What is involved in buying and maintaining a houseboat in the UK?

Question

The fiancee and I are considering a houseboat for our first place together after I visited one on a work call and was both pleased and surprised with what I found- once I was inside it could have been a normal house!

We have yet to do any research but would appreciate any input here; is it any more involved buying a houseboat than a house?

What is involved in general maintainence and daily up-keep that might not be encountered with a normal house? Are there any amenities that a houseboat doesn't usually have?

Any serious help much appreciated- we're looking at Plymouth, Bristol or anywhere in the SW if this matters.

Cheers!

Answer 1

i sold my house and bought a boat a couple of years ago,

you need a British Waterways licence (varies according to length of boat, 50 foot= £500 pa

a boat safety certificate, about £120 every 4 yrs

somewhere to moor it, eg a marina. again, depends on length. 50 foot = about £2k pa

running costs are tiny.

look after the engine. make sure you've got a good fire.

email me if you want further info.

andrew

Answer 2

First find your mooring!

Then look at your boat builders and boat materials.  Remember that boats are a bit like cars - you can't get a Rolls Royce for Ford prices, and there are some cowboys out there.

Steel?  Marine-grade aluminium alloy?

For large steel hulls, Sagar have a good reputation.

Steel - include maintenance costs for the hull.  She will need to be scraped of rust and reblacked at regular intervals; this will be priced by the foot.

Depending on her location you will need her licenced by different water authorities - the annual licence for this is also determined by size.

You will still be required to pay Council tax - probably the lowest band

You will need insurance - there are brokers dealing with marine insurance.

You can get Marine Mortgages for buying your home.

I have a small (30') aluminium canal boat (Sea Otter) moored in a Marina on the Trent & Mersey canal (a narrow canal) and we reckon that our total costs for keeping her on the water is around £1500 per annum.

Answer 3

you may find it rather daunting at first,but once settled,you wont regret it,some things to consider is what you want to do with it,for example,people who want to explore the whole of the UK waterways would go for the typical narrowboat,measuring 6'10'' wide,and any length up to 83 feet,but the most preferred is 57' for easy navigation.,or if your not likely to go everywhere,then you might consider a widebeam,these can be various width's the most favoured 8'10'',these give you more living space and the option to have some lose furniture,the downside is you pay more for your mooring.

maintenance is the most important issue,every two years, you have to take it out of the water for the hull to be cleaned and any welding to be carried out,(replacing the anodes)metal sheets  that rust from time to time,when this is done,then the hull is painted with black bitumen paint.

as a rough guide your mooring fees for a narrowboat is around £10.00 per foot per week,so a 60 footer would be £60.00,but this can vary according to location,London would be very expensive.the widebeam costing more,you have everything that a house has other than a garden,but seriously,the rivers are far more beautiful than  any garden,and the scenery changes all the time. what is most important, is getting a permanent mooring,if you are buying from new,you can get a mooring,and another thing,it will have a water supply,electricity,and  at some locations, even a telephone line, to get a better idea,why not look on, bowcrest marine website,or appolo duck,if you do buy second hand,it is very important to have a survey carried out on the boat.

Answer 4

you need to buy one with a residential mooring - check with BW and the mooring owner to make sure its transferrable.

insurance - £300

licience - £500

boat safety - every 4 years, like an MOT - £100

mooring - couple of grand for a residential

hull black - every couple of years £300

boat £30K - £120K

consider things like shore hook-up, water supply, pump out.

Generally a residnetial narrowboat ( or widebeam on the K&A if you are in Bristol ) will cost you about the same to run as if you were renting a 2 bed flat - that equation seems to work in most towns.

buying a boat before you get a mooring is fatal.