Houseboats! I have no clue where to start!

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sat1983

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Jul 7, 2009
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  • #1
    Right here goes.

    My brother in law lives in Poland and his father in law owns a furniture factory. He has made a wonderful job of building a houseboat.
    He has asked me if I could sell those in the UK and France. I'm half British/French so language is no issue.
    I have literally no idea where to start! Brexit implications, who to target, marketing etc.... These clearly need targeting to a particular audience- not something I can just sell on ebay- not initially at least.

    He's indicated that transport is fine and not to worry about that side of things.

    Can anyone on here give me any pointers, ideas etc?

    Link to the product:

     
    P

    Paul Norman

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    Apr 8, 2010
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  • #2
    The living on a boat market in the UK is segmented.

    There are canal boats. The boat in the picture looks potentially too tall for most canals, other than the Norfolk Broads.

    There are people that live on boats whilst travelling - they are essentially needing sea worthy boats.

    And there are the permanently moored boats, which crop up in some cities, some inland marinas. That is your market, would be my initial thoughts. And of the three, it is perhaps the least well set up, in terms of suppliers. People buy boats in this category from a curious assortment of places, including even traditional estate agents (in tiny volumes).

    I would personally start by joining some of the online communities that operate in this sector. A lot of personal recommendation happens in those places.

    Having been a live aboard (in the second of the categories), this does intrigue me, though. There was a collection of about 40 or so floating homes like yours in the disused canal near Chichester harbour, for example. They cropped up for sale in the local boat brokerages, or they sold word of mouth.
     
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    MarkOnline

    MarkOnline

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    Apr 25, 2020
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  • #5
    First impression, its no good on a canal. I think its specification is too limited for the uk. However stick it with a mooring and it looks like a great staycation let( although a bit small for a family of 4 to stay in for a week. Depends on price you can buy it at though. From experience, Poland can be a great source for wooden products. Good luck
    I wouldnt let anyone sail it, just sleep in it on the water.
     
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    D

    Deleted member 335660

  • #9
    sat1983 said:
    Right here goes.

    My brother in law lives in Poland and his father in law owns a furniture factory. He has made a wonderful job of building a houseboat.
    He has asked me if I could sell those in the UK and France. I'm half British/French so language is no issue.
    I have literally no idea where to start! Brexit implications, who to target, marketing etc.... These clearly need targeting to a particular audience- not something I can just sell on ebay- not initially at least.

    He's indicated that transport is fine and not to worry about that side of things.

    Can anyone on here give me any pointers, ideas etc?

    Link to the product:

    Click to expand...

    Hi, well I have a Polish made sailing yacht VAT paid and if I bring it back to U.K. ( Spanish berth) I have to pay U.K. BAT again. So I would check the VAT implications of bringing them into U.K.

    The only way a person will buy a boat like this is to see it so you need to bring one into the country and berth it in a marina somewhere. I saw my yacht at the Southampton Boat Show and that is the most popular venue for launching new boats. Not sure what you would do at the moment.

    If you have not done so yet, visit a popular houseboat location on one of the major canals and see what other houseboat sellers do.

    Good luck
     
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    WaveJumper

    WaveJumper

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  • #10
    There are several of these on the market now if you take a visit to St Katherine's Dock in London you will see a couple there. Plenty of boating websites out there for you too explore. Finding a mooring is your biggest problem my advice would be to source a location which would be happy to have these as not all marinas will except them and use as your 'show home'. Transportation is going to be very expensive perhaps more so than your friend suggests. The Southampton boat show apparently is going ahead this year a trip there for you might be a good idea to access what the marine market has on offer going forward
     
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    Paul Norman

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    Apr 8, 2010
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  • #11
    sat1983 said:
    Thanks for that input Paul.

    It does indeed seem tricky- but I am persuaded that there must be some market out there for them- don't people live on barges in London for example?
    Click to expand...


    I would certainly agree that there is a market out there - and London is a place where some people might look at mooring these.

    It is a fairly specialised market, though, and you will need to get stuck into specialised places where people considering this kind of thing might be found.

    I found both of my boats at dealers, for example - and on both occasions the dealers were able to help with securing a mooring. Getting the mooring and the boat buying coordinated is fairly crucial in the UK
     
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    T

    The Byre

  • #12
    sat1983 said:
    don't people live on barges in London for example?
    Click to expand...
    Mooring costs are sky-high!
    Alyson Dyer said:
    Ask your questions on canalworlddotnet you will get chapter and verse.
    Click to expand...
    THIS!
    Paul Norman said:
    Getting the mooring and the boat buying coordinated is fairly crucial in the UK
    Click to expand...
    Living on a boat in the UK has become very fashionable since the war. You used to be able to moor in London for very little - now it costs thousands and even tens-of-thousands in some places!

    I would look at the German market. There are plenty of places where one can moor for free or very cheaply on the Rhein. That is largely because houses do not cost absurd amounts (except Berlin nowadays of course!) Areas like the Eifel and the Harz are relatively cheap so there isn't the pressure to find anything else such as a canal boat that is suitable and acceptable.

    But people still want that get-away-from-it-all weekend pad and a boat on the Rhein is just such a popular option.
     
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    I

    Interestedobserver

  • #14
    Paul Norman said:
    There are two challenges facing people tempted by these.

    1. Buying them is not easy. You are offering a solution to that.

    2. Places to moor them are not easy to get hold of either. Forming some kind of alliance with organisations that can help solve problem 2 will prove useful.
    Click to expand...

    Yes. You could look at partnering with a marina where one could be moored initially and that allows people to come and visit and view and you could sell from there

    The local marina near me did something similar with some houseboat pods I seem to remember. Or something like that.
     
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    C

    Chris Ashdown

    Free Member
    • Dec 7, 2003
    13,380
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    Norfolk
  • #19
    A visit to the South Coast would find quite a lot of House Boats and would probably give you lots of info

    A potential problem is the wooden hull which depending on location could be a problem and sites for houseboats are unlikely to be near lift out facilities

    Import VAT adds a lot to the price

    If they are motor less, then we have a few as holiday lets on the broads, but if they have a motor they are probably competing against the Broad beam canal boats that are also limited sea going boats, made of steel and still quite cheap, yet have the ability to travel on many canals as well
     
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