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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/02/23 in all areas

  1. You're new here so you are probably a little suprised by the responses on this thread. It's par for the course for this forum. Most of the posters are hopelessly out of touch with how unaffordable things have become for those who didn't get on the housing ladder 20+ years ago. It's almost as if they want to willfully ignore how widespread liveaboarding has become in the most expensive parts of the country, until they want to moor up there of course! Most of those thousands who liveaboard around London now would not be doing it if they had a viable cheaper alternative. They are victims of a broken housing market and yet many forum members seem to enjoy blaming them for their plight, rather than directing their blame at those who caused it.
    5 points
  2. But looping back to the objection(s) about her calling it "Maggie" being objected to, it seems unlikely that any historic boat owner who genuinely appreciates and understands the historical value of their possession would call their boat by a name other than its own. That's all really. None of our business though. But this IS a discussion forum so people here are entitled to discuss whatever they like. Including what people choose to call their boats.
    5 points
  3. Yes, I think that's what irritates me slightly about all these boaty bloggers - they're all relative newbies. Good luck to them I guess, but most of them seem to know much more about making YouTube videos than they do about boats.
    5 points
  4. Thought I would put a video of my boat with it's little engine. Can't remember if I ever did after not being on here for a while.
    5 points
  5. Mines called all sorts of names. Especially when it goes wrong 😁
    4 points
  6. They can't see it through the smoke
    4 points
  7. License £105, insurance £33, coal £46, gas £47, diesel £30. = £251 That's an annualised monthly figure, with June bought coal. It doesnt include any maintenance on the boat. That's before clothes, food, beer, mooring fee, electric, car tax, insurance diesel, tv licence, broadband internet, mobile phone, etc etc. Boat life is not cheap, but is an wonderful way of life.
    4 points
  8. Anyone who already has a property is considered a lower risk for two main reasons: 1. The have already proven themselves at making mortgage payments. 2. The property they already own provides security against the loan. First time buyers do not have that advantage. Lenders mitigate that risk by being more reluctant to lend, by lending smaller amounts or by charging more interest. It's just one of the many delightful ways our economy ensures that wealth continues to be directed upwards rather than redistrbuted.
    3 points
  9. The houses either side were bought by working class couples where the man worked and the woman stayed at home, which was indeed common in those days. The simple fact is that relative to wages houses were *far* cheaper then; yes not *everyone* could afford to buy them, but a lot of people could -- certainly a lot more than today with the current ludicrous UK house prices. This was long before "right-to-buy" which was good for the tenants in the short term who got to own their own house, but not so good for people in the long term as prices went up and the houses were snapped up by BTL investors. In some council areas the majority of the houses purchased under the RTB scheme are now BTL rentals, often owned by landlords with multiple properties -- I'm sure some people on the forum think this is a good idea, but I don't... 😞
    3 points
  10. Back when I left school in 1954 the thought of buying a house never existed for most people, and this continued to be general probably until the Thatcher years and the sale of Council housing. Any 'Right' to be able to buy a house is quite a modern thing. Tam
    3 points
  11. By all means have rental properties for people who do want to rent. No problem. It is when the BTL landlord parasite is buying up the first-time homes which people DO WANT TO BUY and CAN AFFORD TO BUY that you get problems. This is what happens. Okay so you get more expensive rental for people with loads of money (I have never owned property but do rent an expensive mooring) but the BTL thing is in large part about "starter homes" and it is categorically preventing people who would like to eventually own a home from getting their foot in the door, so to speak. This is what is happening.
    3 points
  12. I thought "Drones" could be used, especially for the canal system. Maybe also useful for checking boat movements. But also could be used in urban areas to check for smoke. When it's all turned into a money making game, the councils/gov will become enthusiastic to see it carried out under the disguise of saving the planet.
    3 points
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  16. Oh no, not another one. I fit the general demographic myself - in my 20s, fairly recent CC liveaboard - but: * Financial motivation not the main thing; I've wanted to live on a boat ever since I said "mummy I want to live on one of those" aged single figures and jumped at the chance when working practices changed due to Covid. The costs of a 30ft boat aren't less than renting a similarly-sized room somewhere, and I could afford more than that if I wanted to live on land. * Remote working and not tied to a specific location, so I can actually cruise and not just shuffle around a 20-mile radius of some fixed point. * I have some woodworking and electrical skills, and am willing to wield a spanner given a manual, so I can at least try to look after it myself. These articles always seem to understate the costs and the enforced differences in lifestyle, and encourage people with no knowledge or particular interest in boats to jump into it. I've met some people who've been seduced that way who clearly have no idea what they're getting into.
    3 points
  17. I aim to list here the decisions I made during the process of acquiring my sailaway 12 years ago and fitting it out, and add a comment as to whether I now think those decisions were good or bad. Decision 001. I would buy a sailaway. GOOD. In Autumn 2009 I realised that, after many years, my family no longer looked to me for direction & guidance, and on the rare occasions that they did, the guidance I gave was wrong. I was redundant. I was also retired. I had put my energies over the years into projects about the house which saved money when we did not have a lot and added useful function, but now my wife was tired of having ongoing part-complete projects underfoot and preferred to have professionals in. Although they did a crap job and never gave you what you asked for, at least they were quick. Once they started. Sometimes. So I neeeded a project, and a project that was out of the house. I'm not a people person, I'm a machine person, I find that machines communicate far more precisely than humans, so the local dramatic society and such like was out. It occured to me that I could buy a Sailaway and fit it out and that would fit the bill. I looked about for a supplier. I was in a hurry. If I could buy it within 3 months ie before Dec31 2009, I could get it at 15% VAT rather than 20%, a useful saving. I found a single person builder with land by a river with a crane and paid a few visits. All seemed good until I stepped back a moment and had a think. He wasn't actually supplying the hull, he was acting as an intermediary with the hull manufacturer. The land was there, for which I would be paying a weekly rent, and was subject to a dispute with the local council re usage. The crane was no longer certificated and so could not be used. His shed-full of tools would definitely not be made available. The slipway was owned by a neighbour which he was on very bad terms with, and none of the waterside was available for mooring. But he was a nice chap. There were other factors as well that I don't wish to publish. Decision 002. Look elsewhere for a supplier. GOOD. I decided that I needed somebody who actually fabricated the hull, and who had made at least 300 before, and who was not a one-man band so that if he dropped dead I would not be left in it. Liverpool Boats in their various guises were an obvious candidate but the opinion on this forum and elsewhere seemed to be that, whilst there were good ones, the name did not guarantee or even suggest reliability as to quality. Decision 003. Get a sailaway from Colecraft. VERY GOOD. I visited Colecraft and saw the 4 boats under construction in their large, proper industrial workplace, and arrived at the conclusion that they were churning hulls out at about one a week. The people I saw were very genuine, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to. They appeared to be willing to create a hull respecting my wishes provided that I didn't ask for anything that they thought would create a bad boat, bad in the sense that it would function badly, not bad in the sense that it didn't conform to some yard style. They were prepared to attempt to get me one by Dec31 and they succeeded, just. Decision 004. Get a narrowboat hull. GOOD. At the time I thought I duty-bound to go for a low-cost option so I never considered a fat boat. In fact my circumstances were much better than I thought and I could have stretched to a fat boat hull, or even a bespoke fully-fitted new boat but that would not have filled the brief. In the first few years of moving the boat I thought that wide locks were much more fun as they usually involved sharing with other boats. Later on I completely reversed that view, preferring to operate narrow locks by myself, occasionally getting up at 05:00 to have them to myself. On balance this was a good decision though there were downsides as I shall explain later. The next batch of decisions related to the design choices for the hull, in no particular order. Decision 005. A wide tumblehome. GOOD. By tumblehome I mean the walkway down the side of the boat. In my totally ignorant (at that time) way, I asked for a very narrow walkway, and Colecraft strongly advised against it. I took their advice and I am so glad that I did. Even with ice on the boat it was possible with extreme care to negotiate it. Decision 006. No bowthruster. GOOD. Colecraft looked at me and said, "you don't need a bowthruster now, but you have stated that you aim to keep the boat for many years, so please consider having one put in now for your old age as adding one later is not ideal". I was adamant that I did not want one, as I was of the opinion that it would be more work to maintain than the benefit it would give. I know that there are circumstances where they are good, such as one mooring neighbour who used to reverse half(quarter?) of a mile to a water point once per week, but I aimed to avoid such special cases. And I hate the noise they make! Colecraft were happy to go along with that once they were sure that I understood what I was choosing. Decision 007. A gas boat. GOOD. I decided that my boat was going to be a gas boat. I like plumbing gas and I had experience of using gas living in a caravan for 8 months as a 10 year old. This meant the hull should be designed to have storage for gas bottles. Decision 008. Storage for 4 x 13Kg Calor Propane gas bottles. VERY GOOD. I asked Colecraft to design and fit a storage locker on the cruiser stern for 4 bottles in a line across the stern to form a bench seat that I could sit on whilst steering. They liked the challenge and made a fair success of it though with hindsight I would ask for some changes. I stated that I would be the principal user/steerer of the boat and result was comfortable for me with my hand on the tiller standing or sitting on the locker. The tiller arc did not strike a lock wall and I could pull the tiller fully over while seated without being knocked backwards off the boat. Brilliant! This dictated the height of the locker and left only the minimum amount room to get the gas bottle highpressure lines horizontal (or upwards) to avoid crud collecting in them. With hindsight I would ask for more height even if this meant a small step to get up to sit on the locker. When I came to install the gas lines I found it necessary to have a stand pipe welded into the locker for the takeoff lines which was difficult because of the lack of this "headroom".
    2 points
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  19. The fact you suggest 5mm copper brake pipe indicates to me you probably shouldn't be doing this. Do you realise that the pipe and fittings should either be exposed to allow inspection of the whole run, or if covered at all, the covering must be easily removable. I think in your super shiny bathroom and bedroom it is unlikely that anyone will be looking to remove existing woodwork and trim - far more likely the pipe needs to be installed on top of what you already have, I would have thought.
    2 points
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  21. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  22. I gave a YouTube/Instagram boater a hand moving their boat and became good friends with them, they had 1000 plus followers with all positive comments. They were filming the journey with me out of frame, they spent hours getting the shots and longer editing the Vlog. Between filming I pointed out things and gave tips on boating/locks, chatted about canal history and the local area. The journey lasted a few days, by the last day they weren’t filming so much but were enjoying it more, they were more relaxed and actually taking in the surroundings and the canal. Now they don’t do YouTube anymore and very little on Instagram and admit they aren’t bothered with it, as they are just enjoying the canals and having a boat. The problem with YouTube newbies as you say, is that they are more bothered about Social Media then actually enjoying the canals and the experience, which just seams to be the norm these days with every age group.
    2 points
  23. I will thank you for putting it up, it has engendered much discussion and in my view was worthwhile.
    2 points
  24. A wee piece of background to the change to the current format: In the early 1990s, Ordnance Survey announced that they would not be producing any more single-colour mapping (the base mapping for the original Nicholson guides was black and white and the blue was an additional, in-house layer, added together with all the boating info) and that Nicholson Waterway Guides would have to make do with the seven colour maps or go without altogether! The publishers (and I can't remember where we were with mergers and whether it was Bartholomew's or Collins by then) agonised for some 15 months and finally agreed to go with the all-singing, all-dancing, colour maps. Meanwhile, the editor David Perrott, had come up with the current division of the waterways into seven regional titles, plus of course the map and briefly, in 2022, a Scottish book (replaced by a fold-out map) to coincide with the restoration of the Lowland Canals. The Broads coverage followed in 2010, adopting a somewhat lack-lustre format using 1" mapping and a totally different presentation ......... now, thankfully, scrapped and totally aligned with the seven other regional guides and their 2" scale of mapping. Whilst there is overlap between the content of different guides I can't fault the way David went about things with a view to minimising the number of different books required to make up rings and the like. After all the bulk of new sales will be to hirers and those unlikely to be regular boaters. In their latest incarnations, paddling information is starting to appear in recognition of the popularity of canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding.
    2 points
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  26. Maybe something to do with the moneylenders and the perceived risk, or the way the tax system works for landlords.
    2 points
  27. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
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  29. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  30. You capitalist pig! No-one has a right to own a home. No-one should be forced to buy one as the only way to get shelter. Renting should always be available to those who want to, even though you appear to think they should be prevented from renting as it will prevent someone else from buying. the bottom line is there is a number of properties being used for accommodation. The ratio of rental to owner occupied shifts a little with time and fashion but the details of the right to occupy (rent or own) make no difference to the amount of accommodation out there for the population to live in.
    2 points
  31. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  32. I don't see how anyone can help pinpoint potential problem points, apart from bleeding rads, without actually seeing how the pies are run, and the pump is orientated. Photos or accurate diagrams help us understand. This may be a DIY installation that ha snot given sufficient thought to not creating air locks.
    2 points
  33. I accept that a CC non moving boat life could be very cheap if you like to sit there with no TV, eating value beans on Tesco value bread with no butter, drinking lukewarm stove kettle tea with no milk, placing a maximum of 2 nuggets of coal a day on your stove. Moving rarely and praying for sunshine so your solar panel gives you another evening with your single LED bulb going. ...and yes, people like this exist, but that's pretty much all they do.
    2 points
  34. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  35. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  36. Over much of the network the towpath is on the downhill side of the canal, on top of the bank which retains the canal water from flowing to lower ground. So it is an essential engineering structure for maintaining the navigation channel. The path along the top is merely incidental. CRT cannot give up responsibility for owning and maintaining significant water retaining structures, and no local authority in its right mind is going to want to take on that responsibility. Local authorities can and do contribute to funding the maintenance and upgrading of the towpath surface.
    2 points
  37. Then if the current owner is able to do what previous owners have not, and is able to preserve it for future generations, perhaps she is entitled to call it whatever she damn well wants.
    2 points
  38. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  39. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  40. I obviously have it right as it works and has done for years. Since the introduction of low sulphur diesel some 20 or so years ago most of the problems have gone away. I could easily help you with info on system design but since you seem to only want to hear answers that you have already decided on I won't waste my time. Bye
    2 points
  41. I think this is a misunderstanding. Free public access is not enshrined in law. One of the reasons for government funding of CRT is to ensure that free access continues (my bold). Obviously that might change post 2027 and the public might be reliant on the Waterways Infrastructure Trust settlement and CRT's charitable objects only. These make no mention of "free".
    2 points
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  43. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  44. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  45. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
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  47. You are talking of a couple who were both at work - not such a common thing back then, certainly not among 'working class' people. My father did manage to buy a 99 year lease on a newbuild house immediately before WW2, but that was because he had a massive (at the time) £500 football pool win. As a park keeper with a wife and 5 children he'd never have been able to do that otherwise Tam
    1 point
  48. Our boat was based on an old canal boat called the gypsy lady, yes, the pictures are the same boat just different camera angles, I appreciated everyone's comments my hope is to have this at shows etc so hopefully, you can all see it for yourself it's resistant to water and chemicals. mechanical composition is extremely strong on impact and tension. Normally the tension resistance is 225-350 kgf/cm2 and heat resistance is above 100 OC. HDPE is widely used in pressure pipes, gas distribution pipes, liquid containers, machine and home appliance parts, and in insulation. Lately, because of its resistance to water, it is also used in tank and boat manufacturing.
    1 point
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