Lfpthomas Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Morning all! Looking for skilled boat builder in the NW, preferably near Manchester or Liverpool. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
system 4-50 Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 5 minutes ago, Lfpthomas said: Morning all! Looking for skilled boat builder in the NW, preferably near Manchester or Liverpool. Thanks Size? Type? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 2 minutes ago, system 4-50 said: Size? Type? He'd probably be rotund and talk plain blunt. But seriously, in Liverpool you have two established boatbuilding firms: Collingwood's and Aintree. The latter have recently earned good "press" on this forum. Is this for having a boat built or for repairs/ modifications? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfpthomas Posted September 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Boat built, moderately big widebeam or barge. Happy to look at the latter, any particularly well trusted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 6 minutes ago, Lfpthomas said: ... any particularly well trusted? Aintree, as Athy mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Both Collingwood and Aintree make widebeams, which they will supply in any stage from steel hull only to fully-fitted and ready to cruise away. For a 60' by 10' boat, Collingwood quote £100,000 and Aintree quote £110,000. The price difference may perhaps be an indication of the quality of the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfpthomas Posted September 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Thank you Athy! Are there any other independent builders? Looking to save money by not going to the top dogs but still want to know they're trusted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 (edited) 20 minutes ago, Lfpthomas said: Thank you Athy! Are there any other independent builders? Looking to save money by not going to the top dogs but still want to know they're trusted There probably are. But indies building one boat at a time will generally be more costly than a volume manufacturer. Do you insist upon a brand new boat? If you wish to save money, buy second hand. There is a web site called "Apollo Duck Narrowboats" where many second-hand craft are advertised for sale; despite its name I think you'll find widebeams on there too. (But I'll check). EDIT: I checked. They currently have 166 widebeams advertised. Have a look, get an idea of the style you'd like and of what you can get for your money. Do you have a fixed budget? Edited September 24, 2018 by Athy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgreg Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Brayzel (based in Garstang, Lancs) have an excellent reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boaty Jo Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 May I suggest you go back a step and decide what you want. If you want new (as indicated) you need to do a lot of research. Presumably it's for living aboard? In which case you need adequate on-board systems. Heating, cooking, plumbing, electrics etc. etc. With each systems you have numerous alternatives. Take heating as an example: gas, diesel, solid fuel, or a combination? It is a broad topic with lots of choice and huge cost variation. Two builders could give you a quote for a similar boat with a £20k difference purely based on the quality of equipment (engine, appliances, C/H boilers etc.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machpoint005 Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 I'm sure there are some excellent boat builders in Oban or Ullapool, but they won't have built many narrowboats. The OP has made same the mistake as the Met Office in weather forecasts (see thread title). Those of us in NW England have great difficulty in distinguishing whether they mean NW England or NW UK. The last time I looked at a map, NW UK was Northern Ireland and the top left-hand chunk of Scotland. NW England is more or less in the middle - in fact slightly south of the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boater Sam Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Piper. Tricky for a wide in the narrow canal NWest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 4 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said: I'm sure there are some excellent boat builders in Oban or Ullapool, but they won't have built many narrowboats. The OP has made same the mistake as the Met Office in weather forecasts (see thread title). Those of us in NW England have great difficulty in distinguishing whether they mean NW England or NW UK. The last time I looked at a map, NW UK was Northern Ireland and the top left-hand chunk of Scotland. NW England is more or less in the middle - in fact slightly south of the middle. A terminological inexactitude perhaps, but the O.P. did mention Manchester and Liverpool, which I think made her meaning clear. As for Brayzel Boats, as mentioned by Rgreg, yes, they have a good reputation - but as they have a full-time staff of four and build only three or for boats a year, those boats are unlikely to be at the cheap end of the market Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmr Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Lfpthomas said: Thank you Athy! Are there any other independent builders? Looking to save money by not going to the top dogs but still want to know they're trusted I think some would say these builders are lower midrange, the top dogs will cost a whole lot more. Boating is not cheap, widebeams are expensive, and as you have not even decided what boat you want I suspect you are not too familiar with boating so likely to make some very expensive mistakes. Buy a secondhand boat and use it to learn about boats. .....................Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgreg Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 24 minutes ago, Athy said: A terminological inexactitude perhaps, but the O.P. did mention Manchester and Liverpool, which I think made her meaning clear. As for Brayzel Boats, as mentioned by Rgreg, yes, they have a good reputation - but as they have a full-time staff of four and build only three or for boats a year, those boats are unlikely to be at the cheap end of the market Generally not, but it depends on what spec the OP wants. It's worth having a chat with them at least, to see what they can do for him within his budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 9 minutes ago, rgreg said: Generally not, but it depends on what spec the OP wants. It's worth having a chat with them at least, to see what they can do for him within his budget. Yes, good advice. (I think he's a she, by the way). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boater Sam Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Anyone left on the Bridgewater still building? Are we talking shell or fitting out here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machpoint005 Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 2 hours ago, Athy said: A terminological inexactitude perhaps, but the O.P. did mention Manchester and Liverpool, which I think made her meaning clear. Yes, the "NW UK" bit only appeared in the thread title. I'm not sure it was a lie, though, perhaps a misnomer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 4 hours ago, Machpoint005 said: Yes, the "NW UK" bit only appeared in the thread title. I'm not sure it was a lie, though, perhaps a misnomer? I used the phrase in its literal sense, not as a Churchillian euphemism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machpoint005 Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 30 minutes ago, Athy said: I used the phrase in its literal sense, not as a Churchillian euphemism. OK I'll grant you "terminological imprecision"! Just my hobby horse from the north west (of England). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said: OK I'll grant you "terminological imprecision"! Just my hobby horse from the north west (of England). Precisely. Or indeed, exactly. Edited September 24, 2018 by Athy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfpthomas Posted September 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 How silly of me.... Apologies for the hiccup chaps. Grateful for the advise shared! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pie Eater Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 5 hours ago, Boater Sam said: Anyone left on the Bridgewater still building? Are we talking shell or fitting out here? Lymm Marina usually have some widebeams but I am not sure if they fit them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 6 minutes ago, Pie Eater said: Lymm Marina usually have some widebeams but I am not sure if they fit them out. Good call. I look at their web site shows that they do a variety of stages, the most complete being "Lined extra" which is basically a fully working boat (engine, insulation, batteries, bathroom, central heating etc. fitted) but with no furniture or galley. 57 X 10 foot model £58,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty40s Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 2 hours ago, Athy said: Good call. I look at their web site shows that they do a variety of stages, the most complete being "Lined extra" which is basically a fully working boat (engine, insulation, batteries, bathroom, central heating etc. fitted) but with no furniture or galley. 57 X 10 foot model £58,000. Thats ideal for London, camp beds and live on Deliveroo, you could rent it out to 20 sandwich shop workers in the space available. Elton Moss/Nantwich Boats - its quite NW if you are in the SE.(Jersey, Guernsey) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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