £10k on mooring and maintenance in that time. It suddenly becomes a rather expensive holiday in the UK.
Edited by Uggers on Monday 1st March 23:46
Uggers said:
I enquired about a few boats mid summer last year that looked in stock from a broker who deals with mainly inland waterways stuff.
He told me everything had sold, he had virtually no stock and never seen anything like it.
Guess it's what happens when millions of people cannot get abroad.
No being able to go on the sailing charter we'd booked was the final nudge for us to buy another boat last summer.He told me everything had sold, he had virtually no stock and never seen anything like it.
Guess it's what happens when millions of people cannot get abroad.
We booked three viewings and all three boats sold before we got there. Eventually we got lucky and found the boat we wanted and did a good deal, but the broker we used said the same - anything that floated was selling fast.
Mate of mine is a broker in the static home industry. He says prices and sales have gone up through the roof too.
Jaguar steve said:
Uggers said:
I enquired about a few boats mid summer last year that looked in stock from a broker who deals with mainly inland waterways stuff.
He told me everything had sold, he had virtually no stock and never seen anything like it.
Guess it's what happens when millions of people cannot get abroad.
No being able to go on the sailing charter we'd booked was the final nudge for us to buy another boat last summer.He told me everything had sold, he had virtually no stock and never seen anything like it.
Guess it's what happens when millions of people cannot get abroad.
We booked three viewings and all three boats sold before we got there. Eventually we got lucky and found the boat we wanted and did a good deal, but the broker we used said the same - anything that floated was selling fast.
Mate of mine is a broker in the static home industry. He says prices and sales have gone up through the roof too.
I am not sure that this will feed through to a glut of boats on the market, because I don't think there has been sufficient ramping up on the supply side.
I wouldn't buy a boat JUST for this year, however.
Superleg48 said:
Buying a Boat is going to lose you a great deal of money. They are all money pits.
Surely you are better off hiring a boat for when you want to take a holiday. Many many years of holidaying for £200,000, I would wager.
A large cruiser on the Broads, for example, is around £2000 for a week in peak season. (July/August) Around £1200-£1500 outside of that.
Say you do three holidays a year, one in summer (2 weeks) and two outside summer (July/August). Let’s call that an average cost of £7000 being conservative.
That is 28 1/2 years of holidays with no ongoing costs (maintenance, mooring fees etc etc etc)
Sound logic, but there's more to boating than simply the bottom line. Otherwise nobody would have one.Surely you are better off hiring a boat for when you want to take a holiday. Many many years of holidaying for £200,000, I would wager.
A large cruiser on the Broads, for example, is around £2000 for a week in peak season. (July/August) Around £1200-£1500 outside of that.
Say you do three holidays a year, one in summer (2 weeks) and two outside summer (July/August). Let’s call that an average cost of £7000 being conservative.
That is 28 1/2 years of holidays with no ongoing costs (maintenance, mooring fees etc etc etc)
In practice there's a vast difference between owning and hiring - I do both. I've had a cabin cruiser for 10+ years and it's a small floating getaway I can use whenever I like. I can get up, look at the sun outside and think 'I'll have a day on the river!'. But it's limited in size and always in the same location. So hiring a bigger boat in a different place for a week is equally great - and a completely different experience. You also get no choice of weather!
I can't speak for offshore, but inland boating is not expensive; for me no more than £2.5K a year including everything, and a smaller boat would be less. I consider it money well spent for the getaway.
Brexit is a problem. Previously many UK people would have boats in the med or maybe but in Europe and bring back home. Now vat on current value has to be paid when you bring it in if UK vat wasn't paid when new. So a much I smaller pool of stock to buy from plus alot of people in the same boat (whoops) wanting a few weeks holidays away from the crowds
Louis Balfour said:
Anecdotally, people local to here with boats or motorhomes on the drive are getting knocks on the door and notes through the letterbox asking if they will sell.
Same in the caravan industry. Little new stock as the factories shut for a lot of last year.
Lots of first time buyers so no p/ex coming in.
Stock of any sort - including the wet through ones - very very difficult to get hold of & consequently prices are high.
The roads are going to be interesting this summer - if you can even find a site!
Edited by paintman on Tuesday 2nd March 14:58
Louis Balfour said:
Rangeroverover said:
Offer in at asking on a grand banks. Too many buyers out there to bid on it.
Is that a trawler type boat?Something like this I assume OP ? https://www.apolloduck.com/boat/grand-banks-42-her...
Punchy way to ensure a holiday for the year (+ball ache / running / depreciation blah costs.....)
Edited by PushedDover on Wednesday 3rd March 08:32
Maybe not cool - but this popped on my YT earlier.
Seems pretty snazzy and sensible for dicking about on UK water ways and holidays : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbgUsOIisp0
(inshore)
Seems pretty snazzy and sensible for dicking about on UK water ways and holidays : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbgUsOIisp0
(inshore)
Looks lovely does that. The aft is much better, so many canal boats where there is very little space at the back.
It's never really appealed, sitting above a chugging diesel by yourself, in the rain! As we go past them in my dad's fibreglass cruiser with the roof up, they don't look too happy anyway!
I've managed to wipe out the canopy on my dad's boat, most bridges on our canal seem to be on corners and very easy to get it wrong. I'd be quite worried with something that big to a point that I think it would stay in the marina most the time.
It's never really appealed, sitting above a chugging diesel by yourself, in the rain! As we go past them in my dad's fibreglass cruiser with the roof up, they don't look too happy anyway!
I've managed to wipe out the canopy on my dad's boat, most bridges on our canal seem to be on corners and very easy to get it wrong. I'd be quite worried with something that big to a point that I think it would stay in the marina most the time.
PushedDover said:
Maybe not cool - but this popped on my YT earlier.
Seems pretty snazzy and sensible for dicking about on UK water ways and holidays : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbgUsOIisp0
(inshore)
I wouldn't fancy navigating one of those on any waterway that was narrow or twisty; a normal 70' narrowboat is enough of a handful.Seems pretty snazzy and sensible for dicking about on UK water ways and holidays : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbgUsOIisp0
(inshore)
When narrowboats started to be converted for leisure use in the 1960s they often had centre cockpits and wheel steering, and a folding canopy. Much nicer to use and operate. But now they're back to 18th century where you stand up all the time in the rain. Strange.
Well done to the OP for buying a boat so fast - enjoy
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