Nice old Colecraft, refitted. Too expensive but nice nevertheless

[mrsmelly]

16 hours ago, David Mack said:

 

Would he stand a better chance of recouping his time, effort and money if he had started with a brand new sailaway?

Absolutely.

[koukouvagia]

13 hours ago, Bee said:

 Nobody wants to find thin bits on their hull but the repairs are pretty straightforward and eventually, after many years, it can be replated and new frames put in if needed, then its ready for another 50 years. Steel rusts, then its repaired, easy.

Our narrowboat is one of the ones you describe as “of advanced years”. I’m not sure whether you are saying that replating or overplating is an easy option. (By the way, it’s iron, not steel).  I can assure you that it’s anything but easy to deal expertly with a rotting iron hull.  

Hampton was both replated and overplated nearly 50 years ago and at some later stage parts of the overplating were overplated! Behind this overplating the boat continued to rot from the inside out until eventually it sprang a rather dramatic leak.  The answer was certainly not to slap another layer of steel over the rot, but to cut out all the old iron and remake a large portion of the back end.  This took a highly skilled restorer about three months to achieve.  

It may well last another fifty years, but achieving this was definitely not “pretty straighforward”.  

   

[Bee]

1 hour ago, koukouvagia said:

Our narrowboat is one of the ones you describe as “of advanced years”. I’m not sure whether you are saying that replating or overplating is an easy option. (By the way, it’s iron, not steel).  I can assure you that it’s anything but easy to deal expertly with a rotting iron hull.  

Hampton was both replated and overplated nearly 50 years ago and at some later stage parts of the overplating were overplated! Behind this overplating the boat continued to rot from the inside out until eventually it sprang a rather dramatic leak.  The answer was certainly not to slap another layer of steel over the rot, but to cut out all the old iron and remake a large portion of the back end.  This took a highly skilled restorer about three months to achieve.  

It may well last another fifty years, but achieving this was definitely not “pretty straighforward”.  

   

I was really thinking of more modern 'leisure' boats where rain and weather never got inside the hold and they always float on the same waterline.  The pics of Hamptons rebuild was more of a complete rebuild/restoration, the stern of a butty is awfully vulnerable to the weather. Brilliant work though and thank goodness people will take it on and fork out the cash for it otherwise there would be nothing interesting to look at.

[70liveaboard]

I would like to think that boats could be viewed as cars are, they become 'vintage'. But at what age and in what condition is vintage.. That is only down to the buyer, everyone else doesn't really matter.

[Machpoint005]

Any boat (or any house, of any car, for that matter) is worth exactly what somebody will pay for it, no more no less. A problem may arise when looking for another 'somebody' with the same opinion. And no, I'm not one of them -- I wouldn't pay 60 grand for it. 

 

Personally I quite like the interior, although the lack of direct and reflected light would be a bit depressing after a while, but what is that tree doing growing in the saloon? If it is rooted in the canal bed that may explain why overplating was necessary.