Perhaps the biggest cost factor of buying a canal boat is depreciation. While not as bad as cars, ships tend to depreciate from the moment they are launched, with the biggest loss in that first year and then a steady fall. If you're in the mood for a summer day or weekend, opt for a GRP cruise. Older second-hand boats are fairly easy to find starting at more than 1000 pounds, although many of those found in canals and rivers are quite old, but are in good condition.
The new GRP boats are better adapted to rivers and cost more than 15,000 pounds with 4-stroke gasoline outboard engines. Boats from 16 to 32 feet are suitable and can accommodate 2 to 8 people with different levels of comfort. They tend to depreciate faster than other vessels. For more serious sailing, a narrow vessel can sail comfortably with up to 12 people on board.
They range from 20-foot to 72-foot full-length miniboats. Modern ships tend to be completely made of steel, although older ones may have GRP or wood superstructures. Their facilities are often better than those of cruise ships, as they have enough headroom, heating, hot water, showers and larger kitchens. Very few narrow boats cost less than 10,000 pounds second hand, but they hold their value much better.
If you are only interested in rivers or wide waterways, it's worth considering all-steel cruisers or wide-girded “narrow boat” type ships, but once again, the depreciation of new ones is quite high. There aren't many used. If you want to live on a boat, do you want to practically stand or go for a walk? To move around the entire network, the solution is a narrow beam, with a maximum practical length of 57 feet. If you like to walk around the area, then a wider boat offers much more space, without increasing the cost too much, but make sure that living on a boat is for you: how long have you spent on a boat? Living on a narrow boat is clearly a cheaper alternative to living in a traditional house.
However, it is not without sacrifices and commitments. For those who want to commit to an alternative and continuous cruise lifestyle, this could be the way to go to overcome the very high cost of life. With a narrow boat, on the other hand, this cost is significantly lower, you can quickly get a quote online with Insure4Boats. Unlike a narrow vessel that can navigate UK waterways, many who own a traditional house will need fuel for a gasoline or diesel car.
If you are only interested in rivers or wide waterways, it's worth considering buying all-steel cruises or “narrow boat” type boats, but I repeat, the depreciation of new ones is quite high. Based on a 3% mortgage rate, the average price of buying a house in the UK turned out to be 75% more expensive than that of a narrow boat. Although narrow boats may not be the cheapest, they are considerably more affordable than traditional brick-and-mortar boats. After the lockdown caused by the Covid pandemic, many of us have adopted hybrid or remote work, which favors the lifestyle of narrow boats.
Unlike a traditional house, cramped vessels are often heated with multi-fuel stoves, which use both charcoal and wood. In today's market, buying a narrow boat is 75% cheaper than buying a house, so it's no surprise that many choose to live on UK waterways to keep costs down bass.
