Narrowboat Shared Ownership
2025 Narrowboat Shared Ownership
The shared narrowboat ownership scheme is a cost effective way to get a brand new, high quality, bespoke boat but at a fraction of the price. There will have 12 freehold shares available (you own a 12th share of the boat – this isn’t Time Share) with each share guaranteeing 4 weeks of holiday a year. You can purchase more than one share – we already have a number of interested parties wanting 2 shares.
The narrowboat build will commence June 2025, with the narrowboat being on the water for February 2026, a good time to allocate weeks.
The 2025 boat build is based on a similar specification and layout of a recent bespoke build called Dilly Dally (Click here to see our Facebook page for photos). The new boat will sleep up to 6 people, and will be slightly longer at 59ft, and will also have a lengthways bed with space at the end to hop off.
The cost of the share will also include: full inventory of the kitchen, roman blinds, porthole bungs, a sofa bed, a TV, a vacuum, a microwave, WIFI Sim router and aerial. In addition, we’ll be including the haulage and craning costs when launched. All of these costs would normally be added onto an individual boat build cost.
This narrowboat will be children and pet friendly so you can take your whole family on your booked weeks and when its time for your holiday, all you’ll need to do is pack your clothes & food, show up and then set sail to wherever you want to go. At the end of your holiday you’ll need to make sure the boat is back in time, cleaned, pumped out and refuelled for the next owners.
No worries or stress about your boat moored up in a marina whilst you’re not there. No arranging engine services or booking in maintenance or hull blacking, sorting out licences and insurance, as this is all taken care of by the management company for a monthly fee. All the details of which are below.
Narrowboat Layout
2025 Shared Narrowboat Specification
- The 2025 boat build will have a reverse lay-out of stern, galley kitchen, dinette, saloon, bathroom, bedroom and bow.
- This boat is perfect for 2 or a family, being able to sleep up to 6 people, with plenty of space to have alone time, to do fun hobbies and to relax with everyone.
Images of bespoke boat Dilly Dally as an example of the layout and quality carpentry
- The semi cruiser stern will have a 43hp Beta diesel engine and hospital silencer exhaust with 2 gas lockers which doubles as seating – sitting up to 4 people. The flooring will be easy clean luxury LVT throughout.
- Plus the latest brushless motor bow thruster for easy manoeuvring as well as a cratch board and cover, perfect for inclement weather.
- The windows will be double glazed and the interior will be fitted out in either Oak or Oak & Ash. Under the gunnels the boat will be lined in solid oak or ash T & G timber instead of the usual veneered plywood.
- Step down the storage steps to get to the galley kitchen which will have quartz worksurface, a sink with filtered water tap, gas hob and full size oven, fridge, microwave, and built in wine cellars in the floor.
- The extending dinette can seat up to 6 people & the table has an electric lift, so it can easily be raised or lowered to form an extra bed.
- Through to the saloon with stainless steel radiators & under gunnel lighting, there will be a custom built TV unit, a bubble diesel stove to keep you toasty, and a sofa bed that can sleep another 2 people.
- The walk-through bathroom includes a full size 800mm quadrant shower and macerator toilet with lots of quartz surface space and cabinets to keep all your accessories safe.
- Then onto bathroom is the bedroom cabin which features an extending double bed that sleeps 2, wall mounted reading lights, wall cupboard storage and stairs storage, which leads up to the well deck and final part of the boat.
- The bow, has full width storage lockers that also double up as seating for up to 4 people. Plus there is additional large bow storage locker (the gas locker is at the stern for easy access)
2025 Shared Ownership Price & Payments
Each share will be just £19,750, and you can buy more than one share.
The first payment being a £950 reservation fee which is now being accepted for the June 2025 bespoke build. This share price is then split up into a 7 step payment plan
Stage Payments are as follows:
Payment 1 – reservation fee £950
Payment 2 – contract signing £1025
Payment 3 – steelwork being started £1500
Payment 4 – steel hull completed £7000
Payment 5 – lining, wiring and engine fixing £7000
Payment 6 – woodwork completion £1985
Payment 7 – boat Completion £290
The anticipated yearly maintenance cost will be approximately £1600 per year, this is for boat management, maintenance, license fee and moorings. However special family shares for people who need to plan in school holidays, will contribute an extra maintenance fee of £275 a year, but comes with the benefit of first choice school holidays, when booking your weeks. The shared ownership narrowboat will be managed by BCBM, a respected shared ownership management company.
How it Works
Each share will be entitled to 4 weeks on board the boat per year. The scheme will be based on a list system in pairs – the shareholders at the top of the list will choose their weeks first then followed by the others while going down the list. The following year the shareholders that were at the top of the list will move to the bottom while the other pairs will all move up a place on the list meaning the list rotates every 6 years.
An owner can book 2 weeks in the high season (April-September) and 2 weeks anywhere else in the year, however the last week is only booked after everyone has booked their first 3 weeks and the owners at the bottom of the list will have priority in booking their 4th week.
Once the boat is handed over it will be managed by BCBM – a well-regarded share owners management company who manage lots of other shared narrowboat syndicates. BCBM will run the scheme and organise all routine maintenance as well as moorings, license fees, insurance, call outs, banking, AGM’s etc. The agreement will run for a minimum of 3 years, after this time the Share Holders can either vote to carry on with BCBM, move management companies or run the syndicate themselves.
When it’s time for your holiday all you need to do is arrive at the mooring, then you can go and explore the canals. On return all share holders need to make sure they are back in time and have cleaned the boat for the next owner, and if there’s any problem you can call BCBM for help.
Benefits
This is an excellent opportunity to get a brand new bespoke narrowboat for only £19,750 inc VAT
Affordable: You only pay 1/12th the cost of a brand new bespoke boat per share, and the maintenance is shared by the share holders too.
Stress Free: The management company take care of everything! No hassle sorting out boat insurance, moorings, services and hull blacking etc..
Protect your investment: Built by renowned Aqua Narrowboats means higher resale values reducing depreciation. Quality steelwork by Colecraft adds further reassurance that you’ll be rewarded for many years to come.
4 weeks of Holidays: Every year each share will give you 4 weeks of narrowboat holidays. Plus you may get chance to gain unused weeks.
Choice of Canal Routes: You can collectively decide where to moor your narrowboat, and change marina location as you wish.
Camaraderie: Meet your fellow narrowboat owners at an Annual General Meeting or via your own Facebook or WhatsApp group.
Share Value: You can sell your share at any time, and your management company can help with this (it is not a time share, each share owns 1/12th). As our quality boats have a high demand in the used boat market, this will help hugely when you eventually come to sell your share.
So….what are you waiting for? You could be enjoying life on the water sooner than you’d planned, just contact admin@aquanarrowboats.co.uk to discuss how you can reserve your share.
