Hi guys my girlfriend and me have just bought a 52ft david piper boat and we want to know which insulation to use

[magnetman]

The OP said they are happy with the large windows anyway and that the boat has portholes in the sleeping area. 

 

No need for welded in or bolted in panels anyway. The windows are staying. 

 

To be fair in the summer on a shaded mooring the facility to remove the whole centre panel of a window or two would be rather nice. It looks like they lift out. I would be tempted to replace the removable panels with cut to size polycarbonate as it won't get broken if some idiot decides to throw something at a window. 

 

Keep the glass pieces in store somewhere. 

 

Polycarbonate will also get less condensation than glass.

[MtB]

32 minutes ago, dmr said:

There are lots of boats with welded up windows showing an obvious outline, saw one only yesterday, and they look naff. Maybe a top welder could do an invisible job but I have never seen one 😀

 

Puts me in mind of the old Tommy Cooper gag...

 

"I went out to buy myself a camouflage jacket. I couldn't find one anywhere..." 

 

[dmr]

Have you ever seen the wonderful Les Barker? One of his poems is "I can't find my camoflage net". I expect you will find loads of his stuff on the www.

[IanD]

3 minutes ago, dmr said:

Have you ever seen the wonderful Les Barker? One of his poems is "I can't find my camoflage net". I expect you will find loads of his stuff on the www.

Saw him several times, utterly brilliant. Sadly he died earlier this year so this treat is no longer available... 😞

[dmr]

14 minutes ago, IanD said:

Saw him several times, utterly brilliant. Sadly he died earlier this year so this treat is no longer available... 😞

Yes, sad, seen him a few times at festivals, also think I saw him (with a dog?) in my much younger days at Birmingham Folk clubs.

His stuff should live on in his books and lots of Youtube videos.

[IanD]

1 hour ago, dmr said:

Yes, sad, seen him a few times at festivals, also think I saw him (with a dog?) in my much younger days at Birmingham Folk clubs.

His stuff should live on in his books and lots of Youtube videos.

Mrs Ackroyd (his dog) died several years ago, Les carried on doing gigs without her... 😞

[TCTC]

Hello Tyrone and Agathe

I've been doing something similar to a slightly smaller boat (40') while continuously cruising in the London area. I replaced the floor, put in a new kitchen, and have relined/insulated a lot of the cabin.  It's possible but some the main challenges are logistical - getting the materials to the boat down the towpath, and getting the rubbish away. I found that having a bike with a trailer (a cheap one from eBay is fine) was essential for getting things to and from the boat via the towpath. Then you need to work out places to moor that are close to a council tip (check your councils because some - not all - demand proof of residency in the borough to take waste there), and close to some timber yards and a Screwfix. Park Royal area in west and The lea between Homerton-Bow in east, or around the North Circular in Edmonton area,  are probably best for this. 

 

I used celotex boards and a CLS timber framework glued to the steelwork of the hull and cabin, Soudal Fixall worked well for me as adhesive. And make up some big 2x2 and 4x4 squares out of plywood to get things square as if youve only worked on land before not being able to use a spirit level is a bit of a shock. all the time you spend getting things square in the early stages will pay off in making the rest of the job go faster. 

 

Get a battery powered hoover to keep on top of the dust, and a small inverter hooked up to solar panels to charge power tools, and dont bring too many materials to site at any one time or you'll not be able to move.

 

Good luck with it, it's mostly enjoyable! 

 

T 

[tyrone1990]

1 hour ago, TCTC said:

Hello Tyrone and Agathe

I've been doing something similar to a slightly smaller boat (40') while continuously cruising in the London area. I replaced the floor, put in a new kitchen, and have relined/insulated a lot of the cabin.  It's possible but some the main challenges are logistical - getting the materials to the boat down the towpath, and getting the rubbish away. I found that having a bike with a trailer (a cheap one from eBay is fine) was essential for getting things to and from the boat via the towpath. Then you need to work out places to moor that are close to a council tip (check your councils because some - not all - demand proof of residency in the borough to take waste there), and close to some timber yards and a Screwfix. Park Royal area in west and The lea between Homerton-Bow in east, or around the North Circular in Edmonton area,  are probably best for this. 

 

I used celotex boards and a CLS timber framework glued to the steelwork of the hull and cabin, Soudal Fixall worked well for me as adhesive. And make up some big 2x2 and 4x4 squares out of plywood to get things square as if youve only worked on land before not being able to use a spirit level is a bit of a shock. all the time you spend getting things square in the early stages will pay off in making the rest of the job go faster. 

 

Get a battery powered hoover to keep on top of the dust, and a small inverter hooked up to solar panels to charge power tools, and dont bring too many materials to site at any one time or you'll not be able to move.

 

Good luck with it, it's mostly enjoyable! 

 

T 

Thanks for the tip! Yeah we have a couple of friends with vans and we are going to try and get as close to the road as possible and then put all of the stuff on there when we have a big load of it

The battery powered hoover would be good Ill try and find one suitable for tiny particles as alot get clogged up when hoovering building materials

 

One thing I was wondering is if it is necessary to repaint the inside of the boat everywhere or just treating the areas that had rust on them?

[LadyG]

I don't think you have to paint everything, but if you don't sand everywhere you will miss rusted areas. Painting is easiest part.

[TCTC]

28 minutes ago, tyrone1990 said:

Thanks for the tip! Yeah we have a couple of friends with vans and we are going to try and get as close to the road as possible and then put all of the stuff on there when we have a big load of it

The battery powered hoover would be good Ill try and find one suitable for tiny particles as alot get clogged up when hoovering building materials

 

One thing I was wondering is if it is necessary to repaint the inside of the boat everywhere or just treating the areas that had rust on them?

Just treat where there's rust, no point making work for yourself painting the whole of the inside steelwork if its already painted. And then when youve got insulation/a vapour barrier over it, it shouldn't rust any more

[GUMPY]

11 hours ago, tyrone1990 said:

11 hours ago, tyrone1990 said:

The insulation will be the only thing ill get done professionally, at £1800 for 25mm thickness for the 85 sqm internal area, the only issue is that the batons/studs need to be deeper so thats a job that needs doing first!

I had a boat that was done in 25mm spray foam, when we extended it the extension was done in 50mm which I regard as a minimum. Despite the stove being in the part with the 25mm insulation the part with the 50mm was always warmer in winter and cooler in summer than the rest of the boat.

I will let you draw your own conclusions on this 🤔

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

@tyrone1990 maybe have a watch tonight 21:00hrs More 4, Channel 18, My Floating Home “ Londoners Lily & Natasha have bought a decrepit Narrowboat at a knockdown price. Will their DIY enthusiasm override their lack of knowledge and experience”

Sound familiar?

[ditchcrawler]

I am just watching two girls who are doing an old Springer on TV on floating homes. More 4 They were going to do it for £10k in 6 months

[magnetman]

4 hours ago, tyrone1990 said:

 

One thing I was wondering is if it is necessary to repaint the inside of the boat everywhere or just treating the areas that had rust on them?

 

 

Have you carefully considered the type of lavatory you are going to install on the boat? 

 

There are a number of different options available. All of them have downsides except one and you aren't allowed to use it. 

 

One imagines there will be some sort of Lidl special suitcase aboard initially but over time it may be necessary to think about what the best solution may be on an ongoing basis especially if there is another person aboard the vessel. 

 

I think it may be wise to put the choice of lavatory into the planning fairly early on to avoid mishaps. 

 

Its a gravity thing. 

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

6 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I am just watching two girls who are doing an old Springer on TV on floating homes. More 4 They were going to do it for £10k in 6 months

Also just watching two girls and a clown called Jamie moving two boats strapped together.

[harrybsmith]

I was on My Floating Home, a good experience but they do pick projects and clips for the drama and narrative they want, as with all TV, so do take it with a pinch of salt

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

10 minutes ago, harrybsmith said:

I was on My Floating Home, a good experience but they do pick projects and clips for the drama and narrative they want, as with all TV, so do take it with a pinch of salt

You came across as a very likeable person, also a very clever chap, so respect to you, as I enjoyed watching your programme👍

Edited September 14, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[Lily Rose]

18 minutes ago, BoatinglifeupNorth said:

Also just watching two girls and a clown called Jamie moving two boats strapped together.

 

I've only watched about 15 minutes of it. The bit where they entered the tunnel with the two boats strapped together and one of the girls on a gunnel looked as though it could easily have ended rather tragically with a somewhat squashed human being.

[harrybsmith]

1 minute ago, BoatinglifeupNorth said:

You came across as a very likeable person, also a very clever chap, so respect to you as I enjoyed watching your programme👍

 

Like I said, they do pick a narrative and it's different in real life! 

 

Thanks nonetheless. 

 

Anyway, to give a slightly more on topic answer, for my current project boat I've gone for 50mm of celotex over most of it, will soon be DIY sprayfoaming a couple of bits (properly, Inc airfed mask) due to wanting to do it in sections, do it myself and gain experience. 

 

I think the idea of breaking the boat up into sections and addressing one length at a time is probably of most relevance to the OP, it suddenly makes their deadline more reasonable if you're only addressing a shortish length 

[LadyG]

6 minutes ago, harrybsmith said:

 

Like I said, they do pick a narrative and it's different in real life! 

 

Thanks nonetheless. 

 

Anyway, to give a slightly more on topic answer, for my current project boat I've gone for 50mm of celotex over most of it, will soon be DIY sprayfoaming a couple of bits (properly, Inc airfed mask) due to wanting to do it in sections, do it myself and gain experience. 

 

I think the idea of breaking the boat up into sections and addressing one length at a time is probably of most relevance to the OP, it suddenly makes their deadline more reasonable if you're only addressing a shortish length 

Wow, just noticed you boat name, my given name.

Jo

Edited September 14, 2023 by LadyG

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

8 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

 

I've only watched about 15 minutes of it. The bit where they entered the tunnel with the two boats strapped together and one of the girls on a gunnel looked as though it could easily have ended rather tragically with a somewhat squashed human being.

That’s why I thought the guy was a clown, didn't have a clue when moving the boats, not to mention how he dressed, must be a London boaters thing, 

  All in All though this episode was a total joke, the girls, the boat, how they just used the public towpath as their work space, two complete clueless people who think they can fit a boat out without any knowledge, skill or work facilities. What did they actually achieve, apart from wasting money and showing how incompetent they were? Oh she wired up some rams that worked in conjunction with each other🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

Edited September 15, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[ditchcrawler]

15 hours ago, BoatinglifeupNorth said:

That’s why I thought the guy was a clown, didn't have a clue when moving the boats, not to mention how he dressed, must be a London boaters thing, 

  All in All though this episode was a total joke, the girls, the boat, how they just used the public towpath as their work space, two complete clueless people who think they can fit a boat out without any knowledge, skill or work facilities. What did they actually achieve, apart from wasting money and showing how incompetent they were? Oh she wired up some rams that worked in conjunction with each other🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

I wonder if they ever got the engine running

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I wonder if they ever got the engine running

Probably not, don’t need to, as I imagine being two girls, if they fluttered their eye lids and act a bit dumb(not that they need to act that much after watching the programme) there will be lots of willing male clowns to tow them wherever they want to go, just like on the programme. ☺️🤡☺️🤡☺️

Edited September 15, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[magnetman]

On 11/09/2023 at 18:37, tyrone1990 said:

we dont no, itll be hard in getting used to but I think we will manage... eventually.

I agree the timing is bad and we have bought  a continuous mooring licence

 

 

 

I realise it is probably a joke but just in case it isn't are you able to elaborate on this? 

 

Continuous mooring licences are like hens' teeth. 

 

Have you done an Equality Act thing? is the other half about to produce another third? 

 

It may have been a freudian slip. 

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by magnetman

[nicknorman]

2 hours ago, magnetman said:

 

I realise it is probably a joke but just in case it isn't are you able to elaborate on this? 

 

Continuous mooring licences are like hens' teeth. 

 

Have you done an Equality Act thing? is the other half about to produce another third? 

 

It may have been a freudian slip. 

 

 

 

Winter mooring permit perhaps? Which is in effect a continuous mooring licence.