eco-barge from C4's "Grand Designs" last night.

[google2001]

yikes!

it was a very nice idea, but with a somewhat flawed execution.

[sm_jamieson]

Hah ! Mr Mcloud was having a right barney with the bloke near the end, saying sarky things like "you could have tried that well-known concept called 'design'" etc. The thing was so ugly no mooring would have it. I hope they got everything sorted out, since we never got to find out. I wonder if such a home is a good investment - cant see it myself. I also wondered what the building regs are for house-boats. Simon.

[Huge]

If you want to live in a Nissen hut on a mudflat, anyhow.

The first GD that I wouldn't live in for all the tea in China.

[Huge]

There aren't any. That point was made repeatedly in the programme.

[Grunff]

If I'd spent £80k, and all I had to show for it was that thing, I would have been so pissed off (with myself).

[visionset]

Actually I think despite all odds, the fundamental 'design' turned out suprisingly elegant. Okay some of those windows were just ridiculous, and the process was laughable. But put next to some tired green GRP motor cruiser thingy, its grandeur was in another league. So I don't really understand the mariner's objections, other than conservatism in perhaps the more salubrious ones.

[Andrew Mawson]

well-known

grandeur was

I may have misunderstood (others talking in the room at the time!!), but wasn't the 'marina' owner complaining that the barge was damaging his jetty? My first reaction when I saw the height of the aluminium cladding 'steeple', was that it would be dangerous in a high wind - a huge area at a significant height. Perhaps it was banging it into the piles when the wind blew a tad strong and it heeled over.

AWEM

[Bob Mannix]

Yes that was his complaint. Unfortunately no further details were given although your suggestion occurred to me as well. He may, of course, with his professed aversion to rules etc, pissed the bloke off in some other way and that was an excuse. They did strike my as the sort of couple it would either be brilliant to have next door, or appalling!

[Tony Williams]

Looking at it I wondered what he would be able to get for it in, say, 5 years time. It really didn't look like a good capital investment at all.

[Tony Williams]

I thought he fell out with the original marina owner because his new builder committed the cardinal sin of moving someone else's houseboat without any permission.

[John Rumm]

Or the other "residents" were leaning on him to get shot of the "eyesore".

[George]

Well no guesses to where the concept came from hey! it was all Lucy Lous idea,after all thats what some chinese live on don't they...Junk :-)

[Bob Mannix]

He did but this bit of the thread was about eviction from the place he then went.

[Brian Sharrock]

This statement needs to tempered with the estate Agent's favourite mantra;- location, location. location. Some 'authorities' such as those in charge of the non-tidal Thanes have very strict regulations. Particularly those regulations concerning sewage.

[Huge]

Not that I'd want to live in a floating Nissan hut on a mudbank, anyway. Have you smelt a mudbank in high summer?

[Bob Mannix]

Aye, a Nissen hut would have been bad enough but a hut made in Japan.... :o)

[Huge]

B*gg*r. I did a quick Google to check, but it would appear that half the world doesn't know how to spell it either.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Andrew Mawson" saying something like:

It struck me that the high sail area of that entrance tower would make manoeuvrubg interesting in windy conditions.

I'd imagine any yard owner would object to something banging into his piles.

[Brian Sharrock]

Yep: roughly twice a day .... at low tides +/- 4 hours.

The exposed sea/river bed at Littlehampton is particularly 'pungent'.

[Adrian Simpson]

In article , Grimly Curmudgeon writes

Since the thing was un-powered, I doubt that they intend to move it very often (mooring owners may have other ideas).

I did wonder if they applied the same approach to their work.

Adrian