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In our pre-purchase survey Tom Keeling recommended the following:-
Note the paint at the back has also been tidied up.
In our pre-purchase survey Tom Keeling recommended the following:-
Having not owned a narrow boat before, we did have a small boat on the Thames at Henley, but that is a long time ago and a very different story, we asked Black Prince to recommend a company for our boat survey.
They passed our details on to Tom Keeling at Small Craft Services Ltd who emailed me and we arranged to chat on the phone. I was impressed with how Tom described the survey process, so we ask Tom to proceed with our pre-sale survey.
While Tom was recommended by Black Prince, it is very clear that he is working for us, his reputation is based making sure he finds what needs doing.
Tom arranged with Black Prince to come to Stoke Prior to survey the boat on 3rd February 2021 and we received his report a few days later.
The report starts with a boiler plate section that covers the scope of the survey and what we should expect to see on the following pages, it then describes the boats construction and thickness of the steel used as a baseline for the later test results.
The general condition of the metal work is described and explained, followed by the results of the Ultrasonic measurement of the thickness of each part show the range of measurements found.
| Area Tested | Ultrasonia Results (mm) |
|---|---|
| Cabin Side | 4.0 |
| Bulkheads | 4.0 |
| Hull Sides | 5.8-5.9 |
| Counter Plate | 9.5-9.9 |
| Base Plates | 9.1-9.8 |
| Transom | 5.8 |
| Swim | 5.9 |
“Floydtilla remains in a condition considered usual for a craft of this type, builder, use and year. There are recommendations detailed throughout the report and highlighted below which should be followed, as well as establishing a good programme of on-going maintenance.
It is known that the vendor will correct known faults prior to the completion of sale. If any further guidance is required please do not hesitate to contact the surveyor. Recommendations
The craft should be re-blacked at this time (A)
Long-term, you are advised to follow the advice given regarding sand-blasting and epoxy coating (or similar) (A)
The transom edge where the rudder makes contact, has minor notching occurring. This should be repaired at this time (A)
The sacrificial wear edge should be reinforced to the aft shoulders where an area of around 1m has reduced profile through wear (A)
There were deeper corrosion pits to the forward aspects of the swim plating, approximately 7 per side that should be welded up at this time (A)
The new aft anodes should be fitted closer to the stern gear to provide better protection with the existing anodes remaining in situ (A)
The propeller is damaged and should be dressed (A)
There was some play apparent in the stern tube bearing at the time of survey; this should be further investigated and the worn or damaged components replaced (P)
Descale and repaint the weedhatch, including the trunk faces and seal faces. Replace the seal (A)
The LPG locker base should be descaled and repainted at this time (A)”
We will be working on a maintance schedule for when we finally take delivery, being an X-Hire boat the engine will have a high hours count, but should have been well maintained.
We had planned to be at the lift, but it was delayed by a few weeks and we ended up in the national lock down. The lift still went ahead and Leighton Jones at Black Prince took some pictures so we could see the process.
Now Floydtilla is on the hard standing she is ready for her survey by Tom Keeling of Small Craft Services Ltd
Then any external work will be completed before she has the old blacking removed and some new coats applied. They will also be working on the interior modifications.
We had decided to put a washing machine in the kitchen area. If we were going on an extended trip, as we are planning for the summer of 2021, then we would need to either be able to wash clothes or find a laundrette and laundrettes are becoming harder and harder to find.
We expect to use the washing machine while traveling along so the motor would be used to generate the power we needed.
After much searching we finally selected a Hotpoint NSWR 843C as this seem to cover the spec we wanted, high spin speed, reasonable capacity and a quick wash cycle. This was ordered from Currys for direct delivery to Black Prince at Stoke Prior.
Next we wanted a new TV for the lounge area, we wanted a flexible device with as many possible input styles as possible, UK TV seems to be ending up as streaming service, but we have a large collections of DVD’s that would be good on the boat.
To save converting from 12V to 240V to get a domestic style TV we found the Cello range of 12V on Amazon.co.uk and the C3220 seemed to be a good fit. At 32″ it would not be massive, you don’t need a big screen on a narrow boat!
The spec was as follows:-
So apart from being on 720p resolution it does come with the two HDMI ports so we could add a Amazon Fire TV Stick and use the USB port for power if required.