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Help needed carpentry and electrics


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Another that thought it looked so simple to refit a boat. Never mind, let's see what we can do.

 

What have you got an old bare shell or is there some bits still in that you are keeping?

Is the shell sound?  Is there ballast and a floor?  Is there any linings?  No wiring at all?

 

What skills do you have?  What tools do you have? Have you read and understood the regs on wiring?

Have you any books? Like The Narrowboat Builders Book,    https://shop.waterwaysworld.com/product/NBBUILDERS/the-narrowboat-builder-s-book

 

Pictures will help enormously....

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21 minutes ago, chrisk_87 said:

so had my boat since september and now need some gelp to get it finished so we can enjoy it needs full rewire and full refit been trying to do it myself. just want it sorting now. 

 

Unless you have ripped all the electrics out, what makes you think it needs a rewire. It may well need some of the engine electrics tidying and replacing, as it may around the domestic distribution board/electrics cupboard, but unless the boat was originally wired with solid strand cables there is little to damage the domestic wiring unless it has been run in contact with polystyrene insulation. Even if it has, often it takes many years for damage to become dangerous, testing with an insulation meter would show if it is an issue.

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9 minutes ago, chrisk_87 said:

hi all im moored in brewood st19 at the moment its still boarded elecs still in needs insulating cant add pics as says file size too big 

 

I very much doubt they all need insulating because if they did the boat is very likely to be burned out. Some wires might need insulation in a small area, or you may be thinking of polystyrene thermal insulation causing the wiring insulation to break down, but as I said an insulation tester would show if that is the case.

 

As it is still boarded you might find all the boarding has to come off to get at the cables behind, but without seeing the boat one can not be sure.

 

I am sure there will be an app to reduce image size or retake them at a lower resolution. The alternative is to put them on a website like Photobucket and post a link to them.

 

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4 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

I very much doubt they all need insulating because if they did the boat is very likely to be burned out. Some wires might need insulation in a small area, or you may be thinking of polystyrene thermal insulation causing the wiring insulation to break down, but as I said an insulation tester would show if that is the case.

 

As it is still boarded you might find all the boarding has to come off to get at the cables behind, but without seeing the boat one can not be sure.

 

I am sure there will be an app to reduce image size or retake them at a lower resolution. The alternative is to put them on a website like Photobucket and post a link to them.

 

I think they meant electrics need installing 

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Just now, Tonka said:

I think they meant electrics need installing 

 

Maybe, but who knows until he makes what he wants clear. If it is still boarded, then many of the circuits are likely to still be in place. At resent just telling the "professional" that he wants the boat rewiring, I fear he is setting himself up for a potential rip-off.

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On 26/03/2023 at 10:39, chrisk_87 said:

so had my boat since september and now need some gelp to get it finished so we can enjoy it needs full rewire and full refit been trying to do it myself. just want it sorting now. 

 

Budget to pay abut £30k for that, employing people to do this on a boat in the water.

 

 

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3 minutes ago, chrisk_87 said:

the electrics could be sorted tiedied up by someone who knows what they are doing. need solar installing and inverter. the full boat needs insulation ie kingspan or somethink alike. then need a carpenter to sort out bathroom and engine room floors 

So this is a stripped shell with no lining at all and no floors?  Do you have any idea how much it is going to cost for a pro to do a total refit on a shell that's    ----   how big?   Type of shell, trad, cruiser etc?    ----     Give us something to go on please.

 

Need those photos, take at a lower resolution.

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11 minutes ago, chrisk_87 said:

the electrics could be sorted tiedied up by someone who knows what they are doing. need solar installing and inverter. the full boat needs insulation ie kingspan or somethink alike. then need a carpenter to sort out bathroom and engine room floors 

Insulation?

Normally on canal boats the insulation is next to the steel body, behind any woodwork that you see inside the boat.  Removal/replacement needs everything inside the boat to be removed.  Not a quick or cheap job.

Unwritten rule of boat building or repairs, it will take at least 3 times longer than expected, and cost 3 times more than budgeted.

Please make an effort with the photos, then better advice can be given.

 

 Bod

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To insulate is going to mean the cabin and roof lining needs to come down, so that could well mean a total refit inside. At least that gives access to any hidden wirirng. Are you sure there is no expanded polystyrene insulation in place. It is very common on older boats. If there is, then in my view you may as well make do with that.

 

If the lining is tongue and groove boarding, then it is usually secret nailed and a lot could be damaged during removal.

 

I suspect that you are looking at a bill for an awful lot of money, I would not discount the figure Mike gave you. Even after any such spend, you will still have a boat probably not worth much more than you paid for it.

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Ball park figure for refitting from the battening out to lined out, wired, plumbed with small calorifier heated from engine,  cabinets, bed base, basic galley, basic shower room with cassette loo, in other words a usable boat without any luxury items is £1600 per foot of cabin length.  This does not include any engineering  works, engine, controls, batteries etc.

With nothing fancy, plain wood finish, a few lights and  12v sockets.

Mains wiring extra. Inverter extra. Battery charger extra. Central heating extra. Solid fuel stove extra, Soft furnishings extra. Solar panels extra.

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1 minute ago, chrisk_87 said:

im not sure how else to share pics lol not too good with stuff like that 

 

I suspect with DropBox you can alter the permissions.

 

So you can probably set the folder viewing permission to (something like) "Anyone can view".

Or maybe "Public"

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Or view the photo on your phone, take a screenshot, then edit the "screenshot photo" to crop out the phones info bar and anything else that is unwanted and post that by clicking on the "choose files" link at the bottom of the new post window and selecting the "screenshot photo". Repeat for multiple photos.

Edited by cuthound
Clarification
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