Not got a boat, yet

[ditchcrawler]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

Don't EVER reverse though a bridge 'ole!!

It goes down first I can assure you.

[LadyG]

I think it has to be trad stern.

I quite like tug style , but both are in short supply

I can;t seem to find many

I have had to close my eyes to the current decorative features, but it has plenty of redeeming features too

http://newandusedboat.co.uk/used-boats-for-sale/885

Would the wood panelling lighten up if I sanded it down?

Edited May 17, 2017 by LadyG

[Peter X]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

...

Would the wood panelling lighten up if I sanded it down?

Not much I think. But you could then paint it all white which would lighten it up a lot, or go the whole hog and use gloss.

[Will Donati]

Without fail have your carbon alarm tested for effective functioning. Test a carbon monoxide detector to identify the level of carbon monoxide (CO). To check if the device has adequate electrical power from an outlet or batteries by pressing the 'Test' button on the detector. Install them correctly and test for proper function, test digital readout with a low level CO source, use a detector test kit and know when your CO Detector will sound an alarm. It should sound an alarm when concentrations of CO reach 70 ppm and remain steady for one to four hours. In the case of emergency call 911 and contact a local gas company.

To be on the safer side, I have employed security professional for fire watch. In an adverse situation, get everyone in the house out and open all the windows near the detector. An air concentration of CO above 400ppm will be fatal within three hours.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Will Donati

[Tony Brooks]

1 hour ago, Will Donati said:

Without fail have your carbon alarm tested for effective functioning. Test a carbon monoxide detector to identify the level of carbon monoxide (CO). To check if the device has adequate electrical power from an outlet or batteries by pressing the 'Test' button on the detector. Install them correctly and test for proper function, test digital readout with a low level CO source, use a detector test kit and know when your CO Detector will sound an alarm. It should sound an alarm when concentrations of CO reach 70 ppm and remain steady for one to four hours. In the case of emergency call 911 and contact a local gas company.

To be on the safer side, I have employed security professional for fire watch. In an adverse situation, get everyone in the house out and open all the windows near the detector. An air concentration of CO above 400ppm will be fatal within three hours.

Reported

[LadyG]

Back to basics please, tell me about aluminum hulls.

and the potential [!] problems

http://www.abnb.co.uk/boat_pages/3160web/3160abnb.php?BoatID=3160

I know its a bit small, and it needs some considerable thought if long term liveaboard, but it is smart.

How would I find a specialist surveyor.

What is this Thinsulate insulation?

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by LadyG

[WotEver]

15 minutes ago, LadyG said:

What is this Thinsulate insulation?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinsulate

I've never been much of a fan of Sea Otters, the interiors reminding me too much of a caravan. Nothing wrong with caravans but it's not a caravan. Whatever floats your boat I guess. 

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinsulate

I've never been much of a fan of Sea Otters, the interiors reminding me too much of a caravan. Nothing wrong with caravans but it's not a caravan. Whatever floats your boat I guess. 

I know Thinsulate is used for gloves and hats, its a fabric, surely that would not be suitable for lining a boat, must be something which is impermeable.

I can change the interior, a stove is needed for a start. 

I think narrow boats often fall between several style stools: caravan look v a boatman's cabin, v a naval style fitted by a proper boatbuilder, and then there is failed DIY [aka [limited skil]l owner fitout]

The  dinette is oposite the cooking area, which is fine, it also means one has a proper table for working at.

pros here:

smart looking

three season cruising [will probably be marina based in winter anyway]

minimal daily housekeeping

easy to handle

cheaper to moor , licence etc, will fit in tiny places, 

cons

There are signs of water staining around the aft hatch and cabin top skylight

There are signs of water staining around the aft hatch and cabin top skylight

There are signs of water staining around the aft hatch and cabin top skylight

its very small

no snug bed

no SF stove 

non standard insulation

I am not totally convinced about bare hull Aluminum stability.

long term, it might need a re fit if it was going to be a forever boat.

cruiser stern is a waste of space, and there is little enough space!

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by LadyG

[Athy]

1 hour ago, Will Donati said:

Without fail have your carbon alarm tested for effective functioning. Test a carbon monoxide detector to identify the level of carbon monoxide (CO). To check if the device has adequate electrical power from an outlet or batteries by pressing the 'Test' button on the detector. Install them correctly and test for proper function, test digital readout with a low level CO source, use a detector test kit and know when your CO Detector will sound an alarm. It should sound an alarm when concentrations of CO reach 70 ppm and remain steady for one to four hours. In the case of emergency call 911 and contact a local gas company.

To be on the safer side, I have employed security professional for fire watch. In an adverse situation, get everyone in the house out and open all the windows near the detector. An air concentration of CO above 400ppm will be fatal within three hours.

Will, thanks for your latest helpful advice. I notice that you have included a link to a security company. Although I'm sure it was not your intention, this could be interpreted as free advertising, which we don't allow here. We will welcome further practical posts from you, but it might be a good idea if you omit links to specific companies - especially as the one to which you link is in Canada, and most of us are far across the ocean in Great Britain!

[Lily Rose]

Harking back briefly to chimney positioning, I wish mine was on the left. 

I've had several near misses when having to get close to the grossly overhanging unpruned trees and bushes on the R/H side when passing oncoming boats. And only a few weeks ago MrsB nearly lost it under a narrow bridge when things went a bit pear-shaped while I was walking to the next lock (apparently it was still my fault though!). Off came the chimney but fortunately it stayed on the roof. The naff-looking bit of string I'd tied it on with may have helped though I think it would have been alright anyway.

Edited May 18, 2017 by MrBeethoven
minor addition

[WotEver]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

I know Thinsulate is used for gloves and hats, its a fabric...

For those purposes yes. It's also available in a roll for insulating thin wall cavities. 

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

What is this Thinsulate insulation?

 

It is an insulating material by 3M. It come as roils of fabric.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/thinsulate-us/

I have it on ,your boat. On my previous boats I had sprayfoam. 

In my opinion it is almost as good as sprayfoam for heat insulation. (Our 60 foot boat has a 4kW diesel drip stove,  which keeps the boat at 29°C at its halfway setting when the outside temperature is around 0°C).

It is better than sprayfoam for noise insulation.

In short, I wouldn't be put off by it.

Edited May 18, 2017 by cuthound
To unmangle the effects of autocorrect.

[LadyG]

Just now, cuthound said:

It is an insulating material by 3M. It could easily as roils of fabric.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/thinsulate-us/

I have it on ,your boat. On my previous boats I had sprayfoam. 

In my opinion it is almost as good as sprayfoam for heat insulation. (Our 60 foot boat has a 4kW diesel drip stove,  which keeps the boat at 29°C at its halfway setting when the outside temperature is around 0°C).

It is better than sprayfoam for noise insulation.

In short, I wouldn't be put off by it.

ty vm

[Phil Ambrose]

4 hours ago, WotEver said:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinsulate

I've never been much of a fan of Sea Otters, the interiors reminding me too much of a caravan. Nothing wrong with caravans but it's not a caravan. Whatever floats your boat I guess. 

If you remember Paul, Nulife42, who sadly no longer posts, well he lived aboard his Sea Otter widebeam and was more than happy with it, he did a lot of coastal cruising too 

Phil 

[WotEver]

37 minutes ago, Phil Ambrose said:

If you remember Paul, Nulife42, who sadly no longer posts, well he lived aboard his Sea Otter widebeam and was more than happy with it, he did a lot of coastal cruising too 

Phil 

Yeah, nothing wrong with them, just not to my taste. 

[Neil2]

6 hours ago, LadyG said:

Back to basics please, tell me about aluminum hulls.

and the potential [!] problems

http://www.abnb.co.uk/boat_pages/3160web/3160abnb.php?BoatID=3160

I know its a bit small, and it needs some considerable thought if long term liveaboard, but it is smart.

How would I find a specialist surveyor.

What is this Thinsulate insulation?

 

There's no denying the quality of Sea Otter metalwork but the internals do lack a bit of character.  Disadvantages, - there are issues once the paintwork starts to deteriorate as not too many (narrowboat) painters can handle aluminium but it is purely cosmetic of course so it's not the big deal it would be on a steel boat.   Aluminium is not as good as steel when it comes to insulation, but that's presumably why they use thinsulate rather than the ubiquitous spray foam it must have higher insulation values. I also wonder how noisy they are as there is less mass to dampen the sound.  We passed one on the Avon last year and as we went by the steerer remarked isn't your boat quiet. The main disadvantage is they are very expensive compared to steel boats £37.5k for a thirty foot boat you would have to want a Sea Otter very much indeed to pay that sort of money. 

It's odd, but every time I have come across a Sea Otter it's struck me how slowly they are moving.  I don't know if this is something to do with the type of person that buys one, or if there is some other factor, I wonder if there's a lot of vibration when on the move, for example.    

[LadyG]

12 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

 

It's odd, but every time I have come across a Sea Otter it's struck me how slowly they are moving.  I don't know if this is something to do with the type of person that buys one, or if there is some other factor, I wonder if there's a lot of vibration when on the move, for example.    

That's knocked that on the head then

[haggis]

We have a 26 foot Sea Otter and I agree with a lot of what has been said. There is no way that one of the shorter (up to 40 foot) Sea Otters would be suitable for living on and on ours there is a lack of storage and floor space. And the engine is not particularly quiet although that was improved by putting insulation under the deck boards.  They are not slow boats!! Ours has a little 11hp Vetus engine and she can keep up with and out run any boats we have met on the canals. She crossed Loch Ness in 4 hours keeping pace with a GRP cruiser and when she has been to sea she moves along nicely. Not a speed boat though. The smaller Sea Otters are great little holiday boats and I know of several people who live full time on the longer ones. 

haggis

[Neil2]

1 hour ago, haggis said:

We have a 26 foot Sea Otter and I agree with a lot of what has been said. There is no way that one of the shorter (up to 40 foot) Sea Otters would be suitable for living on and on ours there is a lack of storage and floor space. And the engine is not particularly quiet although that was improved by putting insulation under the deck boards.  They are not slow boats!! Ours has a little 11hp Vetus engine and she can keep up with and out run any boats we have met on the canals. She crossed Loch Ness in 4 hours keeping pace with a GRP cruiser and when she has been to sea she moves along nicely. Not a speed boat though. The smaller Sea Otters are great little holiday boats and I know of several people who live full time on the longer ones. 

haggis

That's what I would have thought, light weight, low draught, they should be flying machines compared to most narrowboats.

I'm impressed that you've had yours on Loch Ness and offshore, are these boats RCD rated as sea going then?    

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Neil2 said:

light weight, low draught, they should be flying machines compared to most narrowboats.

They do appear to suffer badly on cross winds that a heavier steel boat can cope with from my own observations. 

[haggis]

4 minutes ago, WotEver said:

They do appear to suffer badly on cross winds that a heavier steel boat can cope with from my own observations. 

yes they can do but it is all about managing conditions - keeping a bit more power on to counteract the cross wind, for example. It is fun doing a 360% turn on the spot in the middle of the canal :-). Not many boats can do that as well as a wee Sea Otter!

Iain is replying to the question about classification

 

haggis

[Iain_S]

1 hour ago, Neil2 said:

That's what I would have thought, light weight, low draught, they should be flying machines compared to most narrowboats.

I'm impressed that you've had yours on Loch Ness and offshore, are these boats RCD rated as sea going then?    

No, they're Class D as are nearly all canal boats. (To go Class C and above requires an independent survey)

Gamebird does a genuine 5.5 knots in open water. Slow compared to a semi planing or longer displacement hull., and I think there might be room for another knot or two  with a slightly more powerful engine and matching prop. It was quite interesting comparing her with a friend's Broads cruiser : on open water, he was a fair bit faster than Gamebird, on the Forth and Clyde, performance is about equal, and on the Union Canal, he can't keep up with us.

She's a bit jerky and uncomfortable with waves on the beam, but I think that indicates stability rather than the reverse. 

I admit I was of the same opinion as Wotever regarding the caravan like quality of fitout on the first Sea Otter I saw. However, the later boats seem pretty solid, with good quality woodwork, and not a bit of plastic trim in sight.

Not ideal as a liveaboard, though. The bed on the 26' or 31' ones isn't permanent, and there is a lack of comfortably accessible storage space.

 

[WotEver]

13 minutes ago, Iain_S said:

... the later boats seem pretty solid, with good quality woodwork, and not a bit of plastic trim in sight.

I wasn't aware of this. It would be nice to see an interior bereft of plastic. 

[peterboat]

2 hours ago, Iain_S said:

No, they're Class D as are nearly all canal boats. (To go Class C and above requires an independent survey)

Gamebird does a genuine 5.5 knots in open water. Slow compared to a semi planing or longer displacement hull., and I think there might be room for another knot or two  with a slightly more powerful engine and matching prop. It was quite interesting comparing her with a friend's Broads cruiser : on open water, he was a fair bit faster than Gamebird, on the Forth and Clyde, performance is about equal, and on the Union Canal, he can't keep up with us.

She's a bit jerky and uncomfortable with waves on the beam, but I think that indicates stability rather than the reverse. 

I admit I was of the same opinion as Wotever regarding the caravan like quality of fitout on the first Sea Otter I saw. However, the later boats seem pretty solid, with good quality woodwork, and not a bit of plastic trim in sight.

Not ideal as a liveaboard, though. The bed on the 26' or 31' ones isn't permanent, and there is a lack of comfortably accessible storage space.

 

My broads cruiser could pull a water skier in our canal! its only a 1,5 BMC but it flies very soon that engine will be gone and it will have an electric motor doing its work that should slow it down

[Phil Ambrose]

bump