grannykins

We've been through the Bratch both ways several times. The only issue we had was with one Volokky who seemed to be in a bit of a rush. We were going up in our little GRP. As my husband took the boat into the top lock and I was closing the gate, the Volokky banged the top paddles open. This was despite my telling him several times we had to do paddles fairly slowly due to being small and lightweight. Our poor boat shot forwards like a bullet and slammed into the top gates, damaging the nose. All he said was 'We've only just had that gate painted'!

Hmmm, dont fancy spending time searching out launderettes all over the place. All our children are scattered and we will be retired, so we will be genuine CCers. Guess it will be lines up and windows open

Are tumble dryers and dehumidifiers practical solutions if you are living off grid all the time? Not very good at knowing about electrics. (Hubby and myself are going to see if there is some kind of course we can book onto next year, before we get our boat, to help us understand all the electric stuff.)

And what about bedding? I hang it over the doors upstairs now, but when we have our boat (next year!!) I'm wondering about drying bedding and towels.

I always have Manuka honey around, especially if we are away anywhere. I have used it on dogs, cats, reptiles and humans, all with good effect. Its commonly used on hospital dressings these days. Needs to be the Manuka honey though, for real effect, and the higher the + then the greater the healing effect. Glad he is ok, and hope he is back with you soon.

Just a couple of points about GRP cruisers (we've just sold ours, but had immense fun in it) On the plus side - they are lightweight and easy to haul around by ropes if need be. However, on the minus side - most of them are more difficult to get on/off, as the access is much higher than stepping onto a narrowboat. Something to consider if your wife has any kind of mobility problems. I would make sure getting on and off isn't a problem, bearing in mind that you may see the boat moored to a pontoon, and often the canal bank can be lower in many places.

The Forestry Comision prefer the flick with a stick as apparently the lack of poo was having an impact on the insects and other organisms that feed on it or use it to lay eggs in. White poo used to be really common when I was a kid - its from dogs that are fed raw bones. Maybe we will see more of it if the BARF diet becomes more popular. Would have thought this would take up too much storage room on a boat though - unless you have a mooring near a traditional butcher or a slaughter house. IF you dont watch him, one of ours often actually hangs his back end over the cut and poos into the water! No idea where he learned to do that - I'm never sure whether to be impressed or embarrassed!

We met someone last year who had hired for 3 months for a total of £3000 out of season. Cant remember which company they had hired from ( it wasnt a private hire ), but I suppose for the hire company its better than having a boat standing doing nothing. Would be worth asking all those in the area if it was possible.

Thinking of paying a visit on the Sunday - anyone got the postcode, as I cant seem to see it. Thanks.

Another useful phone app is 'superstore locator' Just put in what store you want and it comes up with all the local ones, the distance in miles, and you can zoom in on the map and see what bridge to moor under to get nearest to the shop.

Ok. Thank you.

Has anyone been on any of the advertised painting courses? I rather fancy having a go and was wondering if anyone had any experience of them and could recommend one? Thanks.

I dont fit into OHs old T-shirt. Or any of his new ones for that matter -Topless all the way for me! And if you dont mind orangey/red, Henna powder contains no chemicals and is harmless to the environment. Very messy though -once we have our liveaboard (17 months and counting!) I havent yet decided whether to try it on the boat, or to use the services. Dont really want to go grey as yet.

I love seeing the Trade boats at all the festivals. Out of interest, how much does it cost to have a Traders licence?

How does one of these work then? I've never encountered one.

If you stick the spiders through with pins then surely you dont need conkers? Might get larger relatives coming in to take revenge though

We have a 26ft GRP cruiser. Mooring is £800 per year, and licence around £600 per year. One week in a holiday narrowboat in top season can easily be more than £1400. So for the cost of a weeks hire, plus petrol for our outboard, we can get away in the boat for a total of 5-6 weeks a year. Plus the odd overnight stay and many days just out for a few hours for a picnic. Well worth it for us at the moment. Of course, we have spent several hundreds of pounds over the last couple of years doing stuff on the boat - but the only things that really needed doing was an engine service and pulling her out for anti fouling. The rest was stuff we wanted to do but wouldnt really have been strictly necessary.

Great news

Gosh, two more replies whilst I have been typing. Do we have cash? - hoping that something planed is going to come together. If it does, then yes we will. If it doesnt, then its back to waiting till the end of 2016 to buy our narrowboat. Would be much better if we could buy it now, then have almost 2yrs to get it sorted before we live on board permanently. We know there will be compromises, and are fully prepared for them -- I hope

Thanks for all the replies. The loo didn't worry us- its the same as the one we use on our little cruiser-, as we will probably install a composter (yes, I know not everyones choice, but decision made after research). I dont mind portholes in the bedroom, but actually prefer windows for the rest. We didnt notice the air cooled engine - will go and have a look at the implications of that. Lengthwise, we're looking for anything from 55' to 68'. I've marked the places we couldnt go with a longer boat, on the canal map, and there's actually not that many. We didnt think about a battery charger either. So glad there are experienced people on here to advise. Great Haywood always put that stupid line - I've seen it on ads for 20ft Springers

Thanks for looking. The link takes you to the top of the page. You have to scroll down to find 'This Way Up' Initially we'd have about 30,000, but would have a couple of years to do work before actually moving on to live aboard. Thought about offering £25,000. I'd already decided I would replace the windows Betty

I know its been overplated, but opinions please on this boat http://greathaywoodboatsales.co.uk/boat/listing/previous_boats Its 'This Way Up' To be used as liveaboard for 2 people and 2 dogs. Thank you for reading.

Only just seen this, and my stomach turned over when I read the thread title, as I have been following your journey into boat ownership with interest. So glad you are ok, and that you are keeping positive and getting Alfie back into shape. No real practical help to offer, I'm afraid, but will add mine to all the helpful vibes coming your way.

Love this programme. It has a lovely atmosphere to it - makes me realise how much I want to be out there all the time. Barging is a bit boring at times unfortunately, even if it is about canals. As if they have somehow missed the whole point.

Books are difficult. I am emotionally attached to my huge book collection, despite having around 800 books on my kindle. They are like family. Most of mine will be going to relatives - the others will be charity shopped - but it is hard