addjunkie
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- Thread starter spaffmonkey
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The_Yellow_Ardvark
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The joy of the canals no drink drive limit's
If you have an incident or an accident, the police could be called and you tested.
If you are considered to be drunk. There is a whole new world of trouble for you.
spaffmonkey
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You should see the state of some boaters that go past our workshop. Drunk is an understatement bouncing there boats all over the place a. You say anything and the response is often boating is a contact sport! In the hight of the hire boat season gets even worse.
spaffmonkey
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I've done a bit of work on them over the years , new floors ,rub strips etc but I always said I'd like to build one from scratch.
Whether this will ever come into fruition or remain on the someday list is anyone's guess
I did think about building one once but so much work and outlay for little reward. I much prefer the restoration and repairs side of it.
Morrisman
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I've done a bit of work on them over the years , new floors ,rub strips etc but I always said I'd like to build one from scratch.
Whether this will ever come into fruition or remain on the someday list is anyone's guess
I believe you can actually buy a kit, all panels cut and pre-formed, just weld ‘em together, bit like an Airfix ship I’d wager.
The_Yellow_Ardvark
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Same on the K&A.
Hence why on busy summer weekends they are always highly visible.
spaffmonkey
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Well that last two days has seen a bit of progress on the boat. My work colleague has been hard at work as well.
The front bulkhead was so far out or square we decided to cut it all out and start again.
Once the front was removed we welded in some large I bolts and had ratcheted the boat into shape before welding in all new structure.
The front bulkhead was so far out or square we decided to cut it all out and start again.
Once the front was removed we welded in some large I bolts and had ratcheted the boat into shape before welding in all new structure.
Ashley Burton
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@spaffmonkey what's your plan for the front of the boat now you've changed it? New window I assume...
spaffmonkey
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The side portholes are going to get welded up and the front panel is going to have a set of doors in it but unsure whether to fit portholes in the door of have a rectangular window in each door. Image attached is the retro fit doors we make for people.
Ashley Burton
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spaffmonkey
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Unfortunately certainly parts of MK have a bad reputation along the canal for getting broken into or having there rope's cut and let adrift.
Had thought about squaring up the ( fore end
) bulkhead but decided to keep some of its original features. It's surprising how much better it is inside just having the roof area raised.
spaffmonkey
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Thanks we have developed a custom door frame that used a seal similar to car doors to make them watertight which is normally the main issue on narrow boat doors.
I'm not a particular fan or portholes but they can have there place
spaffmonkey
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Project bitzer update.
At the beginning of June I got a phone call from a big marina who we did contact work for asking if we would consider moving our workshop over to there marina. After a few meetings we made the decision to move so bitzer had to take a back seat while we cleared up all outstanding jobs and moved the workshop. In August my wife and I moved bitzer the 16miles to the new marina where it has sat due to work going crazy. Work has slowed slightly due to the current lock down restricting boat movement so we took the opportunity to carry on with the project. Bigger window, front cabin redesign to create more space. Gas locker being created in front bow. Cladding around rear deck extension and other bits and pieces.
At the beginning of June I got a phone call from a big marina who we did contact work for asking if we would consider moving our workshop over to there marina. After a few meetings we made the decision to move so bitzer had to take a back seat while we cleared up all outstanding jobs and moved the workshop. In August my wife and I moved bitzer the 16miles to the new marina where it has sat due to work going crazy. Work has slowed slightly due to the current lock down restricting boat movement so we took the opportunity to carry on with the project. Bigger window, front cabin redesign to create more space. Gas locker being created in front bow. Cladding around rear deck extension and other bits and pieces.
I've done a bit of work on them over the years , new floors ,rub strips etc but I always said I'd like to build one from scratch.
Whether this will ever come into fruition or remain on the someday list is anyone's guess
When we made welding rods we used to test them by making welds. We wasted loads of plate and bar making test welds and then skipping them. I always thought we should actually make something. At one time we had a large empty shop and I was thinking about "testing" the rods by making a narrowboat. I actually investigated buying a pre cut kit and welding it together. I seem to remember it was either £600 or may have been £6000 for a 60 feet long kit....just the steel...that was probably early 80s....never did it
spaffmonkey
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Cheers its certainly created a more user friendly space I side.
spaffmonkey
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The money boats are going for these days it's worth building your own. Also when you see the poor build quality of so many we work on you would me more likely to build your own also.
Ashley Burton
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@spaffmonkey When I'm ready to get afloat are you up for building one?
