Long distance tow....?

[Oldjack]

Asking for a "non internet friend" 

anybody know if it would be possible to have a contractor tow a unpowered 60ft houseboat (narrow boat shell, tidy and only built 2012 but unfinished) from down on the Bristol Avon, up to the fradley area, in 2018 as soon as stoppages and weather allow.

who would I contact if anyone....?

can it even be done....?

and most importantly if it can be done for less than the £1200ish to have it done by road, 2x lifts and short tows at either end......?

obvislouly it would be nice if the job could be done with as little damage as possible other maybe than some hull blacking.

if it's a stupid idea.....please don't be afraid to tell me so lol.

 

[Ray T]

Borrow a horse?

http://www.horseboating.org.uk/journeys/

[RLWP]

That £1200 sounds like a bargain

Richard

[nicknorman]

13 minutes ago, Oldjack said:

Asking for a "non internet friend" 

anybody know if it would be possible to have a contractor tow a unpowered 60ft houseboat (narrow boat shell, tidy and only built 2012 but unfinished) from down on the Bristol Avon, up to the fradley area, in 2018 as soon as stoppages and weather allow.

who would I contact if anyone....?

can it even be done....?

and most importantly if it can be done for less than the £1200ish to have it done by road, 2x lifts and short tows at either end......?

obvislouly it would be nice if the job could be done with as little damage as possible other maybe than some hull blacking.

if it's a stupid idea.....please don't be afraid to tell me so lol.

 

It would likely take 3 weeks (7days per week). So wages for 2 people minimum, fuel etc is only going to give you negative change from £1200, unless you can find someone to do it for fun, which seems a bit unlikely! Road transport seems a much more sensible option.

Edited December 30, 2017 by nicknorman

[Oldjack]

Yes I have to say that I thought that was a good price, in fact I'd of put at least a couple of hundred more on at a guess, the retired couple that are considering buying the house boat, are pushing it financially and thought possibly that some enterprising young boatman or boat girl might be able to shave off a couple of hundred, do it the old fashioned way and make a few pennies themselves, I said I'd ask about for them.

Edited December 30, 2017 by Oldjack

[RLWP]

1 minute ago, Oldjack said:

Yes I have to say that I thought that was a good price, in fact I'd of put at least a couple of hundred more on at a guess, the retired couple that are considering buying the house boat, are pushing it financially and thought possibly that some enterprising young boatman or boat girl might be able to shave of a couple of hundred, do it the old fashioned way and make a few pennies themselves, I said I'd ask about for them.

It's a bit of an ask being as the boat has no engine, especially as it will include some river work

Richard

[Alan de Enfield]

Anyone offering to tow it in return for ANY remuneration is then doing it as paid employment, and would be required to have both a commercial towing licence and commercial insurance to cover towing.

Most (if not all) leisure insurance policies specifically note that towing (or being towed) is not allowed except in emergency circumstances. A long, pre-planned 'tow' would hardly fall in this category.

I have seen non-professional 'tow-ers' make a right pigs ear and bashed the towed boat into other boats, approach walls to locks etc.

I'd suggest that if the purchasers are 'pushing it financially' that they minimise the risks and use a professional trucking company with experience of moving boats.

[rasputin]

No way to attach an outboard? 

[Oldjack]

All very valid concerns I'd say, and if I am honest I couldn't name a single professional towage outfit to undertake the job, someone might prove me wrong on that front though....

insurnance issues and strict EU regulations virtually completely killed coastal towing around the uk shores in the early 2000's,I was once told by a former Southampton tug captain on a Thames holiday cruiser. So I guess the same must be true of the canals today.

personely I think the road haul might be the smart option.

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, rasputin said:

No way to attach an outboard? 

There is always a way - even if it means temporarily welding a plate on the stern.

Question is - who is going to drive it, and is it likely to be safe on a River ?

[Bod]

1 hour ago, Oldjack said:

Asking for a "non internet friend" 

anybody know if it would be possible to have a contractor tow a unpowered 60ft houseboat (narrow boat shell, tidy and only built 2012 but unfinished) from down on the Bristol Avon, up to the fradley area, in 2018 as soon as stoppages and weather allow.

who would I contact if anyone....?

can it even be done....?

and most importantly if it can be done for less than the £1200ish to have it done by road, 2x lifts and short tows at either end......?

obvislouly it would be nice if the job could be done with as little damage as possible other maybe than some hull blacking.

if it's a stupid idea.....please don't be afraid to tell me so lol.

 

Fradley area?

They do have a suitable place to put it?

 

Bod

[howardang]

57 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Anyone offering to tow it in return for ANY remuneration is then doing it as paid employment, and would be required to have both a commercial towing licence and commercial insurance to cover towing.

Most (if not all) leisure insurance policies specifically note that towing (or being towed) is not allowed except in emergency circumstances. A long, pre-planned 'tow' would hardly fall in this category.

I have seen non-professional 'tow-ers' make a right pigs ear and bashed the towed boat into other boats, approach walls to locks etc.

I'd suggest that if the purchasers are 'pushing it financially' that they minimise the risks and use a professional trucking company with experience of moving boats.

I agree but it is worth mentioning that the OP did ask about a contractor which suggests a professional organisation rather than an amateur set up. Keeping the budget down to the example given would be very difficult if not impossible.

 

Howard

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, howardang said:

I agree but it is worth mentioning that the OP did ask about a contractor which suggests a professional organisation rather than an amateur set up. Keeping the budget down to the example given would be very difficult if not impossible.

 

Howard

But then said this :

 

1 hour ago, Oldjack said:

....thought possibly that some enterprising young boatman or boat girl might be able to shave off a couple of hundred, do it the old fashioned way and make a few pennies themselves....

 

[Oldjack]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

But then said this :

 

 

Sorry should have made myself clear, yes they would only contract a professional, with all the insurance and tickets to undertake the tow, but even if the money was in the job......(which I can't see myself btw) it sounds like there isn't anyone that can undertake the towage in the first place.....? Am I right.....?

[Oldjack]

16 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

There is always a way - even if it means temporarily welding a plate on the stern.

Question is - who is going to drive it, and is it likely to be safe on a River ?

I think their insurance wouldn't go with the outbound option sadly, Roy (the possible owner)is ex met police and rightly likes everything done by the book

i think one of the boatyards/marinas in the fradley area has agreed to take them, subject to the boat being professionally painted asap.

[Peter X]

There are a few people like me who will do a trip as crew for just the food and board, but to go by water you either need to find someone willing and able to tow, or put an engine in before moving it.

Towing that boat that far wouldn't make sense to me. Most boat insurance excludes it for the good reason that it comes with risks and needs a certain level of skill to get right. You'd be unlikely to find a volunteer with a suitable boat and experience and insurance, so would need to hire someone for maybe two weeks (via Reading, Oxford, Braunston) and it wouldn't be cheap. It would be done on cross straps with some ballast at the stern to keep the bow of the towed boat high; do not tow on a line unless both the motor and butty steerer know what they're doing. Also unlike a proper butty, the towed boat won't have a nice big ellum so its steerer will have to be careful to stop the stern going sideways into a moored boat especially in tight places or on bends. And you need someone strong on the crew to pull the towed boat into all the narrow locks on the Oxford and Coventry canals.

If it is intended that the boat is going to have an engine, I'd recommend that your friend looks into the timetable and economics of fitting one near where it is now, then enjoying a nice two week cruise afterwards. By the time the engine installation has been organised, there will be nicer weather and more daylight and winter stoppages may be over. Bear in mind that there are certain winter stoppages on the K&A, including one at Blakes Lock in Reading which I think goes on into March.

To get from Bristol to Fradley you might consider going via the Severn (Portishead to Sharpness?), but that does rather open up a can of worms in that the boat has to be capable of the passage and everyone says hiring a proper pilot is essential.

[matty40s]

2 hours ago, Oldjack said:

...., are pushing it financially and thought possibly that some enterprising young boatman or boat girl might be able to shave off a couple of hundred, do it the old fashioned way and make a few pennies themselves, I said I'd ask about for them.

So they want to do everything by the book contractor and insurance wise but want it done on the cheap.......

 

Stick it on the lorry.

[Peter X]

The idea of fitting an outboard sounds worth looking into too. The hardest part of the journey for it would be going upriver, i.e. the short bit from Bristol up the Avon then doing the Thames from Reading to Oxford. I haven't been on the Avon, but would imagine that a good outboard engine would be enough to push a modern 60' narrow boat safely up the non-tidal Thames under normal conditions.

[OldGoat]

2 hours ago, Oldjack said:

'unpowered 60ft houseboat'

Perhaps I'm reading too much into the above quote, but I suspect that it's going to be static (no power) and lived on. Quite apart from logistics issues, fuel for heating, water and the like and the owners being strapped for cash - how would that work out within CaRT's Ts and Cs?

Edited December 30, 2017 by OldGoat

[bizzard]

No entrepreneur starting out from scratch to get rich and to make a cool million ever bided much in the way of any rules, regulations, laws H &S and such costly obstacles, we just ignored them and went straight ahead and did it. If any of the busybodys and authorities had ever caught up with us, the job would have been done and dusted anyway. Not for wages as such though of course, no! no!, never, not no how!!! ,, just for nice big fat juicy tips instead.

 By an entrepreneur that didn't make his cool million.     Anyone wishing to learn more about these entrepreneurial skills, please PM me.

Edited December 30, 2017 by bizzard

[X Alan W]

27 minutes ago, matty40s said:

So they want to do everything by the book contractor and insurance wise but want it done on the cheap.......

 

Stick it on the lorry.

As Matty says cut out all the Faff  get the pro's with proper kit *insurance etc stick it on the truck but bear in mind Pigs lugholes don't make quality money containers may be spending a little more will get you a better quicker deal

[ditchcrawler]

I am very interested to know what qualification I would need to tow a boat on the canal, I appreciate the Thames could be a different ball game

[Peter X]

1 hour ago, Oldjack said:

Sorry should have made myself clear, yes they would only contract a professional, with all the insurance and tickets to undertake the tow, but even if the money was in the job......(which I can't see myself btw) it sounds like there isn't anyone that can undertake the towage in the first place.....? Am I right.....?

There are probably one or two professionals who are properly set up to do it legally, but I would be amazed if they could undercut the £1200 to go by road, which incidentally sounds like a realistic figure to me.

However I do think that, subject to their circumstances that I don't know, your friend should look into the idea of installing an engine in or near Bristol instead of at Fradley. That may very well work out cheaper, so long as they have two weeks free in say April to move the boat themselves.

[Alan de Enfield]

19 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I am very interested to know what qualification I would need to tow a boat on the canal, I appreciate the Thames could be a different ball game

I am not aware on any specific qualification.

I was particularly careful in my posts to make no mention of a 'qualification'.

However - the 'towing boat' would need both a commercial licence and commercial insurance with cover for towing.

[David Mack]

2 hours ago, Peter X said:

 (via Reading, Oxford, Braunston)

Via Brentford would be easier as it would be downstream on the Thames then wide locks all the way up to Braunston.

I once had a 57ft boat towed all the way from Manchester to London via Oxford (Blisworth Tunnel was closed at the time). All done via friends and friends of friends, and a couple I met on route who were up for it. Only cost me the beer I bought them all. But it did involve hanging around a bit (more than 14 days) between tows.  I don't think I'd try it again though!