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Does length matter?


hawkers

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I know I risk this going off in the wrong direction but I'll give it a try.

I'm planning to buy a narrowboat for myself and wife with a fixed double berth and one double to be made up. This boat would only be for holidays and certainly not full time liveaboard.

I've been looking at 45 footers but quite like one that is only 32 feet long.

Have any of you bought a boat of a certain size and found yourself wishing you had gone for something longer?

Is it like greenhouses - buy the biggest you can possibly afford because it will never be big enough?

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We have a 25ft cruiser and spend every weekend and all of our holidays on it. Smaller boats have their advantages, we have never struggled for a mooring and we can turn around just about anywhere. We dont plan to get a bigger boat anytime soon as our smaller boat means we have more choice of cruising where we are based. :)

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It's a personal thing about how much space suits you. We hired for several years and then, when coming to buy our own for exactly the purposes you say knew what length narrowboat would suit us. (And it does!) Perhaps you could have a couple of weeks on boats of different lengths? Great that you're planning to get a boat. :cheers:

Edited by Jo_
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I know I risk this going off in the wrong direction but I'll give it a try.

I'm planning to buy a narrowboat for myself and wife with a fixed double berth and one double to be made up. This boat would only be for holidays and certainly not full time liveaboard.

I've been looking at 45 footers but quite like one that is only 32 feet long.

Have any of you bought a boat of a certain size and found yourself wishing you had gone for something longer?

Is it like greenhouses - buy the biggest you can possibly afford because it will never be big enough?

 

To be honest, if you choose carefully and buy with your eyes open, it probably doesn't matter what you buy. If you get it right, you've got the boat you want. If you get it wrong you will learn what it is that you need, sell your boat and buy another

 

Richard

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I would say focus more on the features that you want on the boat rather than length. The design of the boat and the layout can make a great deal of difference to the amount of usable space, so longer is not always better in my view.

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Unless you have a short mooring then there are really only two lengths a narrowboat should be - 60' and 70'. 70 (or 71'6") is the definitive maximum length for most of the canal system, while 60' (or 59') allows you to access 99.9% of the british river and canal system, including some of the northern canals.

 

There is no such thing as too much space on a boat - its cramped enough, so go for the most you can get!

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Another bonus of a shorter boat is cheaper fees. Marina moorings and licence fees are set using the boat length. :cheers:

 

Unless you have a short mooring then there are really only two lengths a narrowboat should be - 60' and 70'. 70 (or 71'6") is the definitive maximum length for most of the canal system, while 60' (or 59') allows you to access 99.9% of the british river and canal system, including some of the northern canals.

 

There is no such thing as too much space on a boat - its cramped enough, so go for the most you can get!

 

Rubbish

  • Greenie 1
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Unless you have a short mooring then there are really only two lengths a narrowboat should be - 60' and 70'. 70 (or 71'6") is the definitive maximum length for most of the canal system, while 60' (or 59') allows you to access 99.9% of the british river and canal system, including some of the northern canals.

 

There is no such thing as too much space on a boat - its cramped enough, so go for the most you can get!

I don't agree with this at all.

 

Tony

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I'm in the (tediously slow) process of downsizing from 51'x13'6" to 28'x9'6" (or 32'x10'...decisions, decisions).

 

People spend very enjoyable holidays in 20' long caravans, with all mod cons.

 

How much space do you need, for a fortnight's travelling?

 

If it was a liveaboard, with all mod cons, then WJM's opinion might hold water.

 

For a leisure boat, though, I agree with Phylis' assessment.

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Unless you have a short mooring then there are really only two lengths a narrowboat should be - 60' and 70'. 70 (or 71'6") is the definitive maximum length for most of the canal system, while 60' (or 59') allows you to access 99.9% of the british river and canal system, including some of the northern canals.

 

There is no such thing as too much space on a boat - its cramped enough, so go for the most you can get!

yes i think you are right,if you are going to enjoy owning a narrowboat you may as well have the maximum length to suit your chosen cruising area.

full length boats swim and steer better than truncated versions,and as you say,an ample amount of accomodation.

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I bought a 59' boat because I believe it will marginally help it's saleability and residual value. However, since I am based in the south (where every waterway accommodates a 70' boat) I often wish that I had the extra space of a 70'. I can think of many uses for that extra 10'.

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yes i think you are right,if you are going to enjoy owning a narrowboat you may as well have the maximum length to suit your chosen cruising area.

full length boats swim and steer better than truncated versions,and as you say,an ample amount of accomodation.

 

So you are saying that anyone with a boat less that 60 ft long doesnt enjoy owning their boat?

 

What a load of utter nonsense.

 

There are many small boats around the system and their owners have just as much fun afloat in their basic boats as the owners of boats worths many times more. For a holiday boat there is no need to buy the biggest flashest boat around, there is no need for it to be toyed up to the eyeballs. There is something to be said for a simple boat that provides many hours of trouble free cruising.

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I bought a 59' boat because I believe it will marginally help it's saleability and residual value. However, since I am based in the south (where every waterway accommodates a 70' boat) I often wish that I had the extra space of a 70'. I can think of many uses for that extra 10'.

 

That is your choice, but to then generalise everyone into the same category as yourself just isnt a true reflection of life.

 

For us we have no need for another 45ft of boat so why waste extra money on fees that we dont want to nor need to?

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full length boats swim and steer better than truncated versions,and as you say,an ample amount of accomodation.

No they don't.

 

A poorly built full length boat will swim and steer like a hollowed out brick, a 30' Springer, however will swim better than most.

 

Looking around at mooring prices, your 70' boat could be costing 5 times as much to keep as a nearby 30' cruiser or narrow boat, for a bit of extra wardrobe space.

 

In these times I feel a small boat that is easily affordable is more likely to bring happiness than a big boat that is a drain on resources.

Wise words from an old sage.

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If you intend to use it mainly for weekends and occasional holidays, don't forget a smaller boat is great as you can often turn round without having to go on to the next winding 'ole

Edited by Geoff
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i live on a 30 footer... as soon as i can i will be refitting it for the best layout to live comfortably... the swim on mine is that similar to a 70 footer (cos they had great ideas behind it) for a short sod, she don't wonder that much!!! but once i have refitted my boat, i want to get a 30ft butty built to tow around as "the other half" makes everything by far more fun with an extra 10 ton on the wrong side :D

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Phylis - we are talking about narrowboats. They are all essentially all the same width, draught and height and have the same pointy ends, so the only structural feature you can play with is the length. Since this discussion is about narrowboat length, I don't think you are well placed to offer any constructive comment.

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Phylis - we are talking about narrowboats. They are all essentially all the same width, draught and height and have the same pointy ends, so the only structural feature you can play with is the length. Since this discussion is about narrowboat length, I don't think you are well placed to offer any constructive comment.

 

Why would that be then?

 

So far as i can see I have given far more valid benefits to a smaller craft than you have with your sweeping statement that because you want a bigger boat all boats should be your ideal size.

Edited by Phylis
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Ours is 70ft, and we love having a long boat. (not paying the fees though)

 

She's not shiny and all singing all dancing with lots of toys as Phyllis mentioned, in fact she doesn't even have 240v.

 

One of the main criteria for us choosing a long boat was wanting to take friends away with us when we had children and so did they. She slept 12 when we got her, and now sleeps 10 easily. Having had 8 sleeping on her for 2 weekends recently there's no way I'd want a smaller boat, we were struggling for space anyway, but I know that is unusual.

 

We managed to feed about 25 in her for breakfast at the Lapworth banter, but that is unusual and most people wouldn't want to anyway. :blink:

 

If the smaller one has all you need go for it, it will certainly have a lot more places to turn, that can be a problem for us, and the fees will be cheaper.

 

Most of all find one you like an d enjoy it.

 

Sue

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Ours is 42ft and has all that we need - fixed double, shower,decent galley, convertible double in saloon etc. It is fine for us as there are only the two of us usually, we don't live aboard and it is really comfortable for weekends/holidays.

Our previous boat was a 23' Waterbug and we loved it. We only went to a larger boat because we were spending more and more time boating and felt that we needed the shower and the permanent bed.

If the shorter boat has all that you think you need, then go for it.

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Couple of points to bear in mind with my reply so please read in context.

Point 1, my opinion is based on a weeks hire boat and point 2, is only my personal opinion with what little experience I have so others who have owned boats are better placed to answer.

The smallest boat we have been on for a weeks holiday was 32ft and if I am honest we found it to be to cramped for a week, but as I say that is just my personal opinion

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