Narrowboats Arvostelua 

Lovely people but I would not recommend getting work done here. While the staff are very nice, the work done was far from up to standard and organisation was very poor. I wouldn’t normally write a review, but the work was so bad that it almost became a joke and I would warn against getting a work done here. We purchased a Collingwood Widebeam from narrowboats Ltd in early 2025, which we wanted some extra work done on before moving in. They were great in the fact they also let us come on to the boat to do our own work too. But their works ended up being about 4 months later than we were quoted, and even then a lot of the work was left until the very last minute, despite us often being assured that they were on track. This meant that some of the works never got done, was rushed or half finished. The solar panels were fitted but quite off centre and they drilled a hole in the roof in the wrong place as they had not measured properly, so they filled it up (badly) without telling us. The solar panels were also wired incorrectly despite me re-iterating the wiring multiple times and providing a clear wiring diagram. They connected them to the controllers/ setup that we had installed ready, when we asked them to just be left disconnected, because of the wrong wiring this could have been dangerous. When routing the wires through the roof we were told they would go through the mushroom vents but instead they ended up drilling holes in the roof, in the gutters!! so that all the water from the roof would run across the point where the cables entered. This was also sealed poorly so the first time it rained water poured into the boat. We pointed this out and they “fixed it” by putting a squirt of silicone at the cable gland on the day of moving the boat. This of course, leaked again the first heavy rain. We have since fixed this ourselves and rerouted the wires correctly. When they pulled the wires through to the solar controllers they also damaged our controllers that we had carefully installed, and did not tell us. They must have known though, as there was a poor attempt to fix one of them (but not the other). I had to re-do all the solar wiring myself. The extra bulkhead was part fitted but then left for months, delaying our own works. On the final day of the move they still hadn’t fitted the door, so quickly and poorly attached this on the morning of the move, then just down tools not bothering to fit a handle or catch or straighten it up. The chimney was never installed and on the weekend of move we were told it was actually not possible as there was no chimney collar that was compatible with the flue size for the stove we had bought. A quick google search and we found that it was in fact possible, and since moving on the water we have cut the hole in the roof and fitted the chimney ourselves, we are now glad that we did this as we have now lost faith in their work. The day of the move they were more concerned with getting our final payments than finishing any of the work, and also made errors in their calculations/ recording of previous payments and nearly accidentally charged us ~£3K over . Since moving on the boat we have found the water sensor they installed was fitted in the wrong position so it reads empty when it is about half full, we also found out we were told the wrong air-draft of the boat It’s about a foot taller, meaning getting under bridges near us is going to be difficult). There were lots of other smaller mistakes and poor workmanship, but the post is long enough for other to get the idea that there were too many mistakes for it to be a one off. They did give us some discounts for the work that was poorly done or needed our repair, but we would have preferred it had just been done properly in the first place. We found the boatyard a friendly place and seems a very good place to have your boat dry docked or blacked but just wouldn’t recommend for any major works.

It is difficult to know where to start, really. What started off with the promise & excitement one should expect as customers engaged in the process of having a dream boat built, deteriorated over 14 months to the point where we feel we must warn anyone considering having a boat built by this company to think again - seriously. Do your due deligence. Start with the accounts on Companies House (HSBC debenture) & contact directly as many Oakums' narrowboat owners as you can (many are on the various FB groups) for a 'full and frank' about the process, as well as the build/product.

To help, we can outline our issues (many others too):
1. No works schedule/definitive specification;
2. No contract with customers detailing exactly what product you are commissioning (see Debenture);
3. No timeframe for delivery;
4. Little or very poor communications with customers and employees;
5. A shrinking operational workforce (when we cxd our boat, there were at least 5 team members/staff - now there is just 1);
6. Demands for huge monies up frojnt against stages that were then not carried out in line with the requests for money;
7. Several changes to the only specification doc we were given, without discussion, notice or consent (although still reflected on the bill);
8. Very poor quality workmanship during build that required direct financial intervention by the customers themselve to sort with the appointment of another contractor;
9. Little transparent, straightforward, and honest communication about issues as they arose;
10. Unfinished product launched mid Dec with significant issues to the vital parts of the systems. Three and half weeks in, still awaiting batteries as per our spec, so we are not able to continually cruise as we intended - we are replacing the incomplete set with an alternative at huge expense; we have leaking windows; a £2K sofabed poorly reupholsteredd in the wrong fabrics with no base so it can't even be used as a sofabed (Ikea would've been better); a central heating system that turns itself off with fault errors (again, not the one on original spec); an expensive diesel stove that leaked, & still doesn't work (again, being fixed by customers via another supplier); electrics we have little faith are safe following discovery things aren't wired in correctly (again, we're engaging an alternative electrician to rectify), guages that don't work, including, horrifyingly, our black (excrement etc) waste tank - the warning light doesn't work and the wiring is suspect and needs redoing - consequently, we had a leak of effluence under our bed. All in all - a nightmare. We cannot state this enough - buyer beware - do not commission this company.

We have just purchased our beautiful narrowboat from Narrowboats ltd in Wincham, from start to finish. Liam and the team have been fantastic catering for our every need and really going the extra mile. We were hoping for a quick turnaround and the guys there made it happen fulfilling our requirements to the tee.. blacking,solar, anodes,maintenance to the electrics etc nothing was too much trouble. And they kept us in the loop every step of the way Thank you so much Liam and all the guys in the office and Kev for his hands on advice about the boat. From two Very happy boaters

Bought a narrowboat off this lot in October 2022. There were a few delays having work done on it prior to delivery, but they said they were busy and a frozen canal delayed delivery further.

The boat arrived three days before Christmas. This was supposed to be my main residence, but it was uninhabitable due to the conditions; dirty, cupboards and wardrobes full of the previous owner's mess, the bedroom had been dismantled to install the calorifier and not put back together again, and there was no hot water. Even the portable toilet was still full of 'waste.'

I'd already agreed to get the boat back to Northwich for overplating, (recommended by the survey). There was a mix up over names on transportation day between me and the craning company, and to their credit Narrowboats Ltd sorted out the complications at their end. (The craning company had incorrectly booked the same transportation company but for a different day.)

Because of the condition of the boat on delivery in December, Narrowboats Ltd agreed to pay the cost of transportation for the overplating work. This later turned out to be a mistake in the wording on the email as they meant transportation back to Northwich, not both ways to and from Lancashire. We agreed to split 50/50 the additional cost.

A two to three week job became a six week job and then a three month job. I asked if they could improve the silencing on the Webasto pump and change the rocker switch to a timer. The Webasto was just as loud when it came back and the rocker switch was still there, but attached to the fuse box instead of just hanging down from the wiring loom.

When I came to have a new bathroom fitted I discovered the reason why the boat didn't have a functioning hot water supply: the new central heating system they installed had the wrong piping attached to the calorifier.

They took months to refund payment for pipe boxing they didn't have time to do, so I took a few weeks to pay the agreed 50/50 amount for the transportation.

Perhaps this boat was a one off shambles for Narrowboats Ltd and not representative of the usual high quality service people normally receive. I should have paid more attention to what they were doing and inspected the work on completion, but I made the mistake of trusting them. I got a lot of sympathy and excuses, and a phone call in the New Year to see how my Christmas went, but ultimately buying my first narrowboat has been a seven month ordeal.

Now that I've paid the transportation invoice I'm glad to see the back of this company. I don't like writing negative reviews like this, but finding out today that the central heating piping had been installed wrong was the last straw.