Hello all, looks I might be the second Irish member. I own a 38 ft Birchwood President which I keep in Banagher Co. Offaly. Banagher is about half way between Lough Ree and Lough Derg on the River Shannon.
There are plenty of Birchwoods on the Shannon, so come on Irish Birchwood owners, where are ye?


 

--Last edited by Shannoner on 2008-09-05 19:55:07 --

  Welcome Shannoner, who't a Great, smashing, wonderful, boat, the 'Birchwood President' is !!!
Maybe you could you down load some inside/outside shots on the BOA photo bucket site???
Anybody know how many Presidents were built??

Seadog

Whooh! Thats a big one!  

Lets have some close ups then, thats a new one to me  

Thanks Lads, There are 4 others like mine on the Shannon that I know of, one used to be owned by my sister-in-law, she was a twin engine model. Mine was an ex-hire craft, owned by Derg Line from Killaloe Co.Clare. They are of early 1980s vintage, mine is 1982. There are three cabins on board, master in the bow with a big double berth, a bunk cabin on the port side opposite the galley and an aft cabin with a double berth. The saloon converts to a double if required. Plenty of room for me, missus and kids. She is powered by a VP MD40 6 cylinder diesel which pushes her along at about 7 knots. Here on the Shannon there are quite a lot of Birchwoods, mostly 33s, commodore 31s, TS31s and 37s. Just do a search on Apolloduck for Birchwoods in Ireland and you will see the variety.

Cheers,

Mick

Forgot to say, will take some photos next time I am down, weather permitting grrrr! and will post them for you

Mick

Welcome Shannoner!  

That's a fine looking boat you have there.  I'm guessing that the Shannon is big enough river to be able to accommodate boats that size!  Is she easy to handle?

Hi Brian,

Yes the Shannon certainly is big enough to handle a 38 ft. There is every kind of vessel on the Shannon from similar boats to yours right up to 42 ft grp cruisers and even larger barges 50 to 60 ft. Check out www.iwai.ie for info on all the Irish waterways.
I am on the lower Shannon so I have Lough Ree and Lough Derg as my cruising grounds, basically two inland seas and very beautiful.
I have a bow thruster fitted so the boat is fairly easy to handle, but in high winds it can be challenging, she tends to catch a lot of wind.But she will plough through a force 5 or 6 on the Loughs no problem.
If anyone on here ever decides to try out the Shannon give me a shout. I meet many English people on the Shannon, including a few that own boats and barges on the Shannon (thanks to Ryanair).
Cheers lads,
Mick  

Bow thruster, eh?