MTB458

Hi Tim,

Just a quick one. Is 458 still there? Understand she is beyond repair but if she's destined for landfill then i'll happily take her wheelhouse and put it to good use. Same goes for her hull if she could be made into desks ect for people who really appreciate these boats rather than being lost forever and if a museum wants any bits or theres machinery onboard for a restoration of another then its harsh but its damage limitation. Be a shame to lose all trace of her when like a few admiralty desks of old, they're made from unsalvable warships. Of course if she's there and somebody takes here on as a project i'll help but huge budget needed

2552 duly noted and requests for imfo sent out!! Only playing on the severn and in the estuary i gotta ask if she could be towed through inland waterways to gloucester or worcester? Leeds liverpool canal is a long way to drive on a weekend and towing her home my way would be an adventure to say the least. Somebody get me details and we'll take it from there. Outlook still wont tell me my password but mastered mobile phones, other email and pm's on this site(I'm a joiner & builder not a pc nut). Those in the know pass on my details & no promises but we'll take it from there!
And i mean that as well. if 458 is done for then i'll use her wheelhouse for a restored stone carving shed in my garden, make a computer desk for myself and whatever useable timber will allow for bmpt. At the very worst, make coffee tables from her and sell splinters of genuine mtb to pay for another restoration. How nice would it be if a couple of doomed houseboat mtb's would pay for the restoration of a 70ft whaleback? I probably sound like a total w**ker to warboat buffs like me but trying to be reallistic and save the saveable and preserve a bit of the dead ducks. If johnk can arrange for me to pick up the coach house roof from the back of the chatham dogboat then i'll have the coolest desk ever and will make another for the admiralty just to ensure they live on in some form! Rather save them all but we don't have the luxury or the budget

Funny thing rikky, a while back mgb56 looked a better bet than some of the houseboats out there, and with those lines well worth the effort even with a tree growing out the transome, being looked after until the 80's by a boatyard owner gives her a real advantage over most houseboats and worth a gamble. If Clive still owned the basin she's in then sure could've worked out a deal but while they're not making land or ww2 boats anymore, land goes up in value wheras the boats...nuf said. Clives the man on the ground there and general heads up or pm welcome.
As for poor old 458...I would guess that if somebody really wants to take her on then soton council won't object and being outside salvage laws by the time she was fixed she would come under a care of property law. Of course if she could be floated out in a barge, break her towline and then be recovered by another tug she would be salvaged cargo & legally yours. May be easier to find owner & swap her for a bottle of whiskey but if you seriously want her mate then try & help. Would say take her anyway as nobody will care at moment(except in a good way) but as soon as money spent & they worth something again the cretins creep out of the woodwork

I'm the current owner of the MTB Sungo shown in the background. Sadly Mahaba was broken up by the council last year after being left to deteriorate beyond repair. If anyone has any more information about the history of Sungo or any other house boats moored here in the past ( particularly dated photos of the mooring & houseboats) I would be very grateful to receive them and learn more of her history, many thanks, kenna222.