Good Morning all,
This is my first post... Hopefully many more to follow, especially as I will no doubt be picking a few brains...
First off let me say I am not very technically or engine minded, so I hope I have not bought a dud...

My first dip into the realm of Birchwood is a 1986 Birchwood 27.
It has got two 2.5 Ford transit diesel engines.
I have heard a few bad reports on marinesed engines but I know these have been working fine for the past couple of years and dont seem to chuck out any smoke..
The interior is extremely nice with good upholstery and a nice round bed/seat at the sharp end.. I will see if I can add pictures when I finish waffling on..
In case anyone knows the boat, it is usually moored at the Lensbury club teddington and is called "Get a Life"  although there is a different name in small letters on the bow.
just bought for £10,500 which I think is cheap for that model..
there are a few jobs to do which I will no doubt get back to the forum about.. The owner has just removed the sea toilet and bought an electric one, but its not yet fitted.. he has also bought two new fuel tanks but has only fitted one so far...

I am actually due to collect/pay on saturday 12th.  so if anyone has any advice to offer before I let go of my notes I will be much obliged..  The exterior looks pretty good but I suspect it has been repainted.. I wonder if its worth stripping back to gelcoat and polishing over the winter ??  Might be nice to get it back to original livery if there are any pictures around I can follow..
The present owner says he thinks the boat would benefit from bigger props, as he feels it should go a bit faster than 20 knots, thats another thing I will be asking about on here later

Once bought I will be moving down to Gallions point marina near the London city airport..

So.. as forest Gump says......"Thats ma Boat"
my name is chris.  previous boat was an elysian

Hi, welcome to the Forum it sounds as if you'll have a busy winter hope you get the toilet sorted before things get to desperate
I don't have any knowledge of the B27 but I can tell you that once a GRP hull has been painted you won't be able to go back to the Gelcoat. No one would paint a GRP hull anyway if the Gelcoat had a good finish so you will just have to settle for a rub down and re-paint every couple of years.
By the way have you had a surveyor do a 'Pre-purchase inspection it's cheaper than a full survey and it could save you buying a pup and most insurance companies will require some sort of out of water inspection anyway before covering a new owner on an older boat.  

--Last edited by April Rose on 2009-09-10 01:53:06 --

It seems eerily quiet on this forum ???

Nice weather they've all gone boating.

I know what you mean about being very quiet on here, there was much more going on last yerar for some reason, maybe its the credit crunch!
Is the 27 sometimes known as a contessa? I looked at one once very nice but I dont think many were made.
Anyway welcome aboard.

I am not sure about the contessa bit,  I have heard that name
but I dont know for sure if that is what I have..
Mine has the streamlined tinted windows ... a slightly different shape to most of the birchwoods of that era.
Not sure how to get pictures on here but here is a link to a few..
www.krustynutz.smugmug.com
I brought it down from Teddington to Woolwich on sunday 13th.
The previous owner removed the original petrol engines and put in two 2.5 diesels,  however, he did not change the props, so that is a job I need to get done over the winter. The body work all needs a good paint job but the interior is pretty good..
Are there any other birchwood forums around where I might find a few more brains to pick??