Widening a NB

[onionbargee]

Hi all, is there anyone that can tell me where i can get some info for widening a NB, or if anyone on here that has done this.

 

Thanks

 

Wayne

I don't know who your dealer is but he's pushing you some very strong stuff !

[mrsmelly]

Hi mrsmelly, is there a possibility for you to put a picture of your recently aquired fat narrowboat on the forum, even if you think that it's a PIG UGLY boat too.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

 

Hi

 

Yeah I love this forum its much better than fishing. I am too fick to workout how to put pictures on the forum and besides its so piggin ugly I havnt taken any pictures yet. My missus luvs it but she loves me also so thats certainly no recomendation. Ours is not so pig ugly as the usual Liverpool/collingwood type but yes its still piggin ugly, but whilst we are oop north it makes sense to be widebeam and its dead comfy and will suffice till we hopefully in the future buy a proper narrowboat again.

[LoneWolf]

Hi

 

Yeah I love this forum its much better than fishing. I am too fick to workout how to put pictures on the forum and besides its so piggin ugly I havnt taken any pictures yet. My missus luvs it but she loves me also so thats certainly no recomendation. Ours is not so pig ugly as the usual Liverpool/collingwood type but yes its still piggin ugly, but whilst we are oop north it makes sense to be widebeam and its dead comfy and will suffice till we hopefully in the future buy a proper narrowboat again.

 

It's very refreshing to read posts that dont just recommend something or insist it's the best because it's what they've got

 

I'll give you a greenie, i'd give you 2 if only i hadn't wasted one frivolously on a post that made me laugh already

[blackrose]

Two points in reply

 

It is obvious that it is my opinion, I think it utter stupidity to put IMHO etc on any discussion, who elses opinion do you think I am typing about ?

 

Secondly again obviously my opinion and as the owner of a fat narrowboat I believe they are all PIG UGLY but must say mine is not quite as ugly as the onw you depicted.

 

 

Just one point in reply - you are talking out of your arse again (in my opinion of course )

 

Why haven't you posted a picture of your fat narrowboat as bargemast requested so so we can compare?

Edited August 12, 2011 by blackrose

[sueb]

That's down to your personal taste. I feel the same about most narrow boats.

 

 

 

Why do you insist on imposing your personal taste on everyone else? You can say - It has to be said that you find ALL fat narrowboats pig ugly......... but please don't tell me what I find appealing.

 

I'm not saying my boat is anything special and I fully appreciate that it's not to everyone's taste. But pig ugly? Many people have told me they find it aesthetically pleasing (or words to that effect).

 

It would definitely look better without the pipe cleaners trailing in the water. What are they for?

Sue

[blackrose]

It would definitely look better without the pipe cleaners trailing in the water. What are they for?

Sue

 

Pipe cleaners? They're called fenders Sue. (63mm diameter rubber tube with a 16mm wall thickness).

 

Edit: I know you don't like it, but as I have said many times on this forum, unlike narrowboats there is no stygma attached to having fenders down on a barge while moving.

 

 

Since I move my boat single-handed, how would you expect me to put fenders down when I enter locks in order to protect my boat and others? Leave the helm perhaps?

Edited August 12, 2011 by blackrose

[saltysplash]

I've never seen a widebeam that looks right.

 

 

oh I dunno

 

 

 

 

Pipe cleaners? They're called fenders Sue. (63mm diameter rubber tube with a 16mm wall thickness).

 

Edit: I know you don't like it, but as I have said many times on this forum, unlike narrowboats there is no stygma attached to having fenders down on a barge while moving.

 

 

Since I move my boat single-handed, how would you expect me to put fenders down when I enter locks in order to protect my boat and others? Leave the helm perhaps?

 

 

Ah yes but if I remember rightly Elessina was approaching her berth at Port Medway so fenders would be down, If they'd left em down during a choppy trip up to the estuary their paint and windows might,ve taken a few knocks.

 

In your case and being on the Thames it is generally accepted to leave em dangling but I have cruised my old MFV single handed and always left the helm to secure or drop fenders when leaving or arriving at a berth. You just drop your revs and keep an eye on your course. Admittedly I did have Auto Helm but you could always deploy tiller strings for the same effect

Edited August 13, 2011 by saltysplash

[ChrisPy]

looks better if they are suspended just above the waterline. But it's a bit like the appearance of the outside of a house - the occupant doesn't usually have to contemplate it for more than a few seconds.

 

ref Elessina - 2 wrongs a right do not make.

Edited August 13, 2011 by ChrisPy

[blackrose]

looks better if they are suspended just above the waterline. But it's a bit like the appearance of the outside of a house - the occupant doesn't usually have to contemplate it for more than a few seconds.

 

ref Elessina - 2 wrongs a right do not make.

 

But it's not wrong, it's accepted practice. I see barges going past me all the time with their fenders down (including Elessina which is now moored about a mile away from me). Also I don't care what it looks like - they go just below the waterline for practical reasons - sometimes they're needed low down. I'm sure the boat would look better without the big bow and stern fenders too, but I'm not getting rid of them.

 

In your case and being on the Thames it is generally accepted to leave em dangling but I have cruised my old MFV single handed and always left the helm to secure or drop fenders when leaving or arriving at a berth. You just drop your revs and keep an eye on your course. Admittedly I did have Auto Helm but you could always deploy tiller strings for the same effect

 

Or just leave the fenders down...

 

You want me to leave the helm as my 32 tonne boat comes into a lock filled with anxious looking people on GRP cruisers and day boats? Sorry but I need to be at the helm until the boat has stopped. Dropping the revs won't stop the boat and tiller strings won't be able to make last minute adjustments at the bow or stern.

Edited August 13, 2011 by blackrose

[Robin2]

oh I dunno

 

 

As you posted all those nice pictures for my benefit I have to say I don't think if you called into your local canal boat builder and asked him to build you a widebeam boat that you would come away with a boat that looked like any of them

[bargemast]

Hi

 

Yeah I love this forum its much better than fishing. I am too fick to workout how to put pictures on the forum and besides its so piggin ugly I havnt taken any pictures yet. My missus luvs it but she loves me also so thats certainly no recomendation. Ours is not so pig ugly as the usual Liverpool/collingwood type but yes its still piggin ugly, but whilst we are oop north it makes sense to be widebeam and its dead comfy and will suffice till we hopefully in the future buy a proper narrowboat again.

 

 

Hi mrsmelly, too bad that you don't know how to put a picture on the forum, but I can almost assure you that if you would, you could, as even I, having difficulties already with the simple daily use of my laptop, can do it.

 

Nobody can blaim your missus for loving you, that's why the say:"Love makes blind". I hope that you live a happy life on your a bit less Pig Ugly wide beam,

and hope that it won't be too difficult to go back in the future to a narrowboat.

 

BTW has this wide beam a pump-out, or a cassette bog ?

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

[bargemast]

Pipe cleaners? They're called fenders Sue. (63mm diameter rubber tube with a 16mm wall thickness).

 

Edit: I know you don't like it, but as I have said many times on this forum, unlike narrowboats there is no stygma attached to having fenders down on a barge while moving.

 

 

Since I move my boat single-handed, how would you expect me to put fenders down when I enter locks in order to protect my boat and others? Leave the helm perhaps?

 

 

I must say that I leave my fenders out too, the reason: there are many locks with very little distance between them, and I see no point in going through the same hassle all the time to hang them out. If I go out into choppy waters, I'll pull them in, but in the meantime they stay where they are. If other people don't like the looks, they are free to look at something else, it's my boat and I do as I want.

 

Peter.

[carlt]

If other people don't like the looks, they are free to look at something else, it's my boat and I do as I want.

Funnily enough it seems to be a tradition, started by Grp owners, not wanting to scuff their gelcoat and has become, as these things do, ancient nautical folklore.

 

Fenders hung, clear of the water, look far neater than those ridiculous fender cages, seen on big plastic sea boats.

[Tam & Di]

Funnily enough it seems to be a tradition, started by Grp owners, not wanting to scuff their gelcoat and has become, as these things do, ancient nautical folklore.

 

I can understand having a fender at each quarter on a straight sided boat such as the wide beam one shown, i.e one pair forward on either side and another pair aft, ditto. That means that coming into a lock or quay the fore end can run against the wall without scratching paintwork, or the stern can when the boat slews as you hold back. What purpose do the others serve? (especially as the craft does not appear to be 14' wide, and there is therefore plenty of room between the hull and most UK "wide" locks).

[carlt]

What purpose do the others serve?

I don't know.

 

I don't like fat narrowboats or pipe fenders so I have never looked into them in any detail.

[ChrisPy]

 

I don't like fat narrowboats or pipe fenders so I have never looked into them in any detail.

very wise, Carl, after all the devil is in the detail.

[lewisericeric]

The guy who owns that GORGEOUS black widebeam - I dont think this has anything to do with people not thinking the "Fenders" look right or "all widebeams look ugly"

 

Its plain jealously because it is absolutely stunning. Id LOVE a widebeam, but can only afford a NB - but if I had the choice I'd have a widebeam over NB any day just for the space!

 

Take no notice mate and have pride in that beautie!

[carlt]

 

Its plain jealously because it is absolutely stunning.

Really?

 

If I had the money to buy a brand new, bespoke, fat narrowboat, then I would buy a wooden humber keel (well, I'd try to buy the last one) completely restore it and then fit it out to my taste...then do the same to a wooden narrowboat, with the change.

 

How can I be jealous of something I don't like, regardless of your tastes?

 

Perhaps I may have a twinge of envy, of course, at someone being able to love something so readily available. It would make life so much easier.

[blackrose]

I can understand having a fender at each quarter on a straight sided boat such as the wide beam one shown, i.e one pair forward on either side and another pair aft, ditto. That means that coming into a lock or quay the fore end can run against the wall without scratching paintwork, or the stern can when the boat slews as you hold back. What purpose do the others serve? (especially as the craft does not appear to be 14' wide, and there is therefore plenty of room between the hull and most UK "wide" locks).

 

They help fend off against other (shorter) boats which may rest along the side of my boat in a lock.

 

The guy who owns that GORGEOUS black widebeam - I dont think this has anything to do with people not thinking the "Fenders" look right or "all widebeams look ugly"

 

Its plain jealously because it is absolutely stunning. Id LOVE a widebeam, but can only afford a NB - but if I had the choice I'd have a widebeam over NB any day just for the space!

 

Take no notice mate and have pride in that beautie!

 

Cheers

Edited August 13, 2011 by blackrose

[blackrose]

Really?

 

If I had the money to buy a brand new, bespoke, fat narrowboat, then I would buy a wooden humber keel (well, I'd try to buy the last one) completely restore it and then fit it out to my taste...then do the same to a wooden narrowboat, with the change.

 

How can I be jealous of something I don't like, regardless of your tastes?

 

Perhaps I may have a twinge of envy, of course, at someone being able to love something so readily available. It would make life so much easier.

 

I completely respect your tastes and knowledge of wooden boats and I don't expect my boat to be to everyone's taste. I posted the picture not because I think it's anything special, but because I don't think it can reasonably be described as pig ugly.

 

As I've said before on the forum, I originally wanted a Dutch barge of some description, but the old ones I looked at (both here and on the continent), all had areas where the hulls were too thin and I couldn't afford a new build. Thus my boat (like ALL boats), was a compromise. A compromise too far? Perhaps, but I still like it and I console myself with the thought that it's easier for me to handle on my own than most Dutch barges and that it's easier to take it on broadbeam canals because of its reduced draught and air-draught.

 

Taste is a purely personal thing. After 3 years of living on a narrowboat I can honestly say that I don't really like them, just as some of you don't like widebeams.

 

Edit: The other thing I would say is that on a couple of occasions I've been subject to such downright hostility for owning a widebeam that I can only see this as stemming from some form of jealousy as lewisericeric has already alluded to. Some people just protest so much it gives the game away. Others criticise NB style widebeams because they don't represent anything that was ever traditional about the inland waterways. They are neither a narrowboat or a proper barge and as such are a bastardisation of both. While this may be true, I would just like to remind all the modern narrowboat owners out there that apart from being 6'10" wide, any narrowboat with a full length superstructure also bears no relation to a traditional open hold, goods carrying narrowboat.

Edited August 13, 2011 by blackrose

[Tam & Di]

They help fend off against other (shorter) boats which may rest along the side of my boat in a lock.

 

You're presumably talking about Thames and other river locks, where this could occur. I guess I'd expect the other boats to have their own fenders rather than putting my own out for them which anyway may not even be any good for their size or type of boat. I just don't like the idea of having a lot of unecessary things dangling over the side that might get snarled up with stuff (like other boats' fenders on locks)

[Ex- Member]

But it's not wrong, it's accepted practice. I see barges going past me all the time with their fenders down (including Elessina which is now moored about a mile away from me). Also I don't care what it looks like - they go just below the waterline for practical reasons - sometimes they're needed low down. I'm sure the boat would look better without the big bow and stern fenders too, but I'm not getting rid of them.

 

 

 

Or just leave the fenders down...

 

You want me to leave the helm as my 32 tonne boat comes into a lock filled with anxious looking people on GRP cruisers and day boats? Sorry but I need to be at the helm until the boat has stopped. Dropping the revs won't stop the boat and tiller strings won't be able to make last minute adjustments at the bow or stern.

 

We have very similar fenders as you, not quite as thick wall though, I think ours were originally air compressor hose, the centre's filled with rope that attach to the fender eyes. They've always been down when on the water, why would they be pulled up?

 

Anyway they do the job in protecting the hull especially when mooring, we have 4 each side, I mentioned before I also like your bow fender rope, so I'm looking for some appropriate rubber, thanks for the link you posted too. I have time to wait though, so as always I keep my eyes open for bargains or freebies on the rubber tube front

 

 

 

[blackrose]

You're presumably talking about Thames and other river locks, where this could occur. I guess I'd expect the other boats to have their own fenders rather than putting my own out for them which anyway may not even be any good for their size or type of boat. I just don't like the idea of having a lot of unecessary things dangling over the side that might get snarled up with stuff (like other boats' fenders on locks)

 

I see no reason for them to get snarled up on anything. They're heavy enough to hang flat against the sides of the boat.

 

Yes, one would expect other boats to have their own fenders but that doesn't mean they always do.

 

The other purpose they serve is when I've come in against moorings which don't always run the full length of the boat, such as where walls angle off so that the bow or stern is left protruding. In that case once I'm moored up I usually hang a tyre off the side of the boat against the corner of the wall, but that doesn't really help me as I approach.

Edited August 13, 2011 by blackrose

[carlt]

I completely respect your tastes and knowledge of wooden boats and I don't expect my boat to be to everyone's taste. I posted the picture not because I think it's anything special, but because I don't think it can reasonably be described as pig ugly.

I think I've posted in the past that I think your boat is far more attractive than most 'fat narrowboats' (I think it's the colour that flatters the lines) but the point I was making (directed at Lewisericeric but your boat got dragged into it) was that my, general, dislike of them is nothing to do with envy, just personal taste.

 

If I see a boat that I think is beautiful, but beyond my reach, I will admire it and post a picture of it here (I started the 'lottery boat' threads that were once running here).

 

I see no point being jealous, it just causes lines, on a face as old as mine.

[blackrose]

Well there's a sort of envy in admiration, and then there's bitter petty jealousy. I've certainly felt the former when I've seen a nice Dutch barge go past.

Edited August 13, 2011 by blackrose