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So you could stand in the middle and wee through the gap?

It was this comment I didn't like, its a bit like saying CC'ers never move and just want a cheep home. " 'living' in a marina with many others cheek by jowl is for folks who are 'making the best of a bad job', or have an HGV licence and are away tbree weeks out of four, or have a bad track record."

So it not a real gone kid yet.

Imagine this conversation being about a change from electric boats (or cars) to ICE? "Sorry, you want to introduce a tank of volatile inflammable fluid on vessels and vehicles, refilled by untrained members of the public and supported by chains of "filling stations" with underground tanks? You want to vent combustion products into the atmosphere within feet of the general public? And all to cut the recharge time down from hours to minutes?"

Agree with Peter , I am already living off grid on end of field mooring and generating 97 % of our electric via solar , don’t forgot with the incredible competition in the solar field having already massively brought down prices and driven up efficiency in last few years by the time we all need to have electric boats solar panels will be at 50 percent or more efficiency esp with bifacial etc so getting several kw on the roof of even a narrow boat will be possible , I have 1630 watts on a 60 foot narrowboat today with 2 top boxes and other furniture so it’s possible if designed properly . This will not be as hard as thought . pS all my hot water from April to Sept comes from solar as well . then there are fuel cells , I know one company close to launching a boat fuel cell 500watts each way expensive today but price will fall , their aim is to replace diesel gens in boats very soon . We must ween ourselves off polluting hydrocarbons or we will kill the planet I short order .

The yellow one or the white one?

Innocuous? "'living' in a marina with many others cheek by jowl is for folks who are 'making the best of a bad job', or have an HGV licence and are away tbree weeks out of four, or have a bad track record." This condemns marina dwellers by association and is the reason for my reply to her. ... the above quoted comment, even if meant regarding her neighbours in Goole (which I doubt was the implication) is still pretty unpleasant and by no means "innocuous."

I have no interest in these except being a satsified buyer These lifejackets are around £270-£300 new, and this chappie is selling them for £40 inc 48hr delivery. Vaccum packed and unopened. I have had some from him in previous years and they are excellent lifejackets. (ordered another one from this batch) Designed for 'offshore' use for people in heavy Winter clothing they have almost twice the buoyancy of 'standard lifejackets' and exceed the MCA requirements for 'turning you face up' Have a chin support to keep your mouth out of the water (and a hood to stop waves going in your mouth or up your nose) Have crutch straps so they don't slip over your head. Twin chambers each having enough buoyancy to keep you afloat. The offshore industry 'cycles' its stock even before the expiry dates - they have 2 years left (typically 4/23) before they are due for commercial re-certification, and will last for years in leisure use. It is probably cheaper to keep them for 3 years and get some from a future batch than it is to have a lifejacket serviced. Ideal for wearing when 'Winter locking' on icy surfaces. I'd recommend them even for 'muddy ditch' usage. https://www.findafishingboat.com/lifejackets-crewsaver-275n-twin-chamber-new-unused/ad-114225 https://www.crew-safe.co.uk/acatalog/Crewsaver-Seacrewsader-SOLAS-275N-Twin-Chamber-Lifejacket.html The Seacrewsader 275N Twin is designed to SOLAS 2010 regulations, and outperforms the new requirements to provide increased performance in the most demanding environments. Improved body angle, mouth freeboard and face plane angles make the Seacrewsader even safer at sea. Together with the improved rotating times each chamber is fitted with two 60 g CO2 cylinders, activated by UML MK5i standard automatic inflation mechanisms* - and a 3.5 psi relief valve to ensure full buoyancy during single or double chamber inflation. The Seacrewsader 275N Twin is designed for extreme working environments and is also suitable for abandonment purposes. The high buoyancy level provides added protection when heavy work gear and clothing is worn. The new, more compact cover is a robust fabric to withstand the most arduous conditions without damage to the lifejacket and internal bladders. Crotch straps come fitted as standard.

I'm like "Stick it to the man with free electric, isn't it."

Except that a lot of polystyrene insulation on older boats is just loose sheet and hasn't been bonded to the hull and gaps between sheets haven't been sealed. So although the insulation values of the materials themselves might not be significantly different, there's a likelihood that in application the polystyrene is far worse than polyurethane spray foam. Having said that, of course PU spray foam is sometimes poorly applied too. That's right it's polyurethane (PU)

Other fixtures and fittings "you" may come across. Horse tunnel: Roller on top of a bridge: Turnover bridge, allows the horse and towpath to change sides without unhitching the horse. Split bridge.

But may stop the questions and they are interesting and no one has mentioned the B word or the orange man, I appreciate I just have but I think I have got away with it

For me part of living on a boat is not to live exactly like I'm in a house. When I'm away that means reducing my electrical power consumption. I have a gas fridge, led lighting, a smaller 12v tv that only draws 2 amps and a 35w/channel car stereo that draws 1amp. I have 450 amp/hours of trojan lead/acid batteries and can go 4 or 5 days without recharging them. I don't even have any solar panels although I've been planning to install some for a few years. If you must live like you're in a house then you'll need an expensive electrical setup including perhaps lithium batteries, but for me the solution is much simpler.

Note to self: don't take up sky diving.

Every time I get out to fill mine up the filler seems to be in the same place I left it, so perhaps a knot in your hanky will help Jen?

the implication was clear, if not to you then certainly to others.

CO is almost the same density as air.

See, there's already a problem here: You're only asking about 10% of your readership!

Hi All, It has been a while since we last posted here. Thelma is now back local and work has started on her renovation. If it wasn't for lockdown 2.0. Does anyone know much about our boat Thelma? I never got to meet the previous owner. I understand he built the boat and fitted it out from what I have heard. He was a talented man in building this boat. I am trying to learn as much as I can from how the structure is coming apart. I had a few hiccups getting the boat back home but it was an amazing experience and a trip I hope to retrace when the boat is rebuilt. I will try and keep all the posts regarding Thelma in one place. We have started a blog to detail our Journey. (saves the storage on my phone with all the photos)

You edited your post with that addition. What are you on about ? You've no idea what I do for a job. Im not rich and I'm not poor. Renting just seems like burning money. And who knows what the future holds ? I don't want to be a caretaker or anything like that. Good luck switching jobs during the pandemic anyway. You seem a bit full on.

So your few months of living on the cut makes you an expert to add to your vast list of professions? You condemn those living in a "cheapo" marina as having a "bad track record" Your attitude madam is some of the very worst kind of prejudiced and hypocritical I have ever come across!

Just for the record. Boat on the left if "Shirley" of 3 Fellows carrying, steered by Ralph Mould, who lived in a houseboat by Thurmaston Lock. Boat on right is June, steered by Joe Walker, who was ex-Willow Wren, and who had previously been on the Liverpool--BOCM Manchester grain traffic with WYE and BURSCOUGH 2.

If the boat has no historic value then bite the bullet and get the cabin made in steel. A good welder/fabricator with boat experience will do this quite quickly. You can then concentrate on painting, insulating/lining etc. It will be a lot easier to maintain and add much more value to the boat than a "woodentop". Over a reasonable lifetime it will likely even work out cheaper too. .............Dave

Well, whoever wins this race will have a real Blockbuster on their hands...

@IanD I just make my posts up on the spot. It's all my own views I don't consume opinion on the topic just technical details. Regarding the bridge. I presume this is a moveable type. Would you care to expand on the details? Swing or lift? Or maybe it's one of those new fangled ones which drops down under the boat as you pass.

Which is why the car companies won't do it -- the consumers might gain but they will lose out.

Was it to allow boats with thin masts to pass through?

It is merely my user name . In memory of a friend I used to fly with. Harold had flown Mosquitos in the war,and in civilian flying ,after flying in combat,nothing scared him. He was not mad,but Mad Harold became his nickname.

Thats just how we use to do forklifts, a shed full of batteries on charge and charged, Forklift in and out in 2 or 3 minutes. But if you look at the number of cars visiting a Tesco petrol station in a hour you are going to need a big shed and a lot of batteries

Imagine this conversation being about a change from horse drawn boats to diesel engines and the same issues about refuelling. Wouldn't it be good if all electric cars used the same size and format of battery . Rather than recharging the battery you could go to a station and pick up a fully charged battery and trade in your discharged battery. Just as you do with a gas bottle. So refuelling could be as quick as buying a gas refill. The recharging station then only needs to charge batteries slowly so could use solar and wind to assist ant mains electricity. The same philosophy might be applied to cars , boats , any vehicle. Common formatting was developed in the past - vinyl records , cassette tapes , video tapes, CD.s, memory cards . So why not lithium batteries? Just a thought.

Its not, which is why I asked you questions and you answered "I'm only interested in the figures for cruising" and yet now you bring in "all electric".

Being realistic, you could realistically by a very nice, very liveable narrowboat for 50k and go and have lovely adventures on it. You will always be able to make modifications and improvements to it. If you pay 27k for that Springer, you'll end up continually throwing money at it until you have none left for your sailaway and you'll finish up with a knackered old springer which you've spent all your money on. And that's not even factoring in the cost of keeping a widebeam on hardstanding for years at the same time. As you've seen the widebeams out there for 50k will also typically have some glaring flaws. I'd look around for a well kept, well specced narrowboat around 55'-65' long. There's a lot of choice of those, and if you've got the money ready, you should be able to strike a great deal.