Would like to know how much a canal boat costs and how much for maintenance?

Question

Interested in buying canal boat and would like further details

Answer 1

As a rule of thumb you can reckon on paying £1000 per foot for a new narrow boat, on top of that you need an annual  licence and there will be mooring costs.

Obviously secondhand boats cost less.

Generally boats cost 10% of their purchase price to maintain per year.

Hope this helps

Be careful if you buy a really big boat (ie a 72 footer) because not all locks are 72 feet long and you won't be able to take that boat on every canal waterway in the country

GavinT

Answer 2

Narrow boats in good nick are around £30k upwards

Answer 3

You need to do a lot of research before jumping into canal boat ownership,

Start by buying Waterways World which is the magazine for Canal boating. You will find boats ranging from £30k to £130k and boatyards willing to build them for you or sell you a second hand one.

After buying the boat you will need a mooring, a licence, maintenance, insurance and general running costs to take into account. This will vary according to the size of craft and where you moor but budget for £5k pa. until you find out the true cost of your favoured marina. Your biggest problem will be a mooring where you want it but as long as you do not wish to live aboard they are spread around the country. If you do not pick a secure marina then you will suffer from vandalism which will cost more than a marina charges!!!

Do a lot of research do not jump at the first offer of a boat and ask plenty of "expert" questions. Best of luck

Answer 4

1. Are you interested in it for pleasure or to live aboard?  If it is to be your permanent home, you may want something larger than a pleasure boat.

2.  Moorings are difficult to find, just where you want them.

3.  Moorings vary, just like housing, depending on which part of the country you want to moor (more expensive down South)

4.  Are you looking for new or used?  If you are looking at a used boat, do make sure you get a Surveyor's report (it will cost you a packet if your base plate is about to rust through)

5.  What material?  GRP (white plastic cruiser for pleasure)

steel or aluminium alloy?

I have a 30' marine-grade aluminium alloy "Sea Otter" (see their web site) so don't have to pay out for hull maintenance, but they are more expensive initially.  She also has the advantage of being small and light so is trailable behind a big 4 x 4 which means that we have cruised waterways all over the Country without using precious time to reach some of the more distant canals.  How does 8 days from the Midlands to Bristol along the Kennet & Avon to Walton on Thames and back to the Midlands sound?  Trailed to Bristol then trailed from Walton back to the Midlands!

I moor in the Midlands in a Marina which is non-residential (although I have a suspicion that there may be a couple of liveaboards apart from the Wardens) - we have shore power and a water point between every 4 boats.  Laundry and shower blocks, security gates, permanent wardens, occasional social events.

We reckon that our total costs for a 30' boat in that area are in the region of £1,600 p.a.  That includes mooring, insurance, Waterways Licence, servicing, fuel and "MOT".

The bigger your boat, the higher your costs since everything is so much per foot per annum.

Also bear in mind the old Shakespearan warning "All the glisters is not gold" - a boat which looks good on the surface may not live up to expectations because you don't get a Rolls Royce for Ford prices.

If you are really interested, why not come up to the NEC in a couple of weeks to the Boat, Caravan and Leisure Show and have a look round, even better, come to the Crick Show over the May Bank holiday when there will be loads of boat builders with boats for you to look at.  Then there is the National Festival (at Wolverhampton this year) held over the August Bank Holiday.

All details in the Boating Magazines.

Answer 5

Done it, wore the t.shirt, bin there.........My advice.....Don't bother.....Hire one for your holidays or if you can afford it whenever you want a trip in a narrow boat.  That way you you haven't got the head aches that owning a narrow boat brings.

Bye, Bye.

Answer 6

We have a 1/12th share in a narrowboat (managed through OwnerShips). She's a modern design 58 ft steel boat that's fairly well equipped, and now around 3 years old.

Roughly, to buy a new 1/12th share is £9000 (second-hand perhaps £2500 to £7500), and annual maintenance costs are approx £700. Our boat is managed through a separate company that takes care of organising most things, but that costs around £350 per year I think. You can find private share schemes where all the owners do the organising & work themselves.

The purchase price gives you a fully equipped boat - down to all the on-board cooking & dining stuff. However, the level of spec is that suitable for a 3-4 week cruise max, rather than full-time cruising or live-aboard. The price is probably just a little high compared to buying/specifying your own.



The biggest components of the annual costs are the mooring (perhaps £1500 - £2500 depending on location), waterways licence (not sure, but perhaps £700), and the annual maintenance (perhaps £2000 - £3000). NB: As she's in use for perhaps 40 weeks of the year, she does need a proper maintenance schedule for things like painting and engine maintenance. A provate boat probably would need as much maintenance budget, but would have the same mooring & licence costs).

Pros of sharing like this: Much lower purchase price, and annual costs. Boat well maintained, and better still - you don't end up spending all your time in the engine bay. Price for 3 or 4 weeks per year on the water is much better than hiring.

Cons: You need to plan your 3-4 weeks well in advance, and can't just pop over for the weekend when the weather is good.

But like a piece of string, the costs can be cut much tighter. There are plenty of boats out there that don't look like they've had a penny spent on them since decimalisation.