how heavy is a 65ft iron hull narrowboat

[dan597]

Im looking into buying hundred year old narrowboat (its not that narrow at 7'1") with a 1960s wooden superstructure

, anyone got an idea on how much it weights?

[MtB]

16 tonnes.

Are you SURE it's only 65ft? That's an odd length for a cut historic hull.

[RLWP]

16 tonnes.

Are you SURE it's only 65ft? That's an odd length for a cut historic hull.

And how much is 100 years old? You may remember the boat on the bank in Birmingham which was 100 years old. Well, four square foot of the swim was anyway

 

Richard

 

MORE: 16 ton is a reasonable guess. Say 20 tons for a crane?

Edited November 20, 2015 by RLWP

[MtB]

And how much is 100 years old? You may remember the boat on the bank in Birmingham which was 100 years old. Well, four square foot of the swim was anyway

 

Richard

 

MORE: 16 ton is a reasonable guess. Say 20 tons for a crane?

 

 

Lol, Aldebaran varies in weight according to the crane. I've been told weights varying from 16 to 22 tonnes!

I'm wondering now why the OP is asking...

[ditchcrawler]

Harnser at 57 ft comes in at 18 tones so it could be more depending how deep it is.

[MtB]

Harnser at 57 ft comes in at 18 tones so it could be more depending how deep it is.

 

 

Whose crane was that?

[GoodGurl]

16 tonne seems a little light for a iron hull, unless of course he means steel?

[ditchcrawler]

16 tonne seems a little light for a iron hull, unless of course he means steel?

If its ballasted to a certain depth it doesnt matter what its made of, if its just an empty shell well thats a lot different.

 

 

Whose crane was that?

WaveTrade http://wavetradeltd.co.uk/

[MtB]

If its ballasted to a certain depth it doesnt matter what its made of, if its just an empty shell well thats a lot different.

 

 

Quite.

 

Not only that but most iron hulls are of thinner iron than modern steels shells, so lighter unballasted.

[dan597]

Its definitely iron, she was a a little longer once upon a time some alterations to the stern other than that she original up to her gunwales

Edited November 20, 2015 by dan597

[ditchcrawler]

Its definitely iron, she was a a little longer once upon a time some alterations to the stern.

How deep is she?

[Capt Ahab]

 

 

Quite.

 

Not only that but most iron hulls are of thinner iron than modern steels shells, so lighter unballasted.

The iron hold section of The Jam Butty is about 7mm thick (thinned to 6mm in the exposed areas). Not bad for 100 years of neglect!

[alan_fincher]

It could be a fair bit more than the16 ton(ne)s suggested, but as has been said, it depends on what it draws.

 

70 foot(ish) boats weigh about about a ton(ne) per inch of (average) draught, so if average draught is 2 feet, about 24 ton(ne)s.

 

So a 65 foot boat on an average draught of about 2 feet could be 24 * (65/70) ton(ne)s or about 22 ton(ne)s.

 

You can use similar sums to give a rough estimate for any average draught.

 

Even if the 65 foot boat only averages 18" draught, I reckon it could weigh 18 * (65/70) ton(ne)s or about 17 ton(ne)s.

It would need to average even less draught than that, (which is probably unlikely in a converted 1900s boat), to come in as little as 16 ton(nes) I think.

 

(All my estimates are rounded to the nearest ton(ne) as my estimates will certainly be no more accurate than that).

Edited November 20, 2015 by alan_fincher

[Tam & Di]

Its definitely iron, she was a a little longer once upon a time some alterations to the stern.

 

Tell us the draft fore and aft and people can work out the weight for you. As near as damn it a 72' x 7' boat draws 1" per ton, so yours will be 65/72 of a ton per inch average draft.

 

Tam

Edited November 20, 2015 by Tam & Di

[zenataomm]

Is there an engine fitted? Which one could add a few hundredweight over others.

Has it iron bottoms or vegetable?

7ft 1" is narrow, don't allow the maintainance programmes of the last 30 years lead you to believe that 6' 10" is normal, it's not.

 

ps - It's "narrow boat" not "narrowboat" ....... yes I'm a pedant!

[FadeToScarlet]

At 7'1" there are some narrow locks you may struggle with.

 

You probably won't get through Hurleston onto the Llangollen canal. You might have trouble with the bottom lock (or was it.second one up?) on the Northampton flight. There's also some narrower locks at Napton I believe.

 

The wooden top won't have helped with the spread, you could have some A frames or steel bulkheads put in to pull the sides in, or have access to mounting points for chains so you can rig up temporary chains to get through narrow spots.

 

Some boatyards refuse to weld wrought iron, because it can be quite tricky to do well.

 

If you consider this boat, get it surveyed by someone who knows how to survey iron boats, like Mike Carter or Trevor Whitling, because normal ultrasound testers don't work on wrought iron. They will probably measure the width accurately too- eights of an inch make a difference when the boat is over 7'.

 

And, if you haven't already, I recommend joining the Historic Narrow Boat Club for access to the collective advice and experience of the membership, and a cracking magazine.

[NickF]

As Tam and Di says it's as heavy as the water it displaces, a quick measure and some simple maths and you have your answer!

[Dinz]

Eureka!