Leni

But if mum's £50k is paying off the mortgage, the house won't have a mortgage on it when it's rented out, will it? The only tax issue I can see is if mum 'pops her clogs' in the next 7 years that £50k gift will be included in her estate, and if it pushes the total value over the exempt limit - currently £350k - the excess will be taxable at 40%. Is that the sort of thing you meant, bottle?

:lol: Doh! People post too fast! Logged in to give you a greenie for this and accidentally gave it to the wrong poster! Have a virtual one!

Whereas we're a shaggy boat with a nice cat!

Hear, hear! We share the experience of the thrifty fellow liveaboard you mention It certainly is possible to live far more cheaply on a boat than on land! Good luck in your venture, Salopgal

Muppet. Happily caged (but with the door open except when 'in transit' )

Beautiful pictures, Tim Thank you (and a greenie)

Thanks very much for the additional information. We'll definitely be investing in a pair of those when she's out for the next blacking! Don't think we'll be trying casting our own, PJ. But thanks for the thought

Yes, I agree. Most of them really are fabulous and helpful! I have to say, this thread reminded me of the time I got some sort of weevils in my store cupboard. I threw a handful of pearl barley into the soup I was making ..... and didn't notice until I served it Nowadays I decant all dry goods and keep them in plastic tubs or glass jars! Edited to add - greenie for Mr Numb

Thanks very much everybody for some really useful and thought-provoking responses. I think we'll probably go for the extra anodes, just to be on the safe side, when the boat is next blacked. We don't use shore power (and in all honesty are never likely to) but I think it sounds as if it's 'better to be safe than sorry' anyway. Once again, thanks to all who've contributed their thoughts

Thank you all. So, if it's recommended that we have a third pair of anodes fitted somewhere between the fore and aft pair to ensure protection for the entire length of the boat, where do they go? Given that the fore and aft pairs are under the curve of the hull, where do the middle pair go so that they don't stick out at the sides and get knocked off? Sorry if I'm being stupid and missing something obvious!

When our boat was surveyed when we bought her just over a year ago the surveyor noted in his report that she had two pairs of anodes, one pair fore and one aft, and that they were 30% eroded. He said that this was satisfactory, but recommended that on a boat of the length of ours - 55ft - there should be another pair fitted, and recommended that these should be added at the next haul out. My son thinks we don't really need the extra pair, and that the surveyor may have suggested them because he is a Marine surveyor and is more used to surveying sea-going vessels. Which of them is right? And if we do need them, where exactly should the the extra pair fitted? Thanks.

Yes.

And me!

A friend of mine has a one-bedroom flat overlooking Paddington Basin. The rent (subsidised by her employers) is £400 per week.

Good point!