simpsons !

Thinking of buying a boat, Just a family cruiser for going up and down the canals, needs to be at least a 4 berth, But i hav'nt a clue where to look or for any pitfalls or lemons advice needed!! Forgot so say don't want to spend a fortune about £5000-£10000

Regards

Simpsons

TopBanana

Inland waterways aren't really my scene but I'll answer anyway!

You should get a marine survey before you buy especially as you're new to it. They're really thorough and uncover all the nasty stuff. There are loads of magazines and books to read if you want to research it first. Some new regulations regarding gas came in recently, so you should find out about that as well.

Proby521

iTrader: (1)

My father is havng a canal narrowboat built at the moment. He is reading half a dozen magazines! They all advertise inspection services, and from what I can gather, ALL boats have to be inspected/issued with a British Waterways safety certificate every 3 or 4 years. He reads an informative 'newspaper type' publication called 'towpath talk', available from WH Smith. There are then quite a few other magazines, 'Canal boat' ,' 'Waterworld' etc.. I suppose really the boat needs to be pulled out of the water for a dry dock inspection. Good luck, cant wait for his to be finished so I can borrow it!

Proby

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Simpsons send me a PM with your questions and I'll try to answer as many of them as possible. I run a narrowboat brokerage but can help you with pretty much anything to do with canals and boating having been involved with them all my life

Briefly and as has been pointed out above all boats wishing to be licensed on the inland waterways (British Waterways & Environment Agency waters) need a Boat Safety Scheme Certificate in order to get a licence. This is pretty much the same as an MOT for cars so as such isn't a guarantee that the boat is in good order structually or mechanically, only that it meets the requirements set out in the BSC criteria. The BSC has to be renewed every four years. BSC info

To guarantee the boat is in good order then a full out of water survey should be carried out by a qualified surveyor but these can be very expensive, typically between £500 - 1k for a narrowboat but I'd imagine less for a cruiser. In the back of inland waterways publications such as Waterways World and Canalboat are contact details for marine surveyors, give a few a ring for a quote. Your best bet may be to buy a boat that has just had a survey done providing you can see a copy of it!

Leslie

You really should see a boat out of the water before you buy it in case of damage below the waterline.

Les

wiltshire_boy

I'd also look into somewhere to moor it first or buy a boat with a mooring. I know there's a massive waiting list on the Kennet and Avon.

I can highly recommend getting into boats though, we've been using this little beauty to pop up to the pub this summer.