Side Plating rippled

[Francis Herne]

Alvechurch boats like this do have some tumblehome, in the typical range for recent boats.

 

The forward-angled front edge of the cabin sides make it a bit hard to judge in photos, but look at the shape of the front door.

 

The really ugly ones are the Anglo-Welsh 'Constellation' boats which are very nearly square.

[blackrose]

I've seen that starved horse/dog/quilting effect on old Dutch barges before but never a steel narrowboat. So far nobody has confirmed the sides are/were originally 6mm thick. If they are it's taken one hell of a battering in its life as a hire boat. I don't think residual stresses can warp 6mm sheet steel between 18" centres to that extent. It does give the hull some character I suppose. 😋

Edited October 6, 2023 by blackrose

[LEO]

12 hours ago, Michael Siggers said:

Not sure how to take that 😃

 

Yes, living aboard and working aboard as it will be my Office. I'm a Freelance Architectural Technician.

 

Mike

Here is a picture taken this afternoon.

 

 

Really I was 'pondering' and thinking 'outside the box', it's so well presented, re-painted, blacked, re-fitted, and as said, just like a modern flat, but with little character, shame and I do wonder (and have been wondering ever since I saw a lady on TV, heat up a conventional oven to cook up a Pizza) when people will start thinking - it takes 15 or so mins to preheat a oven, whereas the small cooking 'boxes' in a 'Fat Fryer' takes 2/3 mins... that's a lot of energy used or saved and using modern appliances will mean radical thinking of boats and houses in the future...............saving space, useful if you are a live aboard..............but in modern life, more important = saving money. I do miss the the 'golden aged pine' look, it seems the '50 shades of grey' and white look and MDF have taken over..

 

The rippled sides, are an unusual feature, experienced members have covered this fully. I would follow the advice given......good luck, whatever your decision.

 

Mike.

[blackrose]

14 hours ago, Michael Siggers said:

Not sure how to take that 😃

 

Yes, living aboard and working aboard as it will be my Office. I'm a Freelance Architectural Technician.

 

 

I would ignore it. Some people on here don't like anything that isn't based on their rather limited traditionalist mindset. If you like the interior that's all that matters. As for the lack of tumblehome on the cabin sides I'd ignore that too unless it bothers you aesthetically. An inch or two less tumblehome on each side won't make any difference in getting through bridgeholes. If it did then given the battering this boat has clearly taken as a hire boat in its life I'd expect to see some damage to the front of the cabin sides too which I can't.

[Michael Siggers]

6 hours ago, blackrose said:

So far nobody has confirmed the sides are/were originally 6mm thick

Yes, according to the specification, the sides are 6mm. Has not been surveyed yet though.

 

Mike

[David Schweizer]

 

6 hours ago, LEO said:

Snip >. I do miss the the 'golden aged pine' look, it seems the '50 shades of grey' and white look and MDF have taken over.. < Snip

 

Mike.

 

In that case, you would have loved the interior of Helvetia, According to the broker, the traditional pine look is what sold it.  The cabin and hull lining was Rex Wain's original 1980 work, but all the fitted furniture joinery was my own work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by David Schweizer

[magnetman]

Another fan of old T&G pine here.

 

My nuclear fallout bunker boat is lined with thick T&G from the mid eighties. Really nice feel to it. 

 

I know some people think its a bit old fashioned but I really like it. The other boat is done with teak faced ply boards and mahogany trims which is nice but I prefer the T&G pine if its aged nicely. 

 

 

 

 

Definitely not keen on paint to the sides. Yes for the deckhead for extra light but not the cabin sides. Varnished T&G is the best. 

 

My best narrow boat had nice diagonal t&g above the gunnels which was pleasant. 

 

 

[Captain Pegg]

7 hours ago, blackrose said:

I've seen that starved horse/dog/quilting effect on old Dutch barges before but never a steel narrowboat. So far nobody has confirmed the sides are/were originally 6mm thick. If they are it's taken one hell of a battering in its life as a hire boat. I don't think residual stresses can warp 6mm sheet steel between 18" centres to that extent. It does give the hull some character I suppose. 😋

Not necessarily residual stresses from manufacturing of the plate itself in isolation; but if it isn’t mechanical damage caused by poor handling then it has to be some form of residual stress in the plates unless the plates have been deliberately worked to that shape by the yard. And I think we can discount that.

 

What happens if you have plates with high residual stresses and weld them to economically spaced frames on a cold day? I ask it as a rhetorical question as I don’t know the cause for certain but I strongly suspect it’s a property of the steel in combination with the design and construction of the boat and is unlikely to have any significant affect on the integrity of the boat.

 

[David Mack]

Pinched from Peter Scott on the 'tonic' thread.

The Admiral Class boats were known as dustbin boats, due to the resemblance of their rippled plating between the frames and a corrugated iron dustbin.

[LEO]

5 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

 

 

In that case, you would have loved the interior of Helvetia, According to the broker, the traditional pine look is what sold it.  The cabin and hull lining was Rex Wain's original 1980 work, but all the fitted furniture joinery was my own work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,

Been there, seen it, had one, it takes years to get that colour, my current boat has the look, and it is pine, but scumbled.......looks good, shame when new owners paint it. Fittings look good too, but new decs and fittings.when you need them.......trim, stock availability, kitchen cupboards and make them fit.........my main thoughts were, when do we move away from galleys or kitchens and incorporate modern thinking? most people want catering facilities for lots of peeps , when only 1 or two peeps on the 'liveaboard' home......perhaps soon we shall see 'Nest' controllers for boats...

Thanks for the pics

[magnetman]

3 hours ago, David Mack said:

Pinched from Peter Scott on the 'tonic' thread.

The Admiral Class boats were known as dustbin boats, due to the resemblance of their rippled plating between the frames and a corrugated iron dustbin.

I always thought the dustbin reference was about the blue tops.

 

 

Removable plastic lid .

 

[David Schweizer]

3 hours ago, LEO said:

Hi,

Been there, seen it, had one, it takes years to get that colour, my current boat has the look, and it is pine, but scumbled.......looks good, shame when new owners paint it. Fittings look good too, but new decs and fittings.when you need them.......trim, stock availability, kitchen cupboards and make them fit.........my main thoughts were, when do we move away from galleys or kitchens and incorporate modern thinking? most people want catering facilities for lots of peeps , when only 1 or two peeps on the 'liveaboard' home......perhaps soon we shall see 'Nest' controllers for boats...

Thanks for the pics

 

The original lining had graduated to that colour over the decades, but the fitted furniture was varnished in my own colour mix to resemble the matured timber look. I felt that I got a reasonable colour match.

[Francis Herne]

2 hours ago, magnetman said:

6 hours ago, David Mack said:

The Admiral Class boats were known as dustbin boats, due to the resemblance of their rippled plating between the frames and a corrugated iron dustbin.

I always thought the dustbin reference was about the blue tops

I don't think Admirals were originally fitted with blue tops, only the River class butties?

 

Admirals had cloths over hoops as operated by BW. Birmingham & Midland put some spare blue tops on a couple (?) later.

[magnetman]

Sleeping quarters in the nuclear fallout bunker toy trawler yot. 

 

Such good quality work I am always impressed by it. Thick stuff and well executed given all the curves..

 

 

 whole cabin is done like that with 3 separate berths. Nice atmosphere. 

1 minute ago, Francis Herne said:

I don't think Admirals were originally fitted with blue tops, only the River class butties?

 

Admirals had cloths over hoops as operated by BW. Birmingham & Midland put some spare blue tops on a couple (?) later.

Probably right. I thought it was the blue top boats which were nicknamed dustbins. 

[Francis Herne]

11 minutes ago, magnetman said:

whole cabin is done like that with 3 separate berths. Nice atmosphere. 

 

Probably right. I thought it was the blue top boats which were nicknamed dustbins. 

Sorry, I misunderstood.

 

The last former blue top I saw could be quite reasonably nicknamed a dustbin for other reasons...

 

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, magnetman said:

I always thought the dustbin reference was about the blue tops.

I think it may have applied both to the Admirals (clothed hoops) and River class (blue tops), both of which had relatively light plating and welded frames, rather than the riveted construction of most earlier working boats (Severners excepted).

[JungleJames]

On 05/10/2023 at 09:39, Michael Siggers said:

Thank you @Tracy D'arth and @BEngo

 

It's annoying because the rest of it appears to be immaculate. Arranging a survey so I'll speak with the Surveyor. It's a 2004 boat refurbished in 2021.

 

Hopefully nothing to worry about.

 

Mike

 

'Looks' to be immaculate.

But look closer, and it looks a cheapo renovation. 

As someone else I thinking hinted at. Step back, think, and how long do you honestly think it will be before you get fed up of that interior?

 

It actually looks like they have put nice looking flooring down to hide the cheapness, and the bits not touched.

 

[magnetman]

Builders refurbishment. 

[Tacet]

Cross winding when entering locks would dish the pointy end plates, but unless you're going in astern, it would be some achievement to bash the stern plates in.

 

I can't see that frame corrosion would give the same lovely ripple effect.  Any movement so caused was surely take the whole plate with it.

[Michael Siggers]

Well, took the decision to pull out of buying this boat today.

 

Thank you for all the comments and advice. Much appreciated.

 

Looked at another boat which looks far more promising 😃

 

Mike

[alan_fincher]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

I think it may have applied both to the Admirals (clothed hoops) and River class (blue tops), both of which had relatively light plating and welded frames, rather than the riveted construction of most earlier working boats (Severners excepted).

 

Wooden boats also excepted! 😄

[LEO]

7 hours ago, Michael Siggers said:

Well, took the decision to pull out of buying this boat today.

 

Thank you for all the comments and advice. Much appreciated.

 

Looked at another boat which looks far more promising 😃

 

Mike

Good Luck.hope all goes well.

 

Mike

[cuthound]

On 06/10/2023 at 21:25, Tacet said:

Cross winding when entering locks would dish the pointy end plates, but unless you're going in astern, it would be some achievement to bash the stern plates in.

 

I can't see that frame corrosion would give the same lovely ripple effect.  Any movement so caused was surely take the whole plate with it.

 

It can also be caused by inept steerers trying to turn before the boat is fully out of the lock and by pivoting the boat around  the end of the lock landing, where it narrows to go into the lock.

 

I have seen this in several occasions. Doing it once or twice doesn't do any damage, but continually doing it ripples the plates. This is why it is more common on share and hire boats.

[Quattrodave]

My guess the NB in question has been stuck up on a cill at some stage and is twisted and possibly even slightly bent...

Edited October 8, 2023 by Quattrodave

[Mad Harold]

2 hours ago, Quattrodave said:

My guess the NB in question has been stuck up on a cill at some stage and is twisted and possibly even slightly bent...

Or ramming lock gates open?