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I do have a bow thruster. They were still considered too 'girly' when I was fitting out my boat 16 years ago, but I didn't give a cr@p what other people thought.

Mine sits on the roof, I have two a short one and a long one and they can be used at either end of the boat not just the bows. They are a trip hazard though when walking on the roof. You can see them in this photo with a space between for the plank.

I think your builders design is better in terms of not getting water in the locker. I'm just wondering if you could use 1" thick rubber scraper matting (the mats with holes in) to raise the height of the deck so that it's flush with your locker lid and less of a trip hazard? Homebase sell large 3' x 3' versions for about £18 each. You can use thick cable ties to tie them together. The only trouble is it makes cleaning the deck a bit more hassle.

Interesting. How do they work if you're steering at the helm and you're single handed?

Thank you everyone for your replies so many years ago! I had no idea how to use this forum then. Mike was right, if i had’nt been very well overplated i’d be at the bottom of the canal now as the original hull had rusted away completely. I’m still working away but still going?

Because some people (strange I know) find locks hard work and even a little frightening and to say they can have a days lock free cruising is reassuring for those people.

We had our first home-grown new potatoes tonight. I grow some in pots started in January. Even the dog contributes, as they start in the living room on top of her cage before being moved into the porch as the shoots appear. Just as a separate course with butter and salt and the first shoots of the mint. Food doesn't get much better than this.

3 people have left ABBA so the linger longers only do A now

Impulsive as ever, I decided to buy one of the Barrington Bashers without giving any serious consideration to the financial implications. Houses were bought with a 25-year mortgage; my boat was bought with a 5-year "marine mortgage", which is just a fancy term for hire purchase. The repayments were roughly twice what a 2.5-times-salary mortgage would have cost, and I was a single bloke at a very low rank in BT (a Tech 2A). So, I was seriously, profoundly skint, which made for a very interesting period in my life as I got used to living with no heating (for the first winter). Due to a lack of money I couldn't afford to heat the boat using the propane-powered central heating system. I found a really cheap stove - a type known as "slow combustion" - which was intended for greenhouses and the like. They had a highly insulated chamber so the burn rate could be pretty low without them losing too much heat and going out. I think they were meant to burn garden rubbish, etc. I vaguely remember the brand was "Arctic". Making a hole in the steel roof for the 4 inch flue was a terrible job! I had no mains electricity; I can't remember if I had a cordless drill back then, but I don't think so as I would have had to recharge it at work and I've no memory of that. Anyway, I do recall using a hand drill to drill all round the circumference of the hole (1/8" steel plate), then joining them up with a hacksaw blade, then filing it vaguely smooth. It took days. I stood the stove on a paving slab inside the boat, fed some stainless steel flexible flue liner (totally the wrong stuff) up to the roof, and on the roof I mounted a hinging chimney made with a piece of steel pipe a mate had given me. Fuel was the next challenge. I couldn't really afford to buy any, so I foraged around in the woodland on the opposite bank from where I was moored, bringing back bits of fallen wood. It was OK; better than nothing. The Soar was frequently in flood during the winter, and all sorts of stuff came floating down past me from further upstream - various bits of people's sheds that had washed away, all sorts of other pieces of timber, several gang planks from other boats, even a complete door on one occasion. These were like a bounty for me: at those times the supply was plentiful, and timber doesn't need seasoning like fallen wood does. I quite enjoyed sawing it all up on the back deck, late into the evening, under the star light.

Sold my boat this month. 20+ enquiries by the end of the first week, first to view bought at the asking price. I didn't price it high but made enough to probably cover my previous 12 months mooring fees and license (I had the boat around 15 months). I chose who I wanted to view it first as I knew it could be turned over for another profit and wanted someone to enjoy it rather than cash in. I had personal reasons for the sale of the boat, cashflow not being a big reason, so just wanted a fair price and walk away feeling I've helped others try the boating life...if it'd been feasible I'd have kept it on!

Well presumably it is not a petrol engine (traditional narrowboat engine room) and by “electrical equipment spaces” I don’t think it means any space in which there is electrical equipment, for if it did every cabin in a narrowboat would count as such (lighting, TV, radios etc). Rather, I think it refers to a space whose purpose is to contain electrical equipment, eg an electrical equipment cupboard. I don’t think a trad narrowboat engine room fits that description - its primary purpose is to house a Diesel engine, not electrical equipment. So i would have thought it was OK, but no harm in asking BSS office.

Posted before Chargills comments and NOT meant to be disparaging. Were I fitting the boat out again I would have one.

I , don't have a bow thruster (they were considered too 'girly') when I was fitting out my boat 25 years ago. However, from the photos I would be concerned about water in the well deck when in some locks. The U channel is similar to the way my semi trad engine cover is. On a couple of occasions I've drifted back in a heavily leaking lock and the amount of water getting into the engine compartment was significant and I don't mean just wet. Just be aware.

On this day in 2016 Gas Lock No 1 (Northchurch Lock No 51) GU South

The last one I attended online they sent a link on the day of the meeting.

Both of the marinas that our boats are in have issued cetificates of location so as to meet Brexit / EU / VAT requirements : Example :

Could you persuade the insurance company ? It tends to be them that determine the rules (ie . no hire boats can move after dark) Although it does seem that it is not a 'day boat' that you are after as they do not have accomodation - if you are looking for a couple of days then you will need a normal hire boat, maybe for a 'weekend hire' which pretty much every hire company offer (in normal times)

An increase in R only means an increase in the number of infections if nothing else changes. Proximity (and hence frequency of transmission) can be affected by both social distancing (or not) and the proportion of infectable people

I like it, let's keep that rumour going!

We passed a wide beam named ‘March’ yesterday. I wondered if it’s owners had been inspired by this thread.

Yes it may not have been that clear from my posting that we have been very pleased with the paint, worth pointing out that piece has unprotected edges, probably not the best prep and been left outside in the rain for 13 years

A "mooring" at Redhill circa 1981...

You don't say how you are paying - monthly? quartlerly? one year up-front on the original date of signing? It is not unusual for an operator to require a deposit of some kind in advance. This is to give him time to find a new boat to occupy the space you will vacate. Most marinas on CRT waters will be paying CRT a % based upon maximum income, whether or not all spaces are let. If you leave without notice you then forfeit the deposit. Such terms are an option with a British Marine Federation mooring licence agreement. Tam

I think you have melted his brain. A terrible thing is cognitive dissonance. I read the words you posted and followed it quite well. I'd rather the fees didn't get too steep, but they would have to go up quite a lot before I stopped paying them. If nothing else, the prices of secondhand boats would probably come down quite a bit, attracting more people onto the water who would accept the higher ongoing costs.