Find your next life afloat.

★★★★★

“Why we chose Bluewater Boats, Steve and Jill Porter Originally in the market for a second-hand narrowboat to take the place of our previously owned share boat, Jill and I found ourselves at The Crick Boat Show in May 2023. During the show we viewed many of the new boats on display and realised that having a boat built for us would be a better option than buying a used vessel. Bluewater had two boats in the show and we couldn’t help but be impressed by the build quality of both boats. For us though, although build quality is very important, our main reason for choosing Bluewater came from talking to the owners of their vessels on display. Both owner couples explained how Bluewater Boats build their boats from scratch. They don’t buy in hulls, but fabricate their own on site. As a result Bluewater are able to cater for any design modifications that a customer might want. Furthermore, their paintwork is second to none with great emphasis on preparing the steel hull for that important first coat of primer by shotblasting and removing any mill scale. Something that you cannot guarantee has been done when a hull is fabricated and primed elsewhere. The attention to detail in Bluewater Boat’s paintwork will provide protection to the hull for years to come and the superior finish on the topsides will ensure True Blue continues to look good for years to come. Something we have seen evidence of in some of Bluewater’s previous boats. The feedback that Jill and I received from previous Bluewater customers about their positive build experience has proven to be well justified. Our experience throughout the build has been very positive indeed. David and Sharon always made us welcome during the build and were always available to talk through our ideas and/or concerns. Such has been the relationship during the build, that Jill and I don’t really feel like customers anymore. We feel like friends.”

Steve and Jill Porter, True Blue

★★★★★

“If you’re looking for a dream team to build a truly exceptional boat right from the ground up, then you need look no further than David and Sharon from Bluewater boats. Astrid will be our second owned boat. We originally had a very nice 57ft diesel stock boat which we purchased in 2020. This gave us some valuable experience in learning what worked for us and what didn’t in terms of layout, function and build quality so we had some very clear ideas of what we would want in our next build. We toured round quite a range of builders and met some good ones but it was clear early on that Bluewater boats offered advantages that absolutely made the decision easy for us to trust them with our build. Firstly everything is bespoke. The shell is built by Bluewater boats on site which has had enormous benefits for us as we could have exactly what we wanted down to every last detail, even changing to hydraulic steering so we could have a superb social seating area that works for us, friends and dogs too! We did choose to use quite a few design ideas from their many previous builds as we loved them so much once we saw them for ourselves but Sharon and David were totally up for some more unique creative challenges too like the rotating dividing wall and installing the first of the 22kw vetus electric motors in the uk. Second is the quality of the build and the finish. The attention to detail is fabulous and David would never let a piece of work not be completed to his exacting standards. This runs right from the industry leading shot blasting and epoxy hull treatment to the paint work, to the carpentry fit out and the spectacularly neat and tidy electric cupboard. Thirdly is experience. They have a very capable and experienced team working for them and they have built many boats from wide beams to Dutch barges and I think our boat is the 75th Narrowboat they have built to date. They have usually come across any design ideas and build challenges before and have solutions and example photos to help achieve exactly what we envision at every stage. Finally the team themselves. David and Sharon have been fantastic to work with at every step of our build. David clearly loves building great quality boats and Sharon is extremely organised and efficient and a great communicator too, sending us regular updates and photos throughout and we have been made very welcome every time we have visited. We live about an hour and half away for visiting, but we would still have had every confidence in them both if we hadn’t been able to visit in person. In summary, it has been a remarkably easy and even a joyful process. Bluewater boats have managed to build us our dream boat, to time and to budget and we couldn’t wish for more than that! Thank you everyone, you’re all awesome!!”

Charlotte Sweeney, Astrid

★★★★★

“Dear David and Sharon, I hope you are both well. We would like to thank you both and your crew for our wonderful new home. I can’t believe it’s a month since launch. We have already had the first service done but due to the ice we’re now confined to the marina. The boat is everything we were hoping for and the attention to detail is superb. We would like to thank you for the professional way that the whole build was completed. You always had time to explain and listen to our ideas and your experience and input was always spot on, resulting in what we would say is a perfect boat. From the sheet of steel that we first saw to the finished boat which is now our home a very big thank you. Also a big thanks to all your staff and Jeff the sign writer for his finishing touches to our Coffin Dodger. Paul Karen and Mr Pisssh Coffin Dodger Coffin Dodger is almost 3 years old and I can truly say we are as happy with her today as the day she was launched. We have lived aboard from day 1 and it really is our home. Still after three years we get praise every time we are out “what a beautiful boat, never seen one like that before…love the back end” . It looks as good today as the day we stepped aboard…apart from a few surface scratches below the gunnels 🤣. We haven’t had any issues and would highly recommend Bluewater Boats for their superb build and after care service.”

Karen Campelli and Paul, Coffin Dodger