Thames Estuary Cruiser for sale in East Anglia - Any Information Please?

burgundyben said:
That looks like a lot of fun for not much money.
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The problem is I think it is not all it's cracked up to be. The broker's details state "This boat is presented in beautiful condition, has just been lifted and professionally re painted, varnished and antifouled." That isn't the case. It was lifted at least 18 months ago for what I think was a quick "tart up" carried out by who-knows-who (no invoices) using possibly domestic quality paints and varnishes. Recent photos show the varnish lifting and flaking and the paint on the hull also looks suspect. Apparently it is also listing slightly now as well. I suspect the original restoration work was done as long as 9 years ago and it's been sitting in the elements ever since.

An estimate from a reputable local boat yard to repaint/varnish/anti-foul comes to more than the asking price. That's without all the work involved in fitting it out properly and safely (because it hasn't been).

So how much would one have to spend in order to buy a boat f this type in good fettle?
 
BotleyBuoy said:
The problem is I think it is not all it's cracked up to be. The broker's details state "This boat is presented in beautiful condition, has just been lifted and professionally re painted, varnished and antifouled." That isn't the case. It was lifted at least 18 months ago for what I think was a quick "tart up" carried out by who-knows-who (no invoices) using possibly domestic quality paints and varnishes. Recent photos show the varnish lifting and flaking and the paint on the hull also looks suspect. Apparently it is also listing slightly now as well. I suspect the original restoration work was done as long as 9 years ago and it's been sitting in the elements ever since.

An estimate from a reputable local boat yard to repaint/varnish/anti-foul comes to more than the asking price. That's without all the work involved in fitting it out properly and safely (because it hasn't been).

So how much would one have to spend in order to buy a boat f this type in good fettle?
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Boats such as that are either for other people to own so that you can look at them, or the centre of your life constantly working to keep them from falling apart.

If you are a DIY enthusiast with the right skills and facilities to work on it, they can be very satisfying to own. Would not worry too much about cosmetic blemishes. Painting and varnishing is big on time but low on cost and quite possible to get a good durable finish IF the substrate is good. of more concern is the structural integrity - no point in glossy paint over decaying wood. If the structure is sound, once you get it up to scratch maintaining it is not too onerous. The other thing to look carefully at is the propulsion system. That Sabb engine was good in its time - 40 years ago - but is a heavy noisy lumpy beast. However it has a reputation for long life, but a replacement would be over half the cost of the boat.

Very few (of the not large numbers) of boats of that type from that period have survived, mainly because they were never intended to have a long life, so most you find for sale will require work to make them usable long term prospects.
 
Tranona said:
Boats such as that are either for other people to own so that you can look at them, or the centre of your life constantly working to keep them from falling apart.
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Wise words.

Tranona said:
If you are a DIY enthusiast with the right skills
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....yes
Tranona said:
and facilities to work on it....
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no.

Tranona said:
.... IF the substrate is good. of more concern is the structural integrity - no point in glossy paint over decaying wood.
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That's the critical bit isn't it?


Tranona said:
If the structure is sound, once you get it up to scratch maintaining it is not too onerous..
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That's what I have the skills and time for.

Thanks for the advice.
 
My kind of boat. Well one of my kinds. If you are not up to looking after the wood search for Colvic Northerner. However unless you already have other wooden boats to waste your time and money on, why not?
 
Humm well, my kind of Craft indeed, grew up with that type as the norm around the East Coast.

Might I ask, it appears as if the stern is clad / built with planking, never seen that before, is is the stern timbers over clad to hide or make pretty soft woods, etc ?

My experience with rebuilding the transom is that originally they were built from thick cut planking, poss 2 - 3 inch thick, I have replaced with 3 layers of 1 inch marine ply glued n screwed together, but planked, err, no.
 
That concern was raised by someone else as well as it happens. Getting straight answers from the broker/owner to straight questions has been difficult. The planking on the deck is also cosmetic I believe and more recent photo show the varnish to be in a poor state. Hence my concern that this boat is not all it's cracked up to be.
 
BotleyBuoy said:
Like this? https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/motor-cruiser-colvic-northerner-27-boat/1267790496

Draught and beam might be an issue on some parts of the Upper Thames though.
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That's the one.

If you are worrying about draught and beam, I personally would go for one of these..... not for everyone though!

skiff1_2360119b.jpg
 
Well I went to view the boat today. What a disappointment! Unfortunately despite the Broker's description this boat needs so much work it should really be regarded as a "project". The varnish work to the top-sides, which was apparantly done this Spring, is peeling off and can't have been done properly. The paint on the hull is bubbling and blistering. Unless you have access to a closed barn and fancy spending the winter restoring it then give a wide berth. Such a shame as it is a really pretty little boat.
 
BotleyBuoy said:
Well I went to view the boat today. What a disappointment! Unfortunately despite the Broker's description this boat needs so much work it should really be regarded as a "project". The varnish work to the top-sides, which was apparantly done this Spring, is peeling off and can't have been done properly. The paint on the hull is bubbling and blistering. Unless you have access to a closed barn and fancy spending the winter restoring it then give a wide berth. Such a shame as it is a really pretty little boat.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but you seem to be saying this wooden boat needs painted. For most that would put it in the category "wooden boat" rather than the category "project boat". Great that we all come at this game from different angles.
 
Where I'm coming from is the extent of the work required which means that this boat needs "restoration" rather than "maintenance". The phrase "can of worms" springs readily to mind.
 
Humm might suggest that a boat described as a Project is one where the type and amount of work required is beyond being regarded as Maintenance but falls into the Major rebuilding , reconstruction and repairing plus decorating and painting, it's construction material is possibly irrelevant ?
 
Capt Popeye said:
Humm might suggest that a boat described as a Project is one where the type and amount of work required is beyond being regarded as Maintenance but falls into the Major rebuilding , reconstruction and repairing plus decorating and painting, it's construction material is possibly irrelevant ?
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That's my definition of "Project", regardless of construction material. There is possibly a sound basis here for a very nice little boat, eventually. But the cost of getting there would probably be twice as much as she might be worth. However the owner & broker aren't looking at it like that and think it's worth at least £5k. At boat-yard prices it would cost at least 3 to 4 times that to undo all the poor work and re-do it all properly. Then what would it be worth? It's a pretty little boat but not £20k that's for certain. Maybe half that at a push to the right buyer? Maybe less? No, this is a DIY "labour of love" project for someone with the skills, time and facilities t bring her back, assuming the owner has the sense to realise what a state she's in and sells her for an appropriate price.
 
Humm might suggest that any sign of peeling varnish is a very bad sign indeed, it very well just might be that the prior preparation and first coats were not done well at all; its a long way back from badly Varnished timbers; I have been informed by someone who has worked in Timber for many years, that if a Paint /Varnish stripper has been used to remove any previous coatings any residue /chemical left before the first coat is applied will encourage the first coats to lift off readily, so beware.

My thoughts when looking at the Pics are that the Horizontal planking across the stern is most worrying, to me; it covers WHAT ?
 
My thoughts were that the the boat was given a very quick coat of domestic quality paint and varnish in order the tart it up for selling. The original varnish wasn't scraped back to the wood and the new coat was applied to damp timber to get the job done quickly. That might account for the blistering to the paint of the hull as well.

Capt Popeye said:
......My thoughts when looking at the Pics are that the Horizontal planking across the stern is most worrying, to me; it covers WHAT ?
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A can of worms!
 
I have been to have a look over her today. Starting from the bilge, nearly all the oak frames are soft/rotten in the centre and fine from about a foot out. Some of the floors and sections of the keelson at the stern are the same. There is the odd soft spot in some of the planks too. There are large chunks of iron in the bilge and forepeak, presuably to compensate for the lack of much equipment on board.

The transom is a composite of three layers with the original in the middle sandwiched by three wide heavy ill fitting planks of uncertain fastenings on the inside and horizontal pine planks, probably glued down with sealant on the out side.

The cockpit and saloon floors are stained pale hardwood planks secured to patio decking timber. The aft cockpit panel is planks back screwed to blockboard. The deck are similar cheap timber laid over the original decks. It is unclear how they were fastened but some of them are now lifting. The ends of the some of the coach roof planking is beginning to go soft at the front end.

I didn't run the engine, but the alternator was mounted in such a way that belt tension could not be maintained with any load applied.

The electrics are part domestic twin core and earth, part automotive. The gas locker is a joke and can only drain gas once it is about a third full. The most valuable item on the boat is probably the Taylor's diesel heater.

The saloon is probably the nicest thing there with the original 1920s mahogany panelled doors. She has pretty enough lines, although the covered steering position is clearly not original, but well enough in keeping. If I was boatless I might consider taking her on, but not for much more than 2-3k.

I haven't made an offer!
 
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