Original Dutch Barges - Looking for advice on buying one. New to boating

[George1001]

6 minutes ago, Onewheeler said:

Chances are high that she'll need some overplating and welding, but that's normal for a boat of that age and needs to be factored in to your budget. Our barge is a similar age and there's always some hull work needed at docking. The engine at 44 kW might be a bit low powered but unless you're planning on taking it up the Rhine it should cope with the Thames (looks like the Thames from the pictures, but can't place where near Oxford unless it's an assortment of places - some of the pictures look like Oxford Cruisers at Eynsham).

How much does hull work generally cost on a boat this old?

[Murflynn]

"original"  ???

 

if it was built 100 years ago chances are that it was 5mm iron plate fixed with rivets which apparently is less prone to corrosion than modern heavy welded steel construction.

 

I'm not sure if repairing an iron hull with welded steel is appropriate.

[Onewheeler]

3 minutes ago, George1001 said:

How much does hull work generally cost on a boat this old?

We've just spent €8,500 on docking our shared boat which is a fair bit more than last time (six years ago, but delayed due to plague problems). I guess we budget at  £ 1- 2,000 a year for docking.

[Tam & Di]

The aak is very likely to be a rivetted iron hull as Murflynn says. It is effectively impossible to get rivetted repairs, certainly in the UK, and any overplating will be welded. Also Dutch craft tend to be built using much thinner plate than for instance UK narrow boats of the same era, so welding has to take that into account as well as the effect of welding on other rivets in the area being worked on. I'd want to be assured that the welder has prior experience of this sort of construction. As for price. ... it's not possible to say without knowing the extent and nature of the work required, but you need extremely deep pockets.

 

Tam

Edited March 4, 2022 by Tam & Di

[David Mack]

5 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

It is effectively impossible to get rivetted repairs, certainly in the UK,

Tell that to Dave Ross at Brinklow! 

Recent riveting photos on his Facebook page at https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=513705743505682&id=102892057920388&set=a.275104430699149&source=49&refid=13&__tn__=%2B>

 

[Tam & Di]

That's good to know. We used to be the only yard doing any rivetting back in the 80s, but it was an expensive option and mostly we only did it for work on our own craft.

 

Tam

[haggis]

53 minutes ago, Onewheeler said:

We've just spent €8,500 on docking our shared boat which is a fair bit more than last time (six years ago, but delayed due to plague problems). I guess we budget at  £ 1- 2,000 a year for docking.

What was done when the boat was docked? That seems a lot for bottom blacking.

[Onewheeler]

2 hours ago, haggis said:

What was done when the boat was docked? That seems a lot for bottom blacking.

Dry dock, welding and patching at both ends (a few m^2), blacking.