Cratch - What Is Important

[Mike Jordan]

I have owned five boats and never had a cratch board on one, I have, however, made literally hundreds of them. They are very usefull for drying wet clothing, boots, dogs etc. Most also act as a fuel store and place to keep low value items,barbecues and other mucky things that are not welcome inside the boat. There are folding tables of various designs that allow al fresco dining and drinking which are part of many boaters enjoyment of the lifestyle. They are also a good method of protecting a posh set of expensive hardwood front doors

Proportions matter if the assembly is to please the eye, although I  accept that not everyone will see things the same way.  I think that the top of the board looks mean and unattractive if it comes to a point or has a width less than about 300 to 350mm wide. The top plank should fit up to the back of the board and never be on top. The height that you place the top plank above the roof needs to reflect the overall height of the boat.  The average total height is about 80mm above the roof. 

Most boards feature glazing so that the forward view is not lost, it's not compulsory but I thing laminated glass is a must have, it's obviously safer than float glass and, should you be unlucky enough to break it, it will normally stay in place.

The prize for least attractive must go to either a floating plastic greenhouse or one of the front covers fitted over a couduit frame with a flexible front panel.

 

[system 4-50]

43 minutes ago, Mike Jordan said:

I have owned five boats and never had a cratch board on one, I have, however, made literally hundreds of them. They are very usefull for drying wet clothing, boots, dogs etc. Most also act as a fuel store and place to keep low value items,barbecues and other mucky things that are not welcome inside the boat. There are folding tables of various designs that allow al fresco dining and drinking which are part of many boaters enjoyment of the lifestyle. They are also a good method of protecting a posh set of expensive hardwood front doors

Proportions matter if the assembly is to please the eye, although I  accept that not everyone will see things the same way.  I think that the top of the board looks mean and unattractive if it comes to a point or has a width less than about 300 to 350mm wide. The top plank should fit up to the back of the board and never be on top. The height that you place the top plank above the roof needs to reflect the overall height of the boat.  The average total height is about 80mm above the roof. 

Most boards feature glazing so that the forward view is not lost, it's not compulsory but I thing laminated glass is a must have, it's obviously safer than float glass and, should you be unlucky enough to break it, it will normally stay in place.

The prize for least attractive must go to either a floating plastic greenhouse or one of the front covers fitted over a couduit frame with a flexible front panel.

 

Would you be the Mike Jordan who wrote the book "Narrow Boat & Dutch Barge Joinery Designs" for Boat Fitters published by Haven Baulk Press?

[Ray T]

Get a cratch cover and deckboard like this................................................

[WotEver]

25 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

Would you be the Mike Jordan who wrote the book "Narrow Boat & Dutch Barge Joinery Designs" for Boat Fitters published by Haven Baulk Press?

Yes he would

[Mike Jordan]

System 4-50.   Yes. Guilty as charged.

Mike.

[adam1uk]

On 11/2/2017 at 23:05, David Schweizer said:

 

And when you roll up your cratch cover, roll the sides inwards -- not outwards like the one above.  Then the roll will be the colour of the outside not the white of the inside, and if you get caught in a shower, it won't collect rainwater.

[WotEver]

3 minutes ago, adam1uk said:

And when you roll up your cratch cover, roll the sides inwards -- not outwards like the one above.  Then the roll will be the colour of the outside not the white of the inside, and if you get caught in a shower, it won't collect rainwater.

It’s possible that the above cover doesn’t have a zipped panel in the sides, meaning there is insufficient room to roll it up inside. So that’s another consideration that I think someone mentioned earlier - ensure that it has two zips on each side to enable you to roll it inwards whilst leaving the front and back strips in place. 

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Ray T said:

Get a cratch cover and deckboard like this................................................

Love it. 

I always wondered what happened to the original Reliant Bobbin.

 

[David Schweizer]

2 hours ago, adam1uk said:

And when you roll up your cratch cover, roll the sides inwards -- not outwards like the one above.  Then the roll will be the colour of the outside not the white of the inside, and if you get caught in a shower, it won't collect rainwater.

I am not sure that would have worked, it was difficult enough to get a neat roll on what was nearly 6ft of heavy PVC, let alone try and do it backwards, and the edge against the deckboard would have been vey cumbersome. So we rolled our cover up that way for 19 years, and it never occured to me that some people would disaprove because the colour of the rolled section was different. Furthermore if rain threatened, it was put down very quicly as we did not want water falling on the cushions or collecting in the well deck sump, which had been re-commissioned as a storage area for Paint, etc.

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

It’s possible that the above cover doesn’t have a zipped panel in the sides, meaning there is insufficient room to roll it up inside. So that’s another consideration that I think someone mentioned earlier - ensure that it has two zips on each side to enable you to roll it inwards whilst leaving the front and back strips in place. 

You are correct it did not have zipped panels, a decision I made early on because I had seen so many get ripped with over zealous use.

Edited November 4, 2017 by David Schweizer

[Peter X]

55 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Love it. 

I always wondered what happened to the original Reliant Bobbin.

 

If you mean the Trotters' van in Only Fools And Horses, according to Wikipedia it was a "Reliant Regal Supervan III", and the original is in the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, but others were later used in filming.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Regal

[cuthound]

4 minutes ago, Peter X said:

If you mean the Trotters' van in Only Fools And Horses, according to Wikipedia it was a "Reliant Regal Supervan III", and the original is in the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, but others were later used in filming.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Regal

No, I meant the Reliant Bobbin in the black and white photo. According to my neighbour, it was converted by a member of the cruising club just below Glascote Locks by a worker at the Reliant factory,  which used to be opposite the Glascote Locks.

[Peter X]

Apart from my trips on NBT's pair of old working boats where the question doesn't arise, I've been crew on various boats with and without a cratch and there are good and bad things about them.

Two not mentioned so far I think are Good: a place to keep milk etc. in winter when you don't want your fridge on (lack of power in you batteries, or of gas). Bad: It's an obstacle to seeing along the canal ahead (even with windows) and to getting in and out.

They do tend to fill up with stuff, just because they are a good place for a lot of things, so as always you need to be organised about where in your boat each thing belongs and keep to that plan.

On balance if I were buying a boat to live aboard and not travel far I'd prefer to have a cratch, and at the other end of the scale from that I wouldn't.

[Whisky]

Putting a cratch cover on a boat is like building a garden shed as an extension to your living room at home. From your living room you then have a view of the bike(s), a large assortment of ugly but useful tools, chairs, barbecue stuff etc. Who would want that? Surely a view of the garden is better. We bought a taller than average narrow boat and the cratch cover made it quite difficult to see the view ahead when we are sailing. It had to go. In the cratch area we now have a few seasonal colourful plants which enhance the view and the look of the boat and can be removed when appropriate. With a cruiser stern we have plenty of space for sitting outside in good weather.

[cuthound]

25 minutes ago, Whisky said:

Putting a cratch cover on a boat is like building a garden shed as an extension to your living room at home. From your living room you then have a view of the bike(s), a large assortment of ugly but useful tools, chairs, barbecue stuff etc. Who would want that? Surely a view of the garden is better. We bought a taller than average narrow boat and the cratch cover made it quite difficult to see the view ahead when we are sailing. It had to go. In the cratch area we now have a few seasonal colourful plants which enhance the view and the look of the boat and can be removed when appropriate. With a cruiser stern we have plenty of space for sitting outside in good weather.

I don't think anyone who has a cruiser stern is qualifed to comment on the aesthetics of a narrowboat, cratch or not... 

[mrsmelly]

14 minutes ago, cuthound said:

I don't think anyone who has a cruiser stern is qualifed to comment on the aesthetics of a narrowboat, cratch or not... 

Cruiser sterns are fab

[cuthound]

Just now, mrsmelly said:

Cruiser sterns are fab

Not if you want to cruise comfortably in winter there not 

[mrsmelly]

5 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Not if you want to cruise comfortably in winter there not 

They bloomin well are. Modern clothing keeps ya warm and anyway more than battery charging time is a waste int winter

Edited November 4, 2017 by mrsmelly
numpty

[cuthound]

2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

They bloomin well are. Modern clothing keeps ya warm and anyway more than battery charging time is a waste int winter

Modern clothing is no substitute for being mainly in the heated cabin,  he the stern doors closed behind you. Loverly and toasty.  

Edited November 4, 2017 by cuthound
Spillung

[mrsmelly]

1 hour ago, cuthound said:

Modern clothing is no substitute for being mainly in the heated cabin,  he the stern doors closed behind you. Loverly and toasty.  

Yes I did have one of those " Traditional " sterned boats once..........and once only, completely unsocial although not quite as bad as a so called semi trad for numptieness. a nice cruiser stern to FISH off, that's whats needed

[cuthound]

Mine trad stern is quite social as it has slightly wider and deeper hatch, allowing two to be comfortable, one in front of the other. 

[mrsmelly]

7 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Mine trad stern is quite social as it has slightly wider and deeper hatch, allowing two to be comfortable, one in front of the other. 

If it aint made of wood with a horse pulling it then it aint traditional honest guv.

[cuthound]

Just now, mrsmelly said:

If it aint made of wood with a horse pulling it then it aint traditional honest guv.

Lol, however I don't think the "starvationers" used in the Duke of Bridgewater's mine, which were the predecessors to narrowboats used horse.  They were propelled by men. I guess their predecessors would ultimately be dug out canoes. 

[Nightwatch]

We increasingly see Cratch Covers that don't in a triangular shape but are broader at the top. This allows you to stand in the well.

Not for the 'traditionalist'. 

[Sea Dog]

31 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

If it aint made of wood with a horse pulling it then it aint traditional honest guv.

Modern horses? They're rubbish, nowt like a proper horse like they had back in the day. I blame modern carrots, they're rubbish, not like vintage carrots. It's rubbish modern farmers to blame, with their rubbish modern tractors, with rubbish modern engines. Even modern rubbish isnt like proper vintage rubbish, I blame soft toilet paper..., etc.

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Nightwatch said:

We increasingly see Cratch Covers that don't in a triangular shape but are broader at the top. This allows you to stand in the well.

Not for the 'traditionalist'. 

Not for low bridges either... 

Edited November 4, 2017 by cuthound
Spillung