Other Services

Repairs and Alterations

Overplating

Most insurance companies now specify 4mm as the minimum acceptable hull thickness on which to offer comprehensive cover. A great many boats built twenty or more years ago were built with 6mm thick bottom plates, and consequently hull thickness can become a problem. In such cases overplating can be the most effective remedy, restoring the hull to a sound condition without stripping out the interior fittings. Sometimes it is only the bottom plate that requires plating, sometimes the bottom and the sides, and sometimes everything underwater, including the counter bottom and weedhatch. We can also arrange and work to a survey report so that on completion the boat can be insured, and will be fit for many more years of service.

Lengthening

For people that are perfectly happy with their boats but just want more space, another cabin, bigger saloon, then lengthening is the answer. We can lengthen any type of narrowboat to any required length, and can arrange for refitting, reconnecting services, and painting on site.

Sterngear

Worn stern gear can cause vibration, a constant leak into the bilges, and can spray grease and water all around the engine bay. We can dismantle worn stern tubes, have them re-bushed, and replace them complete with new propeller shafts, reducing vibration and keeping the bilges clean and dry.

Cabin works

Older boats were often built with wooden or fibreglass cabins, which over the years can become worn and start to leak. It can be hard to get paint to stop on for long, and few were built with insulation to the standards that people now expect. If the hull is still sound we can replace such cabins with steel, sometimes retaining a large amount of the interior fittings. We can also lengthen cabins to give more interior space, and sometimes shorten them to create more useable well deck areas, and either fit or plate in side doors and windows.