Boat Length

[Fidelity]

Hi

I'm looking for a tug style traditional narrowboat of 57' above possibly a 70' with back cabin, engine room etc... looking to be based on the Worcs & Birmingham. The 70' boats tend to be slightly cheaper than the 60/65's. I'm not worried about the restrictions up north, as long as I can plod most places, like Shropshire/Llangollen I'll be happy. What's the Tardebigge flight like in a 70'? Also I'm quite good with electrics and pretty mechanical, but if bought a boat with a vintage engine, who's the people to call/take with me to just make sure the engine is sound? Sorry for all the questions and TIA.

[mrsmelly]

Tardebigge is no problem with 70 foot. My opinion is get a 70 if one is available. The extra 10 feet over a sixty is fantastic to have, speaking from experience.

[Fidelity]

Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking the same. I want to cruise, the 65' plus seems to suit my needs really. If I can't get somewhere, I'll moor as close as possible and then explore. 

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, Fidelity said:

Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking the same. I want to cruise, the 65' plus seems to suit my needs really. If I can't get somewhere, I'll moor as close as possible and then explore. 

My last 3 narrowboats were 65, 70 then 68 in that order. Having previously owned tiddly 60 and below I did wonder about going a tad longer. However I was never going to go back and do such as the L and L having done it several times before and the longer boats proved a MUCH MUCH better purchase. Of the 3 the 68 had the most interior space as it didnt have a long pointy end so was in fact 18 inches longer cabin space than the 70 footer, all worth bearing in mind 

[dmr]

Dont get 65, it has all the "cant go everywhere" limitations of a 70 but with 5 foot less space.

There is an argument for 68/69 to get a bit more space in the tighter locks, but if you see a full 70 (or even 71) that you like then go for it.

[jonesthenuke]

A Trad stern tug may well have vintage engine and be deep draught. We found we could not get through the last tunnel approaching Llangollen due to lack of depth (we draw 3 feet). Bear this restriction in mind when choosing a boat.

 

[Fidelity]

40 minutes ago, dmr said:

Dont get 65, it has all the "cant go everywhere" limitations of a 70 but with 5 foot less space.

There is an argument for 68/69 to get a bit more space in the tighter locks, but if you see a full 70 (or even 71) that you like then go for it.

Makes sense really. Thanks 

16 minutes ago, jonesthenuke said:

A Trad stern tug may well have vintage engine and be deep draught. We found we could not get through the last tunnel approaching Llangollen due to lack of depth (we draw 3 feet). Bear this restriction in mind when choosing a boat.

 

Good to know, thanyou, something to consider 👍🏻

[dmr]

36 minutes ago, jonesthenuke said:

A Trad stern tug may well have vintage engine and be deep draught. We found we could not get through the last tunnel approaching Llangollen due to lack of depth (we draw 3 feet). Bear this restriction in mind when choosing a boat.

 

I suspect that most modern "Trad Trads" draw in the 28" to 32" range but this is only based on talking to a small number of owners.

3 foot is getting into the old working boat region and I expect those extra few inches really matter 😀.

As CRT are skint and dredging is going to be done less and less a deeper boat will become more of a challenge.

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

Do a search this topic has been discussed several times over the last few month with people asking basically the same questions.  There’s also things like moorings, licence to consider with a boat that size compared to say a 60ft. There’s a few nice Tugs on Apolloduck at the moment. Take your time though. 

 

Edited July 11, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[Fidelity]

4 hours ago, dmr said:

Dont get 65, it has all the "cant go everywhere" limitations of a 70 but with 5 foot less space.

There is an argument for 68/69 to get a bit more space in the tighter locks, but if you see a full 70 (or even 71) that you like then go for it.

That's good advice, thank you.

[dmr]

11 minutes ago, Fidelity said:

That's good advice, thank you.

and congratulations on your good taste in boats 😀

[David Mack]

 

[Napton]

There’s a Hudson tug for sale at Aqueduct atm. Bit pricey at £155,000 tho!

[MtB]

9 hours ago, Napton said:

There’s a Hudson tug for sale at Aqueduct atm. Bit pricey at £155,000 tho!

 

The only tug style I've ever seen by Steve is "Joanna". 

 

I have it in mind he didn't like them and generally refused to build with all-portholes and a proper tug deck. 

 

 

But no, here's BRIGAND, although the tug deck looks a bit short:

 

 

https://aqueductmarina.co.uk/second-hand-boats/brigand-67ft-steve-hudson-trad-stern/

 

[mrsmelly]

17 hours ago, dmr said:

Dont get 65, it has all the "cant go everywhere" limitations of a 70 but with 5 foot less space.

There is an argument for 68/69 to get a bit more space in the tighter locks, but if you see a full 70 (or even 71) that you like then go for it.

I would agree with this with one caveat. If you want more interior space do not assume a 70 footer has more than say a 65/68 footer. My 70 foot Hudson had a sleek pointy end with a fair sized well deck so as I said before it had in fact 18 inches less interior space under cabin roof so to speak as my 68 footer did. So hull design counts for a lot.

[alan_fincher]

10 hours ago, Napton said:

There’s a Hudson tug for sale at Aqueduct atm. Bit pricey at £155,000 tho!

 

https://aqueductmarina.co.uk/second-hand-boats/brigand-67ft-steve-hudson-trad-stern/

 

HOW MUCH!?! - They are having a laugh, surely?

[Fidelity]

Thanks all, I've seen a few now, the cabin size is important to me, so I'll do some more looking and comparisons. Just engine what's/ifs now to decide on. Thanks all. 

[MtB]

14 minutes ago, Fidelity said:

Thanks all, I've seen a few now, the cabin size is important to me, so I'll do some more looking and comparisons. Just engine what's/ifs now to decide on. Thanks all. 

 

Don't underestimate the wonderful feeling of sheer decadence from having a tug deck plenty big enough though. That Hudson tug deck looks positively cramped. 

 

 

[Ewan123]

38 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

 

https://aqueductmarina.co.uk/second-hand-boats/brigand-67ft-steve-hudson-trad-stern/

 

HOW MUCH!?! - They are having a laugh, surely?

Well naturally. The swan neck is a larger diameter than usual, that doesn't come cheap you know!

Edited July 12, 2023 by Ewan123

[alan_fincher]

1 hour ago, Ewan123 said:

Well naturally. The swan neck is a larger diameter than usual, that doesn't come cheap you know!

 

Fair point!

 

I'm not sure I would want to pay over the odds for a boat that was not able to accommodate "normal" 13Kg Propane cylinders, though - particularly as Calor are discontinuing at least some of the cylinder sizes tat are smaller than 13Kg.

The appearance of "modern" tug decks is very much a personal opinion, but I agree with those who have already stated that the one on this boat is aesthetically too short. The late boat builder Keith Ball suggested to me once that 7 feet was an absolute minimum, but that ideally you want a foot or two more than that, particularly on the longest boats.

[MtB]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

particularly as Calor are discontinuing at least some of the cylinder sizes tat are smaller than 13Kg.

 

 

Point of Order...

 

Not entirely true according to my local fuel boat.

 

The 3.9kg propane has already been discontinued some while ago and any returned to Calor will not be retained and refilled, but can be exchanged for a 6kg. Same applies for equivalent butane bottles.

 

No other sizes are affected, apparently. 

 

 

[Francis Herne]

8 hours ago, MtB said:

The 3.9kg propane has already been discontinued some while ago and any returned to Calor will not be retained and refilled, but can be exchanged for a 6kg. Same applies for equivalent butane bottles.

 

No other sizes are affected, apparently. 

This has been partly walked back now - 3.9/4.5kg bottles can be exchanged for full ones at Calor central depots (but not via distributors) for some indefinite time until the current stock of bottles rusts through.

https://www.calor.co.uk/news-and-views/update-to-cylinder-range

 

There are some other sizes discontinued (propane 6kg 'Lite' variant, butane 6kg 'Cube' and 12kg) but not widely used on boats.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Francis Herne

[BWM]

Another bonus of a craft 68 - 69 foot is availability of moorings,  as quite a few more are offered just below 70'.

[Swanky pirate]

On 11/07/2023 at 15:51, jonesthenuke said:

A Trad stern tug may well have vintage engine and be deep draught. We found we could not get through the last tunnel approaching Llangollen due to lack of depth (we draw 3 feet). Bear this restriction in mind when choosing a boat.

 

Hi iam on a 70ft 2ft 8 inch draught done the Llangollen last year did spend some time with the barge poll found it hard work but managed to get to Llangollen basen.