Barge.

Your Face

Anyone know anything about the barge in Lough Atalia?

man_with_plan

It floats!

dmc17

man_with_plan wrote: »

It floats!

I hope you didn't sign up especially to post this gem. Good to have you on board none the less. We'll be all the wiser for it

Robbo

It's going to be a pilot for a test car park or Floatopia, isn't it?

stampydmonkey

Robbo wrote: »

It's going to be a pilot for a test car park or Floatopia, isn't it?

It's hardly the new upgraded pootoon?

I'm almost certain there's someone living on it. Multiple times I've passed and saw lights on in the cabin.

jimbobaloobob

Would that be allowed for you to live there in the inlet? What about toilets etc? Wouldn't they have to have facilities near by for chemical toilet or the likes?

misstearheus

Anyone any pic of it?

Catherina Galway

Hi All, some information about this boat.

First of all, her name is Catherina. She's a one hundred and eleven year old, Dutch Sailing Klipper built in 1905. The masts were removed a long time ago but the plan is to restore these eventually. She has a riveted iron hull, a single DAF engine, twin rudders and a single prop. She's flat-bottomed with a relatively shallow draft. These boats were built primarily for inland cruising, transporting goods via the rivers and canals of mainland Europe. They are capable of coastal cruising as long as the weather conditions are not too bad. This was part of their design seeing as many of them were built for use on the Zuiderzee, a large inland water body in northern Holland, kind of like a very larger version of Lough Atalia. Google it and you'll see what I mean. Weather conditions on the Zuiderzee can get pretty bad so the boats had to be very strong to deal with it.

She was moved into Lough Atalia mainly for shelter over the winter, and also because it's pretty much unused, which is a real shame. It was not easy to get her in there; it took LOTS of planning. We intend to get her through the winter and then restore her as much as possible. Of course I am biased but in my opinion she looks great on Lough Atalia!

If you have any specific questions, please PM me.

I have some photos but I'm unable to attach them as I'm a new poster.

Thanks for reading!

stampydmonkey

Thanks for that. Best of luck with the restoration.

Sec

Here's a few pics of the barge!

misstearheus

Aw they're fab pics Sec. Am glad I asked now. Very nice.

Milly33

Oh she is so pretty.. Best of luck with the repairs

casscass4444

Best of luck restoring it.big project.fair play to ye.nice to see a unique classic like it saved from the scrappers.she be well sheltered there anyway for the winter til ye get started on it

Milly33

We passed the barge yesterday was delighted to tell himself about the story.. It does look quite charming out in the lough i will say, quite a treat to see

BISHBOY

Great to see this wonderful local amenity being used , why not encourage more boats,barges etc tomoor there. Would create a wonderful atmosphere & backdrop in that facility.
They tried to have outrigger races there many years ago - I know I was there

casscass4444

BISHBOY wrote: »

Great to see this wonderful local amenity being used , why not encourage more boats,barges etc tomoor there. Would create a wonderful atmosphere & backdrop in that facility.
They tried to have outrigger races there many years ago - I know I was there

I'd agree.would be nice to see a few different types of boats in there.would be something nice to look at instead of brake lights in front of you stuck in traffic on loughatalia road.
I'd say anything going in would want a shallow enough hull on it and would only get in on high tide.op who owns barge might confirm.id imagine hull on barge isn't too deep.id say loughatalia basin is badly silted up which would make it difficult to get a boat in without catching the bottom and beaching her

martinkop

Very difficult to get a boat in.
Need low tide to get under bridge on the docks side, then hang around and wait for high tide so you can get in to the lough.

Barge owner, I'm sure ye had a tough nervous day bringing it in.

Storm 10

It would be nice to see a floating marina there for small boats that could get in as its nice and sheltered.

Catherina Galway

BISHBOY, casscass4444,

I agree with you both completely. Lough Atalia is an amenity with huge potential for both residents and tourists alike, and it's right on our doorstep in the city centre. Boardwalks, nature walks, small clusters of floating businesses such as cafes, restaurants, pubs accessed via jetties, water sports facilities in summer etc. etc; these are all possible if the will was there, and if the Council promoted such development. The whole place needs a massive cleanup however. It's 2017 and discharge from sewer pipes is still going in there! I don't know what this discharge is exactly, but it certainly is not just water and this does not tally with a Special Area of Conservation designation.
A shallow draft is absolutely necessary for three reasons. 1) The road bridge at the Harbour Enterprise park is very low (and permission would be required from the Harbour Company). One would certainly not want to get stuck under it (loads of rock under it too), or damage the utility channels running alongside. 2) The channel from the road bridge to the rail bridge is VERY shallow with rocks all over the place. 3) The depth of the lough in most places is less than 1m due to the silt buildup.
Obviously these issues can be overcome, but yes, be prepared for a nerve wracking experience . Also, this is assuming the vessel is large and cannot be craned in. They would not apply to smaller boats if one had the money to hire a crane company to drop it in somewhere. There is also a slipway not far from the Dept of Defense but it may be private. Bow Waves operated from there for some time.

Storm 10

The correct thing to do would be to remove all the rocks leading in the Lough which would not be hard to do as most of them are visible at low water, many many years ago there used to be a festival there with speedboat racing, water skiing including jumps and demonstration by the Air Corps search and rescue helicopter, it was an ideal venue for looking at what was going on.

Catherina Galway

Hi Storm10, that would be nice to do but I'm pretty sure a lot of the rock in there was positioned in a crescent-shaped formation on purpose to act as a weir. Look at it on Google Maps if you get a chance. I'd say this weir was put there to prevent the lough from draining fully at low tide, probably to help prevent the smell from the sulphur bottom. Just a theory of mine.

stampydmonkey

I'm sure the otter would object to all these plans

casscass4444

Did any of ye ever see the seagull who hangs around at the back of the huntsman?hes as big as a house.he does be eating the scraps out of the bins around the back.

Mrs OBumble

Catherina Galway wrote: »

I'd say this weir was put there to prevent the lough from draining fully at low tide, probably to help prevent the smell from the sulphur bottom.

And the problem with your plan is that it didn't work.

I cannot imagine cafes etc there. At the very time of year when they would be busy ... phew, stinky!!!

Arghus

casscass4444 wrote: »

Did any of ye ever see the seagull who hangs around at the back of the huntsman?hes as big as a house.he does be eating the scraps out of the bins around the back.

John. I think that's his name.

Mearings

Arghus wrote: »

John. I think that's his name.

Not quite. He's Jonathan Livingston.

Cheshire Cat

Mearings wrote: »

Not quite. He's Jonathan Livingston.

I'd forgotten all about him! Thanks for the blast from the past

casscass4444

If ye get it set up again for speedboat racing count me in.ive a Yamaha 9.9 here she's ready for off.she would tip along at 2 miles per hour and she ticks over like a mouses heart.
She does be smokey with the 2 stroke but I reckon I won't be touched.

jimbobaloobob

martinkop wrote: »

Very difficult to get a boat in.
Need low tide to get under bridge on the docks side, then hang around and wait for high tide so you can get in to the lough.

Barge owner, I'm sure ye had a tough nervous day bringing it in.

Isnt that the funny thing with boats, it wouldnt have happened in a hurry but all of a sudden everyone notices its there no one saw it coming in.

flazio

martinkop wrote: »

Very difficult to get a boat in.
Need low tide to get under bridge on the docks side, then hang around and wait for high tide so you can get in to the lough.

Barge owner, I'm sure ye had a tough nervous day bringing it in.

Who says you have to use water?
Hefty operation, I know but close the Lough Atalia Road overnight and crane them in off the back of a lorry.

casscass4444

flazio wrote: »

Who says you have to use water?
Hefty operation, I know but close the Lough Atalia Road overnight and crane them in off the back of a lorry.

Would cost you the price of 5 barges to get a crane on site.then you're paying a low loader to haul it and the same at the far end to unload it.plus your contending with traffic,tight corners and low bridges depending on where you are going.could get expensive fast

casscass4444

Here's a saying for ye "a ship is safe in a harbour,but that's not what ships are built for". ye can use that if ye reference casscass and any royalties due are to be paid to him in full.😀