2014 03 30 Newsletter – Earning Money On The Cut

After I stepped off the plane at Heathrow after my month away in the sun, the frigid air reminded me why it’s so good to get away from the British weather occasionally. However, after a couple of days of rain during my first week back on the boat, the weather improved so much that I was working in a T shirt for at least a couple of hours on most days. Early signs of a long hot summer, I thought to myself. I always make that mistake in February or March.

This week I have been dressed up like a mummy; polo shirt, padded work shirt, padded waterproof coat (about as waterproof as tissue paper), buffalo hide gloves, fleece hat, trousers and wellington boots. On Wednesday afternoon the weather moderated a little. The sun came out and the outer layers came off as I sat basking in the unfamiliar warmth as I sanded down a wharf-side fence I planned to paint. I was very happy. Unfortunately I didn’t look behind me.

If I had glanced up I would have noticed a solid bank of black clouds creeping up on me from the north. The first I knew of the approaching storm was sudden twilight and pea sized hail bouncing off the back of my neck. The hail, mixed with sleet, lasted five minutes but left a coating of white across the site. Then the sun came out again, and then there was more rain. What a strange country we live in.

I went shopping for shrubs on Thursday. Last week I cleared an area of waste ground at one end of the wharf and removed several self seeded ash and an equal number of blackthorn from two overgrown raised planters. One of the planters is above a rockery between the wharf and our chandlery. I wanted something eye catching as a centre piece for the planter so I’ve chosen a magnolia soulangeana or a tulip tree as it’s often known. Magnolia are prohibitively expensive so the only one I could get within my budget was about three feet high. It will need a few years before it fills the planter so I have surrounded it with mahonia. Mahonia media lives up to its “winter sun” name with bright yellow flowers between November and February.

The second planter is next to the end of the old single Calcutt Top Lock close to where Pat and I installed the cafe decking last year. The powers that be wanted “something prickly” in the planter to stop out of hours site visitors from climbing over it to access the wharf. After spending an hour with pickaxe and crowbar to uproot an established laurel from the edge of the planter, I moved the liberated plant to the front and then planted five berberis behind to keep trespassers out.

I was quite pleased to get the planting out of the way. I had a cup of coffee before returning to our equipment shed to get what I needed for my next mission to find that an unexpected 250 saplings had been delivered by the nursery owner who provided us with our woodland understorey last November.

He had just finished a big project planting thousands of saplings at a wind farm. He had two hundred and fifty left over and knew that we could find a home for them at Calcutt Boats. I added planting a mixture of rowan, field maple, oak, crab apple, wild cherry, hornbeam and fifty wild roses whose name I can’t remember to my list of things to be done sooner rather than later.

Earning A Living While You Cruise

The Holy Grail for many existing and aspiring narrowboat owners is to continuously cruise the canal and river network without a care in the world, stopping when and wherever they please, and generally enjoying a rich, rewarding and stress free life.

Unfortunately, funding such a lifestyle is a problem for many.

I think, although I can’t find any figures to support this at the moment, that there are just over 4,000 narrowboats registered for continuous cruising. However, at least half of these are considered to be none compliant continuous cruisers. These boat owners are also knows as “bridge hoppers” or “continuous moorers” and are on the Trust’s hit list.

Non compliant continuous cruisers are boaters who have declared on their license that they do not have a home mooring because they constantly move around the network. However, the only cruising they do is between two or more locations which need to be fairly close together so they can stay within easy reach of work, schools or healthcare. By doing so they avoid the cost of a residential mooring which, outside London, can be up to £3,000 a year. In London the cost can be double what boaters pay elsewhere.

If you aren’t familiar with the rules regarding continuous cruising you can find out more here.

Of the estimated 2,000 genuine continuous cruisers, most have retired from a life of toil and use either pensions, savings or income from investments to support their leisurely wanderings. A minority, a very small minority, manage to combine constant cruising with earning a living.

Some have a physical place of employment which they must visit to carry out their work. They comply with the continuous cruising guidelines by commuting up to thirty or forty miles from their boat. Others have agreed with their employer to work part time in the office and part time from home (boat). A few use technology to the full and work entirely from their boat for an employer who can be just a just around the corner or, in Monique McNaught’s case, 8,188 miles away.

South African technical writer Monique is moored at Calcutt at the moment. She purchased her narrowboat Pern towards the end of last year. Since then she’s been here while we’ve made the modifications necessary to her boat so that she’s able to work comfortably from her floating office as she cruises the network. Until recently, “cruising the network” involved being moored on a comfortable berth on Calcutt’s Meadows marina until the dreary winter weather improved.

Yesterday, with the thermometer nudging twenty degrees here in rural Warwickshire, Monique decided that enough was enough and set off for pastures new. Before she left, she kindly agreed to share her thoughts on earning a living from the comfort of her boat. Here they are…

“After working for a South African software company for over 10 years, I decided to pack up, come to the UK and live on a narrowboat.  Fortunately the company has a progressive outlook and allows employees to continue working for them as contractors. They currently have programmers, testers and now a technical writer who writes the online help for their programs (me!) working in Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland.

For me, working from a narrowboat is the same as working from home except that I’m less likely to have friends dropping in for coffee or asking me  to go out somewhere with them. When you work from home on land, people tend to forget that although you are at home you are actually ‘at the office’. This is unlikely to happen when you’re moored alongside a canal, however, it’s important for others sharing the boat with you to understand that you are ‘at the office’ and to keep interruptions to a minimum.

Working away from the office requires you to be disciplined enough to actually sit down and produce the required work. It’s very easy to be distracted or to find something that desperately needs doing immediately, however the ‘no work, no pay’ basis of a contract is usually quite motivational!

If you enjoy the companionship of your work colleagues, then you could find working from home very lonely. Make sure that you are comfortable in your own company and don’t need the continuous human interaction with co-workers. I know some people who are horrified at the thought of not spending time with other people in the office for more than a few days at a time.

Companies are generally loathe to let their employees work from home because they think they’ll lose total control over the amount of work being done and the hours being worked.  This is not true, as productivity can be measured.

If you work for a progressive company and your job can be done away from the office, then suggest working from home on two or three days a week. This gives both you and the company an idea of how well the arrangement works.  If it does, then you could extend this to working from home on a full time basis, either as an employee or, more likely, as a contractor. Depending on the terms of the contract, you could also work for other companies.

With the availability of current technology, many office type jobs can be done from a narrowboat. Consider how many people sit in offices all day and ask yourself whether they actually physically need to be there. Apart from software programmers, testers and writers, people providing telephonic support, telesales and telemarketing come to mind.

Good luck!”

Monique suggests that there is an opportunity for telephone support and telesales workers. She’s right, providing that you are moored in an area where you can actually get a telephone signal. Mobile phone reception is notoriously poor on the canal network. In my limited experience, if you can’t get a phone signal you can often connect to the internet and if you can get a reasonable connection to the internet you can use Skype’s internet to land line and mobile telephone service.

One or two work entirely from their boats but rather than work remotely for an employer, they earn a living working for themselves offering physical services to other boaters.

I know two established and very successful service providers quite well. The first is Tim Davis on NB Shepherds Rest. I’ve detailed his case study below. He’s the victim of his own success. He retired from high flying corporate life to live a life of leisure on the waterways as a continuous cruiser. He couldn’t help himself though. Before long he had designed a robust and very effective solar power system, sourced good quality parts and offered a narrowboat solar power fitting service. Now his service has become so popular that he’s had to stop continuous cruising so that he can moor close to the storage until which he needs to hold his stock. I’ve also heard a rumour that he’s had to employ someone because he can’t cope with the demand. Slow down Tim. You’re supposed to be enjoying some stress free boating!

The second service provider is Matty Smith. I’ve told you about him in the last few newsletters. His range of services is all encompassing. He can sort out your electrics, fix leaks, do some basic carpentry, fix basic problems with your engine or do Martini style boat moving for you (“Anytime, any place, any where!”). He is also so busy he can’t cope with the demand. In fact he’s so busy he hasn’t had time to invoice me for his last visit, hasn’t had time to even speak to the other moorers here who would like to use his service and, most importantly, hasn’t been able to tell me when he can come back here to complete my list of outstanding jobs.

I’ve also been swapping emails this week with a boating friend who has recently decided that retirement doesn’t suit him so he’s set up a business from his boat offering what appears to be a very popular service with fellow boat owners. Allan repairs boat covers including cratch, top box, pigeon box, side and read door and hatch covers. Allan also mentioned in one of his emails to me that he makes insulated curtains for  portholes.

Allan is very happy with the response he’s had to his new business. Like Matty Smith, Allan will be able to earn a living as he continues to cruise the network. He hopes to be able to build his customer base by word of mouth so he asked, as I have a particularly big mouth, if I would give him a mention. Here it is…

Alan Cazaly is currently moored just north of Milton Keynes. If you have a cover on your boat which needs repairing, you can contact him on 07835 228283 and if you want to find out more about Allan and his continuous cruising lifestyle, here’s a case study I did on him two years ago. How’s that Allan?

There’s a huge opportunity within the boating community for you if, like Tim, Matty and Allan, you’re good with your hands. There appear to be a large number of boat owners, often not live aboards, who don’t have the time to do the work themselves or those who live aboard and who, like me, are completely incompetent.

I spoke to a potential boat owner a few weeks ago about earning money while living afloat. He told me that his pension would go a long way towards supporting him as he cruised but that he would need to top it up slightly as he travelled. I suggested that with his engineering background and knowledge of engines he would be able to find the work he needed among the boating community. He agreed that fixing the engines wouldn’t be a problem but said that crawling around the confined spaces of a narrowboat engine bay wouldn’t suit him.

The work is there if you want it but working on a narrowboat moored by the side of the canal is not going to be the most comfortable place to work so you need to be adaptable and fairly hardy.

Over the last two years I’ve been slowly adding case studies of liveaboard boaters to the site. There are now forty nine (let me know if you would like to be number fifty). Close to twenty five percent of them earn some or all of the income necessary for a gypsy lifestyle from the comfort of their boats. I’ve listed them below. I’ve included my own case study. Although I’m not yet a continuous cruiser, the goal I set myself four years ago – to become self sufficient from the guides I write so that I can cut my ties to a particular geographical location and cruise where I please – is edging closer to completion. Here are the case studies.

Clay Hammer – I was until I was made redundant in August this year. Now I’m ‘freelance’  and looking at rekindling my photography and web development expertise as well as starting some wood turning.

Lorien – Yes I am an Area Manager for a charity and my partner has his own business.

Antioch – Yes. I’m a freelance writer and run my own copywriting business. I also invigilate for exams at a local FE college. And I home educate my two younger children.

Shepherds Rest – Up until recently I was a time served boat builder.  I now run Onboard Solar which specialises in solar power systems for boats, providing an all-in-one service:  making sure you get the right sized system, supply of all the components, professionally fitted to your boat by myself, all for a fixed price!  I also work in tandem with Baddie the Pirate who is a liveaboard boater who supplies LED lighting for boats.

Blue Moon – Yes, I’m a graphic designer

Hobo – Freelance writer

Snowdrop – Writes children’s books

Tournesol – Keith was in the Navy for 26 years and then the prison service until he took early retirement and I was a professional counsellor working for the NHS and East Kent education authority before I took early retirement. I started a non-profit-making website called Counselling In France in 2003 and that is still going and growing all the time, plus I run a small business designing websites called Windoweb so I am still doing that, although that is mainly for enjoyment as it makes very little profit. I also run a small sideline selling porthole doilies from a website and I also sell as we go along with the help of a board on the roof – people see the doilies in our portholes and stop to look at the ones I have for sale. We are 60 and 65 this year so we are feeling a bit better off with old-age pensions kicking in, which is just as well with the price of diesel!

The Watchman – I’m a freelance writer. I write for magazines such a BBC Wildlife, the Spectator, most of the boating magazines and many more besides. I also write text for museum displays and my first book ‘The Liveaboard Guide’ is due to be published any day now. Its a nots and bolts guide to living afloat, warts and all, and it has lots of anecdotes and case studies and stories too. This helps to give the reader a real flavour of what boat life is actually like; the lifestyle and the types of people who are suited to it.

Far Star – Having retired from my stressful administration position, I now spend my days painting canal artwork – small projects of household goods, including Buckby cans. From spring to early winter I also work as a part time jobbing gardener – tending gardens for folk who can no longer manage it. It is very satisfying work, but would not make me a living. I am very lucky that with Ian working, I am able to do this.

Osprey – Phil is retired. I am a freelance musician and I work part time. I do two days teaching a week in term time, run two music websites, play for weddings and work for an examination board.

James – This is my own case study. Although we are close to achieving our objective of cruising the network while we continue to earn a living, we aren’t quite there yet. Sally has the income from her property and I have the income from the sales I make through this site.  Shortly after I set up the site I committed to the long term goal of achieving a pension from sales of something or other.

Four years later, I have written and published four guides, developed a bespoke narrowboat lifestyle budget calculator and put everything together in a very reasonable package. There aren’t enough people interested in the lifestyle or, more importantly, prepared to spend the small amount necessary to find out how much the lifestyle will cost them to earn me a living but it helps and the income is growing slowly. A  while ago I calculated my hourly rate for working on the site considering the time I’ve put in so far and the expenses I’ve incurred to get where I am. I had to go and have a rest in a darkened room when I realised that the average burger flipper earns about four times as much as me!

Making Money Online

If none of this real work suits you, you can try one of the bewildering number of money making programmes you will find on line instantly by making the simplest of searches. One of the better known ways of making money on line is by becoming an affiliate and earn prodigious amounts of money for  promoting other people’s products. There are a few who make a very good living online by doing this but the majority fail.  I tried it years ago and failed miserably. I know one or two boaters who have also gone down the affiliate route recently. They failed too.

One of the better known affiliate programmes is offered by Amazon. If you refer anyone to Amazon and they buy a product, you get 5% of the sale price. The percentage rises slightly as the number of sales you make in a given period increases.

I am an Amazon affiliate. I don’t push products which I don’t use myself and as Amazon aren’t a great source of boating equipment, working as an affiliate for them earns me virtually nothing at all. Take this month for example; so far I have earned the princely sum of £2.92. This year, nearly three months gone, I have earned £27.63. That’s from one of the more popular boating sites on t’internet with 24,586 different people visiting it during the first quarter.

My greatest ever Amazon success was when I recommended the most comfortable footwear I’ve ever had and which is perfect for use on the boat – Crocs (Yes, that is an affiliate link). I earned myself just £8 after I mentioned them in a newsletter which went out to nearly 5,000 people and where the main subject was keeping your feet warm on board.

I’m never going to get rich from Amazon.

There are one or two genuine opportunities on the internet where you can earn a little extra money for doing searches with a particular search engine, watching promotional videos and filling out surveys. One such opportunity which is totally above board is Swagbucks.

Swagbucks is never going to provide you will a full time income but you can earn a little extra money in exchange for completing daily Swagbucks tasks; internet searches, completing surveys and watching videos. I’ve spoken to one enthusiastic boater who has been using the service for nearly a year. He says that with very little effort, once you know a few tips and tricks, you can hit your daily targets while you are sitting in your pyjamas eating breakfast. The boater in question has earned an extra £300 in the last nine months. So has his partner. He says that once he has retired from full time employment, each of them will earn £600 a year from the service without much more effort than they are putting in at the moment.

A word of caution. Earning money through this site requires a reasonable internet connection to watch the videos which earn you points and filling in the surveys requires to to give marketing companies your contact details. I had a quick play around with the service but, because I was in a hurry, I entered my bona fide email address and mobile phone number. Before I realised what was happening, my email inbox was filling with unwanted offers and I had several phone calls from companies following up on my expressed interest. I ended up with an appointment with Optical Express to discuss several thousand pounds worth of laser eye surgery and a very persuasive call from a smooth tongued salesman offering me a great deal on breast implants for Sally. I subsequently cancelled the Optical Express appointment and I’m still waiting for the right opportunity to discuss the subject of the other offer with Sally.

If you are interested in using the service you can sign up for free here. You can even get off to a flying start with a bonus if you enter “FreeGiftCards” (without the speech marks) in the box labelled “I have a sign up code” at the bottom of the signup form. Once you have signed up, you can find out the tips and tricks you need to maximise your earnings by reading this thread on the Money Saving Expert web site.

There you are. I hope I’ve given you a few pointers in the right direction if you are considering trying to earn a living afloat. If you’re already earning money while you cruise the waterways, maybe you would like to share your story with others. Email me to tell me how you do it.

After all that hard work, even if it’s only reading about it, you need a rest. How about a short break on a boat?

My First Holiday Afloat

To many bricks and mortar home owners, many boats appear quite basic and lacking in the levels of comfort and convenience taken for granted in a home on dry land. However, standards in both build quality and on board facilities have come on in leaps and bounds in recent years.

Forty years ago. regular site visitor Julie Phillips and her then husband hired a cruiser for a belated honeymoon on the canal network. If you have ever thought that the facilities on an average narrowboat are a bit basic, after reading Bev’s account you’re likely to change your mind. Here’s her story…

“Ah, I can remember it well. The first holiday in a narrowboat. It was enough to put anyone off canal holidays for life.

We’d been married for six months and were taking a belated honeymoon in September 1974. My only experience of canal holidays up to that point were the occasional canoe weekends down the Grand Union not far from Alperton, Wembley. Eskimo rolls were not to be recommended!

Having picked up (almost literally) our fibre-glass cruiser from near Stoke Hammond on the GUC, we were going to head north-west to Warwick. The boat was fitted with an outboard motor and the living accommodation was spartan, to say the least. We were somewhat disappointed to discover the first night that the double bed was, in fact, not. The middle section was missing, so we ended up sleeping in separate bunks for the whole of our ‘honeymoon’ fortnight. Not exactly what we had planned. The galley consisted of a sink (that doubled as a wash basin) and minute cooker. Opposite that was the heads. Actually it was a bucket with a loo seat on the top and boy did it stink. However if you kept the door shut and the sliding window open it wasn’t too bad. The saloon was our two bunks (minus the table) that disappeared under the lower front section of the deck. Headroom was limited, as I am not very tall I could stand upright inside the cabin, but my husband had to stoop once he got past the cooker. The aft deck had a seat for the ‘captain’ to steer from and a bench seat that was a third berth?! It would only have been useful for a very small child.

Having set off, we discovered the first of many little foibles about this craft. It did not steer in a straight line. If fact it did not steer, and neither did we. We used to wend our way up the cut, veering from side to side and never did manage to get it to go where we wanted it to. I’ve subsequently sailed in yachts with outboards and have never had the same problem as we had with this boat. However, we made it up past Cosgrove and decided to call it quits for the night. It was at this point that I was pestered by a wasp. My husband shouted to me to stand still, that way I would not get stung. Oh, how wrong he was, and how much did I tell him such, once he had ministered first aid to my stings!

The next morning we set off and after much banging and crashing decided it was easier if we both disembarked and hauled the boat through the locks. I have done this recently with a 62 ft steel-hulled narrowboat and I have to say the fibre-glass one was much easier, the only thing it had in its favour! We spent time wandering round the museum at Stoke Bruerne and having lunch in the café before venturing into the Blisworth Tunnel. The candle on the front of the boat didn’t give us much indication as to where we were going and, added to the weaving motion and the fact that the tunnel is not straight, made things, well, interesting. Then we met our first steel-hulled working boat coming in the opposite direction. To say that we were s**t scared was putting it mildly. It felt as if we had been pushed half way up the side of the tunnel. They were not taking any prisoners and didn’t slow down at all. By the time we made it through to the other end we had encountered over 8 boats coming towards us and none of them filled us with any desire to meet another one. We moored up at Blisworth and had a stiff drink, or two, in the pub before turning in for the night.

Following our experiences in the Blisworth tunnel, we decided on different tactics for Braunston. We moored up in the cutting just before the tunnel and got up extremely early the next morning, ran through without meeting another boat and then moored up for a cooked breakfast the other side.

We had an uneventful trip down through Braunston and out along towards Napton until we got a plastic bag wrapped round the prop. My husband, who was steering, insisted I took the bow rope and jump off onto what appeared to be a nice flat dry area on the off-side. You probably know what happened next! I didn’t have much choice actually, as we were heading in that direction and we couldn’t steer at this point. I jumped off onto this nice flat dry bit of crust and sank up to my knees. My husband thought this was hillarious and I nearly divorced him (actually it would probably have been an annullment, bearing in mind the sleeping arrangments!). Having removed the offending bag from the prop, he then managed to extract me from the mire, leaving behind my costly and virtually brand new Scholl sandals in the mud. Moral, wear wellies all the time, or cheap sandals.

The rest of our journey up to Warwick was quite uneventfull. We had got fairly used to the steering and only weaved a little bit by this time, usually when there was someone coming towards us. Leamington Spa was explored, as was Warwick itself and then we had the return trip to contend with.

All went well, we used our trick of going through the tunnels early, but came unstuck at Blisworth when it seemed that others had the same idea. However we came out unscathed, shame about the boat though. It was at this point that the weather, previously sunny with only the occasional shower, decided to test our waterproof clothing. The outfits were fine, the boat was not. The front window leaked like a sieve. By the time we realised we had a problem, one set of bedding was soaked, mine. His was fine, typical. In a gesture of goodwill, he suggested we both tried to cram ourselves into one 2ft bunk. Needless to say, neither of us got any sleep (no sniggering) and I ended up sleeping on the cabin floor up by the sink to avoid the bucket catching the water pouring through the window.

The next day we went past the Navy, well, it looked like a small, very small, frigate, actually. I think there was also a submarine but am a bit hazy on that. We decided to moor up at Wolverton where, rumour had it, there was a swimming pool. Having found it, it appeared that we were the only people there, apart from the staff who were in the process of closing it down. Having had a swim, I was looking forward to a lovely hot shower, especially as I was getting a bit whiffy. It’s ok having a good wash down but with no bath or shower for 10 days I was definitely in need of one. It soon became apparent that they had turned the heating off at the beginning of the week and I ended up with an extremely cold shower. As it was still raining and we were not far from the boatyard, we decided to take the boat back two days early. Then we went into Milton Keynes and splashed out on a projector and screen so that we could view all the slide photos we (ok, ok, HE) had taken of our never-to-be-forgotten honeymoon, followed by a quick drive back home to a lovely hot bath, dry clothes and …………….. well, you can fill in the rest!!

But we were hooked on the canals, so for our next holiday in 1976 we decided to go for the safer option and had Wild Sorrell II, a steel-hulled narrowboat from Calcutt, the first of many, but that’s another story.”

Can you remember your first trip or the experience which hooked you on narrowboats? Would you like to share the experience with other narrowboat enthusiasts? Please email me if you have a story to tell.

Legal Advice For boat Buyers

Two weeks ago I published some information about the logistics of buying and paying for a boat.

Earlier in the week I was trawling through the latest edition of Waterways World when I noticed an advert offering advice on the subject. I emailed the solicitor responsible for the advert asking him if he would like to submit an article for the site. He kindly agreed. Here it is…

REPENT AT LEISURE? – A Guide to Buying a Used Canal Boat

PETER CROWLEY, Solicitor*

Introduction – An Everyday Story of Canal Folk

 Your nest-egg is burning a hole in your pocket. That first narrowboat holiday last year was idyllic and now all you want is to be able to repeat that idyll on demand by “investing” in your own boat to potter contentedly around the waterways of the United Kingdom.

 You’re a grown-up. You think carefully about major decision-making. You are no mug. Of course you aren’t.

 You buy the current Canalcraft Monthly (the name is fictitious, of course) and trawl the “Boats for Sale” pages, drooling a little.

 One new-ish boat in particular takes your fancy, offered by a broker some distance away. So you drive over to have a look at it lying afloat in what is – even to your relatively unpractised eye – a rather down-at-heel marina. However it’s love at first sight and after a brief test run you agree to buy it. But, being no mug, not until you have checked that it has a CE mark showing compliance with the Recreational Craft Directive (RCD). It has, with just over a year of its four-year validity still to run.

 The broker points out the one or two minor-looking repairs that he says will be done by the present owner before the boat is delivered. In particular the engine is smoking a bit so he’ll get the timing adjusted.

 You sign your deposit cheque there and then, and stump up the balance a week later, becoming the proud owner of your dream boat.

 Except your dream quickly becomes a nightmare. Several hours later the engine’s smoking like mad; after several days the boat has developed an ever-increasing list; the batteries don’t hold their charge, and when you sleep aboard you wake up in the morning with a foul headache. Oh yes: and a month into your ownership there’s a persistent bloke from a bank who’s turned up at the boat twice, saying that there’s a mortgage secured on the boat and he’d like his money – like, now, please.

 You ask the broker to take the boat back and give you a refund, but he says you’d agreed to buy the boat “as seen” (which is news to you), so there’s nothing he can do for you. And the bloke from the bank is getting very persistent. You don’t really know who the previous owner is: all your dealings were with the broker. The only paper records you have are the broker’s receipts for the deposit and balance.

 Another boat-owner puts you in touch with a reputable repair yard. Tsk-tsking as only repairers looking at a lucrative job can, they tell you the engine is clapped-out and will need replacing or at least a complete overhaul, there are several leaks through various defective skin fittings and the propshaft, and the LPG system is leaking and lethal. And so on. Fixing the defects could cost nearly as much as you paid for the boat.

 In despair you turn to an appropriately-experienced solicitor for advice – and over a thousand quid of solicitors’ fees later the bank’s still on your back, and your dream boat languishes at its mooring, its licence revoked by the Canal and River Trust (formerly British Waterways), running up insurance premiums and mooring fees, going nowhere and driving you to despair.

 So how to avoid such disasters? Read on!

 Shop Around

 Try not to fall in love too quickly. Look at several boats at several places. Get a better feel for the market and the sort of prices similar-looking boats are going for. If you lose a season’s owner-cruising, what the hell? You’ll be that much better placed to make an informed and therefore safer choice when the time comes.

 Look and Listen

 The word gets around about bad boats and bad people. Force yourself to visit local canal-side pubs and ask about the boat and/or its seller or broker. If there are any horror-stories they’ll soon come out. It’s up to you whether you believe them or not.

 Go onto the internet if you can. Especially if you’re contemplating buying from a commercial owner or a broker you might find comforting or worrying news from a “blog” site. Don’t be fooled by glossy websites: it might just mean that the proprietor’s 13-year-old son’s a bit of a computer whiz.

 Ask your prospective seller (if he’s a commercial owner) or the broker for some references from previous customers. He should be happy to come up with a couple of satisfied contacts. If not, why not?

 The Value of BSSCs

 Since 1998, with limited exceptions, boats used within the European Union must be built to comply with the RCD. Compliant boats are “CE marked” and have various accompanying documents.

 Very generally speaking, a Boat Safety Scheme Certificate (BSSC) is compulsory for all non-CE-marked canal boats, and for CE-marked canal boats more than four years old which aren’t totally open to the elements and only have an outboard engine without any heating or electrical systems. If in doubt, contact the Canal and River Trust, which administers the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS), or look on your computer.

 In many ways a BSSC is equivalent to a car’s MOT certificate – it demonstrates that, on that date, the boat has been examined and found to comply with certain specified safety requirements. It absolutely isn’t a guarantee of the boat’s general satisfactory condition – or that that safety compliance will continue: it is the owner’s responsibility to maintain that compliance throughout the BSSC’s period of validity, just as it is with an MOT’d car.

 The BSS examination is of the tick-box type, each section’s questions dealing with compliance with the relevant safety (the crucial word) aspect – engine and fuel system, electrical and LPG installations, ventilation, and so on. Don’t expect a BSSC to confirm that all safety-related aspects of the boat are satisfactory. That’s not its function. Look at the website and familiarise yourself with its scope. Within that scope, the examination requirements are pretty comprehensive.

 However, it appears that there is a lot of competition for this work; so sometimes, in my experience, some examiners (they are all self-employed) sometimes don’t do their job as thoroughly as they should because they feel that their fees are uneconomical for the work that would be involved in doing a conscientious examination. They rely more upon their experience (or presumed experience) and/or their relationship with the seller or broker than actual item-by-item, box-by-box, examination of the BSS-covered systems.

 The good news is that the BSS requires its examiners to have professional indemnity (PI) insurance in place. So if your boat’s BSSC has been issued negligently, you may be able to get some redress from the examiner and his insurers if you can establish a link between the defective BSSC and the financial losses you have suffered.

 The BSS may also take disciplinary action against a negligent examiner, ranging from retraining to de-certifying.

 Get a Survey

 Any sale contract should be on terms that completion of the sale is subject to a satisfactory survey of the boat. It’s your fundamental safeguard. If the seller is reluctant for any reason, walk away.

 In particular because of the relatively limited scope of the BSSC examination, a sensible prospective buyer should always arrange a pre-purchase survey – and not by the chap who issued the BSSC. Better to spend a couple or three hundred quid (or whatever) on an independent survey on a boat you then decide not to buy, than to go ahead without a survey and buy an over-priced pup. If you want the surveyor’s opinion as to the market value of the boat, be prepared to pay extra.

 And don’t ask your seller or the broker to recommend a surveyor: there is too much risk of a conflict of interest, however well-intentioned the advice you are given. Ask around, or go to one of the professional bodies like the Yacht Designers and Surveyors Association (YDSA), who will put you in touch with local and appropriately experienced surveyors.

 Check that your surveyor has valid PI cover. Ask to see the current insurance certificate – he should be happy to demonstrate to you that he takes his professional duties seriously enough to provide for the unlikely possibility of his fouling up.

 If he is a YDSA surveyor, he will definitely have PI cover: it’s a requirement of membership.

 If he isn’t a member of a body like the YDSA, ask for a couple of references, and contact them. They’ll be boat-owners and therefore by definition be happy to talk to you about their experiences.

 Pre-purchase surveys come in many shapes and forms, from the quick still-afloat once-over to a very thorough nooks-and-crannies exercise, complete with opening-up panels, open-water trial and haul-out for an osmosis check or ultrasonic thickness-testing.

 It’s your choice; but, obviously enough, more work means more fee. But maybe more peace of mind. Up to a point, your surveyor should be able to advise you as to a prudent level of inspection, dependent in large measure upon the age and type of the boat and the sort of use it appears to have had. But of course he’ll very properly tend to err on the side of caution, because the more he does the better the chance of revealing any hidden defects.

 Get a Contract

 Despite the old saw that it isn’t, a verbal (“oral”) contract is worth the paper it’s [not!] written on. The only thing is that because there’s no written record of what precisely was agreed, verbal contracts can be open to misunderstanding or even downright misrepresentation. Written contracts are a much better idea when you’re spending a lot of money.

 So if you’re buying through a broker, insist upon a written, preferably standard-form, contract. Take it away and read it very carefully; and see the penultimate paragraph of this section. If you are in any doubt, ask an appropriately-experienced solicitor for advice.

 If someone is holding himself out as a broker and doesn’t have a standard-form contract instantly available, be afraid, be very afraid. He could be a cowboy.

 If you are buying direct from a private individual or through a broker, you must get (and preferably visit or otherwise check out) the seller’s home address, and insist upon that subject-to-satisfactory-survey clause, and a contract provision that if the survey reveals any defect or defects that (I suggest) could in total cost 5% or more of the agreed price to remedy, then you can reject the boat and get your deposit money back, or the seller must get the work professionally done himself within a sensibly short time before the sale is completed and the balance payable.

 It’s an obvious point, but you should remember that recovering money from private individuals can be very much more difficult and expensive than from established businesses. Lots of money for lawyers; lots of grief for clients. Avoid getting into that sort of situation if you possibly can. Unless you’re a paid-up masochist, being involved in litigation is hell.

 Always ask for some proof of ownership and provenance – for example the bill of sale or other receipt for at least the previous two sales. And rather like with a car-purchase, seeing a “full service history” with the right customer name gives more peace of mind.

 It’s always a good idea to formalise the sale or purchase of a boat by means of a proper Bill of Sale, even if the boat is not registered. Use the UK Ship Register’s form MSF 4705, downloadable from their website. Usefully, MSF 4705 includes a warranty (a contractual promise) that the boat is “free from encumbrances” – i.e. it has no outstanding debts that could interfere with your quiet enjoyment of the boat.

 But always bear one absolutely vital thing in mind: you can have the best contract known to man in your hand, but its protection isn’t a guarantee that the other party will be willing or able to perform it, or pay your valid claims under it. Hence caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).

 Check with the UK Ship Register if the boat is a registered as a British ship in Part 1 of the Register: if it is, then for a canal boat or any fairly small pleasure craft this will probably be because it is the subject of a current “marine mortgage” and the lenders have insisted upon Part 1 registration so that they can protect their interest in the boat by getting it noted on the boat’s entry in the Register. In this case you will take on the burden of the mortgage upon purchase unless it is discharged and the Registry informed before completion of the sale to you.

 Be warned, though: the practice of a lender insisting on Part 1 registration is declining, with the lender taking the risk of unsecured default. So the absence of Part 1 registration isn’t a sure-fire indication of the absence of an outstanding mortgage that could come and bite you later.

 By this point in this section, if you haven’t despaired and slit your wrists, you will be relieved to read that the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has a form of contract for non-business parties that should make your job easier. It is aimed at yachts, but can be easily “cobbled” to suit a canal boat. I strongly recommend that you use it, or something like it. But you’ve got to join the RYA to get your hands on a copy.

 Think how much paperwork is involved in buying a car from a garage. Why should this be any different? You’re probably paying a lot more for your boat than you would for a car – quite possibly with much less come-back if she’s a dog; so be prepared to wade through a bit of bumf before you sign on any dotted lines. Both parties should be satisfied that their interests and rights are properly protected. Be suspicious of the quick-sale merchant.

 If It Still Goes Pear-Shaped

 In my nightmare scenario at the beginning of this article, our unfortunate owner has several things to do if he is to have any hope of achieving a less-awful outcome.

 The first thing he must do is to take as many photographs of the boat in its defective condition as he can, and make a comprehensive but sensible list the defects, so that there is a contemporaneous record to show to people. If the photos carry a date, so much the better. Photos taken months after the event, or after repairs have begun, are much less useful.

 Then he should contact the seller and demand – nicely at this stage – that the seller take the boat back and refund the price, or (if the defects are less serious) get them fixed. If the buyer meets with a refusal or prevarication, he’ll almost certainly be in for a fight, with all the attendant grief and expense. If only he’d read this article before buying!

 Faced with the likelihood of a dispute, formal or otherwise, he must then get the boat surveyed – not by the original surveyor, in case his negligence has prompted the purchase – to get an expert and unbiased view of what the defects actually are.

 The surveyor might be able to include an estimate of the cost of repairs in his report, but in any event it is advisable to get at least two estimates from repair yards, based upon the surveyor’s findings. (Quotations are better if possible, but it’s likely that any reputable repairer will baulk at committing himself to a fixed figure in case other, hidden, problems appear as the work progresses.)

 If he thinks it is worthwhile, our unfortunate buyer should then send the seller copies of the report and estimates and invite him – firmly, this time! – to reconsider his refusal to put things right, or face legal proceedings. Give the seller 14 days to comply.

 On Day 15, if he has heard nothing constructive, our buyer should consider whether or not the size of his claim warrants the commencement of legal proceedings. Dithering will simply delay the day when he can breathe a sigh of relief and put a terrible experience behind him. I recommend that you find a solicitor who knows about pleasure craft. He might charge you a bit more per hour (note that lawyers do charge: they aren’t registered charities!), but hopefully he’ll get the right result more quickly and save you money and grief as a consequence.

 Be warned: if your claim is worth less than £10,000 it will be allocated by the Court to the Small Claims “track” – in which case it’s very unlikely indeed that your legal costs (apart from Court fees) will be recoverable from the seller if you succeed. Factor that in.

 And above all remember my “litigation is hell” warning above. It eats you up, both financially and emotionally. If you can afford to walk away – walk away.

 The Lessons

 Don’t rush into a purchase. Make sure you’re 110% satisfied that the boat you want is everything it’s cracked up to be, and that the price is right.

 Be prepared to pay for the advice that gives you peace of mind.

 Establish that the person giving you that advice has PI insurance in case he gets it wrong.

 Don’t forget that “used” means just that – it’s been used. You can’t properly expect new-build condition throughout – unless that’s what the seller tells you, and it’s reflected in the contract and the price. And even then, don’t be fooled: the boat might be advertised as a couple of years old but the engine might be a Fred Dibnah’s-delight 1947-vintage model, in its umpteenth hull but still hopefully chugging happily away. If you want an unblemished boat, buy new. In boat-buying as in everything else, you pays for what you gets.

 Happy cruising!

 *Peter Crowley is a Consultant to solicitors Swinnerton Moore LLP in London. He has nearly 40 years’ experience as a maritime lawyer, including 25 years of pleasure-craft litigation. He acts for builders, buyers, sellers, repairers, insurers and surveyors. He gives clients effective and cost-effective advice. That way he sleeps at night.

 Peter can be contacted on 020 7236 7111 or peter@swinmoore.com

© Peter Crowley 2014

…And just to finish off, some further information from Sean Milligan regarding loans and boat registration…

“My experience with buying and selling boats is limited to sea going vessels. However, I would suggest that anyone doing so on the canals would do well to search the RYA website as it has a lot of relevant information including standard contracts for purchasing a vessel and bill of sale. The RYA has an inland waterways section so membership may well prove worth while as it gives access to more information and legal advice.

I did once secure a bank loan on a boat, strangely enough with the Clydesdale Bank. However, this facility is only available for a boat that is on the full register of British shipping – commonly refered to as “part one” as this allows mortgages to be recorded. The simpler Small Ships Register (SSR) does not provide any proof of ownership, so can not be used to secure finance. Registration is only a legal requirement if a vessel is going foreign so it is very unlikely that anyone would register a narrow boat.”

Last But Not Least…

Last week I published links to two new bloggers on the site. Ian Canham has added another fascinating episode to his adventure. He spent two weeks stuck in the heart of Manchester surrounded by the noise and lunacy which is part and parcel of living in a major city. In this post he manages to escape from the dirt and the danger and heads towards the tranquil life he hopes to achieve on board.

Right says Fred…

A boating friend I have recently made said I was paranoid about my weed hatch which I now check every day. I’ve found so many things down there and always feel a bit like James Herriot as I role up my sleeve and plunge my hand in to clear the various obstructions that cling to my propeller – I liken it to those cartoons where from a small box everything including a new car is removed as I pull things out.

But I’ve had a brick on a rope stall my engine…tights, trousers, an umbrella a basque which is always a worry and it took me a while to work out what it was. I saw a sign at a shop offering money for old clothes and I wondered if perhaps I should hang on to these bits and pieces for later sale.

But I’m running ahead of myself as these things all happened around Wigan last Tuesday Wednesday and I left Manchester on Sunday at about 9.30 am.

If you’re single crew get a willing friend. I found Fred at Droylesden. He likes to help with long flights and being a boat owner and live-aboard himself he is also very useful at a number of different things when it comes to boating and narrow boats. For the price of his fare and a ‘drink’ or two he’ll come and do a flight for you.

Fred was with me for my trip out of Manchester and also the Wigan flight (07939 206963) and was a god send really. We descended from Manchester step by step shrugging off the doom and gloom, the noise and the screaming ambulances/police cars…I felt as if I’d been stuck in a hole for 2 weeks. Looking back I should have left earlier and sorted the pump another way but its done now and all seems to be working again.

And so I left Manchester with trusty Fred…slowly but surely lock after lock…I wonder who put these kennels here for the ducks, geese or were they for me

I reckon I could live here

But probably I’d want to put a motor on it and moor it somewhere else other than a city

The hum and the drum did not subside but there was something in seeing the city from the canal…like peering from another world into a madness…looking through a glass bubble at the madness and scream of Sodom and Gomorrah (no pun intended).

Some snippets of art in mad places.

A worry about the low levels of water

Which proved unfounded but you can see the marks on the pillars where the water had recently been.

And these strange signs were all about…there were some chaps who seemed ill-dressed for the weather hanging about in tunnels….

slowly we made our way out of it all…looking for a clearer horizon

One couldn’t help but glance back at it though

just now and again

I like a backward glance. But there is actually something to be said for seeing the City from the canal and I would recommend it to anyone…it is like being able to see it as if as a tourist without all the tourist trappings but also without having to touch it as such.

I’m not against cities …I was born in London and lived there for most of my life on an inner city council estate and cities do have their charm, their energy and of course their intensity but I prefer the remoteness and quiet comfort (and beer) of the countryside if I can find it.

…eventually we made our way out and somewhere near Dukes 92 we got a bit sloshed and Fred went off and I went on.

I found the Leigh branch of the Bridgewater canal and stumbled across Butch and Janet – you’ll recognise them as their boat has a trike on the front and they fed me and watered (whiskey) me and so the day came to a close.

2014 03 16 Newsletter – Sharing Your Narrowboat Space

I’ve had Matty Smith here on the boat again this week. He came on Friday afternoon to fit seven LED ceiling domes and my new Smartgauge battery monitor.

The ceiling lights were a mess. I suspect that they were the original lights fitted when the boat was built in 1977. On several, the catches which secured the heavy glass domes to the bases were broken so the domes couldn’t be secured properly. As a result they hung at an angle from the ceiling. As well as looking unsightly, they didn’t provide much in the way of light. The glass had stained over the thirty seven years they had been in place so even with all of the ceiling lights on, Sally and I often collided in the dimly lit interior (that’s our excuse anyway, and we’re sticking to it).

The new lights have made a tremendous difference. We purchased two of them at Crick last year but such is my enthusiasm for DIY and my limited knowledge of electrics that they remained in their boxes until Matty came last week. We liked them so much that we ordered seven more for him to fit on his next visit.

I was a little worried that I might have made the wrong choice with the seven additional lights. The seller, HMS Marine Supplies,  offer the 7″ domes in both cool and warm light. The first two we bought were the brighter cool light as they were for the galley and the very dark bathroom where we need plenty of illumination. We were slightly nervous when we ordered more of the same fearing that the inside of the boat would look like Blackpool illuminations. Neither of us are getting any younger though and our eyesight isn’t what it used to be. We decided that brighter was probably better. I’m pleased we did. The lights have transformed the inside of the boat. It’s even prettier than I thought it was.

I’m equally pleased with the Smartgauge battery monitor.  I have five batteries; four 135AH for the domestic supply, and one 110AH as a starter. Batteries are so expensive to replace and so easy to damage by flattening them too often that it’s worth investing in something to keep a constant eye on their health.

The new battery monitor is extremely easy to use. Even I can understand it. There are three buttons to press. The first shows the volts for the main (domestic) battery bank, the second shows the battery bank status (% remaining) and the the third displays the volts for the secondary battery bank (starter).

The Smartgauge display unit has been fitted into the ply bulkhead between the engine room and the bedroom with the display in the bedroom. The display turns off after two minutes so the panel is not intrusive at all. Although I haven’t done so yet, it’s possible to set a number of alarms based on either voltage or status. When triggered, the panel will constantly display the current status and voltage until deactivated. The unit can also be used to turn on a generator or to trigger an audio alarm, however the visual alarm display will be enough to trigger me to get off my backside and to start the engine to charge the batteries.

The battery monitor is yet another piece in our nearly complete live aboard narrowboat jigsaw.

After spending so much money ensuring that the boat is fit to cruise, it would be a crime not to test it, so that’s exactly what we’re going to do for the first two weeks of June. We can’t decide where we’re going to do the testing yet though. Below I’ve talked generally about couples getting on together when they live on board and particularly about Sally and I. One of the aspects of life afloat where we currently disagree is how much cruising to do when we go out on the boat.

I’m quite frustrated when I consider the length of time I’ve lived afloat and just how little I’ve seen of the river and canal network. On the few occasions we have the time to cruise, I want to see as much of it as possible. I want to be able to talk knowledgeably about sections of rivers and canals, the best places to moor, spots to avoid and things to do and places to see along the route. I want, like Pearley on the forum,  to be able to consult my extensive cruising notes then answer any query quickly and accurately. If we have two weeks to explore the network, I want to make the most of every day.

Unfortunately, Sally doesn’t feel the same way.

She, like me, wants to make the most of the break to get away from it all when we cruise. Unlike me, for Sally “getting away from it all” on the boat doesn’t include travelling all day every day. Our summer cruise last June was perfect for her. We cruised very slowly to the end of the Ashby canal and back. We managed just over 100 miles in fourteen days  or just over seven miles a day. (You can read about the cruise here. Just follow the “Next Post” links at the very bottom of the page if you want to read about the whole trip).

This year Sally wants to do something similar, somewhere new but at a very relaxing pace. She told me, probably correctly, that we’ll have all the time in the world to see as much of the network as we want when we’re cruising full time. She’s probably right. I’m just naturally impatient so I’ll have to try to reign in that impatience for now.

Sharing Living Accommodation The Size Of A Large Garden Shed

I was wondering what to write about this week when I received an email from Trevor Ingram. Trevor emails me quite often to point out, in a very useful and much appreciated way, some of the many spelling or grammatical errors I’ve made when I’ve hastily published a newsletter without proofreading it thoroughly first.

Trevor’s email this time contained a welcome and useful suggestion for a newsletter topic. Here’s Trevor’s idea…

“Maybe a theme for the future could be ‘partners’. I know that Sally is part of your life and boat, but you could perhaps ‘flesh her out’ in a manner of speaking and at the same time provide some useful help, hints and advice to couples in a similar situation.

Secondary Double Glazing Update

Guest Posts

I’ve set up two new blogs for site users in the last week, and there’s another on the way for next week. Many potential or existing narrowboat owners start their own blogs but then are bitterly disappointed when no one appears to be reading their blog posts. What they don’t generally take into account is that people who might me interested in reading their blog don’t know it’s there.

I know from personal experience how difficult it is to attract visitors to a new web site.  I’ve just had a look at my site statistics for the last month then compared them to the same period four years ago which was just after I launched the site. For a full month in 2010 I was swamped by visitors to the site… all eight of them. Four years later, and after countless hours of marketing and content writing, the number of unique visitors each month has risen to a very respectable 10,442.

Why am I telling you this? Because blogs on this site get plenty of readers courtesy of the visitors who already visit this site. I often publish links to blog posts if I think that newsletter readers will be interested in them. I’m actively encouraging new bloggers for two reasons; Good blog entries from other contributors mean that I don’t have to come up with so much content myself, and content written by other current and soon-to-be boat owners lend a different view of life afloat to my own.

Here are the two new bloggers for you.

Ian Canham – He’s recently purchased a boat and is finding out, as most new boaters do, that water getting into parts of the boat where it shouldn’t is a daily part of life and that parts of Manchester are frequented by imbeciles who should be locked in cages. Here are his posts to date. Start at the post dated 18th March and work forward from that.

The second new blogger is Laurie St. Lyon.  Laurie is actively looking for a boat and wanted to share his experience of the looking/choosing/buying process with other potential boat owners. You  can read his first two posts here.

Loans On Boats

New blogger Laurie St, Lyon is a solicitor by trade. I was swapping emails with him on the subject of setting up his blog when he mentioned last week’s newsletter, particularly about buying and selling boats. He’s kindly added a little more information on the subject for us…

“On the matter of Loans on Boats. Your information was not quite correct. A loan CAN be secured on a boat just in the same way that it can be for a car or any other item. It is called Hire Purchase! If they have this type of arrangement it will likely not be with a High Street bank. However there is no register of such debts.

There are also Secured Loans, again not usually with a bank, but available. Here the debt is secured on the boat and the ownership, pending repayment of the loan is with the lender, but there is no register of such debts.

Oh and the reason a solicitor will not (and should not) let you use his Client account if there is no underlying legal work (ie, conveyancing, debt claim,etc) is that to do so is a serious breach of our professional rules for which our beloved regulator will have us before a disciplinary tribunal.  Any matter to do with the client account is taken VERY seriously which is why billions of pounds changes hands via UK solicitors accounts every year in terms of Mortgages and UK and International commercial transactions.

Of course you could instruct a solicitor to draw up papers of sale and deal with the monies that way that would be OK. It should not cost that much and obviously if you do not wish to gamble the loss of your funds that is a way to go.   Yes he will ID you for money laundring purposes and possibly the otehr side for his own peace of mind. Not a bad thing perhaps.

However, YOU can do the same as long as you have a name and an address. Add a DoB or a spouses details and it gets even better. Just google “tracing a person”. Cost can be £35 for a simple online confirming person exists, address, etc, to more expensive £120+ checks to the full gumshoe routine! Not conclusive but comforting. Unless you have a Mickey Spillane streak and wish to hang about outside his home to see if he really does live there!!  (NB. If you get arrested I don’t do Criminal law but can direct you to a chap who does! 🙂 )

Just my two pennies worth.”

Then, just before I was due to publish this newsletter, I had an email from Russell Myers. He’s looking for his own boat at the moment so read last week’s article with great interest. We wanted to share his own experience of the logistics of dealing with substantial quantities of cash during the sales process. This particular sale was one of his cars, but there’s certainly some useful information here if you think that a cash sale is the safest way to go when you buy or sell your boat. Here’s his story…

“Hi Paul, Interesting article about paying for a boat particularly as we are getting closer to that point in our plans to get afloat. I thought you might make use of this anecdote from the sale of one of our cars which resonates with the article. You may find it amusing in its own right although the wider membership of the forum may find it useful too.

I thought I would sell the car privately and save a bob or two (Yorkshireman with short arms and  deep pocket) and achieved this to a guy from Northern Ireland! (Not sure about canals over there). Haggling over the phone clinched the deal price but he only wanted to make one trip to check out the car and conclude the purchase before driving back to Northern Ireland.  The car was only a year old with less than 10k on the clock so a good bet from his point of view. The problem that arose as highlighted in your article was the purchase point i.e. paying and handing over the car – trust needed on both sides!

We discussed various methods electronic banking being the favourite on the basis that the money would instantly transfer from one account to the other which we could check through online banking. Not so! My bank would not guarantee the transfer within 24 hrs. So we could be hanging around checking one another’s progress for some time. (Interesting thought – where does the money go in this limbo period? No doubt someone is making a fast buck out of it.) The commercial world does have instantaneous banking but only when set up and paid for – not a practicable option on a one off transaction but see my thoughts later.

Anyway, we decided to do the deal with cash! Scary – very scary in retrospect – the sum in question was £15k + not a sum I have ever held in my hands before or likely to again! Our man was up for it and confirmed he had got the cash and ready to meet up. He was flying into Leeds Bradford Airport – our local and we met up with him there.

In advance of this the thought occurred that the bank notes could be dodgy especially £50 notes and we found a very useful document issued by the Bank of England to help identify forgeries across the £5, £10. £20 and £50 notes – reassuring.

Armed with this we met at the airport – nice chap (but then that is the art of the con man – he turned out to be a vet). He checked out the car and documents and happy with it handed over the cash. I wasn’t sure what to expect – a bundle of 50s in all probability but it was bulkier than anticipated and when I opened the package realised why – a mixture of 10s and 20s all neatly bundled in bank wraps but shock/horror they were “Mickey Mouse “ notes – Northern Ireland issues its own notes and not only that there are five banks issuing their own designs so five permutations of 10s and 20s to conjure with!!!

Bank of England guidance note now a waste of paper.

The airport car park wasn’t the place to start counting the  cash, besides the car park charges clock was running (Yorkshireman)  – what the security people made of it I don’t know. They must not have been watching their cameras as we exited the airport before we were swooped upon – it must have looked very dodgy! Part of the deal was to give us a lift back so we had a chance to sound the man out – all above board and OK and we parted on good terms although he did ask for some luck money by way of a full tank of fuel – no way as he had driven a hard bargain (and I’m a Yorkshireman).

So off we trundled with a big chunk of cash in a supermarket carrier bag on a gloriously sunny Sunday in July – next problem – no banks open on Sundays to deposit the cash. Got home and had a wild moment on the bed …………………………………………………………………………….counting oodles and oodles of Northern Ireland bank notes!!!! It was spot on.

Spent the night worrying how the bank would react and whether there was an issue handling Northern Ireland notes – there isn’t – it’s a bit like Scottish notes (currently) they are legal currency throughout the UK it’s just that people are naturally suspicious of them.

The following morning stood on the bank doorstep waiting for it to open clutching supermarket carrier bag to look in-cognito actually makes you look like a sitting duck for a bag snatch. I puffed out my chest and threw back my shoulders to look “hard”. Bank opened and I was first to the cashier and the hard man look went out of the window when the cashier gave me a right bollocking for not separating the notes into the respective issuing bank wraps! She complained it was going to take her some time to count it so I offered to go for a coffee and come back. “I’m very efficient young man (I’m a 61 year old Yorkshireman) don’t be ridiculous” she said. Smiling apologetically to the back log of customers behind me she proceeded to balls up the count and get the wrong figure – my knees went wobbly and I’m sure I might have fainted but for being a hard Yorkshireman. She had to draft in a colleague who zipped off the count in no time and declared the figure spot on. My sense of relief was unimaginable and everything had worked out OK.

NEVER AGAIN!!!

Electronic transfer must be the way to go and what I’m intending to check out is the instantaneous transfer used by commercial organisations particularly solicitors. I’m sure an arrangement could be made into a client account for transfer when the deal is clinched if this is needed although no doubt there will be a fee involved and money laundering checks to make. I’ll let you know.

 Proof of title remains the big issue – we discussed it with a broker yesterday and all the issues raised in your article came to light which we have taken on board. A careful scrutiny of the available documentation is about as good as it gets and then you are down to trust. I suspect the Brokerages could cop for some culpability in the event of a fraud taking place but one for the legal beagles to sort out I think.

Apologies for the ramble but I hope you find the above amusing and if there is some value in posting it on your blog please feel free.”

Last week’s newsletter on the subject is here.

Blindly going where most men have gone before

Ok let’s not all faint at once…I of no strength in my hands, no confidence in electrics fixed the pump and it actually works very well. One thing I did was to take photos of the pump whilst it was still fitted so I would know how to put it all back together again…but I omitted to take shots of the wiring – very silly. Thankfully I had enough nous to suss it out.

Brown is the boat end live and red is the pump end live and whats left (blue on the boat end and black on the pump end) is left.

First I had to get the parts and arranged with the very helpful (Ben Knott) site manager at New Islington Marina that the parts could be delivered to his office.

Cleghorn Waring seem to have every part for every pump and their tech support team were also very helpful and happy to check I had ordered the correct parts.

And so the parts for the pump arrive:

…and I set to work blindly going where most men have gone before…

First removing the old bits…and then greasing the (I want to call it a flange because it sounds such an hilarious activity but it isn’t a flange) chamber.

Then I insert the new impella as you do…

Then the gasket, then the lid.

I want to polish it and shine it all up but given I don’t know if it will work it feels like a futile errand…listen to the lovely rain spattering my roof top and but a moment ago it was glorious sunshine.

…and so me, the pump the bits and the filter make our way back to the hoses and I connect it all together again as you do.

Note the new jubilee clips and cleaned filter.

then stuck it all back together again…

Tested it…

…and nothing happened, nothing at all, no motor no pumping nowt…so I went and picked someones brain and they came with new chock connections and put it all back together while I held the flange…I mean the torch…and then bingo it worked.

Put the floor back and ran away.

For those of you in the know can anyone explain why some water goes back into the shower via the plug hole as if there should be a none-return valve that isn’t working.

Others may have noted that I didn’t fit all the gasket parts to the pump…am just afraid of starting something I cannot finish – taking things apart I have always been good at its the other part – putting it all back together again that I find daunting.

I was going to put some music on to celebrate but with the rain dancing a merry tune on my roof I am engaged in its music as the wind gently rocks the boat.and so it all went in and on went the lid yippee.

The scream of the ambulance is sounding…

There’s a lot to be said for marina life especially in a major city – hot showers, toilet facilities, washer/drier facilities, pump-out and Elsan – friendly helpful and chatty neighbours it’s all happening here in New Islington marina in the center ish of Manchester

New Islington Marina

What’s more the first week is free and then it’s just £5/night. I’ve paid more to pitch my tent on a campsite especially when there is more than one person and then the washing/shower/drying facilities are weak if not non-existent and usually cost on top of the pitch.

Then there’s the easy access to shops and supplies…easy access to cheap food and city life-entertainment, theatre and good ale.

Here at the New Islington all the facilities are included and the warmth and friendliness of the neighbours is a lovely inclusion. But I do long to be away from the scream of the ambulance, the constant sound of traffic, the numpties who run across my roof at night (not every night) despite the CCTV warnings and the wailing of police chases punctuated by the clatter of the overhead helicopter and the now-and-again gunning of a ninja/RC 30/ or some other super bike capable of massive engine revs, acceleration and speed.

Then there’s those people who ask me for money on a daily basis…I will offer a chat, a word, spend a little time with them and their dogs but I am not keen to give money as it is so easy to do and in my opinion has such a short future and no great outlook.

I filled up my water tank today and wound my diesel up to 1200 rpm to counter the wind, have had a day of washing clothes and preparing for my (hopefully) coming voyage down the locks on the Rochdale. I am planning a Saturday departure all assuming I get the parts for my JABSCO Water Puppy and that I can fix the thing myself and replace it to do the job it wasn’t doing properly before…which led to my filling the under floor compartments with water.

The geese have retired for the evening but the white-noise of constant traffic breathing out never subsides and the screaming sirens come to a pitch and fade away only to be replaced by a traffic horn sounded for so long it must be as a rebuke. Now as I sit here I can hear pedestrian traffic discussing the pleasure of the Vodka they are drinking, their conversation gets louder and louder like the wail of sirens and fades despite their volume as they stagger along the footpath – I wait and listen perhaps cruelly hoping for the splashing sound which does not come.

There is a lot to be said for the marina but the location and population density leaves me cold and yearning to get away.

Many a lovely view from my boat allows me some escape – after a while though I am struggling to find a difference. Perhaps I should not seek to make beauty out of what is dirty, angry, fast, furious and overflowing in obesity.

What I should do probably is tell it like it is…I can only hear the screaming sirens not to warn others they are on their way but to cry painfully at the horror they are chasing – tell it like it is, its constant and like all demons has no reflection and despite its noise and pitch is soon easily lost in the mayhem and constant white noise of city life.

I looked at a few apartments in the City Centre wondering if I should tackle city-life again and continue with my trade. I saw some very attractive dwellings and seriously considered taking one as my home. But could I stand the pace and noise, constant rush and wailing’s of high speed life…like all of us yes of course I could stand it but in time I would return to the madness of the city punctuated only by the beauty and thoughtfulness of the art I seek. I would be absorbed and homogenized with all that is ugly and beauty at the same time, all that is madness and so I would rush to my own end, rather than amble down the bray in a toodling manner.

I want to get going, I want to go, I want to go… but am tethered to the needs of my boat – please make it easy for me to fix this pump and refit and please let the bloody thing work, I beseech thee wherever/whatever thee may be…give a boater a break that doesn’t involve a limb or being out on one.

Annoyingly I didn’t note which wire is live…am guessing red on the water puppy but is it the blue or the brown on the boat end…probably I will have  to trawl the internet to be sure as running the new impeller the wrong way will damage it. Any advice gratefully received.

…its still the begining isn’t it…?

Of course I am most worried about the end coming early through ignorance, stupidity lack of money. I have met a few people on benefits who live on their boats in Marina’s and claim. I’ve never been too keen on claiming anything as I would rather work but working in my various industries seems to be all about lining the pockets of generally useless CEO’s and figureheads – which pushed me hard to seek something more worthy and worthwhile.

Skilled front-line and experienced teachers receiving 21k where figureheads receiving 140k is in my humble opinion an absolute disgrace especially when the organization purports to be a charity.

This new perspective is all part of this year off that I am hoping to make into two years off and then semi-retirement but I know these plans to be useless as only the practical application of living on a narrowboat including the reality of finances will decide whether it is feasible or not.

After all my flooding and mopping I feel in desperate need of a companion…some one who would have been able to make a brew, offer moral support and encouragement, someone who may have even been interested in donning a sponge for added mopping or at the very leasst interested in protruding their backside from the gunnel wall to tip the boat which would have assisted my mopping…I will leave you all to imagine that scene but probably the larger the backside the better – perhaps several backsides would assist, its all too much for one lonely solitary narrowboat owner to think about – ahem.

The delights of every where seem more attractive from (no not the gunnel wall) my narrowboat. Manchester who would have thought it has a certain beauty.

Probably best to start with Droylesden…by pictures dropping down the 18 locks towards Manchester:

Droylesden looking good at 7 am and so I set off down the locks with a friend I had just made for a pie and a pint agreed to do the locks for me with a keen spirit.

Early morning scenes at the top whilst in Droylesden

A long way to go but we’re all ready and champing on the bit

Some great scenery despite the accumulation of rubbish. On a windy day I am told much of the rubbish on the local streets ends up in the canals but none of it deters from the amazing images captures from the water, its all part and parcel of the canal system.

I have to reflect on the journey, never a dull moment but the boat does what the wind tells it and seems remote from the tiller and/or push of the prop in heavy winds…don’t try and work against it I am told, work with it…which, the boat, engine, wind or tiller, oh right I say – work with it, I see – not seeing at all.

Working with or against it – ‘it’ seems to decide as I make my way and the scenery becomes more city-like:

…and then in the distance the city takes over…but tow-path signs tell me I am but a few miles from previous countryside views 0- I think about retreating….

Who would know it…its all so built up and starting to get noisy making the engine sound quite positively quiet, so quiet it wouldn’t stand out in a chapel.

Ok, maybe it would but not an inner city chapel.

Then suddenly…there is a certain calm and a certain tranquility if only for a moment as I moor up in the New Islington Marina and without knowing it then get stuck here for 14 days – all assuming the parts for my pump come before Friday so I can be away Saturday. Perhaps this travel plan hiatus has a reason…time to get to know my boat and know what it needs to function well, time for me to familiarize myself with my own capabilities…I thing I do know is I have a list of questions to ask, I just have to find the right person to ask them of.

Electricity and Water do not mix! Ha!

Electricity and water do not mix!

At least not according to most of the perceived wisdom. But, I beg to differ and so do a few adventurous souls. Who, when I get my own laptop back and can find their web pages, will get a mention.

Confused? Don’t be…at least not yet!

You see, I want a boat with a solar powered electric motor for propulsion.

Now when I first raised this issue on a couple of canal forums it caused a bit of a storm from those whose instant reaction was “It can’t be done!” and those who were or had actually done it! In point of fact it was generally accepted (even by me) that unless I had a hybred (diesel genny to charge batteries to run a motor) then it was not practical and far too costly.

Yet to me a hybred defeated the object of the excercise. Which is, in part, to be self sufficient. Minimal energy bills, especially diesel as the cost is skyrocketing.

So I left it for bit but kept finding myself returning to the idea and dug deeper and it IS practical. Perhaps not for others but for me, how I live, plan to live, use the boat, etc I think I can do it. I will explain the workings of it in another post, But this is the genesis of my idea so…”Let there be (solar powered) light!”

In fact my idea is to get my outgoings down to the barest minimum so when I reach retirement age I can afford to do so and still live on my boat.

Now Solar panels have a life span of 25 years (and at the current rate of disintegration so do I) while batteries (assuming the right type and properly looked after) have approx 10 years.

The cost of both have come down in recent years as their efficiency has gone up. Especially solar panels whose low light capacity has increased amazingly even from just a 2-3 years ago.

The point is to have sufficient panels of the right sort that even if the UK sun does not shine there is sufficient power to charge a large enough bank of the “right” batteries (not all batteries are created equal) to hold a decent amount of power. Again I will explore this in greater detail in later posts but you get the gist.

As I intend to live aboard I will not be cruising for days at a time but merely as required to be a continuous cruiser over (if it all goes to plan)  between the Lee Valley Navigation and Aylsbury on the Grand Union. So meandering along every few days rather than 14 days here then move and 14 there, etc. With longer trips as and when perhaps up the Thames Valley and definately at some point the K & A.

A lot depends on my working pattern. I am a Consultant Solicitor working for Law firms and In-House teams on a contract basis.

My oldest son will be with me for the first year until he goes to Uni. He has a job in Chesham (I have role in Ware) hence the spread of travel depending on who wants to travel to work the furthest and if I feel generous! LOL!

Next time I will talk a bit more about my ideas for the boat I just need to order the last two years research in my brain first!

In the beginning

I sit here full of everything to write and can find few words to say, few words to put down on paper…I hardly want to think or say I might have made a mistake. I might have forked out 27.5k on a boat that is totally unready and just not in the least but suitable for my needs. perhaps I should have spent a bit more and bought a better boat, or looked for longer until I found the exact one for me, maybe I should have had the full survey done at a bit more money, perhaps I should have insisted that the owner pay more towards the work that the surveyor sited as essential – my head is so full of worry and fear that I have bought a lemon and made a seriously expensive mistake.

Strong in my mind in the day of mopping up the water in the under boat compartments, my back is killing me from awkward positions to access the water under the floor and I am tired, weary to the bone.

Rachmaninov Vocalise calls to me and sets me free…if only briefly and I am caused to look back over the 7 days it took me to bring the boat from Nantwich Venetian Marina to Manchester…7 days of utter exhaustion and complete freedom, topped with solitude and nightly silence save the wild life, gentle meanders and a peaceful calm I have not felt for many years.

A bit of the Shropshire Union and a shave of the Middlewich Branch turning right due to stoppages onto the Trent and Mersey heading south before heading up the Macclesfield canal towards Manchester. Heartbreak Hill didn’t break my heart or my spirit and with the help of a dog walker called Buff (Bough or Buth) I conquered and endured and was lifted by her enthusiasm, her energy and downright determination to enjoy every moment. Come with me I said…I don’t think my husband would approve says she…bring him I say and so we laugh at the notion.

Then the Bosley 12 and the Marple 16 just drift by and walkers without dogs notably Andy and two young lads from a local college in Marple all assist me to make my way with only the merest disturbance from grumpy (not-so) old men and so I make my way. Each evening exhausted from climbing ladders up and down, roping, mooring, turning reluctant and troublesome paddles being one of very few boats to pass these locks at this time of year.

All these strenuous and tiring boating activities punctuated with shopping for supplies, the odd pub visit and daily I unknowingly pump my shower water into the boat rather than out of it setting me up for a bigger job before i can go much further.

peace. Then the engine cuts out under load but idles happily and after this has happened several times I resort to Canal Boat Rescue who are just fantastic and the man who comes to assist shows me what to do to de-foul the prop which involves rolling my sleeves up a long way and doing a bit of a James Herriot only with my boat instead of a a calving cow, how to access the weed-hatch and safely secure it again afterwards he allows me to pick his brain and is very informative.

Later at his Marina we drink tea and he talks about water in the diesel and microbes in the water and Marine 16. I fill up to drive out condensation from the tank finding i have used but 50 liters which worked out at about 1 litre per hour of engine. My learning curve eases off for a few moments as we examine what I already know and how I can help myself much more than I realized from the outset.

Eventually I moor in Droylesden which never looked so good and meet a group of very nice people moored there. All helpful and supportive, friendly and positive in outlook, keen to know me and where i intend to go.

I leave after 2 days and take someone with me to do the locks…and together we climb down the Ashton canal into Manchester with every intention of continuing on the Rochdale which we find is closed at the top…despite the website saying nothing about it. The lass i speak to at the Canal and River trust couldn’t be less concerned but the person who does phone back Mark couldn’t be more informative and understanding and so I’ve been stuck in Manchester this past week itching to get away and finding issue after issue that keeps me stuck here.

I might have made an error with the boat being a novice and dependent on other people most of whom despite payment have let me down badly I think but that’s what people who sell things for a living do…profit, profit, profit. But I most certainly have not made an error with the lifestyle and long to get going and back on my journey which now looks like Friday at the earliest…all assuming i am able to fix the pump when the parts arrive.

I have so much i want to say but i am dog tired tonight with another day of pump fixing and parts ordering etc tomorrow and despite it being just 9pm I must go to bed.

Dreaming the Dream!

Dr Martin Luther King once said to the world “I have a dream!”

Well so do I!

Mine is a bit smaller than his. A little less grandiose and much more selfish. I want to live on a boat!

I have wanted it for nearly 30 years. In fact ever since I was a young airman snowed in at a (now defunct) base one winter talking with a friend about what we would do when our time was up. We both wanted to travel a bit and I thought about converting an old military ambulance. He suggested a sail boat to the Caribbean.  Another friend had a diving permit and we agreed it was the way to go and so… the dream was born!

However, with the thaw came postings, reality, demob and marriage and as the way of things we lost touch. But part of the dream remained.

When I was first married I hated spending a fortune in rent and looked longingly into living in a narrowboat. Designs, toilets (oh yes, the REAL gritty nitty!) and bow thrusters…..then the spouse said NO! NEVER! Unless I wanted to do it on my own!

Soooo…..fast forward 20+ years and thanks to a divorce petition I am now on my own. Except I now have a dog. A proper boat sized dog! A Jack Russell called Alfie. Also known as “Daftus Doggus” and “Cutus Caninus” (its “Dog Latin”…a bit like “Pig Latin” but house trained!) Although, when he decides to be a little bugger, I have threatened to change his name to “Spitroast” on occasion!

So I now have the freedom, the ships mascot and almost the cash.  I also have a name for her “Gypsy Lady”.

I was, because I realy want a widebeam, going to have a picture of a real Beryl Cook sized woman in swimsuit painted on the side and call her “Big Fat Annie” but not everyone shares my sense of humour so I fell back on “Gypsy Lady” with a suitable picture to be painted.

So here we go!

In this blog I will set out the ideas, the research, the quotes, quotations and quota of cock ups. If only because I like to laugh and if I can do so and you all learn from my mistakes so much the better.

If you read this far thankyou…you fool! Should have fled while you could! Now your boating soul is mine!

Actually, this post was merely a tryout and to introduce myself if you are not on the “Canal world” forum and do not know me.

The next will have a lot more “boaty bits” in it. So stay tuned.

2014 03 16 Newsletter – Paying For A Narrowboat

We’ve had a week of frantic activity at Calcutt. It’s always the same. When we put the hire fleet to bed for the winter at the end of October, the start of the following season seems an impossible distance in the future and then, all of a sudden, the future has arrived and we’re not quite ready.

While I don’t play a direct part in any of the boats’ refurbishment, I do assist the fitters and wharf staff whenever I can. This usually entails moving the boats they have finished with from the workshops in the marina up through the two lower locks of the Calcutt flight to their home on our wharf. Nine of the twelve boats in our hire fleet are now moored on the wharf ready to go, and two were taken out by the first hirers of the season on Friday.

Patrick and I have been doing some last minute frantic cleaning and tidying ready for the hirers. Retaining walls around the flower beds and around our wharf diesel tanks have a fresh coat of snowy white paint, the wharf-side flower beds have been cleared of weeds to show off hundreds of bright yellow daffodils, we’ve cleared up after the contractors who spent a frantic day installing new block paving over the old concrete next to our boats for sale area and the grass has been cut and strimmed to perfection. All we need now is customers.

As well as ensuring the site looks its best I’ve been trying to do the same to my boat.

No More DIY!

You know I’m incompetent. I’ve told you often enough. I’m frequently frustrated when I try to do the smallest jobs on the boat. I fitted two stainless steel fender hanger to the boat’s starboard side last summer. I broke three drill bits at £5 each. The simple job took me two hours.

Last November I bought some very expensive polycarbonate secondary double glazing panels and an even more expensive magnetic fixing kit. The instructions were simple. “Fix the adhesive backed steel tape to your window frame. Fit the adhesive backed magnetic strips to the polycarbonate sheets.” That was pretty much it. What could go wrong? Plenty actually. They all fell off. Not some of them, all of them. At least I’m consistent.

I’ve fitted tiles which have also fallen off, navigation lights facing the wrong way (they were on the boat for six months before the glaring error was pointed out to me), door handles at an angle, picture frames which have fallen off the wall… the list goes on and on.

It’s reached the stage of our relationship now where Sally doesn’t even bother asking me to do anything. She tries to do it herself and usually makes a much better job than I could ever hope to, and if I’m foolish enough to say something like, “What are you doing with that manly power tool? That’s my job. Let ME fix it for you!”, Sally just gives me a knowing and disdainful look then carries on. It’s a sad state of affairs.

Here’s a recent example; we had a leak. Every time either of us had a shower, we would have water dripping, almost flowing, from the pine panel just above the gunnel in the bedroom. Even I could put two and two together and work out that, as the same pine panel ran through the shower cubicle, water was getting behind the panel in the shower and running back eight feet to the bedroom.

I gave the problem my usual ineffective attention. I couldn’t see a leak but decided to strip the existing sealant off the shower cubicle and reseal all of the joins. I was pleased with the end result. Better than that I was proud of my workmanship, so proud that I almost insisted that Sally have a shower as soon as the silicon was dry. I sat in front of the fire smugly listening to the sound of happy splashing coming from the bathroom, and then the not so happy scream as Sally walked into the bedroom to find that, far from being cured, the leak was worse than ever.

As soon as it was safe to come back in to the boat, I suggested to Sally that we ask a proper man to have a look at it. She gave me one of her best you-should-have-done-that-months-ago looks which I read as enthusiastic agreement, so we called one in.

Before he arrived, Sally and I sat down and made a list of all the things which needed doing and which we both agreed were beyond me. Needless to say, virtually all of the outstanding jobs went on the list. Sally is still going to allow me to screw a new coolie hat onto the chimney providing I’m happy to work under her supervision, but that’s about it.

The list included fitting internal locks and clam shell handles on the front door, internal locks, clam shell handles and restraining latches on the rear doors, replacing all of the old ceiling dome lights with new LED domes, fixing or replacing the kitchen extractor fan, building a shoe rack in the alcove beneath the starboard centre hatch, curing the draught (gale force wind) coming through the poorly fitted front doors, curing several small engine diesel leaks, finding out why the engine is losing water, replacing the ring main wiring to comply with BSS regulations and, of course, finding and curing the shower leak and then fitting a folding shower door to replace the current curtain and, last but not least, moving the shower pump switch from its original and very inconvenient position at the back of the bedroom wardrobe into the bathroom where it can be reached from the shower.

Our knight in shining armour arrived at 10.30am on Monday, exactly on time. His name is Matthew (Matty) Smith. The boating world is a small one. I’ve heard his name mentioned a few times, including on the site forum once or twice. He’s friendly, competent and was very honest about his limitations.

He has a range of skills including plumbing. After I had walked him through the boat pointing out what needed doing, I asked him if he was able to fit a full central heating system. Calcutt Boats are supposed to be doing it for me but they have so much work on at the moment that I’m not sure when they are going to be able to fit me in. Matty told me that although he’s fitted one central heating system in the past, he’s never fitted a Webasto and that I would get better value for money having they system installed by an experienced fitter. The confession enhanced my faith in his ability to tackle the jobs he’d agreed to do.

As we looked at each of the jobs he quickly offered a solution to each of the problems. When we came to the shower I told him about the remedial work I had already done and suggested that the leak was probably going to be quite difficult to find. He didn’t say anything but gently poked the sealed pine strip that runs through the shower cubicle at waist height on the port side of the boat. “This pine is spongy in this section here. “The shower water is pooling on top, then running down behind the panel here. This is definitely where the leak is.” The cause of the leak was obvious once he had explained it. I’m constantly frustrated by my inability to see these things myself.

He did the same instant diagnosis in the engine room. The engine has been losing water. I haven’t been able to spot the leak but as soon as Matty turned the engine on (why didn’t I think of doing that?) he pointed to a rubber hose. “This hose has perished. There’s a split underneath it there, and cracks here, here and here. You need to replace it immediately. You’re lucky it hasn’t fallen apart when you’ve been out cruising.”

Matty “never say no to a coffee” Smith was with us for the rest of Monday and all day Tuesday. The front doors are now secure and decorated with some very nice brass handles, there’s no sign of a draught through them, the kitchen extractor fan and switch have been replaced, the shower leak has been stopped by fitting some very neat white plastic trunking over the damaged pine then resealing the shower cubicle, the shower pump can now be turned off without having to walk naked and still dripping wet into another room, there’s a lovely new and very bright LED ceiling dome to illuminate the very dark bathroom space, there are brass handles and brass external retaining catches for the rear doors and I’ve been given a shopping list for the other jobs he hopes to tackle when he returns next week.

I’ve ordered seven more LED ceiling domes, a Smart Gauge battery monitor and a shower door from Wesley Marine Windows. I had a problem finding a shower door to fit the front of the shower cubicle. Nearly all of the shower doors available are from mainstream suppliers who cater for customers with standard sized room in bricks and mortar homes. The standard height available is 1780mm which is too tall to fit in a raised shower tray on a boat. Wesley make windows for boats and also supply slightly shorter shower doors. Our new door is 1635mm high  which, when fitted, will just leave a small gap between the top of the door and the ceiling’s pine cladding.

The shower door was ordered on Tuesday and arrived Wednesday afternoon. Great service. Thank you Wesley Windows. The new ceiling lights arrived two days later and I’m still waiting for the battery monitor. Hopefully it will be here before Matty returns to fit it.

 Parting With Your Hard Earned Cash

If you’re a typical narrowboat buyer, the purchase of your boat will be the largest you will ever make after your house. In fact, if you’re having a bespoke boat built, you may well be paying as much as you would for a small house. When you buy a house you can rely on your solicitor, their paperwork and the checks they carry out to ensure that everything is above board. Even when you buy a car it’s pretty easy to check whether the seller is the legal owner and whether there is any finance outstanding on the vehicle.

When you buy a boat it’s not so easy. You can’t check for outstanding finance and it’s difficult to check on ownership. The most thorough checks you can do are to ask to see an original bill of sale and then a paper trail of invoices for maintenance and repairs, mooring and license fees and any other boat related purchases which span the period between the bill of sale date and the current date.

You also need to check that the person selling the boat has the same name as the receipts and invoices and, if you decide to buy the boat, that the account you transfer your life savings into is in the same name as the paperwork you have checked.

Many car buyers would rather buy from a reputable garage rather then dealing directly with the seller so that the garage can do all the checks into legal ownership for them. With boat sales, rather than go through a garage you go through a broker, but what checks can a broker do if there is no official register and if outstanding finance can’t be verified?

The simple answer is that they can’t do any more than you could do yourself. They ask the boat owner to sign a document stating that they are the legal owner and that there is no money outstanding on the boat. What the broker can do for you is hold the money you pay them until the boat is in your possession before handing the money over to the seller, and mediate between buyer and seller if liability needs determining if any remedial work is necessary before the boat’s sale is completed.

Even after the most stringent checks carried out by either you or your broker, you can’t be sure that there isn’t any finance outstanding on the boat. Here’s a cautionary tale about a couple who spent £23,000 on a boat and then invested another £8,000 on repairs and refurbishment. They were then contacted by Clydesdale bank who told them that the previous owner had taken out a loan to buy the boat and that there was still £26.000 outstanding.

The story has a happy ending but only because This Is Money magazine intervened on their behalf. I’ve been told by a broker that it’s not actually possible for a loan to be secured on a boat and that the lending institution would have to pursue the person who took out the loan rather than the boat that the loan was used to buy. If that’s true then Clydesdale bank wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on. The problem of course is that the bank had the financial resources to bully new owners into accepting liability. I suspect that the bank would have been successful if it hadn’t been for the magazine’s assistance.

I don’t know what would happen if the new owners of a boat purchased through a broker was later found to still have outstanding finance. Would the broker accept liability? I suspect not.

So you can’t tell for sure whether there is outstanding finance but there are several things you can do if you are buying from a private seller to ensure that the substantial amount of money you are paying for it is protected until you have your new boat in your possession.

Site subscriber Alan Izatt purchased his first boat just over a year ago. He’s kindly provided me with the following information about concerns and practicalities of dealing with the transfer of money during the sales process. Here’s a post he made on another forum…

“As an ex corporate financier (among other things) one of the things that concerned me when I bought my boat a year ago was what happened to the deposit money and, more importantly, the balance monies before I took physical delivery of the boat. It is a bit of a nightmare. Slightly different if you are buying privately but similar considerations apply.

If the broker goes into liquidation after receiving your money and before you receive the bill of sale (and the boat) you will be an unsecured creditor and very unlikely to get any money back.

Normally people will pay by cheque which will take 3-5 days to clear.

A bankers draft is not guaranteed so the broker will insist on waiting until it clears (3 days?).

Some brokers claim the monies are kept in a separate client account. All solicitors use these (and they are securely ring fenced – fraud excepting) but from my research it is very unlikely that any brokers have a “safe” client account. Mostly they are just a separate account which would still be part of the broker’s assets in a liquidation. If they claim to have a ‘proper’ client account (at least one does) I suggest you ask for written confirmation from their solicitors or accountants that the account is properly ring fenced ie confirm that, in the event that ABC Ltd goes into liquidation, your monies will be returned to you.

The solution I found was to pay by debit card, in person, and have the bill of sale handed over simultaneously. The broker kindly also reduced the amount of deposit required. Note some banks will set a daily limit on the amount you can pay, which would scupper this option. With “faster payments” it might be possible to use a BACS transfer (free), or a CHAPS transfer (about £50 I think), but you might be sitting in the broker’s office a few hours until the transfer takes place. Another possibility would be to pay the monies to the broker’s solicitors (if they have one) who hold the money in their client account, just like the sale of a house, but fees would undoubtedly be involved. I briefly discussed paying the owner direct – the broker might insist on deducting his commission, which you would have to pay direct to them, but this is obviously not without problems.

On the other side of the coin the vendor will be at risk from the moment the broker hands over the bill of sale to the purchaser, until the vendor receives the cleared funds in his account. I’ll worry about that one when I come to sell!”

This interesting and very useful reply was made to Alan’s post…

“Alan makes several valuable observations here about the risks and practicalities of transferring a large sum of money in a boat purchase.

We purchased our own boat last year in what became an extremely stressful transaction. It was a private sale. The seller was not a well-educated man and I had only ever met him at the boatyard, not at his home. I had no proof that he was who he said he was and more importantly, he had no proof that he owned the boat. The boat was lying 180 miles from my home and the seller (allegedly!) lived a further 70 miles away. The seller had no computer or email, and because he wasn’t very worldly-wise his workmates had filled his head with all sorts of nonsense such as the idea that if I transferred the money into his bank account and took the boat, I could then a week later reverse the transaction and take my money out of his account again! So he didn’t trust me at all and yet he couldn’t understand my concerns about whether he had full title to the boat he was selling since he had no paperwork.

Things went downhill when I had the boat surveyed. I appointed a surveyor who advertises widely in the canal press. I was unable to attend the survey but of course the seller did. He asked the surveyor what the boat was worth and to my everlasting incredulity the cretinous surveyor, who was working for me and being paid by me, told the seller his boat was worth £9,000 more than the price I had agreed to pay! Predictably the following morning the seller re-advertised the boat on ApolloDuck for £9k more.

You might think we should walked away but the boat was the one, it was the best match for our requirements in four years of research and hunting. We didn’t want to let it go.

I looked him up on the electoral register using 192.com and at least he and his wife matched the home address he had given me but since he’d failed to show me any ID I didn’t know if this was really him! I offered to pay for a solicitor to oversee the transaction and deposit the purchase money in the solicitor’s account but he didn’t want to use a solicitor and anyway I couldn’t find a solicitor who would help because they would need to run an ID check for money-laundering prevention on me and the seller and the seller wouldn’t agree to this! Furthermore the solicitors I spoke to expressed doubts about getting involved because there’s no guaranteed way of establishing who owns the boat and if there is a marine mortgage on it,

The seller banked at the branch of Barclays near the boatyard so I offered to open an account at the same branch and deposit the funds there, and then accompany the seller to the branch to transfer the money from my account to his. Sadly Barclays said this wasn’t possible because the transfer would still have to be done by CHAPS and wouldn’t be instantaneous. A bank counter cheque wasn’t possible because they can be stopped by the issuing bank in certain circumstances. I even considered cash but with a purchase price of £75,000 this was neither practical nor risk free; neither of us would know if the notes were forgeries!

In the end I took the biggest risk of my life and I transferred the entire sum by Faster Payments into his account the day before I was due to collect the boat (my bank’s limit was £10,000 per transfer so I had to do eight separate transfers, all of which immediately went through). He could have disappeared completely, or it could have turned out that the boat wasn’t his. I was so unsettled by this that having transferred the money I booked myself into a Travelodge near the boatyard and kept vigil through the gates of the locked boatyard for much of the evening and night to check that the boat didn’t disappear!

In the end it was a happy ending. Apart from him childishly siphoning nearly all of the diesel out of the fuel tank the boat was still there in the morning with all agreed fittings and I was able to collect the keys and cruise away. The whole process did add several grey hairs to my head though. Despite Alan correctly saying there are risks (for buyer and seller) when using a broker, at the time I would have been grateful for the involvement of one.”

I received a further email from Alan as a follow up to the information above…

“Yes, it is a pretty complicated/grey area. When you consider some people are paying the same as they would for a small house, the contracts and the whole process leaves much to be desired.

I think Nottingham Boat Sales are unusual, in that they will refund the full deposit, if faults are found by the survey and ”agreement cannot be reached by renegotiating the price or by fixing the fault”. I think most other brokers (certainly two which I had dealings with) only refund the deposit if there are faults which impinge on the BSC – unfortunately I did not keep the copies so perhaps you should just say it is something that buyers should check. NBS require 6 working days for cheques and bankers drafts to clear.

One other thought I had when buying was to examine a copy of the brokers accounts to check their liquidity. Also, if buying direct (or paying direct to the vendor, which was muted when I bought), to carry out a credit check on the vendor – this should disclose whether he has any loans outstanding (I do not think it would disclose whether one was specifically on the boat) and help to verify his bona-fides. Voters roll could also be checked to verify identity.

One suggestion would be to pay some or all of the deposit by credit card. This may give protection under s75 of the Consumer Credit Act, but only if the cost of the boat is below £30k. It is a grey area as the broker is acting as a third party and AFAIK has not been tested in the courts.

A few years ago, when buying a second hand car, I discovered there was a finance agreement outstanding. The solution was for me to go with the vendor to the local bank to pay in cash by bank giro to pay off the loan.”

I hope you’ve found this information helpful. You may consider some of the checks and the time they’ll take excessive but when you consider the time it takes to save the purchase price of even a modest second hand boat, and the speed at which it can be transferred out of your account into one belonging to a complete stranger, the relatively small investment in additional time to safeguard your savings is one which you need to make.

If you have boat and have some useful information or an interesting story to share about the purchase, please email me. It’s an important subject so the more information I have on the site about the subject the better.

A New Case Study

 Morialta 11 – Here’s another couple who have sensibly decided to retire early to enjoy life in the slow lane. They keep their boat at the bottom of their riverside home when they aren’t cruising, which doesn’t appear to be very often. I particularly like the iconic photo’s they sent me to include with their case study.

Guest Posts

I always like to receive articles from site subscribers. The articles allow me to add to the mass of information on the site and give site visitors a bit of a break from my own style and content. There are a few site subscribers who have their own blogs on the site so they can publish their own blog posts without my assistance. Two of the more active posters are Our Nige and Pearley.

Pearley has posted the latest in his “Rough Guide” series of cruising notes. This time it’s the Ashton canal to complement his guides on the Rochdale, Huddersfield and Calder & Hebble canals so, if you fancy trying the South Pennine ring, you’ll find this guide very useful.

Our Nige likes to share his down to Earth, warm hearted ramblings with us now and then about the joys of living float (and the joys of visiting his local pubs). Here’ are his latest observations about the pleasure of living a simple life in the slow lane.

Helpful Hints

The last few newsletters have included cooking tips from other boaters. While I though the tips were very useful, I was just a tiny bit jealous as many of them required a solid fuel stove larger than my own modestly proportioned Torgem to either balance pots on top or place in the ash tray underneath. This week I thought I would move away from the tips I can’t use and provide a tip of my own.

Parachute cord. That’s my tip. I always keep a 100m reel on board. The stuff I use isn’t genuine parachute cord so you wouldn’t want to use it to support you if you jumped out of a plane, but it might just do tied to an old waterproof if you find climbing down from your boat roof a bit of a chore.

I use mine for tying to my recovery magnet when I, quite often, drop metal objects into the water, as temporary shoe or boot laces, dog leads and fender hangers. It’s very useful stuff. This is the cord I use.