How do I find a good boat builder?

[keble]

It seems little changes! lol

You left that a LONG time!

[Rachel Jane]

I'm looking for a widebeam sailaway boat builder and I wandered if anyone could recommend any? I can find lots of recommended narrowboat builders but I have yet to find reviews of widebeam builders. I want a 57ft x 10ft and I will work on it on my Dads farm in Bedfordshire.

 

Rachel

[matty40s]

Piper, but most of those are hideous boxes, Tyler Wilson, who-ever designs the shape for the ones Red Hill marina sells also needs shooting.

[system 4-50]

I'm looking for a widebeam sailaway boat builder and I wandered if anyone could recommend any? I can find lots of recommended narrowboat builders but I have yet to find reviews of widebeam builders. I want a 57ft x 10ft and I will work on it on my Dads farm in Bedfordshire.

 

Rachel

Colecraft.

[Rachel Jane]

Thanks I'll have a look right now.

[MtB]

I'm looking for a widebeam sailaway boat builder and I wandered if anyone could recommend any?

 

 

Please don't.

 

The thing is, no-one has ever built an elegantly styled wide beam narrowboat. So unless you have no artistic sensibilities, you'll be deeply disappointed once you get your 'eye' in.

[Loafer]

No, don't. Stick with us trusty sewer-pipe pilots. A much better class of person, overall.

 

A widebean is just showing off!

[Bod]

I'm looking for a widebeam sailaway boat builder and I wandered if anyone could recommend any? I can find lots of recommended narrowboat builders but I have yet to find reviews of widebeam builders. I want a 57ft x 10ft and I will work on it on my Dads farm in Bedfordshire.

 

Rachel

Where do you intend to float it?

I'm not sure that the river Ouse locks are that wide.

 

Bod

[linnit]

Do what you want to do!..then go to XR&D and get what you asked for

[BruceinSanity]

If you want something reasonably authentic and based on an English tradition, TylerWilson had that Yorkshire keel style boat at Crick. Big bluff bow, much much better than a clinically obese narrowboat.

[Rachel Jane]

Thanks for your recommendations. I like the look of Tyler Wilson so I will probably head up to visit them soon to have a look at their boats.

 

Rachel

[Athy]

 

 

Please don't.

 

The thing is, no-one has ever built an elegantly styled wide beam narrowboat. So unless you have no artistic sensibilities, you'll be deeply disappointed once you get your 'eye' in.

But she won't be living on the outside of it, and will appreciate the increased interior space compared with a narrowboat. As you'll know, I appreciate a handsome boat as much as the next person, but for some people aesthetics are not the most important feature of a boat. You can tell that from the number of [insert name of fave ugly boatbuilder] there are on the canals.

[tove]

For my money you can't beat personal recommendation followed by a visit. It's particularly important if you're doing your own fit-out that the 'fit' is right with your builder and you feel you can work together on what will essentially be a joint project.If you feel a builder is not fully engaging with your ideas, don't use them.

Some builders are very reluctant to stray from the conventional (as it will involve extra work) so if you have strong design ideas of your own it's important to find a builder who is willing to accommodate them.

The other piece of advice I would offer is to invest as much of your budget as you possibly can in the shell. By which I don't mean use the most expensive builder you can find, but don't scrimp on port holes for the sake of an expensive kitchen. Have the extra side-hatches or the windows of your choice. In the long run those details will have a much bigger impact than a granite worktop.

It's easy to live in a house with good architectural bones but virtually nothing in it and the same principal can be applied to boat.

I ended up spending over £5000 more than intended on my shell (I bought a 65ft widebeam battened and spray-foamed sail-away from Paul Widdowson in Newark) and I'm so glad I did. For the first seven months I had virtually no services on board, it was basically camping indoors but she was a joy to live on from the start. Even at this very early stage people would come onboard and say what lovely feel she had or what a fantastic space it was.

Nearly two years down the line and I'm as besotted with her as ever.

[Toby knight]

Hello all,

 

I'm trying to find somebody that's had experience with Aintree boats, I'm considering having a boat built by them,and would love to hear from any bodies experience that have dealt with them in the past, many thanks

[Lady Muck]

Especially if you use a budget builder, (well you should do it for any new build) spend an extra £1000 and instruct a boat surveyor to oversee the build, bring your own in, not one from their yard. As Aintree is a budget builder, I seriously recommend you do this. I have a friend who is a marine surveyor in London and this is the advice he passed on to me.

[Toby knight]

Thank you, great advice, I'm only wanting a small weekend one person boat, 30ft for weekends and a run around, we allready have

A 65 ft hand crafted boat, and I'm not confident to take out by myself in case I cause any damage.

[Johny London]

Especially if you use a budget builder, (well you should do it for any new build) spend an extra £1000 and instruct a boat surveyor to oversee the build, bring your own in, not one from their yard. As Aintree is a budget builder, I seriously recommend you do this. I have a friend who is a marine surveyor in London and this is the advice he passed on to me.

I'd agree with that. At the time of having my hull built I posted on another site about the possibility of having the build inspected (especially as it was at the other end of the country from me). The (part) fit out which was carried out by the company I actually bought from was great - top job with everything just how I wanted it, and that is where I focused nearly all of my attention, on getting the internal layout right for my needs.

But, having had time to live with the hull, I have realised that it is very poor indeed - stern doors that are out of alignment at one end (top) by 3/4", stern bulkheads out of alignment, hatch out of alignment (wobbles like hell when you use it as one runner is about 1/2" lower at one end), infact its like they used the trainee to do that bit of the boat as fortunately the main hull welds are pretty straight and tidy. At the bow things are... so so. I'd say within tolerance for a budget hull but a lot of weld splatter everywhere (which again you could argue is something that you would address in the finishing stage so this was very much a hull in holding primer rather than paint ready as some I've seen).

Everything can be fixed and overcome, but I'm sure regular inspection (or even a post hull build inspection) would have saved me money in the long run.

Live and learn

[ramblin]

Hi all I'm looking for a builder in Yorkshire, any recommendations? Tyler wilson look good though seem to be towards the high end of market and a bit too expensive for my budget. Would also need storage for at least a month or two to paint and line etc... Can this usually be arranged?

Edited October 28, 2016 by ramblin

[PD1964]

Hi all I'm looking for a builder in Yorkshire, any recommendations? Tyler wilson look good though seem to be towards the high end of market and a bit too expensive for my budget. Would also need storage for at least a month or two to paint and line etc... Can this usually be arranged?

You could try:

http://www.cuttwaterboatbuilders.co.uk/

 

Based at Thorne, South Yorkshire

[stegra]

Hi Everyone

 

I intend to order a new shell as soon as possible. I've read through this and other threads and compiled a list of potential builders, also eliminated a few. Some of my requirements are a little unusual, hence my hope for some advice on finding a suitable builder. I'm aware that some of my plans might be a bit contentious. I currently live in Bristol and intend the boat to be a live-aboard on K&A / River Avon, most likely a marina. It's clear that i need to consider builders in the north and that's not an issue. I hope to be starting the fit out by the end of summer 2017 at the latest so lead time is a factor. I'll list what I'm hoping to achieve and hopefully you can help me with some advice:

 

Shell to be 45' to 50' long, 12' max wide (10' min).

It will be electric drive so no need for engine room, mountings, diesel tank, cooling tanks etc. but might need battery compartment fabricating.

The shape is still debatable. A 'wide' narrowboat is acceptable to me but I'm happy to pay extra for something more pleasing to the eye although I would not like a wheelhouse.

I'd quite like to raise the gunwales a few inches above the norm and have near-vertical cabin sides, but that's just a preference.

 

So the builder ideally will:

 

be able and willing to build up to 12' wide

be able to do the build reasonably soon

be willing to deviate from their standard designs

be willing to create something that might not be to their personal taste

have a near risk-free payment plan

possibly have on-site space to rent for the fit-out. This depends on where might be available in the south, but that's for another thread.

 

I appreciate any advice you can offer including any pitfalls to avoid.

 

Thank you

[GUMPY]

One question its electric powered how will you charge the batteries in winter when solar doesnt work?

Presumably some kind of diesel powered generator?

[stegra]

I'm planning a large solar array and battery bank; probably sixteen 110Ah batteries. I have a little experience with solar and I'm confident there should be enough power. It's principally to be a live-aboard so the batteries are for off-grid living and occasional cruising. A full day's cruising would probably leave the batteries low but a generator could be used to charge them if necessary. Solar panels still work in the winter, in fact they work better when cold. There are fewer daylight hours and less intense light but correctly sized solar set-up with a decent MPPT controller should bring the batteries to float when there's no load. I anticipate there being a significant surplus when moored so I'm looking to integrate a dump load immersion heater in the calorifier. I suspected that my electric propulsion idea might have been a bit nuts at first but having researched a bit, I've found it's well established.

[GUMPY]

Electric propulsion is fine however I wish you luck keeping your batteries charged in winter.

Personally I woukd build in a diesel tank and a northern lights genset for the times when solar just doesn't do what you think it will.

[sunho]

This thread is for all of you boaters out there who have commissioned a new boat to be built to pass on your advice to those who are considering doing the same.

 

It is not for naming and shaming boat builders any posts of this nature will be edited or removed- if you want to do that, we'd prefer you held the risk and started your own blog or site, which we know some boaters have done and we wish them well.

 

It is more of a general advice thread - what did you do right? What did you do wrong? How can you protect yourself from cowboys.

 

Over to you....

Hi all

Its not only the finish that should be noted but how long does it last? Not only the workmanship involved in the interior but, the quality of and more important exterior. The quality of steel which is the correct grade for boat building, I know a person who works at a boat yard has reported that few people who have bought brand new and ten years 6 years later 10mm original plate has gone down to 7.5mm and the sides have suffered the same corrosion. How do you know that they are selling the quality that you expect to last?

Thanks for looking

Darren

[Sir Percy]

...bought brand new and ten years 6 years later 10mm original plate has gone down to 7.5mm and the sides have suffered the same corrosion...

with what maintenance? In what conditions (e.g., shoreline)?