[Closed] Wouldn't you love to make/buy this? Converted life boat content.

It is very cool, not enough deck space for me

Saw it on youtube a few months ago. They’ve done a good job of it and been sauntering around Norwegian fjords in it. It’s powered by an electric motor and solar with a top speed of only 6 knots so not going on any big ocean adventures but nice sir sauntering around in,

I was expecting something a bit more like this, which would be cool.

Apart from the hideous ugliness of the one in that news story, I could not imagine wanting to live very long cooped up in any boat, let alone one with no deck.

Maybe reserve judgement until you’ve seen this,,,

There's a couple of these on the canals near me. Great big ugly things they are. Cheap though. One bloke I was chatting to said they're OK, but the design means that even the teeniest swell makes them wallow, and as they're sealed for full immersion,  they get ****ing roasting inside pretty quickly

There area couple of water pikies in bath living in one of those but it certainly doesn't look like that one!

Maybe reserve judgement until you’ve seen this,,,

No! I do not understand the attraction of the sea. No matter how bad things are, some ****er always chips in with, "Worse things have happened at sea." So I stay away from the sea as much as possible. I would make exceptions for weekend getaways on a megayacht, but that's more like having a mobile hotel so I don't think it really counts.

Theres a smaller one on the Kennet and Avon, like the Capt Phillips film ones. Like this

It’s powered by an electric motor and solar

I don't think it is. Watched through the films - it's got 900W of solar for decadent living at anchorage but it moves through the water with a diesel engine I believe. I didn't hear it mentioned but there are a few shots where you see the engine cooling water coming out the back. The inventory includes 3 leisure batteries and a starter battery. That amount of solar is going to struggle to navigate you around a marina in a tub like that let along between ports miles apart.

Those lifeboats do have a reputation for being appallingly sick inducing for even the most hardy of seamen because of the hull shape so I'm not surprised they kept their course so close to land.

Fun project though. Whilst the initial purchase was only £7K the whole conversion and adventure is going to have been pricey. Crowd funding and sponsorship for a glorified holiday always seems a bit of a stretch but I guess they are selling and donating any profit to charity. I suspect the profit will be minimal or non existent, especially now. It's like people who buy a church and convert it then it sits on the market for years as when it comes down to it the number of people who want to buy that rather than a product intended for the job for real money is pretty small.

I’d rather have an older style one to be honest. A friend back in the UK restored one from the early 1900’s that was beautiful. It had been part of the Dunkirk small ships fleet (and had the damage to prove it), but he did a great job of restoring it.

Not sure if it would have been as good in the Arctic with the windows it had, but certainly more deck space and maybe a better boat for the rougher seas.

Dreams can easily turn into nightmares, MILs cousin getting rescued 600 miles off the coast of Bermuda on Friday 😳

Designed for 100 people 😳

Good luck to them.

At least with that pink one above, you could dress it up so it looks like an olden days train and then rock out to Kylie.

@Dickboy, what caused them to be rescued? The boat looks ok and sails are intact.

I wouldn't want to spend much time in the open sea on that thing, it would be horrible in a bigs swell - they were designed to just bob-around, not to make way. Now a classic lifeboat conversion based on a Colin Archer design would be a totally different proposition.

@eskay from what I heard the steering packed up and couldn't be fixed and by the time they were being finally rescued we're also taking on water. The initial rescue attempt couldn't happen because of the swell, 12hrs later the swell had reduced and they had a tanker either side of them offering protection whilst the fast rescue was launched. Had to say goodbye to vessel but they're alive and well.

I totally get the appeal of living on the water. I'd love to sail around the world or something like that. Can't think of anything more adventurous you can do on the planet. As to the choice of a lifeboat...well like any campervan builds - all of which are totally specific to the person who built them and most look like a dogs dinner to most of us, you choose the base vehicle that fits the bill the best. Same here...if you're after an ocean going vessel then a lifeboat probably not the most comfy thing out there...but to be honest if you're in a big swell in an ocean vessels of any size are going to be tossed about a fair bit. Even large ferries and cruise ships can get a bit of a roll and pitch on in heavy seas and they have active stabilisers and big ballast tanks. But once you've got your sea legs on it doesn't matter. Coastal fishermen use some pretty small craft that get chucked about a fair bit.

The benefit of the lifeboat is you get alot of internal volume for the size of craft so if' you're living on it, like these chaps are, then you are bound to prioritise internal space and volume over other aspects. And if all you're doing is sauntering around the calm waters of the Norwegian Fjords then the lack of stability of the vessel is probably not too important.

Its never really appealed to me. I'd rather tour by van, but that does look like quite a nice trip and I really like the layout. They've done a pretty good job.

I like the idea. But not being able to sail of a waste. Plus sails will help damp out rolling.

@dickboy, that must have been pretty scary!

There area couple of water pikies in bath living in one of those but it certainly doesn’t look like that one!

Yep, I think the issue is that these things look er a bit shite.

Ahh the joys of riding thru the remains of the pallet choppings.

Looks like a superb project to me.
I'm also dubious about the solar-powered thing. I'll have to dig deeper.

For those who say they wouldn't fancy setting off to sea in that you clearly don't know Newhaven; you'd take a bathtub with no plug to get away from there! 😊

Check out Harry Dwyer on YT, refurbs an old Avon Searider and is going around the UK in it.

For those who say they wouldn’t fancy setting off to sea in that you clearly don’t know Newhaven; you’d take a bathtub with no plug to get away from there! 😊

Good point, well made

I’m also dubious about the solar-powered thing. I’ll have to dig deeper.

There is absolutely no way that thing is solar powered. They weigh about 4 tonnes and have shit hydrodynamics.

As others have said, they are not comfortable at sea but for running up the Hurtigruten in Norway, it would be fine. Sounds like a fantastic trip.

I’m with hols2 - unless it’s made by Sunseeker I’m out!!

There's one of these converted to a house boat on the Regent Canal, from memory between Kings Cross and Camden market. Compared to all the narrow boats it looked huge. Guess being all fibreglass its low maintenance.

@MoreCashThanDash I should point out I lived there for 10 years and really liked it, in fact if I hadn't finally bought my ex-wife out I might well have moved back there. It's one of those places you have to actually live in to see it's good points, you'll never notice then in passing that's for sure!

I owned a wooden gaff rigged ketch for several years. After that experience, one of those lifeboats looks ideal. 🙂

If I was unencumbered, I'd probably live on one but preferably steel so if I emulated Capt Cook's method of navigating reefs it would be without the consequences.

Oh, and I'd be in North Queensland, not here. 🙂

Where does their dog go for a dump?

Where does their dog go for a dump?

He poos in a bag then one of them dives over the side and hangs the bag of some coral. Obvs.

I'd love to live on a boat. Used to sail the west coast and loved the way it rocked you gently to sleep, or off the coast on anchor pitching about.
So i looked at these as a route and as above its just not the right thing, and looks utterly shite.
That one those two converted is rather good i have to say, but its effectively just a caravan on water, but maybe thats all it needs to be for that type of use exploring, moor up and go ashore with a bike to ride the otherwise inaccessible.

Currently, i want a tiny canal boat, 22' cheap to run, moor, easy to steer. to explore lower England, and visit some of the places i lived during my travels. A retirement gig. With a bike of course.

Its never really appealed to me. I’d rather tour by van, but that does look like quite a nice trip and I really like the layout. They’ve done a pretty good job.

In my mind the difference with sailing and almost any other sport (perhaps paragliding?) is that on land however well you frame the photo you're still following a road and sat in a car park. Boat's are one of the few ways you can actually do some exploring.

By the same token I've never seen the appeal of boats with engines. You've just made a slower, noisier, less efficient version of a motorbike/car/camper van. Sailing is a challenge, a rib at 20knts is just an expensive and uncomfortable way to get around.

Just found my mate’s old boat. Looks like she’s now berthed up in Ipswich.

http://trimilia.co.uk/today/

The only "ex lifeboat" i'd want to captain is one of these:

[img] [/img]

Proper hull and 3,200 horses to push it around 🙂

a rib at 20knts is just an expensive and uncomfortable way to get around.

RIBs - the most expensive way to travel 3rd class.

Still love them though.

The only “ex lifeboat” i’d want to captain is one of these:

Yes, my lottery win boat might be a conversion project on something like that unless it had sails. So much cooler looking than yet another gin palace. That or a trawler or a small patrol boat/ mine sweeper.

RIBs – the most expensive way to travel 3rd class.

I got close to buying one a couple of years ago trying to relive my youth driving rescue boats for sailing centres. Then I did the maths and worked out how much fuel say a 40-50nm day trip down the coast and back might cost. And then I stopped looking.

The only “ex lifeboat” i’d want to captain is one of these:

Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking reading through this thread, and I was about to look for a photo of one of those. Pretty much immune to most of what the ocean can throw at it, apart from an iceberg, perhaps.
I’ve seen that red tub on the K&A, or one like it, at least I remember seeing a white-ish one. A bit claustrophobic for my liking.

Crowd funding and sponsorship for a glorified holiday always seems a bit of a stretch

this. People raising money for charity by going paragliding in the Andes. No, you are getting your holiday paid for.

I once had an exasperated conversation with someone who built a school in Nambia. A bunch of middle-class white guilt holidaymakers brought the tools in, did all the work and then left - Whilst the villagers sat around and watched. Send the money to be spent on training, tools and infrastructure and stay at home in Welwyn Garden City.

bigrich
...I once had an exasperated conversation with someone who built a school in Nambia. A bunch of middle-class white guilt holidaymakers brought the tools in, did all the work and then left – Whilst the villagers sat around and watched.

I couldn't agree more. And there's really not much if anything needed in the way of training. Anyone who has lived away from the cities in Africa has witnessed the day to day ingenuity of the people living there.

What Africa lacks is money not talent or skills or intelligence. If we and the other colonial powers has put back into them just a fraction of what got ripped out, it would be another story.

EG check out William Kamkwamba

I thought fibre glass lifeboats were supposed to be horrible things.

I think there's a few on the Kennet, there's one near Reading as well.

I can see why people buy them as a cheap way to live on the water, £7k doesn't go very far with a proper narrowbaoat.

But they don't half look a bit pokey. I'm sure some hipster boat builder will stretch one at some point, if it was 40ft+ they'd just look like a weird narrowbaot.