Free During Our Beta — While We Refine the Reports
Buy Your Narrowboat With Confidence
Buying a used canal boat is a big decision, and there's no national register to protect you. Send us the listing and we'll build you a clear due-diligence report, so you know the right questions to ask before you part with a penny.
Reports delivered by email within 24 hours. No account needed.
How It Works
Three simple steps between you and a clearer picture of the boat.
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Send Us a Listing Link
Paste the link to the boat on Apollo Duck, a broker, or anywhere it's advertised. Add anything else you know in the notes.
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We Build Your Report
We dig through public records and listing details, with AI helping us spot risks and patterns, then write it up in plain English.
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We Email It Within 24 Hours
You get a tidy PDF report to read before you view, negotiate, or commission a survey.
What's Inside Your Report
Everything we can find about the boat, gathered into one brief you can act on.
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Overview & Specs
A plain-English summary plus a structured spec table, with any inconsistencies in the advert flagged for you.
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Red Flags
The issues worth pausing on — hull repairs, overdue work and missing detail — each with a negotiation angle.
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Highlights
The genuine positives, from documented maintenance to desirable fit-out, so you can weigh the good with the bad.
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Public Records
A stolen-boat database check and an identity match against public indexes like CanalPlan, with confidence levels.
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Viewing Checklist
A tailored, room-by-room and system-by-system list of what to inspect and ask when you go to see the boat.
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Market Comparison
How the asking price stacks up against comparable boats, so you know whether there's room to negotiate.
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Cost of Ownership
Realistic licensing and insurance estimates for the boat's size and waterway, to help you budget.
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Remediation & Surveyors
Known issues with urgency and rough costs, plus suggested local surveyors to take you the rest of the way.
Why Buyers Use BoatBrief
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There's No Carfax for Boats — Until Now
Boats have no national title register, so the paper trail is your main protection. We pull the scattered public records into one place for you.
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Spot Costly Problems Early
Replating, overdue blacking, tired gas systems — we surface the things that quietly add thousands, before you fall for the styling.
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Negotiate From a Stronger Position
Every red flag comes with context, so you can ask sharper questions and make a fair, evidence-based offer.
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A Confident Starting Point
A BoatBrief report isn't a survey — it's the homework that makes your viewing and your surveyor's time count for more.
Get Your Free Report
Tell us where the boat is listed and we'll email your report within 24 hours. Free while we're in beta.