DustyDave

I'm looking at fitting a boatman stove. The biggest factor Weill be single or twin wall flue. I will be making the hearth myself to help keep costs down. Hope to be done for 1k but knowing my luck it will probably be more. Can't wait for a nice toasty boat. Dave

Sounds like it's possible for a short time then. As I said the stove should be in within a month or so. I might try and get the mikuni running again. Can't say I'm a great fan of it. Looking forward to trying a little living aboard. Dave

I am about to start staying on the boat a few nights a week. I am getting a stove fitted but it will be about a month before it is in. Is it possible to survive with an oil filled rad? I've got shore power. Will it eat electricity? How much do you think it will use per week? I'll be on it 4 nights a week. Currently I've just got the one 1500w heater but will probably buy a second just so I don't have to keep moving it. Dave

Cheers, much better than the channel flicking I was busy with. Dave

If you are that keen to fish then why not become a member of your favourite club? I've just checked Birmingham anglers association and the annual membership cost is just £35. Pretty cheap in this day and age. I know if I liked the odd fishing trip I'd happily pay up. Dave

The sharpness canal supplies water for Bristol. Based on the article below it needs lots more filtration than other sources. I'd have thought the sharpness water is quite a bit cleaner than most canals in the uk. http://www.bristolwater.co.uk/education/from-source-to-tap/treatment/ I'll stick with water from the tap for now. Dave

£10 for 20kg of oxbow glow at home. Expensive but great stuff. I used to use house coal when all my heating was run from the stove. That was far cheaper but messy to deal with and not as hot. Dave

Trevor is great. Make sure you're there for the survey as he will teach you loads. Dave

Does the 1903 still have the problem mentioned in this thread: http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=67211 Dave

I didn't test drive mine. I did spend a couple of hours with the owners going over anything and everything. That was followed up by a full survey. It had been about 10 years since I had last skippered a narrow boat so I doubt my skills would have showed up many problems. Dave

I have used Rylards with reasonable success given I haven't done any painting before. I thinned down with white spirit. I had to work very fast laying off after every foot or two. I used a gloss roller, not a mohair. This was an area below the gunnels so not too large. I didn't get a very high gloss finish but I wasn't too fussed by that. Dave

That is excessive. I can't remember how much Worcester marina charged me but it was nothing like that. Dave

I have found at least one boat have problems down the w&b. No idea how common it is. C&rt guys were travelling down winching the boat out every time it got stuck. They seemed cheerful enough. Dave

If somebody is going to get irritated by the noise they will get even more irritated when they see you leave the boat with the noise still going. Their thoughts will be along the lines of 'why should we put up with the noise while he buggers off to work'. Alternatively they might not care about the noise. My only other thought covers insurance. Are you covered if you leave the generator running unattended? It could be a much bigger bill than just the cost of your boat. I wouldn't do it if I were you....but I'm not you. Dave

Look for 15k or even 20k boats and put cheeky offers in. One of my neighbours got a nice 45ft bright orange boat for 15k. He got it painted for 3k and did a lot of other work himself. It's now a nice boat for not a lot of money. Many boat owners who are selling are fed up and just want to get rid of the boat. Cheeky offers may get turned down but you might get lucky and you only need it to happen once. Give me a shout if you see anything local. I'm quite happy to give a second opinion. Cheers, Dave

You could get a 2001 57ft boat for about that money. http://www.newandusedboat.co.uk/used-boat.php?boatID=432 Dave

Yes, but watch out for the low flying geese. I've never seen so many come at me squadron after squadron. Dave

I've got a kipor ig2000 up for sale. I'm based near Gloucester though. Drop me a message if you're interested. I've only used it a hand full of times. Never missed a beat. I'm after a good price though (whatever that is). I've also got a few other boaty bits which may help make the trip worth while. Dave

I had a tank made by Goodwin Plastics (http://goodwinplastics.co.uk/). Much cheaper than tek/cak/leesan for a custom made tank. I can't remember the exact price but it was cheap. Fittings came with the tank so I didn't have to drill any holes. I sent them some demensions and a picture of what I wanted. It took a few weeks to turn up but for the saving it was well worth it. I haven't had any problems from the tank and it's a couple of years old now. Give them a call before you put in an order elsewhere. Dave

It's a shame it couldn't have been organised in a safer and more responsible manner. The organisers could have easily paid for the rubbish to be cleaned up at the end of the day. It looks like a good way for another group of people to enjoy the canal. Can't say it's my cuppa tea but that's no reason why it shouldn't happen. Dave

What happens if you can't afford the maintenance fee for your share? Is it easy to sell your share? I like the idea but I've never known the details of ownership. Dave

I got mine from a Saul junction chandlery. Not cheap but they have never caused me trouble (other than one). Best thing I did on the boat. No more sitting in a dim cabin worried about power consumption. Do them a few at a time if you can't afford them all at once. Dave

Agreed. Great for cleaning other stuff as well. Dave

Will the fire service actually go for your shutoff valve? I've never seen them at work so I don't know. Dave

Fantastic Phil. Any time you need a boat to do some more DVD painting drop me a line. You're more than welcome to practise on my boat. No chance of me enquiring about the DVD though. I find them about as exciting as watching paint dry. Oh, go on the. When is it due out? Dave