Lady Jane

I nipped out to see the current most possible this lunchtime but it hasn’t made it from the main marina to the sales area yet. Not a problem, I was lent the key and left to get on with it. Built in 2003 with a safety certificate lasting until 2011 it’s a 54′ castle class cruiser stern narrowboat. Lived in but not scruffy it ticks a lot of the boxes . It’s the right size & pretty much the right layout except that the bathroom is to one side rather than a full walk through. It also has an inverter which is something that I haven’t considered before, which means that the 240V supply is available when it’s not berthed & plugged in. If the boat we buy doesn’t have one then it will be very near the top of the subsequent shopping list. There’s also no bow thruster but I’m starting to see that as a bit of a luxury – an awful lot seem to manage without them and at seven grand to have one put in after the initial build I can’t see us having one added.

The buy process seems pretty straightforward and the aim is to move from offer to completion in 30 days. There may be room for negotiation on that if the seller agrees, but we can’t really move forward until we’ve exchanged contracts & have that level of security. A survey will be necessary entailing the boat being lifted out of the water, which will be exciting. That comes in as a £150 cost to the prospective buyer so if we get to that stage we’ll be assuming that it’s a deal as long as the surveyor gives the nod, & we’ll get the bottom blacked while it’s out to save the bother later on. That will make it £450, but money well spent & a good photo opportunity.

Let’s not get too excited, but fingers crossed …