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Hi,

I am looking at ordering a sailaway wide beam to use as a live aboard based near Bristol and Bath. I have been reading the forums and various blogs to try and educate myself on this subject but am struggling to pin down what I should expect to pay for this, and who the best builders are – so many of the yards recommended in previous posts seem to no longer be in business. Is there anyone who has gone through this process recently who could give me a few pointers? Is there a compelling reason to use a local builder, and are there any near Bristol that anyone would recommend? I would love to get something stylish but cost is a real concern for me.

Thanks so much for all your help,

Matt

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37 minutes ago, WotEver said:

My suggestion - buy used. 

These are very wise words. Be it wide or narrow a shiney new boat soon becomes just another secondhand boat and be it wide or narrow there is a huge hit on its value. Also you realy do not have any idea what you realy want in a boat until you have lived on/used one for quite some time so new for a first boat is unwise.

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I've just had a new wide beam shell built. I'm fitting out near Bristol but had the boat built in the Midlands and paid a couple grand P&P to Tuckey's. The deciding factors for me was finding a builder with an early build slot at a fair price with the bonus of the boat being a style I really liked. I placed the order on 10th Jan this year and took delivery 6th April, which is pretty extraordinary I believe.

I scouted around local boatbuilders but lead time particularly and price to an extent made it an easy decision to go north. Once you get into this boating lark you soon realise that £1000 isn't all that much really. I'm quite confident that the money I spent on haulage was saved on the boat price. This might not always be the case; you need to do your homework. Initially I was planning to fit out near Milton Keynes and cruise back but that didn't work out. I'm Bristol based anyway and I now realise that was fortuitous.

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20 hours ago, WotEver said:

My suggestion - buy used. 

I haven't seen any used widebeams at less than £70k but it seems as though it would cost 40k to have a sail away built. I suppose one of the reasons that I have wanted to custom order it is that I am very tall – 6'6, and am hoping I can have the builder squeeze in an extra few inches. Am I way out on my costs?

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17 hours ago, stegra said:

I've just had a new wide beam shell built. I'm fitting out near Bristol but had the boat built in the Midlands and paid a couple grand P&P to Tuckey's. The deciding factors for me was finding a builder with an early build slot at a fair price with the bonus of the boat being a style I really liked. I placed the order on 10th Jan this year and took delivery 6th April, which is pretty extraordinary I believe.

I scouted around local boatbuilders but lead time particularly and price to an extent made it an easy decision to go north. Once you get into this boating lark you soon realise that £1000 isn't all that much really. I'm quite confident that the money I spent on haulage was saved on the boat price. This might not always be the case; you need to do your homework. Initially I was planning to fit out near Milton Keynes and cruise back but that didn't work out. I'm Bristol based anyway and I now realise that was fortuitous.

What builder did you end up using? 

18 hours ago, David Mack said:

Do you have a mooring arranged near Bristol or Bath?

I don't have a mooring sorted out yet as I am still trying to get an idea about the total costs. Trowbridge would be best for me – do spaces ever come up at Hilperton?

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24 minutes ago, kanarazu said:

I haven't seen any used widebeams at less than £70k but it seems as though it would cost 40k to have a sail away built. I suppose one of the reasons that I have wanted to custom order it is that I am very tall – 6'6, and am hoping I can have the builder squeeze in an extra few inches. Am I way out on my costs?

One thing I have noticed at Crick looking at widebeams is they tend to have a lot of headroom inside (much more than a narrowboat) often at the expense of visibility from the steering position. I guess at 6'6" visibility won't be an issue so I think you may be pleasantly surprised when it comes to headroom. 

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On 19/04/2017 at 17:24, kanarazu said:

I haven't seen any used widebeams at less than £70k but it seems as though it would cost 40k to have a sail away built. I suppose one of the reasons that I have wanted to custom order it is that I am very tall – 6'6, and am hoping I can have the builder squeeze in an extra few inches. Am I way out on my costs?

You would be banging your head in mine it is 6 foot five inches high inside Minne was built by Johnathon Wilson and is for me the best of the current boat builders

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On 4/19/2017 at 17:24, kanarazu said:

I haven't seen any used widebeams at less than £70k but it seems as though it would cost 40k to have a sail away built. I suppose one of the reasons that I have wanted to custom order it is that I am very tall – 6'6, and am hoping I can have the builder squeeze in an extra few inches. Am I way out on my costs?

Two year ago I sold my 10 year old widebeam 50 footer for 50 k it was a nice comfy well fitted boat with a new bathroom and kitchen. Many boats are for sale for ages simply because they are overpriced. It had very good headroom but a 3 foot draught which was great for the rivers and northern canals where it lived, I wouldnt want a 3 foot draught on piddly canals or it would be dragging along the bottom.

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