Searching for a builder...

Time I explained a little about what's been going on with Boat3... :)

NBCreamCheese, the 46' ex-sunken project boat was finished towards the end of last summer. She's a lovely craft and I'm really please with how it's all turned out after three long years of work.

Still, it was a hell of a project, and more than half of the time was spent fixing the fact it was old, rusty, part-GRP and with a knackered engine.

Despite all the hard work, and the finish achieved, both CreamCheese and CavEmp were always heading for being profit-making boats to fund a proper new boat at some point in the future.

With funds in the bank, it's finally time to order up the new boat, and get CavEmp sold to pay for the fitout of Boat3. CreamCheese will continue to be my home until Boat3 is finished and done to a decent standard, then she too will be up for sale.

 With the above in mind, I'd decided ages ago that I fancied a trad-sterned boat, for a change from the two cruisers I own at the moment. It gives me maximum space inside, and the cruiser decks only really get used for storage, standing on, and the occasional BBQ in the summer. The only downside appears to be the restricted access to the engine, but I'll come up with a design that at least allows for getting the covers off when needed.

Doing a little research, I'd shortlisted and visited:

* Piper Boats -  http://www.piperboats.com/

* Lymm Boat Sales -  http://www.lmbs.co.uk/

* ABC Boats -  http://www.abcboats.co.uk/

The former are an impressive builder who I'd put down as being in the middle of the market, though I'm revising that up towards the higher end, having seen their outfit. They build from a huge pair of units on an industrial estate, and appear to be mostly making dutch barges for the European market. Their prices were far too high for me, around 30% more than other companies were charging. That said, if cost were no object, they'd be a good contender, and they'd do a good job, I'm sure.

Lymm Boat Sales do things a little differently. They don't offer fully fitted boats, I think, any longer, but operate entirely in the sailaway market. They buy in hulls from three or four local builders, and then make their profit by installing windows, the engine, tanks and the like, and insulating before selling it on to you. They were reluctant to build a 65' boat claiming a worry about being stuck with it, if I didn't decide to pay them in the end. A bit of an odd concern, but hey. I didn't like their 'Mike Christian' shells (apparently built by Tim Tyler) with the stick-on rivets and 'josher' bow. The cheaper manufacturers looked okay, but the whole outfit had a bit of a second-hand car dealership feel to it.

ABC are a family run builder operating from Boston, Lincs. You may have seen their adverts for hulls and sailaways on Apolloduck. They build to order and prefer 'unusual' design requests. Capable of building anything, they also build new hulls for Nottingham Narrowboats () who turn them into completed boats... I was impressed by their flexible attitude, and by their lead times, as well as their prices. They came in another 10% or so cheaper than Lymm, and a huge amount less than Piper, while the build quality looked on a par with the latter.

With the above in mind, I agreed to a build with ABC, commissioning a 65' trad, to be supplied as an insulated sailaway with a 45hp engine, and all the obvious inclusions, including a plastic-welded water tank. The other service ABC can offer is to paint up the hull before delivery, to a decent standard, in a plain colour for a cheap price. I reckon that'll look far better than a coat of rusty primer, while she's being fitted out, and so I've agreed to a RAL5005 colour coat:

The surprise came when I was asked if I could take delivery of the boat a bit sooner than June. They had a ten foot bow section of a boat lying around for one reason or another and asked if it looked like something I'd want. I thought it did, with a few minor additions and changes, and so they offered to build my boat onto the back of this bow section, with a projected delivery of somewhere around two to three weeks.

Yoinks, etc.

At the moment, this has left me running around arranging a fit-out mooring for it, booking time off work, ordering ropes and anchors and being mildly concerned by the trip back from Boston to Lapworth! :) The route is something like River Witham > Fossdyke > River Trent (tidal) > Notts Canal > T&M > Coventry and the rest of the route is known from there. Should be fun, and my first 'big' river too... :)

The above is only the start, I've the proper navigational charts for the Trent arriving soon, along with a VHF and some emergency navigation lights! :)

Anyhoo, that's a bit of the back story to this one, there'll be more very soon by the look of it!

PC