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NB Water Snail - Lengthening and beyond!

NB Watersnail

By NB Watersnail
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NB Watersnail Contributor

NB Watersnail

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i've been an avid reader of build blogs on this forum and assorted boat/car/bike forums over the years, so I thought with a big project now well under way it was time for me to give other people something to read.

 

We bought Water Snail 7 years ago as a rather dilapidated, but useable, ex-hire boat. She was built by Colecraft and fitted out by Rugby Boats for use in their hire fleet around about 1981. She passed into private hands in the mid 90's and spent time on the GU, Lower Thmes and then finished up at Abingdon, where we bought her.

 

On the day of the survey in 2006

Watersnail.jpg

 

After a partial repaint on our home mooring in 2010

SWS1181.jpg

 

After 6 years of living abord, we decided that 38', although mageable, was marginal for us to live on and set about planning a lengthening.

 

Many people have asked us, why not sell up and start again? Whny not buy a sailaway? Financially for us it didn't make sense. We worked out a ball park figure for the lengthening, then realisticlly vauled what Water Snail was worth in her current state, added the two together and took that as our budget. We took that figure to look at various second hand boats. A new shell and fitout was out of budget. We're also very attached to her and were convinced she'd make a beautiful 'big boat' with a bit of care. Our Bukh DV20 was also a big consideration, we'd gotten used to a nice sounding, solidly reliable engine. Many of the second hand boats we looked at were marinised vehicle engines. Just not my cup of tea. Finally, we can ilustrate the point often made on here, that once you have lived on a boat for a while you will becoming very picky about layout and fitout. Try finding a second hand boat, on a biudget, to meet very specific requirements and you will quickly start thinking of refitting them partialy, or fully, to meet your needs. So why not refit the current boat? So a lengthening and refit it is!

 

We spent many evenings drawing up scale drawings for internal layouts, trying to partialy keep some of the internal fit out in place so we could move back on quite quickly. A plan was settled on and we went to see Brinklow Boat Services to book her in for the lengthening.

 

We must have caught Brinklow at a good time as they managed to squeeze us into a slot only a few months down the line. All of a sudden the ball was really rolling!

 

Never underestimate how long it will take to move off of a boat. We spent every free weekend packing and took van load after van load to storage. Eventually we started to strip the linings out from 1m either side of the cut line. We'd decided to cut on the rear edge of the rear windows, to keep the rear section easy to ove and allow us to keep a bedroom and kitche intact for the journey to and from Brinklow.

 

April 2013 We arrived at Brinklow, finished ripping out lining and insulation and left the boat waiting to be craned.

 

2013-04-29192437_zpsc28902d7.jpg

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NB Watersnail Contributor

NB Watersnail

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Crane Day - Lovely weather but quite chilly!

Crane1_zpse8f33b5b.jpg

 

Tucking it into the Shed at Brinklow

Crane2_zpsa5271f55.jpg

 

A few weeks later the stern end appears outside!

Stern1_zps4353b8ce.jpg

 

Around this time we had the hull surveyed as it was due again and it seems a very oportune time to resolve any issues! Other than a couple of little plates on the swim, all was sound. But the surveyor expressed concern that our 6mm base plate was quite corroded on the internal areas he could get to. No doubting why this was. Rugby Boats had used gravel as ballast! We always intended to remove all the ballast eventually, but the recommendation was to strip out the boat entirely and remove all the ballast, allowing for a full internal inspection of the base plate. So, many more weekends of ripping 30 year old plywod out, shoveling tons of gravel and taking it all to the tip and we had a totall empty shell, now in two pieces.

 

We decided at this point that we would do things properly, if anything looked like it might need attention, it would receive attention. This is our home, we intend to keep it, so let's get it right now.

 

It was agreed to replace the base plate for a metre forward of the lengthening and 2m to the rear. This wasn't an over plate. We were able to remove the old baseplate and totally replace it with 10mm blasted and primed seet. Creating new edges (chines?) along the way. The remaining old baseplate was found to be in excellent condition, as all the ballast was in the rear half of the boat, so this was left in place.

 

We'd also decided to use the best steel we could, so all of the new base plate, hull sides and gunwhales were supplied from the mill blasted and primed with 2 pack epoxy. This was to enable us to use epoxy blacking on the new section to match the exisiting epoxy blacking that was laready on the boat and had served us well. The cabin sides and roof were too thin a sheet t be blasted, so we had these pickled and oiled - it's the next best thing.

 

The new hull section takes shape

New1_zps0c230e2c.jpg

 

The forward joint

New2_zpsa18c93a9.jpg

 

Did we mention this is no small lengthening? 6m or 19'! We're nearly doubling our internal cabin space!

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

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You went to a good place to get that job done, and I can understand your reasons for lenghtening YOUR boat instead of selling her and buying a longer boat.

 

I'm looking forward to read the rest of the story.

 

Peter.

 

As am I

 

Richard

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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You went to a good place to get that job done, and I can understand your reasons for lenghtening YOUR boat instead of selling her and buying a longer boat.

 

I'm looking forward to read the rest of the story.

 

Peter.

 

 

 

As am I

 

Richard

 

Richard,

 

Be cautious of having this done to "Tawny", or it is really going to limit where you can take it!

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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Perhaps an option for Sickle Alan, and add a full length cabin and you will have that converted working boat you are after.

 

I have reported this post as highly offensive! [:tongue_in_cheek_smiley:]

 

 

 

 

 

NEVER! - Not in our ownership, at least!

 

(Unless someone still has the original missing 31' 6", which given the drive for scrap steel when it was cut out in 1942, seems highly unlikely!))

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Rob-M Veteran II

Rob-M

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I have reported this post as highly offensive! [:tongue_in_cheek_smiley:]

 

 

NEVER! - Not in our ownership, at least!

 

(Unless someone still has the original missing 31' 6", which given the drive for scrap steel when it was cut out in 1942, seems highly unlikely!))

Somehow I thought I would get that sort of response. I wouldn't want to see a good working boat getting chopped up.

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NB Watersnail Contributor

NB Watersnail

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While the stern was outside, we decided to have the engine out and thoroughly clean and paint the engine hole.

 

From this:

Engine1_zps3975f503.jpg

 

Via a LOT of this (who's got the best wife?!?):

2013-12-21122903_zpscc37e84e.jpg

 

To looking like this in primer

Engine3_zpsf7db1fdf.jpg

 

A few weeks later, the rest of the hull was completed, the stern was moved back inside and welded back on

 

2013-10-03121002_zps46968595.jpg

 

It's a cabriloet narrowboat!!!

 

2013-10-03121120_zpsd2186676.jpg

 

We had a long wait here as we decided a stainless water tank would be a good idea. Unfortunately the boat had come out of the water with a full integral tank, so we had to cut a small hole at the top of the tank and get a bilge pump in there, connected to several hundred feet of hose to get the water in to the cut.

Once the integral tank was empty, steve cut the rear bulkhead off of it and I spent several afternoons on my back wire wheeling and painting it.

Eventually, our new stainless tank arrived and was located inside the boat. All the time spent on this delayed the rest of the work as the tank could only go in before the new cabin went on.

 

The next stage was to rebuild the cabin in the 'hole'.

New5_zpsefcf6221.jpg

 

New4_zps78117017.jpg

 

We'd taken the decision very early on to remove the awful tubular handrails and replace them with box cants, It took Dave quite a time to get them just right, welded on and ground off smooth, but now you'd never now they weren't there.

2013-12-11175444_zps2c950463.jpg

 

We also had the pole and plank brackets relocated, new steel rear doros were fitted, along with turning one of the old window apertures into a set of side doors. All the reduntant roof holes were filled in and Steve and Dave took a lot of care making sure the old and new met smoothly. Even cutting some of the exisiting cabins sides off to reform them and get them straighter than they were before! A note here to say how good Brinklow Boat Services were. Evey little thing was done with so much care and attention, liberally washed down with tea and cakes. I can't reccomend them highly enough!

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NB Watersnail Contributor

NB Watersnail

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The next stage of work for us was to get the inside ready for insuation. We needed to get the sprayfoam done before hte boat went back in the water as it was now December and the risk of condensation forming inside the hull was too great. We started by taking the wire wheel and needle gun to any visible rust in side the cabin, hull or baseplate. This was followed by 2 coats of Dacrylate Red Primer. Leaving the Whole of the inside one colour and ready for insulation to bond too.

 

I started by battening the roof:

Batten1_zpsaec37c32.jpg

 

 

 

Then the cabin and hull sides. All battens were fixed using either self tapping screw or a hilti gun. I have to say that the hired in Hilti Gun was the best tool ever! I spent 3 days screwing the roof and cabin side battens on. The same amount of fixings on the hull battens took me 2 hours with the Hilti gun! And it was great fun, especially the lingering smell of gun powder!

 

Batten2_zps37e45f24.jpg

 

We also made and fitted Sapele window liners and plywood mushroom vent liners. All drilled and fixed with Stainless Screws.

 

On the 20th of December the spray foam team arrived. It was their last job of the year and they arrived so early that by the time I arrived (the time they were due to start) they had already completed half the boat!

Foam1_zps6c710cbc.jpg

 

Finished!

Foam2_zpse06d235b.jpg

 

The new stainless water tank was sprayfoamed too:

Tank2_zps5337568f.jpg

 

After a lot of head scratching a cutting, it finally slid into it's new hole.

Tank1_zps4e064660.jpg

 

We'd made our deadline, to be back on the water for Christmas....just!

 

The crane arrived on Christmas Eve - their last job of the year too!

Crane3_zpsbce29988.jpg

 

Next up - Paint!


Ah, nearly forgot! While we were out of the water we also had:

The rudder reshaped

A new baffled skin cooling tank

A new propshaft

The stern tube refurbished

A new ring on the roof

Epoxy blacking on the new hull sections and then the whole boat was given 2 coats of Intertuf16. The rest of the hull had always been treated in this way, so we'll carry on!

Finally new anodes were fitted.

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MoominPapa Veteran II

MoominPapa

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Looks like a great adventure, and I quite understand your decision to keep a much-loved boat rather than sell and restart.

 

One small question about emptying the old water tank. Presumably there much be a connection to that for the water pump, so why not use that (and the pump) to empty it, rather than cutting a hole and using a bilge pump?

 

MP.

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NB Watersnail Contributor

NB Watersnail

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I'm deliberately keeping costs out of it at the moment. We've had so much done, that a lot of things have overlapped. I might elaborate on material costs a bit further down the line, but the cost of the physical work done is a matter i'd rather keep between myself and the people who have done the work.

 

I'm sure the key question for some people will be 'how much does a lengthening cost?'. The simple answer.....it isn't simple! Thickness and quality of steel have a huge bearing on it, so does who you use for the work. We had quotes ranging from £10k-£20k, based on a basic steelwork and materials only lengthening of 20'.


Good question Moomin Papa. By the time we made the decision to replace the tank the old pipework and pump had been removed, along wth the batteries and wiring. The simplest option was to use our 'emergency' bilge pump and a loose battery. The original water take off was also quite high up the tank, the bilge pump drained it almost dry.

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Ronniesonic Collaborator

Ronniesonic

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Dave Ross & Mr Priest lengthened our boat (Brinklow Boat Services).

Fantastic job & I love the place. Simon Wain has also completed other little 'metal' bits for us & Dave G is finishing the 'services' on the inside.

No association other than the guys are brilliant & I have learnt so much too.

I love Dave Ross' boat! The clever young pup built the blinking thing himself. Jealous? Not much LOL.

Lottery win pending I will get these guys to build me 'old' new boat with a bed under tug deck etc.

Dream................. on

 

Looking forward to the 'Snail's' next installment..........

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