123. Narrowboat construction: shell (hull) steelwork, filmed at Aintree Boats
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ม.ค. 2018
- #narrowboat #narrowboats #canal #canals #liveaboard #cruisingthecut
How is a narrowboat built? That's what this vlog aims to answer, looking at the construction process from the very first pieces of steelwork forming the baseplate, via an awful lot of welding up to a finished shell which can then be insulated and fitted out.
Many thanks to Aintree Boats for letting me roam around and film entirely at my discretion; please note they exerted no editorial control and did not pay me for this video.
www.aintreeboats.co.uk
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Theme music: "Vespers" by Topher Mohr and Alex Alena, from the TH-cam music library
Awesome of Aintree Boats to allow you to go through and film all that for us. Very interesting to see it all
I was surprised at the thickness of the steel in these boats. They're like pocket battleships!!!
Afaik they have to by law be 10mm thick on the bottom, 6mm on the sides and 4 mm uptop.
There is no law requiring any specific thickness of metal, it's just convention
Nice to see people and not machines doing. The work. Love the video being the scenes. Thank you.
Yeah, really romantic watching men in hazardous outdated working environment, after ~10 years they have a long list of physical issues..
"Watertight welds at the seam, as seen here, are generally considered good form in a boat." Your humor is dry, sir, very dry. I'm loving watching these vlogs, as you call them, while on Covid-19 lockdown. You are living a dream many of us have pondered, dreamed about, but failed to choose. Please keep up the good work.
It's a bit like the way Douglas Adams described a boat he traveled on in Madagascar. Something along the lines of "It didn't fulfill the basic premise of a boat which is to keep the sea out" :-)
Being dry is something of a prerequisite of being both on a boat and also being the boat itself
Thanks so much for the excellent video of how a narrow boat is constructed. I find them to be fascinating given that I knew nothing about them or the lifestyle before running across them on TH-cam. Your videos are in my opinion some of the best narrow boat ones available. Your former job in life comes through very clearly as the narratives are so professional. Thanks so much for the hours of entertainment you have provided me with.
Canadians, especially western Canadians have no idea of the concept of waterways and canals that exist in the UK so it is a wonderful new world for us.
Cheers from the frozen "Great White North". Currently at -30 C
Thank you, glad you enjoy them. But - yikes, minus 30C??!!
We've just paid our deposit for a NB build with Jamie at Aintree, great boats. See you on the cut next year. David :)... And thanks for all the education you've given us .
Oooh that must be so exciting! Now the fun starts.... I hope you enjoy the build. Cheers
"watertight welds are generally considered good form". I love that British understatement :)
This gave me a throwback to my childhood, when i loved to watch the "how its made" documentaries without annoying soundtracks and fast cuts. Respect to your work! (you do it all on your own i guess?) i just subscribed and can bingewatch a lot of your stuff now.
Yep, all my own work :-)
As someone who worked in an welding shop, I get shivers when i think of all that grinding that are needed, Hard work!
Completely agree, when serving my apprenticeship I used to grind flush welds deposited by a submerged arc welding process. It was really hard work - glad those days are behind me now.
A competent group of skilled workers. Always good to see.
Great tour,David.As an old welder,I appreciate the amount of work that goes into the fabrication. Cheers.✌
Thanks
By far one of my favorite episodes
Fascinated to see, could make that an hour long documentary .
The David Attenborough of the Inland Waterways!
that painter chap knocked me out with that beautiful fern green color . it was nice to see all the bits n bobs . cheers
Ooh I enjoyed that. Thanks David. Had a cup of tea and two rows of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate whilst watching. It all went down a treat. 👍👍
Super!
Hello, and welcome to the vlog comments.
David, this episode was genuinely interesting, thanks for taking us along.
Thank you John!
Okay, it’s pretty clear now where the high price is coming from. So much work to make a boat. I want one! :)
Its great to see good old fashioned graftsmen at work we need to get back to making things again.
My favorite kind of video, showing how things are made. I have my home shop where I do carpentry and machining, so I love seeing the inner details.
I very much appreciate the old-school steel construction of these vessels. They have proper and honest shipyard bones to them. No high-tech and lightweight aluminum or composite stuff going on here. Truly fitting type of craft to be navigating former commercial/ industrial waterways hundreds of years old. And rust shmust- slap on some anodes and keep up on the coatings with regular maintenance and care.
David! Really brilliant work...it's obvious your tv/film "chops" have been brought fully into play! THANKS for a great, informative video!
Thanks John!
Very educational, while being light on the difficult technical terms like "fiddly bits", "wonky doors" and "lumps of metal".
Nice to see old world Craftsmanship still being done to modern day specifications. Each one a work of Longboat art. Great video.
So looking forward to Aintree starting our boat next month. After meeting them at Crick a couple of years ago and vlogs such as yours we can look forward to tootling past you on the cut.
Oh wow, how exciting!! I'm jealous ;-)
That is a lot of steel! Good craftsmen as far as I could see. I had no idea that the base plate was sooooo thick. Great video! Oh yea, I am an American and live in the great state of Texas and all of this Narrowboat culture sure looks like a great way of life! Leave it to the English to come up with this old, tried and true way of life!
Not intending a steel-related joke, but that was absolutely riveting! :) We had no idea that so much boat was steel. We thought it was just the hull. It must weigh a ton. And we wonder how they get them up off the floor when the time comes. Thanks for the excellent tour, David.
Now I'm thinking the video could have been titled "Riveting Stuff" ... some years ago you would get boats with wood or fibreglass superstructure but I don't think any are made that way now. My boat weighs about 15 tonnes all in :-) They are picked up on massive cranes although now you mention it, I don't know how they get the straps underneath in the first place. I must find out.
Wow...love the video. Watching the welders ply their craft is stunning. Dad was a welder and I spent many Saturdays "helping" as he worked on various projects. Steelworkers/Welders are artists and scientists (dealing with gas ratios, etc) and it was a joy watching them again.
Really interesting. Thank you for taking the time to make this video and share it with us.
Cheers
This episode answered many questions about Narrowboats layouts and construction. Great production as always!
Now you're talking. I. Love. This. Stuff. This could have been an hour and you would have my rapt attention! Confessions of a How It's Made junkie. = )
One of the best videos about narrowboat builds I’ve seen! Many thanks. I’ll be dreaming of my ideal design ... : )
Dream on!
A nice short well narrated video which was informative without going into too much nerdy detail
I enjoyed this one so much, I think I'll watch it again! Thank you!
Please do! Cheers
@@CruisingTheCut my self as well
Again a very professsionally made vlog. Maybe you could sell this to the BBC.. Very interesting to watch. Now im wondering what is up your sleeve for your next vlog. Looking forward to it whatever it is.
I think it'll be the bilge next but I may be misremembering!
As usual extremely well filmed and narrated , as having witnessed these being built first hand at two companies aintree boats is obviously a very competent and dedicated company . A good insight for all future Narrow Boaters .Thank you Terry Hammond
Cheers
As a former "mechanic" in USA fiberglass motor yacht construction, I appreciated very much this over view of narrow boat construction in steel. And while I echo the interest in more detailed construction videos, I know it would take a very long time to do, several weeks certainly and perhaps longer just the filming and then there's the editing!
We had two different buildings, one for basic hull (including deck and house separate) construction , 65' LOA (20 Meters), done in a form , (gel coat, fiberglass layers) and the other building for EVERYTHING else. We built furniture, did the upholstery, installed many many windows, miles of wire, two V-8 Cat diesels, two generators, water maker etc etc. Ocean going capable.
One of the ironies of this particular company was the boats were made in WA state (NW USA) and most shipped by dockship, to Florida, SE USA. Now sadly, out of business.
Glad you liked it. I used almost every shot I took and I'm really not sure what else I could have shown without spending days on site, as you say. Cheers :-)
Knowing when to narrate and when to remain quiet is a professional skill. Plus the content - so interesting to view. Had no idea so much steel is in these boats.
How is the internal joinery secured to the steel frames ? Stainless and mild steel don’t get on well together on salt water boats . Are they OK together in canal water ?
Frank newton
There's no stainless involved. The boats are mild steel entirely. Internal joinery is then nailed into the steel uprights and everything else hangs off that.
I really appreciate your journalism experience in your delivery. You're informative and entertaining and it seems like such a unique lifestyle that I can't help but be inspired to wonder if it's something I might want to do down the road.
As a former welder and iron worker, I found this episode very interesting. Thanks.
That was one of the best Vlogs so far enjoyed that. Thank you
Great! Cheers
Reminds me of the old Routemaster factory. So many different skilled trades in one company.
I'm amazed at all the comments from the youtube experts on boat building that have most likely NEVER seen a boat up close in their life.As someone who's family owns a boat yard that does both commercial and private yacht builds and refits I was impressed at how sturdy these things are built.I see no reason why one of their boats wont easily last a 100 years on the canals with minimal maintenance.
They are pretty solid. Given regular blacking (see vlog 126) and maybe a bit of overplating once they're getting on a bit, they can indeed last for decades. Cheers.
What a wonderful insight into the construction of these iconic vessels. Very upfront and genuine company obviously. Thank you gentlemen.
Cheers Paul
Don’t know anything about narrowboats but this came up on my feed and now I want one 😂
Go on.... 🤣🤣
A lovely day here in Eastern Canada , plus 1 , sunny, Spring is in the air , have my morning coffee and watch a narrowboat cruise the canals , have another coffee - such therapy is very hard to find. Thanks so much and keep up the great vids.
What an interesting and informative vlog! Kudos to Aintree for being so accommodating and friendly, and hats off to you as well for your usual excellent camera work, editing, and narration. This is probably my favorite not-on-the-cut vlog yet.
I went to the Aintree website and perused through their pics of finishing works. They are artist in the craft of interiors as well. Thanks for the video! Cheers from Alabama. :)
Cheers!
The quality of your uploads never ceases to impress me, thanks David.
Thank you. I did make a bit of a special effort on this one!
Really enjoyed that, find the engineering side of both the boats and canal structures fascinating 👍🏼
Well done mate.
It was very cool to see what it takes to make a Narrow Boat.
I didn't realize that the whole boat was made from steel. I really enjoyed the video, thank you.
Thanks a lot for this really interesting boatbuilding vlog David. It's quite incredible that the building of the hull go's so quick.
Their paying instalments do sound fair, and not too risky. I wouldn't mind seeing more boatbuilding places, but all this filming will take a lot of time, and maybe too much time if you want to finish you campervan one day.
Hello Peter
Not all shells are built that quick, these are mass produced standard types. As an example our own shell took just over three months to build because it had a lot more detail, in that time an Aintree boat would be finished and ready to be launched, we had another eight months to wait before ours was ready.
Great video David you can see why Aintree Boats are one of the leading boat builders in this country everything very well laid out and they just opened the door to you to come and film them what a great firm this is. S C.
Even when they said "come and film" I was quite surprised when I got there about how happy they were for me to just wander about as it suited me. Very friendly.
Found this. And I am glad I did it's very interesting how it all comes together. Wow there's a lot of work. And we'll done to them as well.
Thanks.
Super interesting. The more I watch ..The more I want a boat =D
Thanks @CruisingTheCut for this documentary. It adds so nicely to the canals as we get to see how the narrow boats are made.
Maybe my favorite episode yet. I just learned to wield and have been doing woodwork most of my life. Allot of good information. I could watch hours of stuff being built.
I see why they are so expensive that is a staggering amount of engineering that goes into the hull and then the fitt out after that💸
I enjoyed that very much, ta. Very nicely done. "This is David Johns, for Look North, at Aintree Narrowboats." :)
So this is why tens of thousands of people are pacing up and down anxiously awaiting the next CHG production, you are watching instead of editing.
I didnt expect to find this as interesting as I did but it is actually super cool :O it is crazy to watch the shell being constructed and contrast it to the final product. Also I really appreciate you turning down the volume on all the noisy machinery
Everything I do is interesting, you know that ;-)
Thank you so much for making this video. It’s really helped me to appreciate just how much detailed work goes into the construction.
Very interesting. Learnt alot about how narrow boats are built. Super video - thank you David
Lovely informative video, thanks for doing great work!
A first rate operation all around! Kudos from the USA!
What a great video showing the work and materials that go into the process. Thanks, Robin
Amazing video, good to see that there is still a few great engineering workshops left.
Fascinating video, I would have loved to have seen their upholstery shop!
Thanks I think I'm going to have to do a further video about the interior fitout!
That was very interesting. I love to see how things are done. Thanks.
Great! Ta
What a great video,,, just like a mini documentary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, that's what I strive for!
David, thanks.
You should do more of these.
I’m boat builder trade time in trawlers and tugs . I can see these narrow boats are very strong well made .
Very interesting , a lot of work goes into building a narrowboat , it looks like they do an excellent job and you would get many years out of their build if looked after , regular blacking etc . Great informative video :-)
Yes, I would hope so. Cheers
David that video was amazing!
You’ve really got a talent. It was so good I could of watched an hour show. Keep it up!
Ah, thank you!
Ah, thank you!
Living near Detroit, MI and the Great Lakes as well as being a Classic Car owner, I find this narrow boat lifestyle utterly fascinating! Why I don’t know, I just do.
Fantastic!! Fascinating, and of course, mesmerizing!
Many thanks!
I love watching people make objects of beauty
Thank you for sharing your amazing video. Very interesting to watch
Great! Cheers
Wow they do some great work! All those hand cuts were amazing. If I tried to cut all that by hand it would look like a squid lol.
Fascinating! I enjoyed and appreciate the process. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
It was very interesting to see how these ships are built. Thanks for posting.
What a fun field trip! Totally enjoyed it!
:-)
Excellent presentation - very insightful
I like your style of production. You do not feel the need to chat all the way long. You can let your video do some of the talking. You usually hold the camera steady and allow the action to occur ithin the frame. Beginner vloggers would do well to study your style.
Thank you. Yes, particularly on this one I felt the shots would largely speak for themselves.
Enjoyable glimpse of how these are made. Thank you.
Work fascinates me. I could sit around and watch it all day.
Fascinating and loving the dry humour..
Very interesting thanks
You do such a wonderful job of making the videos as much about the boat as the canals and views.
I was truly rivited to this vlog, so interesting.
Very interesting video. Thank you.
first class as usual. thanks
I loved this one David. Thank you for doing it. Beautiful welds. A highly skilled crew building those. I hope you show some of the fitout with all the woodwork at some point.
I suspect I may have to do a follow up video...
@@CruisingTheCut may be
Missed this vlog for some reason but having worked In engineering I could watch this all day. Great stuff and what skills
U should do a history video of the riverboats.
Fascinating. Thank you. Love your videos chap
Thanks!
Fantastic to see a good manufacturing business doing a fine job.
Your videos comprise everything anyone would want to know when researching NARROWBOATS. Well done!
Thank you!
Looks like a decent trad firm
Love watching this sort of stuff...I'd'a been much happier in life if I'd'a learned a trade rather then gotten two practically useless degrees...
Handling steel, year in and out, in an unheated noisy polluted work shop with zero safety and health precautions?
It's as tough as you find it romantic...
Great vlog! I am thinking of getting a 40ft Bottle for the very same reasons as you so thank you for putting out a vlog that confirmed my thinking! I have now spoken to Aintree Boats regarding my reverse open-plan minimalist trad stern with a diesel heater.
Just waiting for Aintree to start building our boat, retiring end of July, hoping boat will be ready end of August. The anticipation is killing me, cannot wait for our new journey to start.
Your videos are a big help with questions which keep coming to mind.
Keep up the good work.
That's fantastic. I can only begin to imagine how exciting it must be to know your own custom boat is in build. Hope it all goes smoothly!