PD1964

Just buy some 6" 304 stainless exhaust pipe/tube from Ebay, far better then the cheap mild steel chimneys. Some listings will swag it so it fits far better, if not you can just put a few slits in to get a tight fit. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T304-Stainless-Steel-Exhaust-Tube-Pipe-0-5m-6-152mm-/250873723551?hash=item3a693d3a9f:m:m2aD0aHY1oSHVf5KS0tqlEA

You could try: http://www.cuttwaterboatbuilders.co.uk/ Based at Thorne, South Yorkshire

I would say you just have to get on with it now, as I doubt you will get any joy from the seller as you had a survey done and as a result the price was reduced and you bought. The surveyor should of told you the limitations with an in water survey, he would of not ripped up the floor looking for water as the seller would not of allowed it, as it would cause damage and the boat is still theirs and you could of walked away leaving them to make good. It's a houseboat now so probably bears little in common with your traditional narrowboat, has it an engine, is it sailable or just berthed up on 240 landline? have the previous owners just tried to extend the living area with various build on's? as the surveyor called it a shed. It looks like it is going to cost you money, you have no experience so be careful not to go at it like a bull in a china shop and start ripping everything out even the good stuff, as it will cost you a lot of money. I take it you bought it to live on or to do up and sell on at a profit? no matter what you are looking at you'll be spending money no matter what.

He told you it was a shed and you still bought it, lol. "We were at least expecting thorough ultrasound readings" How could he of done the most important part of the hull when it was in the water? How were you expecting him to check below the water line for steel thickness, pitting, base plate, weld integrity?

It was Jonathan's Crick Sheffield a couple of years ago and the one that was on his moorings, white and blue Sheffield fully fitted also in the basin for £169,000. His Brigantine's have a centre positioned rear door not set off to the side.

I've seen this type of waste fitted to showers due to the restrictive space and connected straight to a gulper with flexible reinforced/kink free pipe and securely fixed with clips. Please see link below http://www.aquafax.co.uk/html/product_details.asp?ID=9040

Maybe being fairly new builders there's not many owners on this forum, I know of one widebeam Burscough moored at the minute in Sheffield, they have had it since new and are happy with it from what I gather, maybe worth a pop down and see if they are around to chat, they are very approachable and are from Sheffield, also continuous cruisers so may be one of the better boater couples to ask for an honest opinion of life afloat.

Surley a boat builder that builds fully fitted boats would have all these in place already, qualified fitters that would sign their work off for the RCD. I can see maybe employing a project manager with his team of experts if building a sailaway but not a fully fitted boat through a well established reputable boat builder. Maybe once the OP decides on a builder the builders points and reputation can be discussed by people who have had first hand experience with the chosen builder, until then there are many different scenarios and questions that can be brought up.

As you say you don't have a builder yet, maybe when you finally decide on a builder. Do you? meet him, pay a deposit, secure a build slot, discuss your requirements and idea's, trust in his ability and work with him to produce a finished product that you'll be happy with or do you get a project manager in to over see him? however I don't see this happening too soon in the future, Good Luck.

I would say a project manager not a surveyor then, so who would be responsible for the work, the builder or who you employ to over see him? I can't see why you need to employ someone to over see your builder if you have 100% confidence in your chosen builder and he listens to you, he should be working with you and guiding you in the build as he is employing the trades men working on your boat.

I would say in some instances surveyors are a waste of time as there are good and bad, unless he is a master welded and can spot the difference between a good and bad dressed weld, then would a good reputable boat builder let someone in to critique their welding at every stage? Why don't you go the whole hog and employ a master welder, a marine electrical engineer, master cabinet maker, engine fitter, steel fabricator etc etc, to over see every stage of production, I'm sure the good relationship between the customer and the builder would not last long. As I stated before why would you go with a builder that you have to check his work at every stage? Just shows a lack of confidence in the builder.

Are surveyors actually boat builders? If you stage payment your boat then you could pop down at each stage to check the work and if your not happy then the issue is discussed and resolved before the next stage payment. Some of the surveyors that I've met have just done a course and have had no boat building experience. Ask yourself if you are employing someone to check the boat over after each stage and to check the builders work then do you have a 100% confidence with the builder your employing, I would say not.

I think you may now be looking into things too much and may be looking to reinvent the wheel, I've seen this many times with people wanting all the modern new way ahead stuff and they forget their buying a boat not a house. Why do you want an electric cooker and a gas free boat? Is gas so dangerous on a boat? are there boats blowing up every week because of gas? No! Maybe it's time to just sit down and write down what you actually need and what will suffice to meet your requirements, you could end up totally confused and spend way too much money on a boat then you actually need.

It's not just a matter of tiller/wheel but also where you site your throttle and bow thruster controls, much easier with a wheel as all close at hand, a bit more difficult with a tiller especially with some full turns these can make the controls just out of reach which is more of a problem on widebeams then narrows. You also mentioned Euro-Cruisers, a tiller would also restrict rear seating.

You may want to talk to someone that actually owns one on the new square backed Euro cruisers and find out first hand where they have been on the waterway. I say this because a friend tried to take a new 57ft x 12ft Collingwood Euro Cruiser from Wakefield to Dewsbury, didn't get far as they couldn't get the clearance with the square back end to close the lock gates and these were experienced boaters. Moved it to Sheffield and it was tight with the gates at Rotherham lock, said they wouldn't of done it in a 60ft. The problem was the square back end. You need to speak to someone who actually has a 60ft x 12ft Euro Cruiser and find out where they travel, If they leave their Marina. I think they would be best suited to the larger locked waterways and rivers.

That's it they did it to cover weekends and bank holidays so you can enjoy Sheffield, you could be in Sheffield by 1pm Friday and leave Tuesday 8:30 to go down the flight. which is not bad for city centre moorings far better then most.

Sheffield is now 72hrs and as stated is run by CV Marine not CaRT and these are full days starting the day after you arrive, so if you arrive Friday, the 72hrs would be Sat,Sun,Mon so you would leave Tuesday. These are just for the visitor moorings and not the private moorings. If you look at the Waterscape boating guides they quote 9 days which is incorrect, they also state you can get 70ft boats from Sheffield to the tail of the Tinsley flight which is total nonsense, so much for the accuracy of these guides.

Diesel available at Stannilands got some about a month ago, no problem getting on the diesel point was 75p a LTR.

All the moorings at Sheffield are run by CV Marine, the visitor moorings are on the right hand side as you come in past the bridge next to Sheaf Quay(which is not a pub as stated in the Nicolson Guide) There are moorings available with electric hook up, these are in the basin when available and your best phoning to arrange if required, you get 72hrs free and that is full days not including the day you arrive, so if you arrive Friday you can stay the whole weekend till Tuesday, then it's £10 per night or £50 per week. There are free showers, Elsen disposal point and waste disposal, Gas, pump-out is £15, The moorings are fairly secure as can be in a city centre but it is fairly quiet compared to most city centre moorings I've been to. The City centre is a 5 minute walk. Just pop into the Marina Office(Arch 12) when you arrive to introduce yourself as that is all they ask so they know who's in.

I think your wrong there as I have a 61ft 6" at Sheffield and have had no problems on the flight, as one poster says that is the Sheffield keel length.

Sheffield & Tinsley is 61ft 6" not 60ft,

Hi MTB, I thought I'd nip this one in the bud before it gets out of hand and thanks John for the heads up. I'm the Ex Army guy that the poster mentioned, funny thing is that I've never been in the Army in my life, so I don't know where that came from, this assumption may have something to do with the Posters experience when he was in the armed forces as he may of had similar experiences when he was sussed out or people just saw through his waffle, as he says this may be why he left that career. I have had nothing to do with his boat or nor has the Marina where it is moored and where I help out now and then, he moved it here on a low loader and it was quite apparent on first sight that this boat was going to have and be problematic, these suspicions were confirmed after running the engine for 2 minutes as it cut out and refused to start, After several attempts to restart the owner just stood there with a blank expression on his face. Having towed him to his berth I lifted the engine cover to inform him that he was out of fuel, where upon he cursed the seller. I also asked if it had a current BSC as there was no fuel cut off to check to see if it had been closed during transit even though it was marked by a plaque where it should be, also the fuel tank was not secured and was moving around freely also the lines did not conform to ISO 7840. the battery wiring looked to be the wrong gauge also for the battery Ampage. Having told him he needed fuel and may need to bleed the system to the injectors he informed me that this shouldn't be a problem for him as he has rebuilt and restored vintage cars, I suggested that he put the pram cover on for the weather protection and security and pointed out what a canvas Pram cover looked like on another boat, he said he had one and it was in the boat. This turned out to be a £4.99 plastic tarpaulin from B&Q. Not the best of starts on your new mooring. With the problem of his issue with staying on the boat. The Marina informed him that there was no residential moorings but he was welcome to stay on the boat weekends and the odd night through the week. He stated that he had bought the boat to stay on when he had to work late and this would only be 1-2 nights per week possibly 3 nights at the most and this was a new job that he was starting. It quickly became apparent that he was staying on the boat every night and at weekends and going home very rarely, When asked about this he seamed not to understand the difference between, living on the boat, using it every night as accommodation and leisure use. I believe he is moving the boat out next Wednesday to a new Marina nearer his home. Hopefully this will clear a few things up as I don't want to be on here telling everyone and his dog my issues and life story, that's why I have my narrowboat to enjoy and to keep my life private.