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Is it worth getting a home mooring?


DavidAN

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4 hours ago, DavidAN said:

All the cheap boats now seem to be suddenly disappearing from the boatyards..... despair! There are still lots of Shetland fishingy boaty types of almost cruisers, but they seem to be a little too far away from the mark.

@ anyone >>

Is there a "best time to buy" in the year, or has that already passed?

As I suggested in post #54

 

On ‎16‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 17:02, Alan de Enfield said:

you won't be the 1st and you won't be the last to try and 'boat on a budget'

 

You are a 'bit late to the party'.

The sellers market started about 2 years ago.

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9 hours ago, WotEver said:

I already have a transferwise account which I set up just last week. I'm also in the process of setting up a Monese account so I'll have use of a debit card.

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8 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

You are a 'bit late to the party'.

The sellers market started about 2 years ago.

The market is the market - everything is relative.

I started my research into this a couple of months ago. I made sure to search for boats newly listed on the websites rather than those which were just relisted, etc. There were new boats being listed at relatively cheap prices. The prices I have seen from a couple of years ago were not just cheap, they were extremely cheap - there's one  on YouTube showing off his 18-footer which he bought for a mere £1200 in good overall condition inside and out. He planned to live in it, but I assume that 18-foot would feel about half the size of a 20-footer (?). Rather than living in it, I'm assuming that such a boat would only be suitable for traveling and sleeping in at best. Not that 20-footers are really suitable for living in. I actually boarded up half a room to mimic the cabin dimensions of a 20-footer and even slept in it for a couple of days. I couldn't copy the headroom, though. It wasn't a bad experience. Oops, I'm digressing...

There are still a few cheap boats about, but I'm thinking ahead to what the situation will be in two or three months. I could just get a mooring now and buy a really ugly boat that no one else wants (there are some really ugly ones being advertised), but with the difficulties I envisage in running a boat that's the last thing I would want.

I assume that the market will pick up before the end of March, but which way? What will the balance be between people not wanting to renew their moorings/insurance/licences and those that want to buy a boat for the upcoming season? Buying patterns for cars are relatively easy to find. For boats it's a different matter.

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27 minutes ago, DavidAN said:

The market is the market - everything is relative.

I started my research into this a couple of months ago. I made sure to search for boats newly listed on the websites rather than those which were just relisted, etc. There were new boats being listed at relatively cheap prices. The prices I have seen from a couple of years ago were not just cheap, they were extremely cheap - there's one  on YouTube showing off his 18-footer which he bought for a mere £1200 in good overall condition inside and out. He planned to live in it, but I assume that 18-foot would feel about half the size of a 20-footer (?). Rather than living in it, I'm assuming that such a boat would only be suitable for traveling and sleeping in at best. Not that 20-footers are really suitable for living in. I actually boarded up half a room to mimic the cabin dimensions of a 20-footer and even slept in it for a couple of days. I couldn't copy the headroom, though. It wasn't a bad experience. Oops, I'm digressing...

There are still a few cheap boats about, but I'm thinking ahead to what the situation will be in two or three months. I could just get a mooring now and buy a really ugly boat that no one else wants (there are some really ugly ones being advertised), but with the difficulties I envisage in running a boat that's the last thing I would want.

I assume that the market will pick up before the end of March, but which way? What will the balance be between people not wanting to renew their moorings/insurance/licences and those that want to buy a boat for the upcoming season? Buying patterns for cars are relatively easy to find. For boats it's a different matter.

I reckon this is about the bottom of the market. According to folk at New and Used, there's a surge sometime after Christmas of newly single men looking for somewhere to live, then the leisure buyers get busy in early Spring with the prospect of summer cruising. It's certainly been a seller's market for a couple of years now. Good boats are selling here at Mercia before there's even been time to move them to the N&U pontoon.

Edited by BruceinSanity
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27 minutes ago, BruceinSanity said:

I reckon this is about the bottom of the market. According to folk at New and Used, there's a surge sometime after Christmas of newly single men looking for somewhere to live, then the leisure buyers get busy in early Spring with the prospect of summer cruising. It's certainly been a seller's market for a couple of years now. Good boats are selling here at Mercia before there's even been time to move them to the N&U pontoon.

This info is much appreciated. Thanks.

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1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

I wonder what effect CRT's new approach to long term mooring in London will have on the cheaper end of the market. I suppose a lot depends on what they come up with which could ether depress or accelerate that market.

I've just been reading the statistics from a survey of London boaters. For those who haven't already seen it, it has some interesting info.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/30901-whos-on-londons-boats-survey-summary-report.pdf

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10 minutes ago, DavidAN said:

I've just been reading the statistics from a survey of London boaters. For those who haven't already seen it, it has some interesting info.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/30901-whos-on-londons-boats-survey-summary-report.pdf

Obviously boaters in London are very poor at maintaining their boats, or, I wonder, could it be that broken down boats are exempt from the legal requirement to move?

 

33% of respondents said that their boat had experienced mechanical issues in the past 12 months that has prevented them from moving it.

 

Extrapolate that nationally and that's 10,000+ 'non-moving boats'.

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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Obviously boaters in London are very poor at maintaining their boats, or, I wonder, could it be that broken down boats are exempt from the legal requirement to move?

 

33% of respondents said that their boat had experienced mechanical issues in the past 12 months that has prevented them from moving it.

 

Extrapolate that nationally and that's 10,000+ 'non-moving boats'.

Wonder how "prevented them from moving it" was interpreted?

Is it as a reason for staying more than 14 days, or not?

I am prevented from moving by mechanical issues every time I do an engine service, but only for a couple of hours or so!

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1 hour ago, Iain_S said:

Wonder how "prevented them from moving it" was interpreted?

Is it as a reason for staying more than 14 days, or not?

I am prevented from moving by mechanical issues every time I do an engine service, but only for a couple of hours or so!

I would guess that it would be 'reasonable in the circumstances'

 

(ii)the applicant for the relevant consent satisfies the Board that the vessel to which the application relates will be used bona fide for navigation throughout the period for which the consent is valid without remaining continuously in any one place for more than 14 days or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances.

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I think it can’t be too surprising that there are quite a lot of London boaters unable to move due to breakdown. As a generalisation they tend to have bought old cheap boats with dodgy mechanicals, and lack the experience to know how to maintain and fix them. This is because they are not particularly interested in boating, but just want affordable accommodation in one of the most expensive places to live in the UK.

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26 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

This is because they are not particularly interested in boating, but just want affordable accommodation in one of the most expensive places to live in the UK.

As confirmed by the survey, where "50% of those who responded said that affordability / financial reasons what a motivation for living on a boat".

I presume that had they proof read the report it would have said "50% of those who responded said that affordability / financial reasons was the motivation for living on a boat."

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2 hours ago, nicknorman said:

I think it can’t be too surprising that there are quite a lot of London boaters unable to move due to breakdown. As a generalisation they tend to have bought old cheap boats with dodgy mechanicals, and lack the experience to know how to maintain and fix them. This is because they are not particularly interested in boating, but just want affordable accommodation in one of the most expensive places to live in the UK.

For a variety of reasons, there are not many people fixing boat engines in London

Richard

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