Show opening times

The Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September is open from 10am on both days.  It closes at 5pm on the Saturday and 4pm on the Sunday.

The earlier close on the Sunday is so that owners can get their boats away to continue their canal holidays for less than the cost of hiring -just as around 2,500 other families do.

Admission is free on both days. Car parking is free on the Saturday and by donation to the RNLI on the Sunday.  Visitors arriving early on either of the Show days can have breakfast in the Marina Cafe, which is open from 8.30am.

Plenty to choose from

Possibly the widest range of shares on offer at the Autumn Boat Share Show will be in Halcyon, managed for her owners by Carefree Cruising.  There is a 1/24th 'yellow' share available at just £995, while the asking price for a 1/12th 'red' share including school holidays is £2,250.  (There's a full description of what times on board the red and yellow shares provide on the Carefree Cruising website here.)

Halcyon is a 58ft semi-trad narrowboat launched in 2007.  She has a conventional rear-bedroom layout and offers comfortable accommodation with sleeping for up to 6 people. Powered by a Beta Marine 43hp engine and fitted with Vetus electric bowthrusters, Halcyon is currently moored at Aston Marina near Stone on the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Towpath Talk previews Boat Share Show

Towpath Talk has included a preview of the Autumn Boat Share Show in its September issue.  

You can read the piece - published on page 73 of the paper - here or read the whole edition on line here.

The Show takes place at Overwater Marina on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September and is run in conjunction with the RNLI Festival.  It opens each day at 10am, running till 5pm on the Saturday and 4pm on the Sunday.

First boat built for BCBM will be at the Show

First Dawn, the first boat built for BCBM, will be on view at the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater on 9th & 10th September.

"It hardly seems possible that it's now 7 years since Pippa and I took her on her very first trip - up the Thames on her way to her home mooring - just after she had won the Lionel Munk Trophy for best new boat at the IWA Festival in Pangbourne," says Andrew Cooley.

Being the first in the line, a number of new features were introduced on First Dawn that have now become almost standard on boats commissioned by BCBM.

First Dawn is a 61ft, semi-trad narrowboat powered by a Shire 40 engine.  Owners' weeks on board are allocated by the draw system and she is currently moored at Great Haywood.  Shares (8%) are on offer from £4,500.  The BCBM team will be at the Show to answer any questions about First Dawn and the other boats they manage.

Heron will be at Overwater

Heron, the most recent shared ownership boat from J D Boats Services, will be on view at the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina on Saturday and Sunday 9th & 10th September.

Heron is managed for her owners by J D Boats Services

Originally built in  2010, Heron has been completey refurbished for shared ownership by J D Boats Services, with a new syndicate being formed.  She will be the only boat on view in which the shares are linked to fixed weeks in the year, which some owners find helps their forward holiday planning.

Heron is a 59ft semi-trad narrowboat with a forward saloon.  She is unusual in having two dedicated bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with two singles that can be configured as a double.  The saloon seating can also be re-arranged to provide an additional double bed.

Powered by a Shire 40 engine, Heron is currently based at Gailey on the Staffs and Worcester Canal just south of Stafford.  A few shares are still available at £6,499.

Breakfast at Overwater from 8.30 on Show days

Breakfast will be available in the Cafe at Overwater Marina from 8.30am to 10am on both the Saturday and Sunday of the Autumn Boat Share Show (9th & 10th September).

Just to plant the thought -
not actually a breakfast from
the 'Cafe at Bridge 80'

"Breakfast on site has been popular at the Braunston Show for the past couple of year," says Show organiser Andrew Cooley.  "It means that exhibitors can get a good start and also owners who are staying on their boats can avoid the need to prepare breakfast on the boat and clear up afterwards - and it eliminates the risk of the boat still smelling of cooked breakfast when the visitors arrive!"

The breakfast facility is also available for visitors to the Show who need to set off early.  By arriving in time for breakfast, they can relax before the Show starts at 10am and check the details of the boats they want to compare.

Aurora will be on show at Overwater

Visitors to the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina on 9th & 10th September will be able to get on board Aurora and talk to her owners.  Aurora was originally commissioned by ABC and was launched in 2014 by Richard Parry, Chief Executive of the Canal & River Trust. This was when ABC and BCBM agreed to team up, as reported here, and Aurora is now managed for her owners by BCBM.

The 2014 launch of Aurora by Richard Parry, Chief Executive
of the Canal & River Trust watched by her very first owners.
Beside Richard on the boat are Ed Helps (left) MD of the
ABC group and Andrew Barton (right) MD of BCBM.

Aurora is a 62ft semi-trad boat with a rear galley, central saloon and forward main bedroom.  She is powered by a Beta Marine 43hp Greenline engine.  She is currently moored at Overwater.

An 8% share in Aurora is on offer for £8,500.  This gives the owner 4 weeks on the boat, and weeks are selected using the draw system (see our FAQ page for more details of this).

The Autumn Boat Share Show is run in conjunction with the RNLI Festival, and the Festival programme is here.

First self-managed boat booked for Show.

The first self-managed boat to be booked in for the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina on 9th & 10th September is Wolverley.  She was originally commissioned for Ownerships and launched in 2003.  Wolverley is now owned by a new syndicate, formed this year and the original syndicate no longer exists.

Wolverley is a 60ft Semi-trad boat with a rear galley configuration.  She has a nominal 'winter' base on the Leeds & Liverpool canal but, for the main part of the year, she moves around a section of the waterway network determined by owners at their AGM.

The new syndicate operates as a club, and owners all play an active part in maintaining the boat and runnng the club.  There are more details of this on the syndicate website.

There are 1/12th shares on offer in this new syndicate at £3,500 per share and an individual owner can own up to three shares.  Each share entitles the owner to 2 weeks in the April to September period plus 2 'early' or 'late' weeks every year.

Camping & caravans at the Boat Share Show

Overwater Marina have caravan and camping pitches available for visitors to the Autumn Boat Share Show and RNLI Festival.  This offer is for the Festival & Show weekend only and a donation to the RNLI will be required.  

For further details and to book your pitch, please contact the marina on 01270 812677.

The programme for the two days of the Boat Share Show and RNLI Festival can be seen here.

'Grand Old Lady' of Overwater Show

The 'Grand Old Lady' of the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater marina on 9th & 10th of September will be Shadow, launched in 1995 and now managed for the owners by BCBM.

Shadow has a school holiday share on offer at £2,500
and is managed for the owners by BCBM.

View from the galley
towards the bow.

Shadow was originally commissioned for Ownerships and built to that company's 'classic' semi-trad design, with the saloon and dinette at the bow with a superb view out through the large glazed bi-fold doors.  Working towards the stern, the galley follows the dinette, then the bathroom and the main bedroom with a double bed that converts to king-size and an en-suite toilet.

Originally a 12-share boat, the owning syndicate has absorbed two shares over time so that it is a 1/10th special share (with a school holiday priority) that is on offer at the moment, with an asking price of £2,500.  This gives the owner at least 4 weeks of boating holiday each year at a cost of just under £100 per calendar month plus a single annual premium of £100 for the special share status - making the cost of each week's holiday just £320.  Gas is included in the budget, but the cost of fuel is paid by each owner.

Newest boat at Overwater

The most recently launched shared ownership narrowboat will be on view at the Autumn Boat Share Show at Overwater Marina on 9th & 10th September.

Otter being craned into the marina for
the Braunston Boat Share Show in April

Otter - commissioned and managed by Carefree Cruising - was launched at the Braunston Boat Share Show in April.

This 58ft semi-trad boat has the 'reverse layout' with the main bedroom at the bow.  She is powered by a Canaline 42hp enine and is fitted with Vetus electric bowthrusters.  Shares are currently available at £7,495.