Narrowboat Ownership

Many people feel fondly about the idea of owning their own boat, but there are a lot of practicalities that should  considered before taking that step.

  • Purchase costs

  • Moorings

  • Insurance

  • Maintenance

  • Safety inspections

  • Licencing

Purchase Costs

I suppose at  very rough estimate cheaper crafts new are about £1000 a foot at the moment and probably more by the time they have been fitted out to your specifications and when once afloat you have the costs of the inevitable teething problems. Some people quite seriously suggest that it might be better to purchase a boat that is say 3 years old, new enough to still be in good condition but old enough to have had the initial teething problems sorted.

So a basic 55 foot craft is going to cost something like £55,000

One thing for sure is that the value of your new purchase will decline from that day onwards, unless you provide some means of preventing this by constant re-fitting etc...

Second hand  Narrowboats are obviously considerably cheaper, but you have to known enough about what you are looking for in order to make a safe decision, the employment of a suitably experienced surveyor being advisable here.

Moorings

Suitable moorings can be difficult to come by, especially in popular areas like city centres and their prices are likely to reflect that.
Unfortunately you cannot moor just anywhere.

Marinas will offer the bet security and general facilities, such as mains electricity etc, but will be expensive.
Private moorings, may be cheaper, but may be far from any facilities and offer less security.

The cost of moor expensive moorings may well be justified if that means that someone is keeping an eye on the boat, or that help is available should you need it.
Theft and vandalism can be a problem with more remote unsupervised sites, which may also impact on cost of insurance etc.

Necessary for Licencing?

Insurance

Insurance should be considered as you would for a house or a car. You have invested a lot of time and money in the craft and you need to protect that investment.
You also need to protect yourself from the possible consequence of accidents whilst cruising.

Mandatory?

Maintenance

Maintenance obviously has to be an ongoing thing if you don't want to find your boat sitting on the bottom of the canal. At the most basic this involves regular checks to make sure things like the automatic baler are working. engines obviously need a servicing regime as would any car and then there are longer term items like hull blacking every few years and repainting.
Obviously if you have the skills and inclination you can save quite a lot of money by doing things yourself - if you have the time, by if the regular maintenance does not get done the consequences can be expensive.

Safety Inspections

Regular safety inspections are required every few years years.

Mandatory?

Licencing

If you want to put the boat on the water it has to be licensed with British Waterways.
The cost will depend on what sort of usage you want.
For instance are you going to be cruising the entire canal system of just local areas?
Areas you going to be continually cruising?

Narrowboats and boats generally are also not exempt from  licencing regulations that might apply to say restuarants or other businesses, so if you want to set up a floating gaming club or a casino, the usual regulations will still apply ... unless you  venture into international waters. It might be easier to take advantage of facilities such as online poker sites.

While the canals can be a little less regulated than the roads, there are still rules, ettiquettes and authorities that have to be acknowledged.  A little background reseach will save you embarrasment, make life a little safer and perhaps even the time on the water more enjoyable.

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