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Stroller - The Floating Home Build
About us
Well a few of you have asked me to do a blog or page about the build, here it is. I hope this page is of interest to everyone, better still I hope it can inspire others tired of the daily grind to take the plunge and make the move to the River and Canals. Even in London, life on the water is a thousand miles away from the shore that might only be a few yards away. Although it can be substantially cheaper living than bricks and mortar, it is not without its unique problems. This will not be a straightforward journey, but the rewards when finished will certainly be worth it.
Stroller is a 1974 Coronet 31 Aft Cabin, found on-line after 72hrs of solid searching through hundreds of boats of similar type. I had a feeling before I had even viewed her that she was the one and indeed she was. A deposit was left the same day and finalised within a week and at a very good price.
Buying Stroller was however the first stage of the puzzle. I still had to get her home and that meant loading onto a low loader and driven to London, or sailed around the coast from Portsmouth. The low-loader was the cheaper option but as the engines hadn't been run by the last owner in almost two years, it was the stupid option....
I went stupid because well, that's just me and I like an adventure!. I couldn't have done it with out two similarly crazy mates. Thanks Buzz & Pierre :D. With only one break down (a blown injector that leaked around 20lts of Diesel in to the bilge), Stroller performed perfectly and we had the weather gods smiling down on us having had to cancel the trip for two weeks before. We left at 11am on a Saturday morning and made it back to London by 4pm Monday in time for champagne and kebabs.....
Unfortunately the story didn't end there, while waiting for a slot on hard standing at my local boat yard for the build to start I took Stroller out on New Years Eve 2013 with friends to watch the fireworks celebrations in Central London. A close friend was skippering for me during the... show more evening and on our way home we hit a un-painted and un-lit buoy having had to take avoiding action from one of the high speed Thames Clipper's operating in the area. The collision put a large hole on the starboard bow waterline and we were considerably Bow down within 90secs of the impact. The Mayday call went out and we got everybody off safely onto a passing rib with no injury's but we're unable to save Stroller. She sank next to London Bridge on the North side Embankment just before 0100hs. With the help and support of friends we raised her within 26hrs and then had both engines running within a further 12hrs. The re-build got off to a slightly more damp (and smelly) start than I had ever planned...
In Answer to what skills/training do I have:
It might surprise you to hear not much more than that of a DIY'er!. My past jobs have involved working on vehicles doing alarms, trackers (telematics), bluetooth handsfree kits, reversing camera etc. I also have basic mechanical knowledge from being taught how to work on Scooter and Motorcycle engines. However, I do have a pool of advice and knowledge from several friends who have worked with or live on their own boats on The River Thames for many years. Not wishing to burden them at every stage with my questions and problems I do a lot of research on-line, reading books and watching videos. That might seem like the job is straight forward and easy however I learnt early on that if you ask 10 people you will get 10 different answers and that means taking all the advice you can and then having to make your own decisions on how to approach the problem.
Chaz show more
Stroller is a 1974 Coronet 31 Aft Cabin, found on-line after 72hrs of solid searching through hundreds of boats of similar type. I had a feeling before I had even viewed her that she was the one and indeed she was. A deposit was left the same day and finalised within a week and at a very good price.
Buying Stroller was however the first stage of the puzzle. I still had to get her home and that meant loading onto a low loader and driven to London, or sailed around the coast from Portsmouth. The low-loader was the cheaper option but as the engines hadn't been run by the last owner in almost two years, it was the stupid option....
I went stupid because well, that's just me and I like an adventure!. I couldn't have done it with out two similarly crazy mates. Thanks Buzz & Pierre :D. With only one break down (a blown injector that leaked around 20lts of Diesel in to the bilge), Stroller performed perfectly and we had the weather gods smiling down on us having had to cancel the trip for two weeks before. We left at 11am on a Saturday morning and made it back to London by 4pm Monday in time for champagne and kebabs.....
Unfortunately the story didn't end there, while waiting for a slot on hard standing at my local boat yard for the build to start I took Stroller out on New Years Eve 2013 with friends to watch the fireworks celebrations in Central London. A close friend was skippering for me during the... show more evening and on our way home we hit a un-painted and un-lit buoy having had to take avoiding action from one of the high speed Thames Clipper's operating in the area. The collision put a large hole on the starboard bow waterline and we were considerably Bow down within 90secs of the impact. The Mayday call went out and we got everybody off safely onto a passing rib with no injury's but we're unable to save Stroller. She sank next to London Bridge on the North side Embankment just before 0100hs. With the help and support of friends we raised her within 26hrs and then had both engines running within a further 12hrs. The re-build got off to a slightly more damp (and smelly) start than I had ever planned...
In Answer to what skills/training do I have:
It might surprise you to hear not much more than that of a DIY'er!. My past jobs have involved working on vehicles doing alarms, trackers (telematics), bluetooth handsfree kits, reversing camera etc. I also have basic mechanical knowledge from being taught how to work on Scooter and Motorcycle engines. However, I do have a pool of advice and knowledge from several friends who have worked with or live on their own boats on The River Thames for many years. Not wishing to burden them at every stage with my questions and problems I do a lot of research on-line, reading books and watching videos. That might seem like the job is straight forward and easy however I learnt early on that if you ask 10 people you will get 10 different answers and that means taking all the advice you can and then having to make your own decisions on how to approach the problem.
Chaz show more
Recommendations and reviews from 1 person
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Referral from
June 24, 2014
Chaz K. asked:Need a chippy to insurance quote for a 31x10ft cruiser that needs a full internal refit following being spray foamed. Only quality workmanship wanted, no DIY'ers. Photos and references will be checked Happy to pay for the quote in cash. Boat currently hard standing in Brentford Nr Thames Lock but will be a sail away for the fitout elsewhere. PM me, ThanksChaz K. replied:If you want pics of the boat: https://www.facebook.com/floatinghomeonthethames?ref_type=bookmark
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