alaskanuk

Thanks everyone. Have booked the Three Magpies, so will be at Devizes for the Easter Weekend. Hope to meet up with some of you. Dave, Dawn & Dogs

Hi All As some of you may know, Dawn and I are planning on becoming liveaboards in the not too distant future. So, what we intend to do, Is now the weather is due to start improving, we'll be getting the caravan out, and spend w/e near canals and Marinas, in the hope of meeting up with some of you lovely people. So, can anyone recommend any campsites very close to Canals or Marinas, specificly, the K&A, Thames, GU, Stort, Lee, Basingstoke, ie the Southern Network, or within say a three/four hours drive from London. Many thanks Dave & Dawn

Hi Richard and Will We are in the same position as you, more or less, having decided to probably opt for a widebeam. You have more or less answered the question yourself. You will be restricted with where you can navigate. We will be looking at cc in the South, so will be restricted to the K & A, Thames, GU, Lee, Stort etc etc. Upt North I think there are more canals being able to take wide beams, or you have the option of going East, River Ouse Nene Can etc, with the option of going up the Wash to Boston (I think). There also is the obvious maintenance costs being greater than a nb, ie, for blacking, painting etc as well as heating. It's a balance though, the larger living space of a widebeam, or the flexibility of travelling the entire network with a nb. HTH. Dave & Dawn Here is a link to wider canals website, which has a more detailed map of where you can navigate a widebeam :- http://www.barging.co.uk/mapuk.htm

Nope, sorry Richard. Had to register to look. Good map though. Dave

No, unfrotunately not. It's more like this :- http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/jim.shead/Inl...of-England.html D & D

Unfortunately, our pc is set to "delete history" after 4 days.

Hi All We found a canal/river map on the www the other day, but forgot to bookmark it, and now cannot find it It's similar to the one on Jim Sheads excellent website but not quite so in depth. It had a coloured map of the UK, showing all the navigable rivers/canals with different colours for wide beams etc. And as you dragged the cursor over the canal, it opened up a sub menu with the ammount of locks, etc. Any ideas where we can find it ? Dave & Dawn

As I said before these 'fridges were designed, in the first instance, for the caravan trade and the 12v was as a temporary supply. I just checked my caravan hanbook, and the 12V is for connecting to the car when towing to cool the fridge down (for cars fitted with a double connector, black and grey). It is NOT conected to the leisure battery of the caravn. Then when you pitch up, you have the option of running off mains (if you have a hook up) or gas. Dave

Thanks for that Gary. most helpful, especailly anout the VAT issue. Dave

Hi All We're newbies, doing our "homework" stage. We have decided on a Wide Beam as a narrow boat would be to claustophobic for my disabled partner and myself plus three dogs and two cats. We have makes of boat in mind, and are looking at sailaway pluses/additions/extras. As a fully fitted wide beam is beyond our price tag. I am OK doing most of the fit out myself as regards the general carpentry side, fitting kitchen, bedroom, flooring etc (ie, the easier bits). But, where I do struggle is electrics/plumping (gas/water). So I may require for a fit out of the bathroom as well. One company want £12,000 - £15,000 to fit bathroom only. The boat we choose will have the wire runs in, both 240 & 12V, and the water pipes will be installed as will the diesel central heating/calorifier/Inverter etc etc. Are there people around boatyards who would be willing to do this type of work (obviously to BSS & RCD standards). Any advice or suggestions please. Dave & Dawn

Thanks for that Steve. So a brokerage acts more or less in the same way as an estate agent. We actually visited the New Boat Co at Reading. But the problem we found was that as we were "adding" bits to the boat we required, so the price jumped up way beyond the 60K mark. Also, would not a tried and tested fairly top of the range boat a few years old prove a better buy ? Thanks for the help guys, so it looks like a visit to brokerages for us then. Dave

Hi All. Have been lurking for a few days. My partner and I have more or less decided that liveaboard is for us. I hope to get early retirement at the end of this year/begging early next at the age of 50. We have been e-mailing various liveaboards with general questions, and have been viviting the Grand Union, meeting liveaboards, asking about their experiences etc. And we still have tons of stuff to ask, most of which we will find many of the answers on this excellent forum. We have more or less decided on the type & size of boat for us, our three dogs and two cats (and yes, have read the Dogs in Pubs thread) The one question we need to ask on here, (as we'll get much bigger feedback) is, do we buy private, or go through a brokerage. We will be looking for a 60 -62 ft, cruiser stern around the £60,000 mark. How much mark up do the brokerage put on a second hand boat they buy ? I work in the car industry, and know that dealers put a hell of a mark up on second hand vehicles they sell. Are Boat Brokerages the same ? What more/less would I get in say giving £60,000 to a brokerage, or £60,000 to a private seller ? Also, where do the private sellers advertise, as I have purchased Waterways World, and Canal Boat but most of the adverts are from brokerages. I guess I could get a slightly newer boat privately than paying the same ammount to a brokerage, and I will have to pay for an inspection, whoever I buy the boat from. Any suggestions/comments would be really appreciated. Dave