Hi everyone, Drew and the team here from Bug Boats. We're excited to announce our first 36ft narrow boat made from an innovative material called High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), is now for sale. HDPE is a super strong, non corroding, fully recyclable, marine growth resistant and UV stable polyethylene. It's been gaining popularity in the boat building industry for fishing boats, military boats, landing craft and basically any industry which needs a virtually indestructible boat that requires no maintenance. This brought us to the realisation it's a great material for narrow boats. We've been renovating narrow boats for 8 years, but steel quality isn't what it used to be so corrosion has always been a concern when buying steel boats. We lost a lot of money on a narrow boat with a 'good' survey, which had almost rusted through in certain spots, which as you can imagine cost a fortune to fix. We're certainly not alone, as we see stories like this all over the internet. This sparked off our mission to eradicate this scary aspect of buying narrow boats. We think such a big investment, shouldn't come with the worry that it may eventually be too expensive to maintain or fix due to corrosion. You wouldn't buy a house knowing the bricks could crumble in your lifetime so we think your home on the water should follow the same sentiment. We've seen steel boats with bad pitting after 7 years of being in the water. There's no need to worry about corrosion with HDPE, so no more expensive blacking, welding, overplating and surveys.

 

We worked out that over the lifetime of a 50 year old steel boat, the maintenance costs could be as much as the boat costs to buy in the first place, then at some point depending on steel quality and other factors, it might need overplating and/or welding for an eye watering cost or even scrapped because it doesn't work out financially to pay for the work.

 

HDPE is UV stable so it's not affected by the sun. HDPE is super smooth and marine growth resistant so it glides through the water reducing drag and fuel costs. HDPE is the same stuff kitchen chopping boards are made of (although we use a higher grade), so it doesn't leech harmful chemicals into the water as it's food/water safe. HDPE is SUPER strong and impact resistant. You could hit it with a sledge hammer and every time it will bounce off the material. HDPE is fully recyclable.

 

Although steel can corrode there's no doubt about its strength and rigidity, which is why we've incorporated it into our boats, however the steel floor and side beams are encased in HDPE making an air/water tight seal, so they'll never rust. Bug Boats have built in redundancy like a lifeboat, so in the extremely unlikely situation that the 20mm outer skin was punctured, it would only allow a tiny amount of water into one of the 30 water tight chambers. So even if the whole bottom plate got sliced open, she would still float thanks to 3 inches of steel reinforced concrete in-between the outer skin and inner skin which runs up just past the waterline. Bug Boats are precision cut on a CNC machine with millimetre precision and double welded on each seam which makes them virtually indestructible.

 

We collaborated with a boat building company with over 30 years experience. They've built many HDPE boats for marine industries, which are built to withstand the harshest environments. The design is based on a tried and tested narrow boat design by a qualified naval architect. All welding has been completed by an EN13067 qualified welder which is the European standard for welding HDPE. All boats are CE approved so insuring won't be an issue.

 

We're now taking orders for custom sizes with a choice of engines and fit outs. This current build is up for sale as a sail away at our introductory price of £27,000. This will include ballast, insulation, 20hp outboard engine with wire steering and remote lever (diesel inboard can be fitted instead for additional cost), fuel tank, water tank, rubber fenders, porthole windows, brass mushroom vents, floorboards and door. We're experienced boat fitters so we can fit her out to your specifications and taste, at a competitive rate and different levels of finish for budget and high end fit outs. If you think you're up for the challenge and would prefer to fit her out yourself, we can provide detailed plans which include wiring/plumbing diagrams and every piece of equipment you'll need down to the last nut and bolt. Turnaround time for a 36ft narrow boat with fit out is approx 2 months depending on options. We hope we've convinced you that HDPE is the material of the future and you choose an indestructible non-corroding BugBoat for your maintenance-free, forever home on the water. Feel free to contact us on 07411491761 or bugboatbuilds@gmail.com for a free quote, to arrange a viewing or if you have any questions. We're always happy to help!

 

Thanks,

Drew & The BugBoat team