old wooden narrowboats

[greywolf]

In the various blogs on boating on the inland waterways i have seen examples of boats just rotting away at the side of canals , My question is what is the procedure to go through if you wanted to rescue one of these boats ,

 

Would you have to contact B W for permission , find and contact an owner however bad it's state is ,and i am only talking about the wooden and old working boats here that are obviously derelict, or one of the societies that are around that renovate these old boats ?

is there somewhere that they are sold off .

[Hairy-Neil]

My question is what is the procedure to go through if you wanted to rescue one of these boats ,

 

I'd see the doctor and get myself certified.....

Edited June 20, 2007 by Hairy-Neil

[carlt]

I'd see the doctor and get myself certified.....

Or.....send me a pm with your tel. no. and you can have the last unconverted nurser butty for free. Desperately needs rescuing, needs a complete rebuild, used to be Sir John Knill's butty, was one of the boats on the last jam 'ole run.

 

Family commitments mean I can no longer give her the time she needs (and the motor). I'll even chuck in a set of caulking tools. If she's not taken on soon BW will have her and they've saved one wooden boat so they couldn't care less about the others.

 

Oh and don't bother going to the doctor's, they come and find us

[Hairyloon]

http://www.wcbs.org.uk/

[NB Alnwick]

http://www.wcbs.org.uk/

 

A very informative website which I had not seen before - good luck to anyone willing to take on this important aspect of our heritage . . .

[allybsc]

Or.....send me a pm with your tel. no. and you can have the last unconverted nurser butty for free. Desperately needs rescuing, needs a complete rebuild, used to be Sir John Knill's butty, was one of the boats on the last jam 'ole run.

 

Family commitments mean I can no longer give her the time she needs (and the motor). I'll even chuck in a set of caulking tools. If she's not taken on soon BW will have her and they've saved one wooden boat so they couldn't care less about the others.

 

Oh and don't bother going to the doctor's, they come and find us

 

Now if I could just win the lottery this week, I would set up a trust restore the lot, better than spending it on cars, houses and bling

[carlt]

A very informative website which I had not seen before - good luck to anyone willing to take on this important aspect of our heritage . . .

 

Yes Chris Leah has definitely found a second wind after appearing to be treading water for a long time. Pity he seems to have removed the list of surviving boats though. It was incomplete and out of date but the best we had. He was trying to compile a new one but I don't know how that is going.

 

 

Edited to say: the list was there all the time...doh!

Edited June 20, 2007 by carlt

[NB Alnwick]

Yes Chris Leah has definitely found a second wind after appearing to be treading water for a long time. Pity he seems to have removed the list of surviving boats though. It was incomplete and out of date but the best we had. He was trying to compile a new one but I don't know how that is going.

Edited to say: the list was there all the time...doh!

 

Yes and it is a very interesting list - I hadn't realised that there were quite so many that survived after the end of carrying. It would be really nice to see a few properly restored wooded boats on the cut - in view of her heritage, 'Lucy' would make an ideal candidate for a competent and generously funded restoration team.

[anthony]

before you even think about it matey consider this.

A brand new 23 foot wooden canal boat to build will cost you £2350 in wood plus fiber glass and epoxy to sheath it then the internal of your choice which will cost as little or as much as you like.

The point being from me is ive spent 3 months doing up an old boat and now wished i did the above after the amount of hard bloody work i put in.

Leave the old boats where they are unless BW offer you money to move it!

There is nothing worse than cleaning up and making good before even getting started especially when it costs money and time.

Edited June 20, 2007 by anthony

[carlt]

before you even think about it matey consider this.

A brand new 23 foot Plywood canal boat to build will cost you £2350 in plywood plus fiber glass and epoxy to sheath it then the internal of your choice which will cost as little or as much as you like.

The point being from me is ive spent 3 months doing up an old boat and now wished i did the above after the amount of hard bloody work i put in.

Leave the old boats where they are unless BW offer you money to move it!

There is nothing worse than cleaning up and making good before even getting started especially when it costs money and time.

 

I don't think the idea was to aquire a cheap runabout Anthony. Some people think that historic boats are worth rescuing and restoring and not that many 23' work boats were built (please don't list the little tugs, there still weren't that many).

 

And if you want a new wooden narrow boat built to the standards of the working boats with the same materials, then I imagine Jem Bates (the only boatbuilder doing it) would charge a bit more than the cost of rebuilding an old working boat and a lot more than £2350.

 

But if I've inadvertantly misread greywolf's original post, and it is a cheap runabout he wants then perfectly usable plastic or ply cruisers are on ebay for less than £2350.

This'll do me for a grand reserve.

[greywolf]

I don't think the idea was to aquire a cheap runabout Anthony. Some people think that historic boats are worth rescuing and restoring and not that many 23' work boats were built (please don't list the little tugs, there still weren't that many).

 

And if you want a new wooden narrow boat built to the standards of the working boats with the same materials, then I imagine Jem Bates (the only boatbuilder doing it) would charge a bit more than the cost of rebuilding an old working boat and a lot more than £2350.

 

But if I've inadvertantly misread greywolf's original post, and it is a cheap runabout he wants then perfectly usable plastic or ply cruisers are on ebay for less than £2350.

This'll do me for a grand reserve.

sorry trying to reply this came up must of pressed wrong button see below

Edited June 21, 2007 by greywolf

[greywolf]

Cheers for the reply s . A new boat never has the history of an old boat or the the problems i know. but would you rather live in a unimaginative modern build house or a fine old house built at the turn of the century .

I was looking at the WBCS site on boat building when you say in need of a total rebuild , are you talking about one along the lines the Raymond underwent or a less drastic rebuild , one bit at a time . With limited woodworking skills but a willingness to learn how far would i get do you think ,i suppose everyone has to start somewhere .caulking the site said was a long job but reasonably easy to learn .Do BW require that the boat conforms with todays regulations to stay it's disposal or just the payment of dues eg license , insurance, and not interrupting the passage of other boats .

[carlt]

Cheers for the reply s . A new boat never has the history of an old boat or the the problems i know. but would you rather live in a unimaginative modern build house or a fine old house built at the turn of the century .

I was looking at the WBCS site on boat building when you say in need of a total rebuild , are you talking about one along the lines the Raymond underwent or a less drastic rebuild , one bit at a time . With limited woodworking skills but a willingness to learn how far would i get do you think ,i suppose everyone has to start somewhere .caulking the site said was a long job but reasonably easy to learn .Do BW require that the boat conforms with todays regulations to stay it's disposal or just the payment of dues eg license , insurance, and not interrupting the passage of other boats .

Lucy needs a total rebuild though no wooden boat deserves anything along the lines of Raymond. Any boats requiring less are not abandoned and have a value. Usk has been rebottomed and needs a couple of planks to straighten out the hog and the plank damaged in the cabin fire and she'll be a sound boat for a good few years. She'd go for £6-7k

 

A few people I know have set out with no woodworking skills and, with the help and advice of fellow wooden boat owners, have produced excellent restorations. One of them, in my opinion, has become the most skilled person working on wooden narrow boats today (apart from, perhaps, Ian Riley). It's dirty, heavy work, with no financial rewards but, except for the bends, when you might want to pay a professional to help, it's no more technical than building a garden shed.

 

Caulking and blacking takes a week or two depending on your experience and fitness.

 

If a hull is empty, with no gas, electric or solid fuel then it is BSS exempt. You'd have to pay licence and moorings though.

[anthony]

I don't think the idea was to aquire a cheap runabout Anthony. Some people think that historic boats are worth rescuing and restoring and not that many 23' work boats were built (please don't list the little tugs, there still weren't that many).

 

And if you want a new wooden narrow boat built to the standards of the working boats with the same materials, then I imagine Jem Bates (the only boatbuilder doing it) would charge a bit more than the cost of rebuilding an old working boat and a lot more than £2350.

 

But if I've inadvertantly misread greywolf's original post, and it is a cheap runabout he wants then perfectly usable plastic or ply cruisers are on ebay for less than £2350.

This'll do me for a grand reserve.

 

I was just giving an example based on 23 foot as ive researched and done a business plan for such a boat.

The material cost of wood alone would be £2350.

The end cost would be more depending on quality of fit out engine and trim windows ect.

Its more of a replica of a traditional design.

This would be a brand new wooden boat and certainly higher quality than that thing on ebay!

 

However if you are really serious about this get yourself up to portland basin in ashton under lyne where the wooden boat society are based.

Ive often seen them working on the old boats there and sure they would talk to you all day on whats what.

Good luck.

[Hairy-Neil]

This would be a brand new wooden boat and certainly higher quality than that thing on ebay!

 

That thing on ebay is mahogany on oak frames......

[Supermalc]

This'll do me for a grand reserve.

 

Crikey.......a bargain or what !!!

 

 

Pity it's the other side of the country.

[rogerb]

I was just giving an example based on 23 foot as ive researched and done a business plan for such a boat.

The material cost of wood alone would be £2350.

The end cost would be more depending on quality of fit out engine and trim windows ect.

Its more of a replica of a traditional design.

This would be a brand new wooden boat and certainly higher quality than that thing on ebay!

 

However if you are really serious about this get yourself up to portland basin in ashton under lyne where the wooden boat society are based.

Ive often seen them working on the old boats there and sure they would talk to you all day on whats what.

Good luck.

 

I am thinking of restoring a 54 year old wooden boat that has a current MCA licence - is Portland Basin the nearest that could do this - is there nobody in Liverpool that can do this - there is a clue to which boat this might be in this. Martin?

 

Roger

[Hairy-Neil]

Pity it's the other side of the country.

 

Don't let that little detail put you off Malc....

 

You could bring it east via the Kennet & Avon/Thames, then a bit of coastal hopping round to Boston......

[Supermalc]

If it had been at the time I was looking and bought Wud I'd most likely have done just that ....... It did cross my mind as it was (just for a fleeting second btw).

 

Trouble is, by the time you get them back, either by trailer or water it will cost almost double. Plus no doubt it would not be reliable enough to take to sea, nor would you have enough equipment. But why not come inland and trailer it around the narrow Northampton bit.

[Hairy-Neil]

Trouble is, by the time you get them back, either by trailer or water it will cost almost double. Plus no doubt it would not be reliable enough to take to sea, nor would you have enough equipment. But why not come inland and trailer it around the narrow Northampton bit.

 

I'd look on the trip as an experience and a small price to pay for a 3 - 4 week adventure. I'd work my passage....

 

The draught might be a problem though.......it doesn't give one in the particulars...

[carlt]

I was just giving an example based on 23 foot as ive researched and done a business plan for such a boat.

The material cost of plywood alone would be £2350.

The end cost would be more depending on quality of fit out engine and trim windows ect.

Its more of a replica of a traditional design.

This would be a brand new plywood boat and certainly higher quality than that thing on ebay!

 

There is a massive difference between a wooden boat and a plywood boat, both in longevity and quality of materials.

 

And if it's self build then the quality is never going to be consistent enough to comment on. It will depend on the skill of each individual who buys the plans and does the build.

 

I'd look on the trip as an experience and a small price to pay for a 3 - 4 week adventure. I'd work my passage....

Definitely coast hopping would be more fun than dragging the sludge and, once the gearbox problem is sorted, I can't see why it wouldn't be fit for the trip.

[Hairy-Neil]

Definitely coast hopping would be more fun than dragging the sludge

 

 

In my case the jury is still out on that one.........

 

 

Though I've previously boated the K&A, (not since 1995, has it really been reopened that long?) Thames, GU and Nene as far as Stanground, I'd still class it an adventure....

[Timleech]

............................ it's no more technical than building a garden shed.

 

I used to be quite proud of some of the work I did 30 or so years ago, until I read that

 

 

Pride is allegedly one of the seven vices, though

 

Tim

[carlt]

I used to be quite proud of some of the work I did 30 or so years ago, until I read that

 

 

Pride is allegedly one of the seven vices, though

 

Tim

 

No offense meant Tim.

 

And I'm sure you noted my comments about getting a pro in for the bends.

 

Those are fantastic photos of forget me not, is it ok if I print them off and pass them on to the current owner? She's a very close friend and would be thrilled to see them.

Don't suppose you know what went wrong with the back end do you?

 

Forget-me-not is now de-converted and being actively restored (again) and is still paired with Mabel.

[Timleech]

No offense meant Tim.

 

And I'm sure you noted my comments about getting a pro in for the bends.

 

No offence taken, it was said rather tongue in cheek

 

Those are fantastic photos of forget me not, is it ok if I print them off and pass them on to the current owner? She's a very close friend and would be thrilled to see them.

Don't suppose you know what went wrong with the back end do you?

 

No, not sure what you're referring to with the stern (or back end? Hotel boats don't have a 'back end'!).

I'll try to post some pics of the stern when I've got time.

No prob sending her the pics, I'll email you some higher res versions if you like.

 

Cheers

Tim