> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Does anyone know please good places to look for buying a > > narrowboat with some history, an older boat which could be > > restored? > > >Liz and Ian > > >Gayton Marina, Grand Union Canal, Northamptonshire > > >Intrigued? :-) > > >Bru > > Yes, very - please can you enlighten?! > > Thanks! > > > Liz and Ian
Might not be quite what you had in mind but it *is* historic! Don't take any notice of that Bungle character! (I'll give 'im dodgy!!!!) The boat in question is "Badger" our 1969 Springer / Faulkner narrowboat. First of all the history then the condition (eek!) The hull was built by Springer Engineering of Market Harborough in early 1969. She is definitely one of the first seven boats built by Sam Springer and she was the boat featured in the companies advertising throughout the early 1970's. From anecdotal evidence we believe that she may actually be the first narrowboat hull constructed by the company that went on to be the most prolific builder of purpose built steel pleasure boats on the inland waterways. As such, I believe she is every bit as historic as any of the ex-working craft that survive because she was built right at the beginning of the revival of the canals as a leisure network - at the time of her launch there was still a moderate amount of trade on the canals and virtually no purpose built leisure craft (what leisure craft there were being converted working boats, ships lifeboats and the like). Unlike Springers from the 1970's, she was delivered as a bare steel hull to Faulkners of Cosgrove, ex L.B. Faulkner of Leighton Buzzard and a famous working boat yard. Faulkners had been constructing pleasure boats by, quite literally, sawing wooden butties in half and fitting square transoms to the ends (two for the price of one!). We don't know whether Faulkners ordered the hull from Springers (perhaps because of a shortage of wooden butties!) or whether the first owner commissioned the hull directly. Faulkners built the wooden cabin in cruiser stern style and fitted out the interior of the boat. The first owner within a short period of time modified her into a trad stern. In the early 1970's she cruised the entire canal system from end to end before passing through a sucession of owners each of whom added to the now voluminous file on her history. The boat is 37' long and the accommodation consists of - a small but usable foreend with a cratch and cratch cover - 3 berth front cabin with two bunks to port and one high bunk plus cuboard under to starboard - toilet to port, shower to starboard. Doors close off entire section of boat as a bathroom - saloon with cupboards and settees each side converts to double berth - galley with gas cooker, sink, hot and cold water and Boatman solid fuel stove for heating - engine room with Lister SR2 diesel below floor and storage - counter with gas bottles and batteries below The engine room is small with very low headroom. With the floors lifted access to the engine is excellent and it provides a very useful storage area for all the usual stuff that boats accumulate. It has, on occasion, even been used as an extra sleeping space (we have a tendency to large crews on small boats!) The galley / saloon area is very comfortable for up to four people and has seated six or seven at a pinch. She has berths for five (although the upper bunks in the front cabin are only for those of a fairly slim and athletic build!). It would not be impossible to convert the front cabin to a double berth although it couldn't really be permanent unless the access out to the foredeck was moved or done away with. To the current state of play ... (eek!) She does not currently have a Boat Safety Certificate. However, she was surveyed (part 1) a couple of months ago and passed on every point bar a very slight leak in the gas system which will be sorted out before she is sold (unless a buyer agrees to take her as is) The interior is a bit shabby and reflects her age! Apart from some minor repairs (a broken drawer runner comes to mind) it's cosmetic and simply needs painting, varnishing, and tarting up, new carpets, new cushion covers and that sort of thing. At last out of water survey (about five years ago) the hull was overall very sound. She was built from 3/16" mild steel plate salvaged from scrap gasometers and, because that's far higher quality steel than is usual on boats, she's lost nothing much in plate thickness to corrosion over the years. Some welding was required where she had suffered wear damage to hull corners and to comply with the Boat Safety Certificate requirements. She may, on next survey, require some further welding to the uxter plate (the bottom plate of the counter above the prop) as this was close to the minimum 4mm thickness required for a full B.S.C. (probably due to the effects of prop wash). This would not be a major job nor would it be expensive. Above the gunnels the original Faulkners exterior plywood skin was replaced with new exterior grade WBP plywood three years ago. Unfortunately, this has not stood the test of time and is now rotten (bad choice of ply - we should have spent the extra on certified marine grade stuff. And some of the so called WBP wasn't). The cabin extension built by the first owner is also shot and needs replacing. The original roof of the main cabin is, however, sound and could be retained. Replacing the rotten plywood is well within the scope of a reasonable DIY woodworker and would not be expensive. Alternatively, a new steel cabin could be fitted which would be longer lasting and significantly enhance the value of the boat. As soon as I've dealt with more pressing matters (like finding some work!) I'll be getting quotes on that. Due to changing circumstances and interests we no longer have the time or the enthusiasm for the boat so she's looking for somebody new to enjoy her. She's got a lot to offer a new owner and we're open to any sensible offer. We're talking four figures here, she's not being given away but on the other hand neither is she going to cost somebody an arm and a leg to buy and restore. Fully restored with a wooden cabin she'd be worth around £10k, with a steel top you could add 5k to 6k on that. If she isn't sold in the meantime we'll be restoring her in the Spring with either a wooden or tin top (depending on the cost/profit equation) and she'll then be on the market for top dollar. In the meantime, we'd be happy to part with her "as is" for a lot less money and the new owner could then restore her to their own requirements. I'm handling the sale and can be contacted by email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or tel. 01536 790062 (evenings around 8:00pm being the best time to get me). Regards Bru
