Vlog 127: To buy or not to buy
What do narrowboat brokers do and should you use one, either to sell or buy a boat? These questions and more are answered in a sit-down interview with James Millsop of brokerage firm Rugby Boats, based at Stowe Hill Wharf in Weedon, Northamptonshire.
Rugby Boats’ website: www.rugbyboats.co.uk
Rugby Boats’ YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/MrNarrowboats
Houses tend to appreciate, mobile homes and vehicles depreciate. Assuming a boat is well maintained, how well do they hold their price? Is the age of a boat a big factor, how old is ‘too old’?
Hard to say – there are boats 100 years old that are still going, albeit they’ve had a lot of welding! Depreciation depends on many factors, how well it’s taken care of, serviced etc. Depends on whether the layout is a popular one or something a bit more “custom” to the original owner, which might sell less well. Age is a factor but condition is crucial as well.
I’ve got an idea for a vlog ….. Options for painting a boat – simple hand brush approach – or sandblast & 2 coat epoxy?
Cheers
Great vlog – and the link to Rugby Boats with all its videos brings in a whole new world of what my wife calls “narrowboat porn”! Now I just need to actually stop fantasising and buy one….
Nah, plenty of time for more narrowboat porn yet … take your time and find a good ‘un. Cheers
Any ideas Dave,
Bought a boat last spring and it has had a leak from the shower waste that was not at all evident until I noticed a build up of mildew and condensation under the bed compartment.The leak is now sorted but the bilge is wet as is the ballast.Any tips on drying the space out without taking all flooring up would be appreciated .fingers crossed
That’s unfortunate; those shower leaks are the worst – often very subtle and hidden until eventually you find them and then it’s way past when you needed to know. Have you been able to access the bilge in order to drain the worst of the water?
I don’t really have any good tips unfortunately. The only boat I know of that had this problem did indeed have to take *everything* out of the boat including the floor and put heaters and de-humidifiers in for weeks afterwards to make sure it was completely dry (sorry, I know you didn’t want to hear that)
Thanks David,
The bilge is not holding water,it is more like a heavy dew..I’m in dry dock shortly and have hatched a plan i.I will in due course let you know how I get on.Fingers crossed
OK, good luck. Yes, let me know.
Trust me to come up with another engineering type question, but David at the very start of this VLOG you were standing in front of a boat called the Secret Garden with a blue crane alongside.
That boat had what looked like to me a thick heavy fibreglass protective coating along the entire length of the side plates.
I just wonder if you noticed it, and had any thoughts on why this was done ?
Unfortunately, I did not notice it as I was too busy freezing my *** off trying to get the piece to camera right (!) and I have no idea why it had this, sorry :-(
We were one of those buyers James mentioned who were prepared to wait for our boat to be overplated last year. During the entire purchasing process James and his fellow staff could not have been more helpful and accommodating, going far beyond what we expected of a broker, which made our narrowboat buying experience exceptionally painless. We cannot recommend this broker strongly enough, excellent service all round… and he really is a very nice bloke.
That’s nice to hear!
Another great and informative video David. Thank you.
Cheers Michael
If I’m in the market to buy a narrow boat I would buy it from this man.
He’s a nice bloke!