Dave_P

Although hornbeam leaves look like beech (and are often mistaken), they're actually more closely related to birch (look at the buds and leaf arrangement and you'll see it).

What's a bench power supply? This? https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/100w-slim-bench-power-supply-n93cx

I found it useful but I'd still like to know a straightforward way of charging over 15v when your charger doesn't show an obvious way of doing it. This, more than anything else, is what puts me off forking out for 'decent' batteries.

Last time I went from Tewkesbury to Stratford, it took me a month. A good use of time IMO.

This is similar to my own thoughts. The solar can be all had for a few hundred quid but the diesel genny is likely to blow your budget. Reducing your consumption is important too. For about two years I was moored on a permanent mooring with no hook-up and no solar and I worked full-time until late each day. My engine alternator is 70a and, at that time, it was playing up so didn't charge very well. My cheap solution was to buy a basic 1000w suitcase genny from Gumtree for £50. Every couple of days I would put some petrol in it, set it running at just after 8.00am and go to work (my neighbour would keep an eye on it). When I got home, the genny would have run dry hours earlier and my batteries would be all perky, having been charged for about 4-5 hours through a 40a Sterling charger. Then I would use the bare minimum of power. No TV, laptop/phone charged while at work etc. Point is, I made it work, until I decided to upgrade to a fancier genny and sold the old one to a forum member for £40. An earlier poster on this thread discounted portable gennies, but I totally disagree. If you have the funds and space for a cocooned diesel genny, then fine, but otherwise a portable will take all the wear and tear off your engine, and, importantly, give you another way of charging your batteries. So that's what I would do if I were you. Get solar and a portable, and save up for an installed diesel genny.

Based on a conservative estimate of £1500pa per mooring, that comes out at £5.6million. Given that you don't think that's a huge amount of money, can you lend me a tenner? More seriously, CRT have stated that these moorings do generate a profit, which is used for general maintenance. I suppose they could be lying.

Since many boats are owned or lived on by more than one person, the actually number will be a fair bit higher. Could you provide the exact link to this info?

Another vote for dry-mat. works a treat.

I'd tend to agree in the main, but, purely speaking for myself, when I was looking for a boat I had a list of specific things I was looking for and then another list of 'preferred things'. The boat I found ticked every item on my must-have list. Should I have rejected it due to the engine? In reality, a BMC engine is likely to be far less painful than a Bolinder for a newby boater and mine had clearly been well cared for. The only reliability issues I've had, have been with the alternator and the starter motor, not with the engine itself. A badly neglected modern Japanese engine may well have given me more trouble and it's not always clear what issue may be lying in wait when you're buying. It's certainly well worth having a good look over an engine and running it hard for a time to look for issues. I remember a former member (now banned) posting a video of his bmc 1.8 starting up from cold, and I was shocked by the clouds of smoke billowing out from the exhaust. I told him that there was clearly something very wrong with his engine but he was having none of it (he was a rather 'forthright' fellow - hence the ban). He insisted that all BMCs smoke like that. Well, they don't. I suppose what I'm saying is, there are good and bad examples of all engine models, it can be hard to know what you've got at first. If a boat ticks all your other boxes, then I'd not worry too much about engine type. Things which were more important to me when buying included: hull condition, length, insulation, internal layout, stern style. These things are more difficult to change than an engine, if they're not right for you. If I was buying a brand new boat now, I'd have a preference for a modern japanese engine, but if I was looking in the used market, I'd be looking for the best boat I could find which suited my needs. Engine model would be only one of many variables.

The one for the 1.8 is available and I believe you can get an adaptor to allow it to fit a 1.5. https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/boat-examination/non-private-boats/part-2-inboard-engines/flexible-hoses/spill-lines-(2002-2007)/

Only if you’re an old engine loony.

Answer: Because the boat you like has an old engine in it. At some point, parts for any engine will become scare. At the moment and for the foreseeable future, BMC parts seem pretty easy to get. They're cheap, economical to run and easily worked on. Any half-decent boat mechanic knows them inside out. I would tend to avoid a very unusual older engine unless I was an enthusiast but BMCs are common as muck in boats.

They don't seem to be on the website but they were showing them at Crick in 2016 with quite a lot of interest.

Calcutt were still putting brand new (Turkish built) BMCs in their clipper boats until very recently. Do you know that they have stopped? You can certainly still buy an 'off the shelf' recon BMC engine from Calcutt.

If he was directly abusive or threatened violence, I would definitely put a call in to the police on 101. It means there is a record and if more reports come in, the police may do a few extra patrols. I had a particularly nasty incident with an angler on the Stourbridge Canal a few years back. He was very threatening and clearly not bothered about things turning physical. Now I wasn't particularly scared of him (I was a fair bit bigger) but it was nearing mooring up time and a moored narrowboat makes a very easy target for vandalism. Also, I was concerned by how he might be towards other boaters. My partner and I ended up at Dudley police station that evening, giving statements.

That bit looks specifically worded to give the impression it's be properly re-plated without actually saying so. If they've gone to the bother of putting on a whole new baseplate, why not do it properly and put something thicker on? The more I think about it, the more I wouldn't go near this boat, especially at that price.