ISO 'Wide Beam Canal' Boat Builders in US.

UK canal boats are designed for a very specific set of size limitations, and may not be good boats for some other bodies of waters. UK narrow boats are designed to fit through locks which limit beam to 7 feet. Wide boats are typically limited to 13 or 14 feet maximum beam depending on which canals the wide boat will be used on. Draft is limited to 3 feet and typical is 2 feet or less. There are also "air draft limitations", ie maximum height above the water due to low bridges and tunnels. UK canals are sheltered with some but not all being dug ditches. UK rivers which canal boats are typically used on are much smaller and more sheltered than the Hudson below Albany or the St. Lawrence. While narrow boats have crossed the English Channel on days with good weather it is generally not considered to be a good idea.

Size limitations for North American canal systems are much larger:

Erie Canal, Hudson Canal, etc: 328 feet long and 45 feet wide. The area available for vessels within a lock is 300 feet long, 43.5 feet wide.

Rideau Canal (Ontario, Canada): Locks are 41 metres/134 feet long by 10 metres/33 feet wide.

Trent Severn Waterway (Ontario, Canada): The smallest lock on the Trent-Severn is Port Severn (Lock #45). It measures 25.4m (84') long and 7.0m (23') wide.

St. Lawrence Seaway: Each lock is 233.5 metres long (766 feet), 24.4 metres wide (80 feet) and 9.1 metres deep (30 feet) over the sill.

 

In event others may be interested, Custom Steel Boats has changed their business model and is out of boat building and doing other metal fabrication exclusively.

 

I still don't see much good reason for a wide beam canal boat over a diesel trawler. Steel comes with its own problems, too.

 

As Gonzo noted, interior space provided by a canal boat design is a primary consideration.
Steel coatings require periodic maintenance but so do aluminum boats. Both materials have pros and cons but for this application, steel is usually favored.

 

Curios to what length beam and height your looking at?

 

hello everyone,
very interesting comments made by all,

one question I would like to ask
has anyone thought about an HDPE barge
the reason I ask this is I work for a fabrication company that has recently built a 40ft barge all out of HDPE

using the manufacturing process, we have done makes it even more unique as this is the same way that most shipbuilding especially larger boats are made, (by welding process)

I would love to speak to anyone who is considering buying a "steel etc " barge and explain different options to you

 

How do you bond stuff to hdpe?

 

Shaun, maybe you should start a new thread of your own to explain all the different options available - and also mention how you bond stuff to HDPE.
It sounds like the only options are welding and bolting?

 

I don't buy that much hdpe or uhmw, but went through about 7 sheets of 1/2 and 1in last year. Pot guard and rub rail and an anchor rash guard. Last year probably equal to or a smidgen more.

It's superb for bouncing stuff off of stuff. It doesn't corrode and takes a lot of abrasion. With that said, it flexes like crazy and while we've not cracked uhmw we have Starburst cracked hdpe with a wild errant 6x pot.

On a basic barge much like a plastic canoe flex would be a moot point. I cannot imagine fitting out the interior of an English canal boat affixed to the flex that hdpe allows. Gravel barge, flat top equipment barge, oyster dredge platform.... sure. Complex vessel.... nah to many better choices.

 

@comfisherman
Hdpe
is brilliant because as you would know bumps and scrapes would not matter and with no paint to scratch expose steel or other materials will not rust and decoy, with regards the process we did we used a process called extrusion welding

(Basically, MIG welding but plastic rather than metal) this provides a more accurate weld, the only part that we used steel in the process was the hull

below is the link to our YouTube video of the whole process



thank you

 

Shaun- very interesting, but this needs to be a separate thread on the forum.

 

@fallguy
ok thank you and I'll do that now

 

I guess it works for barges, not thinking it's gonna replace glass, alloy or steel anytime soon. I've replaced hdpe installed in the early 90s with 60 parallel north sun causing cracking and loss. Maybe the modern stuff is more uv stable, we know the stability of other materials. Once you stuff beams in the bilge your clock starts ticking like it's steel, those beams exist because the material is not rigid.

It will be interesting to see long term how it does. It's heavy, flexes and lends itself to abrasion resistance over aesthetic. Barge yes.... widespread marine market... probably no.

 

Ultimately, the cost of building is also going to be a major factor. The low stiffness is likely to cause problems with fitting of doors, hatches, etc. I have not seen any data on how to install and align an engine. Do they use a metal frame that holds alignment independently of the hull?

 

@comfisherman

Thank you for your response

Building boats in HDPE is not a new concept in fact they have been building them for many years

The majority of them as see going vessels from small dinghies to large sea going vessels some with big twin outboard motors

I have even seen and heard of some small ferry vessels

They have the advantage of being able to run up on the beach over pebbles etc with very minimal wear and being very robust

we teamed up with a canal steel boat builder to build the boat we have now as he had the build plans and knowledge

The material does not require any maintenance and nothing will stick to it

It is UV stabilized and virtually unbreakable

We are in fact looking to compete against the cost of steel boats

The canal boat was built as an exercise to see if it can be done and to find out any issues we may have going forward

then we can learn from this to make a larger size etc we are looking at making a rather larger one at 60 x 14 infact

The size is 40` x 10` and built using 20mm for the base of the boat 15mm for the sides and 12mm for the upper sections

It has steel reinforcing in the base just to stop any flexibility when being moved