Leaderboard

It is this sort of behaviour on canals that results in empty pounds in the morning, causing problems and delays for others whilst the perpetrator sails blissfully on oblivious and uncaring of the disruption left behind. Very selfish. And contrary to CRT’s (and BW before them) boater’s guide and good and common practice for almost everyone else (certainly anyone not extremely lazy and selfish).

It's never been accepted practice to leave gates open at Hillmorton - or at least not in the eyes of the OCC or BWB. After the retirement of the last employed lock keeper (Mr Payne IIRC) then the job of making sure at least the bottom locks were watertight fell semi-officially to the occupants of Canal House - 'cos back then people cared about everybody else's boats moored in the pound and didn't want them sat at silly angles with snapped ropes in the morning. Gates being left open "because it's traditional" seems more prevalent (at least to my memory) now than it was in the 1970s - yet pretty well every boatman's skill, especially in respect of working boats and locks quickly and efficiently, seems to have almost completely died out.

Speaking from the position of one who pretty much always leaves locks with both gates shut and paddles down, I can at least see some logic with not closing the gates on paired locks such as Hilmorton since there is a 50% likelihood of helping the next boater out by leaving the gates open. You aren't inconveniencing anyone since if they need to fill a lock they can always use the other lock with it's gates closed. I'm not totally sold on the leakage idea since are you saying that only the top gates ever leak? If the lock leaks there is a good chance that the water is going to flow through both top and bottom gates anyway from my experience. I would agree that on unpaired locks it can be irritating to be following someone who doesn't close down the locks when they've finished, since that then means that we have to and, as you say, is just laziness, but on paired locks? for me the jury is still out.

Once upon a time when I was a nipper my aunt Gladys came to stay with us for a few days over Christmas, a Lancashire lass, we went to meet her at Victorua bus station in London. We couldn't miss her as she always wore a funny hat with grapes attached to it. I think it was the day just before Christmas eve when our door knocker knocked. Aunt Gladys said, ''I'll answer it luv'' . The man standing there wore bib and brace overalls and bold as brass declared that it was he who emptied our bin, ''angling for a Christmas tip of course''. I'm the man who empties your bin, he said and my aunt replied, ''Oh are yer luv, and I'm the person who fills it'' and shut the door. That did it we got rubbish spilt up the path for ages and ages and of course the gate was never closed.

Fly Navy, your tone is somewhat inflammatory. I trust Matty's judgement any day over yours, especially when the example boat you provide sold in April 2018. Hardly just missed is it? There is a lot of junk out there, and with respectful posts, you will get lots of help sifting through it from knowledgeable people on here.

You've not only chosen some shit design narrowboats, you are not looking at good design or longevity of value, you are just looking for an argument...so,,,, JD narrowboats have the awful design of a front end not usable by normal folks....which would be good with a queen sized bed in the front....but no, they cant do that due to regulations having width and emergency access out of the front side hatch. It also has a hideous pram cover. Galley pearl looks like a Chinese nail polish parlour without the staff. The MGM boat isn't even built by MGM, it is built by Measham narrowboats, lazy advertising so what else is wrong with it.... and then the Welsh one.. Built in 2006 using Welsh Steel by CFM Boat builders, this cruiser stern Narrow Boat comes with Eberspacher Central heating as well as a Diesel Stove and of coarse the engine for keeping warm in the cooler months via radiators. the boats are crap, the adverts not thought through or even spellchecked. sorry Fly Navy, I have stayed up speshly to investigate your findings and I can only see you as what they term a WUM or crapsockpuppet. good luck with your further boat purchases and come back here to thank us kindly eh...

Facebook is horrid, its just one long stream of stuff, no topics etc, plus the advertising. But, the bloke who runs the12v group (and it is a mostly a one man show) appears to be very switched on ? and answers questions on a wide range of electrical issues, and in my opinion every answer he has given has been spot on. This forum has lost a lot of expertise over the last few years. There are a few who know their stuff but many are just repeating what they have read here in a "Chinese whispers" fashion, and most just recommend whatever bit of equipment they happen to own. Do we have anybody here who really grasps electrical theory and has worked on a wide range of boats with a wide range of electrical equipment??? .............Dave

I will have some of your popcorn ? here is my twopenneth. We have no 12 volt sockets on this fab purpose built liveaboard boat. We have in excess of thirty mains sockets running both sides of the cabin. We have a brill inverter switched on 24/7 365 that only draws 0.3 of an amp when resting. We have only mains kit onboard. Having mains kit saves us fifteen billion pounds on costs of inferior 12 volt stuff and gives us humungously more choice of kit. We also have hot and cold water pipes both sides of the cabin full length and central heating running full length both sides of the cabin. We also have a dometic travel power on the engine to do any heavy duty work. Af ter buying a mains boat several years ago I am never going back to 12 volt. The lights are 12 volt and pumps etc. All runs full time when off grid from 4 x 110 a/h batteries with zero problems. This boat was specced by a boatyard owner and built at his yard for his personal use and he sure knew what he was doing.

Off-topic, but your post reminded me of a true story (told to me by the pilot in question) - When in Niger, we had two Hercules aircraft attached to the job for moving big rigs around the country. One of them needed a major service, so a trip back to Europe was organised. A stop for fuel was planned at Tamanrasset in Algeria. Unfortunately, one of the pilots, halfway there, realised he had an upset stomach and was not going to make it to the refuel point - and there was not a toilet on board, just a bucket type which he didn't fancy. So, having an old briefcase with him, decided to use that. Everything worked out fine, but then he thought 'What do I do with it?' So, after landing, he put the briefcase next to the steps of the aircraft, in the absolute certain knowledge that somebody would steal it - which they did!!!

Yes, messing about with woodwork this morning Richard

To be fair, when Loddon started boating it was normal to leave all gates open when exiting a lock. The general policy only changed in the late 1970's/ early 80's, when the lack of maintenance meant more lock gates were leaking badly and caused problems. Most people including myself tend to close all gates as a routine these days, but it really doesn't matter if a small number of people don't.

Lucky they had not tied the two ends together, you'd be going round in circles.....................

I just turn a tap on to see if hot water comes out.

What you do and what is proper are not necessarily the same things.

ish......... I would hazard a guess that most of us posting on this thread were underage drinkers. But we were underage drinkers in a controllled, adult environment. If we caused any trouble the licencee would have had us out on our ear 'oles in double quick time.

The accepted rule for 'proper boaters' is to shut the gates when leaving (unless you see a boat coming towards you). It's accepted practice on busy flights - with a real expectation that there will be a boat along very, very shortly who could use your set lock to leave the gates open. Hilmorton is usually busy so I guess folks routinely leave the gates open - Unless they're plain lazy....

A lot more good advice has been posted since my last post on this topic, and in your shoes I would definitely take up the offers of help from celiaken and/or mrsmelly. Apart from learning about coping with the various difficulties of being a liveaboard on the Lea, your priority at the moment should probably be to get the boat prepared as best you can, whether you end up going to London by road or by water. It's a good rule of thumb that most things cost more in London. Meanwhile you have to wait and see how long CRT will take to get the Gloucester Dock open, and consider what options you might have if it's still closed when your 28 day deadline is up, for example is there some temporary location you could get to and moor at until the lock opens? I don't know that area, but others on the forum with local knowledge could help you. If going by water, the shorter route via the K&A should probably be ruled out because of that stoppage at lock 16 that's been mentioned, as you won't get past there until 2nd April. Also this removes the need to face the perils of the Severn estuary. Get mrsmelly to take you up the Severn and onto the canals, teaching you stuff along the way, and the two of you should cope OK after that. But if you want help with the rest of the journey, ask and someone else will probably come forward. I've done long canal trips myself helping several people from this forum, and the going rate is just to provide your crew with their food and somewhere to sleep. If you end up going by road, depending on the date I may well be available to meet you at P&S Marine and help you for at least your first day's boating getting down the GU locks to the Paddington Arm. My 60+ Oyster card can get me there, the Metropolitan Line crosses the canal right next to the marina.

Harsh............. ..............but fair.

The company policy where I work has changed too. At one time it was said to be perfectly safe to use hands free. There is no ban but we are no longer required to answer the phone if it is not safe to do so. I do think hands free mobile while driving is all very well for a quick call but not for anything more .

So, re licence, total liveaboards and their request for a land address, put a letter to them offering to pay, stating the paradox they have to sort out, it is of their making after all. Then leave it with them, you have offered to pay, they have refused to accept, the judge would fall off his chair laughing.

Thanks. I'm seriously thinking about sealed now. I wonder if these Hancock batteries are any good and if they're really deep cycle? I bought a pair of Hancock start batteries for my BT and they're very good. Apparently they can take a maximum of 14.7v. The BT batteries only get 14.6v because of the voltage drop down the long run from the stern, I think I only ever see a max of 14.75v to my domestics and start batteries, so I perhaps I could just leave the charger & alternator controller settings as they are, or would I be safer to set the dip switches to "sealed", but then I think they'd only be getting 14.4v.

I totally agree. Having heard all the tales about Whilton Boats, I was somewhat surprised when a good friend rang to say he was seriously considering a brokerage boat from them. How wrong can you be! He bought the boat about 6 or 7 years ago and it is one of the nicest boats you could wish for and apart from routine repairs and modifications I understand that it has served him very well. It just reinforces that sometimes despite the broker, look at the boat, and make your own judgement if you are able, or get an independent view from someone who can give you unbiased advice. You may just find the boat of your dreams! Howard

I don’t have 12v sockets around the boat, but I do have usb charge points by the bed and in the saloon. As to fridges, I don’t live aboard and have solar panels so can manage an inverter being on for long periods so have a mains fridge. Mains fridges are a lot cheaper and if A+++ rated tend to be quite frugal with power so long as you don’t open the door too often. That said, others much prefer 12v fridges. Read the bss before fitting a gas fridge, and I’m told a gas/12v fridge is very inefficient when running on batteries.

More marine steam (and an impressive pair of Gardner 6 cylinder semidiesels). http://prestonservices.co.uk/category/steam-engines/steam-boats/

Obviously I’m planning to use a calorifier (water tank) - just don’t want a gas boiler taking up precious interior space. I understsnd and most calorifier a come with twin coils and a small element so I can heat the water if I’m on elec hook-up (although that will be unlikely). The he plan is to use ine coil off the engine and the other off the stove but might need to think about how a wabasto might be plumbed in later. Thanks for the link. Sorry about all the typos- small phone and damn predictive text ?

Surely a ‘boiler’ is a gas or diesel powered water heater and a calorifier is a ‘hot water tank’?

This assumes yoyu can actually get the engine on a boat Whilton are selling to start!

I remember trying to measure a length of string but struggled as some one had cut the end off.

Go and visit Whilton , they will give you lots of sets of keys, just find the right boat and take it out for a few weeks............drop the other keys on the wharf as you leave or they might notice though.....

The Railway in Hebden Bridge....The urinals are made from cut in half aluminum keg, I imagine I am weeing straight into the lager supply! .................Dave

There must be a long waiting list for funnybone transplants where you live.

Agree with @peterboat Your audible alarms at 13v are too high. I'm seeing resting voltages dropping to 12.9 on a 2/3rds discharged bank, and heavy load voltages going lower. I have a bit of a delicate balance to strike here, since my start battery is in parallel with the lithiums. If I go too low (ie below about 12.7v) then I'll be taking charge from the starter LA battery and risk not being able to start the engine. On the other hand, the only thing my BMS can do at the bottom end is to sound an alarm and disconnect the lithiums, at which point the loads are 100% on the start battery and it will go flat anyway. I think the solution is to have two alarm levels. A disconnect to protect the lithiums at 12v or 3v per cell, and a warning beep once the voltage gets to 12.6 or 12.7 to tell me that I'm starting to eat my start battery charge. In practise, I'll know that, because I follow the state of the batteries closely, but one day I might not be there, so making the system civilian-proof would be good. MP.

Thirty odd years boating, ropes cut once (five years ago in Stoke, i was on board and asleep ). Had a barley sugar thrown at me in Chester ten years ago (I ate it). I tend to moor up in the middle of nowhere whenever possible. Almost everyone isn't a vandal or a thief. Where there are drunks in quantity you find more idiots. Generally, it's not worth worrying about any more than expecting your house to get burgled or your car to be broken into when you park in town.

Told you not to smoke those sycamore leaves...

Constant Chunnering

The commercial ones only pay their way because you pay every time you go shopping regardless of whether you watch TV or not. even the grand kids pay toward it when they spend their pocket money

? Luckily for me it's a Water Bug, so not too much hull to worry about. Taken under two hours to do one "side" but may have to go round again when it's prepared for blacking. Of course, pits miraculously appear close to welding, due to the heat melting old blacking out of previously unseen pits. The boat in question will be given an extra few years of life and the repairs will make more financial sense than plating.

As we dont know how old the boat or condition is we cant realy be sure, however I would put my bottom dollar on it at the very least needing new batteries as they are what get murdered on a regular basis by miss use/inexperience. I am not available much over the next fourteen days but some days I am and after that I am available more. I will happily come over to the G and s canal, I am near Banbury so its only about hour plus and take you up the severn onto the canal system as thats the only bit that could be problematic this time of year. Its up to you I am experienced in rivers with various MCA licences and I will not require payment only the petrol and feeding during the trip. Up to you pm me if you think I can help ? Meanwhile join RCR today so you will be covered before you move the boat. Tim

Please ensure your daughter does A LOT of research into living aboard a narrowboat. London is the last place on Earth to be moving to on a boat anyway and is so congested and getting worse that she has much to learn. It is an expensive way to live unless the intention is to be like a caveman. Please dont take this as deliberately negative it is meant to be helpful.

Absolute horseshite, I managed to do it for 5 years, both in the Midlands and also based in London. I then became self employed and CC-'d(for 4 years), only this year having to take a mooring due to various family issues. My London range was Leighton Buzzard to Hertford/Bishop Stortford and my Midlands range was Fradley/Leicester Ring/GU down to Dayton and up to Stockton. Sometimes challenging, always rewarding.

That's an interesting point. However I am not sure it is directly relevant here because the question wasn't whether the OP should move into a boat or not. It implied he had already done that or at least had already made that decision. There is only one absolute requirement on any boater and that it is to comply with the law. I note three early constructive responses to this thread from people I know to be active, long standing boaters and genuine advocates of the canals. Between them they also cover off most of the stereotypes we assign to various groups on here and outside of canals may have little in common. So forget about keeping CRT happy, let's put the OP in the pub with those three folk and see if he can convince them he can objectively read and apply the law regarding mooring and movement to their satisfaction. That would be a far better test. I guarantee if he can do that they won't give a stuff about what he does outside of that requirement. It really doesn't matter if you are retired and have a highly polished non-traditionally signwritten £100k boat on a marina mooring that only comes out on sunny bank holidays, or if you have a £20k Springer in grey undercoat tied to the bank in the middle of nowhere and have a job to go to. Neither has much basis in history but both are part of the fabric of today's canals. JP

I suggest you ignore the negative posts and concentrate on the positive ones. There's no rule, written or otherwise, that prevents people who are working from cruising without a home mooring.

What's wrong with getting yourself a mooring which gives you the the ability to travel to work that you require?

I expect thats because they had no radio, no electric windows, and the headlights were made of candles. ................Dave