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Boat Buying Checklist - HELP!

Holly Lacey

By Holly Lacey
in New to Boating?

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MtB Veteran II

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Posted
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A quick look back through the forum will find strong views for and against both cassettes and pumpout. I suspect you will end up with whatever the boat which eventually ticks all your other boxes has, and you willl manage with that. Few people change one for the other, unless they are doing a major refit.

 

 

I changed from pump-out to cassette immediately after attempting my first pump-out.

 

Someone just said emptying a cassette is pretty gross but I found doing a pumpout far worse. And having to pay £15 for the displeasure pretty well sealed the decision for me.

And getting two spare cassettes (so you have three in total) completely dispells the anxiety of where the next Elsan point will be.

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Holly Lacey Engager

Holly Lacey

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I changed from pump-out to cassette immediately after attempting my first pump-out.

 

Someone just said emptying a cassette is pretty gross but I found doing a pumpout far worse. And having to pay £15 for the displeasure pretty well sealed the decision for me.

And getting two spare cassettes (so you have three in total) completely dispells the anxiety of where the next Elsan point will be.

 

This is something I'm thinking about, if the boat somehow comes with a pump-out. Is it a straightforward job, and roughly how expensive would this be?

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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This is something I'm thinking about, if the boat somehow comes with a pump-out. Is it a straightforward job, and roughly how expensive would this be?

 

Its about 10 years ago.

We purchased a NB that the previous owners had, had changed from a Pump-out to a cassette when the bought it.

 

All of the receipts were 'in the book' but removing the pump-out tank involved a bit of remodelling of the bathroom and adjacent bedroom, moving and re-building a wardrobe and was done at 'boat-yard rates'. The total (labour and materials) was over £11,000.

 

I guess it all depends on how far you go. If you just remove the 'throne' cap off all of the pipework and replace with a cassette system then possibly / probably around £1000 for the job.

 

If you have to start cutting up poo-tanks inside the boat, (to be able to get them out), removing beds, rebuilding beds etc etc then it will run into £1000s

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chubby Rising Star

chubby

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I bought a boat with a pump out loo . I was absolutely adamant that wasnt going to trudge down towpaths with a suitcase of sewerage .

 

Needless to say , i now use a cassette and shouldve changed sooner than i did . I bought a simple thetford porta potty ( god how i hate that name ) . Ive been using it for 18 months or so and prefer it . It isnt that gross really and emptying takes very little time .

 

However . I still have my pumpout loo , all plumbed in and ready to use as im reluctant to take it out . Theres plenty of room to do this in my boats bathroom so its no problem at all . I don t think i ll get around to discarding the pumpout anytime soon . If and when i go on to sell the boat its still there for another owner .

 

Works for me anyway

 

cheers

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bizzard Veteran II

bizzard

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Apart from boaters and campers no one really knows what a toilet cassette looks like. So just gaily march along with it with purpose as if your an executive off to an important meeting with your briefcase, with your lunch in it ''as they do'', after all there will probably be several lunches in it. closedeyes.gif

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magictime Experienced

magictime

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We purchased a NB that the previous owners had, had changed from a Pump-out to a cassette when the bought it.

 

All of the receipts were 'in the book' but removing the pump-out tank involved a bit of remodelling of the bathroom and adjacent bedroom, moving and re-building a wardrobe and was done at 'boat-yard rates'. The total (labour and materials) was over £11,000.

 

"Yep, that's the boat for me all right! I'll just get the pump-out loo changed to a cassette loo and it'll be perfect. Can't be a big job, can it?"

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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Holly, it's not a patch on this one: http://apolloduck.net/505453

 

Why?

 

They are very different beasts obviously, but anybody looking at a 40 foot boat, probably isn't going to want a 70 foot one.

 

I'm sure it's current owners have spent a lot of money on it - one would hoep so, as the current £29K asking price is a great deal more than the £17.5K they have just said they bought it for. However it is a 40 year old over-plated full length boat - and not in my view the best for someone on a limited budget who doesn't want to be faced with too many unexpected surprise bills. Also a Lister HA air cooled engine with a Blackstone box, whilst a lovely thing, is not quite the same as having a more modern Japanese unit, (unless you are actively into old noisy engines).

 

Mind you even the boat Holly has posted is now 24 years old, so yes, definitely have your own survey, and expect to have to have them every few yeras if you want to have comprehensive insurance cover. I'm not convinced it is an ideal live-aboard. Most live-aboards appreciate a solid fuel stove, which it seems to lack. It is an expensive change for a buyer to make, unless they can do a lot of the work themselves, but anyway in the case of this one, I'm not seeing an obvious place to fit it, without having to change things around quite a bit.

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Athy Veteran II

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Hi again everyone! Asking for an opinion again on another boat: http://www.braunstonmarina.co.uk/find-a-boat/canal-mania

 

?

That looks a neat, smart (apart from the flanks which appear to have been banged about a bit) boat which is a realistic prospect for you. Shame about the boring white interior paint job, but that's soon remedied.

I would, however, echo m'learned friend Mr. Fincher's words: even as non-liveaboards it's good to have two heat sources (in our case solid-fuel stove and diesel C.H.) on board, and I'm sure that as a liveaboard, as you will be, it would be a great advantage.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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Unfortunately, 70ft is just too big, with increased licence and mooring fees, it wouldn't be feasible for me I'm afraid.

 

It's not just those things either.

 

Other things with narrow boats, are effectively "per foot", including blacking the hull, or painting the top.

 

Do not take the incremental costs associated with a longer boat lightly, (although one of mine is 71 feet 8 ins, so I clearly don't listen to my own advice!).

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MtB Veteran II

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Posted
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This is something I'm thinking about, if the boat somehow comes with a pump-out. Is it a straightforward job, and roughly how expensive would this be?

 

 

Depends mainly on if you want the tank taken out. I just took the pan off the top of mine and sealed off the hole. I just put the porta potti over the sealed off hole which results in it being amusingly high off the floor but only took an hour! Then I rinsed the tank out a few times and just abandoned it in place.

 

If however you want the tank and its associated pipework removed this can be VERY invasive requiring substantial rebuilding of the boat interior. The £11k Alan mentions seems a lot but I'd still expect a four figure bill, not beginning with a "1".

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Tom and Bex Rising Star

Tom and Bex

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I'm sure it's current owners have spent a lot of money on it - one would hoep so, as the current £29K asking price is a great deal more than the £17.5K they have just said they bought it for. However it is a 40 year old over-plated full length boat - and not in my view the best for someone on a limited budget who doesn't want to be faced with too many unexpected surprise bills. Also a Lister HA air cooled engine with a Blackstone box, whilst a lovely thing, is not quite the same as having a more modern Japanese unit, (unless you are actively into old noisy engines).

 

 

Certainly have spent a lot of money on it!

 

We bought it knowing it needed a lot of work. We had quite a lot of steelwork done on it, and ripped out the complete interior including rotten lining and soggy rockwool. We started again from the steel shell, reusing some interior fittings. We've also recently had the engine rebuilt.

 

None of this was with the intention to sell or to make any money. If doing it again I'd definitely go with a sailaway as don't think the cost would've been much different in the end.

 

Having said that, we've absolutely no regrets whatsoever doing what we did. It's been a fantastic home for the past 5 years and we've had great fun cruising in it, particularly our extensive cruising of the BCN.

 

It's difficult to price a boat such as ours, it's got a fairly limited market. I'd like to think it was priced sensibly and priced to sell, not overpriced like most seem to be on apolloduck.

 

Tom

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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It's difficult to price a boat such as ours, it's got a fairly limited market. I'd like to think it was priced sensibly and priced to sell, not overpriced like most seem to be on apolloduck.

 

Tom

If you needed to sell it quickly, and have now managed to, it was probably priced sensibly!

 

Good luck - I hope it goes through without any troubles.

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Holly Lacey Engager

Holly Lacey

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Okay, so I've found another boat and will likely be viewing it next Sunday. It's up in Skipton. I plan to contact a surveyor soon and arrange for a full pre-purchase survey to be done (the last one done on the boat was 2011). More questions:

 

1. Is it possible/ advisable to get the boat to a good boatyard to have the survey carried out and then, providing it's in a decent condition, get any repairs done there at the same time, along with blacking (last blacked 20112, so is needed).

 

2. I think the sellers have used Pennine Cruisers Boatyard in the past. Does anyone know if they're a 'good' place to use?

 

3. When arranging transport to move the boat (will be by road), will the transport company quote include craning at both ends of the journey, or will that cost be separate and billed by the marinas/ boatyard?

 

Thanks again!

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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Posted (edited)

Okay, so I've found another boat and will likely be viewing it next Sunday. It's up in Skipton. I plan to contact a surveyor soon and arrange for a full pre-purchase survey to be done (the last one done on the boat was 2011). More questions:

 

1. Is it possible/ advisable to get the boat to a good boatyard to have the survey carried out and then, providing it's in a decent condition, get any repairs done there at the same time, along with blacking (last blacked 20112, so is needed).

 

 

 

Just remember that after the survey the boat is NOT your until paid for, any monies you spend on it could be 'lost' if the seller decides to back out, or anything else happens.

 

Usually when a boat is lifted out for a survey it is held in the hoist / on the trailer for a couple of hours whilst the survey takes place and is then dropped back into the water. The marina will not want to have its hoist / trailer tied up for days / weeks whilst you reach agreement with the seller, raise the money, transfer the money etc.

 

If there is the chance that you will buy the boat (subject to a good survey) then you need to arrange with both the boat yard and the seller to have it lifted and dropped 'onto the hard' and agree to pay (or maybe pay in advance) all of the storage charges, hoist charges (to 'put back in' etc).

 

The seller and the boatyard do not know you and they are risking 'some cost' - you may decide to change your mind (buyers remorse) or find a better boat the next day so payment in advance would not be unreasonable.

 

Edit to add :

Its not a 'blue boat, painted all over in black bitumen' with all of the vents sealed up, owned by a lady called 'Max' is it ?

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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David Mack Veteran II

David MackDonate to Canal World

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3. When arranging transport to move the boat (will be by road), will the transport company quote include craning at both ends of the journey, or will that cost be separate and billed by the marinas/ boatyard?

 

Thanks again!

Before you commit to transport by road, check the cost of getting a professional boatmover to make the move by water. It could well be cheaper.

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