New Boat Purchase

[Waverunner]

Greetings from a narrow boat convert

 

My partner and I have been living on our boat now for some 13 years. She's a 40ft twin screw motor cruiser but we've decided for several reasons to sell her and move to something both more practical and more suited to our needs. After much research we've decided what we really need is a wide beam narrowboat. We've looked at a few and chatted to a friend who's a liveaboard but today I've found this forum which I'm sure is going to become a huge source of information. We're pretty clear what we're looking for but I do have a couple of questions which hopefully you can help us out with.

 

The first relates to the use of MDF on narrowboats. Several new builds and sailaways we've looked at have used MDF to varying degrees. One in particular looks to be a superb fit-out but it's virtually all MDF. Personally I'm very nervous of the stuff because of the problems if it gets damp or wet. Do you have any views, experiences or horror stories about the use of this in a marine environment?

 

Secondly, there seems to be various types of insulation used. Our current boat (which is steel) was insulated with some sort of rockwool material and as the years have passed condensation has become a real problem in the winter, even with a de-humidifier working flat out. Am I right in thinking something that's bonded to the steelwork like sprayfoam is the best solution? Are there any others worth considering or any we should avoid at all costs?

 

Many thanks

Jim

[Gary Peacock]

Firstly be wary of the term wide beam narrowboat. Narrowboat engineering is very different to broad beam engineering it works on a narrowboat because it is long and thin if you simply build a fat narrowboat you begin to introduce a lot of potential problems structurally into the hull, so take care if you go down that route before making a purchase.

 

On MDF you will not be able to buy a boat with a good true wood fit out for anywhere near the price you can buy one in MDF for. Basically MDF is a cheap product and very easy to work with that saves the builder money and increases their potential profits. We would quite happily use MDF if a customer asked us too but still prefer to use real wood. This is probably more about snobbery and turning our noses up at those who use MDF rather than actually being based on any good reason why not to use it. So if the price is right and the finish good (Look how the MDF is used) I would say go for it.

 

On insulation go for spray foam we have used all the others and now only offer spray foam it's simply the best solution there is at the moment and you can find plenty more info on this else ware on this forum.

[crosser]

if you do a search on this forum on mdf there is a discussion about using mdf... do a search for mdf and it should coe up...oh and welcome....

 

dave

 

crikey gary... do you ever rest???? you must breath boats !!! abit of a nitemare for your lads in the last week with the heat and welding i bet...poor sods....

[DHutch]

just do a search for mdf and it should come up..

Yeah, if only it was that easy!!

 

Board Message. Sorry, an error occurred:

The error returned was:

One or all of your search keywords were below 4 characters or you searched for words which are not allowed, such as 'html', 'img', etc, please go back and increase the length of these search keywords or choose different keywords."

 

 

Ah well, luckly google can cope! google

- http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...topic=4708&st=0

 

 

Daniel

[bottle]

Waverunner (Jim)

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

As has been suggested the best start is to 'search' the forum and add a question to the existing thread if the answer that you require is not there.

 

You can always start a new topic if the answer cannot be found as you can se from Daniels (Thread Finder General) post it can be 'tricky' some times

[charles123]

MDF is fine in the right application, its a modern material perfectly suited to many uses. There is however a misguided resistance by some boat builders to use it for reasons of ignorance and the fact that boat builders are slow to change, they seem to like what they are familiar with and that applies to many aspects of building boats not just the use of MDF

 

There can be no better tribute to the use of MDF in the building of narrowboat Dover that was made into a number of TV programmes, that boat is for sale for well over £100k so the use of MDF in no way devalues the quality of that build

 

Charles

[Waverunner]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and pointers

 

I did contemplate a search but this forum runs the same Invision software as the VX220 forum I've been a member of for some time and I know the search facility isn't all it could be

 

I'll have a run through the mdf thread. I asked the question as I know a full wood fit-out is more expensive but to be honest it's quality of fit-out and longevity (particularly the latter) I'm most interested in. Our next boat will be our last so it's got to be right. I have a couple of very good friends who own narrowboats and with one of them you dare not mention mdf in his presence as he gets very vocal about it. The other friend has a boat built in either 1998 or 1999 (can't remember which) with mdf and he's got huge problems with it which is likely to cost him a packet to fix in addition to the inconvenience when you're a liveaboard.

 

Sprayfoam I suspected was the best solution. I guess its the usual thing that you only ever get what you pay for.

 

Thanks also to Gary for the note on the engineering of wide beams.

[Big John]

There can be no better tribute to the use of MDF in the building of narrowboat Dover that was made into a number of TV programmes, that boat is for sale for well over £100k so the use of MDF in no way devalues the quality of that build

The question is: has it sold for that price?

[Waverunner]

I've read through the thread about mdf (interesting diversion into the world of microwaves ) and was somewhat surprised there were no horror stories from people about damp problems which was really my concern. Knowing what can happen to mdf if it gets wet/its fatal attraction to moisture I did expect one or two people to post about problems with it. I'm not worried about working with it as we're planning to buy a fully fitted so that problem lies with the builders not me. I guess the answer is to ensure that its fully sealed ie veneered, and that any edges or cuts are likewise sealed. So maybe its a possibility after all.

[alan_fincher]

There can be no better tribute to the use of MDF in the building of narrowboat Dover that was made into a number of TV programmes, that boat is for sale for well over £100k so the use of MDF in no way devalues the quality of that build

 

The question is: has it sold for that price?

Well "Dover" is still advertised as for sale, I noticed the other day.

 

In fact they were trying for £145K originally, which so far has only been dropped to £130K.

 

I know there are people to whom money seems to be no object, but I'd expect it to have to come down a lot more before it generates much genuine interest. (I know other's disagree - but equally they are not buying it!....)

[DHutch]

I did contemplate a search but this forum runs the same Invision software as the VX220 forum I've been a member of for some time and I know the search facility isn't all it could be

Yeah, its not fantasic, even when you know what your looking for, i often resort to google, if you a search with site:http://www.canalworld.net/forums as one of the terms it will just search the site.

 

 

Daniel