Opinions on Dutch Barge Hull Readings, worth renovating? Or just living out the rest of its days

[JamJam]

Hey All

Happy FRIYAY, hope your all well.

Looking at the peoples opinions on renovating/refiting a 51ft Dutch Barge as It currently has a wooden top that is rotten, and I have been looking at getting it refitted with a steel top, this will cost around 25-30k.

 

The reason I ask peoples opinions is primarily due to the state of the hull,

When I got it surveyed in late 2022,  it noted some area’s below 4mm, worst was 3.8mm. The boat was built in 1912, and has had some overplateing already.

As well it noted some blown rivets and pitting.

Here is a link to a album of photos showing it out the water: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5ZgBVvMA4wjyc7Uk9 

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Now this is the crux of what I am interested in peoples opinions. Is it worth spending so much renovating this boat considering the state of the hull?

Or is actually that hull ok, so long as I look after it? 

Tldr; is it a good idea to spend 50-60k Rennovating this barge, or am I better off spending my money getting a better hulled boat? 

Will  this Hull last say 40 years? 

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I spent 17k on this boat, and its got me this far happy with that, however now I need more from my living space and as such should I seek to continue living on this boat I would need to get it a new top which is 30K, and then refit the interior as well as add solar etc. 

 

 

Keen to hear peoples thoughts 

Many thanks

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

I wonder what the plate thickness was when it was new?

[b00ke23]

I guess it boils down to how much you like the boat and if it has historical value.

 

Common sense would dictate you scrap and use the refurb money to buy a newer boat, but if you love it you could end up with a very nice boat after the restoration. It would be great if you could actually get the boat re-plated instead of over-plated, but I imagine that would cost a fortune and would require specialist skills to have the replacement plate shaped properly and riveted.

[blackrose]

6 minutes ago, booke23 said:

I guess it boils down to how much you like the boat and if it has historical value.

 

Surely any historical value would have been lost when that rather unsympathetic boxy conversion was done.

[David Mack]

Depends on what scale of refit you are proposing. If the plan is to remove the cabin and all interior fitout entirely, to have a new steel cabin fitted then fitout the interior from scratch, you would be mad not to get the hull sorted at the same time. Although the whole thing will cost.

If you plan to just replace the cabin structure leaving as much of the interior as it is, then you would presumably do less to the hull (not least as you won't have much access to the inside face of the hull).

Edited March 28, 2025 by David Mack