WHY A 45X10

When Sam purchased his first boat in 2009 his dad, who had lived on boats in London and the South East in the 1980s advised him that, 'the best boat is the smallest and best equipped boat you can see yourself living on'. Sam purchased a 30' narrowboat. He still lives aboard by this good advice and so now we have created the 45'x10' concept and we believe it ticks all the boxes.

There are a lot of large VAT exempt second hand and new boats out there for sale at the moment, We believe this to be because they are unmanageable on the towpath and expensive in the marina. Here are the licence fees for a 45'x10' and a 65'x12'6'', and the planned price increases which are biassed against larger boats.

In the table above you can see the schedule Canal and river trust are using to demonstrate the price increases.

65'x12'6"
12 Month Canal and River 1st March 2024 £1,619.54 for 12 months

45'x10'

12 Month Canal and River 1st March 2024 £1,184.03 for 12 months

In 5 years time this price is going to increase to

65'x12'6"

12 Month Canal and River 1st March 2024 £2,834.19 for 12 months

45'x10'

12 Month Canal and River 1st March 2024 £1,776.09 for 12 months

This is for continuous cruiser licence without a mooring. You can see the smaller boat is where considerable savings are to be made.

Here are the rates for mooring at Roydon marina village

45 ft widebeam £5120 for 12 months
60ft widebeam £6581for 12 months

The 45x10 is also more fun to actually use, easier to cruise and moor, easier to find a mooring and uses less fuel to heat. They are also able to turn pretty well anywhere.

We have been living on boats for over 15 years, the design and size of this boat is all you will need to live very comfortably for many years and that's why we have decided to create it.