Blokey

Ive not made myself very clear. Sorry fellers. Its the angle thats the problem. I put up shelves etc at home and its 90 degrees and Bobs your uncle. Its a different ball game on the boat isnt it? Is there particular fixings that I can buy to compensate for the angle as I want to make a nice job of it.

Hi, what do I do please to fix to the walls of my narrowboat, shelves ,cupboards etc etc. Looking down the length of the boat from inside it is quite hexagonal and being to carpentry what Mother Theresa is to cage fighting I need some helpful advice please.

Quote" Your story quite literally brings tears of rage to my eyes. I can't imagine how you've managed to keep your cool through all this, and I think you should be applauded for it. I'm hugely concerned about the physical (and no doubt mental) effects this is having on you, and give me a couple of weeks and I might be able to offer some practical help (in the form of a week of blissful cruising with no worries attached.) Please keep in touch; if you disappear from the forum we'll all be worried, so stick around. We're all on your side. John ,thanks very much gor your kindness. Lets hope now that alls well thats ends etc and we can meet up for a pint or 2 one summer evening somewhere wet Fingers are massively crossed. Ally, Up until this all going off I havent seen much of my brothers for sometime as they live in Bristol and I live in South Wales but trust me it isnt all its cracked up to be. Once you have been to a couple of family get togethers with my lot you dont need many more. Im 20 stone plus and apart from my sister Im the smallest one in the family and Im the only fatty.

Thanks to everyone for all your support on this. At this time after further discussion I believe everything to be finally under way and that the original agreement is now being honoured. In the intrests of our sanity and to bring this to closure Im going to shut up for now and see where we go. If all goes as promised now we will have a boat by the end of this month. I will keep you all informed. It was said yesterday that it was a thought someone held that I have a leaning towards violence. Personally that isnt the case and Im genuinely sorry if Ive given that impression to anyone on here, however the same sadly cannot be said of a couple of my brothers. When I posted on here originally I was at the end of my tether with all this. I have no intention of hitting anybody nor sending the dogs in either. The problem at this end with "the posse" occured when my sister in law found my partner breaking her heart, worrying herself sick. They talked and my sister in law then loosed the dogs. It has only served to massively increase pressure on myself. I could have gone down that road weeks ago had I wanted to. I have no desire or intent to do anything like that and I hope I havent created that sort of picture about myself. Im no different to any other bloke and Im the furthest thing from a yob or an animal. Thanks to everyone for their support again and offers of help. Fingers crossed now and I will let you know the end result ASAP.

The main thing for me is and has been with this mess is why did it take so long despite repeated requests for these people to send any paperwork accepting reciept of this money for payment for this boat??? Had they done so when they promised to do so then the vast amount of family pressure that we recieved wouldnt have happened. With the vibes and feedback we were getting from the agent we were all expecting this yard to fold and us left with absolutely nothing and no comeback. We never at any time wanted any of the controversy or complications and we have never done anything to the people involved to cause such. All we wanted or ever wanted was a reasonabley reliable date as to when we could expect the boat we had payed for and some communication and frankly I truly believe we should have had that. Rest assured had I had 25,K of his money and just sat on it for so long he would have been all over me like a rash.

Well when we arranged all this back in the early days it was verbally agreed by the agent that she would sort out the transport and craning etc and that because she was fully aware that we are complete novices she was going to take us out for a couple of days on completion teaching us. The price of craning and haulage was agreed and we thought we were having a marvelous time of it. Now because I came on here she says my comments have "upset her" and she has reneged on her word. To be honest dealing with these people I have come to regard it as par for the course. She says there are two parts for every story. Our part was that we were 5 weeks late paying for the boat due to solicitors dragging their feet. We were powerless to do anything about it. I kept the yard and agent informed and there was never a doubt as to it arriving it was just the solicitors working their own pace. Our money came through on the 5th of May and we immediattely transfered the £25,000 into their account. We finally recieved acknowledgement of such after coming on here the other day. Their part dealing with a customer who has paid them £25,000 up front has been more and more broken promises. Virtually zero communication. The agent herself throwing doubts at us regarding the staffing levels at the yard and telling us tales as regards his staff walking out and taking boat plans etc, saying its about time he considered customer satisfaction etc, really helping to fill us with confidence. She promised to meet me at the yard, we would go down and find out exactly what he was doing as regards work on the boat, go down and see him herself to sort it out then and never bothering to keep her word or to phone us when none of this comes to fruition. Everytime I phone her she says "oh I was just about to phone you". Regards to the yard ,Every single time he has bypassed a date (4 of them now)and not once has he contacted us as to why. We have always had to phone him. Not once has he apologised for any inconvenience or delay. We have told both the agent and the yard several times that we are in danger of losing our mooring and it hasnt made the slightest difference. We have been treated with contempt and we were absolutely worried sick that the yard was going to go under and we would lose all our money and our boat hence in desperation I came on here.. We have been going to sleep worrying about it and waking up worrying about it. The whole thing has turned from something really good and exiting to a total constant nightmare and as cash paying customers I dont think we deserve this at all. On Thursday night after being told that the agent was now pulling out of her word because I had "upset her" by telling you guys on here, I was taken into hospital with pains in my chest and arm, totally stressed out. I can easily prove this should anyone doubt me and think Im playing the sympathy card. The thing is now that we spent virtually all we had on the boat and budgeted for the money originally discussed for moving. Its now going to come to much more than we have and we dont have enough to move the boat at this time if by some miracle it is ever completed on the 26th as promised in the letter and so we are now going to have to go into debt at the bank as well. Warning to other numpties like myself, dont trust anybodies word, dont hand money over and nail them down solid with solicitors and it doesnt matter a twopenny damn how nice they are or appear. This agent had the gaul to try to blame me for finally getting fed up of being treated this way and putting it on here. It seems rather strange that I havent mentioned names at any time regarding their identities and yet she recognised it by the facts on reading the post though doesnt it??? She say's "You try to be nice to some people and look what you get". Mmmmmmmmmmm?????

Well this morning Lo and Behold we had a recorded delivery with documents proving our ownership and a delivery date. I would thank you all very much for the advice freely given and the chance to blow off some steam. Im quite sure that people involved in this read this forum and that in itself has helped. I would never have put names down on here without seeking the site owner's permission first, however I would have let anyone know via pm. Its a complete puzzle to me as to why the yard owner would have let it get to this stage when all we wanted really within reason was proof of ownership and recognition that he had had our money. It was every penny we had. I was under immense pressure at home from relatives stoked up on testosterone who know "best" and he could have resolved it with the letter we have recieved this morning months ago so easily, however lets see where we go from here. I appreciate that he held on for a month for us in the begining when we were being messed around with solicitors handling the money but trust me he has more than had that repaid and it isnt up to us to deal with his staff shortages and inability to reply to phone calls and admin work etc. It also doesnt help when they are telling you they have sent mail and registered mail on several occasions and zero arrives Anyway fingers crossed that alls well that ends etc etc . Thanks again everyone and I will keep you posted.

I dont have any paperwork to prove that we own the boat Ally. This is what he is supposedly sending every day. The only proof we have that they have recieved £25,000 from us is the bank transfer. As I say we have been totally naive idiots. He told us that after the boat sank he needed the money to do the repair work before he could carry on with it and so we sent it to him. In fact as has already been said we acted as his banker and at this minute in time we have nothing to show for it other than a crock of broken promises.

We had major words over the phone yesterday night. The guy has told me that the boat "hopefully" (his favourite word) will be ready by the end of next week. He has also told us the same about the end of May, the beginning of June, the middle of June and last week. He insists that he has sent paperwork in the past and we have never recieved it. He was to have sent it again on Monday recorded delivery .We have never recieved it. He was sending it again yesterday, again recorded delivery and the postman has just walked by my window. The person who is the agent, I have contacted her time and again and she agrees that he is out of order and say,s she is going to go personally and find out whats happening but thats not happening either. 9 times out of 10 when she promises to return calls it doesnt happen. I had an old banger of a car that had problems up until yesterday that I didnt trust for the journey to the yard. I got shut of it and have a much better car so I can go at any time now but my problem is that Im scared of losing my temper. Im trying very, very hard now to believe that this is all going to turn out ok but all the time Im seeing this spectre of these people stealing every penny we have. Ive already been in trouble a couple of times in the past through losing it and decking somebody and the trouble is that being the size I am I tend to break whatever I hit and that opens serious doors as Ive found out to my cost. I have 4 brothers who are all bigger than myself and they are all very concerned and straining on the leash everyday and thats not helping. My partners brother is a solicitor and he was always very much against our idea and he is also on my case every day and also straining the leash. None of this at this time is helping, although it may very well do in the next couple of weeks. My suspicions could be wrong and the yard owner is just a guy who,s word isnt worth a carrot and we will end up sometime with a good boat, but the more this lack of communication goes on and these constant broken promises and the "hopefully by next week crap" the less likely it is looking to all here.

I have been told that they are not interfering with the "integrity " of the boat but are overplating with 6 mil steel. I have been told various things by boaters from that will be ok to that is rubbish?????

We had £30.000 and that was it. Being someone who doesnt like debt or loans we didnt consider one and still dont want one. We went round looking at boats and decided on a boat from zero knowledge. A fiftyfoot boat for £25,000 that was agreed would have a full 4 years ticket on it from the day of sale and we very exitedly laid down our deposit. We then went round telling all the planet of our good fortune and future plans. Through the solicitor dragging his feet and messing around the payment of the balance was delayed for a month. The yard were fine about that and held on to our boat. During that month and on the day it was due for its survey our boat sunk. We were told that the previous owners had made a bodge up repair that gave way and when they came into work that morning she was sat with her stern on the bottom in 18 inches of water. They sorted her out and eventually she was surveyed and the results were she had to have a new stern and hull. This we were told by the yard would be sorted out at their expense and the price stood but they would need the money in advance to fund the work. We transfered £25,000 into their account with a bank transfer, and then we waited and waited and waited. To this day we have had promise after promise that paperwork would be forwarded. If you phone them you are told "hopefully" we should have it on dock at the end of the week etc etc etc. Their word and promises arent worth a carrot. Dates and times have come and gone. They have said time and again they would phone us we have never had a single call from the yard to this date. They never return calls and never keep their word. They have had our money for months now and we havent had as much as a reciept. We were told last week that he had posted paperwork that particular day, it has never arrived ,it was a crock of proverbial, it was never sent in the first place. I have been told this week that finally the boat is on the dock and being worked on???? The initial confidence and the excitement and pleasure has all gone now and we are hoping and praying that 1,we havent been ripped off for 25,000 in total and 2, if it does come to fruition we are hoping that the boat is ok and not going to be one expensive heartbreak after another. If this whole thing isnt finalised within the next 2-3 weeks I will name and shame this yard. Its so called a well respected and known company. Watch this space. For newcomers like us BE VERY AWARE. We have done it totally wrong through sheer lack of knowledge and given ourselves a massive headache instead of something that should have been magic. Im aware this post makes us look foolish but frankly I dont care if it saves some other novices going down the same road. We are fortunate that the people who are holding our mooring are good friends and are still holding it. Had it been otherwise and down to this yard,s promises we would have lost this mooring 5 times over.

We have our little girl with us so she is going to have the stern double bedroom. We are thinking of this thing (buying 3 and stacking them for a sofa and splitting them for a bed) with the high density foam mattresses from Ikea. They are £80 each and are very firm. We prefer the look of a lot of the sofa beds we have seen in other peoples boats in the ads on the internet but are well aware that "Handsome is as handsome does" and a good nights kip is paramount. As regards armchairs we have bought leather bean bags.

Hi as complete numpties and just starting out on this adventure we are looking at furnishings. Im a big lad and in my limited experience of sleeping on bed settees and put-me ups Ive always found they would be more suited in the Tower of London. We have been looking in Ikea at the idea of buying 3 heavy duty foam mattresses and using them as a settee in the day with various coloured throws over them but I wondered if anyone on here could reccomend a good bed setee that actually works as both before we make our mind up please?? Also could someone confirm or destroy a myth?? We have a squirrel stove at the bow. We have a 50ft boat. Will it be cold in winter????? Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

If Ive done it right this should be a photo of our boat. http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h191/Bid...dmooring004.jpg http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h191/Bid...dmooring010.jpg Success thanks very much for your help.

Thanks for that "Keeping Up" I enjoyed reading that. Poor old Thistle. She was a lovely looking boat as well. I liked that high bow , very graceful to the eye.

We really couldnt possibly have asked for more support than we are recieving from Lorretta and Ashley. If the worst case scenario happens and this "suit" loses our boat through his broken promises, failed deadlines and dilly dallying then as soon as it is finalised we will still go back to them for another boat.

As a complete novice and just buying our first boat I wondered what you experienced boaters thought about this apparently very emotive issue. Have you suffered greatly after doing so?? Our boat at the minute is called after a man. That alone just doesnt sit right. Its name is "Hernando Cortez" it rasps off the tongue about as smoothly as a sand blaster off a nuns bare arse. Its a horrible name. I wanted to rename her "Saucy Little Minx" Linda my partner wanted to call her "Freedom" but that was all to corny and so she said "Free Spirit". We have now settled on Saucy little Minx in a crescent moon over "Free Spirit" in a horizontal line . Now everyone rapidly tells us as soon as we mention it (particularly non boater friends) that its bad luck to rename a boat ???? Boaters themselves have up to now tended to be far more pragmatic in our very limited experience and inform us that its ok as long as your rolling drunk enough in the boats honour when this renaming takes place. My father followed along the same avenues Im sure when I was born otherwise why am I called "Barry Ignacious, Frying Pan, Russell???? Is it bad luck to rename a boat or surely in this instance would we not be doing this magnificent steed of a craft a well earned good turn as indeed I felt I was when I shot my father.

Ive been browsing the forum without success to place photos. bit of a pc numpty.

Well we thought (perhaps naively so) that we would be up and running by now. We followed experienced advice to look round the midlands for our first narrowboat and so we did and eventually after looking at everything from a Dudley Sampan to a Bromsgrove corvette we finally found a boat in our price range that we liked. We had a completion date on a financial transaction for the 3rd of this month wich would allow us to pay cash for our boat without going into debt and so deposit handed over until that date we laid our money down and waited. First off we made the mistake of leaning on a solicitors word. Completion date is now well past and at the time of writing it is the 26th and still we have this solicitor dragging his feet. Had it not been for the patience and understanding of Ashley and Lorretta at Hanbury Wharfe we would have lost our deposit and our boat 10 times over. Many thanks to them. It was during their company survey that our boat was found to have trouble with its bottom. (Poor little beggar, there is nothing quite so sad as a narrowboat with haemmoroids) in as much as it needed one. I had a phone call from Lorretta telling me of good news and bad news. The bad news is that we have changed your boats name to the Titanic and the good news is that you will have a new bottom sides and stern fitted before you get it and not once have they quibbled the price. She will have a brand new bum and a 4 years cert when we get her. BUT GOD dont it ever ang on??????? Still summer is coming and with a bit of luck as it passes and the leaves start to fall this arse of a solicitor will do something other than play golf, smoke cigars and get off his fat arse and keep his word. Wherupon we will be in nice time to check out our wood burning stove just before Christmas. Fingers massively crossed.