© Tony Dyer 2004 - 2021
Rivers & Canals Cruising
Aboard my Narrowboat on the Rivers & Canals of England
Buying my Narrowboat
Over
the
weeks
and
months
leading
to
the
time
when
I
eventually
made
an
offer
and
finally
bought
a
narrowboat
I
looked
at
a
huge
number
of
pdf
marketing
brochures
from
just
about
all
the
brokers
spread
around
the
UK.
There
were
also
boats
being
offered
by
private
sellers
on
Facebook
and
Apollo
Duck.
When
the
time
finnaly
arrived
for
me
to
start
viewing
the
boats
on
my
shortlist,
the
UK
and
rest
of
the
world
was
fighting
the
Coronavirus
pandemic,
which
made
travel
around
the
country
restricted
and
problematic.
On
this
page
you
can
read
about
the
priorities
I
had
when
selecting
the
best
boat
for
my requirements, and see pictures of my final shortlist.
When scrutinising specifications of potential purchases, my priorities were:
•
Within
budget
purchase
price
following
out-of-water
survey,
a
satisfactory
sea
trial,
subsequent
negotiations and the cost of project work needed to be carried out;
•
Length
no
more
than
47ft
(Minimum
44ft
-
Maximum
47ft)
from
reputable
boat
builder.
Less
than
20 years old and with 10mm hull steel construction;
•
Beta
Marine
or
Barrus
Shire
(Yanmar)
engine
with
low
engine
hours
and
regularly
professionally
maintained;
•
Minimum 4 berth including one fixed double berth;
•
Modern
professionally
installed
12v
electrical
system,
including
a
reasonably
sized
inverter
and
solar panels, with minimum of 3 domestic batteries;
•
Comprehensive
230v
shore
power
system
including
contact
breaker
protection
and
three
pin
sockets throughout boat;
•
Semi Traditional or Cruiser with reverse ayout;
•
Eberspacher or similar diesel fired heating system with radiators plus multi fuel stove;
•
Recently blacked with new anodes fitted;
•
Long dated Safety Certificate;
•
Comprehensive
(written)
operating
instructions
and
documented
maintenance
history from previous owner;
•
Confidence
and
documentary
proof
that
the
previous
owner
was
actually
the
legal
owner of the boat!
The
spreadsheet
I
used
to
evaluate
and
compare
all
the
many
narrowboats
I
considered
also
included
headings
such
as:
Year
of
build,
builder,
engine
type,
horse
power,
number
of
hours
and
last
service
date,
whether
a
240v
power
connection
was
fitted,
the
number
of
batteries,
the
power
of
the
inverter,
whether
there
were
solar
panels
fitted,
details
of
the
heating
and
hot
water
systems
and
if
radiators
were
fitted,
whether
or
not
a
multifuel
stove
was
fitted,
galley
equipment
(cooker,
fridge,
microwave),
bathroom
(shower)
including
waste
management
method,
dates
of
last
blacking
and
Safety
Certificate
validity,
if
hull
anodes
were
fitted,
whether
a
washing
machine
was
fitted,
date
of
last
survey.
Finally
I
also
carefully
scruitinised
pictures
of
the
internal
layout
and
fittings
and
of
the upper deck to get a feel for how well the vessel had been cared for and maintained.
These were the narrowboats on my final
shortlist. Not one of them fully met my
priorities, but the final choice met most of
them. Time will tell if I got it right.
On
Saturday
5th
December
2020
after
having
viewed
my
shortlist
of
boats
over
the
previous
week,
I
made
an
offer
for
the
Narrowboat
“Alkeny”,
which
after
some
negotiation
was
accepted.
So
started
to
purchase
process,
sea
trial,
deposit
paid,
out
of
water survey, paid balance, fitting of additional equipment, handover, acceptance.
Alkeny
I
took
Alkeny
for
a
“Sea
Trial”
on
Sunday
6th
December
2020,
starting
from
the
Thorne
Narrowboat
Sales
boatyard
in
South
Yorkshire
and
cruising
west
along
the
Stainforth
&
Keadby
Canal
for
perhaps
3
miles
before
turning
around
and
returning
to
the
boatyard.
I
was
on
the
tiller
for
most
of
the
time
and
found
the
narrowboat
easy
to
handle
and
manoeuver,
including
turning
the
boat
twice
in
a
little
over
boat
length
and
navigating
a
lock
and
opening
bridge
on
the
outbound
and
return
legs
of
the
short
trip.
And
so
that
was
the
first
stage
of
the
acceptance
process
completed.
The
next
stage
was
to
have
the boat hauled ashore for a full survey, which was booked for 15th december 2020.
Alkeny
was
surveyed
by
Rick
Tropman
of
Marine
Engineering
Services
on
15th
December
2020.
He
gave
the
boat
a
clean
bill
of
health,
albeit
that
there
was
a
list
of
three
essential
defects
that
needed
rectification.
There
was
also
a
longer
list
of
other
items
that
he
recommended,
and
a
further
three
items
to
satisfy
the
requirements
of
the
Boat
Safety
Scheme
(BSS).
The
survey
was
carried
out
professionally,
efficiently
and
thoroughly
and
I
was
happy
with
the
comprehensive
report
when
I
received
it
the
following day.
On
17th
December
2020
I
revisited
the
boatyard
to
discuss
the
Survey
Report
with
Nationwide
Narrowboat
Sales.
The
final
list
of
work
to
be
carried
out
was
agreed
and
was
to
be
estimated
before
agreeing
funding
with
the
seller.
I
also
agreed
a
short
list
of
other
work
that
I
require
to
be
undertaken
before
finally
taking
ownership.
It
was
estimated
that
the
boat
should
be
ready
for
departure
from
the
boatyard
by
the
second
week of January 2021.
The
arrangements
for
funding
the
remedial
work
to
be
caried
out
following
the
survey
were
agreed
and
work
started.
All
work
that
was
required
to
be
carried
out
before
launching
was
completed
and
Alkeny
returned
afloat
to
the
canal
on
22nd
December
2020.
It
was
a
beautiful
day
with
a
clear
sky
and
no
wind,
so
I
was
able
to
take
plenty
of
pictures,
including
video
and
stills
from
my
drone.
I
was
pleased
to
have
been
able
to
capture
the
day’s
activities
for
the
record.
On
completion
of
the
launching
evolution
I
took
advantage
of
the
fine
weather
and
flew
my
drone
for
a
second
time,
over
the
Stainforth
&
Keadby
Canal
in
the
vicinity
of
Thorne.
Later
after
returning
to
Debryshire
I
flew
my
drone
for
a
third
time
in
the
day,
this
time
over
Mercia
Marina
at
Willington,
which
is
where
I
intended
to
base
Alkeny
after
acceptance.
All
videos
are
availble
for
viewing
in
my
YouTube
Drone
Flights
Playlist
-
take
the
link
from
the
toolbar
at
the
top
of
this page.
The
day
after,
on
Wednesday
23rd
December
2020,
I
placed
orders
for
a
multifuel
stove,
three
new
“house”
batteries
and
a
Battery
Charger.
All
were
delivered
before
the
New
Year
and
the
boatyard
commissioned
to
fit
them.
I
also
awaited
the
other
work
requested
to
be
completed,
although
it
was
agreed
that
I
should
move
aboard
on
Saturday 9th January 2021.
Crucial
to
moving
on
board
was
the
fitting
of
the
battery
charger
and
new
batteries,
which
would
allow
all
onboard
systems
to
be
used
whilst
drawing
power
from
the
240v
shore
supply.
Other
work
would
have
to
progress
after
I
had
become
a
resident
on
board!
With
a
new
national
Covid-19
lockdown
imposed
as
of
Wednesday
6th
January
2021
it
was,
at
this
point,
difficult
to
predict
when
Alkeny
would
be
ready
to
move
away
from
the
boatyard,
and
even
if
it
was,
whether
or
not
river
and
canal
navigation
would
be
permitted?
During
the
days
preceding
my
move
aboard
I
fully
paid
the
balance
for
the
purchase
of
Alkeny
,
insured
the
boat
(GJW
Direct)
and
booked
a
berth
at
Mercia
Marina
at
Willington, Derbyshire. I also purchased essentials for living aboard, such as bedding.
Mercia Marina
Launching Alkeny
Thorne, South Yorkshire
Nationwide Narrowboats
