236. Fibreglass cruisers: any good for the British canals? 

At last, some recognition for the boats that started leausure cruising. Loads of boats 50 plus years old, well insulated and with all mod-cons. Well done you for daring to mention these wonderful boats.

Currently own 2 Yoghurt Pots, both narrowbeam, because of their practicality for what we need. Steerable in reverse, great power to weight ratio, light enough to tow to different waters, low/simple maintenance, no rust, low fees and licences, capable of handling a wide range of waters, absolutely love them...

9:34 "A bad day on the water beats a good day in the office every time," is what my old skipper used to tell me (and I believe him!)

Regardless of your budget " if your Floating your'e Boating" that's the main thing, just love being on the water, great video as always!

At 85 years of age I will not start canal boating, but for some reason I love the info you keep giving me. Thank you. Tony from OZ.

If you ever do own a second boat, we're going to have to start calling you "Admiral"

It's basically his garden shed. The misses is happy he's out and he's happy she's not around.

I live on a 26ft viking 26 and I love her. She's cosy and has everything I need. I did live on a 50ft narrowboat but due to breakdown of relationship I moved off and onto Cosmo.

The sound of rain on the roof of a caravan is one of the cosiest sounds in the world, and I think a boat might be even better.

The title of this vlog gave me quite the chuckle

My first boat was a Viking 22 which was a great boat and got me into inland boating

A good thing about a GRP boat is you can take them across the channel to France or further North in good weather and cruise Europe. Ireland is at your footstep as well as many ocean ports in England. They are more sea worthy than a steel narrow boat and have lots more freeboard so you won't get swamped from the wake of a large ship passing you. Narrow boats are near and dear to my heart from watching many cruising videos but I have lived a life of fishing from GRP and fiberglass epoxy covered wooden boats I have built. Also plain wood boats crossing oceans and from age six going out and commercial fishing with my parents. Catamarans for sailing and mono hulls for cruising/fishing are all in my history. I am getting ready to build probably my last large boat with a sail rig and diesel engine from plywood with a fiberglass skin. Something I can cruise in the Mediterranean along the Israel coast and over to Cyprus and beyond about fifty feet long. I stay away from outboard engines with gasoline because they are fire hazards. Also stay away from boats not built with epoxy, Vinyl ester resin is a highly flammable construction medium, not so long ago a scuba dive boat in California built from Vinyl ester resin caught fire and was engulfed in flames in seconds killing many dozens of people who were asleep. Only a few crew members survived who happened to be on deck while their many many clients were below deck sleeping their final sleep. The boat burned to the water line. A vinyl ester resin built boat is not something to consider. BTW, you are the reason I want to purchase a narrow boat for cruising in England. I started watching your videos and I want a vacation boat in England because the 40 + degree heat in the summer in Israel is too hot. In winter the mountains of the Galilee where I now live is very comfortable with only occasional snow and only a few days with - degree temperatures. Summers cruising in England and sailing the Mediterranean would suit me just fine.

Had a tiny Viking 20 on the Lancaster Canal for 3 yrs and thoroughly loved it. No way we could afford a narrow boat and disappointed with the snobbery from time to time. Well done for showing the how most people start on the canals and rivers.

There is, without a doubt, something that happens once you step foot on a boat. It’s another world where all the stress of regular living seems to vanish. I can’t wait to move back to England and buy my own narrowboat. Great vlog. Thanks.

We had a 30 foot cruiser for over 18 years. Water leaks, yes, Condensation issues, never. Sailed it on Lake Erie. Best sleeping I ever had!

I'm from Annapolis Maryland and we are swamped by boats of all types and sizes. Several things to remember, Boat stands for Break Out Another Thousand. The are the three days a boat owner is happy, the day they buy, the day they sell, and the day when everything works flawlessly. A thing about fiberglass at least in America is in the 70s they change the resin recipe so boats will get blisters. It is repairable but time consuming. Also stay away from ethanol blends as it will attack fiberglass tanks and hoses. Loving the videos, the rain was so calming.

After having served in the US Coast Guard and having repaired numerous fiberglass boats, as well as owned my own, boats are a huge black hole that you continuously pour your money into. Those type of boats can have huge amounts of hidden structural and water damage that will cost thousands of dollars to repair, if caught in time before it has to be scrapped. I could tell you actual first hand stories that would make your hair stand on end about the problems with fiberglass boats. I wouldn't mind sharing some with you if interested.

OMG, the subtitle at the beginning of this vid (i.e., "your plastic pal...") is hysterically funny! Great tease, and great production sir! Cheers.

Can’t wait until you review a sailboat! Love your videos. Best wishes. Stay safe.

I started in my early twenties and, with a mate, bought a Glastron 160 for water skiing. Then a number of hire boat NB experiences with the kids and with mates before getting a Viking 26 with a different mate. That was 10 years ago and I'm now retired to 66' of NB loveliness and splendid self-isolation. Thanks for the memories.

N°1 Biggest pain in the arse is having to take the canopy down to go under bridges and tunnels, especially when it's raining (and there are a LOT of bridges on the cut). These things are called "river cruisers" for a good reason. Other downsides include outboard motors can be a pain, V bunks are uncomfortable, you will always be aware of damaging the GRP (especially when getting bumped by big metal boats), and there is really not a lot of space in the cabins. However just for messing about on the water as a day/weekend boat when it's nice and sunny they are good fun.

Really enjoying this smattering of general interest, canal-related videos!

Thank you David I like looking at other kinds of boats!

Wow, my friend Martin Grahame-Dunn! How are you? I have been enjoying these Cruising The Cut videos, never guessing I would see someone I know!!!! How great. Martin is a fantastic photographer and instructor! My wife and I are thinking about renting a long boat for vacation one day. We will have to look you up! Great job on your blog David Johns! I always enjoy them!!!

HA. I'm still laughing at the Hitchhiker's Guide reference. Very Good!

I've seen a lot of these in your videos.. Often wondered about them. Thank you for the inside scoop on them! Excellent as always. Cheers!

I used to own a fiberglass boat, built in 1965. 33' long with an 11' beam and 3 1/2' draft, diesel propulsion. It required nearly $5K in repair when I bought it, much of which I did myself (I have experience with that) and it still nearly ruined me financially, especially when the insurance rates tripled. I wound up selling it on at a huge loss. A boat is, for many, a hole in the water, surrounded by fiberglass, into which money is thrown. If it weren't for the monumental bills, it was a lovely getaway though. I very much enjoyed my time out on the water.

Been looking forward to this one!! Thankyou. Excellent work yet again.

We had a Burland 26 GRP (with a 10hp Marine engine) between 2000 and 2016, when we finally got around to buying a steel narrowboat. We cruised most of the canals of central England, mostly in one week instalments, in all weathers and at all times of year. We relied on a paraffin lamp for heat and our main source of lighting (we were a lot more resilient in those days!) I think that we just got used to the condensation and occasional drip. We didn’t need winding holes; she turned on a sixpence. The small size kept costs down (as most are calculated on boat length). The only major headache was finding garages near to the cut to buy petrol. We had a load of fun and learned a lot about canals and boating in general. I would recommend a GRP cruisers to anyone who wants to ‘dip a toe in the water’.

Love the Hitch hikers guide reference....should be one in every episode 😉👍

I spent 3 months aboard a plastic cruiser back in 2003, and enjoyed it . . . it was called Catcho, a GRP Viking 26 stern cockpit cruiser with a 9.9 Yamaha outboard. I took it from Billing Marina on the Nene, through the Nene arm, up the GU to Warwick, down the Oxford, onto the Thames, then finally back to Oundle on the Nene, where I sold it for very nearly the same price I bought it for! Worked out well, and the only damage done to the boat was a fixed fender knocked off by a narrowboat in a wide lock - that wouldn't have happened if I'd got him to go in first. Overall, the only times I felt in any danger was when the odd hire boat in a hurry came past . . . :-)

Love the "Hitchhiker's Guide" reference in the RU-vid graphic. Greetings from the other side of the world! Love the channel and your presentations.

My boat is the Viking 23 “See Bass” at the very beginning of this vlog which I have rebuilt from a shell. I previously owned a Viking 26 centre cockpit bought from new back in 88 but was forced to sell in about 94 due to work commitments

I've been hoping that you might make this vlog! I've always been wanting to ask this question in the comments.

I love the cornucopia of info you put into these videos, David. There's more variety on those canals than I expected. I'll have to put a canal boat vacation on my bucket list!

Splendid isolation, I love that❤️. It is his own little club house, I think we could all use one of those😊

what a great vlog im so glad your doing these little gems i had two little cruisers a teal and a buckingham 252 but had to sell dew to my wife failing health manly she struggled getting on and of but miss being on the water so much

GREAT VLOG SIR ! Yogurt Pots indeed ! Lets put it in perspective... I am a narrowboat Gongoozler, even worse, I haven't seen a Narrowboat for 10 years as I live in the USA ! BUT ,,, I spent 6 years in Paris and hired thru 'Locaboats' in France ! What is this you may ask (Sorry if copying your style and cadence of speech, I will refrain) ! SO whilst steel Narrowboats are THE thing in the UK, Fiberglass cruisers are the thing in Europe. As you show, some are Narrowboat width. Plastic is jeered. We hired our first Canal holiday in France on the Sonne and a canal. It was wider than a Narrowboat and had a fly bridge, 6 berths and of a Dutch style called Penichette. The locks in France are free and have lock keepers that operate them, a tip of 1-2 Euros happily accepted. Wonderful layout etc, The problem was and is that 1 week is around GRP 2,200 for hire and second hand they seem to increase in price! A 10 year old occasional use boat as you showed looks a good investment vs a GB Pound 100,000 plus narrowboat. I had a Porsche Boxster S as a Mid life crisis car in Texas vs a 911, many laughed, but it fitted my needs and filled my gap at 30% of the price used. I am rethinking my Narrowboat strategy thanks to this video, a newish yogurt pot may fill 90% of the afloat canal cruising need at 35% of a similarly aged Narrowboat ?

We love our 16 foot cruiser, bought and repaired for £850 5 years ago. about 200 miles a year on the Chesterfield, Trent, Fosdyke and Witham. Hoping for fair weather at christmas for a quiet days cruising.

Great vlog as usual, how you dream up these interesting off beat topics meeting interesting people along the way is amazing (still love Jules and the fuel boat the best though), keep it up and keep well.

I remember being on a 70ft narrowboat, with 12 of us on board, heading towards a tight bend on the outside of which someone had moored a plastic cruiser. The wind caught our boat, and the young lady at the tiller was having trouble gaining control. I had visions of bits of plastic floating in the water, with the former occupants swimming towards the bank. Luckily eleven people fending with their legs managed to avert disaster.

The Hitchiker's reference is what drew me to this video. For those that don't know, it is what the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation refer to robots as.

This is just what I feel we love thank you such an informative video rather than the oh I’m Having a cuppa etc etc please keep up your stunning quality blogs

Fabulous place to take a read of a new paperback, with the pitter patter of the outside falling rain.

A point not mentioned , depreciation. Your car will only be worth a fraction of what you paid say five years previously. Your boat , by contrast, will still be worth a high proportion of the purchase price. So overall the cost of ownership is not too onerous. However , there is a but and that is you will almost certainly spend more on maintenance and updates. We bought a Viking 26 a couple of years ago have spent out on quite a few updates, including, hood frame, TV, fridge, soft furnishings,interior lights etc, etc. I'm sure that should we sell, we'd get our purchase price back but not the updates. Has it been worth it? YES!

When he is talking about his boat his eyes light up. Yay.

I love your vlogs like this one. That TV reporter background shines through when you're interviewing someone and it just feels like a mini-documentary. Well, in all fairness I guess ALL your videos have that feel... but especially in these where you've got a guest. And thanks for introducing us from across the pond to the different types of boats found on canals and waterways!

Started watching your entertaining videos a couple of years ago and I am afraid it sucked me in but had only managed to watch some of your first year. The Covid lockdown has allowed me to "binge" watch and I can now say I have seen all 236 episodes. I must say all that water makes an Australian rather envious as we have a distinct lack of it for this sort of activity - even less over in the west where I live which is predominantly desert. Thanks again for a fascinating peek into a wonderful lifestyle. Cheers Cameron, Ocean Reef, Western Australia.

Cruisers rock. Worth taking a look at some Broads cruisers as well.

Good day David. Great to show what the GRP boats are actually like. We have seen so many of them as you have cruised the waterways so I appreciate the look.

Wonderful to see the difference sides of the life on the canals especially in the usual great, polite and homely style

Sir! Sir! I spotted the Hitch-Hiker's Guide reference in the thumbnail, sir!

A yoghurt pot was my only way in to boating as we only had £5k to spend. Try getting a narrowboat for that! We have had three years of great fun in our pot. I lived on her 9 months a year with my dog. We've now bought a large steel cruiser and live in France on the water. Everyone has to start somewhere so please don't be so critical and snobby about yoghurt pot owners. We all enjoy the same things :)

Back in the 70s we had a small grp cruiser on the Thames. Took it through the Regent's Canal and up the rivers Stort and Lee, the Thames from Lechlade to Tower Bridge plus the Wey and Kennet.

Thankyou Dave for a view into a different part of canal life in the UK. I hope you stay safe and well mate, cheers.

I have a Viking 26 centre cockpit like the one in the video. (1989). Warm and snug in both cabins. I also have central heating. But a short burst on a fan heater soon warms up the cabin too. Galley, shower & toilet, TV, Wi-Fi, Fridge, 6 berth, 20hp Mercury outboard. All sorts of accessories, everything you need, especially a double bookshelf crammed full 🤓. Those rotted ends on the shelf & rear cabin boards are almost certainly due to ingress from the windows and very easily cured by applying sealant around the frames. I once spent 3 months solid on mine travelling from North Wales (Llangollen Canal) to Camden Lock in London and back. 800 miles, 500 locks, mostly solo, occasionally with my sons and a friend joining me for a few days at a time when they could get away from work. Fantastic experience. Like your interviewee said, it’s also idyllic when just moored up in the marina, such a chilled out life. 👍😎

I actually live on a 30ft grp river boat. Mine came insulated, and with a diesel heater is lovely and warm in the winter. Its also very stable, even in the recent storm there was very little movement.

Great material you are putting out for those of us interested in a live aboard. Really liked last weeks show about the boats in Wales. Good stuff!

Thanks David. I had wondered about these boats since seeing them in your vlog.

I love the production quality of David's videos. I also like boats and vans. Win win really.

Pleasant guy you interviewed. You even got a round of cheese sarnies.

I love these different vlogs. Thanks for sharing. When I was growing up my dad built a 22 ft cabin cruiser from a boat kit he ordered from the Sears and Robuck mailorder catalog. Our family had the best times with it. It was easy enough for us to take in and out of the water with its trailer. Mostly we kept it at a local boat club marina during spring summer and fall and hauled it out during the winter. We lived in Michigan USA so had plenty of waterways to explore -inland lakes, rivers, and the Great Lakes. Many happy memories. I hope at some point you can get a cruiser. The idea of a project boat sounds great. Best regards, Gloria

"Please enjoy your trip through this door".. Thanks another great vlog.. HHGTTG reference jumped out at me...

1st boat was a 1976 26' Burland with18hp Mercury in 1986 cost 2k from Long Eaton. Got married, honeymooned up T&M then Llangollen and finally craned out on the Bridgewater and moored at Galgate on Lancaster, all in that year. Had a pump-out fitted at Nantwich and new rubbing strakes fitted at Galgate. Spent around 1k in total as new canopy needed. Weekend and hols for 2 yrs and then sold for 6.2k and bought narrowboats ever since Sold up in 2019 as had enough after 40 yrs cruising/hiring. Now back to just hiring (Broads) but don't miss canal as bought a lock-keepers house 20 yrs ago - love it. Good luck with the boating and fibre-glass is a good place to start and I see the Burland (although name changed) still on the Lancy. PS - You don't need the expensive Morris oil in your lump David - B&Q Mineral at £10 /5l is the better option :-)

I bought my little 19ft Dawncraft Dandy a couple of years ago. I think I paid about £2.5K for it, and since then I've spent a few hundred on some engine work, a solar charging system, general repairs and a few modern luxuries like the TV, stereo and diesel heating. For those of us who still live on the land but want an escape, it's a great option. There's no way I could afford a house AND a narrowboat! It's very low maintenance, there's nothing much to go rusty so you're not messing about lifting it out of the water and blacking the hull every 3 years, and being only 19ft long it doesn't cost the earth in CRT licensing and marina fees. Wouldn't want to live on it, but there's everything you need for a few days' adventure. Probably about the cheapest way of getting on the water!

You do pick such interesting subjects for your vlogs David...this is no exception .Thank you. Cheers from Canada

Brilliant vlog. So entertaining. You explain everything so clearly. Thank you.

My bucket list overruns

I've had a few Grp boats over the years on the river Thames - One Narrowbeam Atlanta 24 and then onto a wider Birchwood 25. I can't see the appeal of one of the canals, especially with the risk of damage by narrowboats, but they make perfect sense on the rivers and beyond though. With boating on the Thames its width not length you need with the limited mooring spaces and Narrowboats in GRP circles are often referred to as "Slugs" or "Ditch Crawlers".

Great video, liked the interview.. Yes I understand what he is saying. ..Thankyou for sharing David

great video...really love to see how people all around the world live, their hobbies etc. Fantastic...thanks for sharing, definitely subbed.

I love them all 😄even rowing boats

Here in the Netherlands it’s more common to see steel cruisers, you have the sturdiness of a narrowboat with the campervan feeling..

Yet another fun and informative video. Your comments about wiring are spot on! I have three GRP sailboats and the one that will cost me the most is the "free" boat. It will probably cost me more than the other two combined, but it is fun to work on and play around with it. In my case, I just ripped out all the wiring and started over. It was easier, faster, and in the long run, less expensive. Thanks again for your efforts!

Very good... I like how you always make everything an adventure

Big ups for the HHGG reference in the title.

More expensive to own a "yogurt pot" in the states. Conversely, it's cheaper to own a cabin. Land is still relatively cheap.

Thanks again, DJ. We love your work.

A bright spot in my dreary work day. Thank you!

I think you made the correct decision not to get that GRP boat. Your boat is the way to go.

Bought a GRP today to live aboard. Fully rebuilt from a shell. New everything including all woodwork. Fully insulated with 2.5mm and 50mm insulation board. shower, heating, hot water, electrics, solar, cooker etc all new.... £5k. A lot of boat for the fraction of a NB. Would we have preffered a NB...hmmmmm maybe and who knows if in the future we will. After watching so many vlogs about NB's and most appeared to have issues we opted for a GRP, but not one which did not have age/condition on it's side which would lead to more expense. GRP's are a cheap way to get on the cut.......to some they may not have the kudos of a NB, but so what. I see in the comments people calling GRP's not a proper boat and GRP owners regarded as 2nd class as well as being called joining the dark side...Oh the snobbery and small mindedness of the UK is alive and well on the canals!!! Basicly a floating caravan/motorhome to which you can add the things needed to live aboard anytime of the year.

Big fan of your videos and I started watching them back in March 2020 when everything locked down. Had to stop because I was getting too bummed that who knows when I could visit and rent one. In NY we have the Erie Canal but it lacks of the charm we see in England. Glad to read that boating will be opening soon for you folks.

Interesting points to consider and valuable information on this type of canal boat.

You would go bonkers not hearing that chug-chug sound of your diesel engine. There is tranquillity that wood brings to me that plastic and fibreglass cannot offer. A plus would be having windows that would allow you to see the ebb and flow of the day.

The Wind in the Willows ,

Gosh, this is really cozy!

Great video. In the '70s my grandparents had a succession of 26' (ish) cabin cruisers on the Lancaster Canal. These had something like a 9' beam so were quite wide on the inside. I spent many holidays being allowed to do the driving (?) of these as well as jumping off and on to moor up or do the Glasson Dock run. As engines were converted car ones, we often all had to walk with fuel cans to nearby petrol stations maybe half a mile from the canal all along the way. As you say, compared to narrowboats the GRP interiors are light and have a more 'open space' feel inside. Only really suitable for warm months sleeping on board though. They suffered awfully from mildew and mould over winter. I used to love being on them.

Interesting. I am sure the main advantage of the cruisers is the ease of maneuverability.

A thought about those GRP boats. Most seem to be wide transom planing hulls, which are designed for big outboards and lifting out of the water (planing) at higher speeds. Narrowboats (and canoes) are displacement hulls, with narrow, lifting sterns creating oval shaped waterlines. They are designed for efficiency at low speeds. Flat, wide transoms create eddies at low speeds and are dragged back, wasting fuel. Therefore, they are not optimized for canal cruising. Displacement craft have a theoretical top speed of v=1.34X(square root of) length on the water. Length in feet, speed in knots. So a 60' narrowboat has a top speed of 10.37 knots, no more. So anyone buying a planing hull for the canals is wasting energy with that wide transom.

Hooray for this good to look round other types of boats for a change.

Great episode, just enough detail and background, thanks for sharing love your channel

Steel Narrow boats rust and require painting/blacking to avoid problems GRP Boats get scratched, chipped and cracked and require repair to avoid problems. Old GRP can be prone to osmosis and that can be expensive or terminal

can easily insulate a fibrglass boat..

real good video/interview showing another of the stories you run into on the canals

Interesting to see the other types of craft, having been on a few canal holidays, had always ended up in a GRP never tried a proper canal boat...yet! Thanks again David, very informative as ever :)

Share and Enjoy, Share and Enjoy......

Closest I came was a canoe in the 80s

thank that brought back very fond memories of my bukingham on the lancs canal i so miss it

Wilderness trailboat gets my vote over this.

Wonder how many people get the Hitch hiker guide reference - say hi to Marvin.....