Description

Josephine is a replica ‘Dutch’ style barge built by Piper Boats of Stoke on Trent and launched in May of 2009. She has had only one owner from new and was designed as a live-aboard vessel with particular attention being paid to storage, heating, insulation and year round comfort. Minor external changes were made to the original design in order for the owner to manage her single-handed. She has cruised the Thames (6 years), The Medway, The East coast and the Norfolk Broads (5 years). All except the sea passages were undertaken single-handed. She is currently berthed near Windsor on a residential mooring (transferable to the new owner for a small fee).

As a result of her design, she is a ‘Qualifying ship’ in that VAT may be charged at zero rate by suppliers for maintenance or repair (materials & labour), navigation equipment or moorings (in any of the ‘Cinque Ports’), provided that the owner signs the appropriate declaration. A copy of the declaration, together with the gross tonnage certificate, will be provided to the new owner.

Specifications

Accommodation

Double Bedroom
4’6” bed – storage under, with access to the bilges & thruster etc. Side lockers with power points over and switched spurs for bow thruster charger and bilge de-humidifier. Double hanging wardrobe, four drawer cabinet with TV/DVD over, cupboards, LED lighting, DAB radio (with remote).

Bathroom
Hip bath type shower tray with seat. Large vertical radiator/heated towel rail. Attractive sink inset into Corrian worktop with large mirror & cupboards over/under. Jabsco 24v marine toilet. Tall cupboard for ironing board, hoover and laundry rack. LED lighting and extractor fan.

Saloon
Bespoke design to maximise storage space. Cupboards, drawers and shelves all around. 42” Samsung smart TV linked to WiFi, terrestrial aerial and automatic Oyster satellite dish. Harworth B1 diesel stove with removable coal effect tray. 6’6” double radiator, LED lighting overhead with discrete lighting under gunwales. Dedicated cupboard for large de-humidifier with permanent drain facility. Large opening double-glazed skylight/roof box with interior insect screen/blind and exterior winter cover.

Galley
Unusually generous size with Corrian style worktops over cupboards and drawers. Eye-level cupboards all round with LED lighting under. Large under-sink corner cupboards with sliding storage racks. Four very large drawers to starboard for linen, pots/pans etc. Spinflo Caprice MKIII gas oven, grill & 4 burner hob with Dometic extractor above. Miele WT2670 washer dryer. Large Vitrifrigo 24v fridge freezer. Under-stairs storage. Gas locker on deck for 2 x 13kg propane cylinders (gas pipe-work via a safety bubble tester).

Wheelhouse
Attractive helm position with a comprehensive range of navigation equipment, chart table etc. Double glazed all round. Front screen folds down on gas assist struts. Stable doors to side and rear decks. Two double bench seats provide seating for four, a spacious locker and convenient access to the engine room. The large folding table opens and lowers to make a guest double bed if required. The wheelhouse can be taken down if necessary. The roof is in five manageable sections each with an internal core of foam insulation.

Rear Deck
With full width rear canopy on stainless steel tubular frame. Accessed via the wheelhouse rear double doors or the side decks. Seating space for four. Inset sockets for ‘Fiamma’ table legs. Deck locker containing rear anchor winch, chain, mooring pins, cleaning equipment etc. Heavy duty davits with adjustable trapeze style lift arrangement to suit any dinghy. 12v socket.

Front Deck
Deck locker housing anchor chain and winch control. Water tank with large access panel for cleaning/maintenance. Lofrans Falcon 24v anchor winch (operated from helm or front deck).

Rear deck

Construction

Dimensions

Length 55ft
Beam 12ft 6 inches
Draught 3ft
Air draught 9ft 9 inches inc deck canopy (9ft 3 inches without)
Air draught with wheelhouse dismantled is approximately 7ft
Weight Approx 32 tons with water and fuel tanks full (29 tons empty)
Gross tonnage 17.07gt (calculated for VAT zero rating purposes)

Equipment

Heating & Hot Water

Central Heating – Harworth pressure jet, diesel-fuelled domestic boiler to radiators & calorifier. Automated control via a standard domestic central heating controller and programmable room thermostat.

Secondary Heating – Harworth B1 diesel-fuelled stove in saloon. Gravity fed from tank in starboard side cabinetry. Flue is double-skinned and topped with an anti-downdraught cowl.

Hot Water – from calorifier – heated via the central heating system, the main engine when cruising or a 1kw immersion heater (rarely used).


Glazing & Insulation

All appropriate steelwork was generously spray-foamed during the build. During the fit-out, additional insulation was added to any remaining cavities.
All windows (with the exception of the escape hatch above the bed) are double-glazed. All floors over the bilges comprise a honeycomb cavity layer between half inch plywood layers. The saloon, bathroom and bedroom floors are thickly carpeted and have a dense foam underlay. For practicality, the galley is carpeted with a removable rubber-backed nylon carpet over vinyl flooring.

Electrical Charging and Batteries

Generator
Mastervolt 6kva, Isuzu based, 1500 rpm, 1800 hrs use, in cocoon, indirect raw water cooled, water separator silenced. Fitted with Speedseal impeller cover for quick & easy impeller replacement. Start battery linked via isolator to engine start battery. Remote control panel in galley. Comprehensive service log provided.

Engine alternator
12 volt, 40 amp

Domestic alternator
24 volt, 175 amp Leece Neville with Sterling advanced regulator (switchable).
This alternator charges the domestic batteries and the thruster/winch batteries in the bow (via a relay).

Batteries
Domestic – 450ah @ 24v. Rolls wet lead acid, 4 x 6v in series located in bilges below galley fridge (vented to outside of vessel). New in November 2014.

Engine start – Mastervolt 12v 160ah AGM. New 12/06/2019

Generator start – Mastervolt 12v 55ah AGM. New 18/11/2019

Thruster/winch – Mastervolt 2 x 12v 225ah in series (24v) AGM. New 04/12/2019

Solar
2 x 250w Panasonic HIT panels (500w array on wheelhouse roof). Tracer 20 amp MPPT controller. Switchable between domestic and start batteries.


Chargers
Mastervolt Easycharge 10amp trickle charger for start batteries. Switchable between engine start, generator start or both.

Mastervolt Mass Combi 24/120/4000. Fully configurable 4kw inverter 120amp charger @ 24v. (Currently set at 60amp to suit the domestic batteries.)

Mastervolt Chargemaster 24/40-3. Fully configurable 40amp charger for bow thruster/winch batteries.

Solar – as above

Domestic Electrics

All Mastervolt devices (with the exception of the trickle charger) are controlled/monitored via the MasterView touch panel in the galley. A MasterBus network links the devices and a USB interface enables a laptop computer to access the system for configuration purposes. The necessary MasterAdjust software application can be downloaded from the Mastervolt web-site free of charge.

Mastervolt devices present on the network:
Mass GI 3.5 – 16amp Galvanic Isolator (for shore 240v)
Mass Combi 24/120/4000 Inverter/Charger
ChargeMaster 24/40-3 – Thruster/Winch charger
MasterShunt – enables monitoring of battery usage/charging.
DCS Distribution - provides fused circuits to all 24v devices.
MasterView touch panel – For controlling/monitoring status of devices.
USB interface

Galley Control Panel

Aside from engine and navigation systems, all else is controlled and monitored
from the galley control panel.

Below the MasterView screen is a digital voltmeter which provides domestic battery voltage at a glance. This can be switched to show engine start battery voltage using the rocker switch to its right. There is also a red neon lamp which indicates when 230v is present – whether shore power or via the generator (not lit when on inverted power).

Bottom centre is a JVC vehicle-type DAB radio/CD player. The rear speakers are in the wheelhouse whilst the front speakers are in the saloon. Similarly, the same model radio is in the bedroom with speakers in the bedroom and bathroom. Since the radios are of the same make and model, it is possible to listen to the same programme throughout the vessel without the problem of echoing which often occurs with radios of different types. Either radio can be operated by a remote control.

Top centre is the generator control panel. This is used to turn the generator on or off and to monitor the load. It can also be used to check start battery voltage, when next service is due or to configure the generator for automatic operation.

Next right are four tank gauges. These read zero unless operated by pressing the button at the bottom of the switch bank to the right.
1. Water – Approx 1800 litres – in the bow
2. Waste – Approx 1000 litres – Under saloon/bathroom floor
This tank is pumped out via a skin fitting in the starboard deck. It
can also be discharged to sea where permitted.
3. Stove (diesel) – Approx 225 litres – behind panel by stairs
4. Main (diesel) – Approx 1000 litres – under galley/saloon floor

On the far right is the 24v switch/trip panel which controls lights, pumps, fridge/freezer, toilet and tank gauges.

Navigation Equipment

Helm
Beta Marine 2C Deluxe engine control panel (voltmeter replaced)
Raymarine Hybrid Touch e95 touch screen plotter
Raymarine AIS 500 class B AIS transceiver (displays on e95 plotter)
Standard Horizon Explorer GX1600E VHF DSC radio (linked to AIS)
Nasa Marine Clipper Easy Navtex
KVH Azimuth digital compass (also displays on e95 [requires swinging])
Raymarine Autohelm ST60+ depth indicator
Raymarine Autohelm ST60+ rudder indicator
Anchor winch control
Thruster control & volt meter
Blue Sea Systems 8 way DC switch/fuse panel
6 owner fitted switches (all clearly marked)
Wiper & screen-wash controls


General Navigation
50kg Halls anchor on 50 metres of chain
Lofrans Falcon 24v winch (with controls at helm and front deck)
35kg rear anchor on 50 metres of chain
Lofrans Royal winch for rear anchor (all concealed in rear deck locker)
Vetus 160kgf 24v bow thruster with helm control and remote on lanyard
LED navigation, anchor and deck lights
Pantograph windscreen wiper with screen wash
Air horns
Fold down mast (to wheelhouse height or flat if required) with VHF & DTV aerials, anchor & navigation lights.
Tri-lobal radar reflector
Anchor ball
6 ZigZag fenders for cruising
Various inflatable fenders for comfortable mooring
Cruising ropes (2 x 15mtrs, 2 x 12 mtrs & 2 x 10 mtrs)

Engine(s)

Engine room
Spacious and well lit with easy access to everything requiring regular maintenance. Access is via stairs under the starboard side bench seat in the wheelhouse. Well fitted out with lighting & power. Flooring and storage shelves extend rearwards under the rear deck. A weed hatch provides access to the propeller if required.

Engine
Beta 90 (Kubota based), keel cooled, naturally aspirated, 2400hrs use. Dual fuel filter system with manual changeover. Start battery linked via isolator to the generator start battery Comprehensive service log provided.

Gearbox
PRM 250

Safety Equipment

SPARES (As at 11/11/23 – some may be used before sale)

Propeller (unused since serviced by Clements Marine)
Water pump (for domestics or toilet – tested)
Comprehensive service kit for water pumps
Complete toilet (less the porcelaine)
Sufficient oil for 1 service on engine & generator
Oil & fuel filters for engine & generator
Primary fuel pump for main engine
Complete service kit for domestic alternator
Spare belts for engine and generator
Spare impellers, bearings and seals for generator raw water pump

Location Map