This 57’ cruiser stern narrowboat in the ‘Birmingham Square’ style was built in 2006 by Derrean Project Engineering Limited. It is a modern take on narrowboat design and is fitted out as a live-aboard ready for a single person or couple to move on straight away and make it a comfortable home.
She has a roomy, open-plan design which really makes the most of the available space, with the Birmingham Square design giving you welcome additional room under the gunwales.
She is a flat-hulled boat of mild steel construction and thicknesses of 10, 6, 4.
All recommended work was carried out following the survey including sand-blasting the hull back to steel and coating with 2-pack epoxy for long-lasting protection. BSS safety certificate until 2027.
Tour of the boat
Beginning on the cruiser stern, Red Rock has a very sociable back deck for cruising with your friends or just chilling and taking in the view. The twin gas lockers give you plenty of gas storage and double up very nicely as stools to relax on while cruising. The engine bay is accessible via the double hatch in the deck and has recently been reorganised and repainted.
Moving inside, down the wooden stairs with built-in storage there is a utility cupboard to the left (room for a washing machine) which also houses the inverter and electrical panels. Into the main cabin and Red Rock has a light and airy feel that is well-ventilated and bright in the summer, and warm and cosy in the winter. The wall panelling is modular and easily decorated and the midship duck hatch is a lovely feature, framing the view and bringing the outside in.
The brand-new kitchen has more kitchen storage than you can shake a stick at, with modern cabinets and wood worktops on both sides, deep drawers, fridge freezer, gas cooker and aluminium splash backs. Very smart.
The living space has a fold-down table and chairs for dining or a workstation, a multifuel burner for warmth and cosiness, a corner bench/sofa that converts to a guest double bed with storage, and a utility cupboard / built-in wardrobe.
On through an attractive sliding door (with stained glass detail) is the bathroom. The larger-than-normal shower has plenty of room.
The Thetford flushing cassette loo with spare cassette does what it’s supposed to without any fuss.
The bedroom is another light and airy space that is ready to take your choice of bedroom furniture. Double doors lead out onto the bow deck which is another lovely and sociable outdoor area. Plenty of room for seating and entertaining and storage. The huge integrated water tank in the bow
What’s new?
Red Rock has had extensive renovation inside in the past 12 months including…
· Removal of ballast and inside hull repainted
· All floorboards replaced with 18mm marine ply
· Windows removed and resealed with pot-rivets
· Some baulk heads removed and replaced
· New kitchen fitted
· New laminate flooring throughout
· New cabin lining under gunwales
Red rock has also had 4 new leisure batteries, a new starter battery and a new 3kw invertor. She has two 250w solar panels that will supply almost all of your power needs for 7ish months of the year.
In addition to the work recommended by the survey, a new prop shaft and mounts were fitted at the same time. Receipts are available for all of this work.
