Chinese steel for narrowboats

[Murflynn]

Surly they have to comply with the RCD to be sold in the EU ?

No.

 

They just have to be certified as complying with the RCD, which may be a different thing altogether (see my previous post). Especially as Cat D boats can be self-certified.

[bassplayer]

Maybe this will put the price up for good quality second hand narrow boats.

 

It's a shame we can let another country price cut our steel industry out of the market only to see the price ramped up in a few years when the competition has been destroyed. Isn't this the very sort of thing our goverment is supposed to stop? Sorry, I forgot it's not our government is it?

[Hawkmoth]

Maybe this will put the price up for good quality second hand narrow boats.

 

It's a shame we can let another country price cut our steel industry out of the market only to see the price ramped up in a few years when the competition has been destroyed. Isn't this the very sort of thing our goverment is supposed to stop? Sorry, I forgot it's not our government is it?

Yes, it is our government. The only thing they actually worship is money/power. Lip service is paid to rights/morals, but behind it all is the money.

Bob

edit to make sense

Edited October 20, 2015 by lyraboat

[bassplayer]

Yes, it is our government. The only thing they actually worship is money/power. Lip service is paid to rights/morals, but behind it all is the money.

Bob

edit to make sense

I agree.

[Guest]

Money is the new god.

[Southern Star]

According to Peter Nicholls' website....

 

1) STEELWORK QUALITY:

The hulls are 10mm bottom, 6mm sides & 4 mm cabin. We do not recommend a 5mm cabin as it will make
the boat top heavy. Many boats have a 5mm thick cabin side with little strengthening, which makes the cabin
vibrate with the engine noise. The plate is and must be 43A grade with test certificates to prove this.
It also must be from a known source of supply.

We only use British steel or steel from northern Europe. You should avoid a boat built with Rumanian, Indian,
Chinese, whatever steel. Such steel may be satisfactory, it may not, you just cannot tell. The fact is that a lot of
these mills will put anything on the certificate and that is a fact. Hence the first reason why a lot of recently built
narrowboats have got serious rust pitting to the hull after one or two years. Many narrow boat builders use this
cheap steel, sometimes unknowingly, as often the original source of supply is hidden from them.

We, however, can trace all our steel supplies and use just three stockholders, with whom we have dealt for
many years. One in fact has been supplying us since 1974! While we look for good value in our steel supplies,
we do not shop around for the cheapest, neither should you in your choice of boat.

[mango]

I see no reason to concern yourself about Chinese boats, they're built to: -

 

All our boats are examined by an independant third party to ensure all the boats comply with the BS and IWA regulations.

 

According to East/West website.

Independent, please. From the same source: "We at East West Marine strive to ensure that all of our boats are at the fore front of the narrowboat industury." I hope they check their welds better than their words.

[bassplayer]

Money is the new god.

...which is not bad going for something so artificial...

 

If money disappeared overnight (and it could seeing as most of it is on computer hard disks including the legal ownership of stuff like houses)... we'd discover our true worth.

[Henhouse]

Maybe this will put the price up for good quality second hand narrow boats.

 

It's a shame we can let another country price cut our steel industry out of the market only to see the price ramped up in a few years when the competition has been destroyed. Isn't this the very sort of thing our goverment is supposed to stop? Sorry, I forgot it's not our government is it?

 

You can stop it. The choice is with us as the consumer to decide what we buy. Unfortunately, most people seem to buy on price, as opposed to quality.

 

I have always chosen to buy British made vehicles, Escort, Cortina, Capri, Transit, and Land Rover. I would not have German, out of respect for my Great Grandfather who was killed in WW1.

 

We should all make an effort to buy British whenever possible. Not easy with electrical goods, but every pound spent with a British company supports Britain.

[W+T]

Have folk never heard of ` you get what you pay for` OMG, cheap Chinese crap it is.

[the barnacle]

 

You can stop it. The choice is with us as the consumer to decide what we buy. Unfortunately, most people seem to buy on price, as opposed to quality.

 

I have always chosen to buy British made vehicles, Escort, Cortina, Capri, Transit, and Land Rover. I would not have German, out of respect for my Great Grandfather who was killed in WW1.

 

We should all make an effort to buy British whenever possible. Not easy with electrical goods, but every pound spent with a British company supports Britain.

 

i have just had my new ford transit - it took 10 months from order and was told it was coming from Spain, when it turned up a few weeks ago the dealer told me this one had been made in Turkey

[W+T]

 

You can stop it. The choice is with us as the consumer to decide what we buy. Unfortunately, most people seem to buy on price, as opposed to quality.

 

I have always chosen to buy British made vehicles, Escort, Cortina, Capri, Transit, and Land Rover. I would not have German, out of respect for my Great Grandfather who was killed in WW1.

 

We should all make an effort to buy British whenever possible. Not easy with electrical goods, but every pound spent with a British company supports Britain.

 

In that case what is left made in Britain to buy ?, i would gladly do so but there is little left. Cant be doing with all this imported crap, it will never be the same again, never and anyone who thinks it will are in cuckoo land. There is soon to be nothing left to be proud of when iut come to the UK. Nothing much now actually.

[CV32]

Those Chinese boats shipped over were / are built to no known human regulations or standards. Far too many horror stories around. Especially the " interesting" wiring on them, that makes BSS surveyours have to lie down in a dark room with smelling salts.

 

What complete and utter rubbish - I owned one of the East West boats for five years - it passed the BSS when required with no changes or work required.

The wiring was neat and well installed.

[Henhouse]

You could start with food. I look at the labels on everything. Meat, veg, and dairy produce is easy. I look forward to British Strawberries in june and july.

 

Fish is not difficult to find either.

 

I'll admit that things like coffee are impossible

[Southern Star]

 

In that case what is left made in Britain to buy ?, i would gladly do so but there is little left.

True. I am planning to replace my truck soon and my choices have boiled down to a Volvo, Mercedez-Benz or Renault. There just isn't a British truck produced any more. Quite why Sweden, Germany and France can build trucks and we can't is beyond me.

[Boat&Bikes]

What complete and utter rubbish - I owned one of the East West boats for five years - it passed the BSS when required with no changes or work required.

The wiring was neat and well installed.

I wondered when somebody who actually has experience of a Chinese built boat would comment. As with all countries products there are both poor and good quality built products. I have run owned a factory making English built goods for twenty odd years. A particular steel part I had brought in from a English manufacturer had declined in quality massively over the years, to the point where I now buy it in from China. It is a vast improvement on any English built part I can source. Only a rolled 10 mm steel ring, but seemingly beyond our own producers. Sad but a fact.

 

Ian.

[Hawkmoth]

One good (or bad) reason for the lack of car making in this country is the debacle at BMC/Leyland, which was the result of poor government, weak management and strong unions. i don't have any answers to that I just put it forward as reasons.

Bob

[Guest]

One good (or bad) reason for the lack of car making in this country is the debacle at BMC/Leyland, which was the result of poor government, weak management and strong unions. i don't have any answers to that I just put it forward as reasons.

Bob

Sunderland has the single most efficient car production facility in Europe.

 

Did you not watch 'making cars live' tonight on the the Telly?

 

They turn out a mini every 68 seconds at Cowley.

 

There is no 'lack of car making' in this country. Your point is inaccurate tosh.

Edited October 20, 2015 by MJG

[fudd]

I guess that the point behind the opening post is that, the way that things are going, steel production in Great Britain may cease entirely before very long - two major shutdowns in as many months (or is it weeks?) does not bode well for the industry.

 

But I presume, though I don't know, that steel is made in other EEC countries and can be imported here, so there may be chinks of light in the pervading gloom.

chinks !!!!!!! Haha

[fudd]

I try not to buy anything I know that is made in China. The quality is questionable and their sweat box ethic is even more so. Probably, the reason our steel manufacturing plants are going bust is because of the cheap rubbish stuff that is getting dumped on our shores. It's not just steel, nearly everything we buy is either funded by or manufactured by the Chinese. quality control is crap.

Edited October 20, 2015 by fudd

[nb Innisfree]

Japanese motorcycles used to be a joke and while everyone was sniggering Japanese motorcycles (and cars) were slowly and inexorably getting better until the Japs had the last inscrutable laugh.

 

Or is it only the Chinese who are inscrutable?

[Boat&Bikes]

I try not to buy anything I know that is made in China. The quality is questionable and their sweat box ethic is even more so. Probably, the reason our steel manufacturing plants are going bust is because of the cheap rubbish stuff that is getting dumped on our shores. It's not just steel, nearly everything we buy is either funded by or manufactured by the Chinese. quality control is crap.

So funny, so wrong.

 

Ian.

[Guest]

I try not to buy anything I know that is made in China. The quality is questionable and their sweat box ethic is even more so. Probably, the reason our steel manufacturing plants are going bust is because of the cheap rubbish stuff that is getting dumped on our shores. It's not just steel, nearly everything we buy is either funded by or manufactured by the Chinese. quality control is crap.

Well it's a lovely sentiment however the simple fact is that it is genuinely hard and getting harder to buy things not made in China.

 

Eg We have just bought a dolls house in wood for my granddaughter for xmas. It's a really well made thing that requires minimal self assembly.

 

When I got it home guess what it says on the box, yes you guessed it 'Made in China'.

 

Could I get one made in the Uk? I don't know but neither do I know if I would be able to afford it if I could.

Japanese motorcycles used to be a joke and while everyone was sniggering Japanese motorcycles (and cars) were slowly and inexorably getting better until the Japs had the last inscrutable laugh.

Or is it only the Chinese who are inscrutable?

The new little MG is worth a look for anybody in the market for a small hatchback.

[DeanS]

On a slightly off topic tangent...I've decided that buying any self assembly furniture from IKEA is a bad idea..always falls apart. Sorry, back to Chinese made canal boats.....would a Chinese junk work on British canals?

 

London??

 

[fudd]

So funny, so wrong.

 

Ian.

Why?