Description

More pictures of outside on the way!

Finch is a 50' scaled down replica of a thames sailing barge, built in 1994 by Delta Marine of Warwick. She was built to a very high standard, with a 12mm thick baseplate, 6mm sides and a 4mm coachroof. A proper sailing barge, she has never been rigged but was designed to sail and has sheet horses, tabernacles, chainplates and pivots for leeboards fitted should a new owner want to rig her, although she has a draft of only 3' or so and would navigate most inland waterways just fine. She has a lovely sheer and very fair lines, some nice detail in the metalwork - not your average canal boat. Power is supplied by a Perkins M135 in a good sized engine room, along with all the systems (3kw inverter/charge controller, water pumps batteries etc.) She has a large CQR type fabricated anchor running through a hawse pipe to a manual windlass on the foredeck. The hull is spray-foam insulated and lined with birch ply. The fitout is to an extremely high standard, all in cherry and ash with traditional joinery. The accommodation comprises a large open plan living space, with a galley to starboard of the companionway, and chart table to port and a comfortable saloon that converts to a double guest bed. The space is heated by a Morso squirrel multi-fuel burner with a back boiler supplying radiators in the cabin and heads, as well as domestic hot water. The calorifier is also heated by an electric immersion heater, and could be connected to the engine heat exchanger for cruising use. As can be seen there's masses of storage throughout. The bathroom has a compost toilet (much less smelly than a sea toilet or holding tank I promise!), and a proper although compact bath/shower. The cabin has a king sized bed that conceals a large auxilliary water tank, and again lots of proper storage. There is a glazed companionway/emergency exit in the bedroom. She has been completely rebuilt over the last five years and is in really good shape, some of the works completed in my ownership are:

- Painted top to bottom with Jotun epoxy/polyurethane paints as appropriate in 2021
- A tonne of ballast added to the bilges to make her a better sailing boat if she were ever rigged
- A new rudder substantially built in Cornish oak
- Auxilliary tanks converted to extra water tanks with rainwater collection system
- New floor in douglas fir
- Completely refitted inside by professional cabinetmakers to a very high standard in English cherry and ash

I've recently become a parent so there are a few inevitable little bits started and not finished, including:

- Commissioning the rainwater collection/filtration system for off grid use. All the bits are present including a UV filter, it just needs some basic plumbing. It's fully functional as a standard water tank at present.

- Revarnishing the companionway woodwork fro the engine room

- Repairing a hinge on one of the skylights

- Repainting the chain locker, it was painted 5 years ago but is looking scruffy.

- Hull could do with a scrub - easiest to have it washed when it's lifted for survey.

None of these are urgent or complex and the boat is ready to go.


There is lots of history with the boat, from her original working drawings to magazine features on her when she had just been launched in '94! She was last surveyed in 2015, which showed her to be in very good shape with negligible diminution on the hull. she is currently lying a ten minute motor from a yard where she can be lifted and surveyed so this will be straightforward for any prospective buyers to organise. She is a seaworthy boat, and it would be uncomplicated for her to get most anywhere in the country by sea - she was brought down from the London canal network to Cornwall along the south coast by her previous owners, and I could accompany the new owner on a delivery voyage or deliver the boat, if expenses were covered. She's available for viewings from January, and I'm happy to answer any questions and supply specific photos in the mean time.

Specifications

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