Nearly 100,000 following Jamie’s narrowboat restoration dream

[Alan de Enfield]

Nearly 100,000 following Jamie’s narrowboat restoration dream | Shropshire Star

 

 

Jamie Cameron is a grounds worker from Madeley, Telford who in March 2020, took the decision to buy an historic narrowboat to convert and eventually call home.

The boat is currently out of the water at Caggys Boatyard in Tipton while it undergoes work to narrow it.

Originally, Jamie had saved up money in hopes of buying a house near to his mum, however an increase from a 10 per cent deposit to 20 per cent priced him out.

It was at this point he decided to spend £10,000 on an historic narrowboat in need of some TLC.

 

"It is currently out the water, I tried to go through a lock and I was too wide, so I have taken the cabin off and will narrow the boat.

 

[Athy]

Narrowing a boat can't be a small job. How is it done?

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Athy said:

Narrowing a boat can't be a small job. How is it done?

 

Longtitudinal cut down the base plate, remove "X" inches, reweld the two-halves together.

 

Going to leave things like engine mounts all 'to cock', fuel tanks and water tanks to join back up all sorts of problems.

 

It would have cost far less to save up the extra 10% he needed for the deposit on a house and then he would at least have an appreciating asset.

[matty40s]

9 minutes ago, Athy said:

Narrowing a boat can't be a small job. How is it done?

If you look behind the chap, he is using chains and ratchets to draw the sides in.

Let's just hope it wasnt one of the oversize hoppers used on the BCN main line.....

Edited December 26, 2021 by matty40s

[BEngo]

I hope Santa brought him some ear defenders.  Otherwise , by the time he has finished with that  needle gun he will be deaf as well as broke.

 

N

[Athy]

16 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Longtitudinal cut down the base plate, remove "X" inches, reweld the two-halves together.

 

 

I thought of that, but it sounded so difficult and laborious that I thought no, surely not.

12 minutes ago, matty40s said:

If you look behind the chap, he is using chains and ratchets to draw the sides in.

...

Yes, I've heard of that being done (and seen some boats which have such chains). But "work to narrow it" suggested something more structural.

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Athy said:

I thought of that, but it sounded so difficult and laborious that I thought no, surely not.

 

I guess it depends on if it is 'a couple of inches' too wide (Matty's method) or "a foot too wide" in which case metal removal may well be required.

[roland elsdon]

If it’s wide because the chains haven’t been in it’s easy enough to pull it in and then put up frames. We got Atalanta n from about 7’3 to about 7’1 . Then made up A frames to hold it in which we bolted to the bearers for the cross beams.

Of course it was worse round the mast. Fortunately she wasn’t twisted over her length, which can cause a banana shape jamming you in locks.

We got her from Oxford canal impossible ( and banned)  to now being based on there. But I’m not sure when she last moved.

Cutting a fillet out would be challenge because they are wide across decks and bulkheads, not like cutting down a box and rejoining.

[Tracy D'arth]

Put it in hot water and it will shrink.

 

I admire his enthusiasm but realistically it is misguided.

[Tracy D'arth]

46 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Longtitudinal cut down the base plate, remove "X" inches, reweld the two-halves together.

 

Going to leave things like engine mounts all 'to cock', fuel tanks and water tanks to join back up all sorts of problems.

 

It would have cost far less to save up the extra 10% he needed for the deposit on a house and then he would at least have an appreciating asset.

It looks like a conventional narrow base plate, not a BCN straight side hull so it will "only" need pulling in at the gunwales and framing off the base to hold it. It will make fitting out and walking through the boat a bit tricky though.

[roland elsdon]

Yes in order to not have to put the chains in we had steel a frames off the gunnels and triangular gussets at the end of the back cabin bulkhead, and in the mast area.

( under cloth conversation) .

Cutting out a strip and narrowing would be some task, can’t imagine shifting a 70 foot length of hull side and bottom to get parallel again, not to mention how thick the bottom is by now, then cutting out decks bulkheads and beams.

 

[SteveLevis]

..I really wish him well, but looks like a bit of a money pit to me??

[Athy]

24 minutes ago, SteveLevis said:

..I really wish him well, but looks like a bit of a money pit to me??

Not like most boats, then.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Athy said:

Not like most boats, then.

 

There are 'money pits' and then there are 'money open cast mines'

 

[matty40s]

36 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

 

( under cloth conversation) .

 

 

Was it raining at the time??

[dmr]

If he is planning a very trad liveaboard conversion (undercloth with back cabin etc etc) then its great. If its going to be just another bog standard liveaboard then I don't think an old riveted hull is the way to go, a brand new modern shell would make more sense. A fair few people think an old hull is a cheap way to get into boating, a few even think an old wooden hull is the route to low cost boating. 🤣

[Briss]

Perhaps he's hoping to persuade each of his 10,000 followers to donate £5 towards his costs (or some such permutation).... and then buy a secondhand boat!

That might seem more realistic.