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First boat - considering buying an 1860s ice breaker...


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Will keep the appointment. 

 

My intention was always to get a survey.   Likely uninsurable otherwise.  Speak of which I need to find somebody who'll insure it. 

 

And no, I don't see it as anything remotely close to being similar to a Sea Otter just because they're priced similarly, for all the reasons I'd given.  No idea how you'd come to that conclusion. 

 

GRP would be the sensible choice but they don't appeal anywhere near as much as a narrow boat. 

53 minutes ago, WotEver said:

I have this one that I saved from somewhere.109DC24C-1F1E-4D8A-8CD0-34F8C13D320F.jpeg.60d977192e6ea4c68bffd236251f95a7.jpeg

Thank you.  Makes more sense now. 

 

It'd likely be just me on board so hopefully the rocking won't be too much of a problem.   Do wonder what it'd be like in a lock though, I'd have thought that's where it'd potentially be susceptible to a bit of rocking. 

 

The boat is 2 hours drive away so not the end of the world. 

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Provided you do "due diligence", owning such a historic boat would add a huge extra dimension to your hobby boating. You would be immediately embraced by the very active historic boating community and be able join the convoys from one historic boat festival to another as a full participant rather than a spectator.

And you will be doing your bit to keeping a bit of Britain's boating heritage alive.

 

Don 

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8 hours ago, DandV said:

Provided you do "due diligence", owning such a historic boat would add a huge extra dimension to your hobby boating. You would be immediately embraced by the very active historic boating community and be able join the convoys from one historic boat festival to another as a full participant rather than a spectator.

And you will be doing your bit to keeping a bit of Britain's boating heritage alive.

 

Don 

And should they ever hold a festival with a parade when the canal is frozen over, you'll be asked to lead the parade.

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2 hours ago, thenortherner said:

I've managed to get an insurance quote which covers total loss for £170 with Euro Marine subject to an ultra sonic survey showing the plate is a minimum of 4mm.

If it is now 'double skinned' a surveyor may / will have problems getting an accurate reading. maybe if you can get a statement from the folks who overplated it detailing what they used, it may be acceptable.

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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

If it is now 'double skinned' a surveyor may / will have problems getting an accurate reading. maybe if you can get a statement from the folks who overplated it detailing what they used, it may be acceptable.

 

I spoke to Michael Clarke of Northern Star Marine earlier.  He did the survey last September, just before it was put on the water and the pin holes were found...

 

He's happy to survey the boat again but has advised nothing will likely change in terms of the outcome.  He also said good things about the last welder to have worked on the boat, and that if the boat's been sat on the water since the pin hole leeks were sorted then they're sorted, else it'd have sunk by now.

 

In terms of having it surveyed again, Michael advised if it's sat on chocks again then there'll still be areas he can't survey, but that'd be no different to any survey.

 

I'll take a look at the readings on the last survey.  He didn't mention any problems in terms of being able to get a reading.

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18 hours ago, thenortherner said:

I've managed to get an insurance quote which covers total loss for £170 with Euro Marine subject to an ultra sonic survey showing the plate is a minimum of 4mm.

My concern there would be that it's been over plated with 4mm.  Assuming that you get a survey showing that 4mm figure now, what about next time as the hull ages?  Surely given the slightest wear or pitting it's bound to fail against that metric at the next survey? 

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Did the surveyor mention carrying out any sort of stability calculations? 

 

Intuitively, the boat looks as though it is about to roll over at any minute, with all that cabin weight so high up on top of a barrel-shaped hull. Does the comprehensive insurance you found include cover against capsizing too? Would be worth checking. This looks a far bigger risk to my eye than sinking.

 

It's a very charming boat having seen it in the flesh myself but it strikes me as a 'folly', a hobby boat for someone with deep pockets rather than someone for whom a significant mishap would be financially disastrous.

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All,

 

Head ruled heart in the end and I cancelled the viewing yesterday evening.

 

The reason being the maintenance costs.  I know boating will always cost but with this particular boat I'd imagine I'd be having my pants pulled down a fair amount when it comes to structural work given its make up.

 

And the other worry was, as pointed out above, it's only just meets the insurance requirements as it is meaning I'd be forced into more work sooner rather than later.

 

Lastly, the stability issue mentioned worries me a bit especially in locks, as I'd be on my own on it.  As a novice boater something that's rolling all over the place wouldn't be confidence inspiring.

 

The search continues for something more conventional.

 

 

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9 hours ago, LadyG said:

£20,000 for a 40 year old Springer? OMG and you thought you might have financial problems with the Ice Breaker!

The boats at Venetian look a little more promising and "Shiraz" at Tattenhall seems to meet the OP's requirements at the right price.

Personally I would still have gone for a look see whilst keeping a firm grip on reality. I have gone the GRP route having had a disaster with a steel hull that needed overplating (without the necessary funds) and am having a great time re-fitting (see building blog for progress thus far). I regard it as a stepping stone towards a better steel hull NB and it keeps me afloat at a remarkably low cost.

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4 minutes ago, manxmike said:

£20,000 for a 40 year old Springer? OMG and you thought you might have financial problems with the Ice Breaker

Has the world gone mad! 

Edited by rusty69
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