gary955

Not heard of Danboline but just googled it and found that its only available in grey of white, and I want red! I've just found some red International Bilge protection paint in the paint locker. The tin says paint over primer, I wonder if that would do? Edited to say I've just noticed the tin says International DANBOLINE in great big letters.

I need to paint my cratch floor, rear deck and roof. The rear deck paint has all but disappeared under a sustained assault by duck poo so will need some serious prep and paint removal. What's the best and most economical attachment for a 4.5" angle grinder for such a task? Rubber backing pad and sanding discs or perhaps an abrasive pad? I understand that zinc primer is absorbent but will it dry again in the hot sun if it gets rained on between priming and painting? Can I top coat onto primer or do I need an undercoat? Thanks in advance for any help.

if its indoors, any matt acrylic.

My new mooring is at Hatherton and apart from the journey up through the midlands to get here, I haven't done any exploring. I've got five days with my girlfriend for a leisurely out and back trip. So which way should we go and what is there to see and do? Nice towns or villages? interesting places to visit? museums? Should we take bikes to expand our range? Many thanks for your suggestions.

That would be me for one.

Thank you nicknorman for answering my original post

I've frequently been on shore power for the last three years without a GI and when I had my boat blacked recently it showed no ill effects. However I'm now on a new mooring and am thinking that perhaps I've pushed my luck far enough and it's time to get protected. I guess I should put the GI in the earth line downstream of the socket (on the boat) that the shore lead plugs into, but this is the same socket that I plug the inverter into when away from shore power. Will it matter that the inverter will run through a GI when in this configuration?

When I was on my tools, many years ago, SnapOn made driver bitts with anti cam-out teeth on them. I still use them all these years later, and they're still surprisingly effective.

Yes I agree that most boats are trimmed stern down so the water will run to the back, so perhaps two pumps. However a number of unpredictable factors may determine the list and just two inches of water on the floor of a 55 or 60 foot narrow boat will weigh the best part of two tonnes!! You'll need a lot of coal or people to correct that list. Edited when I realised that perhaps you meant deliberately introduce a small list before you have a leak, in order to ensure any water leaking into the boat will flow toward a single bilge pump!

Where do you position your bilge pump? Logic would suggest that in a flat bottomed narrow boat (or wide beam) without internal bulkheads, you really need four! One at each corner.

Ah....I see Well in a thread which has stayed broadly on topic for four pages and on which the OP expressed his thanks for the many helpful contributions, your "plain speaking" seems to have contributed absolutely nothing.

I wonder why your default position is so frequently rudeness and scorn?

thanks have spoken to Phil

Does anyone know anything about this marina? There are boat's moored there but the gates are locked and the telephone seems to be disconnected

a permanent crane would be preferable. It will be difficult to coordinate the lift out which will probably be a Thursday with a shared lift in.

Only 10 tonnes unfortunatly

Thanks for the forum's tips for midland moorings. My next challenge is getting there! Given the low freeboard at the bow of my boat I think I'll give the seven estuary a miss. I can get craned out at Hilperton for a reasonable cost but the cost of a mobile crane at the other end is more than the cost of the haulage! is there a fixed crane able to lift a boat in, anywhere between Sharpness and Wolverhampton that might be cheaper than the £600+ cost of a mobile? Probably don't have time to do the long way round, although I'd love to

It seems possible that I'll working in Wolverhampton for a bit. My home is in Bristol so just a little to far for a daily commute. When I first started working in Bristol my home was in Southampton and I used to stay on my narrowboat during the week to avoid a similarly long commute. It seems to make sense to do the same again, so I'm looking for recommendations for a nice marina within about half an hours drive of Wolverhampton (preferably south of Wolverhampton for obvious reasons) Staying there three of four nights a week I'd like it to be a nice friendly place with a sense of community so that I don't get too lonely, and in a nice secure area so that I don't have to worry about the boat while I'm away. Access to interesting cruising would be the icing on the cake. I've loved the K&A but it will be nice to see some different canals.

I'm often puzzled by the claim that convection systems wont work with a falling pipe run. My system is all in 22mm pipe with the outlet of the back boiler rising to gunnel hight as it leaves the stove. From there it falls gently with the trim of the boat past two radiators with normal (lockshield?) valves, to the cauliflower some 35 feet away before returning at floor level. Both radiators get hot and the water temp in the cauliflower will rise to about the mid 30s In four years the system has never boiled or made any noise suggesting that it's about to. I would have thought that once the water leaves the stove and rises to the highest point, it will begin to cool and be slowly be displaced by by more hot water leaving the stove. Once it reaches the first radiator some 10 feet away i expect the circulation velocity will increase as the cooling water sinks dragging whe warmer water through.

Sue It should be perfectly possible for your hubby to use a boat as a Mon to Fri home while contracting. I've done it and it's a lovely way of life, a proper home away from home. It is possible to be a compliant continuous cruiser too, although in the winter it will mean moving the boat every other weekend rather than mosying on in the evenings as you can in the summer. But you needen't miss him, you could join him on the boat move weekends! the winter can be a magical time on the canals in a warm dry boat. In the right boat with a gas fridge and led lighting you wont need to run the engine every day either, I managed with just a single 80w solar panel and only had to run the engine occasionally between moves. I was able to shower at work and the back boiler would provide water warm enough for washing up. It would be simpler (but in some ways less enjoyable) to have a home mooring. If your husband is a ltd company contracter then he may be able to rent the boat to his company in order to provide himself with a place to stay while working away from home, and so recover the mooring cost as expences.

Thanks Ray and Joshua for realising that it was a bit more of an existential conundrum than the issues of sea sickness or the practicalitys of a bath at sea, although all the responses are welcome and I appreciate all those that take the time to answer. Joshua We'd love to meet up to discuss our plans and to learn about yours.......love to see your boat. I'll pm you

I've edited to remove that slightly ambiguous statement before she sees it!!

Following on from my thread searching for a deep drafted mooring on the G&S. I'm off to Holland on thursday to possibly make an offer on a largish displacement motor yacht. I've made such trips before and been thinking about this for a couple of years but this time it all looks feasible! The boat has dimensions that will fit a reasonable number of rivers and estuaries in the UK and a lot of continental inland waterways but certainly the UK waterways could only be connected by the sea. The boat would be more than capable, having been originally designed as a trans ocean motor sailer. But I know nothing of lumpy water, although i intend to learn over an extended period by venturing out (with suitable training) from the safety of the glous and sharpness. This week I've been for a cruise on my narrowboat with my girfriend for a few days. It's been lovely with the stove keeping us warm, the quiet and peace of the canal with almost empty visitor moorings has been a joy. My boat is not the shiniest with some oxidation of the paint and a little rust in places on the roof, but inside she's lovely with an engine room and a trad back cabin, the girfriend particularly likes the bath. I honestly wouldn't swap it for another narrowboat. I lived on it for a couple of years and can handle her with unconsious skill, single handed or with company. I wonder if I'll get frustrated by being a learner on a different type of boat....or even be totally inept!! Today as I was turning into Avoncliff aquaduct i was going slowly enough and the engine was softly thumping quietly enough for me to have a brief conversation with a woman standing at the railings. "That looks very relaxing" she said."it's lovely" i replied "and this is a lovely time of year for it" "you're soooo lucky" she said. And I am, I'm very fortunate indeed to enjoy all this, so should I move on or just be thankfull for the wonderful life I already have? Edited as more points occur to me

Would that be a practical hop for someone with no sea going experience at all? I'm a little intimidated by the Severn estuarys reputation but if it's easy then that is an attractive option. Wrong side of the river for work though, assuming it's on the north shore.

Not Hi Fi in the truest sense but my Acoustic Energy Ageo M sub and satelites is perfect for the boat. Small, unobtrusive but with a big and detailed sound. i feed mine from an mp3 player and a laptop for watching movies. An mp3 file is never going to give you audiophile quality no matter what the system, but then the acoustics of a narrowboat will muck up proper hi fi sound anyway. Have a look (listen) at it if you can find one on demo, it's cheap and impressive.