webntweb

We didn't think about phoning BA until later in the day when we were on the river and then couldn't get a signal. We then had to sort some problems on the boat with the boatyard and completely forgot about phoning BA (I'm afraid at 70 my memory is now pretty poor). I will phone them now - better late than never. Roy

Just managed to moor at Thorpe Green last week in between two of the many illegally moored dinghies. Many of the mooring posts had dinghies padlocked to them despite BA notices on the quay heading saying "No Dinghies". The dinghies were spaced so that only two boats could have moored in the entire length of the moorings. The dinghies do have a special section for them to moor and at the moment part of that section is fenced off but there is no reason why their owners should space them out along the entire length of the moorings. Roy

Hi Andy, Apologies for delay in replying as I am in sunny (well it was yesterday) Blackpool for a few days. I think one of the Broads boats managed by BCBM has some half (two week) shares which do come up for sale occasionally. Probably would be worth having a word with Andrew who you can contact through their website. Regards Roy

Thanks Matt, just one point; although there isn't a damage waiver to pay as such, owners are responsible for an insurance excess of (£350 I think). A rare occurrence because with the boat being your own owners look after their asset. I have had shares in Broads boats and canal boats continually for about 12 years and can only remember one case of somebody having to pay the excess. Roy

Hi donnygeoff Looking back through my bank details I have worked out that our annual running cost for 2013-14 was £1160 per 4 week share*. If you took all four weeks pump outs would be £88 (two toilets), End of cruise interior cleaning £160 (but you can do it yourself if you wish). This is a total of c£1410. The equivalent hire boat Herbert Woods' Beam of Light is £1528 for a peak season week. So in effect you get 4 weeks for the price of one. The only other expense is fuel which you would have to pay for with a hire boat anyway. Car parking is included. *I will confirm the annual running cost when I hear from our treasurer. As Matt says in the previous post the shares do seem to hold their value and sometimes increase slightly. This is probably because the cost of new boats is always increasing which has a knock on effect on the value of older boats especially if they are maintained to a good standard. best regardss Roy

Hi Donnygeoff, Yes the 6k buys you a 8% (4 weeks a year) in the boat for as long as you decide to keep it. Waiting for our treasurer to get back to me with the annual running costs.

There is a share for sale in Lightning a 6/7 berth 43ft AF Diamond based at Broom's in Brundall. The share is 4 weeks a year and is priced at £6,000 but the owner will consider offers. Spare weeks are sometimes available (usually out of season) although there has been a spare week taken this summer. The only cost for spare weeks is a turn round fee of about £50 plus the normal weekly fuel, pump out and cleaning charges. This boat has an aircraft of 6'10" so normally passes Wroxham and Beccles but not Potter Heigham bridges. The syndicate is self managed which keeps the annual running costs down. For further information please contact Roy Webster: 0161 748 0770 07884 090999 (text only) webntweb@btconnect.com

If anybody is looking for a share in a 6/7 berth boat we have one available in Lightning. Roy

As well as regular servicing we have our shared boat Lightning checked by the boatyard's engineers every time it returns to base (about 40 times a year); batteries used are a quality brand and enclosed in vented boxes yet we still had one explode last year. Roy

Hi Neil, Good to hear. Hope everything goes smoothly and look forward to perhaps meeting you at the AGM. Roy

Hi Alan, Thanks for your continued interest. I haven't heard whether the sale is going through yet. As soon as I hear I will let you know. In the meantime I have PM'd some details. Roy

Hi Neil, thanks for your PM. I have replied and passed your details to Lightning's syndicate organiser Roy

Hi John and Mary-Jane and thanks for the welcome. Roy

Thanks for the welcome Alan. I think Derek who does the organisational work for Lightning is going to have a word with Philip re an advert on the boatshare website. I know the site has a good record of selling shares in narrowboats and I can't see why it won't work for Broads boats. Martin: Obviously the main drawback in starting your own syndicate is that somebody has to fork out to buy the boat. We are happy with our share in Lightning and hope to be with her for many years to come. At the moment we are selling our share in our narrowboat (only because the locks are becoming a little too much for us as we approach 70), when that sale is completed I am thinking of canvassing opinion re a shared boat (similar to Lightning) on the Thames. Roy

Hi Alan. Good to see you keeping enquirers up-to-date on Broads shared ownership boats. Just a slight amendment to one of your posts; Lightning has been self-managed for a few seasons now and the syndicate is running well plus there is an obvious saving on management fees. At present there are two shares for sale starting at £5,500 but like any purchase there may be room for negotiation on the price. Our annual costs work out roughly the same as hiring the equivalent boat for one peak season week, so the other three or four weeks only cost the price of the fuel and pump-outs. Plus there is always the chance of picking up spare weeks (mainly out of season) where the only extra charge is the engineers weekly turnround check of about £45. Roy