A 'national flag ship' planned to replace Royal Yacht

[Stemar]

My main objection to the plan is that there isn't a hope in hell of building it for £200. Look how much the planner blew on a bridge that didn't even get built. I quite like the lines; certainly way better than most vanity boats of that size, but I do agree that refurbing the old Britannia would give a classier boat, though I doubt you'd save a lot of money doing it.

Begin by throwing out every bit of machinery, from the engines to the food mixer in the galley, and every bit of wiring, down to the shaver sockets in the cabins. Now take everything down to bare metal and redecorate. Add new furniture and furnishings to a royal or, even more expensive, politician's standard. Then there are things like fire control and a dozen other systems I don't know enough to think about. That £200M is starting to look like a small deposit to reserve a place in the yard...

 

[Kukri]

Dannebrog. Built 1931, re-engined 1981. In very regular use:

 

[Kukri]

Norge. Built 1937 (as Philante, for Sir Thomas Sopwith) sold to Norway 1947, massive rebuild after a fire in dry dock 1987, in very regular use.

 

[chrishscorp]

We are always going to have a National Debt but at the moment lashing out £200M on a new yacht that is bound to go into cost overuns as its Govt mamnaged, It just seems a bonkers idea when they claim there isnt enough to pay our Nurses more than 1% payrise or hungry kids on universal credit (insert your own issue etc)

This is as I have said before 20 years too late. If we are too do this then there is no point getting into a willy waving exercise with some of these billionaire types in their gold coloured yachts, stay classy and historic that is what many tourists come here for and want to see.
Dannebrog above is exactly what we should be doing she is stunning and again Philante.

I see no reason why we cannot refurb Britania with new engine/drive systems, control systems etc the other issue i reccollect was the crew were sleeping in hammocks due to lack of crew accomodation, so why dont we chop her in half and stretch her, not loads but enough to bring her accomodation into the 21st C there may be crew reductions anyway if new systems and drive units are installed, That surely would be more sensible and would solve the problem of a fitting use for Britannia. Upgrade her and bring her back into service

 

[Poignard]

What is it for, anyway?

 

[Kukri]

We are always going to have a National Debt but at the moment lashing out £200M on a new yacht that is bound to go into cost overuns as its Govt mamnaged, It just seems a bonkers idea when they claim there isnt enough to pay our Nurses more than 1% payrise or hungry kids on universal credit (insert your own issue etc)

This is as I have said before 20 years too late. If we are too do this then there is no point getting into a willy waving exercise with some of these billionaire types in their gold coloured yachts, stay classy and historic that is what many tourists come here for and want to see.
Dannebrog above is exactly what we should be doing she is stunning and again Philante.

I see no reason why we cannot refurb Britania with new engine/drive systems, control systems etc the other issue i reccollect was the crew were sleeping in hammocks due to lack of crew accomodation, so why dont we chop her in half and stretch her, not loads but enough to bring her accomodation into the 21st C there may be crew reductions anyway if new systems and drive units are installed, That surely would be more sensible and would solve the problem of a fitting use for Britannia. Upgrade her and bring her back into service

I absolutely agree. The Egyptians, incidentally, have lengthened their “Mahroussa” twice... she was built by Samuda & Co as an exact copy of the British Royal Yacht “Victoria and Albert”... the 1855 “Victoria and Albert”, not the 1899 one:



The crew numbers would be reduced quite a bit by automation - when the “Britannia” was built, most merchant ships had crews of fifty to sixty where today they have 16 to 24. That should deal with the hammocks problem.

 

[kof]

What is it for, anyway?

It's a post-brexit RA RA RA fly the flag thingy. I suggest they use the Titanic.... oh wait.

 

[chriss999]

I agree. It’s highly unlikely to be a real project.
A bit like the Northern ireland garden-tunnel-bridge. Just for the headlines and to distract the dim ones.

 

[Bouba]

We are always going to have a National Debt but at the moment lashing out £200M on a new yacht that is bound to go into cost overuns as its Govt mamnaged, It just seems a bonkers idea when they claim there isnt enough to pay our Nurses more than 1% payrise or hungry kids on universal credit (insert your own issue etc)

This is as I have said before 20 years too late. If we are too do this then there is no point getting into a willy waving exercise with some of these billionaire types in their gold coloured yachts, stay classy and historic that is what many tourists come here for and want to see.
Dannebrog above is exactly what we should be doing she is stunning and again Philante.

I see no reason why we cannot refurb Britania with new engine/drive systems, control systems etc the other issue i reccollect was the crew were sleeping in hammocks due to lack of crew accomodation, so why dont we chop her in half and stretch her, not loads but enough to bring her accomodation into the 21st C there may be crew reductions anyway if new systems and drive units are installed, That surely would be more sensible and would solve the problem of a fitting use for Britannia. Upgrade her and bring her back into service

Unfortunately because they are royals, if you reduce the engineers they will increase the brass band

 

[chriss999]

What has it got to do with the royals?

 

[ProMariner]

At first I thought, does Boris have a mate with a shipyard? But that's a stupid line of thought. Even if he did, he would give the contract to a friend who builds prisons or runs a stationary company or something, just to make sure its both overpriced and useless. Got standards to maintain, after all.

Plus one for English independence.

 

[bedouin]

At first I thought, does Boris have a mate with a shipyard? But that's a stupid line of thought. Even if he did, he would give the contract to a friend who builds prisons or runs a stationary company or something, just to make sure its both overpriced and useless. Got standards to maintain, after all.

Plus one for English independence.

I think you are confusing Boris with Gordon Brown. He is the one with a track record of ordering ships from his mates at vastly inflated prices.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I am all in favour of the yacht being built, provided it is not skimped in any way. I am sure some businesses would contribute to the costs. Obviously it needs to be built in the uk to demonstrate that we can still build things

Make it duel-fuelled and give Fergusons the job?

 

[JumbleDuck]

Quite, I have reported the thread on the grounds of politics and boredom and suggested it be removed to the Lounge or somewhere.

It's about a ship, and I don't see why your limited attention span should be a criterion for removal or transfer.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Norge. Built 1937 (as Philante, for Sir Thomas Sopwith) sold to Norway 1947, massive rebuild after a fire in dry dock 1987, in very regular use.

View attachment 116432

Dutch royal vessel, though it's more an equivalent of the Gloriana that Her Maj didn't dare set foot on.

 

[Poignard]

What about this thing? Won't it do?

If it has to go abroad Maesk Line could carry it as deck cargo.

 

[Pump-Out]

What about this thing? Won't it do?

If it has to go abroad Maesk Line could carry it as deck cargo.

View attachment 116439

This was never a Royal Vessel, in any shape or form. It was re-rolled re-painted and re-fitted for the day of the Jubilee Flotilla. I understand it is now back in Portugal doing the charter work for whch it was built, albeit in a different country.

 

[Pump-Out]

Dutch royal vessel, though it's more an equivalent of the Gloriana that Her Maj didn't dare set foot on.

Not true.
Always happy to learn stuff, but please don't post falsehoods.

 

[LittleSister]

Nothing costing £200M is going to be sufficiently bling-tastic to impress Arab oil state sheikhs. I think we need to think more creatively.

Kukri's suggestion of re-powering a classic has merit, but we need to do better than the Scandinavians (lovely though their vessels are).

Perhaps we need a small fleet of vessels, tailored to different audiences.

Add diesel power to HMS Victory to remind the Europeans who rules the waves; and to the Cutty Sark for negotiating more distant trade deals; and a replica gunboat for trade visits to China.

(My efforts to provide images for each of these these was defeated by the limitations of the forum software and my computer skills.)

 

[capnsensible]

Perhaps we would not have problems with competition on the international stage if the uk population endured living in a similar state to one in which the Chinese are said to live. However, the British people have chosen a different path. This may have bought different problems, thus requiring different solutions, but somehow I think I prefer that choice.
So your question is not really relevant to our situation.

It could be a stepping stone for a British entrepreneur to open a string of British restaurants all across China.