Description

FREE PROJECT!! 60 foot timber MFV heavily built by Bultjer Werf (of Ditzum Germany) PROJECT!! Sank to deck-level, already dry-docked, repaired and re-floated.

This boat has been for sale at £15k but now due to several financial disasters (thanks Covid!) and an impending divorce I just need it gone, so FREE to the first taker. THERE ARE CONDITIONS: the owner of the yard where she is located either wants her gone or for someone to clear the outstanding mooring fees/start paying again. At the time of writing the arrears owing will be about Euro5000 (+/- Euro200 per month). There also fees outstanding with regard to the environmental clean-up the yard was required to carry out after the sinking. The reality though is that all of that is negotiable with the yard. I'm certain they would be of the mindset that they'll take whatever reasonable proposition is put to them. Basically the real cost of acquiring this boat boils down to whatever deal you can strike with yard (they speak perfect English, so no communication issues)

I would like to also have a discussion with any buyer about trying the recover some of my personal items that we'd put onboard – things like china & glasswear that might have survived, possibly some tools.


Located in Groningen, north-east Holland

Bultjer Werf is a famous builder with a reputation for excellence (Google will throw up numerous articles) and this vessel was launched from their yard in June 1967 into a successful career as a North Sea shrimp trawler under the name “Osteriff17” (she fished out of Cuxhaven, under license “Cux 17”) - see “in service” photos.

However once she was sold out of trade she sadly deteriorated until all that was left was basically the solid & seaworthy hull with a big diesel engine driving a large four-blade bronze prop, and this was how I bought her (see pic 1).

She was about 70% of the way through a lengthy & extensive restoration into a powered live-board when she took on water in an inland dock and sank on her mooring to deck level (pic 2 is the hours before the disaster, pic 3 immediately after). She was dry-docked in Sep 2020 and the seam & failed thru-hull responsible repaired

She is massively built to withstand North Sea winter fishing, believed to be of “oak on oak” 17m long, 5.1m beam. Headroom below is at least 2m throughout allowing for an extensive and roomy accommodation layout. (I’ll happily provide all the plans etc we had worked out, but right now she is effectively still a blank canvas)

Most of the restoration work over the last two years (getting on for 5000 man-hours!) has been to the deck and upper-works, cleaning out 50 years of rubbish, refinishing, fitting new timbers where required and creating the foundation for the new deck-house and new layout. The focsle & fore-cabin and been completed and refitted and we’re in use before the sinking (I have files & files and notebooks by the box-load of design work, layout, records of works done etc etc). The decks had been GRP sheathed over the whole area that was not going to be covered by the new deckhouse. (PS between pic 1 & pic 2 you can see the huge amount of work done)

As you can see from the photos the new deckhouse remained mostly above water, but at the very least the outer ply skin will need replacing. The roof seems to have been damaged by the salvers, so assume that will mostly need replacing also (But luckily I’d only got as far as the outer walls/roof – no sodden insulation or inner skin to tear out at least!)

Although she has been re-floated all the recent re-fitting works below decks will most likely need to be redone, but that’s probably no more than a week’s work to re-do the joinery. Most of the work done below decks to date was cleaning and repainting – the paint-work should be intact, it will just need a good clean (there will be a film of oily scum on every surface - it should power-wash or steam off easily enough)

The V12 Deutz diesel (approx 450hp) was running fine when we moved her to her current location (I have video of her running and underway – we had her underway for four days on major canals and the Ijsselmeer) but having now been submerged she will obviously require extensive work. (Although if used as a static live-aboard the engine would effectively be redundant so that’s an expense you could avoid)

The “good news” is that we hadn’t yet started on the electrical & plumbing systems, so there is nothing to repair there – just install new systems as I would have been doing sometime soon

Basically she needs to be considered as when I found her – a complete restoration project. The difference is a lot of the “heavy lifting” has been done and despite the flooding she is much further along than when I bought her. In my estimation there is a month’s worth of work to get her back to where she was before the flooding


Accommodation:-

To a great extent this is still a blank-canvas, but the accommodation as I planned it was as follows:

The new deckhouse has sliding door access amidships port and starboard in each case leading to passage-ways running fore and aft alongside the raised galley area. The after-deckhouse is split into two by a fore & aft bulkhead, each separate cabin (themselves fitted with doors) being accessed respectively via the port or starboard passageways; the rear cabin are mirror-images each with two bunks (and opening windows for light & ventilation). The galley is set on the raised base of the original wheelhouse (from the outside the appearance of working wheelhouse is retained, although engine & steering controls are actually located on a command bridge aft of the wheelhouse on the rear deckhouse roof). Moving forward in the new deckhouse is a large lounge area with separate dining salon, with large opening windows throughout. There is minimum 2m headroom throughout the new deckhouse.

A stairway leads from the new deckhouse below into the original hold area. This comprises the main bathroom, a utility room, office space and extensive storage – headroom of 2.3m. Aft of this area is the engine room and workshop space, accessed via an exterior hatch and companionway. Forward leads through a watertight door (original fitting) to the two-berth master-cabin with wardrobes and storage, and forward again to the fo’csle which is an en-suite bathroom to the master cabin. There is a ladder leading topside from the focsle to offer ventilation and emergency exit. (Deck prisms provide natural light the master cabin and a large ventilation pipe brings in fresh air from above-decks)

(Note: I fitted the master cabin with two over-sized single bunks and a lot of storage, but it easily be reconfigured with a twin bed, or four single bunks.)

In total the layout, as envisaged by me, gives four guest berths in private cabins, four more on sofa berths and either two in a master suite or four if set up for maximum berths.


The reason for selling now is threefold:

1/ my insurance company turns out to be a something of a scam operation (Google “NorthernReef / Edward William scam”) so I have received nothing and frankly am unlikely too (insured value of £40000)

2/ Even if we had the money to carry on we can’t face redoing all the work over again- just too heartbreaking for my wife & I

3/ I don’t have the time now either– I had planned my business life between 2016 and 2019 to do this project (she was going to be our full-time home in Holland) but I have had to go back to work to try to recover our finances so we can still have somewhere to live this year! I haven’t been back since she was re-floated (hence the lack of below-deck “after” photos); I can’t afford the time off work and I can’t face seeing her again in the state she’s in; very upsettingly we had already started to move on board a lot of our personal effects and clothes etc etc – mostly now ruined (Although I would like to have a discussion with any buyer about trying the recover some of those items – things like china & glasswear that might have survived)

4/ as mentioned above 2020 saw me face some major financial issues and now an impending divorce

There is also thousands of pounds worth of gear onboard (rope, chain, hoses, pumps, fenders, sealed tins of paint, stainless steel deck rails etc etc etc) that should be fine once clean, and many tools will have survived I suspect too (they were mostly in plastic boxes on deck so above the flooding).

All the windows we’d planned to use are still onboard, but they may not suit your plans – if not they should be readily sellable (you’ll see the intended window locations are taped on to the deckhouse in some of the pics)

The boat is located in Groningen in the north-east Netherlands in a working inland boat yard (with dry dock) where the staff all speak fluent English and have always been incredibly helpful (and very knowledgeable). It is permitted to live aboard there, and you can work with power-tools etc 24/7/365 – mains power on the dock (paid separately by metered bill). Free parking. Supermarkets, DIY shops, restaurants etc all within easy reach (and most Dutch under 75yrs old speak excellent English – just learn the usual “please, thank you, hello, goodbye” stuff to be polite and language is no barrier.) The mooring is currently Euro200 per month, but any future mooring arrangements need to be made with the yard.

Travel options by car are:

Dover to Dunkirk and a four/five hour drive
Hull to Rotterdam (overnight) and a two & a half hour drive
Harwich to Hook of Holland (day crossing or overnight) and a two hour drive
Newcastle to Amsterdam (overnight) and 90min drive

There are numerous low-cost flights from all over the UK to Amsterdam Schipol, and then direct train to Groningen or hire car

Also there are flights from London Southend direct to Groningen

I am happy to have an extensive telephone conversation with any interested buyers or indeed meet up (in the UK) to go over the many many photos, notes etc and I would that say that prior viewing is an absolute must.

We are heartbroken that our dream of our floating home in Holland ended in disaster, but if we can find her a new home we’ll feel that at least we did right by her. When finished she could be worth well north of £80k (here is a particularly fine example of how she could turn out, priced at Euro120k https://www.yachtfocus.com/gebruikte-boten-te-koop/details/particulier/150790/bultjer-kotter.html )

NB Where photos are labelled “before” and “after” they refer to before and after the restoration work, not before and after the sinking (apart from the obvious ones!)

Given all the above I’m sure it goes without saying that we are open to consider all and any offers!

FYI The flooding is believed to have been caused by something as simple as her waterline at the stern dropping as weight was removed during the renovation, a seam then dried out and opened up, which in turn let in water when weight was put back on board and the waterline moved submerging the, then open, seam. Unfortunately the automatic bilge pump couldn’t cope and by the time I realised what was happening (I was asleep below decks when the water breached the bulkhead from the engine room) she was too far gone to stop the flooding even with extra pumps. NOTE - NOW DRY-DOCKED & REPAIRED IN SEP 2020

Specifications

Accommodation

Focsle, currently set up as en suite for master cabin. Heading aft next is the master cabin, currently set-up with two separate berths with storage under; next is what was the fish-hold; our plan has this earmarked as main bathroom, utility/laundry room and office. Aft of the hold below decks is the (huge) engineroom & workshop. The new deckhouse was intended to be the primary saloon with raised galley and dining area, and then the after section (of the new deckhouse) was to be split with a fore & aft bulkhead giving two x double-bunk cabins (reached by interior passageways passing port & starboard of the raised galley area)

Renovation

Renovation

Renovation

Renovation

Renovation

Renovation

Renovation

Renovation

Underwater profile/prop

Construction

Believed to be oak on oak

Engine(s)

Deutz V12 of approx 450hp, turning a 4-blade bronze prop

Before sinking

Immediately post flooding

Refloated

In-service

Fore-cabin before restoration

Fore-cabin after restoration

Foclse after restoration

Engine

As I bought her in 2017