brianbitmap

Ah, surely you mean a Chinese style takeaway? I did order a real Chinese takeaway once but it was really cold by the time it got here.

Hi everyone and thanks for the input. I'm not a designer but used to have a barge that I took across the Channel and all round France, Belgium, Netherlands and across Germany to Poland and back, so have quite a bit of experience as a user, and a clear idea about what works and what doesn't. If I can find a builder that can do the hull design for a cut down Luxemotor, all well and good. If not, the Branson 34ft hull is perfectly Ok for what I want and would just need a few changes to the superstructure. Branson can do this for a fee and produce the cutting files, in which case I would just need a competent yard who can do the build and supervise the fitout. I also want to find a yard that builds to a quoted price, and not like the "bespoke" yard I'm currently dealing with that has a contract with a clause saying they can put up the price during build if their costs go up. (The yard in question has been mentioned on this forum before, and I would endorse what has been said). Interesting that a few replies have mentioned RW Davis. I was actually up there last week looking at an American style trawler hull they have. My last boat was an twin engine trawler yacht and its my second favourite boat style after the Dutch barge. I was impressed by what I saw at the yard and appreciate the endorsements I've seen on the forum here. Thanks for that. I'm also thinking of going (at least hybrid) electric, but have no experience of that, and would appreciate any feedback anyone has. By the way, on the question of whether a boat built in the UK counts as a Dutch barge, ---Brussels sprouts don't always come from you-know-where 🙂

I'm planning to have a mini Dutch barge built, about 10 metres, mainly for use on the Thames. I know Branson used to do one that size but I never liked the design much as it had a rear access wheelhouse. I've got my own design and internal layout planned, and now need to find a good builder. I have approached one builder of "bespoke" barges and have been singularly unimpressed. Does anyone have any ideas on who might be good to take on a project like this?