Thanks for looking!
The deal…
Let’s start by saying that you have two options here. Either buy her for
22K OVNO as a project and do the work yourself or buy her £47k and my team and
I will do the work.
The description…
Here we have my 2007 60ft cruiser stern narrowboat ‘Sigma Alpha Mu’
bought as a doer upper by me. When I bought her she had been lived aboard by
the previous owners since being built in 2007 by Coventry Boat builder Tony
Gallimore, proprietor of Star Line Narrowboats not to be confused for
Stourports’ Starline Narrowboats. I have just had a boat safety done and it
failed on a few small items so these will be done before the sale is completed
and a new boat safety certificate will be supplied. At the end of the listing I
have noted down what needs to be done to make her liveable and what else I had
planned to do.
Although at first this might appear to be quite a large project, I have
lived on her for long periods over a few years such as during the pandemic,
quite happily and very comfortably. It is only now that life has taken me in a
new direction that I have decided, purely due to lack of time and money to put
her up for sale. I maintain, engineer and refit narrowboats full time for a
living so Sigma Alpha has very much taken a back seat. If you are looking for a
cheap route into narrowboat ownership then this kind of purchase is probably
the way forwards. If you think she is too big a project but are prepared to pay
more, lets have a chat. I’m a marine engineer by trade and manage a team of
refitters, carpenters etc. who repair, maintain and refit narrowboats as a
business, so there may be a possibility that as a team, we could take on some
work for you.
The boat…
Due to the hull and cabin design she has a larger internal space than
usual as the cabin has been taken further forward into the bow deck. Although
you still have a small well at the front of the boat above the water tank it’s
only really suitable for a couple of people to sit around. There is no gas
locker in the bow, just a small storage locker.
She’s a slightly unusual design with an engine room to the stern housing
a modern water cooled Lister LPWS3 (Alpha) connected to a large skin tank for cooling.
The engine has been recently serviced and runs like a dream. It needs some work
externally but starts, runs and stops as she should. Unlike most newer boats
the exhaust exits through the roof not the stern making her looking more of a
traditional build. I have a short exhaust tip but ideally it needs relocating
so exits through the stern. With the engine located in the boat cabin it leaves
a large storage area under the stern deck where I have located a new 55L twin
coil calorifier. It was my intention to also relocate the battery bank under
the stern deck. At the moment they are sat on the floor in the engine room
under the electrical control panel. Also under the back deck is a Webasto
Thermo Top C which is installed but not fully connected to the newly installed
central heating system in the main cabin. Also in the engine room you will find
all of the electrical items which include a solar controller, isolation
switches, Edecoa 1500w pure sine wave inverter, Sterling battery monitor and
Victron Blue charger. The batttery bank is made up with two hankook batteries
connected a starter batteries (I know… overkill but it just happened!?) and
the domestic bank is made up of 4 x Hankook 120ah deep cycle leisure batteries.
I have always managed the batteries very carefully and although over 4 years
old when I tested them all recently they were showing over 98% health on each
unit.
Originally the boat was made up of several bulkheads dividing rooms all
the way along the boat with a narrow side hallway. I took all of the bulkheads
out apart from the bathroom and opened up the living area. I also moved the
bedroom to the front from the centre.
From the engine room a door leads into the galley which I fitted a few
years ago. The galley currently has a large wood burning stove (which I
intended on removing) and counter tops on either side with a miniature Belfast
style sink. I left half of the galley bulkhead in place so that I could fix the
kitchen counters to it. The galley units were second hand and originally fitted
in a farmhouse kitchen, the counter tops, sink and tap were all purchased new
by me. The boat is gas free so I was using a microwave to cook in the summer
and the stove to cook in the winter. It was my intention to have a gas locker
installed on the stern deck (loads of space) and a gas cooker fitted in place
of the wood burning stove. There is also a 240v fridge that runs from the
inverter with space for a washing machine.
From the galley you move into the open plan living area. When I first
bought the boat this area was divided into a dinette space and bedroom with
wardrobe space. I ripped it all out, ship lapped the walls which I mostly dyed
with church oak dye and removed most of the trim with the intention of fitting
more modern looking church oak dyed pine. I installed modern sockets and
started to fit a new ceiling over the older tongue and groove style one. I also
fitted an 8mm dark wood laminate over the marine ply sub floor which was
previously carpeted.
Moving along the boat, you next have the bathroom with full size bath,
large sink and Thetford flushing cassette toilet. Although this is all fully
usable it ideally wants ripping out and doing again. A shower cubicle would be
much better and the toilet needs a refresh kit or replacing with a pump out
unit although once again, it’s clean and perfectly usable.
Finally you move along into the bedroom which was originally the lounge.
It had a free standing bed at first but I have now gone some way to fitting a
fixed bed with under storage that can be used length ways or width ways as
required. There is no other furniture in this room and the walls need
finishing. The water pump sits to the front and is currently exposed.
I have plumbed new central heating radiators throughout the boat.
Externally we have recently taken the hull and gunwales back to metal,
the hull has had six coats of keel black, four new anodes and the gunwales have
had several coats of zinc primer and Hempel Multi Coat black. Although we have
started to rub down the cabin sides at the moment they are finished with a
rough matt paint that looks ok but ideally needs a repaint. The stern deck is
made up of chequer plate aluminium that spans the entire width of the deck
area.
Now…. onto the not so good stuff.
In it’s previous life the boat was used as a floating garden centre and
was locally known as the flower boat. Due to this there was rusting on the roof
which has now been treated with Fertan. (the entire boat apart from the cabin
sides was treated with fertan). There is some rusting around the windows that
needs sorting and some rusting to the bow deck which has also been treated with
fertan. The roof needs taking back to metal, filling and repainting.
The forward bulkhead and bow doors are made of wood and need replacing.
I had planned on commissioning Kev Kyte to do this in steel at some point but
it’s still on the long list. The bow deck well floor also needs filling and
repainting.
When she came out of the water for blacking I took the hull back to
metal and inspected it. There were signs of pitting and it was suggested by the
boat yard that at some point the pits would need welding however, they weren’t
deep enough for a surveyor to be concerned although I did not have a full
survey carried out. ‘They had seen far worse’. Until recently the boat had
never been around other boats or in a marina so galvonic corrosion was at a
minimum. She is currently sat on a linear mooring near Kingswinford. As I no
longer live on her the power drain is minimal.
There used to be seating around the stern deck but overtime the supports
had rusted. When she was out of the water I removed the supports which left a
few small holes in the top of the gunwales. These will need repairing or
plating over with new seat supports fitted.
So…. rather a large project, if you have the time, skill (mainly
carpentry) and money. She could be a lovely boat with larger than usual
internal cabin space and a large stern deck for socialising if you wish. She
could be turned into the perfect liveaboard or maybe even something to do up
and sell on.
Boat comes with a full set of manuals plus lots of other items to help
complete the renovation. I’m even happy to supply tools if needed.
So, what needs to be done to make her liveable?
Finish installing the central heating system, 90%
done.Fit some sort of new forward bulkhead although the
current one is weather proof.
What was left on my list of things to do?
Move the batteries under the stern deck, run longer
cables and secure.Box the engine in and build storage around it in
the stern cabin.Modify the cruiser deck and install a gas locker
and gas pipework to the galley.Remove the stove and fit a domestic style, lpg
cooker in its place.Finish the kitchen counter tops and install a
better sink and drainer.Fit a false ceiling throughout incorporating new
lighting and a brighter/cleaner finish.Strip out the bath and fit a shower and new vanity
unit.Panel the bedroom walls and build a cross bed,
wardrobe and dressing table.Design and build a cratch.Strip and paint the roof, bow deck and cabin sides (Already
started),Tidy up the drain outlets from the sinks.
Get in touch with any questions and thanks for looking and reading, Rob.
Current Price: £22000.00
This 2007 60′ Cruiser Stern Narrowboat Project (£22k Project Or £47k Complete) may be available on ebay