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Flipping Project Boats


Grotty Thumberg

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1 hour ago, Grotty Thumberg said:

I have considered it, but rejected it. Doing a poo in a van is one of my few red lines

There is very little difference between the 2, other than I have never seen a UK based camper van with a pump out toilet. All that I have seen use the standard cassette system we also use on boats. I think you need to reconsider your requirements and practicalities.

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9 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

There is very little difference between the 2, other than I have never seen a UK based camper van with a pump out toilet. All that I have seen use the standard cassette system we also use on boats. I think you need to reconsider your requirements and practicalities.

Brother In Laws camper van had a pump-out and also a direct 'dump' where a pipe dropped down underneath and went into the septic tank.

Also had a built in 7Kva generator, Air-Con, built in coffee machine, hydraulic levelling 'legs', electric awning, electrically powered steps that extended when the door opened, etc etc etc.

 

Problem was it was 35 feet long, had a 6 litre petrol engine (+ LPG conversion) and was LH drive.

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35 minutes ago, Grotty Thumberg said:

I did "a couple of years out" thing 20 years ago and lived in various countries for all this time. At one point I spent a few months in Indonesia looking at getting a boat built, but concluded it was a stupid idea then too (phinisi boats in Sulawesi if you're interested). I can't quite shake it though. I blame watching Miami Vice at an impressionable age. Crockett lived on a boat with a crocodile and everything. 

 

 

Perhaps you could get work overseas with a charity, loads of them, you get a local pittance, and in a few years the recession may have recovered.

Edited by LadyG
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39 minutes ago, Grotty Thumberg said:

I did "a couple of years out" thing 20 years ago and lived in various countries for all this time. At one point I spent a few months in Indonesia looking at getting a boat built, but concluded it was a stupid idea then too (phinisi boats in Sulawesi if you're interested). I can't quite shake it though. I blame watching Miami Vice at an impressionable age. Crockett lived on a boat with a crocodile and everything. 

 

 

Cool. I'd be interested to know why that idea was stupid. I once thought it might be fun to buy an old trawler (or similar) in Portugal -- where apparently one could be found fairly cheap -- and converting that. It, at least, would be an interesting thing to do on the way to ... doing something else interesting ...

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5 hours ago, LadyG said:

You won't be able to live in your field you know, only certain groups are allowed, and even they get little parks with facilities these days. I had the same problem, and the whole benefit thing as it was known at that time was a complete unknown to me, and a nightmare, I think it is only those who have evolved with the  benefit system who can cope. I certainly never got any 'advice', and they are out to identify scroungers, you are guilty unless you can prove otherwise, it's just a nightmare.

Don't I known it, I have nephew with severe autism who lives in supported accommodation. I have handle his affairs for sometime, dealing with socal services and the DWP, taking over when my sister became unable to cope with all the paperwork. He himself is a gentle giant, who is thoughtful and caring to his two little nieces. Yet when he has to go to meetings with the DWP, he gets very upset due to the way he is treated by the poorly trained staff who demaind he answers their questions, which he can not do as he is a mute. It is a uphill task each year dealing with these people who are only interested in one thing, a reason to close the claim.   

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The price bracket you are looking at will most likely buy a sh---ed out wreck!

An old cheap steel boat may look ok,but the steel on the hull may be within a couple of mm of being scrap.

Sure,they can be overplated,but you are looking at £120 + per foot.

As to fitting a boat out while trying to live on it,forget it.There are too many difficulties to list.

My suggestion (although others will diagree) is to look at grp cruisers.Far cheaper than narrowboats and being fibreglass,no corrosion.

The major work you will have to do is,fitting some form of heating.

I have known three people who have lived aboard grp cruisers.A 25ft Buckingham,a 26ft Dawncraft,and a 22ft Mayland.

They all had gas or diesel blown air heaters and were quite comfortable.

Rather cramped,but comfortable.

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28 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Brother In Laws camper van had a pump-out and also a direct 'dump' where a pipe dropped down underneath and went into the septic tank.

Also had a built in 7Kva generator, Air-Con, built in coffee machine, hydraulic levelling 'legs', electric awning, electrically powered steps that extended when the door opened, etc etc etc.

 

Problem was it was 35 feet long, had a 6 litre petrol engine (+ LPG conversion) and was LH drive.

That sounds like a North American style RV. I have hired this type of vehicle in America/Canada and travelled extensively. As you say there is a single large dump pipe (5" I think) connected in a Tee arrangement to the Grey and Black (toilet) water tank. To empty you attach a supplied 10 ft flexible pipe to the outlet and put the other end into the RV dump......usually a hole in the ground leading to a septic tank. You then pull a lever on the black water tank that opens the dump valve and out it comes! When it's empty you close the valve and open the grey water valve and that dumps through the same pipework, thereby cleaning it of all black waste. 

 

It's a very good system, which is much more pleasant to use than cassettes. In North America nearly every petrol station outside cities have RV dump facilities which makes off grid motorhoming very easy over there. However there is very little infrastructure to empty this type of toilet in the UK.......I've seem a few campsites that have them but I don't think it's common. 

 

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7 minutes ago, booke23 said:

That sounds like a North American style RV. 

Yes it was.

 

We had it with the dump-pipe connected to a static caravan waste pipe & into the sewage system.

He had only used it for the odd few days it has been stood on the hardstanding at our park for the last 5 years since he had double Kidney failure and complications. He had bought it to 'do Europe' but decided it was now time to sell it.

So I advertised it last Summer and away it went.

 

Leisure batteries were 'shot' put a starter battery on it off my digger and it started within a couple of seconds.

 

Sold it for £3000 which was a small fraction of its worth but he just wanted it gone.

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4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Yes it was.

 

We had it with the dump-pipe connected to a static caravan waste pipe & into the sewage system.

He had only used it for the odd few days it has been stood on the hardstanding at our park for the last 5 years since he had double Kidney failure and complications. He had bought it to 'do Europe' but decided it was now time to sell it.

So I advertised it last Summer and away it went.

 

Leisure batteries were 'shot' put a starter battery on it off my digger and it started within a couple of seconds.

 

Sold it for £3000 which was a small fraction of its worth but he just wanted it gone.

Someone got a good bargain there. It's particularly cruel when health problems force these type of decisions.   

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12 hours ago, Jim Batty said:

Cool. I'd be interested to know why that idea was stupid. I once thought it might be fun to buy an old trawler (or similar) in Portugal -- where apparently one could be found fairly cheap -- and converting that. It, at least, would be an interesting thing to do on the way to ... doing something else interesting ...

Robin Knox-Johnston built Suhaili and sailed her round the world non stop singlehanded, being the first to do so, she followed him ound the UK, was up on the hard when I met Robin at Troon marina  quite a level headed and unassuming chap, amazingly resouceful. 

Suhaili is sailing on Youtube, having been restored by Robin and friends, and he's still the man he ever was, took a few years to get his knighthood, when there were folk getting them just for winning a few gold medals!

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12 hours ago, Jim Batty said:

Cool. I'd be interested to know why that idea was stupid. I once thought it might be fun to buy an old trawler (or similar) in Portugal -- where apparently one could be found fairly cheap -- and converting that. It, at least, would be an interesting thing to do on the way to ... doing something else interesting ...

They are cheap enough here, loads of retired trawlers.

 

This one is already part converted to a liveaboard and only £15k

https://www.findafishingboat.com/bim-50/ad-113945

 

Another, pretty much finished

https://www.findafishingboat.com/trawler-live-aboard-gerard-arbroath/ad-110129

 

Or a 'big one' with lots to do

https://www.findafishingboat.com/scheepswerf-metz-urk-netherlands-price-reduced/ad-113144

 

Totally stripped out and resdy to start building only £4k

https://www.findafishingboat.com/lobster-hull/ad-109443

 

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1 minute ago, David Mack said:


"She is not for the fainthearted."

?

If we are honest, is any 'major' project , and who would admit to being 'fainthearted' ?

 

How many are started with ' I can do this' and 6 months later they start to slow down, a year later and its all stopped, and by 2-3 years it's an abandoned wreck,

By year 5 the yard are trying to trace the owner and charge them for storage and removal.

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12 hours ago, nbfiresprite said:

 

Don't I known it, I have nephew with severe autism who lives in supported accommodation. I have handle his affairs for sometime, dealing with socal services and the DWP, taking over when my sister became unable to cope with all the paperwork. He himself is a gentle giant, who is thoughtful and caring to his two little nieces. Yet when he has to go to meetings with the DWP, he gets very upset due to the way he is treated by the poorly trained staff who demaind he answers their questions, which he can not do as he is a mute. It is a uphill task each year dealing with these people who are only interested in one thing, a reason to close the claim.   

Awful. Our son has Aspergers, he is not severe in any usually accepted sense but he really does have problems. We had such a load of difficulty with the DWP that he and us gave up altogether. He has had no benefits whatsoever for a couple of years and we support him in every way. He was getting paid gigs but by the time the travel expenses were paid there wasn't much left and Covid has meant no gigs. Loads of musical talent, crippling depression and more.

 

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Boats have a ceiling value, like houses. It is easy to put a lot of money into either only to find that you cannot get a price that covers the work. The project narrowboats tend to be those that have not got much pedigree and no matter how much work and money you put into them you are never going to lift them out of their class. Its not impossible to make a bit of money but if you add the licence, mooring, new tools, etc.  cost you will not do much better than break even. I could improve our house, new kitchen, windows, roof, conservatory, fibreglass Greek columns around the porch, gold taps and more but it'll still be a 3 bed semi 'With scope for improvement'

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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

They are cheap enough here, loads of retired trawlers.

 

This one is already part converted to a liveaboard and only £15k

https://www.findafishingboat.com/bim-50/ad-113945

 

Another, pretty much finished

https://www.findafishingboat.com/trawler-live-aboard-gerard-arbroath/ad-110129

 

Or a 'big one' with lots to do

https://www.findafishingboat.com/scheepswerf-metz-urk-netherlands-price-reduced/ad-113144

 

Totally stripped out and resdy to start building only £4k

https://www.findafishingboat.com/lobster-hull/ad-109443

 

Some of these are lovely. Hadn't seen this site before -- goodness knows I've looked at dozens of dutch barges on others.

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15 hours ago, bizzard said:

Old Land Rovers have a wonderful fitted toilet. The centre seat squab lifts out and reveals a large hinged lid. I was a mobile mechanic for many years using three L/R's, all had the lid, intended for adjusting the handbrake drum on the rear prop shaft and greasing it. 

 

I had to keep de-rusting and painting the prop shafts.  Wee left a trail of wee wherever wee went

 

 

or you could have fitted a weed cutter to the propshaft and used it for disposing of bodies (as may have been needed by the Kray Twins and Phil Mitchell from time to time) on the run, and left a trail of blood instead..

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1 hour ago, Murflynn said:

really???     I understood they are all closed each time a lock-down is declared.

I was thinking normal times I admit; but i presume if you are living there when Bojo comes on the tele and says we are off again you get to stay like the folks spending  "a lot of time on their boats" in the marina but thats common sense so who knows

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3 hours ago, Murflynn said:

or you could have fitted a weed cutter to the propshaft and used it for disposing of bodies (as may have been needed by the Kray Twins and Phil Mitchell from time to time) on the run, and left a trail of blood instead..

Funnilly enough I did have an encouter with Frank Michell the mad axe man , one of the Krays hangers on. He had escaped from Broadmoor. I was giving a friend of mine a driving lesson in his old 1934 Austin 10 Cabriolette. We were on the way to a pub one afternoon in Epping lane when around a very sharp bend came a Cooper Mini far too fast on the wrong side of the road, hit us on the O/S/F which busted and disabled the Mini. We got out and waited. And a huge great bloke uncoiled hiself from the mini wearing a big thug type overcoat,  didn't say a word and stomped off past us and away down the lane. We turned the old Ausin round and went back home. My friend Berney decided to go to the police station to report the incedent. Looking at identekit photo's and whatnot the police declared that indeed it was Frank Mitchell the mad axe man who had recently escaped from Broadmoor.  I fixed the old Austin with a blowlamp and big hammer which only had a slightly bend frond chassis member.

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