Thunder
is a 43ft low
wash cruiser with sliding canopy designed to pass under all Norfolk Broads low
bridges. She was recently
fully refurbished to an exceptionally high specification by Brooms
of Brundall.
She
offers comfortable relaxed Broads cruising and is based at Brundall.
There are two pumpout toilets with fresh water flush.
Thunder
is powered by a Perkins MC 42hp diesel engine with single lever Morse control.
There are internal and external steering positions with full control at both.
Her syndicate uses the draw system for choosing holiday weeks.
The
price for a 1/12 share in this new syndicate is �7,995
(4 weeks holiday a year).
BCBM's Boat Share Shows at Braunston and Nantwich last year were
an
an outstanding success, with more than forty five families joining the shared ownership community by taking up available
shares in the boats on show.
In
2012, BCBM is staging three Boat Share shows, so you have three
opportunities
to compare shared ownership narrowboats, talk to existing owners and
find out everything you want to know about enjoying
cruising for 3 or 4 weeks a year on your own boat
at less cost than some hirers charge for a single week.
The 11 year old boy is helping his Dad pack the car after a great week cruising the canals on a hire boat. It was their first trip, and the whole family loved it. They all want to do it again as soon as they can. But Dad knows that's it for this year, so the reply is, "It won't be till next year, I'm afraid, son."
What Dad doesn't know, of course, is one of the best kept secrets on the waterways - that by sharing the ownership of a boat, families can enjoy four weeks boating, often for a lower annual cost than hiring for just one week. No wonder it's a secret!
So how does it work? Let's take a look at the 61foot Narrowboat Dawn Chorus as an example. It's owned by a syndicate of up to 13 families and it's managed for them by BC Boat Management Ltd. Twelve of the families can each own an 8% share of the boat giving 4 weeks cruising a year, while the other family can own a 4% share to get 2 weeks cruising each year.
Dawn Chorus is a 61ft cruiser stern Narrowboat, 6'.10" wide and recently launched to the highest specification by Navigation Narrowboat Company of Nantwich. It can sleep up to 6 people. To hire a boat of this specification would cost little short of
�1,500 per week in high season.
With shared ownership, families start by buying their share of the boat. It's owned only by the syndicate members, who make all the decisions about it. It's their boat. Neither BCBM nor any other company owns even the smallest part of it.
An 8% share in Dawn Chorus costs just
�10,000. To buy a boat of this size and quality outright would leave little change from
�125,000.
Once a family has bought a share, it is theirs for as long as they want to keep it. They can choose to sell their share when their lifestyle changes or they want to move on - perhaps to cruise
the Broads or even the
French waterways or the
Mediterranean
The syndicate, of course, has to pay for the costs of mooring, licensing, insuring and maintaining the boat - and that's a lot easier to do when the costs are split
12 ways. The syndicate has its own bank account and sets its own budget. Then each member makes a monthly contribution into that account so that BCBM can operate it to pay the bills on their behalf.
Dawn Chorus's budget for annual operating costs and management fees is
�12,350. That means each owner of an 8% share contributes just �82.33 a month into the syndicate bank account. So, to cover all the operational & management costs for four weeks cruising on the English canals and rivers each year, for each 8% share owner
it's just over �80 a month - a total of about �988 a year.
Are there any other costs? Well, yes, there is one. And by now you'll have worked out that 12 owners spending 4 weeks on the boat plus one family spending 2 weeks on board totals 50 weeks - and there are 52 weeks in a year. Those two weeks - in the winter - are vitally important. That's the time that any major maintenance work is done. BCBM inspect the boat, make costed recommendations to the owners for them to discuss at their AGM and then take their instructions back to the boatyard.
So this winter maintenance and what it costs is very much down to the owners to decide - it varies from boat to boat and from year to year.
Dawn Chorus, being a brand new Narrowboat, did not need any work done on her so buying into a new boat can work out cheaper sometimes.
It can't stay a secret for long, can it? Four weeks cruising on the English Canals & Rivers each year in your own boat for
�980!
So come on Dad! There's a share in Dawn Chorus with your name on it.
And you can get the details of other narrowboat shares from as little as
�2,500 by clicking HERE or
selecting from the menu on the left.
There's
never been a better time to join the growing community of shared ownership boaters.
Buying or selling?
If you have a share to sell or you're looking
for a share to buy, contact
us.
B.C. Boat
Management Ltd.
Caring for your investment
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