When the surveyor comes to assess the narrow boat, normally they will start on the inside of it, depending on the circumstances at the time. They check all the Internal systems & the hull (steel thickness) and produce a report, the report usually takes a week to produce but they can usually give you a verbal indication on how the survey went on the day.

If the surveyor finds any internal narrowboat safety items that are dangerous, these have to be rectified for the safety of the owner or client.

This is a photograph of how a surveyor prepares the narrowboat to measure the thickness of the hull via ultrasonic measurement. They also use a hammer to see if the steel has gone soft. If they discover that the hull is in need of refurbishment, these works would have to be completed in order so that the hull is in an insurable condition.

Once we have received a copy of the survey report, we then price up the required work that is compulsory i.e. boat safety items, steel work and any other items which are for insurance purposes. Once we have a quotation, we can send out the estimate to the client and give the vendor an update on the situation of the sale.

When a price has been agreed by both parties and the boat has been paid for, the repair/refurbishment work can commence. The purchaser will be given a start date and an approximation of how long the work will take to complete.

For an example, and for ease of use, i have chosen to say that this "narrowboat" is in need of overplating the base plate.

The boat would be craned out of the water so prepping can begin. The lip of the original base plate will be cleaned so that a good quality weld can be achieved.

Once the preparation has been completed, the steel would have arrived, which has been measured to the correct length and width and ordered especially.  Either a forklift or bottle jacks would be used to raise the plate under the boat. Once the steel has been alligned it will be tack welded to hold it in place, like this photo beneath. Also small squares will be cut out the center of the new plate, to be able to weld the new plate to the original base plate. These squares will be then welded back on.

In this photo you can see the welds that are approximately an inch long. If you look carefully you can see the original base plate lip has been cleaned and is now a silver colour. Once that has been tacked into place, the welder will start to fully weld the plate.

The type of welding done here is arc welding, which is one of the strongest forms of welding and is the preffered type on narrowboats. It's better in this environment because it doesn't require any gases, which doesnt perform as well out doors in the elements.  Ideally for the best possible penetration for a weld, you should leave a slight gap between plates (the gap size varies on the size of the welding rod) and grind a slight angle on the lip of the joining plates, creating a V - shape.

This is a photo of a continuous weld, as you can see they have just stopped on the tacked weld. This continues around the narrowboat until it has been fully welded.  Once it has been fully welded the overhang on the bow and stern will be cut off.

If anodes are required these would be fitted too.

The Surveyor will then return and inspect the works done, to check that they have been completed properly. They will then issue a clean bill of health on the boat and provide you with a certificate to confirm this. The narrow boat's hull will then be blacked in bitumen or any other suitable paint specified. Once the paint has dried the narrowboat will be inserted back into the water where it will wait for collection with it's new lease of life.