Happy Christmas!

We would like to wish a very Happy Christmas to everyone involved with shared ownership narrowboats - owners, new, old and prospective, management teams and folks who look after the boats at all the bases round the country. And we hope you all have a great New Year! If you're updating your 2017 diary, please make sure to put in the National Boat Share Show at Braunston on 22nd & 23rd April plus the Autumn Boat Share Show and RNLI Festival on 9th & 10th September.

Successful Autumn Show

Despite the first day being very wet and windy, the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater this weekend proved successful, with shares being bought, viewings booked and many constructive conversations.

Owners, visitors and management companies discuss
the benefits of shared ownership boating at the
Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina

The event was held in conjunction with the RNLI Festival, which also proved successful in raising funds for the charity.

The next opportunity to view and compare a wide range of shared ownership boats will be the National Boat Share Show at Braunston Marina on22nd and 23rd April 2017.

Show site plan

A plan of the Autumn Boat Share Show and RNLI Festival on 3rd & 4th September at Overwater Marina is here.

If you're coming to the Show, there's a Google map of the location on our Overwater page.  Set your sat nav to CW5 8AY.

The Boat Share Show is open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 3rd and 10am to 4pm on Sunday 4th.  Full details of the RNLI Festival are included in the programme.

Admission is free. Car parking is by donation to RNLI.

Four companies plus

The Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina next weekend (3-4 Sept) will offer the opportunity to talk to four different management companies about the benefits of shared ownership.

It will also give the chance to talk to owners of a self managed boat.

The four companies are BCBM, Carefree Cruising, J D Boat Services and Ownashare Cruising.  All of them have shares on offer - and those in boats at the Show are listed here.  The full list of shares currently available is here.

The self-managed boat at the Show is Water Jester and some of her owners will be there to talk about how the syndicate works and how it manages the boat.

Around 2,500 families enjoy taking several weeks each year holidaying on their own boat as a result of owning a share - and at less cost than hiring.  The Boat Share Show is the ideal place to find out how it works - and maybe become one of those families.

There's a map showing Overwater's location here - and, if you're using a sat nav, set it to CW5 8AY.  The Show is open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 3rd Sept and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 4th.  Admission is free and parking is by donation to the RNLI.  

The Show is being held in conjunction with the RNLI Festival, so there will be refreshments and a range of activities over the weekend - the Festival programme is here.

It's no joke...

There will be a Water Jester at the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater on 3rd & 4th September - she's 60ft long, has a semi-trad stern and was launched in 1992.  Shares - each offering 1/8th of the boat - are on offer for £2,500.

Water Jester will be at the Autumn Boat Share Show at
Overwater Marina on 3rd & 4th September.  She's a 60 ft,
6-berth,  semi-trad boat managed by the owners' syndicate.
She has two 1/8th shares on offer for £2,500 each.

Water Jester is a self-managed shared ownership boat, so the owners take responsibility for the management.  Major decisions are made at the AGM during the winter.

Owners agree on four weeks of allocated time on the boat - 2 in high season and 1 outside the peak holiday period and 1 from any of the weeks not already chosen, which is decided at the AGM.  The remaining weeks are available for owners by agreement and at a cost to cover the additional running.

Visitors to the Show will be able to get on board, view the boat and talk to the owners about how their syndicate works. 

Water Jester brings the number of boats to see at the Show up to 10, offering a wide range of styles, ages, share prices and management arrangements.

Water nymph at Overwater?

We don't know whether narrowboat Lilaea was named after the water nymph from Greek mythology - but we do know this 58ft semi trad boat will be at the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina on 3rd & 4th September.

Lilaea - a 58ft semi trad boat managed for her owners by
Carefree Cruising - will be at the Autumn Boat Share Show
at Overwater Marina on 3rd & 4th September.
A school holiday share is available at £8,000.
(Photo copyright of Carefree Cruising)

Commissioned specifically for shared ownership by Carefree Cruising, Lilaea was launched at the Braunston Boat Share Show in 2015.  She's a 6 berth boat with a red (high season) school holiday share available at £8,000.

You don't have to be Jeremy Fisher...

You don't have to be Beatrix Potter's famous fishing frog, Jeremy Fisher to enjoy sitting on a water lily.

You could get one of the three available shares in the narrowboat Water Lily.  She's a 58ft semi-trad boat built in 2005 and is managed for her syndicate of owners by Carefree Cruising. And she will be at the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater on 3rd & 4th September, so you can get on board and talk to existing owners.

Water Lily, a 58ft semi-trad narrowboat built in 2005,
will be at the Autumn Boat Share Show at
Overwater Marina on 3rd & 4th September.
(Photo copyright of Carefree Cruising)

There are currently two 1/12th red (high season) shares on offer.  One is a 'school holiday'  share offered at £2,500 and the other is available for £2,300.  The third share is a 1/24th yellow (low season) share offered at a special price of just £750.

Quantum of Solace

Yes, it's a Bond film, but literally means 'How much of Solace.'

And, if you're talking about the narrowboat Solace, then the answer to how much of her you get when you buy a share is 1/12th of a 58ft semi-trad boat built in 2013 for shared ownership under the management of Carefree Cruising.

Solace, managed by Carefree Cruising, will be on view at the
Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina
on 3rd & 4th September.
(Photo copyright of Carefree Cruising)

If you want a high season (red) share, then the answer to 'how much  will it cost?' is £6,500.  If you're happy to take your holiday on your own boat out of season, then the cost of a low season (yellow) share is currently at a special price of £2,000.

If you come to the Autumn Boat Share Show - in conjunction with the RNLI Festival - at Overwater Marina on 3rd & 4th September, then you can get on board Solace and talk to existing share owners.  

You can also view other boats and talk to the management companies about how shared ownership enables 2,500 families to enjoy 4 weeks holiday on their own boat each year for less than the cost of hiring. 

Adderbury isn't just a village

Adderbury isn't just a village near the South Oxford Canal.

Adderbury is also the name of a 58ft semi-trad shared ownership narrowboat built in 2001 and now managed for it's owners by BCBM.  

Adderbury is a 58ft semi-trad narrowboat built in 2001
and managed for her owners by BCBM.
Get on board her at the Autumn Boat Share Show
at Overwater Marina on 3rd & 4th September
(Photo copyright BCBM)

She will be on view at the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina on 3rd & 4th September, where you will be able to get on board and talk to existing owners.  Two 1/11th shares in Adderbury are on offer for £2,400 and £2,000.

She is one of the later boats built specifically for shared ownership by Ownerships and named after villages near to canals and rivers.  Ownerships ceased trading in 2010, but prior to that built around 100 boats for shared ownership.  The earlier ones had names beginning with S or O.

Heron will be at Overwater

Heron, the newly re-furbished boat from J D Boat Services, will be at the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater on 3rd & 4th September.

The newly refurbished 59ft semi-trad Heron will be at
the Overwater show with shares available for £6,499.

This will be the first time that J D Boat Services have been represented at a boat share show.  The company has been building and managing shared ownership narrowboats since 1994, so their presence at the show will be a very welcome addition and make it even more representative of the shared ownership sector.

Heron is a 59ft 4+2 berth semi-trad narrowboat fitted out to a high specification.  A brand new syndicate is being formed to own her and shares are on offer at £6,499.

First boats named for Autumn Show

The first four boats attending the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina on 3rd & 4th September have been named.  They are Happy Days, Invincible, Oakmere and Shelton. 

Happy Days was built for and is managed by Carefree Cruising.
She was launched at the National Boat Share Show
at Braunston last April.  A 1/12th share is available at £7,495.

Invincible was originally built in 2007 for Challenger Syndicateships
and is now managed by BCBM.
An 8% share is on offer at £3,200.

Oakmere is a replica tug, unique amongst shared ownership
narrowboats.  She was built as a private commission in 2011
and was subsequently bought by BCBM to become a syndicate boat.
An 8% share is available for £9,950.

Shelton, a 58ft semi-trad boat, was built in 2009 for Ownerships.
Like a number of other ex-Ownerships boats, she is now
managed for the owning syndicate by BCBM.
A full share is on the market for £4,000. 

All the boats at the show will have shares available.  Currently the asking prices for 1/12th or 8% shares range from just £500 up to £9,995.  We know of 91 shares available at the moment and these are all listed here.  This number is about 20% down compared with the same time last year due to the strong demand for shares since the Braunston Boat Share Show last April.

(Photos copyright of Carefree Cruising (Happy Days) and BCBM (Invincible, Oakmere and Shelton.)

Shared Ownership at Crick

Visitors to the Crick Boat Show on 28th - 30th May can find two of the leading shared ownership boat management companies amongst the exhibitors. They will be showing off their brand new boats - launched at the National Boat Share Show in April.

BCBM (stand F27) will have the new 61ft semi-trad Breaking Dawn there. She has a luxurious specification similar to the other boats built in the UK for BCBM specifically for shared ownership, and shares are available at £9,995.

Discussing the features of Breaking Dawn at the
National Boat Share Show at Braunston

Carefree Cruising (stand Q28 and F18/19) will be showing Happy Days, which was craned in to Braunston less than 24 hours before the Boat Share Show opened.  She is a 58ft semi trad boat with a range of shares available, starting at £4,000, with the cost depending on the time of year owners want to take their holidays.

Happy Days - so freshly launched at Braunston,
she hadn't got her name painted on.

Exhibiting at Crick is costly, so J D Boat services, who recently launched a new shared ownership syndicate for the fully refurbished 59ft semi-trad Heron., will not be there.  Shares in Heron are available at £6,499.  Ownashare, the other well-established shared ownership management company will also not be at Crick, but they have a range of previously owned shares on offer on their website.

To view and compare lots of shared ownership boats, you need to come to one of the Boat Share Shows - the next one is on 3rd & 4th September at Overwater Marina.

Date set for 2017 Show

The date for the 2017 National Boat Share Show has been agreed with Braunston Marina as the weekend of 22nd & 23rd April.  Show organisers boatshare4u.co.uk are hoping to build on the success of this year's show to break even more records in 2017.

An earlier opportunity to view a range of shared ownership boats under a variety of different managements will be the Autumn Boat Share Show, being held in conjunction with the RNLI Festival at Overwater Marina in Cheshire on the weekend of 3rd & 4th September.

Two records fall at Boat Share Show

Two records fell at this year's National Boat Share Show held at Braunston Marina last weekend.

There were more boats on show than ever before – 21 narrowboats attracted over 250 visitors to the show.  Shares on offer ranged in price from around £1,000 to nearly £10,000, depending on the age and specification of the boats. 

Owners, visitors and management companies brought together
at the National Boat Share Show.  Breaking Dawn is the new
syndicate boat from BCBM, launched at the show.

The high number of boats meant that there wasn't enough space in the marina basin, so six of the boats were moored just outside on the towpath, thanks to the provision of reserved moorings by the Canal & River Trust.  The 54ft traditional narrowboat boat, Tess, was also the first ever self-managed boat to take part in the show.

One of the youngest visitors admires the paintwork on Valkyrie

Visitors found the show useful in explaining what shared ownership had to offer and what shares were available.  One visitor commented "The show was brilliant for talking and gathering information and everybody was really friendly. What was going to be a quick 1hr visit extended to nearly 4hrs."

The second record to fall was for share sales in a single boat – five shares changed hands in the narrowboat Symphony – at 22 years old, a real veteran of shared ownership.  Symphony is managed for the owners' syndicate by Ownashare Cruising.

The National Boat Share Show takes place in April each year thanks to the generosity of Braunston Marina.  In recognition of this, the organisers – boatshare4u.co.uk – have made a £1,000 donation to the Friends of Raymond, the boat restoration charity that is supported by the marina.  The butty boat Raymond and the powered boat Nutfield were on view as usual at these events, alongside the shared ownership boats.

The Autumn Boat Share Show is being held in conjunction with the RNLI Festival at Overwater Marina in Cheshire on the weekend of 3rd & 4th September.

Happy Days coming!

Carefree Cruising's new shared ownership boat, Happy Days, has left the paint shop and is on her way to Braunston for the National Boat Share Show this weekend.  She is due to be craned into the marina basin on Friday morning, when the signwriter will be on hand to add the finishing touches - including the name.

Happy Days, Carefree Cruising's brand new boat
leaves on a lorry heading for the National
Boat Share Show at Braunston this weekend.

BCBM's new boat, Breaking Dawn, arrived by water this evening, making 7 boats already on site ready for the show.

Four new syndicates on offer

With two brand new shared ownership narrowboats being launched and the announcement of a widebeam shared ownership syndicate, the National Boat Share Show at Braunston Marina on 23rd & 24th April this year is demonstrating the strength of the sector.

A fourth new syndicate has also been announced, but the boat won't be at the show as she'll be in the paint shop at the time.

The two boats being launched are both from management companies - Breaking Dawn from BCBM and Happy Days from Carefree Cruising.  They will be amongst the 19 boats that will be on view for visitors to board and compare.  All have shares available, ranging in cost from £1,000 to £11,000.

A new 12-member syndicate is being
formed for 61ft wide beam boat Rivendell
currently based on the Kennet & Avon canal

The new widebeam syndicate is in Rivendell, currently based on the Kennet & Avon Canal.  Shares in this self-managed syndicate boat are on offer for £11,995 for a 4-week share.  Full details will be available in the show marquee.

The fourth new syndicate boat is Heron from J D Boats, a small but long-established shared ownership company.  Heron was originally launched in 2010 as a share/hire boat, but she's currently undergoing extensive refurbishment – including a new engine – and 1/12^th shares are on offer at £6,499.

"The National Boat Share Show is entirely focused on shared ownership – and very different from a general boat show," says Andrew Cooley of boatshare4u.co.uk.  "Whether visitors are just starting to investigate the idea of cruising the waterways on their own boat at a fraction of the cost of full ownership or are on a mission to find their perfect share, we'll be there to help - and there will be 20 boats there to view and compare, all with shares on offer."

Boat painters at show for first time

We're delighted to be able to welcome Willow Boats and Vimart Signwriting as exhibitors at the National Boat Share Show at Braunston on 23rd & 24th April.

Castleber is one of the shared ownership narrowboats
repainted by Willow Boats  Ltd.

The two companies - headed respectively by Sally Tooze and Martyn King - work closely together and in recent years have done complete repaints on a number of shared ownership narrowboats including Castleber, Cheddington, Compton, Ellen, Farndon, Sorceress, Venture (in which a share is currently on offer) and Vulcan.

Signwriting by Vimart for Cheddington
including a reminder of the village's notoriety
as the site of the 'Great Train Robbery'.

Boat count now up to 16

The number of boats booked in to the National Boat Share Show at Braunston on 23rd & 24th April has now risen to 16.

Amongst the latest entries is First Dawn - the first boat that BCBM built specifically for shared ownership.  

First Dawn, a 61ft semi-trad narrowboat, launched in 2010

Two brand new boats will be launched at the show, one from Carefree Cruising - awaiting the decision of owners on a name - and one from BCBM, Breaking Dawn.

The list of entries so far is:

Alcedonia
Annabelle II
Black Watch
Breaking Dawn (to be launched at the show)
Champion
Firefly
First Dawn
Happy Days (to be launched at the show) 
Heartsease
Oakmere Symphony
Tess 
Viceroy
Water Lily
Willow
Winding Down

Visitors will be able to view the boats, get on board and talk to owners and to management companies.  All the boats in the show have shares on offer.

If you have a share for sale, why not bring your boat to Braunston for the weekend of 23rd & 24th?  Full details are here. 

Boat numbers build for Braunston

With nearly three months to go before the National Boat Share Show at Braunston on 23rd & 24th April, there are already 11 boats booked in to attend. 

Some of the boats at the 2015 show

The boats in the show so far are:
Alcedonia
Annabelle II
Black Watch
Breaking Dawn (to be launched at the show)
Heartsease
New 2016 boat (syndicate about to vote on the name)
Symphony
Tess 
Viceroy
Water Lily
Willow

All the boats on view at the show have shares available.  There will be existing owners on board so that prospective new owners can discuss details of the boats with them and learn about their experiences of shared ownership. 

In previous years, visitors to the show have been well prepared and started their research with the shares listing on this site, which is updated daily.  It includes all the shares currently available on the four main websites - BCBM, boatshare.co.uk, Carefree Cruising and Ownashare Cruising.

On this site we simply provide the information and links to the boat details - we don't sell shares.

Well done BCBM

Congratulations to BCBM for being runners up in the British Marine Leisure Boating Customer Service Awards.

"We're delighted to have done so well in the first year we've entered for this award," said Andrew Barton, MD of BCBM.  "Obviously we would have liked to win - but there's always next year!"

The winning company was also a shared ownership company: FlexiSail deal exclusively with shared ownership for sea-going yachts, catamarans and motor boats. 

The award was presented at the MTA awards on Tuesday 12th January. BC Boat Management and Rockley Watersports Ltd were the runners up and showed an excellent complaints procedure and rapport with their customers.

It is a high compliment to the customer service provided by the shared ownership sector that both the winner and one of the runners up were from this sector. 

The award was designed to highlight excellence in customer service and specifically is looking at areas including complaints procedure, customer care, ease of contact and processes and protocol.  

On the inland waterways there are more than 220 shared ownership narrowboats, of which BCBM manages 54, with another new boat due to be launched at the National Boat Share Show at Braunston Marina on 23rd & 24th April 2016.

First self-managed boat for Braunston

The first ever self-managed boat has been booked in to attend the National Boat Share Show at Braunston on 23rd & 24th April this year.

Tess - a 55ft, 6 berth trad narrowboat - has a 1/6th share on offer for £5,500.  She is currently moored at Calcutt on the Grand Union Canal.

Tess - the first ever self-managed shared ownership
narrowboat to be booked in to attend the
National Boat Share Show at Braunston on 23 & 24th April.
Photo from boatshare.co.uk advert.

The share in Tess is advertised on the boatshare.co.uk website, which is completely separate from this site. 

There are shares in 30 self-managed boats currently advertised for sale on the sites we monitor and list here. We know of 131 self-managed narrowboats on the canal network - just over half the shared ownership sector - and these are included in our full list of shared boats.

Full details of how to bring your boat to the National Boat Share Show are here.  If you have any questions not covered by that information, just email andrew@boatshare4u.co.uk or phone 07961 574231.  Any shared ownership narrowboat with a share on offer will be welcome at the show.

Flying the flag

Flying the flag for shared ownership at the London Boat Show are BCBM - on a stand shared with ABC Leisure.

The BCBM/ABC stand at the London Boat Show

The London Boat Show is on now until 17th January.  It is very expensive to exhibit at shows like this, so it made sense for the biggest shared ownership and narrowboat hire companies to share the space and the manning of the stand.  The cost prohibits having a boat on show.

The National Boat Share Show at Braunston on the weekend of 24th & 25th April will be the first opportunity to see and compare a wide range of shared ownership narrowboats and to talk to owners and management companies.  There were 17 boats at last year's Braunston show, and around 30 shares found new owners as a result.

But you don't have to wait for a show to compare what's on offer in the most cost effective way of enjoying a boating holiday on the canals.  Our list of available shares includes all the shares currently on offer on the four major websites - BCBM, boatshare.co.uk, Carefree Cruising and Ownashare.  Our list is updated at least once a day and you can search and sort it to help find the perfect share for you.  And, of course, if you are coming to Braunston, it's by far the easiest way to do your pre-show research.

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone with an interest in shared ownership narrowboats a very happy New Year.

It's just 113 days till the National Boat Share Show at Braunston on 23rd and 24th April - we hope to see you there.