Richarg

Thanks, We are on the River Great Ouse but we want to come off next year and go onto the canals for a bit of cruising and so a painter located near to the Northamton Arm, heading south, would be handy. There are local guys near to us but they are very expensive. Mind you, £6,500.00 plus VAT may be the going rate everywhere. We have a 55' nb with cruiser stern. Any suggestions to add to the ones already proffered will again be much appreciated.

Hi, I am not too sure how to ask a question on this forum but I would really like to be able to find a list of recommended boat painters. I have tried trawling through the ads in Waterways World but without a great deal of success. IS there some sort of Association that maintains a register of approved practitioners? Thanks for any help, Richard

Update. According to the engineer i/c (David Jones?) the lock gate is scheduled to re-open, after some technical hitches, on 24th April. Look at the Middle Levels Web-site http://www.middlelevel.co.uk for the latest news. Hope it is 'cos I need to get thru soon!! Happy Travels

Is there a way to a) get them bright; keep them that way. I know, boring, but haqving spent the best part of 2 days cleaning and polishing the paint work, I'd like to make a good job of the windows.

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my question about seats. The garden tractor seat looked the best bet, now all we need is to find someone who can make up a bracket!!!! Not sure about real tractor seats, but my sister has an old Fordson!!

Hi, We are getting into this Narrow Boating - even though we are on a river!!!! Thanks to all the help from all of you out there who have responded in the past to the various pleas for help. SO here's another one: we have a lovely Calcutt 55' cruiser stern. We have a fairly wide seating rail but it is too low so, in order not to create too many instant GRP fenders, we tend to "stand to steer" in order to see properly. All very proper, I'm sure, but after several hours my back is killing me. Is there such a thing as a chair(s) which can be temporarily attached to the back rail to give our bums a perch and our backs a rest. PS. Even though we are on a river with attendant parking problems - shallows, nettles, bulls, fishermen, fast stream advice, very few pubs - we really love it.

A bit belated but is it possible to clarify the measures of bleach to be used to be used. Is an ml a millilitre? If so that seems almost an immeasurable amount. I think I understand that I need different amounts to clean the diofferent elements of the water system but I can't work it out!!

Can anyone out there recommend a good insurance broker? It is easy to get "contents" insurance but it always seems to exclude personal effects like cameras and other valuables such as watches. Or is everyone out there uninsured and destitute after paying increased mooring fees, etc. Or am I just a bad risk?!!!

Many thanks. Off to to B and Q it is Many thanks for the idea. We will probably get one of the cheap dimplex heaters for the engine compartment and lag the pipes. As for our stove, we have a Diesel Bubble but it needs a service (not, I trust, the last rites). When and if that glows blue and not smokey yellow shall we be ready for the great freeze

Many thanks for the link and thanks to everyone else for their advice. No one seemed to have a specific answer to my concerns about how to keep the pipework in th eengine compartment ice-free. We have acruiser stern. SHould we put a small electric heater in there?

Hi. I have had a lot of useful info. from various contributors in the past so here is another question from a nb rookie. We live at our mooring but not on the nb (which has a cruiser stern). We have a shore line so power is not a problem. We hope to go out for short trips during the winter. Do we need to take any special precautions like draining all the domestic water pipes and the main tank in case of frost. We have a Bubble stove which we can use but I doubt if we would want to keep it going all the time. I am worried about the water in the plastic piping in the engine compartment 'cos I am assuming that is the coldest place and will not benefit from any cabin heating. We are on the Great Ouse after moving it down from Braunston. We love the boat and want to use it as much as possible.

Hi, we have just bought our nb, 55 ft cruiser stern, fitted by Calcutt . We have done our first trip, bringing her home to Hartford from Braunston. ONe thing we have identified as a definite requirement is an occassional table for the cruiser deck. Desmo seems to be the type of fitting but how do you fit the base socket so that it is in permanently but you do not trip over it whilst flying around the deck in a blind panic in a lock and where does one find a good quality table top. We are also about to install a sterling battery charger so that our shore line can keep the batteries topped up: any feed back on this supplier would be welcomed.

Hi,Hope I am replying correctly. Thanks for all the info. It looks as though 39 - 43 hp should be fine. I am a little confused (and it is only 11 pm) about one reply that suggested looking at "Keel Cooled" in relation to engine and quietness. I have heard of water cooled but what is keel cooled?

Hi all, Well we have now got our mooring. WHat we now need is a boat. Apart from all the usual problems of creating a check list of what we want our boat to have there are several things we are just not sure about - only several I hear you snigger; ok, loads of things. The current "top" items are: what engine power is the optimum for a boat of between 50 and 57 feet which will be spending part of its life on the Greater Ouse and Nene, and what should we be looking for in the description if we want the quietest engine possible. NO jokes about sails and electric motors, please.