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Boat length


Bromleyxphil

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Hi guys, when you measure a boat length where do you measure from and to.  I went to look at one at the weekend that was 60’.  When I got the tape on it the body was 60’11” and then the rudder stuck out further from the back.  I need your experience!

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It is said had a boat has three lengths, one when paying, one when boasting, and the real one.

It appears to me that there can easily be a tolerance of plus or minus a foot between the quoted length and the actual length.

Marinas etc require full length including fenders. I think a more useful length is the actual steel length with the rudder turned to one side.

Most boaters don't know exactly how long/wide/deep their boat is.

 

................Dave

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It matters if the locks are too small, I want to be on the LL and this 60’ boat, brand new was nearly 62 feet tip to rudder.  Just wondered if there was an accepted convention.  Do they shrink when you put them in the water?

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1 minute ago, Captain Pegg said:

How accurately can you measure and does it really matter?

With a bit of thought and care can probable measure to within 1/4 inch, but as CaRT can be a foot or two out with published lock lengths, and as boat shape is a factor, then its usually not that important.

 

.............Dave

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10 minutes ago, Bromleyxphil said:

It matters if the locks are too small, I want to be on the LL and this 60’ boat, brand new was nearly 62 feet tip to rudder.  Just wondered if there was an accepted convention.  Do they shrink when you put them in the water?

Dunno about yours but mine does, at least if the water is cold. I think the boat probably does as well, though probably not by as much.

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If someone who isn't after our m9ney is enquiring our boat is 25ft. Which it is from the tip of the bow rails to the end of the prop cone.

 

If someone who is after our money is enquiring it is 23ft. It says so on the side. (This is the hull length)

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1 hour ago, dmr said:

With a bit of thought and care can probable measure to within 1/4 inch, but as CaRT can be a foot or two out with published lock lengths, and as boat shape is a factor, then its usually not that important.

 

.............Dave

I wonder if the OPs 61' tape measure was calibrated. You are talking about +/-1mm in every 6 metres on an object you can't measure directly or in one go. I suspect that's a bit optimistic.

 

JP

 

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
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17 minutes ago, Bromleyxphil said:

It matters if the locks are too small, I want to be on the LL and this 60’ boat, brand new was nearly 62 feet tip to rudder.  Just wondered if there was an accepted convention.  Do they shrink when you put them in the water?

It's not just about length. Shape is important too. The front of your boat can overhang the cill so the extreme of the bow isn't necessarily the important bit, the shape of the stem is key. Also your boat may fit in a lock but the gates may not close past the stern if it's too square (probably not such an issue for a single boat in a wide lock).

 

JP

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43 minutes ago, Bromleyxphil said:

Hi guys, when you measure a boat length where do you measure from and to.  I went to look at one at the weekend that was 60’.  When I got the tape on it the body was 60’11” and then the rudder stuck out further from the back.  I need your experience!

 

Curiously when I had a marina mooring, my boat was three feet shorter than its length. It was their error, mistaking 68ft for 65ft, but I felt no burning desire to correct their invoices. 

 

Something similar could have happened here. The original customer ordered a 60ft boat, the builder built one that looked about 60ft. Either no-one ever actually measured it, or if they did, saw no point in cutting 11in out of it to shorten it. 

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single boat with a square back end??

60ft widebeam with a square back end??

more of the widebeam builders are building square back ends to create more social space without strengthening the underneath areas and owners complaining about strange noises when moving and vibrations....

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21 minutes ago, Bromleyxphil said:

I have a 100 ft tape measure left to me by my dad. I Never thought I would use it but guess what it came out of the back of the shed this weekend.

But is it accurate? you need another 100foot tape measure to check ?

 

Split the boat into sections, measure each then add them together.

Measure cabin length along gunnel (you could do this both sides and see if they are the same.

Measure from front bulkhead to front of well deck, and then well deck front to very front of boat etc allowing for any cabin "overhang" beyond bulkhead etc etc

 

................Dave

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Moor up on a vistor mooring.  Chalk mark the bow with a squarish measure.  Chalk mark the stern with the same measure. 

 

Measure the distance between the two marks, a bit at a time if necessary.  That's your real length, which may or may not be different to your licenced length! 

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22 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Moor up on a vistor mooring.  Chalk mark the bow with a squarish measure.  Chalk mark the stern with the same measure. 

 

Measure the distance between the two marks, a bit at a time if necessary.  That's your real length, which may or may not be different to your licenced length! 

 

I tried doing it that way but its surprisingly difficult to find a length of good straight canal bank, even in a lock, and also to get the boat well tied up to stop it shuffling up and down a bit, so I felt the "measuring in sections" was more reliable.

 

................Dave

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1 hour ago, Bromleyxphil said:

It matters if the locks are too small, I want to be on the LL and this 60’ boat, brand new was nearly 62 feet tip to rudder.  Just wondered if there was an accepted convention.  Do they shrink when you put them in the water?

If you drive out into a lock hard enough then reverse hard enough when you shut the back gates and repeat for each lock, you may find  after a while you reduce the length a few inches or so. If you are down on the K&A, you might find by the time you get to the LL, it is the right size.

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1 hour ago, dmr said:

 

I tried doing it that way but its surprisingly difficult to find a length of good straight canal bank, even in a lock, and also to get the boat well tied up to stop it shuffling up and down a bit, so I felt the "measuring in sections" was more reliable.

 

................Dave

Nose up to the gate in front of you, leave the boat in forward tick over.  You won't be more than an inch of squashed fender wrong! 

 

Or just use the Guillotine lock in front of you as a fixed reference point :)

 

Edited by TheBiscuits
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37 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Nose up to the gate in front of you, leave the boat in forward tick over.  You won't be more than an inch of squashed fender wrong! 

 

Or just use the Guillotine lock in front of you as a fixed reference point :)

 

Guillotine lock?  ?  The lock in front of me has conventional gates but also has some sort of opening near to the top of the gate, looking to be protected or controlled by a chain operated flap. I assume this allows water to flow in the absence of a bywash but can find no mention of its history anywhere.

 

Will likely be back to the Guillotine in a week or two, had to remove myself from the temptation of the Golden Lion.

 

...............Dave 

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2 minutes ago, dmr said:

Guillotine lock?  ?  The lock in front of me has conventional gates but also has some sort of opening near to the top of the gate, looking to be protected or controlled by a chain operated flap. I assume this allows water to flow in the absence of a bywash but can find no mention of its history anywhere.

 

Will likely be back to the Guillotine in a week or two, had to remove myself from the temptation of the Golden Lion.

 

...............Dave 

Photo please, as I don't remember that one and it sounds interesting. 

 

And yes I had assumed you were hogging the waterpoint at Tod :D

 

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