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I think this is a case of getting off on the wrong foot, and giving an initial impression of yourself that might not be the full reality. The thing is that loud noise, engines or music, is a really, really hot button subject for many boaters, and many of us do find it very annoying and stressful, especially when they dont know how long its going to carry on for. Noise nuisance is a huge negative experience for most people, and your initial post could be interpreted as you not caring whether you might caused others to get stressed out. This is a community that probably cherishes the peace and quiet of nature more than most, so your initial statement that you will 'play your tunes whenever you want' did give the impression that you dont care if you upset and anger the people around you. I'm sure that initial impression is not the full truth- after all, you avoid playing music at the moment so as to avoid angering your neighbour- so you're clearly not as selfish as that initial post might have made you seem. It's an initial perception thing based on a couple of paragraphs, but unfortunately it was concerning one of the most sensitive issues to many boaters. What I would suggest is you try to work with what you have here. Do bear in mind that this forum is the single greatest source of information about waterways life that you will ever find. The search function will find you information and discussions about almost every aspect of boat life and equipment that you possibly need. Some of the posters are easily irritated, and some take themselves too seriously (for my own personal tastes anyway)- but they will give advice as well. And if you do get a boat, I can guarantee you are going to need the information that you can get here- if you come across in a more neutral way about the really hot topics. No offence intended, and not wishing to patronise or anything, but just a thought.

The Kelpies this evening.

You have chandlers selling anodes that aren't attached to a cathode (steel hulled boat). There is no reason why someone couldn't sell a Cathode without any anodes. 😀

I recently carved this out of an Ash log for a Halloween challenge carving competition, he’s 16 inches tall, all from a single piece except the axe

I can empathise to an extent and what I write isn't aimed at you personally, more anyone that's found themselves in the same situation. I'm pretty new to boating having only sold a small leisure boat last summer after a fairly short period of ownership. I ended up living aboard for a chunk of last year, mostly through the lockdowns, by choice and really enjoyed it. So much so, whilst I'm in my late 30s with no debts or family responsibilities or excuses, and young enough to make a potential mistake, that I finally found the courage and bollocks to press on with moving aboard full-time. Since the start of this year I've had the funds available but encountered similar upsets and issues: A few months ago I set off very early in the morning to view a boat at Rugby Boats in the knowledge that I'd be the second person to view, only to get a call when I was 5 minutes away to say it was sold to viewer number 1. That was a 200 mile round trip Same circumstances as above, except I did make it to the broker and managed to view the boat this time. The first people who viewed bought it and the broker promised me a call once he knew whether they were prepared to make an offer, and wouldn't accept mine until he'd had theirs. I never did get that call and only knew it'd gone because they did find the time to update their website a few hours later. That broker in question is a smug Cheshire-based marina I had to take to small claims court the seller the private seller of a boat post-survey result to get my deposit back after he reneged on the sale terms. I won and got it back but it was unwanted stress I've clocked up hundreds and hundreds of miles of driving to see boats, excited at the prospect, only to find it's no good for varying reasons and encountered the feeling of hopelessness I've also had the bare the expense of having boats surveyed only to find there's varying issues and the sale fall through. Note here I don't say the money was wasted; what I learned a lot more from the surveyor each time this happened, in terms of what to look for and what to do next time I find a boat even before I call him to arrange a survey has been invaluable. Knowing what I know now, I'd have never even gotten to the offer or survey stage with said boats. But the painful experience has been well worth it. With all this going on, I ended up sinking dead money into renting a house for most of this year, thinking that I'd have secured a boat well before now. And despite all this, with me coming close every now and again to giving up due to disillusionment, and coming to terms with it all being a misguided idea and flitting to wanting to pursue buying another house instead, I haven't given up. I think most in my shoes would have done so. It's very easy to focus on the negatives when it's not going your way. That's not intended criticism, more a reflection of how I've felt. But when looking at things with a clear head and objectively, I'd say that: If you really want it to happen, you'll go to the lengths necessary to make it so. I've booked 3 separate weeks of annual leave from work this year so I'm not constrained if something come to market, enabling to me to jump in the car immediately as well as the time to put the groundwork in with the brokers mentioned below. This really paid off - I got to see lots of boats, many unlisted - and not many would be willing to make this sacrifice with their holidays, I reckon You'll have to do the groundwork with the brokers. Most of the bigger ones won't be calling you when something's on its way which meets your needs. They've no need to do so in the current climate I've a list of maybe 20 brokers, from small to large, I've proactively called to ask whether they've got anything sat unlisted or on its way which meets your requirements. It's a fag packet estimate but I reckon maybe 25% of the brokers, including Rugby Boats, gave me the details of exactly just that and gave me the opportunity to view before they listed them Speaking to boatbuilders who only do a bit of brokerage on the side for boat they've usually previously built, threw up great results. One in particular, a very top end builder actually, not only spent a few hours with me in person after a viewing, chatting and giving advice but proactively got in touch several times since detailing boats they were about to broker to see if I'd be interested As above, with smaller marinas that do a bit of brokerage only for their own moorers You're dealing with people and not just companies. I've found with one broker who runs a whole load of marinas, the experience differed wildly from marina to marina. One marina couldn't be more helpful in terms of giving me details of an unlisted boat they were about to sell and invited me to view, whereas another took a smart-arsed response and generally treated me with contempt; "how do you know it's for sale then if it's not even listed!", rather than offering help Stating your position to brokers early on helps. I've seen countless sale fall through, only to speak to the broker and be told it was because the intended buyer's house sale fell through or the generally didn't have the cash, rather than it being the result of a duff survey. If you've got the cash ready, make it clear The terms of sale for buyers are so poor with some brokers you may wish to rule some brokers out altogether. It might be worth getting copies or an understanding of them, as I did, and make your mind up from there I don't hold any ill will towards those who've bought and sold boats without giving me a call. It's not their responsibility to call me. However, I will remember those who lied, acted smugly or treated me with contempt. When things inevitably go full circle in the future and it becomes a buyer's market, I'll not forget the good and the bad experiences and would be happy to share them with anyone who might ask Things are starting to change a little. Boats which would normally have gone quickly are now taking days, if not longer. Some of the prominent YouTubers have jacked it in, so perhaps it's falling out of favour slightly. We're coming into winter and the weather's turned - carrying out viewing in the lashing rain and cold won't be too appealing to many and will put off those who've have likely seen and bought had it been a lovely sunny day Maybe it was down to this approach or just pot luck but I managed to view and get an offer in on a boat last week before it made Apollo Duck, just through checking the marina's website. Subject to survey in 2 weeks, it's mine. Indeed things are so favourable with the marina that the contract doesn't even call for a deposit. Best wishes in finding a boat and to all those in the same situation. Fingers crossed I'll be living aboard very soon. Now I've got to find a mooring and a professional boat mover but you can't have it all 🙂

Honestly get a grip! "First world problems", and all that...

And most of what we've heard so far from PD1964 has simply been hearsay. A man, who as far as I know is not a forum member, and therefore is unable to defend himself and his alleged behaviour, is having his reputation sullied on here. This is not good enough and quite dreadful.

If the steel on the old boat was rubbish it would have sunk long ago. Time skews the distribution. People think old furniture was better quality than modern furniture, but that is only because almost all the low end to medium stuff that my ancestors could afford was firewood long ago. Most pieces that still survive are the expensive ones that only the rich could afford.

You would however expect anybody at that bridge to be capable of noticing the big wide strip of tarmac they were about to put their size nines on, it's not exactly difficult to see... The other problem with putting up warning signs like this in too many places is the "boy who cried wolf" problem -- people start to ignore warning signs as being stupid and pointless, but this includes the ones which are actually telling them of a real hazard.

The job of warning signs is to tell people about unusual or dangerous things that are not "normal" or not obvious at first glance, otherwise every road would be festooned with "Danger -- Traffic" signs and every canal or river with "Danger -- Water". So the overhead power line warnings do make sense, not everyone looks up all the time, fishing is safe in most places, and occasionally people do get killed. But "Road ahead" is just a waste of CART money, it's right in front of anybody walking off the towpath and it should be obvious to anyone with half a brain cell that bridges usually carry roads. If somebody stepped out in front of a car, there's no way that CART could be held responsible or blamed for not erecting a warning sign, any more than a local authority could be sued because somebody stepped off a pavement in front of a truck. Warning signs do have their place, but this isn't one of them...

Its astonishing how far even a normal conversation can carry along a canal when there's not much wind. Many times on quiet days I've heard a conversation that sounded as if it was 20 yards away, but then I see that the boat is still a few hundred yards away. Someone playing their tunes as they cruise past can be heard up to half a mile away, and you can often still hear them long after they've passed and gone out of sight. I left a podcast playing on my phone as I popped out to ask a nearby boater something about the locks up ahead, and on my way back about ten minutes later I was genuinely surprised at how loud it was as I approached my boat- even though I had considered it to be pretty quiet when I was inside, the sound carried far more than I expected. If the volume that you play your music is similar to a normal house, you will find it is heard by everyone for hundreds of yards all around. If you're in a line of boats moored in a popular spot, you will very quickly become unpopular. If you dont mind upsetting and annoying people everywhere you go, and being repeatedly confronted by other boaters, then you will be happy. But if you play your tunes late at night (when it is very quiet and the sound carries even further), you will not be a popular boater. Even on the very popular Llangollen, in high summer, with parties of hire boaters of all sizes and types, there were very, very few times that anyone played music at an offensive volume. There just seems to be an understanding about it. A big factor for why the great majority of people come to boating is because they love a peaceful, quiet environment, so my recommendation would be to use headphones when you want to listen to music loud. Its just the decent thing to do. There's no point spoiling the evening of a few dozen people around you, when you have an easy solution.

You need to pay attention to your attitude, really. The bit about playing music whenever and however you want to rather sums it up. On the cut, in a boat, you are not in a normal residential situation. Sound travels over water, and you don't have thick walls to cut the noise down. The trick is to have some consideration, which appears outside your remit. You want it loud, use headphones. Irritating engine and genny runners can be both livaboards and hirers, the latter usually from ignorance, the former from just being pains in the posterior. And the complaints come from both, because inconsiderate behaviour affects everyone. It sounds easy to just move on. Last year, some pratt on the Llangollen was playing karaoke and singing tunelessly at full volume on his boat, a mile back from me. I untied and moved on and two hours driving later I could still hear him. Dogs, you have to put up with. God knows why. I think they're related to fishermen.

This afternoon 2021 StalhamStaithe Norfolk Broads

They did have a very lean period from last March to June, and then again from Autumn to May, and still have to pay overheads, moorings and the like.

I had registered an interest with the seller (as you all know I have purchased non-compliant boats in the past) and she has been keeping me up to date. It turns out that the boat had to be withdrawn from sale as it was not RCD compliant (being a self-build) and under 5 years old. The BMF contacted the seller and explained that it could not be sold without a PCA (Post Construction Assessment), it is now going thru a PCA (cost around £2k if it passes, or £2k plus rectification costs if it fails) and will then be going on sale via a brokerage. It seems that compliance with the RCD / RCR rules is becoming more important.

The shroppie fly isn't worth a visit in my opinion....Id try the Bridge or Lord Combermere...both much better...and the chip shop is deffo worth it....not forgetting a visit to The Mill for books and craft supplies....in short Audelm is well worth the trip..just moor at the bottom of the locks and walk up...the winding hole is right there..theres even rings along there now..and the view over the Weaver is hard to beat.

The first thing I'd be looking at is the hatch runners. Rainwater can collect on the exposed part of the runners and then run back under the hatch and into the boat. It happens on lots of different boats from different builders. If that is the issue the solution is fairly simple: assuming they're brass runners you cut a groove or slot into the runners just in front of the hatch at 45 degrees which will divert the water off the runners and onto the roof before it can get under the hatch. An angled cut is essential to ensure your sliding hatch still works. Don't cut at 90 degrees! Have a search on the forum as there are probably some pictures of how people have done this fix. I actually took a 5mm strip out of the brass runners but that might be a bit OTT. I think others have just put a blade thin groove in with a hacksaw.

I disagree - if someone knows little or nothing about a subject, how can they know if a boat is at 'market price' or 'overpriced' ? Knowledge and experience of a market is the only way to tell. If a boat is considered to be overpriced by someone then they will not buy it, but someone who does buy it considers it to be 'market price' I think diesel is 'overpriced at ~£1.40 per litre as I used to pay 28p per litre, and some years before that 5* petrol at 4 gallons (18 litres) for £1.00 Maybe I should stop buying it so the vendors know I cannot be duped ! In the last 3 years some of my vintage Gun collection have increased in value / price by over 3x using actual achieved auction sales of similar models. In the last 5 years ,my house has more than doubled in value, and since it was built in 2006 has more than trebled. in value. One 'person of thrifty origins' perception does not a market price make.