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I am thrilled to say that as of today I am the very proud owner (next custodian really) of Tycho! A boat that I have very fond memories of from the late 80s and 90s. The first boatman's cabin i ever stayed in aged 10 and then lucky enough to do bits of towing wirh her as a teenager. More to come... but so as to allay any fears or rumours, the ram stays, as do the blue tops, certainly for now. And of course the reinstatement of the back cabin. Bear with me, I've not had a boat with rivets for 16 years! Thank you @Derek R. for your recent help in filling in the gaps of the last 20 years.

I phoned CRT this morning to report a bust paddle on lock 64 on the Wheelock flight. The paired lock had already been chained off and the one remaining top paddle looked decidedly dicey. Couple of locks later I met a workboat chugging towards me and mentioned it to them, to which they replied they knew and were on their way to fix it. I thought that was pretty good...

I would normally stick a plastic bag over a boat prop going back into the water. Not only will this keep it clean, it will also allow you to practice your weed hatch moves for when you finally cruise your boat to its brokerage for sale.

Being pedantic, we (The Mods) didn't block your first post. Every new member of the forum automatically has their first few posts placed in a queue requiring approval, once you've posted a few times the situation reverses - posts are posted and require hiding (if appropriate) if they have been reported to us. Usually, first posts are approved pretty quickly, but there are some instances where The Mods confer behind the scenes whether to approve or not. Your first post was one. There are not that many Mods, we are unpaid volunteers who squeeze moderating around Day Jobs, family, sleeping, eating etc. Sometimes it takes longer than we would like to reach a consensus decision. We do the best we can, honest! Best Wishes (on behalf of the Moderation Team)

Wow — so many comments! It'll take me a bit of time to get through them all properly. But first off, a lot of good points have been raised, and I want to say this with full honesty: we’re not boatbuilders by trade — and that’s 100% correct. Don’t get me wrong — we had loads of positive feedback too. And as for people calling it “an ugly boat”... I didn’t take that too personally! On the topic of funding: Adrift actually funded the the boat themselves. It was originally designed for their own use, and the decisions made reflect that. That said, I took the time at Crick to speak to professional boatbuilders and get real, constructive feedback. I genuinely hope I came across alright while doing that — I was there to learn, and I really listened. The first build — that was very much our director’s vision, and we’ve left it exposed deliberately to see how it weathers. The plan is for him to keep that one and do his own fit-out. Now, when it comes to Adrift’s boat — maybe I’m biased (okay, I definitely am!) — but I honestly don’t think it turned out terribly. There were a lot of strong points, and of course, loads we can improve. I completely agree with what someone said at Crick: it takes 3–4 boats to really get it right. So I’d say we’re getting close 🙂 This has been a huge learning curve for all of Me and everyone — and we’re still learning. But here’s the truth: I’m not going anywhere. So to the canal boat industry... sorry, you’re stuck with me for now! 😄 On a serious note: we’ve got work to do, and I know that. But as Einstein (I think?) once said: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” That’s why I’m here. I came on this forum to listen and learn — because if you don’t know, you don’t know, right? Let me be clear — Formation Plastics isn’t my company. I’m just someone who saw massive potential in HDPE and decided to grab it with both hands, despite the knockbacks and hard graft. I really believe there’s a future for these boats on our canals. And here's what I notice: none of you have ever seriously knocked the idea — maybe questioned it, sure — but the concept of using HDPE has always had a level of interest. That’s a win in my book. Yes, there are things to fix, improve, refine — and that’s exactly what Im trying to do. Thanks again for all the feedback — it honestly helps more than you know. Im listening. Thank you — I really do try. I just want to make this a success. I’m still (relatively!) young, and I genuinely care about making sure this doesn’t become another boating idea that flops and fades away. I want to build something that lasts and actually makes a difference.

Thank you to the lovely couple that just towed me to hawksbury canal folk are the best of people

I can't believe its 8 years ago today since we acquired the ironwork to Norway from the Ashton Packet Boat company after conversations with @billh.... 8 years on, we got one side two packed up to the middle of the hold, and glosswork on both cabin sides. hopefully today, a 2nd coat on the port side and further welding on the starboard, weather dependent!

The last 10 days or so we've been prepping and painting. A little over 5 days of prep work between 2.5 people - wire brushing with angle grinders every surface to get rid of all the flash rust. Not pleasant - I had several wires almost disappear entirely inside my flesh! But the these ones worked much better than the hard type on any surface not entirely flat (almost all of them). We went through several dozen of these. Several iterations of hoovering with the wet vac, blowing, air from the compressor, hoovering - until it was empty of all dirt and grit. Then a wipe down with panel wipe to remove dirt, grease and oil. Went through maybe 25 litres of this - hydraulic fluid all over the inside from the straightening didn't help here. While we were doing these, the engineer here welded up the stern deck lid which had come away terribly (see older pictures). Very pleased with that. Then the entire boat (besides areas which still need welding) got (still getting in the case of the cabin...) 3 coats of jotun 90. Special attention to get behind the knees etc. We also started on the ellum. It's not in too terrible condition. The bitumen is being stripped off, then it's getting treated with the west system epoxy + filler. A piece has cracked badly at the bottom - Going to try the structural filler for this. Took a couple weeks off work to do this, the most I've had in a very long time - we've worked 10 days straight so far - knackered! Almost can't wait to get back to work!! (I've not even done the baseplate yet!)

That sounds serious! Something like the boat in the recent Wallace and Gromit film?

I think that's very much a minority view. Most say that you can overcoat old epoxy with new epoxy providing you abrade the surface first to provide a mechanical key.

I do not understand why anyone would wish to destroy a piece of waterways history by chopping off the ice breaking ram. It's been there for 63 [corrected] 83 years. A magnificent beast. - And, NO, it doesn't get you bridge'ole precedence. Few see the blade until it's on top of them. Once seen - never forgotten.

The past week has been a spin. Well two weeks. The crane had issues so we had to reschedule the surveyor. He was okay about it. Apparently it’s a boating mindset where everyone takes everything on their stride. Being at Stanstead Abbots for a few days I rather fell in love with the lifeboats they have there. My great grandad being a coastguard who died at sea. So after a volume of calls juggling, no phone charger. We got everything in order tucked away in a little spot where narrow boats hide between Abbots and Roydon Managed to get a berth at Roydon marina and a van on Sunday to move in. Im not planning to take her out much if not at all. This is going to be, hopefully, home for me. Photos later. Thank you to everyone who gave me advice.

Indeed, imagine the Commissions' recommendations if the Great & Good of this forum were running the Commission. From what I have read here in the past 6 months the findings would be: All CRT bins will be removed to discourage liveaboards and because the CRT is clearly too incompetent to implement new recycling legislation. Operation of the canal network should be handed over to local bodies who could then realize the full potential of the canals by filling them in for building land. Cruiser Stern boats should pay a 10% licence premium for the aesthetic distress they cause to trad stern boat owners. The minimum speed on the network will be 3.9 mph and 4.5 mph when passing CMers. The CRT CC annual license should be set to meet the principal that all renters in the UK must pay £12,000 per year for their accommodation with a small reduction to reflect the square footage of a narrow boat is smaller than a 1 bed flat. The maximum mooring duration should be 48 hours everywhere on the network to encourage proper high velocity cruising. CMer boats should be promptly crushed, preferably with their occupants entombed inside. Reform voters are clearly mentally deranged and should not be allowed on the network. London wood burning regulations should be applied to the whole network to make life more difficult for liveaboards. CCers should be banned from London because they are all freeloading skanky people who believe in laylines, crystals, paint rainbows on their boats and do not have proper painted tincan flower pots on their roofs. The National Bargee Travellers Association should be categorized as a proscribed terrorist organization because men or women who wear dungarees terrify Boomers. The wife of the CEO of the CRT should be kidnapped and held to ransom to ensure the CRT implement the above.

Duck hatches? What about the coot flaps? Side doors for me.

Disgusting behaviour. Report it to the CRT, and the police as it’s a blatant Section 5 public order offence. Section 5 makes it an offence to use “threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour” or to display “any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting” within the hearing or sight of a person “likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress.

Having spoken with Shaun and the rest of the stand staff at Crick, their company is a Plastic Fabrication company, rather than a boat builder. As such, the building of boat is not a normal run of the mill project, various problems regarding expansion were tackled with the first boat, a Naval Architect was consulted for the second boat, the show boat. Unfortunately the Architect was not an inland water ways specialist. ( as we all know, these boats exist in a very small world of their own. Would you go to a canal boat builder, for a deep sea fishing boat?) Hence the overall look of the show boat. One hundred and fifty years ago, a bright spark, felt iron might make a usable boat...."What do you know...iron doesn't float" One day someone thought, I'll fit a lorry engine, the horse is dangerous, it bit me, and tried to kick me! The Crick show was the first time some of the staff had seen a narrow boat in the flesh, out of the water. The idea I put to them was for next years show, an empty shell, would show their skills off much better, as fabrication specialists, not fitter outers. MK 3 boat would incorporate the information gained from the show and the trials of MK 2. Bod

Some years ago, when we lived in very rural Wales, the nearby village seemed to be a target for developers, there always seemed to be planning applications being submitted - these came to a halt when it turned out that there had been Otter footprints seen alongside the brook. An otter expert was called in and it turned out that the Otter appeared to have only one leg/foot, (the right fore leg). Further investigation led to a local who had carved an otter foot and was using it to make tracks wherever a planning application was being submitted. Unfortunately he only made the one-foot.

However, to add some balance I'd point out almost every boat advert put up here for analysis gets ripped to bits just like this one has. Ultimately if the OP likes it and can afford it, I suggest they just buy it if none of the negs pointed out bothers them unduly. One can waste half a lifetime searching for the perfect boat and turning down boat after boat which are actually good enough. Sometimes its best to just buy any broadly suitable boat and get boating, instead of seeing a whole summer or two slip by visiting brokers every weekend, searching for the perfect boat that might not even exist.

a) It wasn't your boat nor money. b) You have made assumptions which are incorrect. c) It's none of your concern what other owners want in their boats.

As opposed to sitting in a chair in the office looking out of the window. I suppose that's vat free.

I've said it before and I'll say it again..................Whatever issues the HDPE boat may or may not have, I must say how refreshing your approach to the suggestions on this tread has been @shaun15124 You have responded with openness and good humour, and if I was in the market to build a boat from scratch you are exactly the kind of boat builder I would strive to find.