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Satchmo

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Norwich
  • Interests
    Music, boats and chess mostly.

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  1. I am happy to say there is no longer an emergency! Following on from last week's madness: the boat has practically stopped taking on water which supports the theory that it was coming through a hull fitting somewhere, all of which are now bunged up. There is still the tiniest amount coming in from somewhere, too much to be just rainwater methinks but nothing sompared to what it was and easily handled by the new bilge pump which has rapidly become my favourite thing of all time (I think I know where the water's coming from and shall be dealing with that in the coming days). It's been surprisingly difficult to move back on board though. Having only been living aboard for a few weeks before it started taking on water I'd only just begun to really feel comfortable and make the space my own and now it smells, everything's damp and cold and there's mould in the cupboards, I've had to use a bivvy bag every night to stop my sleeping bag getting damp. I've never owned a house or even a car so I've never felt much attachment or love for the places I've lived or the things I've owned until I got this boat and seeing it in this state is strangely almost worse than having it nearly sink. I know a public forum maybe isn't the place for sharing this stuff and I'm not looking for sympathy but it's been niggling at me and I feel better for having put it into words. It shouldn't be like that for much longer though, I'll be installing a very nice deisal heater tomorrow which should clear up the damp problems and I've started sending off CV's so I should be back in work soon and from here things can only get better! In light of the discoveries made about this boat I'm now thinking of saving to get something slightly more reliable instead of sinking time and effort into this one, fingers crossed I'll survive the winter by which point I should have enough to buy something much nicer. Apologies if I overshared a bit in this post and a huge thank you to everyone who offered advice and support on my previous post, it was massively helpful and made me feel much more comfortable with the decisions I made!
  2. It is GRP, although it has an inboard (Yanmar 8hp, very old). It does seem to be the working theory that the problem has something to do with hull fittings and as I will be moving back on board I will be in a position to moniter any changes, of course as I have plugged up all the hull fittings I can find the problem should (please, please, please) be fixed and I shouldn't take on any more water but time will tell. Solar, but I have 2 180ah batteries so I should be ok. I'm also concious of the possibility of the pump getting clogged etc but I'll be keeping a close eye on it, I don't fancy another night of bailing water by hand It's as you say, it has concerned me before and I will now be keeping a closer eye on how it effects the boat and whether it lets any water in but without a motor it's not a simple task to move anywhere and even then I wouldn't know where to move to. Thankyou all again, I will probably do another update in a few days time by which point I imagine the situation will either be much better or much worse!
  3. Slight change of plans. After yesterday's warnings and an enlightening conversation with the above-recommended John (really helpful chap, a font of knowledge and genuinely nice guy) it seems that Dawncrafts are not the best-made boats and moving it safelyish would not be cheap or without risk of damage. In light of this revelation I'm not so sure I want to put time, effort and indeed cash, into renovating her. Seeing as she's no longer taking on water and there is now a working bilge pump on board, I'm going to take a slight risk and move back on board as is. I can still live aboard while working until I can afford something more long-term and although I do feel a slight sense of living on a ticking time bomb, I know I can get my stuff off pronto if I need to and I don't think I can afford to do anything else. Huge thanks to everyone who replied and offered advice, it likely saved me from making some very unfortunate choices!
  4. Thank you both for the warning, I didn't even know that was a risk! I didn't realise that floating it onto a trailer was an option either though, I had just assumed it was too large for that but if not then that may be the way I want to go. Bit of a long shot but would you happen to know anywhere near commissioners cut where it could be floated onto a trailer?
  5. Exactly what I thought but it was a knowledgable and professional chap who suggested it and these guys - https://www.hjlogistics.co.uk/boat-transport/ - have put me somewhat at ease with the idea (I am still searching for more companies like this to expand my options). Could you point me in the direction of any you might recommend, the boat's around 3000kg apparently? The advantage of bringing it home is time, I suspect that once I start taking things apart and looking at them closely I may discover a tin of worms so it might become a more lengthly job. Thanks for the input though, I was considering making some kind of a makeshift dolly for once it's on the driveway and now I really quite want to! I definitely shall but just so I know what I'm asking, is he someone to help with transporting the boat, trailer/HIAB-type chap or a boatyard fixey-uppy-type chap? Thanks for all the replies everyone, as they've been recommended I'll call Johnsons tomorrow for a chat and get their opinion. Unfortunately my "boat" has no engine so getting towed to St. Olaves would be the main issue there, it's a long way to be towed. For now I'm waiting for a quote from HJLogistics and once I know roughly how much the HIAB option will cost I'll start making concrete plans!
  6. I have spoken to a number of helpful chaps at the boatyards along griffin lane about such an option and it's not off the table yet but it's sounding like that'll be the most expensive way of doing it. It's reassuring to have it as an option and if it comes to it that's what I'll do, I'm just wondering if there's a more cost-effective alternative.
  7. Not really, in the time I've owned it it has never been properly ballasted (that was next on the list after a battery) and has always sat further out of the water than looked right to me but of course the rain alone on friday may have been enough to drop it down to such a level. I did wonder as much hence plugging every pipe and hole I could find. It is indeed so quite possibly
  8. I am in trouble. A few weeks ago I moved onto a dilapidated 25ft Dawncraft near Norwich with the intention of slowly repairing and renovating it while using it as a base from which I could work in Norwich. My "fool-proof" plan had been progressing fairly well until last Friday when I started taking on water, I bailed through the night but had to abandon ship the next day. However it didn't sink and on Sunday I returned and with help bailed out the 3-4ft of water filling the boat. The plan was then to get it out of the water asap and take it from there but come Monday (nobody was about Sunday) it hadn't taken on any water and so I have finally been able to exhale and am now trying to figure out the most sensible and preferably economical course of action to take. To pre-emptively answer some possible questions: I did not have a working bilge pump on board and I am well aware of how foolish this was, I went into this project overflowing with naive optimism and it has definitely come back to bite me. There is now one on board and I'm heading up today with a battery (didn't have one of those either) to get it hooked up. I don't think there's a crack or hole in the hull as the boat is now sitting high in the water and there's nothing visible and it hasn't been taking on any more water (of course I am in no way qualified to make that call) so I have plugged every hole and pipe connecting to the outside of the boat just in case. The plan is still to get it out of the water asap and transport it to Diss where I can have it dry-docked on a driveway (over 10ft wide and 60-odd ft long so plenty of space) and do all the work that needs doing, the question I need help with is what is the fastest and cheapest way of doing this (I am not a cheapskate, I just don't have much money)? I have been told there is a guy with a 4x4 and a trailer who could do it for £200ish not including lifting but the same person suggested that getting a HIAB to lift and take it might be a cheaper option, the issue with that being that unloading it from the lorry as it would have to come off sideways and therefore not where it would need to be. Can anyone suggest a way of moving it once it's off the lorry (outdoors on uneven ground) or offer any kind of advice about how to go about this, this is all very new to me and any suggestions would be appreciated.
  9. Hello all! I've recently become the owner of a rather run-down "tupperware" boat just outside of Norwich and have since made the spontaneous and likely premature decision to move aboard. My goal is to completely repair and renovate it over the course of what is likely to be a LONG time, there's plenty to do given the distinct lack of essential items such as a motor, bilge pump, battery bank, ballast, etc and extensive "wear" inside and out. Here comes the catch: I have no experience of working or living on boats (but I've done a lot of forum diving and youtube binging). As such I hope to be a relatively active member with all kinds of annoying questions to ask and dilemmas to resolve. This is a project that I've wanted to attempt for a long time and I'm very excited to finally be starting, I hope I can contribute something of value to the group!
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