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Once upon a time?


fergyguy

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Can any of you seasoned Widebeam owners Google Once upon A Time widebeam for sale Sawley Marina and give me your opinions on her please (constructive ones) as I’m going out on her Sunday for a demonstration and may be my new home if all goes well.

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45 minutes ago, fergyguy said:

Can any of you seasoned Widebeam owners Google Once upon A Time widebeam for sale Sawley Marina and give me your opinions on her please (constructive ones) as I’m going out on her Sunday for a demonstration and may be my new home if all goes well.

https://bwml.co.uk/brokerage/sm9617-once-upon-a-time/?brokerage_form=full

 

Presumably you are the one who has made it "under offer" ?

 

Look nice and tidy, if it 'floats your boat' and you realise the areas where you cannot go it should do you fine.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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How much!

You could buy a house for less than that up there.

 

Looks ok inside but probably swims like a brick which is OK if you don't ever move it.

As with all fat narrowboats its fugley.

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Couldn’t buy a slum here for that money plus I’m getting it cheaper ... I realise widebeam boats don’t appeal to all but that’s how it should be. I looked at narrow boat options but for me great to look at but tooooooooo narrow for me ?I’m sure she will swim as much as I will want her to in the future but for now she will be my home where I’m hoping to find some peace in my life

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If you are having a survey, or a water trial, two things to look for is blacking in the bow thruster tube, and whether the uxter plates under the rear counter are supported/have strengthening bars across them. Being such a large area of steel due to the square rear end, they can wallow or bounce very noisily when under way unless you have some cross angle welded in to strengthen the area.

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36 minutes ago, Loddon said:

How much!

You could buy a house for less than that up there.

 

Looks ok inside but probably swims like a brick which is OK if you don't ever move it.

As with all fat narrowboats its fugley.

But if it's intended for living on, you live inside it and, as with many such boats, the interior is pleasingly spacious. I especially like the comfortable-looking lounge and the shelves with all those books on them - books on our n/b tend to be stacked vertically!

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2 minutes ago, fergyguy said:

Thanks Matty I will focus on that

I had a stunner Fergy but wife wanted it gone so sold her and now bloody wife’s decided to up and go. Life can dish out some shit at times Alan

I've had quite a few Fergy's over the years but never had two the same.

Some have a 'low exhaust' some a 'high exhaust', twin 6v batteries (either side of the seat). single 12v battery, petrol / TVO, Diesel. Started button operated by the right ankle, key start etc etc etc.

 

Have you ever read the book (long out of print) about the Fergy history and the trip to the South Pole ?

 

Image result for fergy tractor south pole

 

Sir Edmund Hillary, Derek Wright and Murray Ellis arriving at the South Pole in their Ferguson tractors on 20 January 1958.

 

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/dash-pole-tractors

 

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17 minutes ago, fergyguy said:

Thanks Matty I will focus on that

I had a stunner Fergy but wife wanted it gone so sold her and now bloody wife’s decided to up and go. Life can dish out some shit at times Alan

So you're an ex tractor fan?

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15 hours ago, fergyguy said:

Thank you Alan for adding the link as I wasn’t sure how to do that

The interior looks very nice. I’m not a fan of fat narrowboats so the exterior is meh to me. If you intend to move around rather than stay connected to shore power i’m Not sure how you are going to generate enough lucky to power all those galley appliances. I know there is an invertor but there are only four domestic batteries to power all those hungry appliances.

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Hi Stewart for the next 3 years whilst I’m still working and upto retirement I will mainly be in the marina whilst getting out for learning trips etc on days off. During then I’m sure solar will have advanced in leaps and bounds and my intentions are to install a good quality solar system plus a generator plus sort battery situation too so should be able to feed the appliances lol

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On 19/07/2019 at 08:49, fergyguy said:

Couldn’t buy a slum here for that money plus I’m getting it cheaper ... I realise widebeam boats don’t appeal to all but that’s how it should be. I looked at narrow boat options but for me great to look at but tooooooooo narrow for me ?I’m sure she will swim as much as I will want her to in the future but for now she will be my home where I’m hoping to find some peace in my life

Its a lovely, comfortable boat. take no notice of narrow minded, narrow boated owners. It will be so much better to live in than a poxy narrowboat and you can cruise it many connected miles on some proper waterways from Sawley. A reasonable engine also for the boat. It wouldnt do for me as I hate beds in the pointy end as I ,like to sit with bow doors open but thats only personal taste. The swims will be quite blunt so allow more time for stopping than with a skinny tin tube but when you have mastered it manouverability will be fine and stability on the big rivers exellent. Its a fairly lightweight build so will flex somewhat but will still be absolutely fine and if well cared for will see you out. Just be a little careful with costings as because wider beamed boats are now so popular moorings will not be going down in price anytime soon. Enjoy!! edit to add, please bin the greenhouse on the back ;)

Edited by mrsmelly
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18 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Its a lovely, comfortable boat. take no notice of narrow minded, narrow boated owners. It will be so much better to live in than a poxy narrowboat and you can cruise it many connected miles on some proper waterways from Sawley. A reasonable engine also for the boat. It wouldnt do for me as I hate beds in the pointy end as I ,like to sit with bow doors open but thats only personal taste. The swims will be quite blunt so allow more time for stopping than with a skinny tin tube but when you have mastered it manouverability will be fine and stability on the big rivers exellent. Its a fairly lightweight build so will flex somewhat but will still be absolutely fine and if well cared for will see you out. Just be a little careful with costings as because wider beamed boats are now so popular moorings will not be going down in price anytime soon. Enjoy!! edit to add, please bin the greenhouse on the back ;)

Thank you for your positive advice I reckon I’ll be okay with her but will be getting her re signed as Misty & Me 

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6 minutes ago, fergyguy said:

Thank you for your positive advice I reckon I’ll be okay with her but will be getting her re signed as Misty & Me 

 

It was Misty at Cromwell. Fat-Boats are welcome (we are 14 foot beam)

(Lock cut going off to the left, you can just see the weir Dolphins in the mist on the right)

 

 

 

Cromwell b 25-9-18.jpg

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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Regarding off grid usage and the appliances, we have 4 x 110Ah lead acid leisure batteries and a 3kVA inverter/charger thingy. The 230V appliances on board are microwave, larder fridge, tv, DVD/amp. Apart from the fridge, the other items are intermittent use.

On the roof we have 2 x 120W solar panels feeding through a 20A MPPT controller.

Overnight I turn the inverter off and the A+++ insulated fridge stays cool enough.

 

We find the solar panels and 2-3 hours cruising a day keeps the batteries upto 100% on the meter. Over 6 years of leisure use we have found this an acceptable compromise for battery usage. At their age they may be due for replacement soon.

 

The benefit of a wide beam is all that roof for solar panels! So I think would worth investing for off grid usage eventually. 

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To be fair that’s my intentions whilst for first 3 years whilst still at work I’ll live at Sawley Marina and when I’m getting near retirement I will be looking at what’s New on the solar and battery market as I feel sure these will be far better then than what’s available now and as I’m in no rush at moment I may as well get the benefit of better developments. 

  • Happy 2
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