New owner rep on Ownashare board

Ownashare Cruising Ltd has recently invited their customers to elect a new Customer Representative who, as part of the role, will take a seat on the Company Board.

The process was necessary as the previous Representative, Tony Philpott, stepped down in August having served since 2011.  His replacement is named as David Chinn.

"We are sincerely grateful to Tony for his invaluable work in this role over the last three years," said Ownashare MD Phil Capp. "We now  welcome David aboard and I’m sure he will be very successful in performing this unique and important function. The creation of this role underlines our commitment to customer service levels and transparency. Our owners derive great comfort from knowing that they are fully represented at the highest level of the Company."

Autumn Boat Share Event Today

The car is loaded and we're off first thing to Kings Lock, Middlewich for the National Boat Share Show Autumn Event.  It's on from 10 am to 4pm, with admission and parking free.  Set your Sat Nav to CW10 0JJ.

We're there to provide the Welcome and Help Desk, so do come along and talk to us.  We're completely independent  - "Nothing to sell, no axe to grind"

The boats on view are identified in our composite share listing.  Even if you can't get to Middlewich, this list can help you narrow the search. Then, when you find a boat that looks as though it would suit you, contact the management company offering a share and they'll arrange a viewing for you.  Most shared ownership narrowboats are being used by existing owners most of the time, so viewings are normally arranged on 'turnround days' when the boat comes back to base to e checked and serviced for the next owner to take out.

There will be even more boats to view at the National Boat Share Show in Braunston on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th April 2015.  We'll be manning the Welcome and Help Desk there too.

Teaming up boost for shared ownership

The two largest companies in the shared ownership sector are to join forces.  ABC Boat Share Ltd is teaming up with BC Boat Management Ltd so that each company can bring its greatest strengths to the sector and provide an improved service for owners.

With effect from today, BCBM will take over responsibility for managing the boats for syndicates currently with ABC Boat Share Ltd.  BCBM is already the largest of the professional shared ownership management companies and it will be increasing its turnround and administrative staff to enhance its existing service to owners.

ABC – widely recognised as the market leader in providing canal hire boat holidays from 14 marinas around the canal network – will continue to provide moorings and maintenance services for shared ownership boats moored in its 10 company-owned marinas.

Andrew Barton, MD of BCBM, and Edward Helps, MD of ABC
Boat Share, shake hands on their agreement to team up
on supporting shared ownership boating

"The new arrangement can only benefit owners," says Andrew Barton, MD of BCBM.  "Syndicates whose boats we already manage will get a wider choice of bases and substantial discounts while those syndicates joining us from ABC Boat Share Ltd will benefit from the terms we have negotiated in other marinas coupled with the extensive turnaround and dedicated administrative cover we will be able to provide."

"We have developed a very successful working relationship with BCBM over the last few months as we prepared for the Boat Share Show at Braunston," says Ed Helps, MD of the ABC Leisure Group.  "The recent decision of our Shared Ownership Operations Manager to pursue a different career has meant that we needed to review our activities in this sector, and our conclusion was that we should concentrate on the main business of the group and entrust the management of shared ownership boats to BCBM, for whom shared ownership boat management is their only focussed core business.

Teaming up in this way can only strengthen the shared ownership sector and provide greater value and security for existing syndicates, both companies believe.

More details of the benefits of the link up are here.

National Boat Share Show 2015 announced

The National Boat Share Show will be held at Braunston Marina on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th April 2015.

Visitors comparing boats managed by the four
sponsor companies at the 2014 Boat Share Show

The event was agreed by the four professional shared ownership management companies who sponsored the 2014 show at their post-event meeting last week.  All four companies - ABC Boat Share, BCBM, Carefree Cruising and Ownashare Cruising - agreed that the event was even more successful than they had anticipated - with a total of 36 shares being sold either at the show or as a direct of people visiting it and being able to compare such a range of shared ownership narrowboats.

"Although there are a number of things that can be improved for 2015, the feedback from this year's show has been very positive," said Andrew Cooley after the meeting - at which he agreed to again act as co-ordinator for the 2015 show.

"I think the aim must be to bring the benefits of shared ownership to a wider audience and to develop a show that will be as attractive to existing owners as it is to prospective ones."

The four companies also agreed to hold a one day autumn event each year.  The 2014 Autumn Boat Share Event will be on Saturday 6th September.  The venue is yet to be announced, but it will be further north on one of the popular midlands canals.

Tell us what YOU thought of the Show

We've had some very positive feedback on the Boat Share Show last weekend and, if you were amongst the visitors, we would love to hear from you with your comments - just use our 'Contact us' page or drop me an email.

The sponsor companies have given an enthusiastic response - so yes, there will be a Boat Share Show next year, but no, I don't know yet when or where.  We're meeting up shortly to consider what we've learnt from this year's show and make those decisions - so watch this space.

Successful first day

Serious enquiries and a number of sold shares made the first day of the Boat Share Show a success, with some positive feedback from representatives of the press attending the event.

For us - boatshare4u.co.uk - it was good to talk to a number of visitors to the show who had used the site to research what was available before coming along to compare boats 'in the flesh.'

Most used facility was the search for shares, which allows prospective owners to narrow down their criteria. alist of shares available in the boats on view is here  and  exhibitors and sponsors are listed here.

The marquee is up

The main marquee is up at Braunston Marina ready for the Boat Share Show this weekend.  We're just packing stuff into the car ready to go down tomorrow morning and help get ready.  Some boats have already arrived - details of shares available in the boats on view are here.

The show opens at 10am each morning, closing at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday.

Parking and admission are free, so do come along and talk to us if you are interested in cruising the canals in your own boat at a fraction of the cost of buying a boat or hiring.  boatshare4u.co.uk is completely independent and doesn't sell anything!

We'll be manning the 'Welcome Desk' just inside the main marquee and we'll try to answer any questions you may have before you start looking at the boats and talking to the management companies.

Getting ready for the weekend

I've just heard that Wilsons Upholstery are the first exhibitors on site ready for the Boat Share Show this weekend - Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th April.

Contact details of all the exhibitors and sponsors can be found here.

The show is at Braunston Marina (NN11 7JH).  Admission and parking are free and the show opens at 10am on both days.  It closes at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday.

Braunston will be full!

There are now 20 boats booked in to attend the Boat Share Show at Braunston on 12th and 13th April.  We think this is more than even in the heyday of Ownerships and the basin at Braunston Marina will be packed!

Boats attending are all managed by one of the four management companies sponsoring the event - ABC Boatshare, BCBM, Carefree Cruising and Ownashare and all have shares for sale.

Visitors to the show can expect that most of the boats on view will have one or more of their owners on board - although in some cases it may be owners of a share in another boat.  All of these owners will be able to talk about shared ownership and why they have enjoyed owning a share in a managed narrowboat.

If you're not able to get to Braunston for the weekend of 12th and 13th April, then why not visit one of the open days arranged by these companies?  Three of the companies - BCBM, Carefree Cruising and Ownashare have events this coming weekend - Saturday 8th March, with the BCBM one at Overwater Marina continuing on Sunday 9th.

There's a list of forthcoming events here, and each of the companies can arrange a viewing if you identify boats you are particularly interested in.  The best place to start your search for the perfect share is with the combined list of all the shares currently on offer from these companies.  This is the most comprehensive listing of narrowboat shares to be found in the UK.

We're on Twitter now

Boatshare4u.co.uk now has a Twitter account so, if you're also on Twitter, please do follow us:


Most of our Tweets are about the Boat Share Show and include the hash tag  #BoatShareShow.  If you use that in your Tweets, it will help to spread the word about this first ever joint shared ownership show.

As a result of using Twitter, we've come across another forum with a shared ownership section - Just Canals.  There's now a link to it on the main menu.

Braunston Boat Share Show already half full

With a maximum capacity of 20 boats for the Boat Share Show at Braunston in April, the bookings from syndicates mean that the basin is already half full.
The four shared ownership management companies sponsoring the event - ABC Boat Share, BCBM, Carefree Cruising and Ownashare - each have an initial 'quota' of 5 boats.  One of the companies has already filled its quota and has a waiting list.

If there is a share for sale in your boat - and it's managed by one of these companies - then the Boat Share Show is the best place to find a new owner for that share.  Each company is taking bookings from the syndicates it manages, so please contact the company directly if you want to be at the first ever combined shared ownership narrowboat event.

And if you're looking for a share, make a note of the date in your diary - Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th April 2014.  There is no better way to find the right share than coming to Braunston to see the full range of what's available.  And, of course, you can use the share search facility on this site to create your viewing shortlist.

Most of the boats at Braunston will have owners on board to show you round and answer your questions.  They'll be there because they know shared ownership is a great idea - and the best possible value for your money in boating holidays. 

There will be no room for self-managed boats at the show, but owners currently in self-managed syndicates will have the opportunity to talk to each of the management companies about what they can offer - or even about a complete replacement boat for the syndicate.