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We tried that for a while, but the custard didn't do much for the sprouts...

I'm just about to embark on 11 years aboard my ickle narrowboat. When I first came to this forum I was berated, stalked (literally) and insulted on every post I made asking for advice. I didn't listen to them and here I still am, a month away from my 11 year anniversary. ? I felt like reaching out to other people looking to start a new life aboard a boat and to show them that negative people don't have to define them or put them off. ♥️

People who are REALLY suffering from OCD will usually refer to it as CDO (that's much better as the letters are in alphabetical order)

There are some on here who have made an art form of making comments which perhaps do not contravene the forum guidelines, but which are most unpleasant and uncalled for, it's trolling.

Never been on a narrowboat, hardly knew canals existed, I was in a bit of a sticky housing situation and was desperate to find somewhere I wanted to live and could afford. I was sat in a car park having my snap on a work day and out of the blue came the thought narrowboat, drove to a book shop bought every narrowboat magazine I could, 6 months later I was stood on the back of my boat thinking "WTF" and smiling 15yrs later still on the same boat still thinking WTF and smiling

Thanks again to all who replied to my posts. I have now bought a boat - not on the K & A in the end, but up in the Midlands, near Daventry. It is a 66 foot 1998 trad called Country Dreams - really nice condition - need a bit of TLC etc but it is 20 years old! Anyway - I'm sure no-one is interested after such a long time ? - but I will attempt to put up some pics for those who are. Many, many thanks again for commenting / helping out with advice etc. i daresay i shall be on again shortly with more questions. Cheers (probably too many pics)

Don't do it today!

Off topic but might raise a smile. On visiting a local marina shop: Me: Have you got any smokeless coal please? Him: Why on earth would you want coal in this weather! Me: Your coal is usually wet as you store it outside, so I want to put an opened bag under my cratch cover to dry out for use when it gets chilly. Him: Oh I see. Me: So just the one bag please. Him: We haven't got any in stock.

The point is, your opinion wasn't asked for or needed. Have you even attempted to answer the OP's question? Or have you just made accusations and insinuations at him? As I said before, it's no wonder the number of regular posters on this forum continues to dwindle. There have been many threads where cc'ing distances are discussed. Why not resurrect one of those instead of derailling this thread to have a pop at a new member who's done nothing to deserve it?

The higher you build the bed the narrower the passage will be. IMHO Best bed height is well below gunwale height allowing about a foot or so between matress top and underside of gunwale. Once you go above the gunwale that's another 6-8 inches of width lost.

Research? Before buying a boat for the canal in London? Crikey, that's a minority sport!

I'm a kind and fair person who's been knocked for six recently. I'm hanging on, very careful and unable to speak freely because I know I'm stalked. I'll stick it out though.

Past experience suggests that it is so easy for boat builders/fitter to do a Phoenix when things go seriously wrong maybe its best to assume any warrantee that works is a bonus.

Only one g in bigots. Just trying to be helpful.

Love that ceiling! ?

They live in Manchester, they are born with gills

....more sinkings...??

That would of course be fine but it’s clear that those posting such comments on this thread have more than enough intelligence to know their style and tone is not particularly likely to be influential. It may not initially have been intended to be aggressive but the thread has deteriorated to that and it takes two sides for that to happen. We should be in no doubt there are many boaters on the network who cruise less than the distance or range available on the G&S during the winter months. They do this by complying with the basic provision of the law during that period and cruising more extensively during the remainder of the year. Whether that is within the ‘spirit’ or the ‘original intention’ of the law is immaterial. As things stand it seems to satisfy the board. What we cannot say is that it will continue to do so. My personal view is that providing boaters move every 14 days and don’t shuffle - in order to avoid long term annoyance to neighbours or gain an advantage over those who have legitimately paid to remain moored in one spot - then it makes very little odds how far they actually move. As a fellow licence holder I can only encounter them in one place at a time after all. Therefore I don’t think it’s particularly fair to bring the spirit of the rules into the discussion regarding one single boater, that’s a subject that should have a broader airing as one boater in isolation isn’t the problem and from their perspective it is understanding what the legal requirement says and how they are going to comply that matters. Some canals are clearly enhanced by having a community of live-aboard boaters and others blighted by it. It’s a question of scale rather than the fault of the individual boater. Answer me one thing if you will please, many of those on this thread who openly disapprove do not have boats on CRT waters and from what I can gather from past postings for some their boating is - or was - not ever predominantly on CRT water. Is there something more to this? JP

It's hard going for me too - I don't know whether to stay on the sofa with my feet up or stand up to watch the sideways hire boats!

In your opinion. But presented, without qualification, in the OP I think most people would read it as being substantially longer - probably more than half the year. My intention in responding to the OP was to point out that CCing in one area does not comply with the rules, something many (but not all) new CCers struggle to comprehend. And maybe to cause the OP to pause and do a little more research before committing himself, and his money, to a situation which may not work out.

While I agree you don't need to be worried about it, it's definitely worth giving the outside of the skin tank a good scrape back to steel before blacking it again. There a quite a few boats that overheat because they have half an inch of bitumen blacking on the outside of the skin tank, and they usually only find this out when needing to push hard on a river...

This isn't real life or a public house, it's a forum with all the disadvantages of being unable to read peoples expressions and body language, it's very easy to miss read someones post and read into it what wasn't intended. I doubt anyone is suggesting monosyllabic responses, more maybe allowing the thread to develop naturally without jumping to conclusions. Assuming someone is planning to push the CC guidelines just because the forum has a history of some people asking the question is unfair.

Not much if you can't find a space at Pangbourne or Goring. Goring is better policed than Pangbourne (where a lot of cruisers from the Reading area marinas tend to stay the weekend) as it's run by the lock keeper. There are sometimes boats tied to trees on the east bank before the Goring lock moorings. Or some wild spots needing a plank above Mapledurham. Or the meadow above Cleeve lock. You can use the outside part of the island under Steatley bridge. Only the inside bit is for lock waiting. Also there is a more expensive VM down the side channel above Goring lock and one below Cleeve lock.

[... or about 3 bottles of gas...]

Its a nice month or five weeks trip.

I am sure my engine (Beta 43) prefers to be hot when worked hard. Why else would my builder have installed these two panel heaters in the engine bay?

It’s probably too wet to sleep on...

Athy, the guy is a newby and has been attacked by the usual suspects, now the moderator 'warns' him for responding, perhaps, you need to take a break, there are other mods and other forums

A life ban for disagreeing with some people? I'm sorry but a number of people in this thread have been as rude, if not ruder than me. I was just more concise and to the point.

Oop norf where men are men the blokes do the locks the women steer. This is because men are better at fending off the wolves on Rochdale summit.

Shhhhhh, how do you think she disposes of all the electricians?

To be honest if someone can't afford a mooring and are staying in one place then they shouldn't be on a boat. We all have to comply with the very few very relaxed easy rules, I have managed full time for over 30 years. I can't afford a bugatti vayron so I don't have one. Having children has been happening since day one but today is sometimes used as some sort of specialist excuse to flout the rules. No I am not having a go but as Matty says at present we are faced with too many new liveaboards flouting too many rules rather than playing the game and staying under the radar, this in the fullness of time will ruin many peoples way of life as further rules will be weeded in. ?

Perhaps because they don't seem to do what that word says!

never seen ceiling like this... really ties the boat together

He's a good lad really. Anyhow, back on topic... The Irish Weather service doesnt think this will end any time soon.... Status Orange Rainfall Warning In Place For The Rest Of Your Miserable Lives: Met Eireann August 25, 2020 - BREAKING NEWS, LOCAL NEWS A STATUS orange rainfall warning is to remain in place for the rest of your miserable life so you better get used to it, Met Éireann has said at a press conference today. “Heavy rain mixed with wind is expected to dominate the majority of your existence on this forsaken island and if you have any delusions contrary to that fact then you should probably just move somewhere a bit warmer and less on the edge of the Atlantic ocean,” a fed up Met Eireann spokesman explained. With storm after storm battering the country one after the other throughout the year, the Irish National Meteorological Service suggested naming the weather fronts a ‘storm centipede’, as opposed to one individual name for every storm that comes thrashing around. “The storms are basically sucking out of each others arseholes and creating a long line of warnings for us to name, which is becoming a bit tedious at this stage,” the spokesman added, sighing deeply with the thoughts of yet another Winter ahead of spewing the ‘same auld shite’. “Just take it from here on in that there will be a constant stream of status yellow rain or wind warnings in place and try to somehow compartmentalise that fact with all the other God awful things going on in your miserable lives,” he said, before throwing a coloured satellite image of Ireland with a storm approaching at reporters, “here, just use that image for every storm from now on. I’m not wasting anymore printer ink on this crap, it’s always the bloody same anyway”.

You can still do both ends, just not transit Wigan Junction to Leeds, so you have to miss some of the nicest bits. Liverpool is well worth doing if you come up this way, and full length locks all the way. You could also do the Rochdale while you're nearby.

Having just travelled the River Cam down to Cambridge, I think I can be critical of some of those on that section since I shall not be going again (Visitor Moorings are crap). I was interested just how little knowledge of general navigation rules the rowers have (generalisation, since some of them must know something about them!). Travelling out from Cambridge there is the slightly ridiculous piece of river where it has been decided that rules of navigation should be reversed and instead of passing oncoming boats port to port you have to pass them starboard to starboard. I can accommodate peculiarities such as this, but don't take kindly to oarsmen who seem to have no knowledge of rules of navigation trying to lecture me. As I approached the relevant section, about 25 metres beforehand, with no oncoming boats nor any boat now coming up behind me (but one wooden skiff about 70 metres ahead) I complied with the direction to change sides of the river. The elderly skiff rower ahead then chose to stop for no obvious reason that I could see. As I started to steer to go around him his boat began to drift across the river whilst he was fannying around with whatever he was doing. This was forcing me to go further and further to the 'wrong' side of the river to pass him. He eventually got going again and we continued on our separate ways. When I got to Bates Bite Lock, where he turned around, he than took the opportunity to come up behind me to give the benefit of his 'wisdom'. His first question was,"What do you know about the navigation on here?". I told him I was aware of the rule for changing sides of the river, "Yes", he said, "you changed sides too early that was why I stopped to photograph you". Slight irritation was setting in since the sign instructing to change sides was partially obstructed by foliage and 25 metres beforehand isn't really a hanging matter, also him drifting across in front of me whilst he faffed around with his camera (as that is what he was doing) was more of an issue than me changing sides too soon. I commented that the rule concerning change of sides probably wasn't a good idea, and the additional rule that downstream boats have to give way to upstream boats was contrary to general navigation rules on pretty much all other rivers. "Oh I've never heard of that" was his reply. He then wanted to know why I had kept to the starboard side of the river (before the changeover) when he had wanted to pass me further back, I advised him that it was because passing should be done on the port side, so I'd moved across to allow him to pass, again "Oh I've never heard of that, we pass on what side we want". He also seemed to think that it was a bit of an imposition that, with other leisure boats on the river, he had to keep turning around to make sure the way ahead of him was clear (if you travel in something with your back to direction of travel, that is something you have to live with). His final comment was that in the past 2 years he has had 3 head on collisions with leisure boats, I tried to express some sympathy but failed dismally. The overall impression gained is that, as a rower, he felt an 'entitlement' on the river and everything else should get out of his way. I subsequently checked the Bylaws of the Conservators of the River Cam where is clearly states,"....The master of a vessel on any part of the River shall observe and obey the International Regulations for Collision at Sea with the exceptions, additions and variations contained in these Byelaws(the bit about changing sides of the river).." so, whilst I have a duty to avoid colliding with him, he also has a duty to avoid colliding with me, something I don't think he had quite comprehended. Whilst I will always, as per colregs, give way to sail, in future rowers had better look out

Spent a grim hour plus wire brushing the water tank and slapping on Vactan. Climbed into the tank to brush the rust and paint vactan in the nooks and crannies then used a small roller on a broom handle to do the rest. When that has gone off just need a couple of coats of blacking - oh joy.