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Hi. I will shortly be selling my narrowboat. In your experience, what are the pros and cons of selling through a brokerage, or privately?
Brokers' fees seem high, but i don't know how easy it might be to sell privately. I will be getting her valued when I have got her ready. I'm looking in the region of £60000 sale price.
Any advice, info, will be gratefully received. Thank you.

Hello it’s me again.
im blaming my accident with the pontoon the other day on the steering, would any collingwood owners know be kind enough to send me a picture of their rudder system ( wheel control if possible) our survey picked up a fault on the rudder and out of line prop, the rudder has supposedly been fixed , as a mechanic I’ve since found loose bolts and worn top bearing, I’ve had a look today trying to see if packing with grease would take the play out of the top bearing and tightened all the bolts up however, the Rudder, according to the degree markers on the rudder gauge will go to 45 degrees starboard but only 35 to port before hitting the stops , I’ve included a pic which to me seems like the left hand stop is ok but the right hand is the wrong way around? 
Helpful advice appreciated.

Good morning everyone,
 
My partner and I have our 60ft narrow boat moored around Cambridge and she is in need of a survey and also needs to be blackened.
 
Can anyone recommend somewhere we can take our girl around Cambridge or anywhere along the K&C canal (as we are thinking of heading that way in the coming months).
 
Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated ✨

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/31377-navigation-closure-between-lock-87-lock-89-leeds-liverpool-canal
 
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Overnight on Thursday 24 April, a serious act of vandalism occurred at Lock 88 on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, resulting in the closure of navigation through the section between Lock 87 and Lock 89.
Shear pins, which are essential in keeping the lock gate in the upright position, were deliberately removed. As a result, the gate has collapsed, causing a significant drop in water levels along this section of the canal.
Our immediate priority is to reinstate the gate. This will require specialist lifting equipment, and our local team is meeting with crane contractors on site today to assess access and determine the safest and most effective way forward.
We are doing everything we can to resolve the situation and restore navigation as quickly as possible. A further update will be provided by Monday 28 April.
If you witnessed any suspicious activity around Lock 88 on the evening of Thursday 24 April, or have any information that may help us or the authorities, please get in touch. You can also contact Greater Manchester Police quoting incident number 781-250425.
We appreciate your patience and understanding while we carry out these urgent repairs.
 
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Apparently this has happened before to the same gate? Or so other boaters have told me.
 
Bit concerning that this happened in the first place I'd say. Wouldn't you need some real kit for this to pinch them?

I’m looking at a nice 40ft by 7’10” wide beam and wondering what implications there might be with this if moored on the K&A. I would appreciate any advice or thoughts on this.

Morning All and thanks for all of the assistance with regards to my central heating issues which now works well. I now have another issue which seems to be my water tank. 
The water has a strange smell and taste!
We have been on Mum & Dad now since the 27 March 2025 and the water was good the first time we topped up with fresh water from the standpipe within Garstang Maina, on the Lancaster Canal.
Second time we filled up after a few days we then noticed that the water tasted off and had a slight smell to it.
The water tank is a 1000 litre steel tank.
 
Thanks Roger

Hi, my name is Mike, 78, retired Motorcycle racer. My wife and I - she was a successful racer too - packed up the bikes in September 2008. We then took up offshore sailing, starting with RYA Training and graduating to our own ocean going yachts. The attatched pic shows our current boat, an Island Packet SP Cruiser on the visitors pontoons at Londonderry. We left from Littlehampton, our home berth, and travelled over 2,000 Nautical Miles over the summer by the time we returned.
 
We are very familiar with the canals. We had the privilege of navigating a brand new N/B, the John Kyrle, from Whilton to Little Venice in 1974. We also had an 18 foot plywood 2 berth cruiser in which we did the National Trust Stratford. Plenty of adventures that trip, including a fouled bottom gate-dead sheep-and a missing balance beam, requiring a rope and a hard pull. We owned a 40 ish footer, a Milton Keynes built boat, steel hull, wooden cabin, which we kept on the Oxford at Blue Circles quarry at Bletchingdon. My Dad ran the pension scheme for Blue Circle and got me official permission. With our neighbours we frequently hired from Willow Wren at Rugby. Grebe was one of the 70 footers we took.
 
We joined the 'Canal Club' and used their service for 15 years to 'keep our hand in' on the cut. It was good value and worked well.
 
Our lovely Motorsailer is reluctantly up for sale. First Mate has had a medical incident which means sailing is too much of a risk now. Getting an ambulance to bridge 57 is a better option than a helicopter 120 miles across the Irish Sea!
 
We will be looking for a trad N/B, possibly with a 'proper' engine once we have sold our current boat.

Just found Nick has put the full length video of his trip on YouTube. Early 90s I think. It’s a fascinating watch in the days we were allowed to take risk. 😉
 

Now that beavers are more common on the waterways, my bargepole or barge pole of indeterminate age (20+??) is showing signs of deterioration (!!!!). 
I've just acquired a nice new one - what are the panels views on protection bearing in mind that it lives on the roof 24/7/365? I have considered leaving it to natural weathering, painting (primer plus gloss), or varnish. 
Oops! It's wood - maybe ash.

Bad news just received, lift shut for summer.

Hi All, my new boat is being shown at Crick this year so I will be put in the water at Crick for the first week. I have the choice to stay at Crick or move to North Kilworth which is also on the GU Leicester line. I will stay in a marina for a month or so doing snagging and getting used to single handing in this lock free section of the GU. Looking for suggestions on which is a better place to moor up for a few weeks, crick or north kilworth. 

Hi - we have a 48' narrowboat and would like to join a group crossing The Wash to the Great Ouse sometime during 2025. Is anyone out there wanting to do the same??
 
Cheers - John

Just finishing the sketches of the conversion of my 52-ft tug Tarn into a 70-ft liveaboard fuel boat - slightly nervous that a) the boat won't look as good as I hope and b) the fuel business won't take off like I planned, but what's life without a challenge or two?
 
If CRT give my business proposal the go-ahead, and if they finish the maintenance on the Caen Hill flight on time, Tarn will be coming out of the water on 25th March to head off by road to Graham Sheasby's yard to have a new 18-ft section added and a cargo hold created. Hopefully a month later she'll be back in the water being loaded up with diesel, Calor and coal.
 
Graham and I have already had detailed discussions about the lengthening, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience of having this done (it's hull only so should be a lot easier to make it look right than a full cabin extension).
 
Tarn was built by Midland Canal Centre/Stenson (possibly a Jonathan Wilson before he went solo?) in 1994 and won the Lionel Munk Bowl that year at the national rally for best commercially-fitted out boat. I bought her in July last year intending to refit her internally and sell her on, but fell in love with her while I was doing it! I think she'll do a lovely job as a part-time working boat, albeit there weren't many 70-ft tugs!

Before-and-after sketches:

From Facebbok it all the info I have 

Series 2 starts Monday 5th May, channel 4 so free on catchup!

I put this post on yesterday and had one reply but it as disappeared(?) so I will try again! 
I am about to install a Webasto in my engine room room which is lined with tongue and groove. Can someone who has a Webasto tell me if the body of the Webasto gets hot when in use. There is no mention in the installation instructions about locating the heater next to combustibles (unlike stoves for example) so am I correct to assume I can mount it direct onto the t&g?  or do I need some form of heat barrier?

Hi guys, newbie to the forum.
 
Putting feelers out to see if anybody has been in our situation and could offer advice.
 
We have a boat for sale on brokerage. In nearly 4 months we have had 2 viewings, 1 from someone with nowhere to park it, 1 from someone who didn't have the money. "Appropriate" checks were done before viewings.
 
We have lost all faith with the broker, especially given the boat is advertised at 3 different prices and the write up in incorrect. It was corrected in Feb but then when the prices was dropped they have reverted to the original write up.
 
They want £3k to let us out of the 6 month contract early, which we simply don't have without the boat sale. Would it be acceptible for me to ask for a breakdown on the costs they have incurred and go from there?
 
We are at our wits end with them and just want to move forward.
 
TIA

Hi general question when your prop gets fouled, I know you loose steering which indicates a problem but is there any other damage this does, I.e have an effect on the engine or the gearbox, I have never experienced this before so would like to know. 

So I’ve seen a boat online I like. But it is in the most awkwardest place you can image. You literally have to walk across two fields to get to it. And it’s in a different county to me. I don’t drive. I literally don’t know what to do next.
Should I contact a surveyor and start there? 
Do I send a deposit to the owner and try that?
I’m quite vunerable at the moment. And I’m doing the ‘running away to sea’ trope in my sixties. I just want to get on the water and see England before it changes forever.
Has anyone got a check list of What I should be doing first in this would be purchase?
I’ve never done anything like this in my life
I need all the help I can get.
Thank you.
Sen

Is there a website or resource that'll tell you what size boat you can wind in certain winding holes. From looking, I guess not.
So, anyone know if a 60' boat can wind in  Gallow Hill after the Foxton swingbridge on the Harborough arm?
Ta.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73877533.html

I think I have a Webasto, im not sure how old and I don't have a hi tech one. I just leave it to work via the thermostat, so in winter it usually comes on every a.m.and maybe runs for an hour.
It is normally fairly noisy wheezing on start up, but today it is banging , almost exploding, so I turned it down with thermostat then tried again with same result, so now it is turned right down to prevent it starting up. 
I did see some clouds of blue smoke, from the stern area.  but it is possible the clouds came from the solid fuel stove wwhich I had just lit. The day is windless, so smoke could have settled from the chimney to the stern.
There is plenty of diesel in the tank, and the fuel filter was supposed to have been changed a few months ago.
I would like it to be serviced, any recommendations ? I'm near Todmorden. Ty.
I think the batteries are OK.
 

Currently at the moment our electrics aint great, probably not been changed since 2003 when the boat was built, and some of the stuff is old, 1000w inverter, pwm solar controller, charger in the engine bay etc etc. So i want to replan it all and bring it uptown date, yes its a mission but at the moment i am planning it out on a sheet of paper, see below what i have so far.  Does anyone thing there is anything wrong with what i have got before going ahead.  The Victron inverter/charger i have and its what we need for our Power usage as have done a power calculation on the equipment we will be using. Any thoughts or better ideas i am all ears thanks.
 

 

A chance to lighten the mood and report on any good moving the boat experience 😃
where you been and what you done? 
 
I just had a lovely ramble from the Black Country Museum to Hawne Basin and then into Brum,
the last hour or so in the dark, 
old line to Brades locks, through Netherton and a slog to the basin,
is it because that bit of canal’s been out of use over the winter?
then back through the tunnels and onto mainline and then Town,
8.30amish start and 10pmish finish,
3hrs at Hawne Basin, the washing machine takes awhile,
Canadian Geese are nesting in their usual places on the toll islands and the coots (or moor hens, always get them mixed up) have built their floating nest from twigs and litter,
noticed the new towpath mainline has nice little lights to stop the cyclists from riding into the cut,
great to enter the town in the dark,
quite a different world and experience in the dark
BCN’s ace! Top day boating 👍
 

I'd like a second centre line as with a pretty full roof, its frequently getting caught under the solar and around mushrooms and is a bit of a pain, attempting to whip it over these when changing sides, also considering fitting fairleads in line with the centre ring
Thing is, our centre line ring doesn't seem big enough to attach a second rope, is there something specifically for this that you can attach, carabiner like to fit a second line on?
Is it a relatively simple job to fit the fairleads? I guess 3 holes with threads would need to be drilled both sides and then they'd be bolted on?
Constructive thoughts?
Cheers