Barge - Houseboat Project - Humber Barge

VIEWINGS - THIS WEEKEND 5th & 6th JAN - Get in touch. For Sale is our 1898 Humber Billy Boy Barge named Saira. 74ft long by 17.5 ft wide2 floors. Rivetted Iron Hull, newer steel wheelhouse.We have owned her since 2013 when it was our dream to do her up as a live aboard for our long term future but we just haven't found the time and now with a heavy heart we have decided to sell her on to someone who has the time and cash to bring her to the glory she deserves. This is a project boat.

A big one! This will require someone with a lot of drive, vision and determination. She floats well and bobs around twice with the tide every day. But be under no illusion, she requires a lot of work. We had some welding done to ensure she doesn't take on water below the water line.

However, she has many holes above the waterline and will need extensive welding. This project would more suit someone who has the know how to do this themselves or enough cash. She has no recent survey! Her wheelhouse and the roof that covers the main hold is fairly new (around 16 years old) and is made of steel and is in great condition. No holes at all.

There are 2 large hatches on the roof of the main hold that allow in the light when open and could be turned into roof lights in the future. We dreamt of watching the stars from our bed. She does have 3 roof lights on the wheelhouse that could all do with some new seals as they leak when it rains. Nothing major but if you were living there it would be bothersome for the furnishings. We painted the roof of the wheelhouse with anti-rust exterior metal paint last Autumn.

She has collected moss since then, because she's by the sea this happens quickly but is only surface moss. We pressure washed her every year and the moss blows off and she turns all shiney again. The wheelhouse, which is the area we use, has a lot of windows and is lovely and bright inside. As you can see from the images we have put in a bed, corner sofa, oven and make shift kitchen area. It is by no means a fitted kitchen, the sink you see is not plumbed in.

We've had many a week on her as a family but staying on her is basically posh camping as she has no running water or electricity. There are, however, 2 19kg gas bottles and a new full size gas cooker so we still managed to cook many a roast dinner. The cooker actually works amazingly, way better than our home one. For water we transport bottles up there. The wheelhouse has been well insulated with expanding foam and the bottom half of the wheelhouse has been lined with plywood.

She will need electric cables fitted before the rest gets lined. My partner also laid a maple floor in the living area, unfortunately the rain got in when we weren't there during a storm when the hatch flew open and the floor became buckled. So this needs fixing but most of it is there and is still a lot of maple left to continue with this. She has 2 working multi-fuel stoves! One in the wheelhouse in front of the sofa and one in the main hold.

The chimneys are fairly new and work really well. We have been here many times in the middle of winter, one time the beach froze, and the fire did well keeping us warm. There is no bathroom at all. We use an Elsan cassette toilet (caravan toilet) and just left it down stairs and emptied it at the multiple campsites in the area for a small fee. The main hull is riveted Iron.

It is a stunning shape has the potential to be a beautiful boat. We have not done much work in the main hull space as we wanted to fix the metal work first. The hull area is huge and with vision will be an incredible living space. The engine is not running at present. It has been pulleyed out if its usual positioning, taken apart, cleaned and where necessary parts have been replaced.

We have spent 5k so far on this engine and everything is here for an engineer to continue the work. If you look at the images the whole area where the engine is currently will be clear once the engine is back in place, leaving a lot of living space. The ladder to get up to her is broken and will need one made asap. We manage to climb up ok on the ladder that is there but it's not exactly safe and anyone with reduced agility might struggle. She will NOT fit on the inland waterways but would fit into Bristol Harbour, the Gloucester shipping canal or some parts of Thames, as well as the river Humber where she came from.

She is an estuary/ sea going barge.At present she is on the Taw estuary in North Devon. She doesn't have an official mooring where she has and has been there a long time. She will need to be moved to a new mooring at some point in the future as the landlord of the land next to it insists. We have many lovely weekends and whole weeks staying on her with our 2 children and dog who have spent many an hour playing in the sand and the pools when the tide is out. The views are outstanding, and we have spent a lot of time eating on the roof in the evening sun or on the bow drinking coffee as the sun rises.

Watching the bird life from the boat is awesome, as you can see from the image there were 2 nests, one a seagull nest and the other an oystercatcher nest. Spending time on her is a pleasure and her open, wide light space adds to this. If you would like to discuss anything or have a viewing then please get in touch. But please only serious buyers who are up for a huge project to view as currently we would be travelling a long distance for this. Much appreciated!