What type of boat do I want?
Choosing your style of boating is the key. There are now such a large variety of boats available that the inexperienced person is at a disadvantage when it comes to making a choice. Do take advice, and consider very carefully just what 'style' of boating suits you best.

What size is needed-for how many persons- how and when will she be used- where will you keep her? Smaller boats can be trailed behind a car, but launching and recovery can be quite a business. How much can you afford-not just to buy a boat, but to run and maintain her.

Whatever their size, sea-going motor boats fall into two basic types displacement and planing. Displacement boats have hulls which are pushed through the water by relatively low powered (inexpensive) engines: they are roomy but slow and, in general terms, are more seaworthy. Planing boats (like sports boats) have hulls shaped so that they skim over the surface once a certain speed is reached, requiring powerful and costly machinery; generally providing less accommodation but a faster styling.

There is an intermediate type, called semi-displacement which provides a compromise seaworthy boats of moderate speed.

Most boats found on the UK's inland waterway system fall into four distinct categories.
  • Sea going boats (displacement and planing kept on a river berth and taken occasionally down to tidal waters or a coastal berth (e.g. Jeanneau, Sheerline, Sealine, Fairline, Princess).
  • Steel or aluminium narrowboats (canal longboats) kept mainly on the canal system covering the old industrial areas of central and northern England and lately popular on rivers throughout the UK (e.g. Sea Otter).
  • Glass fibre river boats (narrow beam and low air draft, suitable for all the UK's inland non-tidal waterway system, both canals and rivers. Beam and height restricted by the size of canal locks and tunnels.
  • Glass fibre river boats (wide beam) suitable for all rivers and a limited number of wide beam canals in the south, but not suitable for the majority of canals which will only accommodate narrow beam and low air draught boats (e.g. Sheerline Motor Cruisers).

    • Please "Contact us" for the latest comprehensive listings of currently available new and secondhand craft. Do not be afraid to ask questions, we are delighted to help and advise on any boating matters.

    If you are getting a new boat, choose a reputable builder, preferably a member of the British Marine Federation, which has a published code of practice for the construction of small craft.

    A secondhand boat should be examined by an expert before you buy, and for more substantial boats, this work should be done by a professional surveyor. A list of surveyors can be provided on request.