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Sterling boats

JerryP

By JerryP
in General Boating

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Athy Veteran II

AthyDonate to Canal World

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thanks ,probably one to avoid then ?

Not necessarily. Budget-priced boats can be very good value and long-lived: look at the number of Springers that are still around. We were very happy with the first boat we had built, a Liverpool shell with a "good honest fit-out" (quote ABNB) by Devizes Narrowboat Builders, at the budget end of the market but sound and practical. Some cheaper boats do just look cheap and nasty, agreed. Go and look at the boat and see if it suits you. You may not require granite worktops, soft mood lighting and a stereo dishwasher.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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Currently on hard standing and available for inspection. BSC till October 2012 and licensed to October 2010

 

May have been "on the hardstanding" and/or "for sale" for quite a while, if that's true! :rolleyes:

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plhoug Gongoozler

plhoug

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thanks ,probably one to avoid then ?

Stirling narrowboats were built in ellemere port(about a mile from my home)but folded very quickly as soon as they were told that a hull they built was too wide. Paul williams boats bought a shell and fitted it out in chester, it was sold for £57000. It got stuck in the first narrow lock it came to, the bottom lock of hurleston flight on the llangollen canal, I was called to assist it through the lock.

After a lengthy court battle (i was a witness in the case) it was established that the boat was 7'and 1/16" wide, a very stupid mistake by the builder cost everyone involved a lot of money but stirling got off scot free. It was banned from the llangollen canal but it goes round the rest of the system ok. The case was settled in 2009 but sadly because stirling folded quickly as soon as they were implicated, paul williams boats (who only did the fitting) was left to face the bill. The boat was a 62ft cruiser called skylark, moored at norbury the last time i saw it (late last year). We took another stirling boat built at the same time through hurleston with no problems before the trial. They were made as 10/6/4 as far as i can remember, it was a nice boat. Court transcripts and news articles here.......... http://www.grannybuttons.com/NB%20Skylark%20judgment.pdf http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/featured-stories/2010/05/20/couple-in-row-over-the-sale-of-a-narrow-boat-to-wide-to-pass-through-the-narrowest-lock-in-the-country-59067-26480496/ (if the links dont work, just google paul williams boats chester)

I would always advise anyone buying a boat in the cheshire/shropshire/staffordshire area to ask for photographic proof that its been up the llangollen, if not then a trial through hurleston before completion of the sale is a must. It is the narrowest lock in the country and the most popular canal, not one to miss.

Best of luck in your search

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David Mack Veteran II

David MackDonate to Canal World

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I would always advise anyone buying a boat in the cheshire/shropshire/staffordshire area to ask for photographic proof that its been up the llangollen, if not then a trial through hurleston before completion of the sale is a must. It is the narrowest lock in the country ...

 

Not so sure about that. Stret Lock on the Chesterfield is signed as 6 ft 10.5 ins wide and has stopped boats which can make it through Hurleston.

 

David

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Athy Veteran II

AthyDonate to Canal World

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From the photos it looks comfortably fitted out, with ample storage space. I just hope that you are a Christian as, ubnless the view of the galley has been foreshortened by the camera, you will need to kneel beside the cooker when taking things out of the lower over - a posture which I remember well from our first boat, which also had a rather cramped U shaped galley.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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Not so sure about that. Stret Lock on the Chesterfield is signed as 6 ft 10.5 ins wide and has stopped boats which can make it through Hurleston.

 

David

Yes, I agree.

 

From recent attempts by "seven foot and a bit" boats to get up the Chesterfield, things sound a lot tighter than at Hurleston!

 

Whilst having every sympathy with Paul Williams Boats, and whilst you can say "they only did the fitting", wasn't the issue that it was them, not the shell builder, that ultimately sold a completed boat to a customer? When you buy new goods "not fit for purpose" it is the person who sold you them that is liable, not the manufacturer of the defective "part".

 

yes i noticed that Alan ,i assumed it was a typing error.

I wouldn't assume - I would find out. There is many a boat that has gone a very long while unsold.

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Guest

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Stirling narrowboats were built in ellemere port(about a mile from my home)but folded very quickly as soon as they were told that a hull they built was too wide. Paul williams boats bought a shell and fitted it out in chester, it was sold for £57000. It got stuck in the first narrow lock it came to, the bottom lock of hurleston flight on the llangollen canal, I was called to assist it through the lock.

After a lengthy court battle (i was a witness in the case) it was established that the boat was 7'and 1/16" wide, a very stupid mistake by the builder cost everyone involved a lot of money but stirling got off scot free. It was banned from the llangollen canal but it goes round the rest of the system ok. The case was settled in 2009 but sadly because stirling folded quickly as soon as they were implicated, paul williams boats (who only did the fitting) was left to face the bill. The boat was a 62ft cruiser called skylark, moored at norbury the last time i saw it (late last year). We took another stirling boat built at the same time through hurleston with no problems before the trial. They were made as 10/6/4 as far as i can remember, it was a nice boat. Court transcripts and news articles here.......... http://www.grannybuttons.com/NB%20Skylark%20judgment.pdf http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/featured-stories/2010/05/20/couple-in-row-over-the-sale-of-a-narrow-boat-to-wide-to-pass-through-the-narrowest-lock-in-the-country-59067-26480496/ (if the links dont work, just google paul williams boats chester)

I would always advise anyone buying a boat in the cheshire/shropshire/staffordshire area to ask for photographic proof that its been up the llangollen, if not then a trial through hurleston before completion of the sale is a must. It is the narrowest lock in the country and the most popular canal, not one to miss.

Best of luck in your search

My sailaway was boutght from Stirling via Harrell brokerage in 2004. It measures 6ft 9 1/2" beam in drydock on stringlines. It is a fine shell actually built by Brian Coleman of Runcorn and taken up to sailaway by Stirling. There is another Coleman/Stirling shell on our mooring which is also nice. They are of quite simple lines but nicely built. Stirling did use various shell suppliers though so they may vary. I don't thin they fabricated shells tehemselves?

 

Plenty of boats get stuck in Hurleston bottom locks,I have helped a couple out!

 

 

vlcsnap-2012-01-10-22h07m53s237.png

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