Hexagon Boat with Nana Engine and Hydraulic Drive … any good

[howardang]

On 02/11/2023 at 12:09, davem399 said:

If I remember correctly, Hexagon narrowboats were/are built in Poland.  Before they went bust, Ownerships had some Polish built narrowboats, possibly by Hexagon?

Hexagon in Poland built a number of boats  which were shared ownership boats in the Ownerships fleet. Ther boats were mainly built in Poland and then brought to England to be fitted with engine etc.  My last boat was one of them with Hydraulic drive and Bow/stern thrust, all powered by a Nanni engine. The boats were very well equipped and many are still around. Our boat was sold a couple of years ago and I am not sure what her new name is but the original name was Winthorpe. The boat very well equipped and well looked and  when Ownerships ceased trading in 2008 the boat was managed by the owners. What is the name of the boat you are considering? 

 

Howard

[gatekrash]

13 hours ago, David Mack said:

Belfast has a front well deck that drains to the bilge. But the cabin front bulkhead is watertight to the baseplate and there is a separate bilge pump fitted under the well deck. This is manually operated, so no risk of flattening the battery etc. Water building up down there has never been a problem. We can go weeks without pumping it out, and I have never felt the need for an automatic bilge pump.

 

Other solutions you may find are that the cabin front and back bulkheads have drainage openings at the bottom, so water from the well deck flows under the cabin floor to the stern bilge. Other boats have pipes under the cabin to carry the water back. The first option results in water flowing through the cabin bilge which will rust the baseplate. In most boats there is little or no access to the cabin bilge so you can't derust and paint it. The second option is better for the bilges, but what happens if the pipes block or corrode through (if steel)?

Our Mel Davis boat has the same design, watertight bilge on the well deck so it can't run back through the boat unless it overflows the top and through the cabin.

 

We've got an auto bilge pump connected to the bow thruster battery, as the thruster is almost never used then that battery is always well charged, and if it does flatten it then it won't matter.

 

However we never take more than a cupfull of water out of the bilge anyway . We've got a cratch fitted so the only water that ever gets in there is the stuff that blows around the side of the cratch if the wind is in the wrong direction. The auto pump has never to my knowledge turned itself on as it's never been deep enough, so I usually just sponge out any bilge water.

 

So far this year I've had to sponge out the bilge once all year. It's generally really dry. If we didn't have the cratch then yes, it'd need bailing out a lot more regularly.

[SteveLevis]

Our last boat was a Hexagon built (Polish), boat which had a Nanni engine with hydraulic drive. In general the engine was excellent, however initially we did have some problems with the hydraulic drive, (a leak), that took a while to get sorted. The hydraulic drive did seem to be quieter than a convention shaft, but they are not as fuel efficient as a shaft drive, (probably about 75%??), so you will use more fuel. Also I think "AR Peachement" are the only company that deal with the hydraulic gearboxes..(I could be wrong).

 

If it has bow / stern thrusters that are hydraulic the recommendation is that you change the hydraulic pipes at around 10 years, (not cheap, but would be a right mess if the pipes "burst").

 

If I was getting another boat I personally would not get one with a hydraulic drive... 

[Tony Brooks]

Point 1. Yes, inspect hoses regularly and change at the first sign of deterioration. If a hose bursts or comes off its spigot it sprays all over everything.

 

Point 2. For clarity. This is NOT a hydraulic gearbox, it is a hydraulic drive. Two very different things. The components are used all over agricultural, plant, specialist vehicles and processing equipment, so Peachment are not the only source of spares. For boat use ARS and Anglian Diesels also supply hydraulic drives.Nearly every large town has hydraulic hose suppliers who tend to  make and fit on site. If they do not supply spare pumps/motors they will probably know someone local who does.

[Alan de Enfield]

53 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Point 1. Yes, inspect hoses regularly and change at the first sign of deterioration. If a hose bursts or comes off its spigot it sprays all over everything.

 

Point 2. For clarity. This is NOT a hydraulic gearbox, it is a hydraulic drive. Two very different things. The components are used all over agricultural, plant, specialist vehicles and processing equipment, so Peachment are not the only source of spares. For boat use ARS and Anglian Diesels also supply hydraulic drives.Nearly every large town has hydraulic hose suppliers who tend to  make and fit on site. If they do not supply spare pumps/motors they will probably know someone local who does.

 

 

I use Pirtek if a 'land-shop' is not available.

 

Hydraulic Hose Repair, Hose Replacement - Pirtek

 

Nationwide mobile service come and make up the hose wherever you are (but will need to get the van fairly close to you as they need the crimping equipment fitted in the van to make up the hose).

 

Their prices are generally at least 2x the price (call out is expensive) compared to a 'land based' supplier of which there are many (most towns)

I needed a new hose for a John Deere, the John Deere dealer quoted me almost £300 with next day delivery, Apparently the dealers hold very little stock and everything is flown in from the USA on an overnight flight and couriered to the dealer early next morning.

I got it made up at my local 'hose place' for £25 + VAT, whilst I waited - about 20 minutes.

 

If you have time - Shop around

Edited November 4, 2023 by Alan de Enfield

[SteveLevis]

..yes, hydraulic drive not gearbox...my bad.

In general the hydraulic drive itself was reliable, but the one time we did have a problem the unit had to go to Peachments for repair and from memory this took a few weeks, so no cruising, (syndicate boat). There probably are advantages to having a hydraulic drive, (eg no stern gland to grease), but I prefer the simplicity of a drive shaft...

[agg221]

54 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Point 1. Yes, inspect hoses regularly and change at the first sign of deterioration. If a hose bursts or comes off its spigot it sprays all over everything.

 

Point 2. For clarity. This is NOT a hydraulic gearbox, it is a hydraulic drive. Two very different things. The components are used all over agricultural, plant, specialist vehicles and processing equipment, so Peachment are not the only source of spares. For boat use ARS and Anglian Diesels also supply hydraulic drives.Nearly every large town has hydraulic hose suppliers who tend to  make and fit on site. If they do not supply spare pumps/motors they will probably know someone local who does.

 

For reference, I have found ARS very helpful, in that they have provided me with information and advice -not- to spend money. Very much appreciative of their responsiveness as a 'not yet' customer.

 

One piece of advice I got given was to replace long hydraulic hoses with a short hose and a length of steel pipe. It helps with cooling, requires less wrestling in and out of place and when the hose eventually needs replacing it is much more portable. Because the steel pipe (proper hydraulic pipe) is oil filled it can only corrode from the outside, so if that is painted up there is effectively no degradation. I will probably do this when my hoses eventually need replacing, but at 20yrs old there is still no sign of deterioration so they may well be good for many years yet.

 

Alec

[Didne]

7 hours ago, gatekrash said:

Our Mel Davis boat has the same design, watertight bilge on the well deck so it can't run back through the boat unless it overflows the top and through the cabin

 
How can you tell ? … or rather how can i tell ? … seems like quite an important design feature to me … if I go for a second viewing how can I find out if the well deck bilge is connected to the other bilges, or is a separate sealed off unit ? … cheers … xxx

 

 

[David Mack]

3 minutes ago, Didne said:

 
How can you tell ? … or rather how can i tell ? … seems like quite an important design feature to me … if I go for a second viewing how can I find out if the well deck bilge is connected to the other bilges, or is a separate sealed off unit ? … cheers … xxx

 

 

By lifting the deck boards in the well deck and looking! And look for a bilge pump down there, together with its discharge hose and skin fitting outlet.

If the vendor won't let you poke about on the boat like that at a second viewing, I would regard that as a red flag that he has something to hide.