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Promarine Finance will be at the show Weds 10 to Friday 12 January. Contact us if you would like to meet up and discuss anything about boats or finance. www.londonboatshow.com/

What a great debut show show we had – well set up and stocked by Tom Bettle and ably assisted by Viv Sullivan.

We met lots of our existing customers and began relationships with new ones too.

We had a lot of fun.

Happy Hour officially started on day 1 at 17.00 hours – but it did get earlier each day

We financed our largest deal to date – the show Bavaria Vision 42 show boat for Clipper Marine – this will be in the Med from the beginning of November

Herefordshire friends came and said hello and showed us their latest fashion purchases

And we met new customers and acquaintances from the RORC racing circuit who were looking to replace their existing fast boat with an even quicker boat

Some of our regulars were being sorely tempted to upgrade to bigger boats

Promarine Finance were pleased to join the RNLI during the show

And old friends visited to remind us of funny rhymes and talk about CQS and the 2017 Fastnet

“I wish I were a glow worm
A glow worm’s never glum
How can you be grumpy
When the sun shines out your bum” Robo 2017

Tom found himself temporarily imprisoned on our neighbours stand behind a water tight door.

Looking very homely – our customer is fitting out the boat themselves

Living on a house boat has been growing in popularity in the UK thanks to a variety of factors, primarily involving the possible reduced living costs that living aboard a boat involves. Despite the lack of marine financing options being one of the main factors actually holding back the growth in this area, the fact that cities are becoming increasingly expensive to buy homes in means more and more people are seeking out alternatives.

Mooring a boat is usually necessary to gain financing and that can add significant costs to house boat living, but many people are still finding it a much more preferable means of living than trying to save up for a house in or near a city.

Best Permanent Mooring Spots In the UK

The best permanent and residential moorings will feature the fresh water, electricity, pumped drainage, telephone landlines and Wi-Fi, but these can be expensive to acquire. The most expensive of these will be found, unsurprisingly, in the capital.

London is by far and away the most popular permanent mooring destination and the prices reflect this. The costs get more expensive the closer to central London you get, but you can find cheaper moorings in the surrounding areas around the main hub of the city.

UK’s Best Temporary House Boating Hotspots

Travelling up or down the Grand Union Canal can take you into the heart of England’s most beautiful scenery. Whether you’re travelling up from London or heading south from up north, you will discover many fantastic places to moor your boat along the way.

Particularly notable are the reservoirs at Marsworth and the Cosgrove Aqueduct. Marsworth is a village in Buckinghamshire northwest of the Greater London area, and features some fantastic sights for anyone looking to see old fashioned Britain without straying too far from the capital. The navigable Cosgrove Aqueduct is a little further north than Marsworth in Northamptonshire in the East Midlands. Here you can find moorings on the beautiful Great Ouse river.

Financing Options for Buying a House Boat

Figuring out where to moor your boat is the final piece of the puzzle, but before that you will need to consider what kind of value and term you can manage for the mortgage you will need to fund the purchase of the boat, assuming you cannot just buy one outright. Thankfully Promarine Finance can talk you through the whole process.

To explore your financing options for buying a boat, contact Promarine Finance who can talk you through the process and arrange a quick chat to discuss the marine mortgage options available to you.

If you are looking to buy a boat, there are different mortgage options available to you depending on a variety of factors. It’s not just the type even the size of the boat that determines the mortgage options, so here’s a quick breakdown of the different factors that determine the mortgage options that are available for the many different kinds of boats.

What Determines Marine Mortgage Options

Firstly, the financing options can depend on what you are planning on doing with your boat. For example, it might be for recreation purposes only, or it might be the type of boat you can live on and this is your intention, or it could be a business venture such as ferrying tourists or providing tours along a coastline.

Additional factors could also include whereabouts in the world you live and how long you have lived there. Plus, there will be the usual checks required for important information such as what you do for a living and approximately how much you are earning.

There are also many different kinds of boats out there so let’s quickly run through the different designs for which there are multiple mortgage options available.

Boats Used Inland

There are various kinds of boat that can be used inland on rivers and canals that wind their way through the country. Typically, these will include river boats, motor boats, narrow boats, widebeam boats and Dutch Barges. There are flexible financing options available for those who either want to buy one of these boats for recreational purposes, or with the purpose of using it as a home.

Sea Going Vessels

There are four main categories of sea going vessel, which are not all boats (technically) when you include the likes of jet skis and hovercraft. The main factors that determine a boat’s category are the wave height and wind speed that it is designed to encounter and handle. Another important factor is the number of people expected to be onboard which also impacts a boat’s seaworthiness. Adding more people to a boat can change its normal category to one that must be able to handle a much greater weight with less stability.

The four main categories are:

• Category A – Ocean: covers largely self-sufficient boats designed for extended voyages with winds of over Beaufort Force 8 (over 40 knots), and significant wave heights above 13 feet, but excluding abnormal conditions such as hurricanes.
• Category B – Offshore:  includes boats operating offshore with winds to 40 knots and significant seas to 13 feet.
• Category C – Inshore: is for boats operating in coastal waters and large bays and lakes with winds to Force 6, up to 27 knots, and significant seas 7 feet high.
• Category D – Inland or sheltered coastal waters: is for boats in small lakes and rivers with winds to Force 4 and significant wave heights to 18 inches.

Some of the seaworthiness criteria that come into play the further offshore the vessel is expected to venture include boat construction strength, stability, freeboard, reserve buoyancy, resistance to flooding and deck drainage.

The European standards do not guarantee that an individual boat will be able to handle all the conditions mentioned in its designated category, but they do provide a guideline to help to identify purely inshore vessels from those capable of venturing further away from the shore and thus operating safely in more demanding conditions.

To explore your financing options for buying a boat, contact Promarine Finance who can talk you through the process and arrange a quick chat to discuss the marine mortgage options available to you.

We are happy to help, simply call us on 01432 347770

Decisions usually less than an hour and you can be on the water within days.

Link to discounted tickets

Enter this promotional code EPTOL7QFQQ

We regularly finance Cranchi and Sunseeker motor boats – they appeal to the first time boater and to those looking to upgrade.

Here are few we financed in April – remember a survey is essential including getting the engines checked by a specialist.

We have financed more live aboard boats in April than we have in the last year. Why the boom now? We are not sure but we are very happy financing these boats.

We always need a survey from a reputable surveyor and this needs to be commissioned by the purchaser. Before spending any money please get proof of ownership and email this to us.

The most recent boats financed have included new builds, sailaways, refinance and private sales. Some are pictured below including narrow boats, widebeams and Dutch barges.

Most finance is taken over 10 years but we are happy to look at shorter terms if the payment is affordable for you.