Today's most interesting survey was of a timber house boat, which was inspected whilst dried out on the grid at Strand on the Green, Kew, London. Whatever role Venture was originally built for, no one really knows as there were few details or records available to describe her history. The details on her stern show that she was built for the Royal Navy and measures 40.5' length overall.
Her hull was constructed from double diagonal teak planks, with a total thickness of 1", fastened to bent oak frames with copper nails and roves.
She was purchased by her current owner in 2007 and photos show that she was open-decked, with a simple wheelhouse mounted over the single Perkins 6354 diesel engine. The owner then fitted her out with decking made from 18mm eastern hard plywood, with laminated Douglas Fir deck beams. Iron knees secured the hull sides to the thwarts of the original construction and would have given Venture much of her stiffness. In the new fit-out, the knees have been kept, but much greater stiffness has been added by the new deck and superstructure.
