Replating

[Arthur Marshall]

Has anyone any idea how much replating a forty foot narrowboat might cost? And how long a replating job should last before it needs to be done again?

 

I had the boat done (bottom and sides) about fifteen years ago. Is it worth getting it surveyed and checked out or should I be able to assume it'll be OK for a few years yet?

 

I'm dubious about the value of surveyors since they did a friend's boat, found a very small thin bit which he patched and missed a three foot area which nearly sank him.

 

The final bit is the engine. It's currently a Lister SR2 which has been given problems for a while and cost a small fortune in repairs. Again, is it worth replacing this? I know I could just buy a new(ish) boat but the current one has been a part of my life for half of it, and I like it.

[RickH]

Firstly are you rplating the entire boat or just the bottom plate ? Prices vary immensley , I had my bottom plate done last year at Pinders , as far as I know they did a good job , I wasn't around to inspect it , not that I'd know what to look for anyway , and it took just a week or so but was booked in about a month ahead . For a 56ft boat it was , if I remember about 3500 .A place on the Kennet quoted me 9000 to start and then dropped to 6000 , then 4500 , another a straight 5200 How long it lasts would be govened at least by the thickness of the repair , 6mm or 10mm I think is the standered .

[Bones]

cost of Steel - allow £1 per kg.

Steel weights 8Kg per square metre for every 1mm thickness.

If the baseplate is 10mm thick and the boat 2metres wide and 15metres long then the cost of the steel only would be £2400 plus VAT at 20% with a total cost of £2886

 

Then add labour.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Bones

[Teadaemon]

cost of Steel - allow £1 per kg.

Steel weights 8Kg per square metre for every 1mm thickness.

If the baseplate is 10mm thick and the boat 2metres wide and 15metres long then the cost of the steel only would be £2400 plus VAT at 20% with a total cost of £2886

 

Then add labour.

 

It's not that simple.

 

Steel tends to come in standard plate sizes, so you're going to get some waste (exactly how much depends a lot on what size plates you can source, how they're cut, and how efficiently you can reuse offcuts).

 

You also need to add other consumables (welding rods for arc welding, wire and gas for MIG, grinder wheels, etc, etc).

 

Also, with a boat that's previously been overplated, it's not possible to just overplate again (or rather it might be possible, but there are several very good reasons not to). The old overplating needs to be removed from anywhere that new plate is going to be welded on. This could add a very large amount to the labour bill.

[Yamanx]

Steel sheet is about £585 a tonne atm, not £1000!

 

You can get 2000 x 2000 standard plate, even 3000 x 2000 if you can handle it, as the handling is the biggest issue when re-plating, which is why 10mm thick is far more difficult than, say 6mm thick.

 

Cutting off the old base shouldn't take long with the right kit, but side over plating might be a bugger to clean off.

 

2000 x 2000 x 6 is about 190 Kgs, for a 18m (58') thats 1710kgs which is just over £1000 is steel cost. Consumables wouldn't cost more than £150 or so (Not including equipment hire).

 

Then theres the labour and the equipment hire, and the dry land, electricity etc. Which is where the bulk of the cost is. If you're going to use 10mm thick plate, then you will need a crane or some other handling equipment on site, which is very expensive. For 6mm a few strong blokes can do it