What Engine & Stern Should I Go With On My Narrowboat

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Bee said:

Actually my favourite stern is one that Waltons(?) used

Good night Grandma, Good night John Boy

 

 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Oohhhh NNnoooooooooooo I spose they have ten minutes experience and like to pass it on? ?

They started streaming videos about two years ago but they have lived on a boat previously.

 

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by The Happy Nomad

[Bee]

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

Good night Grandma, Good night John Boy

 

 

Oh good grief!

[FutureNarrowboater2026]

@OldGoat Could you explain your engine room/glory hole a bit more? As in how its layed out?

[David Mack]

As soon as I read the OP I thought the forum would agree on the Beta engine, but differ widely on the stern type. And I was proved right.

But the best advice is that if you don't know which you want, then it is too early to be spending lots of money on a new boat. Buy second hand, live with your choice for a bit, work out what does and doesn't work for you, and only then think about buying new.

[mrsmelly]

15 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

They started streaming videos about two years ago but they have lived on a boat previously.

 

 

Ahh, yes. I just realised they went past us at our mooring yesterday. Was thinking to myself why was there a camera and furry microphone on the cabin roof. I thought what a tidy looking boat it was but the windows were orrible ?

[matty40s]

23 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

 

Who the hell is Foxes afloat?

They are the chaps who have carried on cruising and vlogging through the Covid19 lockdown. They think they are clever. Cruise to water point, carry on to shop, carry on to next water point, carbon to ....etc  etc etc 

 

Anyhow, in answer to the OP...

 

NOT the Yellow one

Cruiser stern if that ticks your box.

[FutureNarrowboater2026]

@Tony Brooks @Stilllearning Would you guys go for a new or used Bukh DV36. Also, if I gave the boat an engine room, it would end up being around 65 feet long, would you go with the DV36 or the DV48?

Edited May 21, 2020 by FutureNarrowboater2026

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, David Mack said:

As soon as I read the OP I thought the forum would agree on the Beta engine, but differ widely on the stern type. And I was proved right.

But the best advice is that if you don't know which you want, then it is too early to be spending lots of money on a new boat. Buy second hand, live with your choice for a bit, work out what does and doesn't work for you, and only then think about buying new.

Sound advice. Chucking thousands away instantly on purchase is plain daft.

1 minute ago, matty40s said:

They are the chaps who have carried on cruising and vlogging through the Covid19 lockdown. They think they are clever. Cruise to water point, carry on to shop, carry on to next water point, carbon to ....etc  etc etc 

 

Anyhow, in answer to the OP...

 

NOT the Yellow one

Cruiser stern if that ticks your box.

Thanks. Why am I not suprised 

[system 4-50]

Your usage is liveaboard? Leisure? Apologies if I missed it.

Beta 43 every time.

Cruiser stern - in my case, square cruiser stern.  Square gives more space and looks so much nicer.  Easy access to both sides of the engine and to the battery bank.  The seating on mine contains my 4 gas bottles.

Mine is 10 years old and is dry, just get it built by a decent builder with good-sized drainage channels (I think mine are 50mm square) and it will stay dry if you clear the leaves out every 3 months or so.

[FutureNarrowboater2026]

@system 4-50 Yes, I will be living aboard. I prefer the look of the rounded stern... But then you have to think of whats practical and whats not... Thanks for your assistance

Edited May 21, 2020 by FutureNarrowboater2026

[OldGoat]

5 minutes ago, FutureNarrowboater2026 said:

@OldGoat Could you explain your engine room/glory hole a bit more? As in how its layed out?

Now, you've put me on a spot - not very good at explaining things or drawing...

It's a glory hole because the engine area is longer than usual as it holds not only the engine and gearbox, but an area for a large semi-traction battery bank. the whole of the decking for that total space can be removed easily so that the engine or batteries can be lifted out and replaced. 

It's at least 6' long and has been used as a bedroom / sleeping area. It's warm - if the engine has been running, thus can be pressed into use for drying clothes / whatever.

I keep most of my tools, buckets, spare lines etc in there as well without restricting the access - Hence the glory hole tag.

 

While flogging my ideas - we hired for many years and saw all sorts of boats, coming to the conclusion that the best look and utility for a cruising boat would be bus windows in the cabin area with portholes in the engine room / airing cupboard / rear loo area - but you didn't ask for that...   

[FutureNarrowboater2026]

2 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Now, you've put me on a spot - not very good at explaining things or drawing...

It's a glory hole because the engine area is longer than usual as it holds not only the engine and gearbox, but an area for a large semi-traction battery bank. the whole of the decking for that total space can be removed easily so that the engine or batteries can be lifted out and replaced. 

It's at least 6' long and has been used as a bedroom / sleeping area. It's warm - if the engine has been running, thus can be pressed into use for drying clothes / whatever.

I keep most of my tools, buckets, spare lines etc in there as well without restricting the access - Hence the glory hole tag.

 

While flogging my ideas - we hired for many years and saw all sorts of boats, coming to the conclusion that the best look and utility for a cruising boat would be bus windows in the cabin area with portholes in the engine room / airing cupboard / rear loo area - but you didn't ask for that...   

Thanks, It seems to be quite useful

[ditchcrawler]

I have hire a cruiser stern had a share boat with a semi trad stern and now own one with a trad stern. The only one I wouldn't have again is the semi trad. It has all the bad points and non of the good ones IMO

[magpie patrick]

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have hire a cruiser stern had a share boat with a semi trad stern and now own one with a trad stern. The only one I wouldn't have again is the semi trad. It has all the bad points and non of the good ones IMO

Curiously I'd say the opposite - cruiser stern on Lutine I found hard work on my own, nowhere to put my coffee, a trad assumes you are on your own or your crew mate is someone you are reasonably intimate with - plenty of people I'd like to share the back deck with, but far fewer I would want to share the hatch with.  

[OldGoat]

If - as I note after I'd posted the above - that you are  going to live on it - then design in the heating and just as important where to dry your clothes if very we... I have a large upright cauliflower (forum joke) in an insulated cupboard with a roof vent above. Good for defrosting food as well. It makes use of spaces that are bit awkward to use for anyting else.

 

These are all details not asked for - however, if you're having a hull built it's best to get your interior layout sorted first so that all the holes for windows, porholes, side doors, CHIMNEYS - even waste water holes are in the original build, 'cos they'll cost much more if you say 'btw can you do a 6" hole there, 8" , there, 2 1/2" there once they've started.....

5 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

Curiously I'd say the opposite - cruiser stern on Lutine I found hard work on my own, nowhere to put my coffee, a trad assumes you are on your own or your crew mate is someone you are reasonably intimate with - plenty of people I'd like to share the back deck with, but far fewer I would want to share the hatch with.  

We got away from the cruiser stern (not that it was ever in contention) by having an eliptical stern (round is so yesterday...) and an extended tiller so thatthe boat can be driven from the seated position on the roof. Access to that is helped by a pair of  steps (from my carriage driving days) - one gets a better view from up there...

[Tony Brooks]

3 hours ago, FutureNarrowboater2026 said:

@Tony Brooks @Stilllearning Would you guys go for a new or used Bukh DV36. Also, if I gave the boat an engine room, it would end up being around 65 feet long, would you go with the DV36 or the DV48?

I don't think I could afford a new Bukh. Maybe at 65ft for potential river use a Bukh may not be such a bright idea because the DV48 is a turbocharged DV36.

[mrsmelly]

2 hours ago, magpie patrick said:

Curiously I'd say the opposite - cruiser stern on Lutine I found hard work on my own, nowhere to put my coffee, a trad assumes you are on your own or your crew mate is someone you are reasonably intimate with - plenty of people I'd like to share the back deck with, but far fewer I would want to share the hatch with.  

Precisely. There is no best stern. I very much disliked my one trad stern.I like this semi trad ( the Mrs wanted to try one ) but my preference is still the few cruiser stern types we have lived on.

[Machpoint005]

5 hours ago, cuthound said:

I would go for a Beta 43 with PRM150 gearbox and keel cooling.

 

As others have said, the stern depends on your use of the boat, the number of people normally on it  and aesthetics.

 

If there are only 2 or 3 of you, then a trad with an oversize hatch works well,  with a couple of high backed bar stools for those who wish to sit.

 

A trad stern means a dry engine hole, virtually imposdible with cruiser, semi-cruiser and semi-trad sterns.

 

 

Agree with the engine choice. Not so sure about the dry engine hole - my cruiser stern doesn't let water in because the drainage works properly. The great advantage of a cruiser stern over a trad, in my opinion, is that you can actually get at the engine to service it  even if you don't have three elbows on each arm.

[TheBiscuits]

23 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

Agree with the engine choice. Not so sure about the dry engine hole - my cruiser stern doesn't let water in because the drainage works properly. The great advantage of a cruiser stern over a trad, in my opinion, is that you can actually get at the engine to service it  even if you don't have three elbows on each arm.

 

@dmr do you have a picture please?

[robtheplod]

Another one for the Beta 43 engine. We looked at lots but decided on this as its common, easy to fix and widely known plus parts are cheap. Easy to service yourself etc.

 

The stern debate is always lively as people tend to like what they have (for obvious reasons!). We've hired cruiser and semi cruiser sterns in the past, didn't fancy a traditional due to lack of room and wasted space in the back. We had a share boat which was a semi and liked it, so ended up buying one which is also semi-trad as it offers outside area but with side cover from the elements - the engine bay is also huge so really easy to get all over the engine. Having tried all these boats it also made it easier to select the internal layout, we went for traditional layout rather than reverse.

 

Hope that helps??

[cuthound]

32 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

Agree with the engine choice. Not so sure about the dry engine hole - my cruiser stern doesn't let water in because the drainage works properly. The great advantage of a cruiser stern over a trad, in my opinion, is that you can actually get at the engine to service it  even if you don't have three elbows on each arm.

 

You are lucky to have a decent drainage system on a cruiser stern. Most need a pram hood to maintain a dry engine bilge.

 

With the extra wide hatch I find access to my engine is pretty good.

 

Proves there are always exceptions, and it is always down to good design.

[cuthound]

19 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Another one for the Beta 43 engine. We looked at lots but decided on this as its common, easy to fix and widely known plus parts are cheap. Easy to service yourself etc.

 

The stern debate is always lively as people tend to like what they have (for obvious reasons!). We've hired cruiser and semi cruiser sterns in the past, didn't fancy a traditional due to lack of room and wasted space in the back. We had a share boat which was a semi and liked it, so ended up buying one which is also semi-trad as it offers outside area but with side cover from the elements - the engine bay is also huge so really easy to get all over the engine. Having tried all these boats it also made it easier to select the internal layout, we went for traditional layout rather than reverse.

 

Hope that helps??

 

I have tried all stern except the newer semi-cruiser.

 

First two canal holidays were on camping boats, ex-working boats with bunk beds under the cloths.

 

Then hired many cruiser stern and two semi trad boats before getting unto shared ownership from 1992-2013. Both were semi-trads.

 

Finally  when we were looking for a boat to buy we were set on another semi-trad until we came across a modern (rear engined)  trad with a wide hatch, which combines the best bits if a modern trad with a semi trad. 

 

I find cruiser sterns are just too exposed for comfortable winter cruising.

Edited May 21, 2020 by cuthound
To add the last paragraph

[Richard T]

We have a trad with a large hatch. It affords shelter from the worst of the weather and at the same time when open there is room for three people to stand in the hatch. We found this a good safe compromise when our grandchildren were younge. Nowdays they are all compotent steerers.. We have a large locker on one side which is graet for storing all the bits of kit you need near to hand. The engine is under ones feet - the downside is that access can be difficult to some parts of it. The positive side is that there is room for a PRM 260 gearbox and a big thrust bearing.

[peterboat]

My first boat was a cruiser stern with a Kubota engine which is the base engine for Beta, it was a good boat and I had 6 happy years with it. The addition of a pram hood made it a great all weather cruiser,  I love the space a cruiser stern gives you and that's the important bit for me. Engine wise it has to be modern as the RCD now demands it, but I would go electric as I like the silence