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Would I be biting off more than I can chew?


DShK

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21 hours ago, DShK said:

That's good to hear. I guess I feel a bit uneasy still about the previous report - what's up with those 3mm readings? Confused if that's related to the chine or why that hasn't been talked about. The last insurance survey I looked at was much more optimistic than an older survey done for the same boat.

 

The 3mm part is the area that needs to be addressed in the works.

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On 29/03/2022 at 09:53, Alan de Enfield said:

 

If you want to buy-cheap and spend in dribs and drabs then there are many, many 'modern' narrow boats lying around in marinas and yards that are failed projects when the owner has suddenly had an epiphany moment and decided to walk away.

 

As your first boat, I'd suggest that you really want it to be 'as right as possible' you will have enough to learn and maintain without trying to rebuild a 'scrapper'.

 

I agree. The OP obviously has some hands on skills, but buying a historic boat which potentially needs extensive hull repairs is a specialist job and if it needs hull work in one area it may not be long before it needs repairs in other areas. It could be something that never ends.

 

Your own skillset would be well tested by finishing someone else's failed project boat and assuming that the modern hull was sound to start with then that would be one less thing to worry about. 

 

Was the campervan you fitted out originally a classic/vintage van? If not then why do you feel the need to refit a 100 year old classic/vintage narrow boat?

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It took me months to fit out a tiny 70's VW camper, full time.

It took me months just to rearrange a 60ft narrowboat, just moving the water tank and plumbing, rearranging the bedroom into a bachelor pad and using the wardrobes from that to build another bedroom - again full time and not living on it.

No way I'd take on a big narrowboat project, I'd be at it for years and trying to do it while living on it? No thanks, there just isn't room to manoeuvre.

Having said that I'm planning to take the whole thing apart and change the insulation starting at one end and working my way to the other - it's going to be a nightmare of epic proportions, I can see it taking years.

I'm not short on skills or tools, but campers and narrowboats are testing things - nothing is straight, no right angles, 12V electrics.

I'd live with the shabby interior, it has character.

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On 29/03/2022 at 19:16, Goliath said:

Take no notice, he’s winding you up.

 

 

No I'm not. Well only slightly.

 

Here's a photo of the edge of a bit of the base of my boat, showing the way the thickness varies and why I say surveyor thickness measurements are not worth a toss:

 

2E475063-8987-455B-8E9E-007CED5FE358.jpeg.59bf2335f048585eef40b5c31f1c4649.jpeg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

48921651-28C0-4ECF-85DD-B4D754190501.jpeg.6d6d42dff91475014e200a637510d051.jpeg

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10 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

No I'm not. Well only slightly.

 

Here's a photo of the edge of a bit of the base of my boat, showing the way the thickness varies and why I say surveyor thickness measurements are not worth a toss:

 

2E475063-8987-455B-8E9E-007CED5FE358.jpeg.59bf2335f048585eef40b5c31f1c4649.jpeg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

48921651-28C0-4ECF-85DD-B4D754190501.jpeg.6d6d42dff91475014e200a637510d051.jpeg

Is your boat ok without that piece? Haven’t you made it worse?

 

 

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23 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

No I'm not. Well only slightly.

 

Here's a photo of the edge of a bit of the base of my boat, showing the way the thickness varies and why I say surveyor thickness measurements are not worth a toss:

 

So what's the alternative to a hull survey if you're buying a boat and want to get an idea of the condition of the hull?

 

A surveyor's ultrasonic thickness measurements are only a snapshot of steel thicknesses which will vary according to how many measurements are taken and their locations. The more measurements taken in strategic locations the greater the resolution of the overall hull "picture".

 

So a surveyor's thickness measurements are definitely worth a toss, assuming they know what they're doing.

 

11 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Is your boat ok without that piece? Haven’t you made it worse?

 

🤣

Edited by blackrose
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1 minute ago, Goliath said:

Tell me about the brickwork behind, please. 
Is it brick or what?

You’ve  said you live in an old house. 

 

 

Dunno much about them, other than I've bin wondering about getting the paint power-wossnamed off. 

 

House looks quite old to me! 

 

 

IMG_4685.JPG.a99605b718c1d0830b7eaa707270b450.JPG

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1 minute ago, MtB said:

 

 

Dunno much about them, other than I've bin wondering about getting the paint power-wossnamed off. 

 

House looks quite old to me! 

 

 

IMG_4685.JPG.a99605b718c1d0830b7eaa707270b450.JPG

Lovely. 
Fair enough, the other photos made it look like odd brick work. 
I think it’s great how they can put a hair net over thatch. 
 

You got a witch in there too?

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54 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

No I'm not. Well only slightly.

 

Here's a photo of the edge of a bit of the base of my boat, showing the way the thickness varies and why I say surveyor thickness measurements are not worth a toss:

 

2E475063-8987-455B-8E9E-007CED5FE358.jpeg.59bf2335f048585eef40b5c31f1c4649.jpeg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

48921651-28C0-4ECF-85DD-B4D754190501.jpeg.6d6d42dff91475014e200a637510d051.jpeg

I’ll post some photos of the over plating I’ve just took off my boat. 
And what I found behind. 
 

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45 minutes ago, Goliath said:

I’ll post some photos of the over plating I’ve just took off my boat. 
And what I found behind. 
 

Could you also post a picture of the pliers you used to get it off?  😃

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54 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

Seriously,I would be interested to know how you remove overplating.

Skinny disks on an angle grinder.

The method for me;

Cut along the bottom where the steel meets the base or the chine

Cut upwards at 3ft gaps (I didn’t want too big a bits falling on me toes)

Then score deeply into the weld at top

Pull the bottom out and flap it back and forth til the top snaps. Scoring again if it don’t .

Then grind off flat or flattish where required so the new panel sits nice 

 

Edited by Goliath
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On 29/03/2022 at 21:27, MtB said:

 

 

Funny you should say that. Mine had exactly this done and an A1 written survey report issued by a 'famous name' surveyor with decades of experience with iron boats. Shortly later, it sank.

 

 

My approach was attend survey with surveyor. Then hit the boat harder than he did.

The price reduction got us 42 feet of new footings.

It was our third purchase of a grand union boat though.

 

Still had to overplate the base 6 years later.

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