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Boat Building Dimensions

NikkieD

By NikkieD
in New to Boating?

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Or this https://www.wessexrose.co.uk/wessex-rose/ based on a Humber Keel, a little bigger than you are planning but not much

This is a particularly appalling example of the genre, being used on waterways for which it is quite unsuited.  (Although looking at it, I'm not quite sure for what waterways it really is suited).

011-Wessex_Rose_Kintbury_24Sept.jpg

16 hours ago, blackrose said:

Anyway, what about this enclosed, wrap around bow? I think it works quite well. Built by Bluewater Boats. I think

 

Edit: I think I've actually been onboard this one when it was moored at Stratford on Avon (as shown in this picture). I met the owners through this forum and went to look at their BT electrical connections as I'd changed my brushes and couldn't figure out how it went back together! It has the same BT.

 

WIDE31.jpg


The point bows on boats like this are quite unsuitable for use on broad canals.

If you wanted to design a bow that was specifically intended to lift a gate off its mountings as a lock is filling, this would be a good attempt at it.

Almost invariably they have small fenders hung in the style shown here, that are unlikely to offer much (if any) protection against that happening.

Please don't say that the bows should be nowhere near the upper gates, because with the best will in the word, with a boat that long, it will happen.

Pointy bows do lift lock gates, and stop navigation - pretty regularly, actually.......

(EDIT: Unless this boat never goes on broad canals of course, and is only ever used in locks much longer than it is....)

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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

The point bows on boats like this are quite unsuitable for use on broad canals.


If you wanted to design a bow that was specifically intended to lift a gate off its mountings as a lock is filling, this would be a good attempt at it.

Almost invariably they have small fenders hung in the style shown here, that are unlikely to offer much (if any) protection against that happening.

Please don't say that the bows should be nowhere near the upper gates, because with the best will in the word, with a boat that long, it will happen.

Pointy bows do lift lock gates, and stop navigation - pretty regularly, actually.......

(EDIT: Unless this boat never goes on broad canals of course, and is only ever used in locks much longer than it is....)

You may be right Alan, but I've seen hundreds of narrow boats with similar pointy bows. And I wasn't going to say that the bows should be nowhere near the upper gates, so there's really no need to reprimand me for something I haven't said! ?

Edited by blackrose
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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

Posted
Posted (edited)

Anyway Alan, we were specifically talking about the wrap around cabin front and I posted the picture as an example. I'm not sure how you managed to change the topic to pointy bows because for the purposes of this thread that's irrelevant. After all, there's no requirement to have pointy bows with a wrap around cabin front.

Edited by blackrose
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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted
59 minutes ago, blackrose said:

You may be right Alan, but I've seen hundreds of narrow boats with similar pointy bows. And I wasn't going to say that the bows should be nowhere near the upper gates, so there's really no need to reprimand me for something I haven't said! ?


Sorry, my bad!

What I meant to say was something like "Please don't anybody tell me......"  Despite quoting you, I wasn't intending to aim it at you personally!

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aracer Community Regular

aracer

Posted
Posted
On 06/01/2019 at 14:56, blackrose said:

I'm not sure I agree. I don't see why an enclosed bow would restrict one's movements, as long as you arrange ropes in suitable places, plus extra cleats closer to the sides. I think you need to do that on a widebeam anyway. I've seen Dutch-style new build barges with wrap around cabin fronts and they were certainly built for cruising. As I already mentioned, once you get off the canals and onto tidal waters you don't really want a well deck and bow doors.

 

But then if once you get off canals and onto tidal waters you don't really want any boat designed for use on canals. Clearly everything is a compromise, but the "problem" of well deck and bow doors is one which is really easily solved if you want to do it properly - bow doors and vents with proper designed in seals or a sealed cover over them (the latter could easily be a retrofit), something to shed waves on the well deck to deflect most of the water away (it doesn't have to be perfect, just enough that the drains aren't overwhelmed). It doesn't even have to be a cover, a wave deflector would probably be sufficient, something like this kayak one:

Epic_Universal_trimmed_foot_ml.jpg

 

Though would a standard cratch cover do a sufficiently good job anyway?


That way you get the best of both worlds - just as good seaworthiness when required, all the advantages of bow doors and well deck the rest of the time. Bearing in mind we're still talking about a boat which is far from ideal for use on tidal waters in many other ways.

 

 

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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, aracer said:

But then if once you get off canals and onto tidal waters you don't really want any boat designed for use on canals. Clearly everything is a compromise, but the "problem" of well deck and bow doors is one which is really easily solved if you want to do it properly - bow doors and vents with proper designed in seals or a sealed cover over them (the latter could easily be a retrofit), something to shed waves on the well deck to deflect most of the water away (it doesn't have to be perfect, just enough that the drains aren't overwhelmed). It doesn't even have to be a cover, a wave deflector would probably be sufficient, something like this kayak one:

Epic_Universal_trimmed_foot_ml.jpg

 

Though would a standard cratch cover do a sufficiently good job anyway?


That way you get the best of both worlds - just as good seaworthiness when required, all the advantages of bow doors and well deck the rest of the time. Bearing in mind we're still talking about a boat which is far from ideal for use on tidal waters in many other ways.

 

 

The only problem with that is that you get a catch cover! ? Horrible things... I'd much prefer an enclosed bow, but that's just personal preference.

 

Yes, canal boats aren't ideal for tidal waters but if you do much cruising then depending on where you are it's not uncommon to venture onto interconnected tidal waters. Plus the fact that bow well decks just aren't that watertight even on canals. It's not difficult to flood them in locks.

 

By definition, low level non-closeable vents shouldn't be sealed, hence the sign saying "Do not obstruct" and I'm not sure how that kayak wave deflector thing is supposed to work on a canal boat but I really don't think that's doing things "properly" as you say. 

Edited by blackrose
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aracer Community Regular

aracer

Posted
Posted (edited)
12 hours ago, blackrose said:

The only problem with that is that you get a catch cover! ? Horrible things... I'd much prefer an enclosed bow, but that's just personal preference.

 

Yes, canal boats aren't ideal for tidal waters but if you do much cruising then depending on where you are it's not uncommon to venture onto interconnected tidal waters. Plus the fact that bow well decks just aren't that watertight even on canals. It's not difficult to flood them in locks.

 

By definition, low level non-closeable vents shouldn't be sealed, hence the sign saying "Do not obstruct" and I'm not sure how that kayak wave deflector thing is supposed to work on a canal boat but I really don't think that's doing things "properly" as you say. 

I love my cratch cover - it's great having a "shed". One advantage being versatility - I can always take my cover off and have an open deck.

 

So if you have an enclosed bow which makes your boat more seaworthy where do the low level vents go? You say that you covered yours with duct tape! I'm not quite sure how you square this one - either you have low level vents at the front which let in water or you don't - my suggestion is having them in a way that they can be sealed properly when necessary, versatility again.

 

To take your boat as an example, the deflector would fit between the raised and well part of the front deck - if the problem is waves breaking over the front deck then it should deflect the water to the sides away from the well.

Edited by aracer
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