Orion boats - does anyone own one?

[frahkn]

My boat is a 10 year old "tug style" 70' narrowboat built by Orion boat builders. It wasn't what I really set out to buy but we fell in love with its looks and went for it.

 

8 months on I still feel the same about the looks but am a bit fed up with some of the many excentricities of the build. I wonder if it was a one off, built to the original owners specification or if they were all more or less like this.

 

If you have (or have had) an Orion boat, or know of them, I would like to hear from you, in this thread or by pm if you prefer.

 

Thanks.

 

Frank.

[churchward]

What are these irksome eccentricities?

[MtB]

I got to know the guys at Orion quite well while they did the work on REGINALD. I'd second the question 'what eccentricities'?

 

 

MtB

[mark99]

NB did they stop building some time ago now?

[RichardH]

Good friend has one 'Hakuna Matata' bought off another good friend who owned it from new.

 

Sure he would love to talk boats so pm me your mobi and I will pass on.

[MtB]

Yes, the lease ran out on their site so with few new build orders around at the time, they called it a day.

 

MtB

[Dominic M]

NB did they stop building some time ago now?

Yes, they did, Mark. About 4 years ago I think.

 

Frank - I know the boat and over the years I have inspected a number of Orion narrowboats. The shells are instantly recognisable, but the interior fit outs were bespoke, so no two the same (or maybe there are, but I haven't seen them). Yours has an offset engine for example, others I have seen use more conventional set ups. However, I have seen another offset Orion - with a Gardner 2LW set to the port side of the boat. As the others say, what are the quirks that are bothering you?

Edited March 7, 2014 by Dominic M

[mickp]

I have one and love it ,happy to answer any questions.

[MtB]

Yes, they did, Mark. About 4 years ago I think.

 

Frank - I know the boat and over the years I have inspected a number of Orion narrowboats. The shells are instantly recognisable, but the interior fit outs were bespoke, so no two the same (or maybe there are, but I haven't seen them). Yours has an offset engine for example, others I have seen use more conventional set ups. However, I have seen another offset Orion - with a Gardner 2LW set to the port side of the boat. As the others say, what are the quirks that are bothering you?

 

Yes Richard the guv'nor there likes fitting offset engines. He showed me around his own boat and proudly challenged me to find the engine. It was somewhere weird like under the bed.

 

Very nicely done but definitely 'eccentric'. Maybe this is what the OP means!

 

MtB

[Leo No2]

I have one and am very happy with it. A 2006 shell. Engine (Beta 43) about one third of the way down the boat (from the back) - it looks as if it is offset to the left but in fact it isn't. Any questions please feel fee to ask. Fitted out by Aquarius Narrowboat Fitters at Dunsfold in Surrey. Article about it here - http://www.aquariusnarrowboatfitters.co.uk/Narrowboat%20002/LeoArticle.pdf

 

Edited to add - Dave Moore provided the lovely sign-writing shown in the article and redid it when the boat was repainted in 2011.

Edited March 7, 2014 by Leo No2

[harve90]

I have one and am very happy with it. A 2006 shell. Engine (Beta 43) about one third of the way down the boat (from the back) - it looks as if it is offset to the left but in fact it isn't. Any questions please feel fee to ask. Fitted out by Aquarius Narrowboat Fitters at Dunsfold in Surrey. Article about it here - http://www.aquariusnarrowboatfitters.co.uk/Narrowboat%20002/LeoArticle.pdf

Very nice boat....... want 1... want 1

[dave moore]

Hi

I was the preferred signwriter/ decorator for Orion for many years, from their first boat on. Each fir out was developed with the original owner, there wasn't a house style as such. Richard Ibbotson, who ran Orion is no longer building, but a couple of the guys who worked with him are still around at Ashwood Marina, just off the Staffs and Worcs. as Leo said, they also supplied shells to other fitters to complete. Happy to talk if I can tell you more, Pm me if interested.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[mark99]

I have one and am very happy with it. A 2006 shell. Engine (Beta 43) about one third of the way down the boat (from the back) - it looks as if it is offset to the left but in fact it isn't. Any questions please feel fee to ask. Fitted out by Aquarius Narrowboat Fitters at Dunsfold in Surrey. Article about it here - http://www.aquariusnarrowboatfitters.co.uk/Narrowboat%20002/LeoArticle.pdf

 

 

I remember seeing that boat in Pyrford Marina and had a look inside. Nice tidy boat. Aqua Vitea (sp) was a sort of sister boat that was a bit of a head turner too.

Edited March 7, 2014 by mark99

[Leo No2]

 

 

I remember seeing that boat in Pyrford Marina and had a look inside. Nice tidy boat. Aqua Vitea (sp) was a sort of sister boat that was a bit of a head turner too.

 

Aqua Vitae (the water of life!) is now somewhere on the Leicester Line - yes a nice boat but then all of Mick Wilson's (Aquarius Narrowboat Fitters) work is good.

[Joshua]

My boat is a 10 year old "tug style" 70' narrowboat built by Orion boat builders. It wasn't what I really set out to buy but we fell in love with its looks and went for it.

 

8 months on I still feel the same about the looks but am a bit fed up with some of the many excentricities of the build. I wonder if it was a one off, built to the original owners specification or if they were all more or less like this.

 

If you have (or have had) an Orion boat, or know of them, I would like to hear from you, in this thread or by pm if you prefer.

 

Thanks.

 

Frank.

 

We have a 66ft Orion boat: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/i7tfuzt0k9vp3zt/JFgBw56NB7

It has an offset Gardner 2LW and hydraulic drive.

The fit out in solid Oak, was bespoke.

1200 lts in 2 water tanks, large pump out tank, built-in diesel generator and 180 lts fuel tank.

I can’t think of anything that you would describe as eccentric except perhaps the off set engine and hydraulic drive?

We absolutely love her.

[Nightwatch]

We have a 66ft Orion boat: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/i7tfuzt0k9vp3zt/JFgBw56NB7

It has an offset Gardner 2LW and hydraulic drive.

The fit out in solid Oak, was bespoke.

1200 lts in 2 water tanks, large pump out tank, built-in diesel generator and 180 lts fuel tank.

I cant think of anything that you would describe as eccentric except perhaps the off set engine and hydraulic drive?

We absolutely love her.

if I may say, not to everyone's taste, but your boat is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Where did you get all that lovely wood from?

 

Some lovely lamps and other fittings. Wash basin and surround, well all of it.

 

Not surprised you love your boat.

 

Martyn

Edited March 7, 2014 by Nightwatch

[Hey Ho]

Joshua, from the pictures I can see why you absolutely love her. A cut above, to say the least.

 

ETA: I've been looking at the pictures for 15 mins now - must tear myself away. Not the work of your average boat fitter I don't think. So, who did the fit out?

Edited March 7, 2014 by Hey Ho

[Joshua]

if I may say, not to everyone's taste, but your boat is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Where did you get all that lovely wood from?

 

Some lovely lamps and other fittings. Wash basin and surround, well all of it.

 

Not surprised you love your boat.

 

Martyn

 

Thanks, I know what you mean, like marmite!

Joshua, from the pictures I can see why you absolutely love her. A cut above, to say the least.

 

ETA: I've been looking at the pictures for 15 mins now - must tear myself away. Not the work of your average boat fitter I don't think. So, who did the fit out?

 

Thank you, it was fitted out by professional cabinet-makers, a lot of it is French antique.

Although Orion didn’t do the woodwork, I think their boat building is equal to it.

[Athy]

Thanks, I know what you mean, like marmite!

 

 

Thank you, it was fitted out by professional cabinet-makers, a lot of it is French antique.

 

Although Orion didn’t do the woodwork, I think their boat building is equal to it.

Most opulent!

What kind of stove is that? It looks a bit like the Godin which we have in Trojan.

[FadeToScarlet]

Also a big fan, bits of my boat are similar in style. Even if the engine's the wrong colour

[Dominic M]

Most opulent!

What kind of stove is that? It looks a bit like the Godin which we have in Trojan.

Franco Belge, if I remember correctly. I'd forgotten that (the boat) had hydraulic drive. The one Frank has is a cranked prop shaft set up.

The first owner had made his fortune from manufacturing and selling loudspeakers. He and his partner oversaw the fit out which was not by recognised boatbuilders but by joiners who worked a lot with architectural reclaim materials. As I say, if I remember correctly.

Edited March 8, 2014 by Dominic M

[IainW]

i love the look of the Orion 'tugs'.

 

There was a thread recently which involved someone saying that when your boat looks stunning you'll forgive it when things go wrong :-)

[Nightwatch]

i love the look of the Orion 'tugs'.

 

There was a thread recently which involved someone saying that when your boat looks stunning you'll forgive it when things go wrong :-)

Not sure about that. Depends what's gone wrong.

 

But I see what you mean.

 

Martyn

[frahkn]

Thanks for the replies so far, I should point out that we both still love the boat and think (like most owners) that it really stands out from the rest, both internally and externally.

 

Curchward and others asked what eccentricities I meant, below is a list of some (I am not on the boat at the moment), not all of which irritate me but which are at least odd.

 

The gas locker (in the bow) was designed to take only 3.9kg bottles – it has since been altered, by adding a 6” sill to the hatch opening, so that it will take 1 (but only 1) 13kg bottle.

 

The boat weighs (per Dominic’s crane) 23 tons yet there is virtually no ballast, instead the boat is floored, for three quarters of its length, with quarry tiles. None of these can be lifted to gain access to the bilge.

 

The Beta 43 is about 15’ forward of the stern and is offset against the port side. The drive is not hydraulic but a three piece cranked prop shaft. This leaves the engine partly in the bathroom (cocooned at the foot of the bath) and partly under the bed.

 

Bathroom and back cabin/bedroom are separated by two bulkheads 14” apart. These bulkheads have a hospital silencer and the pump-out pipes between them so further limit engine access. The starter motor is almost completely inaccessible.

 

There is a complete speed-wheel/push pull control, including cabling but a morse control has been retrofitted, the cables of which pass too close to the back cabin boatman’s stove but cannot be easily re-routed.

 

Eight feet of the internal fit out is taken up with a desk/shelf running down one side with a bench opposite (with storage under) from which anybody seated cannot reach the desk.

 

I have a much longer list of good points but these are only some of the odd ones.

[waterwitch]

 

We have a 66ft Orion boat: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/i7tfuzt0k9vp3zt/JFgBw56NB7

It has an offset Gardner 2LW and hydraulic drive.

The fit out in solid Oak, was bespoke.

1200 lts in 2 water tanks, large pump out tank, built-in diesel generator and 180 lts fuel tank.

I can’t think of anything that you would describe as eccentric except perhaps the off set engine and hydraulic drive?

We absolutely love her.

I was shown over Oak last summer when she was at Thatcham. She is the most beautiful, eccentric, gloriously fitted boat I have ever seen. Bevelled glass in the windows and fabulous joinery.