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mark cliff
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Aug 2013 : 16:45:59
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hi all. My wife and i are thinking about a Norman 20 or 23. Its very early days and we are trying to work out total costs involved in owning such a boat. Apart from the initial outlay to purchase the boat what else do we need to consider such as insureance, mooring, general maintenance etc
We are based in Crewe so the Shropshire Union is our closest waterway.
thanks all
mark |
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BoatForMyPotplants
United Kingdom
169 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2013 : 16:55:27
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Hi Mark. Insurance through Basic Boat insurance is around £100 to cover against you causing damage to someone else. I don't know about moorings in your part of the world. Where I am it's tidal, and I would much prefer to have the boat on a canal. Regarding maintenance - there's ALWAYS something to be done, but it's well worth it. One of the biggest expenses is keeping a stock of beers and wines for when all your friends want to come aboard. Best of luck to you
Neil |
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mark cliff
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2013 : 17:18:13
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thanks Neill I own a classic bike so i understand the 'always something to do' statement - we call this fettling!
am happy with that side of things but need to know as much as possible about the wider picture before committing.
Also looking to try to hire a small river cruiser for a weekend as a taster - more for my wife than me as i spent enough time on the water after fifteen years RN 
that is proving harder than i thought. Lots of narrow boats but not much in the way of small cruisers available.
mark |
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df
United Kingdom
5994 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2013 : 19:29:29
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You'd probably only get a day boat for hire so you may be better trying to blag a run in someone elses boat, the headroom of the 23 makes a massive difference over the 20 as you're not stooping all the time in the cabin.
Main expenses are river/canal licence, moorings, insurance, safety cert(4 yearly), if you are good at maintenence you save a fortune, if needing outboard or canopy they're not cheap to buy.
NBAS--The communal colostomy bag of the boating community.
Visit leomagill.co.uk |
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Steve T
United Kingdom
88 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2013 : 20:42:56
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We are on the Broads with a 23, tax is £165, insurance just over £100, moorings £1200 (we pay no VAT, but have a 30 foot mooring).
We budget about £30 a month for "maintenance", hoping the outboard doesn't fail catastrophically, or a storm tears the canopy off! and our shore power rarely uses more than a fiver a month (and only in three or four winter months)
So, about £150 per month all in.
A weekend afloat (Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon) costs us about £10 - £15 in fuel (15HP outboard) assuming we cruise for 3 or 4 hours a day. Our overnight moorings are usually free and we buy breakfast and lunches to make on the boat - about £20. Dinner and one too many in a pub for the Friday and Saturday nights takes care of £50. If you allow a fiver a weekend for gas (heating & cooking), then you have a weekend away for £90.
15 weekends away a year, £1350, add the £1800 above for the boat whether we use it or not, so £260 'ish a month.
We reckon this is good value for us - but you don't have to eat and drink out, so can save a decent chunk there.
Sorry it's a bit long winded, but hope it's helpful.
Go on, buy one, you'll never regret it! |
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adi-n-chez
United Kingdom
1980 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2013 : 21:37:01
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quote:
Originally posted by BoatForMyPotplants
Hi Mark. Insurance through Basic Boat insurance is around £100 to cover against you causing damage to someone else. I don't know about moorings in your part of the world. Where I am it's tidal, and I would much prefer to have the boat on a canal. Regarding maintenance - there's ALWAYS something to be done, but it's well worth it. One of the biggest expenses is keeping a stock of beers and wines for when all your friends want to come aboard. Best of luck to you
Neil
We pay around £120 a year for fully comp (4.5K cover) that includes the mandatory £3,000,000 ? public liability so better value I guess.
Moorings for our 22 are cheap in our area - budget >£500 a yr I guess for your area. Nantwich on the Shroppie may have the cheapest IIRC
Licence fees vary as if you are moored in a old marina you may be exempt from having a licence unless u move out onto the system.
Adi
Sewer Tubes ? I'd rather have a D**ncr*ft (Only Kidding) |
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merlin
United Kingdom
400 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2013 : 10:51:13
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Licence fees vary as if you are moored in a old marina you may be exempt from having a licence unless u move out onto the system.
as far as the licence we were told the boat had to be licenced before
it was put on the canal
Any water that belongs to the trust needs a licence for use
this also applies if you dig out a mooring on your property its is
still canal trust water that fills it this seems to apply to marinas
as well (mooring fees plus licence) I know boaters who have taken their boats off for wintering when their licence expires to be quickly
lettered from the licence agency asking where the boat is as the current licence has expired
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mark cliff
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2013 : 11:47:17
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thanks for the detailed responses folks. Theres some stuff there i hadnt thought about for sure. Most maintenance i could handle myself so this all looks very affordable to me. Need to get the missus out for a weekend next. She never took to my other hobbies (motorbikes and sailing) so i have to be sure shes 'onboard' for this before we start to look in earnest. Probably end up on a small Hoseasons cruiser for a short break somewhere darn sarf (cant find any locally).
will keep a good eye on the sales section for a 23 (I'm 6 foot)
mark |
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Wayfoot
United Kingdom
109 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2013 : 12:40:50
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Mark
If you fancy a drive up to Garstang, just north of Preston I will quite happily take you for a cruise in my N20 on the Lancaster Canal
I have refurbished it recently so can offer as much info as you wish.
My wife's reaction when I first bought it, was not very complementary, however...she loves day cruising now, first to suggest we go out...it's well worth it
Pete |
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mark cliff
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2013 : 14:10:27
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pm sent
mark |
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adi-n-chez
United Kingdom
1980 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2013 : 18:34:49
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quote:
Originally posted by merlin
Licence fees vary as if you are moored in a old marina you may be exempt from having a licence unless u move out onto the system.
as far as the licence we were told the boat had to be licenced before
it was put on the canal
Any water that belongs to the trust needs a licence for use
this also applies if you dig out a mooring on your property its is
still canal trust water that fills it this seems to apply to marinas
as well (mooring fees plus licence) I know boaters who have taken their boats off for wintering when their licence expires to be quickly
lettered from the licence agency asking where the boat is as the current licence has expired
Its rarer now but some marinas (Usually River based) have 'Grandfather' rights for licences & moorers do not have to be licenced unless they poke the nose out of the entry - I can think of 3 or 4 in our vicinity where this applies - The new marinas built have a BW/C&RT requirement for occupants to be licenced all yr round.
Adi
Sewer Tubes ? I'd rather have a D**ncr*ft (Only Kidding) |
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