I have just read the article in the October issue of WW from David Floyd about buying an ex-hire boat from Black Prince, and I can only say: 'snap'. After many years of hire holidays and then having a share in a boat, we decided in early 2018 to buy our own. We had a brief look at second-hand craft but were recommended by another boater to enquire at Black Prince. Right from our first meeting with Leighton at Stoke Prior the whole process of buying the boat was first class. We decided on a 58ft 'Shakespeare' model, which they brought down from Stoke-on-Trent for us to take out and try for a few days. As Mr Floyd said, the boat was taken out of the water, cleaned and surveyed, which only highlighted a couple of things that were dealt with immediately. It was painted in the colours we wanted, the hull was re-blacked and the anodes were replaced. All the alterations we asked for were done to a high standard, and a 240V hookup and inverter were put in to run a washing machine. We arranged to collect the boat on 1st April 2019 and it was ready, with all new bedding and ropes etc. I cannot praise the team at Stoke Prior enough for their work and customer service, which are excellent. We have had a couple of issues since then and they have dealt with them quickly and have gone above and beyond to help us.
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