Birchwood 25 1978

nickcred

nickcred

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Hi all

Hope someone can help here. We have recently (3 weeks or so) purchased a Birchwood 25 with a Ford Watermota engine on an enfield stern drive for use on the Thames. This is our first owned boat and I am trying to find out as much about the Birchwood 25 as I can. i.e. spare parts, fittings etc and general information on the boat. We are having a great deal of fun with her and want to make sure we know all we can to maintain her properly and would be great to hear from any other Birchwood 25 owners also. Many thanks Nick
 
Hi Nick,

I owned a Birchwood 25 for almost ten years, its a lovely spacious family cruiser, we had some brilliant times on the Thames when our kids were small. We now own a Birchwood 37.
The boat is now quite old and the hull may need some attention as fresh water does make some ingress into the GRP which of course causes osmosis. Don't worry there are plenty of boats around with osmosis its not really that big a deal! take the boat out of the water every year and let it stand for a couple of months or so to dry out the hull. Any blisters on the hull just burst them scrape out the rotten grp and wash with fresh water (the blister contain an acid so be careful when bursting that it does not get in your eyes. Allow to dry throughly and then fill with a quality grp filler.

Engine maintenance is basically the same as a vehicle, change oil regularly, filters, fan belts etc. Make sure the Enfield leg is serviced every year when the boat is on dry land, this means change the oil, and rubber parts, gators and hoses, clips etc.

As for the top sides, a light abrasive polish and then a good quality marine polish should keep her looking good all year round, I find that a good polish twice a year, with a few wash downs in between will keep the boat looking good. Throw any spiders off the boat! they crap all over the place!

Good Luck

Barry

P.S. What was or is the name of your vessel?
 
For Enfield Spares (Presume You have D130) speak to Bob Knowles Plant So dont panic about leg spares as they are still made. Enfields are the best outdrives /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif (I have a pair of 'em) just make sure the rubber gaiter is changed every 2 years (easy-ish job), cos it keeps the oil in the leg and water out, and you *really* dont want water in there.

And Welcome to the forum BTW.
 
thanks Barry grateful for the advice- The boat is currently called Tristan (previous owners Grandson) so we will probably rename her when we renew the licence. We are based just nr Datchet. We had a survey done and there were a few blisters but the Surveyor said the same - she has been out of the water every year between end October and March for the last 7 years. We will continue that theme although trying to keep her out as long as poss this season as already madly in love with boating and want to make the most of it before (sniff) taking her out.

She was a well loved boat and is in pretty good condition for an old boat so we want to keep her that way. Will take your advice and thanks again.
 
Thanks Leyton

Have to be honest being completely new to this and not mechanical (although I think I may start to learn now :-) not sure if is D130 or not but thanks for the info and advice - its a whole new learning curve - we were very lucky with the previous owner - he gave us lots of help, left all sorts of bits and pieces for us and even spent two days with us so we were comfortable mooring and using the locks- so far everyone we have met has been friendly and helpful. long may it continue cheers Nick
 
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