23' Springer 'waterbug' Steel Narrowboat With 9.9hp Honda Outboard, 2+1 Berth

Springer 'Waterbug' 23 foot narrow boat, about forty years old but in reasonable condition and currently travelling towards Braunston on the Grand Union Canal.Bluebell is: + Insured until February 2021+ has a Boat Safety Certificate valid until November 2022+ plus a CRT Continuous Cruising Licence valid until March 2021 I bought Bluebell a few months ago 'as seen' without documentation and consequently a prospective new owner may want to pay for a hull survey before buying - she could probably do with blacking whilst out of the water.She does have a valid Boat Safety Certificate until 11/11/2022 and I have insured her until February, 2021. I have also renewed the CRT Continuous Cruising Licence until March 2021 enabling me to continue my slow journey North towards Birmingham. I know little of Bluebell's history and can only guess that she was built around 1980.As one of the smallest narrowboats available she is relatively cheap to licence at £582pa - providing compact cabin accommodation suitable for a couple or, single-handed travel.The bench seats forward convert into a double bed with another seat and possible berth opposite the toilet/shower compartment. Cabin heating is provided by a Boatman wood/smokeless fuel stove, water heating by a Paloma gas heater, cooking by a Thetford two burner gas stove and grill.The toilet/shower compartment has a Porti-Potti cassette lavatory with two spare cassettes.Propulsion is by a trusty 9.9hp Honda four stroke petrol outboard with electric start. There are two 75 amp/h leisure batteries trickle-charged by two roof-mounted solar panels and the boat engine.There is also a 1000 watt inverter for running small mains powered appliances plus a smaller 100 watt 12v to 230v inverter suitable for charging mobile phones.The boat is also wired for 230v mains input either when in a marina or from a new Honda EM2300 2.3kw petrol generator (with only 5.5 hours use) that I will include in the sale if required.

I bought Bluebell with the intention of cruising as much of the canal system as possible during 2020 and then parting with her at the end of my journey - at the age of 77 this is likely to be my final single-handed adventure.Minor improvements have been made along the way, eg: upgrading the shower, installing new led cabin lights, fitting a 7 year carbon monoxide alarm, etc. Bluebell is currently near Berkhampstead and I aim to stop at Cowroast Marina nr Tring on the Grand Union Canal over the weekend of Sat 28th - Sunday 29th March if anyone wishes to view. In the meantime I will try to answer any questions. I am testing market interest at the moment and if bidding doesn't reach the modest fixed reserve price then I plan to continue my journey north for a while longer. Sold as seen - so arrange to view if genuinely interested.

Thanks for looking, Howard Tomlinson