Birchwood 22 Cabin Cruiser, With Moorings On The Avon Near Stratford On Avon

Please note that the address on the listing is given as Bath, which is where we live - the boat is on moorings on the River Avon near Stratford on Avon. Lovely boat, Birchwood 22 cabin cruiser, with boat safety certificate valid till January 2022, Avon Navigation Trust river licence till end 2019, and moorings on the Avon paid till end September 2019. This means that the boat is ready to be used now with no fees due till September. This is what the Birchwood Boats Owners Club has to say about the Birchwood 22 The Birchwood 22 first came out in 1970 and featured an open plan cabin arrangement for four people. The reasonably sized cockpit had a GRP hardtop fitted.

About 100 were built up to 1980.The hull shape is medium V. Various makes and powers of diesel and petrol outdrives were fitted. The mould was also used for the Birchwood 22 Interceptor. The first models were called the interceptor range, had a shorter wheelhouse hardtop and were all outdriven.A four berth cruiser with a full galley and toilet compartment with shower socket. Wardrobe and lockers under bunks for stowage.

The cockpit has a long bench which converts into a sunbed or an extra double berth. The cockpit has a large hardtop. The 22 version featured a longer hardtop and most models had inboard engines, with conventional shaft drive.The engine is accessable from under the cockpit floor. Tunnel drives or stern drives where fitted. The tunnel drive boats typically has a 47hp Ford engine fitted with a 2:1 reduction gearbox and shaft drive.

The shaft was some what protected by a tunnel moulding in the hull. A 26 gallon tank was fitted. The 47hp engine typically provides a fuel consumption of 3/4 gallon an hour at 7/8 knots and has a top speed off 11 mph. The inboard Ford Watermota engine was rebuilt in late 2017, and it's done very few miles since then. The boat is very spacious, and at 8ft 3 wide, it is a little wider than most 22 ft cabin cruisers, and clearly at some stage the interior has been refurbished because it's very modern looking inside.

I'm over 6ft and can stand inside the cabin without stooping.The wood finish of the interior is pale wood, which we like because it makes it very bright inside, and not at all dingy, the cushion covers are quite modern, and it's not at all like some horrible old caravan, which some of the boats we looked at were. It has a proper flushing loo, and on board waste and fresh water tanks. Hot water is supplied via an engine heat exchanger, so the engine needs to have run for a while before you get hot water. This is very efficient, and far safer than having a gas water boiler in such a confined space. It has mains power and 12 v, and also gas, all of which were thoroughly checked as part of the BSS.

It has a Spinflo Nelson cooker, which I'm told is a really good boat cooker, and this was also checked as part of the BSS. There are two very substantial 12 v batteries in the boat, one for starting and one for 12v power inside the boat. The moorings are very spacious, quiet, well maintained and there is a very nice private landing platform to sit on and watch the river meander past (there is currently grass next to the boat but it had just been reseeded before the photos hence the bare soil) . Mains hook up is included as part of the mooring fees. It's a lovely part of the river, and a very nice part of the country, being close to Stratford on Avon (just a few miles upstream), and also close to the Cotswolds .

It's such a nice spot ,and if you wanted, you could sleep on the boat without taking it anywhere! Given the moorings are so nice, and also that mooring fees are paid, I assume that you would want to keep the boat on its moorings- but if you wanted to move the boat, there is a slipway fairly close by ( the boat does not come with a trailer though, so if you wanted to move it, you would need to organise this yourself - we looked into getting it moved to closer to where we lived and it's not that expensive to get done ). My wife and I purchased the boat at the beginning of 2018 , and other than getting a new BSS, obtaining river licences and visiting it occasionally to start it, give it a wash and stay for a cup of tea, we haven't used it - and after a lot of thought we have decided to sell it , because we're not going to use it . ( Being fairly recently retired we thought we'd have loads of time for the boat, but we seem to be more busy than when we worked- plus we got two cats last year and don't like to leave them to be fed by neighbours or put them in a cattery ! ) The boat has everything you need to get going on the river - although there are a few things of note - which I think are fairly small, but I want to make sure I mention every possible thing, good and bad .

The 12v bilge pump doesn't seem to work , which I assume is a fuse (there is a manual bilge pump with the boat), the canopy has green mildew over the rear and needs a good clean , and last time I ran the engine the fan belt squealed , which I assume is down to lack of use . The canopy isn't new and a couple of the zips need a bit of encouragement to work, but it seems sound and watertight , and once cleaned, it should be good for a few years yet . The boat hasn't been used for well over 18 months , and so there has been some condensation inside , whilst it's been stood . It hasn't caused any damage , although there is a bit of staining on some of the interior plywood by the seating area . This will probably come off with some mould cleaner and elbow grease.

Finally, given the boat has been standing , I would have thought that any new owner would want to spend some time checking/cleaning/tidying , and to reflect this we have set a low reserve price. The boat is available for sale on other sites, so we reserve the right to withdraw the boat from classifieds board . We are not boat experts , and have never been out on the river in it , but we think it's a good boat. We were attracted to the rebuilt engine, and the nice interior. Add to that the safety certificate , and that all fees are paid, so you could jump in it and use it , we think it's well worth considering .

We thought we would hold viewings for anyone interested on Saturday 15th June to give prospective buyers the chance to have a good look at the boat, so if you want to come and have a look, let us know and we'll arrange timings . Given we are private sellers, and not boat experts, the boat doesn't come with any guarantee, and is sold as seen, although we're not aware of any problems. Happy to answer any questions through classifieds board or ring 0phone.