Lifeboat Conversion Ep1: Buying Alan [4K]

Support my videos and help them grow in scope and quality here: www.alexhibbert.com/aho
EPISODE 1
The first instalment of a TELB lifeboat conversion project for Arctic expedition use. Here I cover the purchase and haulage from Scotland to an Essex boatyard, ready for work to start.
Model: NME A/S (Husnes, Norway) 7.5m TELB
Engine: Bukh DV48 turbo diesel
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
(Apologies for some of the audio on this upload - the noise floor wasn't quite right but hopefully this is corrected in subsequent episodes)
___
Find out more about Alex's work at:
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/ alexhibbert
www.alexhibbert.com/
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Signed www.alexhibbert.com/author
Thanks to vanguardstorage.co.uk/ for warehousing facilities.

[@lvthud]

For not putting background music on the video, you gained my subscription.

[@paulnorberg3869]

Me too.

[@thesayxx]

@@paulnorberg3869 me 3

[@ngwenyabrian11]

I second you on that

[@skf957]

And I'll be a bridge to Forth, leaving Firth to someone else.

[@joedennehy386]

The only you tube video I've watched that finished too soon. Thanks

[@dadillen5902]

Hum, 'finshed to soon' a boat that can hold 65 seamen. There is a questionable joke in here somewhere..😁

[@TheIndyspace]

@@dadillen5902 Not merely 'questionable', but also seems possibly a bit premature... 🤔

[@rcs3030]

Finally someone who recognizes that background music is actually an annoying part of most videos. Thank you for omitting the unneeded noise.

[@victor_silva6142]

Naval videos. Only if with sea shanties!

[@evelbill1439]

Love old sea shanties.

[@gailalbers1430]

completely agree - completely needless noise in a video !

[@Kingofrestrrooms666]

@@victor_silva6142 🤣

[@Kingofrestrrooms666]

@@evelbill1439 yummy me too ! Birds Eye make them ! great as a snack or for breakfast!

[@stevejohnson6248]

Some channels you stumble across you know immediately that they deserve a follow, this is one of them!

[@tinymetaltrees]

That just happened to me, three and a half minutes ago.

[@jayswarrow1196]

The commentary about the background music, and "this thing called co...", pushed a thought into my head, that i'm about to get broke, buying whatever being offered here, because this fella is one of them purple-blooded children of a dancing king. - He has a way of expressing himself, in quite a hypnotic manner..

[@Ellis01234567890]

It's not very often, never in fact, that I subscribe to a channel I have never heard of after watching just one 3 minute video

[@Beau_T_McBoatface]

You should have an internet contest to name your boat. Nothing has ever gone wrong by doing that.

[@Warhawk76]

Scrotie Mc Scroteface is headed your way

[@msamour]

Are we talking about the Boatie McBoat face incident? We got a good chuckle out of that in Canada.

[@jayerjavec]

Absolutely never.

[@JoeZUGOOLA]

@@msamour check the name

[@kevinparker2409]

@@msamour check the name

[@SamuelSmithJirikiha]

Informational, short, new concepts I'd not thought of, no janky background music, dry humor... Subscribed!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thank you!

[@motolifts]

This looks awesome! Can’t wait for the rest of these.

[@davidbrown8365]

Nice boat, bought from the right country 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and built in the right country 🇸🇯. The dry witty humour is spot on and refreshing

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

We did find one or two 'cut corners' in the build (like some random workshop rubble thrown in to fill a void in the insulation foam), but yes in general happy we bought a Normar.

[@montyswoodworkscrafts2232]

Yard is just up the road from me. Great to see you re-purposing the boat

[@jamesaddison81]

Haha love this. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Glad to hear it!

[@alexanderturl]

Well, the KZbin algorithm has really delivered.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yeah, it really has. No pressure on me to keep delivering, eh!

[@JorenDekker]

After converting our van this might be the next dream.. 😏 thnx yt algorithms

[@TheCaptScarlett]

I'm guessing the algorithm brought me here from Dangar Marine

[@devinhedge]

Agree. Great video! Sent this to my daughter at UNCW as an idea for a cheap marine science research vessel.

[@mostly-harmless]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals your content is spectacular, informative with no BS and clearly lots of passion. Keep it up! :D

[@lothean2099]

Thank you for not including music. Can't wait to see the finish product.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

You're welcome

[@davidelliott5843]

Gentle music is fine. But it’s rarely ever gentle and it’s more hassle to edit.

[@brianshissler3263]

Wait, he is from Finland?

[@berennicholas5003]

@@brianshissler3263 damn it I was gonna make a joke saying. Wait the product is Finnish

[@brianshissler3263]

@@berennicholas5003 lol

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

As a lot of people ask about prices: Generally new-ish TELBs cost around £10-15k. Some 10m+ length ones will fetch more, and more basic models from around £5k. It's a massive reduction on the price a certified TELB would cost the original ship/oilrig owner. Under £5k can get you pretty clapped out old boats, or shells without engines etc. We bought the Norwegian-outfitted one.

[@markmoorhead1442]

I was about to ask the youtube community how much they cost, so thanks for the thoughtful answer!

[@watcherror]

You dont mention it i believe, but I guess Allan-in-the-middle was not the chinese version?

[@Marcus538]

Good value surprising amount of volume insude

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes sorry about that. Alan is Norwegian.

[@chamkila911]

Thank God you didn't buy the chinese one, or else you wouldn't have been able make episode 2. You would have been lost at sea.

[@mandyrey7122]

Living the dream, man - escaping the weather of the UK for something more hospitable. Nice.

[@mondeano2602]

Cant wait to see how this turns out. Need more already good luck 👍

[@chuckshipley9917]

For sparing us the third digression, you have gained a subscriber.

[@johnmca5643]

What a great idea! Now I need to find and checkout your next video. I’m looking forward to the finished product.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@alfst5546]

So looking forward to see more of what you do with this 👍

[@TheNoahlot]

Cool project! Hope to see more Alan progress

[@shakyhandpictures2185]

Oh ya, I’ll watch this, cheers from Canada!

[@SailingYachtZora]

Class, looking forward to the series. Always thought that these boats had more potential as adventure wagons. Crack on!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Massive potential indeed. Drawbacks too, but Alan isn't a £100m ice-class ship. :)

[@ryanmoeller3308]

This project looks awesome!! I'm a Helicopter Mechanic and I love seeing stuff like this! Keep up the GREAT work good sir! You have a new subscriber. 👍👍

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks Ryan

[@Lookup2Wakeup]

Good stuff. Looking forward to seeing this develop.

[@hansklein8024]

Thank you for not having background music, great choice! Very curious how this turns out!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@lookupparagliding]

Looking forward to seeing the completed craft. I've been recently toying with the idea of converting an oversized orange lozenge into a long range ocean going vessel. Best wishes, Egg.

[@AH-ns2wh]

Thanks! Yes, it's fairly unusual to take converted TELBs into blue-water. There are a load of major considerations that extend beyond their original purpose of only keeping occupants alive and mobile for 24hrs. These include improving sea handling without a deep keel, fuel capacity, and not to mention near-impossible insurance cover.

[@lookupparagliding]

@@AH-ns2wh Thanks for the reply. Yeah, there's a lot to consider lol. An interesting concept nonetheless. Cheers, Egg.

[@_Manfat]

Love it. Looking forward to watching this project. Thank you

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers Nicholas

[@sionbenjamin4513]

Wow! Great project, best to the whole team!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thank you very much!

[@fredford7642]

Found by chance. Enjoyed seeing the video. THANK YOU for a great idea.

[@jamessmith7691]

I like the no music in the background. You speak clearly and to the point. I too subscribed. Good video.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers James

[@slammsonite1]

Yup! Seriously contemplating one of these for a retirement/bucketlist project to sail around the UK. Got a few years to go, but until then I´ll be looking at vids like this.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

A slow but very safe circumnavigation it will be!

[@slammsonite1]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals I have lived most of my life in South Germany, but went to sea for a number of years.

[@snowgorilla9789]

From the West coast of Canada also have had my eye on this option

[@slammsonite1]

Went to Stonehaven to take a look at one with the intention of buying but the tide of life took a different turn and I ended up in Bavaria, where there is not a lot of water for such a boat. But the plans are not off the table. There are three places where I am concentrating, one is Stonehaven the other is in Denmark Fornaes and the third option is in Turkey. Boats will cost between 5 and 10 grand and I am looking at an option to fit one out with a mast and sail and a brace of leeboards. Need to crunch the numbers but I believe it is an option. I need a goal and I don´t want to end my journey like my mother sitting in the kitchen for the last 20-odd years waiting to join her husband.

[@tonya9614]

I almost most thought you going to throw in a third! Well done 👍🏻

[@spacecat7247]

Cool stuff. I spent time playing with these when I was offshore and when i did my bosiat training. Ours were dual-layer. .

[@TJ-eq6dl]

Sounds like an adventure,I’m in!

[@shelleykentner4900]

I truly enjoyed the humour. From Canada, cheers!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers!

[@davidskirnisson3729]

Great! You are almost there💪

[@uncommonsense6635]

This sounds like a very exciting project, be interesting to see how you insulate and outfit it for the bitter arctic cold

[@globyois]

Cool! Good - and nicely subtle - humorous narrative. Much luck.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers for that

[@TheCaptScarlett]

Yeeeeeesssss just what I need. Another boat restoration noir drama.

[@jkramer1847]

Only thee minutes in and subscribed, top quality content

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Much appreciated!

[@MrPants1970]

Interesting and very good humour, love it, subscribed.

[@jonathan5354]

Don't know how I got here but I'll keep following. Good luck on the build!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thank you!

[@allanfulton8004]

I definitely want one of these especially living on Lake Superior. Where the waters are just as and in some cases worse than the seas it is built for.

[@rileywebb4178]

This gives me some ideas for 20 years from now when I can afford a boat

[@adamwalker5498]

Really exciting project will follow with interest

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks

[@fanman2077]

Good luck with this adventure. God Bless.

[@stuart8663]

Well done. Love the humour. Best wishes from an Aussie.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks!

[@clearout5032]

Love it!, great idea Good luck!

[@strode66]

I always wanted one of these, they look unsinkable. Very cool project fellas and thanks for no back ground music that most people put in which annoys the heck out of me .

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

You bet

[@alanianfintan]

Fantastic plan 👌 Good name too . Il be watching all this 👍

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Awesome, thank you!

[@marcusaetius9309]

Excellent commentary.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thank you kindly! It's just me wittering on.

[@peacefulscrimp5183]

Great video 👍

[@martinpaquet9958]

Very interesting,and no stupid loud music ,I’ll continue to watch and subscribe

[@typingmonkey8749]

Don’t know why this was recommended, but it’s interesting. Also, thanks for not using obnoxious background music.

[@k.w.churchill4397]

Nice ! I subbed as I enjoy your humor and like boats and ships.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Very kind

[@mightymodder1178]

A full video on this would have been amazing to watch

[@jackcameback]

Just found your channel, or rather your channel found me :-) Love it, really interesting, have subscribed and looking forward to a bit of binge watching

[@JAleksandr]

There honestly should be a KZbin filter for no background music. VERY WELL DONE SIR!!!

[@rogerwilco2]

Yes.

[@Christian6.1803]

Goddamn those as some sweet Mark Strong tones. Worth every penny.

[@LARPGear]

The narrator is hilarious! Love this video!

[@zacksrandomprojects9698]

That would make a cool houseboat for the springs! 🍻🍻🍻

[@yaa63]

I can't stop laughing...you've got yourself a new subscriber...adore your humor, but more important you caught my attention with this amazing project...so I'm off to check on all your previous videos.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers!

[@benrandomly2016]

I am all aboard for this build. It's rare to find one of these in my part of the US. I found one but couldn't make the deal. They are great for long-range cruisers. Some need a little ballast down low and to the outsides to help slow the rolling some are known to have. Surprisingly, they get pretty good fuel burn with their small 4 cylinder diesel.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Great to have you onboard! Ballast will be a major future episode, after spring sea trials. It's a 3 cyl turbo Bukh, but yes estimates of around 1l/nm until I've done a proper analysis.

[@FANGSTALKERNINJAMASTER99]

These boats are super cool and have so many possibilities. I want one lol

[@craigkaschan4822]

Just subbed. Love stuff like this I’ve thought about how to go about buying such a vessel. Not so available here in Australia they’d rather scrap than recycle Thanks for the pleasure. 👍🇦🇺

[@davidossinger8183]

Well, I guess Boaty McBoatface was already taken. Wonderful project, best wishes for success. I've subscribed and will be counting digressions very carefully in case I need to alert the comment section.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Awesome, thank you! And yes, make sure you keep my digressions in check...

[@cdlord80]

Curiously clicks thumbnail. Experiences brilliant humor. Clicks Subscribe.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers Chris

[@dennisfischa]

Yes im going to watch all episodes

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Good work

[@DowneastThunderCreations]

Quite interesting. You just gained a new subscriber.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Welcome aboard!

[@tamurkhawaja7279]

Good luck mate

[@sbjennings99]

Awesome informative Video experience Y'alls God Bless Ya 🙌🙏

[@michaelj2439]

Just found your channel and what a gem of a channel! Excellent! Liked & sub’d.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers

[@peachawn]

Best boat name ever.

[@MHSMOKEEATER]

Hello from the U.S. cool build.

[@terrencegoens1582]

I love that this video was suggested 2 days after I spent spent hour looking at one on ebay 👀

[@darcywiley5096]

hashtag notacoincidence

[@daquigley7971]

I'm sure they knew that before it hit

[@LuvLight44]

I was visiting Houston Texas and I seen a bunch of these on the side of the road and I was wondering what they were thank you so very very much for clarifying that for me

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Supply in Europe is limited, but it would cost more or less the value of the boats to have them freighted over.

[@charlesdickens6706]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals ...not adventurous enough to sail them all the way ?

[@enzomaidana5369]

thanks for the no background music. many of us appreciate it, if not the majority.

[@fosterkennel649]

My middle name is ALA N Glad you kept that name blessings

[@redneckswitwheels]

Wow this is so kool!

[@fizzyplazmuh9024]

I live in Houston, Texas and near the ports we have a couple of large TELB recyclers. As a kid they fascinated me since they also resembled goofy submarines. Never could imagine a practical use for one though. I hope your expedition gets un-kiboshed once Covid is on the downhill slope.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks Matt

[@towtowstrailtalk6853]

I love your sarcasm

[@theeaskey]

Cannot imagine spending a week in an enclosed boat with this guy.. you lucky bunch

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Fragrant.

[@suryowirawanwibisono3440]

Best of luck👍

[@jamesrankin9833]

Good stuff

[@barrybryant3655]

Awesome video im comming on board to see it through i liked i shared and i subscribed

[@1_fishin_magician153]

good luck !!

[@michaelbevan3285]

A point to remember about these boats is that they are usually taken out of service after a certain number of drops from escape chutes on oil rigs or ships. They are usually retired early if they are found to be cracked during annual servicing. Do pay close attention to the hull during your pre purchase inspection.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Definitely worthy of thought if buying a freefall model. This one is released more gently from davits, and hasn't been used for more than routine inspections.

[@robertsmith1810]

most i would think come from de-commisioned merchant ships or north sea standy boats. I do wonder what thickness of Fiberglass these hulls have?

[@muhammadzamzami8460]

Good job

[@Will-Parr]

Excellent

[@technewsfortechnoobs]

+1000000 bonus points for the Mark Strong reference. lol

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Damn right. Well noticed.

[@TheBaconWizard]

God bless Alan and all his sea-men.

[@freequest]

May his Sea-Men not be spilt into the ocean.

[@dadillen5902]

All 65 of them. Hum, one would think it would take a lot more semen, I mean sea-men, to fill that, um boat. 😯😉😁

[@angeldetierra3855]

► Semen. Please check your spelling!

[@dadillen5902]

@@angeldetierra3855 I believe I did. Please check you sense of humor.

[@angeldetierra3855]

@@dadillen5902 ► My comment was meant for The Bacon Wizard. Looks like we have similar sense of humor.... --- Please leave the internet. There's only place for one of us!

[@curtishill6490]

A guy down the street from me when I was growing up....it's said he invented some kind of these! A small prototype was in the water in back of his house that sat on Crooked River! His last name was Enzian or something like that

[@Leightr]

My uncle had a series of old-style (open top, benches, oarlocks etc.) lifeboats that he converted for use as fishing boats. He'd put a modest diesel engine and a big rudder w/ tiller for steering, may get six or seven knots on a good day. He'd also mount a mast & boom with a block and tackle for loading gear, sometimes gill nets, sometimes old, pudgy labs who couldn't jump in anymore. We'd use it as a party boat for running fifteen or so people out to the beach and we'd take it over the bar at the mouth of the Columbia river to mooch for salmon. Not much for speed but with 20+ foot swells around it was a boat I felt safe in. (google crossing the Columbia bar to see why I felt the old lifeboat was the best choice for fishing there.)

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks - good story

[@TSemasFl]

That's just badass, i would sooo buy one of those and turn it into a house boat, and i'd put a nice swim platform on the back.

[@yeshuashealinganddeliveran9588]

Well done! 👍👏😂

[@tristianlefebvre1878]

... well you have me intrigued.

[@Imwright720]

My friend bought one of those. He converted it to a long term fishing vessel for one. He put a stove that burned diesel. One problem is it only does 6knots and the incoming tide can be faster. No problem, he goes out with the tide. He would go out for weeks at a time.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

You're right in that Alan wouldn't be able to fight strong tides, so timing will be all.

[@jamesdiamond820]

I’ve always fancied one of those hopefully because it’s unsinkable

[@qray7873]

This is perfect for trailer conversion.

[@benvasilinda9729]

I thought the same thing.

[@kyleanuar9090]

Tiny house original