Panatha

Hi all, Thank you for the advice and recommendations - much appreciated. All the best, Dave

Hi all, Could anyone recommend a good surveyor in the Midlands, please? The person I used before has retired, and I would prefer to have recommendations before contacting a new one. I don't need a full hull survey, just some advice on one or two points. One of the issues I would like advice on is internal staining from condensation. It's steadily getting worse (arising from some shoddy work when the cabin was re-fitted), and I would like an opinion on whether it is purely cosmetic, or whether it's symptomatic of something that will be a problem long term. I hope someone can help. Many thanks, Dave

Hi all, Again, thanks to everyone for all your input. As much as we want to keep the boat, we will think carefully about whether it is worthwhile and warranted and will tread carefully before we make the decision to spend any money. Thanks to all who have given recommendations and advice.

Hi all, Thanks for all your replies - they're much appreciated. I think my original statement was slightly misleading; I said "total refit", but what we're really after is to leave the lining of the boat in place above the gunwales, and strip everything else out. We don't plan to alter the fundamental structure / layout of the boat. So not a total refit, but still very extensive work (basically a lot needs renewing / updating). I appreciate this will cost £££££, and that the project is not worthwhile if viewed from purely a financial perspective. However, there are other reasons (mainly sentimental) why we want to keep our existing boat, even if we could buy a nearly-new one for a lot less money. Thanks also for recommending some boatbuilders / fitters. I appreciate lots of people will end up working on the project, but if there is one person / builder who will coordinate the process, that's fine by us. Any more recommendations welcome - we want to make sure we consider our options carefully before spending a lot of money. Thanks again. Forgot to say - we had the boat surveyed this year and the surveyor stated that with regular routine maintenance (blacking ,etc.,) she should last another 25+ years. So although we will have an old hull after all the work, it is an old hull with plenty of life left in it.

Hi all, I guess lots of people will have asked similar questions, so please re-direct me to other replies if needed, but can anyone recommend a good boat-builder in the West Midlands? We're looking to have our boat re-fitted next year and want someone who can do both the fit-out (electrics, insulation, plumbing, carpentry, etc, etc, i.e. a total re-fit) as well as engineering and welding, etc., etc. Looking for first-hand recommendations as we have had mixed experiences with boat-builders and engineers in the past. Any advice / leads, please shout. Thanks.