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Is longer better or worse?


PeterCr

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When we had our boat built , we discussed length with the fitter/builder 57ft go anywhere or 62ft almost any where. Their reasoning was ..... 62ft inc dinette/ spare bed ... 57ft i inc nothern waterways........ dinette used every day ... spare bed for family or friends ..... if we really wanted to explore the Northern waterways we could always hire ...... 13yrs later , still happy with 62ft .... and cruised extensively...... Ribble twice. Manchester ship canal 3 times. Crossed the Mersey .Fens twice. Tidal Trent ,Thames, Severn . Sharpness to Bristl. Black Sluice. So theres plenty out there to get your teeth into with a 62footer.

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9 hours ago, PeterCr said:

we found a nice looking boat listed at 61 feet but when I tracked down the CRT registration it was registered at 63 feet!

Without measuring it you have no idea how accurate either of those figures might be. It could be 59ft. 

Or 65ft

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On ‎15‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 08:55, WotEver said:

Coincidentally, 84% of responders had bought one... 

:D

And their lies the crux of the matter. Its the same with everything in life when people buy one they will nearly always praise it even when we all know its crap as they don't like losing face having spent money. Think as an example " Austin allegro " a mate of mine bought one new and swore how good it was when everyone in the known universe knows they were the worst car God ever invented.

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11 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Without measuring it you have no idea how accurate either of those figures might be. It could be 59ft. 

Or 65ft

I've said this before, but when we had our first potential buy surveyed back in 98/99 (those were the days), the boat was advertised as 55ft, and measured at 47 or 48 (cant remember now).

The first of many costly experiences in our continuing journey that is boat ownership!

Edited by rusty69
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My boat, bought as a bare shell is 55". Occasionally I wish it were longer, often I wish it were shorter. The shorter thoughts normally arise when trying to moor up in popular locations. A factor not to be discounted is the weight. Trying to manhandle it in difficult conditions can be tricky. (no thruster). Strangely it seems heavier than it was 20 years ago:blush:.

I also have an Ecofan that was given to me rather than purchased. I think:detective: it has an effect!

  

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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

And their lies the crux of the matter. Its the same with everything in life when people buy one they will nearly always praise it even when we all know its crap as they don't like losing face having spent money. Think as an example " Austin allegro " a mate of mine bought one new and swore how good it was when everyone in the known universe knows they were the worst car God ever invented.

BL were a nationalised industry and so run by the government, it was if anything an unGodly mess.

...............Dave

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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

Think as an example " Austin allegro " a mate of mine bought one new and swore how good it was when everyone in the known universe knows they were the worst car God ever invented.

Inthought the Ford Edsel was universally acclaimed as tne worst car ever.

"The 1958 Ford Edsel was supposed to be the new premiere car for middle-class Americans. Ford was so confident in the product that it pumped $250 million into it. But instead of starting a revolution, the company lost $350 million on the unattractive gas-guzzler."

Edited by cuthound
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2 hours ago, Slim said:

My boat, bought as a bare shell is 55". Occasionally I wish it were longer, often I wish it were shorter. The shorter thoughts normally arise when trying to moor up in popular locations. A factor not to be discounted is the weight. Trying to manhandle it in difficult conditions can be tricky. (no thruster). Strangely it seems heavier than it was 20 years ago:blush:.

I also have an Ecofan that was given to me rather than purchased. I think:detective: it has an effect!

  

That's 'cos the baseplate (see other thread) is covered in barnacles (or molluscs!)

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10 hours ago, Bunny said:

When we had our boat built , we discussed length with the fitter/builder 57ft go anywhere or 62ft almost any where. Their reasoning was ..... 62ft inc dinette/ spare bed ... 57ft i inc nothern waterways........ dinette used every day ... spare bed for family or friends ..... if we really wanted to explore the Northern waterways we could always hire ...... 13yrs later , still happy with 62ft .... and cruised extensively...... Ribble twice. Manchester ship canal 3 times. Crossed the Mersey .Fens twice. Tidal Trent ,Thames, Severn . Sharpness to Bristl. Black Sluice. So theres plenty out there to get your teeth into with a 62footer.

Our boat's 55ft and still has a convertible (Pullman) dinette. Can't deny the bedroom and bathroom are a bit poky but it's as close as we were likely to find to the best of both worlds ('go anywhere' length plus flexible living/guest space).

Edited by magictime
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3 hours ago, Slim said:

My boat, bought as a bare shell is 55". Occasionally I wish it were longer, often I wish it were shorter. The shorter thoughts normally arise when trying to moor up in popular locations. A factor not to be discounted is the weight. Trying to manhandle it in difficult conditions can be tricky. (no thruster). Strangely it seems heavier than it was 20 years ago:blush:.

I also have an Ecofan that was given to me rather than purchased. I think:detective: it has an effect!

  

Blimey I am not surprised you find it a tight squeeze, 55 inches is not much space at all.

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On 13/11/2017 at 22:54, Mike Todd said:

What can't one do with a 60 ft?

We brought our 60ft over C&H this summer - only two locks are really tight. We are not necessarily the fittest of boaters but it was more the anticipation of having to go the long way round if we failed than the actuality. There was not that much juggling but the shortest did require a bit of care. I'd rather do them coming up than down - although we did do down in our previous boat, also 60ft.

We came down the C&H with our 57ft this summer and it was touch and go in some locks. The leakage from the top gates was a serious risk to swamping the back deck and the bow needed pushing around the bottom gates with a pole to get out of the lock safely.

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One great advantage of having a full size boat is that when entering a lock a gongoozler may say something along the lines of, "You've got a long one." To which you can then give the standard response, "Nice of you to notice." Whilst giving them a cheeky grin :giggles:

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4 minutes ago, Bewildered said:

Is longer better or worse?

I have been reliably informed that "size doesn't matter" :rolleyes:

And I have read that width is often more important than length, but we really don't need another discussion about narrow vs wide. :D

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2 hours ago, dmr said:

And I have read that width is often more important than length, :D

But when you have both it can make it a bit of a tight fit, and it tends to rule out entering on the diagonal, and, sometimes there may be a blockage stopping you getting past the gates in the first place - although this is usually removed with repeated usage.

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