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Diary of a new Barge owner
Go to Update 3-Oct-06 22-Oct-06 9-Nov-06 2-Dec-06 14-Jan-07 31-Jan-07 17-Feb-07 10-Mar-07 22-Mar-07 1-May-07 Probably the most exciting time for owners of new-build Replica Dutch barges is to go to the boatyard for the first time and see your barge actually being built. And so it was for us when we went this weekend to Piper Boats Ltd. We were delighted to find Steve hard at work welding together the various sections of the hull and it was marvellous to see the flat steel plates taking shape and gradually becoming a barge!
Buying an old barge with a history is tempting and for many people is the only choice, but we felt it was not quite right for us. We wanted a barge that hopefully would not need too much heavy maintenance during the next few years and was of a size that we could find moorings for and that we could comfortably handle!
So which Dutch barge and which boat builder to choose? There are lots of many good builders out there but our main criteria was to have a boat that looked and handled well, had 2 double cabins, somewhere to sit outside during summer evenings and that we could afford. It should also be capable of travelling in Europe. Having looked around at many different boat builders, we decided to place an order with Piper Boats for their latest fully-fitted 55 footer with aft deck. Simon Piper was enthusiastic, very helpful and deservedly proud of his new design which did indeed feature all of the above and he and his team are making minor improvements all the time.
This particular model is of a standard layout, so the basic configuration of the accommodation and systems is set. Simon will build boats to all sorts of different designs and to exactly what the customer wants, but this inevitably makes the production process more expensive. And with this new design offering so much, it made sense to us to choose the standard layout.
So if you are reading this as a potential new build barge owner or the proud possessor of another type of boat or are just interested in boats generally, then watch this space for further news of how our barge is growing.
Finally thanks to Ian Petchey for his unfailing advice and support and for allowing these ramblings to be put on his very interesting website.
We
had also been to the Southampton Boat Show, to look at some of the extra
equipment that we may want to purchase, providing the budget allows!
These include: GPS and other instrumentation, plus water filter,
generator and possibly air conditioning.
There are a variety of air conditioning systems on the market at different prices and with various outputs. To install air conditioning in the complete boat for just a few weeks of the year, although it may be nice to have it, is we think unrealistic. But, to install it in the small guest cabin and the master cabin is a possibility. The smaller unit needed to do this would require less power and be less environmentally damaging. The plan would be to cool the bedrooms prior to using them and then to switch off the system. Although we are thinking about air conditioning for the south of France, it does not mean that we intend to head straight there when the boat is complete. We aim to keep it in the UK for 12 months or more until we are confident in handling it and any teething problems have been corrected.
Incidentally, we advise anyone intending to handle a barge to have some good practical training before setting out. It helps to avoid accidents and helps reduce stress, enabling more enjoyable boating. We have had a boat for many years, but handling a completely different type of boat, whether it is a yacht, motor cruiser or barge, always calls for a slightly different approach. There is also available, from the DBA, a wide range of books and videos to brush up your skills, whether you are a newcomer or an old hand. Week 5 Update 22nd October The third visit to see how the build was progressing was as equally interesting as the second. Steve has now been working on the build for about 5 weeks and on this occasion we were pleased to see that the cabin and lower part of the wheelhouse were assembled. Rubbing strakes had also been fitted to the hull and a lot more of the continuous welding of the seams had been completed.There is still a lot of work to do, but a few weeks more work should see the shell completed. While we were discussing things with Simon and his guys, we asked for the style of the bollards, or bits, to reflect more of those found on working Dutch barges. 3 pins, which extend outwards from the main cylindrical body, are used rather than 2; more commonly found on boats. The additional pin keeps the rope/line separated from each other when taking a turn around the bollard to bring the boat to a gradual stop during locking in the larger locks on mainland Europe. The technique works a bit like a friction brake. People would possibly argue that this is not necessary on a barge that is lighter than a traditional working boat and that you can’t apply this technique in the locks on the Thames, or some other UK waterways. This is certainly true, but having seen how well the technique works, during our boat handling course in France, we want to be prepared to do things correctly and safely.
During
the last 2 weeks or so, we also purchased some additional instruments,
which will be some of the last things to fit. Perhaps these are a little
early,
We ended-up buying rather expensive instruments, partially because there is not that much of a choice regarding Rudder Angle instruments (if you want something bigger than a 50mm dial) and were advised that some of the cheaper models can be a little unreliable. Time will tell!
The Webasto split-air air conditioning system operates from 240 volts, so the next step is to make a final decision on the size of the Generator.
Our boat has now been moved into the fitting out
workshop, so that work on the interior can begin. (This, to us, is an
intriguing task as the boat must be moved out of the steel-shop on
rollers and manoeuvred into the adjacent building) The steelworkers
have also recently constructed some impressive gantries and steps to
enable easier and safer access to the barges as they are being fitted
out. Our boat joined 2 other Dutch barges in various stages of
completion. One is the same size as ours and is several weeks ahead in
the fitting out process and the other is a shorter version, which is
almost com
Externally, our boat has had its first coat of
paint. Inside, paint has also been applied to the steelwork above floor
level and bitumen to below floor level. In addition, all plumbing that
is beneath the floor, such as that joining to the holding tank, fuel
tank and grey water, has been installed. Ballast has been laid and the
floor itself is now down. The flooring has several inspection hatches to
allow access to key plumbing connection points and to enable a small
amount of
During our visit we talked through with Andy (who is very patient and helpful) about the installation of the electrical cables, which will be one of the first tasks after insulation. We discussed the location of sockets and aerial wiring and we’ve asked for some additional spare cables to be installed running from the engine room to the front of the boat. From experience of several narrowboats, it always seems impossible to think of everything that you may need wiring for in the future and it’s often difficult to fit cables retrospectively. So hopefully, the spare cables may save us some effort in the future!
During the past few weeks the generator has also been ordered. We took Simon and Andy’s advice and have gone for a Mastervolt Whisper 6 Ultra 5.7 kW 1500 RPM model, which is more expensive than we had budgeted for! We are assured that is quieter and smoother and is likely to last longer, than the smaller Mastervolt unit we had intended to buy. Going over budget seems to be the norm when it comes to boating!
We have also joined the Piper Owner’s boat club and have now started to receive the club magazine, which is very interesting. We met some of the members on a recent visit to Biddulph and look forward to meeting up with other Piper boats when we get afloat in 2007.
Inside the boat, the bulkheads for the bathroom, twin double cabins and
en-suite have been installed and the entire ceiling has been put-up as
well as the cabin sides. It all looks very impressive. The ducting for
the air conditioning outlets in the master bedroom have also been put
into place.
Last week one of the stage payments, which is part of the contract with
the boat builder was due, so we took the opportunity of making a quick
visit to hand over the cheque! These payments are made at regular
pre-set intervals on the completion of certain parts of the
construction.
Mick and Daniel were busy on the interior and have now fitted the bed, wardrobe and over-bed cupboard in the guest cabin. The bed in the master bedroom is also half assembled and the wardrobe is complete too. The bathroom is being fitted out with the shower tray and cubicle in place and the bathroom corner cupboard installed. We asked for the lower half of the bathroom walls to be lined out to give a close-boarded look and this has now been done. In our opinion, it looks nice, light and airy and it should be easy to maintain by simply re-painting it every now and again.
Matthew, who has been working on the wheelhouse, is next going to complete the wheelhouse doors. For us, it’s great that the team are always willing to give assistance and offer advice if asked. They all appear to have great interest and pride in what they do.
We are looking forward to our next visit in about 3 week’s time.
The boat fitting out continues to make good progress with the Mick and Daniel team now working hard on all areas of the interior. The fuel line for the Reflex stove (right) has been installed together with the separate tank. Most of the lounge furniture is being fitted, having been partly pre-assembled in the workshop.
In the wheelhouse the dashboard area (below) is being constructed and the hydraulic steering assembly for the helmsman’s wheel is in position
The wheelhouse will also receive some more attention from Matthew, who will be glazing and finishing off the doors and roof sections. It’s around this time that the final coats of paint will be applied to the hull and superstructure and the cabin windows installed.
In the engine room Andy (yes there are a lot of Andys at Biddulph!) has been busy installing some of ancillary systems and cabling prior to lowering the engine onto its mountings. Likewise, the propeller shaft and its drive coupling are in place and the rudder and skeg have been fitted too.
The engine exhaust silencer is mounted on the starboard side and the Webasto central heating boiler and the calorifier are in position with their pipe work connected on the port side of the hull. The electric pump and accumulator tank for the domestic water system are now connected and the combined drain-pump and sump unit is in position. This unit collects the grey water, from the washing machine and other areas and directs it either overboard, or into the grey water tank, depending upon the position of a manual diverter valve. All pumps have been positioned in the engine room where they are reasonably easy to get to, which should help when an inevitable problem arises at a later date.
On the electrical side, although they still need
to be connected, the Combi unit and Isolation transformer are in
position together with the fuse boxes etc. The combi unit is a combined
2kW inverter and battery charger. The isolation transformer, as its name
implies, isolates the shore-mains supply from the 240 volt electrical
circuit within the boat. This reduces the chances of corrosion through
electrolysis, when connected to shore power.
The mountings for the diesel generator are in place as are its exhaust silencer and basic plumbing connections. The generator is water cooled using a heat exchanger. This means that the raw cooling system is separate to the water jacket of the generator’s engine. Often the raw cooling water is drawn in from the river and expelled together with the exhaust gases out through the side of the hull, which can be a bit messy and splashy. But with this particular system, it separates the gases from the raw cooling water. The water is directed through a skin fitting in the bottom of the hull back into the river/canal, while the quiet exhaust gases exit through the exhaust port on the side of the hull, free of water.
Andy has now installed the engine and aligned it to the propeller-shaft. This can be time consuming and fiddly, as the correct alignment is critical. The generator (photo left) is mounted too.
The paintwork is looking great now it has had additional coats applied and a coach-line that extends from the wheelhouse around the top of the cabin sides has been added.
We have also taken the time to register the boat on the Small Ships register and have applied and received the VHF radio licence. This is now a free licence obtainable on-line. You must however have an operators licence to use the radio for which it will be necessary to attend and pass a course. We both gained our licences a few years ago, before we used our narrowboat on the tidal Thames.
One thing we have decided not to go ahead with is the transfer pump that was going to link the engine fuel tank to the separate tank for the diesel stove. For a variety of reasons this was proving not to be straightforward and we also learnt from Ian that having a connection from the engine tank to the heating tank may cause problems in France. Apparently they look for people who may be running there engines on red diesel, which is allowed only for heating, so any form of a direct connection, even if it is designed for the fuel to go from the engine tank to the heating tank could be frowned upon!
Well Etholle is finally complete and in the water. The boat was delivered by road from Biddulph to Reading on the morning of the 23rd of April. It was a little late in arriving at Thames and Kennet Marina because of the inevitable volume of traffic on the M6 around Birmingham. But after only about 20 minutes the remotely controlled 50 ton boat lift was hoisting Etholle off the truck, manoeuvring her around the car park and then placing her gently in the water. The next task was to motor her around to the mooring pontoon and start the commissioning process. Andy took the helm, helped by Danny and steered the boat expertly to the mooring.
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Having
had a series of narrowboats for around 30 years, we had decided some
time ago to broaden our horizons and look at moving up to a Dutch Barge.
So we joined the DBA and attended several continental gatherings, which
provided us with lots of useful information as well as many varied
opinions. Their magazine called Blue Flag is
also invaluable and superbly produced. Finally a barge handling course
in France with Tam and Di Murrell gave us the necessary confidence to
feel we could handle a barge. 
Two
weeks have flown by and we arrived at Piper Boats to find good progress
had been made during this time. The stern, bow and side plates were now
basically assembled. It must be remembered though that at this stage all
the steel plates are only tacked together. Once the main sections of the
shell are assembled and the shape is correct, all seams have to be
re-visited and continuously welded. This obviously takes some
considerable time and means that there will inevitably be a few weeks
when, superficially, little appears to have changed. 
The
show, although predominantly focussed on the sea-going boater, was very
impressive with a variety of stands to suit all. Although air
conditioning may sound an extravagance it’s something we are definitely
considering. It’s not necessary in the UK or Northern Europe, but we
have been told by people with experience of boating in the south of
France that the cabins tend to get unbearably hot, during the summer
months.
Through
the DBA, we have met some great and friendly people while attending
their European gatherings and this has given us a real taste for boating
and exploring Belgium, Holland, Northern France and hopefully, some
parts of Germany, licences and legislation allowing. 
plete.
Apologies for not knowing the names of the owners, but we’re looking
forward to meeting them on one of our visits. It’s very helpful to see
other boats being fitted out, as each owner always has some unique
ideas, which often gives you ideas for your own boat. We are also
indebted to Chris and Carol Framer of Kimasut who were very hospitable
in inviting us on to their boat to discuss the experiences they have
gained from living aboard their Piper barge during the last 6 months.
Initially, there were two narrowboats in the workshop too, but one of
these (a lovely boat with a wealth of electrics, as I understand)
belonging to a Dutch owner, has now left destined for Holland. It’s nice
to see a British boat builder exporting a narrowboat to the Netherlands!
ballast
to be moved around if it is found necessary to trim the boat once it’s
in the water. The timber framing to which the cabin linings will be
attached is in-place and the window apertures have been masked over.
This is in preparation for the spray foam insulation that will be
applied during the coming week.
The
next major step is to install the engine-gearbox and
generator and all
the ancillary electrics such as the Combi unit and pumps etc. Andy has
just about completed this work on the other barge which is in the
process of being fitted out and will move on to ours once he has
finished the other boat. It’s around this time that the separate fuel
tank for the freestanding reflex diesel stove will be installed. It’s
planned that a transfer pump and connecting pipe will be fitted, which
will allow fuel to be transferred from the engine tank to the heating
tank in the event of running low and no heating fuel being immediately
available. With current hike in fuel prices, perhaps we should have gone
for a wood burner!
The
team have understandably concentrated on getting their boat finished
before they turn more of their attention to finishing ours. The
following few weeks are likely to see Andy and others installing the
engine and the specific tasks involved with the electrics, generator and
heating systems etc. 
The
boat is now reaching the final stages of fitting out and on our recent
visit we were pleasantly surprised to find most of the galley cupboards
finished and the lounge units complete. The 2 bedrooms have had some
more of the finishing touches and mouldings added and a lot of the
woodwork has had a coat of varnish. The washing machine still has to be
fitted, as does the fridge freezer and diesel stove. Mick has also been
working on our table, which is of a different design to that which has
been produced before. We wanted something that could be dismantled;
enabling it to be used both in the wheelhouse, lounge area and outside
on the rear deck in summer. We had some rough ideas and approached Simon
and Mick for their help. We left it to them and were really pleased with
what Mick has created. The table top opens out a bit like a card table,
which means when closed it takes up less space but is still usable. The
legs are quick and simply to remove, so that it can be dismantled and
moved elsewhere without too much effort. The large hatch which opens-up
over the lounge area has been constructed and is double glazed, as are
the cabin windows and portholes. The cabin windows were temporarily
installed, to check that they fitted correctly, but have now been
removed while the exterior painting takes place.
This
allows the paint to be applied without having to worry about catching
the frames and also ensures that there is a protective coating between
the cabin sides and the window frames. It should help to delay the onset
of any corrosion brought about by metal to metal contact. Andy the
painter was taking the opportunity of a fairly quiet Saturday, so that
the paint could be applied while there was a minimum of dust about.
The
completion date is now only a matter of a few weeks away, so we are
getting excited and of course a little nervous too. Finally, after much
consideration and trawling through past boat names, we have come up with
the name we liked best. We felt the barge should have a simple one word
female name and preferable one which works in French. Our boat’s name
will be ETHOLLE pronounced Etollee. It is old French for Ethel
and back in English has become as stated above. No doubt there will be
various interpretations of this pronunciation!