How do you repair HDPE?
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HDPE can be repaired easily and cheaply if you're a handy person. All you need is a hot air welder and some welding rod, they can be bought cheaply and easily online. The hot air welder is around £100-£200 and welding rod is £50 for 10 metres, which is enough to last you a lifetime. Simply clean and sand the area, and your hot air welder will pump out the welding rod as molten HDPE which will mechanically bond to the surface, then just sand down for a smooth finish. Alternatively we're happy to come out to customers to weld any scrapes and scratches for a fee. Or if you're too far away, there are many professional HDPE welders who would be happy to do welding for you. The HDPE industry is massive as it's the number one choice for underground pipes in the UK. There's also a few HDPE boat builders in the UK who would carry out any repair work onsite. We have a few recommendations so you'll never be left unable to repair any scrapes.
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How long do Bug Boats take to build?
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At the moment shells take around 3-5 weeks for 25ft to 36ft, 4-6 weeks for 36ft to 50ft, 6-7 weeks for 50ft - 57ft. Fit outs can be anywhere from 4-8 weeks for boats up to 40ft and 5-10 weeks for 40ft - 57ft. We're hoping to decrease the turnaround time as we bring in new members into our team to help with the build process.
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How often do I need to take my Bug Boat out of the water?
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HDPE is completely maintenance free so perhaps never, depending on usage, but to be on the safe side we recommend every 10 years. The only reason we say this, is to check for any deep scrapes which accumulate dirt, grime and marine growth. Although HDPE is marine growth resistant, any deep scrapes, no matter what material it is, will eventually attract marine growth, which will increase drag and consequently fuel consumption. However, if you feel she's still flowing through the water nicely and you can steer narrow boats without crashing into a wall or another boat, then there's no need to take Bug Boats out.
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Can Bug Boats sink?
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We've made our boats virtually unsinkable by taking inspiration from one of our previous builds in which we used a lifeboat. Lifeboats have built in redundancy, so if in the extremely unlikely situation that the hull were to be punctured, they'd still float. Bug Boats have this same feature thanks to their 30-60 water tight chambers which are filled with concrete, plus another layer of HDPE is welded on the inside to seal the chamber. So even if the whole of the bottom was punctured, it wouldn't affect the boat at all.
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How strong is HDPE?
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HDPE has incredible strength. It's been gaining popularity over the past decade in the boat building industry especially for fishing boats, military landing craft and even yachts. They use HDPE not only because its maintenance free but because it's so good at taking impacts. If you hit steel with a sledge hammer, it would dent and perhaps crack with enough force, but with the same amount force applied to HDPE, the impact would scuff the surface and the material would flex slightly and return to its original shape. HDPE was invented originally for underground pipes and tanks. They needed a material that's super strong under the compression of tonnes of soil and rock. As you can imagine these compression forces are massive, which shows just how strong the material is.
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Does HDPE scuff?
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Yes HDPE scuffs and scrapes on sharp objects, but it would be virtually impossible to penetrate the hull as our hulls are 20mm thick on the bottom and 15mm on the sides. We also have built in redundancy, so in the extremely unlikely situation where the bottom was punctured, she'd still float thanks to her 30-60 water tight chambers. As standard our hulls come with a rubber fender which wraps around the entirety of the hull along with steel rubbing strakes to minimise scrapes.
Do your boats come with a warranty?
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Yes our boats come with a 3 year warranty. The warranty covers welds and structural integrity, so any damage caused directly by the owner is of course not included in the warranty. Most boat builders offer 1-2 years.
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Do you fit engines?​
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Yes we fit all kinds of engines including diesel inboards, electric propulsion and outboards. Diesel is of course the most popular option for canal boats, however we recommend outboards because they're easy to fit which brings down the cost of installation. They're also more efficient than diesel engines and easier to maintain due to them being more accessible. The only real downside of outboards is that they use petrol which isn't readily available from chandlery's on the canal, however we can supply a petrol trolley with a 53 litre capacity. There's plenty of petrol stations which are near to the canal so you'd just need to plan your journey with fuel stops, in advance. We also fit everything associated with the propulsion system such as propellers, shafts, stern glands, skin tanks etc.
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How much are your HDPE narrow boats?
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You can work out your HDPE narrow boat cost here.
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How and when do we take payments?
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We require a 10% deposit to secure your build slot, 30% on day one of your build, 30% mid way through your build, and 30% when we finish your build. We only accept payments through bank transfer.
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How much headroom is there?
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Around 6'6 to 6'7 depending on the thickness of floor you select. This gives our boats the most amount of headroom on the market, so they feel super spacious and airy.
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Are your boats V bottom or Flat?
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Our boats are flat bottomed making them very stable in the wind and because HDPE is fairly lightweight, it means that all the weight is in the ballast at the bottom which is amazing for stability.
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How does HDPE fare in direct sunlight?
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HDPE is UV stable so it can easily withstand being in direct sunlight. Also on the cabin we only use light colours to dissipate heat.
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How does HDPE fare in the event of a fire?
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We use spray foam which is class 1 fire rated which is the highest level of fire rating for insulation, meaning it can resist fire for at least one hour. Therefore any fire will be kept at bay giving plenty of time to extinguish before it comes into contact with the hull material. If a fire is allowed to spread for 10-20 minutes, then no matter what material is used on the hull (including steel), it will still likely destroy the whole boat. The question should really be "how fire resistant is the material before it gets to the hull"? Spray foam is treated with flame retardants too, which makes it more difficult to burn and it won't act as an accelerant. We also use a flame barrier as an extra layer of protection. The flame barrier goes in between the lining material and the spray foam.
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