DHutch

I did refer to indivisible loads, but said, in most applications you'll top out on weight for a boat before getting anywhere near as long a glider.

That's excellent really isn't it, I thought I had replied at the time, but have just been checking back to remind myself what we got upto this time last year. Fair play for consistently keeping a good coating on the boat for 30 years, not many manage that. Probably a thread in its own right, but if I get organised one day I will do a decent write up. In the meantime, here is smattering of the photos of the boat, both as it came out of the water, and just before we put the ali epoxy on last year, after hitting it with Northwich drydocks 15hp pressure washer, which will take even reasonably paint off, leaving the hull ready to directly recoat with little or no further prep. The boat is dry docked every four years which is the only time it comes out of the waterr, and covers a lot of miles and time on towpath moorings between dockings.

Maximum width The maximum trailer width for any towing vehicle is 2.55 metres. [was 2.3 before 2010] Maximum length If your vehicle’s maximum authorised mass (MAM) is 3,500kg or less, you cannot tow a trailer that’s longer than 7 metres. If your vehicle’s MAM is more than 3,500kg then the maximum lengths are: 12 metres for the trailer towed by the vehicle 18 metres for the vehicle and trailer combined 3.05 metres for how far the load can overhang the back of the trailer (whatever the length of the trailer is) Maximum lengths do not include the A-frame (the frame that connects your car to the trailer). 7+3.05m is 10.05m or 32.9ft which most take as about the limit. But there is potentially some to have the boat overlap the a-frame a little, and or to play the indivisible load game as per gliders, but you have likely run out of weight anyway if talking about a boat, especially if suitable for canal use. Back when trailer width was 2.3m I understand you could add 0.3m overhang each side which took you to 2.9m or 9.5ft which about fits with some other countries too. If you applied that to the new 2.55m width trailer limit you would get to 3.15m or 10.3ft but I can see very little record of this being used in the UK. Weight is easier and there is plenty of information on that elsewhere online. Daniel

See my previous replies. You can also get 13A 70B 2kg Powder, but sadly 34+34+70=138 so you are frustratingly close but still 6 short! Also, both a 1kg and 2kg powder unit is around £15, and the 2L Firexo is only £36 so its not ruinous exactly given they last years. But yeah, I guess it all depends on personal choices. I can get tyres for my car for for half way I spend on something I trust with my life.

Topic split for clarity.

I am sure she gets watched a lot more than when Bill was owning it, and yes the jetties are the scale slippy and fairly rotten in places too. Last winter a lady slipped getting off a boat, dislocated her hip. and fell in the canal. Fortunately in front of her husband who could raise the alarm but not a fun experience I am sure. Is the carpark padlock still a worn out finnicky mess too? And electrical pedestals and taps with various diy bodges to limp another year out of them. It was cheap mind! xx

That said, on the other side of the coin, ABC bought up Nantwich and Uplands this time last year, and hiked the prices of both up without spending or improving anything. The cost for us to spent 6months there over winter doubled overnight, so we voted with our feet and spent the winter elsewhere. However they have replaced us with ease and remained full, so I cant fault the business model either! And they did keep on Sharron in the office/shop. Rothen group is a serious success story in terms of a business venture, and fair play to them for that.

We're on a tangent, but I would be slightly interested in what paint you are using, as our two pack polyurethane is absolutely fantasticly durable in terms of covering the boat and stopping rust, but does fade, or more accurate bloom and go white fairly quickly. Nothing a wash down with cream cleaner won't solve but they're big old things these narrowboats so it's not a quick job. Much longer than they are wide! I'll PM you.

Yeah, a huge amount of me is well up for 'boats being on the eater and used' but sadly museum ownership of boats repeatedly ends up being a ready awful match, time and time again, even when the whole museums core and usp is boats. At which point, if private ownership isn't suitable or otherwise practical, dry store undercover is atleast fairly fairly safe.

Lots of boats I know dont even have a fire alarm! We have two, and a pair of CO alarms placed in the main living area and fwd bedroom. We also stick expensive paint on the hull and cabin, such that 30 years on we have almost no rust on the whole boat.

Yeah it looks good. Personally I have never understood the push to spend the absolute minimum on safety equipment to be BSS compliant, even beforehand we always has 3x2kg dry powder as the 1kg seem so tiny and never come with a flexible nozzle. Then we added a AFFF foam unit in the middle of the boat (close by the engine room/steam plant, 24vdc batteries and electrical distribution and kitchen) and have very happily spent the £36 its cost to get at Firexo unit. I have a 6l Foam extinguisher and a fire blanket in the house too, along with multiple interlinked mains powered fire alarms, non of which are required as such, but might well save the lives of our family. I am going to drop a line to Firexo to suggest they could make the website a little more clear in this respect. I also notice that CPC list the product as 'drypower' type, and detail the A B rating for the 2L for both the 2L and 6L model, and not at all for the 9L. Attached datasheets are however correct, and they are listed as being 'kitemarked' and 'for all fires'. https://www.farnell.com/datasheets/4314689.pdf Daniel

I have just opened, and the item itself claims certification. So it might well just be the website that's poorly worded, and or out of date?

Ahh. Well that as you say, does appear to render it technically not acceptable. I've bought one anyway, and shall put it on the boat along side the 2x 2kg Dry Power and 1x 2L Foam already onboard. Indeed.

For over 11m/36ft: Minimum qty x3 Minimum each 5A/34B Minimum total 21A/144B Firexo 2L 13A 34B Firexo 6L 34A 113B I make it 2x2L 1x6L if using Firexo alone to make up the A B rating. But you could also mix and match, and have two 13A 55B Dry powers and one 2L Firexo. Or, four extinguisher, two of each or otherwise.

Just had a look, the OP contained at email address which flagged it automatically for needing manual approval. Should be accessable now.

It appears the link I provided is from 2013, post Cassiobury Park, however I think broadly it is all part of the same sliding decline in such events being able to make money. Traders don't get the sales or publicity value, because its all online, so will no longer bank roll such events. The public are increasingly hard up, and have more an more access to smaller local free to attend events. Costs for everything have sky rocketed, insurance, equipment hire, fuel for generators and transport, etc etc.

I would agree with this, and as said, the ballast will also be fairly heavy, and awkward to lift. But get it moving sideways a bit first! If there is bitumen paint in the bilges, I would remove it using a rag and suitable thinners such as White Sprit (5L bottles are cheap enough from any DIY outlet) and use the same for the ballast, which you could even leave to soak in the stuff. Then if it is oily, even just with the white sprit, give it a good wash out with some strong detergent, a general purpose household one like flash would do, as would sugar soap, water based parts cleaner, truckwash etc. Then as said, a needle scaler is a very good tool for this job, and they are cheap enough at £60 from machine mart to be well worth buying if you plan to do much work on boats and have access to a reasonable 1hp+ air compressor. Else you are on chipping hammer, cold chisel, screwdriver, wire brushes etc. Get the worse of, get it as clean and dry as you can (easier said than done unless its sunny and or you are in drydock) and work in some Vactan or Fertan and let that do its stuff an dry (vactan) or rinse our and dry (fertan). That hit it with your preferred paint, such as Danboline, or another suitably surface prep and oil tolerant paint. Some rust might come back, but if you do an 80-20 job you can then re-treat any that comes back a year or so later! https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cat84-pistol-grip-needle-scaler-hammer/

Topics merged, and moved to Boat Building & Maintenance I would agree with this, you can get 'wet room matting' which is good for putting ballast on, or old bits of PVC tube or cable. At least the ballast isnt lead, that makes much more mess of your baseplate steel. Ask me how I know!

Cost of living crisis, traders moving online, rise in insurance costs following the pandemic. Broadly the bottom has fallen out of these very large events, its very hard to make them pay let along make a profit, and so the IWA is focusing on smaller and directly campaign related festivals. They have for instance bought back the trail boat festival. https://www.canalboat.co.uk/news/no-more-iwa-national-festival-6243814/ Daniel

I good while ago I created a thread suggesting the Foam fire extinguishers might in be better than Dry Powder for a lot of narrowboat applications. Well it now appears not only that this view is gaining more traction, but also that there is a new technology of extinguisher that gives the best of both. They look good and I have just bought a 2l one! https://ydsa.co.uk/news/should-we-still-have-portable-dry-powder-extinguishers-on-our-boats/ Firexo 2L 13A 34B 4kg £36 inc VAT Firexo 6L 34A 113B 10.7kg £64 Firexo 9L 55A 183B 15kg £80 Discharge time is good to, at 25-30sec for a 2L, where most 2kg powder are 9-10sec. They have an online shop, but the cheapest place I have found is CPC who offer free shipping. https://shop.firexo.com/products/firexo-all-fires-2-litre-fire-extinguisher-red? https://cpc.farnell.com/firexo/5060638821328/kitemarked-all-fires-fire-extinguisher-2l/dp/sr11990

Thanks for joining the forum and posting a first hand account. Glad nobody was hurt and the boat undamaged.

Mmm, interesting!

Is that Paul Cooke, from Irlam Manchester? https://www.noblemarine.co.uk/resources/surveyors-database/paul-cooke/ I would echo this recommendation, he is a busy guy, but has done our hull condition survey every four years for the last 8-12 years and provides a comprehensive, practical and trustworthy service. He is a boater, who's worked with narrowboats all his life so knows his stuff. Daniel

There are lots of places the sell flat sheets, a quick good suggests Asda, Dunelm, Ikea, M&S, JL, are all in the game. Or this! https://www.screwfix.com/p/fortress-cotton-twill-dust-sheet-24-x-3-/946FM? Indeed. And 'queen' is one of the poorest defined sizes and can be open to in even within the UK from anywhere to large single., 3/4 double, between double and king, or larger than king. Almost all mattresses are actually made to order rather than a stocked item, so if you just want a reduced length, you might well be able to get it from national chains, certainly most independents who will work directly with the manufactures. That said, when we wanted a curved and tapered unit for our bow cabin, which is also height restricted, we got a custom made mattress from the below company and where very happy with the service and product. Give them a call. https://oddmattress.co.uk/bespoke-mattress/