Another good one goes

THE downturn in boating, and the resulting lack of new boats being wanted, has resulted in yet another good boat builder going.

Sabre Narrowboats of Manchester is the latest to have gone. The company were regarded as top quality fitters, building on Piper shells when it started in 1997. Latterly they were using Reeves as a supplier.

Won awards

Building five boats a year they won many awards. Inland Waterways Association Lionel Munk award 2000, 2002, 2007 and runners up 2001 and 2004. Sabre going leaves a huge void in the industry, truly bespoke quality boats from long established companies are becoming a thing of the past.

One ex boat builder told us:

"I'm pretty sure there are still punters out there with a bundle of money waiting until the 'right time' to buy a quality boat—I think they have well and truly missed the boat."

With the ever continuing rise in the cost of boat owning, this could indeed be very true.