yellowpages Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Morning all, We have recently come across an old boat with history (the good sort) for sale. However, it is a wooden hull and although we know boats we know nothing of these sort. It was rebottomed in oak in 2000. What concerns or advise should we be aware of? Do they need more regular surveys, checks, caution, etc? I know its a bit daft but does the wood make the hull vulnerable when on shallow waters- she's 2ft 9 draught. Finally, at one point along the cabin, beam is 7ft - I know of a few locks where its a squeeze, such as those on the shroppie. Is it limiting? Thank you for your time, Hannah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay4424 Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 re-bottomed in OAK? trad done in ELM, but more recently (sue to teh Dutch Elm desise) we use Oppepy (I know that not how you speel it!!). if OAK do they mean the Garboard (the bottom plank) or any of the other side planks/knees or Keslon that are normally Oak? in terms of boating differcutties (bottoming out) dont worry, no extra wear (significant anyway). in terms of maintenance ... wait, is it a "composit" or complete woodend construction, in that, is it a steel (Iron) boat with a wooden bottom, or a complete wooden constructed craft? IF its a composite, once a year (every two if your feeling confident) get it out and re-caulk the bottoms, IF its a complete wooden boat you'llbe wanting it out EVERY year to inspect, caulk and tar if not perform regular re-plankings .. not wanting to scare you, but they are alot of work (not that a steel boat isnt) but you cant just take it to any baot yard, they have to be specialists, or in our case a bunch of nutters who do it all in-house! check out MykAskin's you tube video of re-planking/steaming a plank on the NB Spey (uploaded a month or so ago) to see a sped up version of the actual fitting, the vid doesnt show the years of inspections to know which planks to attack, the week (just under) of prep to do that job and the week (just under) to do all the finishing jobs after to make it float-able (sheering, caulking, tarring, Ice plating, cross pinning etc). Owning a wooden boat is a labour of love... and I love it! but its not for all... please do ask questions if you want more info/do go ahead, we're an open and honest group who will give advice till the cows go home "back in my day..." the old boy will go on and on ;-) Jay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowpages Posted November 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 re-bottomed in OAK? trad done in ELM, but more recently (sue to teh Dutch Elm desise) we use Oppepy (I know that not how you speel it!!). if OAK do they mean the Garboard (the bottom plank) or any of the other side planks/knees or Keslon that are normally Oak? in terms of boating differcutties (bottoming out) dont worry, no extra wear (significant anyway). in terms of maintenance ... wait, is it a "composit" or complete woodend construction, in that, is it a steel (Iron) boat with a wooden bottom, or a complete wooden constructed craft? IF its a composite, once a year (every two if your feeling confident) get it out and re-caulk the bottoms, IF its a complete wooden boat you'llbe wanting it out EVERY year to inspect, caulk and tar if not perform regular re-plankings .. not wanting to scare you, but they are alot of work (not that a steel boat isnt) but you cant just take it to any baot yard, they have to be specialists, or in our case a bunch of nutters who do it all in-house! check out MykAskin's you tube video of re-planking/steaming a plank on the NB Spey (uploaded a month or so ago) to see a sped up version of the actual fitting, the vid doesnt show the years of inspections to know which planks to attack, the week (just under) of prep to do that job and the week (just under) to do all the finishing jobs after to make it float-able (sheering, caulking, tarring, Ice plating, cross pinning etc). Owning a wooden boat is a labour of love... and I love it! but its not for all... please do ask questions if you want more info/do go ahead, we're an open and honest group who will give advice till the cows go home "back in my day..." the old boy will go on and on ;-) Jay. Thank you for your reply, and for the great video. It is 3" thick oak planks to bottom and 2" thick to sides, with a solid oak keelson, original stern and stem posts, and original steel knees. Both hull and cabin are wood. Is the 7ft beam an issue? Thank you again, Hannah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 The 7' beam will hinder you going some places - where do you want to go? Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay4424 Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Depends where you wana go!, we're 7'1" at our widest, but we (only this year) know why and we are correcting ourselves, Also dont for get beening wooden you will squeeze through where steel will grind to a halt!! also long as the for and aft are good (where the T stud and rear pins go in) ou can get your self out of most problems with a turfer or winch. ... you will certaintly NOT get up the Welsh one (I'm not even going to attempt to speel it!!!) untill they re-build the first lock, poss the second. Jay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bagdad Boatman (waits) Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 A wooden boat owns you. but it has its advantages. How do you envisage using it? If extended criusing then width will be a problem. Take a bit more time and care in locks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Hogg Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Thank you for your reply, and for the great video. It is 3" thick oak planks to bottom and 2" thick to sides, with a solid oak keelson, original stern and stem posts, and original steel knees. Both hull and cabin are wood. Is the 7ft beam an issue? Thank you again, Hannah The 7ft beam will not hinder you. Many old working boats are 7ft plus and get around all the system without issues. Do not listen to those of the 6ft 10" brigade who "think" that that is the maximum. 7ft 1/2" was a common width on working boats, most Grand Union and Fellows Morton & Clayton are to this and slightly above. However as stated previously a wooden boat is a labour of love and will take more looking after than a metal one, having owned several I can vouch for this being true. What is the name and origin of this boat?, I may well have history on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftycarper Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 At least if you get stuck in a lock you can get out with a bit of sandpaper, always look for the positives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FadeToScarlet Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 At least if you get stuck in a lock you can get out with a bit of sandpaper, always look for the positives You jest, but LTC Rolt did that to Cressy to get it up Hurleston to the Llangollen. Grease the sides, full speed into the lock, and squish in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schweizer Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 The 7' beam will hinder you going some places - where do you want to go? Richard Really? That would explain why we dont keep getting stuck in locks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 The 7ft beam will not hinder you. Many old working boats are 7ft plus and get around all the system without issues. Do not listen to those of the 6ft 10" brigade who "think" that that is the maximum. 7ft 1/2" was a common width on working boats, most Grand Union and Fellows Morton & Clayton are to this and slightly above. However as stated previously a wooden boat is a labour of love and will take more looking after than a metal one, having owned several I can vouch for this being true. What is the name and origin of this boat?, I may well have history on it. More than one old boat has had problems getting up the Napton flight on the S Oxford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 More than one old boat has had problems getting up the Napton flight on the S Oxford Notably the second one up the flight - which has been rebuilt recently, so I hope that Waterways have now rectified the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furnessvale Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 The 7ft beam will not hinder you. Many old working boats are 7ft plus and get around all the system without issues. Do not listen to those of the 6ft 10" brigade who "think" that that is the maximum. 7ft 1/2" was a common width on working boats, most Grand Union and Fellows Morton & Clayton are to this and slightly above. However as stated previously a wooden boat is a labour of love and will take more looking after than a metal one, having owned several I can vouch for this being true. What is the name and origin of this boat?, I may well have history on it. I would hazard a guess at the tug Progress. George ex nb Alton retired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schweizer Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) More than one old boat has had problems getting up the Napton flight on the S Oxford Notably the second one up the flight - which has been rebuilt recently, so I hope that Waterways have now rectified the problem. So we have heard, but subsequent investigation usually reveals that the stuck boat had either bulged in the middle, or poor previous work has made it banana shaped. Our boat is 7ft wide and we have never had any problems on the Napton flight, Edited November 17, 2014 by David Schweizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChimneyChain Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 What is the name and origin of this boat?, I may well have history on it. Wouldn't it be grand if it was the Neptune Laurence. Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowpages Posted November 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I would hazard a guess at the tug Progress. George ex nb Alton retired Yes, it is progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtB Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Lovely boat. I considered buying it last time it was up for sale but bought REGINALD instead. Still keeping a weather eye open for a wooden boat MtB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furnessvale Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Morning all, We have recently come across an old boat with history (the good sort) for sale. However, it is a wooden hull and although we know boats we know nothing of these sort. It was rebottomed in oak in 2000. What concerns or advise should we be aware of? Do they need more regular surveys, checks, caution, etc? I know its a bit daft but does the wood make the hull vulnerable when on shallow waters- she's 2ft 9 draught. Finally, at one point along the cabin, beam is 7ft - I know of a few locks where its a squeeze, such as those on the shroppie. Is it limiting? Thank you for your time, Hannah Don't worry overmuch about the draught and width. Hundreds of boats on the system have those dimensions and more and we manage OK. If the boat is straight enough it will probably even get up Hurleston. You don't own an historic boat, it owns you. I have never owned a wooden boat(or even one owning me) but I did consider Progress before its last sale and I have looked at others. I have always chickened out, lacking the necessary skills for upkeep myself and not having deep enough pockets to pay others to do it. Hopefully Karl will be along shortly with better advice. If you do buy, be sure to join HNBC! George ex nb Alton retired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FadeToScarlet Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I like people who have historic wooden boats, they make those of us with iron and steel historic boats look sane and normal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billh Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I like people who have historic wooden boats, they make those of us with iron and steel historic boats look sane and normal! Thank you for liking me. I have a major stake in 3(three!) HWBs, all 70ft, all in good condition. You are the first person to my knowledge to question my sanity even though you have never met me. I would also describe myself as "Normal" or at least as normal as any other boater/canal enthusiast. I "do" steel boats as well- is that normal enough for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtB Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Who want's to be seen as 'sane and normal' anyway? MtB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John V Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thank you for liking me. I have a major stake in 3(three!) HWBs, all 70ft, all in good condition. You are the first person to my knowledge to question my sanity even though you have never met me. I would also describe myself as "Normal" or at least as normal as any other boater/canal enthusiast. I "do" steel boats as well- is that normal enough for you? I would question the sanity of anyone who owns an old boat......period Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay4424 Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I like people who have historic wooden boats, they make those of us with iron and steel historic boats look sane and normal! Cheers mate :-) glad I can make someone feel better .. theres that song by Ben Folds Five .... "Theres always someone better then you" (migt be the chours words, but still!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabcat Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I like historic boats. To look at. I'm glad they're out there. Based on the amount of time and money my not even slightly historic boat consumes I don't think I'll ever own one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boaty Jo Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 My mates Bill and Rosemary lives on one.... A Scottish-built MFV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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