East West Marine

[churchward]

I find it amazing that there are all these replies, mostly derogatory, yet no-one has first hand experience of them!

 

I have been aboard one, moored in the same marina as us and apart from the ugly door handle, I found the whole boat to be very nicely done. The owners certainly think it was a very good buy and it handles well too, but having said that I am a fairly new boater and I readily admit that I am not an expert.

Excuse me see post 20!

Edited January 5, 2010 by churchward

[carlt]

No, I agree that the shape is not to everyones liking, but as the saying goes, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

I am not a fan of the old Harbrough Marine boats, but I know someone that absolutely loves them, same with Springers, I like those for some strange reason.

As the Chinese are reknowned for their cheap, poor quality copies of western products (Chinese motorbike fuel lines perishing after a few months, poor quality castings of their Yanmar copies, their cast iron stoves, generally regarded as unsafe for boat use, etc) it is a reasonable bet that a boat, built in China that looks like an approximation of a canal boat, is of similar quality.

 

Add that to their atrocious employment conditions, their human rights records and, if your eco-inclined, the cost in fuel that is involved in shipping one from there to here, I know why I'd avoid one.

Edited January 5, 2010 by carlt

[Madmark62]

Excuse me see post 20!

 

 

I do appologise, I did not read it through completely.. I really do agree about the handle.

[blackrose]

I've had a good look at one of these Chinese boats - inside and out. They look good at first, but on closer inspection things just don't seem right.

 

Nice from far, but far from nice.

Edited January 6, 2010 by blackrose

[petermac]

We very nearly bought one of these. The boxy cabin sides could be a bit of a problem in some bridgeholes and tunnels. Interior is bamboo and oak and looks very nice. Internal fittings pretty good and comes with most things you would expect. 1.5 KW inverter is standard but3Kw available as an option. Barrus SHIRE engine is standard. Paintwork finish is not great and battery bank a bit mean. Webasto central heating is OK but can be a bit tempramental (see other threads on this topic)That door handle!!!!

We have a friend who has a 44' version and is perfectly happy with it having lived aboard for three years. Very good value for money. What finnaly put us off was the father-in-law (who runs a steel fabrication company) telling us he would not reccomend Chinese steel(in more anglo-saxon terms).

[stevemax]

I lived on one for four years ..... I now live on land and I am broke ......Nuff Said

[Sailgirl333]

I actually have experience of one - after a lot of looking at other boats I bought the 44 version.

 

It was built 2008 and is immaculate. Its interior is stunning - fully lined with diagonal bamboo which is the colour of honey and a million percent better that the cheapy plywood I see on a lot of boats.

 

The equipment snd kit onboard are all rock solid and the 12mm plate on the hull is excellent.

 

I love it so much I'm going to sell her (boohoo).... But for a bigger one :-))) they're just so hard to find in the bigger version.

 

⚓️

[Detling]

The ones I have been aboard (2) are well fitted out and all worked fine. Just because something is cheaper doesn't mean it's crap just not an over inflated price. There are no fancy step carvings or fancy scroll work in the steelwork but they look reasonably well built. the engine is a bit under-powered on some of them and the wetroom bathroom floor not to everyones taste. The biggest problem I can see is the square cabin not being friendly to narrow tunnels, but would be no problem on the GU or Leeds Liverpool etc. The two I have been on were both liveaboard in marina and were liked by the owner.

[LadyG]

I'm looking at this advert

https://www.apolloduck.com/boat.phtml?id=533730

OK its not beautiful but seems like a new engine and gearbox etc etc have been required, and a new paint job lol.

To me the interior looks OK.

Dundee website looks normal, no mention of narrowboats.

[WotEver]

28k for an 11 year old 39ft boat?  London prices I think. 

It's good to read that the roof also comes with it...

Edited August 27, 2017 by WotEver
Got the build date wrong

[Boat&Bikes]

17 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I'm looking at this advert

https://www.apolloduck.com/boat.phtml?id=533730

OK its not beautiful but seems like a new engine and gearbox etc etc have been required, and a new paint job lol.

To me the interior looks OK.

Dundee website looks normal, no mention of narrowboats.

Looks like an OK boat at a decent price. If it's new paint is good then it becomes a very good price I think. New gearbox, reasonable electrical setup. Worth a look. Ian.

[LadyG]

On 05/01/2010 at 10:01, Athy said:

As the standard warranty on many goods lasts one year, I think that a two-year warranty implies that they have confidence in the product: as a rule of thumb things tend to last twice as long as their guarantee period or even longer.

Their web site does say that they use the Shanks engine - odd name, come to think of it, does it mean that if you buy one you'll have to travel on shanks' pony? Or maybe it just fits in with the strange names given to far Eastern cars: what the heck do Jimny and Justy mean?

I suspect its a bit like "Ford Prefect" , selected as a run of the mill name in Hitchikers Guide.

PS, the first car I went to view was a Ford Prefect, it was sitting on waste ground, we had to fill the radiator and fit a battery, sadly it still would not start, it was £25 cash . All Ford Prefects were black, unless you were rich.

I tried to drive [on a private track], in an Austin 7, we were into stock car racing, of sorts. Never went very far as we were still at school and had no money for petrol, I seem to recall suck-siphoning [with a rubber tube] from parents motors.

Edited August 27, 2017 by LadyG

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

28k for an 11 year old 39ft boat?  London prices I think. 

It's good to read that the roof also comes with it...

I thought it was reasonable, obviously I'd not quite offer full price, but it has a recent survey, and a new engine [I think], so if it has no obvious faults, and all survey works done, then I might swerve the survey [waits for comments], or make an offer subject to survey, with all recommenations to negotiate a further discount.

Eveen if the new paint job is DIY bog standard, its at least a protective coating for the winter. I can re do it next year, when rust has re emerged lol

ps I did a search for boats meeting that sort of age and length, none were cheaper, in fact there were only three boats on Appollo Duck that met the criterion, and they have 600 narrowboats on their website.

https://www.apolloduck.com/boat.phtml?id=533699

PPS have you any other boats in mind?

Edited August 27, 2017 by LadyG
i seached for better value

[LadyG]

On 21/03/2016 at 18:06, stevemax said:

I lived on one for four years ..... I now live on land and I am broke ......Nuff Said

well, can you give me more info, one expects to incur maintenance costs if living on board, but what can go so wrong you abandon ship?

Or, do you mean living on land is far more expensive than cc ing?

Edited August 27, 2017 by LadyG

[LadyG]

On 03/01/2010 at 20:20, alan_fincher said:

The "almost square" boxy cabins frankly would be enough to put me off.

 

Apart from whether they are actually at more risk in bridge holes or tunnels, (and they look like they are), to my eye they are really unappealing.

 

It seems to be that the vast majority of these are being bought as permanent live-aboards, rather than as boats to be seriously boated in.

 

It seems a decision may have been made by the designers that internal space at head height is more important than a perfect cruising boat.

 

People in the business whose opinions I respect have indicated that despite a very glossy looking finish, the underlying quality of the internal fit-out is very poor, but I have not been inside one to judge myself.

 

A remarkable number do seem to be hitting the second hand market, considering they have only beeen being sold for a very few years. This may just be people finding out that living afloat is not what they expected, though, rather than specific difficulties with the boats.

Can you define what is the difference between a perfect cruising boat and a perfect liveaboard, at the budget end of the market, ty

PS, I was thinking I'd have a sweetly designed cratch to over-ride that for'ad box shape, other thn that  my eye is not offended, but to be fair , the photos are pretty poor, pretty much everyone has a phone with some sort of photographic capability, and many peeps think that is enough.

Edited August 27, 2017 by LadyG

[LadyG]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

I thought it was reasonable, obviously I'd not quite offer full price, but it has a recent survey, and a new engine/gearbox  [I think], so if it has no obvious faults, and all survey works done, then I might swerve the survey [waits for comments], or make an offer subject to survey, with all recommenations to negotiate a further discount.

Even if the new paint job is DIY bog standard, its at least a protective coating for the winter. I can re-do it next year, when rust has re emerged lol

ps I did a search for boats meeting that sort of age and length, none were cheaper, in fact there were only three boats on Appollo Duck that met the criterion, and they have 600 narrowboats on their website.

https://www.apolloduck.com/boat.phtml?id=533699

PPS have you any other boats in mind?

Another one ... this seems pricey, but has a nicer finish, I think.

Just to compare like with like

https://www.apolloduck.com/image.phtml?id=533699&image=11

I am not so keen on this one, on price!

 

PPS re the smaller boat, do you think they might have painted the original solid oak and bamboo interior, in a fit of "mordernisation"? 

Edited August 27, 2017 by LadyG

[alan_fincher]

4 hours ago, LadyG said:

I'm looking at this advert

https://www.apolloduck.com/boat.phtml?id=533730

OK its not beautiful but seems like a new engine and gearbox etc etc have been required, and a new paint job lol.

To me the interior looks OK.

Dundee website looks normal, no mention of narrowboats.

 

From memory, (and looking back through this earlier very old thread!) I think some of these boats came with the so called Barrus Shanks engine.  That's not perhaps surprising in a Chinese built boat, as the "Shanks" was also based on a Chinese engine.

The Shanks was launched with great flourish, particularly as it was far cheaper than other engines like those based on Yanmar or Kubota engines.  After an early spell of enthusiasm, (I remember aonce member on here replaced a Renault [I think] engine with one), one seemed to stop hearing about them.

I suspect it is not impossible that some boats fitted with them from new have already needed replacement engines, if the Shanks engine has not proved a good option.

What is slightly more worrying about this ad is that you could read it that a new engine and gearbox were fitted at different times, and hence there is a story to investigate there.

i would also be worried that " Jambo is currently under painting so will have a fresh paint job on purchase" actually means that "we are slapping a quick coat of paint over it, between the showers, to hide the rust", rather than "we are spending £7,000 to have Jambo taken back to bare metal and professionally painted.  There are many ways of interpreting such claims, so you need to ask searching questions!

[alan_fincher]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Another one ... this seems pricey, but has a nicer finish, I think.

Just to compare like with like

https://www.apolloduck.com/image.phtml?id=533699&image=11

I am not so keen on this one, on price!

Nor should you be!  I think that is priced only about £2K less than they were priced when sold brand new.  (See earlier post in this thread).

[LadyG]

Yep, looks like they want a quick sale [maybe be4 rust bubbles through].

I am pretty much in a straight jacket at the moment, but things will all come together, one day.

The market is a buyers market at this moment in time, esp south of Watford, but my time will come.

Edited August 27, 2017 by LadyG

[matty40s]

I think I saw somewhere that over 600 short term licences have been issued to non compliant CC boat owners in London , perhaps the realisation is hitting home down there.

A good hard winter should give a few more a nudge too.

It's not stopping people buying them elsewhere and adding to the problem though.

[LadyG]

22 minutes ago, matty40s said:

I think I saw somewhere that over 600 short term licences have been issued to non compliant CC boat owners in London , perhaps the realisation is hitting home down there.

A good hard winter should give a few more a nudge too.

It's not stopping people buying them elsewhere and adding to the problem though.

B, but if the boats are non compliant [not sure what reasons, maybe BSCC], why would they get a licence of any sort?

Update: you mean they are not cc ing?

 

Edited August 27, 2017 by LadyG
updated as the swirling grey mist clears

[CV32]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Nor should you be!  I think that is priced only about £2K less than they were priced when sold brand new.  (See earlier post in this thread).

Seems to be the case - we had an East West for five years and had no issues - ours did have the three cylinder Barrus Shire, supposedly a better engine than the shanks.

 

The East West's do seem to have held their prices - nice to see as many on here were very critical about their production location, finish and expected value after a few years.

[LadyG]

48 minutes ago, CV32 said:

Seems to be the case - we had an East West for five years and had no issues - ours did have the three cylinder Barrus Shire, supposedly a better engine than the shanks.

 

The East West's do seem to have held their prices - nice to see as many on here were very critical about their production location, finish and expected value after a few years.

i think the cheap imitation days were in another era, if it were not for eg the japanese we would all still be kick starting our BSA s.

I tend to judge things on their merits ... Liverpool boats seem me to have variable QA, and I find they look very unstylish, sort of upturned shoebox shape.

I THINK the 39fter has a barrus shire, but have no photos, it has only done 110 hours , ie 10 hours per annum! How they managd to destroy the gearbox remains a mystery.

Edited August 27, 2017 by LadyG

[Boat&Bikes]

5 minutes ago, CV32 said:

Seems to be the case - we had an East West for five years and had no issues - ours did have the three cylinder Barrus Shire, supposedly a better engine than the shanks.

 

The East West's do seem to have held their prices - nice to see as many on here were very critical about their production location, finish and expected value after a few years.

I think many so called budget priced boats are resold a few years after build for close to their new build price. I guess there original cost leaves them very little room to reduce. On the subject of foreign built narrowboats I just think many refuse to believe boats built outside of England can be any good. It's something I grew up with in the 70s/80s with motorcycles. Head in sand comes to mind. 

[nicknorman]

25 minutes ago, LadyG said:

B, but if the boats are non compliant [not sure what reasons, maybe BSCC], why would they get a licence of any sort?

Update: you mean they are not cc ing?

 

Non compliant with section 17 of the '95 act relating to boat movement for boats without a home mooring.