Carefree Cruising to bring new boat to Braunston

Carefree Cruising will again be bringing a brand new boat to the National Boat Share Show at Braunston next April.

Lilaea, managed by Carefree Cruising, gets the final
signwriting touch before last year's
Boat Share Show at Braunston.

Shares in the new boat are now being sold.  She will have the same specification as Lilaea, launched at last year's show.  Share prices start at £4,000.

New boat for launch at Braunston

BCBM have announced the building of a new shared ownership narrowboat to be launched at the National Boat Share Show in Braunston on 23rd and 24th April next year.

The new boat - Breaking Dawn - will have the same specification as Dawn Treader: a 61ft, 4 berth semi trad narrowboat.

BCBM's new boat Breaking Dawn will have the same
specification as Dawn Treader, launched in 2011.

Like other shared ownership narrowboats purpose built by BCBM, Breaking Dawn's shell is being built by Nick Thorpe Boat Building.  The fit out and painting will be by ABC Boat Building and she will be powered by a Beta Marine engine.

Make a date with Braunston

The date for the 2016 National Boat Share Show at Braunston Marina has been confirmed as the weekend of 23rd and 24th April.

There is a wide choice of shared ownership narrowboats
on the canals.  Oakmere - pictured here
at the 2015 Braunston Boat Share Show - is a 59ft
replica tug with an impressive fit-out and  4 berths.

The show has become the top showcase for the shared ownership concept.  Some 36 shares found new owners at last year's event. 

"We are very grateful to Tim Coghlan and his team at Braunston for welcoming the show again in 2016 and for all the help they give in making it successful," says Andrew Cooley, show organizer.

The National Boat Share Shows - this one in April and another in September - offer a unique opportunity for prospective owners to see and compare the very wide range of shared ownership narrowboats available.  There's lots of information on this site about how shared ownership works, including a single page 'briefing note' on this important sector of the boating world.

Succesful Share Show at Middlewich

Around 200 visitors came to Middlewich last weekend to look at the range of shared ownership narrowboats with shares available.  18 boats were on view.

Sniffing out the options in shared ownership narrowboats.
Most shared boats are pet friendly, so there are boats
that regularly have dogs, cats or even parrots on them.
Pet free boats are ideal for boaters with pet allergies.

All three management companies - BCBM, Carefree Cruising and Ownashare - all reported a very positive response, and at least 10 shares found new owners.

The success of the share was also partly due to the help of the Canal & River Trust, who helped to resolve a number of potential problems that arose on the Friday before the show and as the boats were arriving.

Set fair for the show

By the time we left Kings Lock this evening, most things were ready for tomorrow's Boat Share Show.  The  company stands and Welcome Desk were all in place and most of the boats had settled on their intended moorings.

Boats breasted up on the moorings above
Kings Lock reserved for the show by Canal & River Trust

When you drive to the car park at the Middlewich Community Church (CW10 0GJ), you will cross the canal and get a glimpse of some of the boats on view moored alongside the Kings Lock Chandlery.  It's less than a 5 minute walk back to the show, part of which is along the towpath and over the bridge at the entrance to the Midlewich Arm.  The Show opens at 10am on both days and finishes at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday.

The view from the bridge that carries Brooks Lane
over the canal.  Five of the boats on view will
be moored alongside Kings Lock Chandlery

Shelton makes it 18 at Middlewich

Shelton will now be the eighteenth boat on view at the Middlewich Boat Share Show at Kings Lock this weekend - Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September.  She will be on view on Sunday, taking the place of Maia, which will be leaving on Saturday afternoon.

Inside Shelton, a 4-berth semi/trad boat
launched in 2009

Please note that the new show car park - kindly provided by the Middlewich Community Church at 34-36 Brooks Lane has a different postcode from Kings Lock.  The postcode for sat navs is now CW10 0GJ.

Directions on how to get to the show are here, including the pedestrian route from the car park to the show site at Kings Lock.

New bigger car park for show

A new bigger car park for the Middlewich Boat Share Show this weekend has been generously provided by Middlewich Community Church.

The new car park location is in easy walking
distance of the show site.

With the number of pre-show enquiries, it was obvious that the Kings Lock Inn car park would not be adequate, especially as they are expecting more customers than last year.

Kings Lock Inn will, of course, still be providing refreshments for show visitors and their toilets will be available for Inn patrons.  Additional toilet facilities will be provided on the Carefree Cruising site and will be clearly signposted.

Show offers from Ownashare

Ownashare Cruising have introduced a new printable format for their share listing, whcih includes some special show offers.

Beeston Castle, one of the Ownashare-managed boats
at the Middlewich Boat Share Show next weekend.
A share in this pet free boat is on offer for £3,000.

The printable listing contains details such as launch date, whether the syndicate allows pets, the layout, monthly costs and which weeks are currently booked for the share on offer.  All the boats managed by Ownashare use the priority list system for choosing weeks, which ensures that all owners get their turn at having first choice of weeks.