matsalleh Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I never ignore advice, a wide beam has come up that I can have tomorrow, I would have to moor it on a marina that adjoins a river, such at The River Soar. This one only needs painting and is 4 years old, I can 75% fund it from my pension tax-free cash, many thanks for the advice. I don't know how wide a wide boat is but some of the bridges we went under with a narrow boat do not have much room either side. PS we went through one lock and had a couple of inches only to spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crookesey Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 I don't know how wide a wide boat is but some of the bridges we went under with a narrow boat do not have much room either side. PS we went through one lock and had a couple of inches only to spare. You have to select your location with care, the River Trent if fine, and only a few quid for the license. Around the Loughborough area appears to be good as well, using the River Soar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crookesey Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Well, here's my update, I never thought buying something would pose so many problems. I am now erring in favour of a wide beam, I have found a company of boat builders who can build me a boat to my own specifications. I can get a 55 x 10 foot, brand new for circa £65K, this would include a cruiser stern and all the internals. I've seen second hand ones at a lot more money, the best value was a 50 x 10 at £55K, but with no cruiser deck, circa 6 x 10 of essential outside space. I would want to put a 55hp engine in it, a generator, diesel central heating boiler, 4 leisure batteries and one starter battery. I would opt for a wet room, open plan kitchen/lounge, master bedroom and single bedroom. I'm going to see them next week, hopefully this will be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norbert Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I lived for 3 years on the Ashby canal in rural Leicestershire. It’s 20 odd miles long and doesn’t have a single lock. It passes many lovely quiet villages with good pubs. The ongoing restoration project will eventually make it 31 miles long. The Ashby joins the Coventry Canal near Nuneaton and there are many more lock free miles in each direction from Atherstone to Coventry. I approached farmers with land adjoining the canal and asked if I could moor on their land for a fee. The second one I asked agreed, it worked out about £400 per year. The shape of the canals meant I could move many miles in either direction and still commute to work by bike, in the winter I’d moor nearer work mostly at the farmers field. In summer I'd moor for a week or so in various spots before moving on. Stoke Golding was a favourite spot also good was Bosworth Battlefield, Congerstone, Shakerstone and Market Bosworth. I also spent a lot of time at Hartshill on the Coventry canal parked in the spot where the first boat under the bridge is: Pic I bought a cheap 50’ narrowboat already 25 years old for £14,000, and despite not being very practical I put in a wood/coal burner and added a wind turbine for lighting and powering a stereo. Removed and resealed all the windows, painted the entire thing and even put a new head gasket on the engine. It was the mid 90s and the thing I most missed was having a phone, but today of course that and the internet is not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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