Jump to content

Fibreglass narrowboat... ?


Lily

Featured Posts

The repair has made fixing the job a lot harder. I like them, the shape and the rear deck/transom is a nice shape and if looked after, they will last longer than a steel boat and cost a lot less. The gelcoat is easy to keep clean to make it shine.

 

Someone will believe the sales guy and that is terrible. I told him it isn't factory, they make catamarans in 4 quarters and you will not see the seams or joins once finished, there is no need for a brace to be wrapped around it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, vivelo said:

Bumping an old thread, but it comes up when searching for a Fibreline Narrowboat and hopefully it will stop someone getting ripped off.

 

I went to Sawley Marina this week to view the 35' Fibreline they have for sale. The long distance photos on their website were for good reason. The superstructure has obviously broke all the way across and had a very shoddy repair, most likely when being lifted out they put the straps too far apart. Also having port holes in the middle both sides was not the best idea to keep the strength. I viewed the boat alone and went back to the sales office to air my thoughts as they should of noted it on the website so people not to waste time and money viewing. The salesman was insisting that this is how they was built and they came like this. See photo, the repair is in the middle of the boat and goes from one side to the other. Yes, they tried hiding it with mats and a solar panel.

They want £10k and it need gutting inside, nothing works and it smells like someone has died inside. Heavily smoked in. Avoid this Marina if you are buying a boat, you will get ripped off.31140536_FiberlineSawleyMarina.jpg.04e66cfaaea41468dee48140278c0a8a.jpg

We bought our boat from Sawley four years ago for a good price and had excellent service, the boat has had absolutely no issues at all and apart from the water pump failing last year,has been a great buy, so to make a statement that you will be ripped off is a bit harsh.

That is a shocking repair though and it surprises me that they are willing to broker it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

About 10 years ago we were looking at narrowboat hulls as a sailaway and came across a yard in Poland that made the hull then put it into a 40ft shipping container, if it was too long to fit they cut it in half shipped the 2 bits and welded together in the uk.  Maybe someone thought you can do the same with fibreglass  ??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Rickent said:

We bought our boat from Sawley four years ago for a good price and had excellent service, the boat has had absolutely no issues at all and apart from the water pump failing last year,has been a great buy, so to make a statement that you will be ripped off is a bit harsh.

That is a shocking repair though and it surprises me that they are willing to broker it.

According to jeremymead Fibreline didn't make a 35 footer.

Don't think lifting out would cause that damage,what can be seen of the hull looks intact. jeremymead does say the hulls were made 32mm thick,which is very substantial.The top would probably not be as thick.

I would guess that the damage illustrated was caused by a falling tree. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

According to jeremymead Fibreline didn't make a 35 footer.

Don't think lifting out would cause that damage,what can be seen of the hull looks intact. jeremymead does say the hulls were made 32mm thick,which is very substantial.The top would probably not be as thick.

I would guess that the damage illustrated was caused by a falling tree. 

There was some missing fittings so I could see the construction and the top sides are not cored, its about 3 to 4mm thick. It has about 1" of foam insulation (board type) and then 4mm ply lining inside which was disgusting. I think if a tree fell it would of done wider damage to one side and not equal to both. The repairs go all the way to the hull. This clearly looks to of had forces pushing from both sides. You can see how one side of the roof is now higher than the other .

 

All boats flex, but when lifting the hull will flex down and outwards, but then the top would get crushed inwards. I am 99% sure it was lifted incorrect and the straps too far apart. Unlike a normal narrowboat, the engine sits a lot more forward, maybe 4'+ more. I read that there is some intricate designing going on around the propulsion. 

 

Its 35'. Though there is something going on with the floor inside. Maybe its took water on and warped the board. Who knows, but I would avoid it unless it was £2k, the engine is worth £800, but nothing else on the boat worth parting with. Its all very tired and dirty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Chewbacka said:

About 10 years ago we were looking at narrowboat hulls as a sailaway and came across a yard in Poland that made the hull then put it into a 40ft shipping container, if it was too long to fit they cut it in half shipped the 2 bits and welded together in the uk.  Maybe someone thought you can do the same with fibreglass  ??

They repaired it like it was the titanic except used screws instead of rivets. The yard I kept my boat at in USA did GRP repairs and they were amazing at it. They would fix boats that had ran aground or ended up on the rocks. Holes you could step through! Once finished you would never know, they are that good! I'm told the repairs are stronger than before. They would make a mould from another boat (they would pay that owner and its safe, you get your boat polished and waxed for free too and new decals if they have to remove them) and then place it over the prepared hole and fiberglass from the inside out. Americans are so good at this sort of stuff, though with their weather they get the business to practice.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, vivelo said:

They repaired it like it was the titanic except used screws instead of rivets. The yard I kept my boat at in USA did GRP repairs and they were amazing at it. They would fix boats that had ran aground or ended up on the rocks. Holes you could step through! Once finished you would never know, they are that good! I'm told the repairs are stronger than before. They would make a mould from another boat (they would pay that owner and its safe, you get your boat polished and waxed for free too and new decals if they have to remove them) and then place it over the prepared hole and fiberglass from the inside out. Americans are so good at this sort of stuff, though with their weather they get the business to practice.

 

There are plenty of decent GRP repairers in the UK. 

 

Whoever set about that boat though isn't one :blink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

There are plenty of decent GRP repairers in the UK. 

 

Whoever set about that boat though isn't one :blink:

The salesman thought the repair was that good that it actually left the factory looking like that! He told me that's how they came ?.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, harrybsmith said:

It either used to be moored at Bishop Meadow Lock in Loughborough or there's more than one Fibreline boat with a strip like that. 

I think it will be the same boat. If it was a factory finish (LOL, its not) there would be no need to hide it under mats and a broken solar panel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 4 years later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.