Gone and done it! What now...?

[MtB]

 

Indeed - the next boat I look at I'm going to take a little toffee hammer with me so I can see if what looks like painted metal is actually nice smooth concrete!

 

OR...

 

A magnet

 

 

MtB

[Erin42]

Well done - you saved a lot of grief and ££.

 

NB was it craned out at Harefield Marina? I saw a boat there yesterday that looked like the one you described.

 

No, it was in Denham Dry dock, which is a floating dry dock at Denham Deep lock. It's a great place, I have a photo -

 

 

OR...

 

A magnet

 

 

MtB

 

A much better idea

[MtB]

 

No, it was in Denham Dry dock, which is a floating dry dock at Denham Deep lock. It's a great place, I have a photo -

 

 

A much better idea

 

 

I'm full of 'em (good ideas that is, not magnets).

 

Great photo of the floating ddry dock!!!

 

 

MtB

[lampini]

Sorry this one didn't work out, but they're right you know, you have saved yourself a world of pain.. And next time you'll have a much better idea of what to look out for. Don't give up - you seem to have your head screwed on pretty good - it'll be worth it in the end!

Edited April 10, 2014 by lampini

[Paul C]

BY the way, what happened to the boat, now that the surveyor prodded it and made holes in it? Did it remain in the dry dock and get temporary repairs or let out to sink?

[MtB]

BY the way, what happened to the boat, now that the surveyor prodded it and made holes in it? Did it remain in the dry dock and get temporary repairs or let out to sink?

 

It won't sink. Not as long as the bilge pump batteries are kept charged at least...

 

The hull was already dripping water which is what drew the attention of the surveyor. We probably now know why the two previous sales fell through. I wonder how ofter this boat has been in that dry dock recently!

 

MtB

[Erin42]

BY the way, what happened to the boat, now that the surveyor prodded it and made holes in it? Did it remain in the dry dock and get temporary repairs or let out to sink?

The man who owns the dry dock said he would have to patch her up quickly, before the next boat was due in. But I'm not sure what happened because I then had to go to work 3hrs late!

 

It won't sink. Not as long as the bilge pump batteries are kept charged at least...

 

The hull was already dripping water which is what drew the attention of the surveyor. We probably now know why the two previous sales fell through. I wonder how ofter this boat has been in that dry dock recently!

 

MtB

The boat very clearly hadn't been out of water for a while though, since it was blacked and surveyed two years ago. A lot of build up and none of it had been scraped away for any other inspections

[Erin42]

Saw a couple of boats on friday, both cruiser sterns, and both of the engine bilges were filled with water (well, up to a couple of inches)... Since the boat I had put a deposit on was found to have corroded right through to the blacking, underneath the engine, I am quite wary of this.

 

On one of them the water was a couple of inches deep, but the batteries hadn't been charged for a while, and she had been sat in a marina, so the bilge pump hadn't been running. The cruiser deck had drainage channels for rainwater, however, so the water must have come in through the stern gland, presumably??

 

On the other, there was a very large cruiser stern, and no drainage channels. It had a bilge pump which ran automatically and kept the water in the area to a minimum, but because it basically collected water it was never completely dry. Overplating had been carried out at some point, underneath that area, said a previous survey.

 

Should the bilge area in a (cruiser) stern be completely dry?

 

I can't seem to find any decent boats under 30k within a two hour drive from me. I'm off to Whilton marina tomorrow, though.

[junior]

Saw a couple of boats on friday, both cruiser sterns, and both of the engine bilges were filled with water (well, up to a couple of inches)... Since the boat I had put a deposit on was found to have corroded right through to the blacking, underneath the engine, I am quite wary of this.

 

On one of them the water was a couple of inches deep, but the batteries hadn't been charged for a while, and she had been sat in a marina, so the bilge pump hadn't been running. The cruiser deck had drainage channels for rainwater, however, so the water must have come in through the stern gland, presumably??

 

On the other, there was a very large cruiser stern, and no drainage channels. It had a bilge pump which ran automatically and kept the water in the area to a minimum, but because it basically collected water it was never completely dry. Overplating had been carried out at some point, underneath that area, said a previous survey.

 

Should the bilge area in a (cruiser) stern be completely dry?

 

I can't seem to find any decent boats under 30k within a two hour drive from me. I'm off to Whilton marina tomorrow, though.

Can you hang on until Wednesday to visit Whilton Marina? Or Tuesday afternoon? I'm moored a 5 min walk from there and would come and look around boats with you. I'm not the most experienced person on here by far but I did look at upwards of 30 boats last year and seem to be able to spot a lemon at 100yds, something you struggle with I know! :-p

 

If I were you I would be going to look at this......http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=360403

 

If you could get that for £7k, even if it needed overplating you could get it done and still have enough left for a full interior re-fit and be able to live on it straight away by the look of it.

 

To answer your question, I think a bit of water in a cruiser stern is to be expected, especially after rainfall. But you, do need to be able to satisfy yourself it is from rainfall and not elsewhere. When I say satisfy, I don't just mean ask the seller how the water got there as they will tell you what you want to hear.

[Erin42]

Can you hang on until Wednesday to visit Whilton Marina? Or Tuesday afternoon? I'm moored a 5 min walk from there and would come and look around boats with you. I'm not the most experienced person on here by far but I did look at upwards of 30 boats last year and seem to be able to spot a lemon at 100yds, something you struggle with I know! :-p

 

If I were you I would be going to look at this......http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=360403

 

If you could get that for £7k, even if it needed overplating you could get it done and still have enough left for a full interior re-fit and be able to live on it straight away by the look of it.

 

To answer your question, I think a bit of water in a cruiser stern is to be expected, especially after rainfall. But you, do need to be able to satisfy yourself it is from rainfall and not elsewhere. When I say satisfy, I don't just mean ask the seller how the water got there as they will tell you what you want to hear.

 

That's a shame, I'm working the rest of this week, and it's event filming work so not something I can get out of. I could do with some help spotting those lemons..., haha

Edited April 20, 2014 by Erin42

[paulstoke1975]

You have my Sympathies ,

I have learnt a huge lesson as I was not going to get a survey done when the time comes for me to buy my boat as I thought I would be able to judge the condition on the appearance ,

It really shows that's it worth the money , it's a shame you can't claim your costs back from the seller ,

 

 

Lucky escape

[GLYN FORSTER]

How about this one http://www.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=312422

 

Looks good and one owner with low engine hours.

[Erin42]

How about this one http://www.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=312422

 

Looks good and one owner with low engine hours.

That looks very promising thank you!

Edited April 21, 2014 by Erin42

[David Mack]

Should the bilge area in a (cruiser) stern be completely dry?

 

They rarely are. Water runs between the deck panels. The various sytems of channels and drains which are supposed to collect the water and discharge it over the side are frequently ineffective. Its all too easy for them to get blocked with dirt, leaves and rust, or the water just runs along the underside of the panel and drips off somewhere else.

 

The only way to keep a cruiser stern bilge dry is to have a canopy or tonneau cover over it. Tonneau covers are OK for a boat which is left unoccupied, but a pain if you are coming and going regularly. Full folding canopies are like Marmite - some love them, some hate them. To my mind they just don't look right on a narrowboat, but there's no denying that in winter or bad weather a canopy converts a cold wet outdoor space into an extra room.

How about this one http://www.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=312422

 

Looks good and one owner with low engine hours.

That looks like a cracking little boat!

 

A couple of points that might be relevant if you're looking to liveaboard:

There's no mention of 240v electrics.

Water heating is only from the engine. Fine if you're on the move but not if you are staying put. Worth looking at whether there is space to fit a Morco gas water heater.

[paulstoke1975]

They rarely are. Water runs between the deck panels. The various sytems of channels and drains which are supposed to collect the water and discharge it over the side are frequently ineffective. Its all too easy for them to get blocked with dirt, leaves and rust, or the water just runs along the underside of the panel and drips off somewhere else.

 

The only way to keep a cruiser stern bilge dry is to have a canopy or tonneau cover over it. Tonneau covers are OK for a boat which is left unoccupied, but a pain if you are coming and going regularly. Full folding canopies are like Marmite - some love them, some hate them. To my mind they just don't look right on a narrowboat, but there's no denying that in winter or bad weather a canopy converts a cold wet outdoor space into an extra room.

 

That looks like a cracking little boat!

 

A couple of points that might be relevant if you're looking to liveaboard:

There's no mention of 240v electrics.

Water heating is only from the engine. Fine if you're on the move but not if you are staying put. Worth looking at whether there is space to fit a Morco gas water heater.

Loving looking little boat