Liverpool boat

[Jat60]

2 hours ago, Peter X said:

Sea Dog is right, there must be plenty of boats in marinas or on long term moorings which have averaged 14 hours or less of moving per year; to me that's just a long day but I can perfectly understand those canal users who wish for various reasons to stay rooted to one spot. It does mean that you need to worry about corrosion if the electrics were not up to standard, and I think there can also be issues with an engine that has lain unused for a long period, which others with more knowledge than me could tell you about?

Having said that, I did a trip 15 months ago helping to move a boat which had spent many years in one place (apart from a day or two of moving 6 months before I turned up), and the engine ran well. It did have a tendency to stall at low revs during the first day or two of the trip, but by the time we'd given it a good work out going up river on the Nene it was going like a dream and got us to London no problem.

If I decide to go ahead, I will do an oil change, new filters etc. The engine was dusty, but otherwise looking quite new. I'd say it was the original engine that came with the vessel.

[Jat60]

11 minutes ago, Mike Richardson said:

You might care to sight along each side of the boat to see if there are slight 'bumps' where the curved bow section meets the straight sides. I know of at least three Liverpool shells with this 'feature' that have met challenges at Hurleston Bottom lock. I have personal experience of one of them . . . .  It hasn't stopped us from covering about 7000 miles around the system since 1998 without problems, including the locks on the Cheshire flight which are marked as particularly tight. In all other respects our boat has been fine, apart from the 'floppy rudder syndrome' mentioned in another thread, which was fixed by renewing the bolts and welding.

Mike

I have noticed that with other boats I have looked at. I know exactly what you mean.

[Canal321]

2 hours ago, Neil Smith said:

Or tight at the centre with a gap at bow and stern.

Neil

Or a string line held taught along the length is the easiest solution. 

[WJM]

I have an 11 year old Liverpool boat, mine since it was 6 months old. It spends about 10 months a year in a marina hooked up to mains electricity, albeit with a standard Galvanic Isolator in the Earth connection. Every time I have it blacked (every three years) I have a full hull survey done. Every time the hull has come back perfect, no measurable thinning anywhere. 

 

Overall my experience with this boat has been excellent. I have given it some serious thumps and bashes, travelled hundreds, thousands of miles, on all sorts of waterways in all weathers with no problems. The Isuzu engine has been rock-solid reliable, though I do have it professionally serviced once a year. This means that once a year a professional boat engineer gives it a proper looking over. This winter the engineer observed that the engine mounts had shifted and were slightly loose. Left for any time, this would have caused big problems with misaligned transmission. Quickly and easily fixed.

 

My only negative observation is; Liverpool put less effort into preparing the steel compared to other builders. So often there was a certain amount of 'mill scale' left on the steel. The process of regular blacking means this is not a problem with the hull. But the top of the boat may suffer. After 11 years my boat is looking decidedly rough, peeling paint and superficial rust. So I have decided to have it stripped back and repainted. Not a cheap job but on the big scale 'total cost of ownership' I am still entirely satisfied with my Liverpool. A boat from a more thorough builder would have cost a lot more - more than the cost of this repaint.

 

One final minor Liverpool observation - their hinges tend to be a bit flimsy. Anywhere that you have hinges, doors, hatches, lids, keep them well oiled. But it is not a big deal, they are easily replaced.

 

When I bought this boat, my first, I was told it was 'the cheap end' of narrowboats. I fully intended to 'upgrade' to something more reputable when I had learned the ropes. I never did upgrade, I never felt the need. Entirely happy.