paulam

I'm getting some really good ideas here, I think I'm coming up with a better solution. Stilllearning, my mistake, I refer to the stove as 'wood stove' but I can use charcoal too, when combining different fuels I can get a nice fire going on for a fairly good amount of time but I haven't managed yet to get it on the whole night, I should try and use different fuels, I'm not yet mastering the art of making a great, long lasting fire. From what I'm reading in this thread I should be able to get a much better fire. 'Mike the Boilerman', it's a small boating-world! I fell in love with my boat the moment I saw it, it has a sort of charm that I didn't find in any other boat. I'll keep your contact details in case something ever fails (hopefully not...). James, you have a lovely boat. I have no clue what's the make of my stove, it's not showing anywhere, even the surveyor couldn't tell me, he told me though that I can't fit a back boiler however, seeing now that there is enough space for a back boiler I'm for sure going for this option first even if I have to replace the stove, I prefer a heating system that uses wood and charcoal bought from sustainable sources. And I am considering hot air as a secondary source of heat, that needs more thinking. Thanks to all! Paula

Pete, I thought of using a wood stove with backboiler but I was told there is not enough space for it, plus the wood stove is not in the middle of the cabin but in the front, which I know is not ideal for a backboiler. I actually very much like my wood stove, during the weekends I can get a nice fire going on, the problem is during the week, the boat is freezing cold when I'm back from work in the evenings. When I bought the boat the surveyor suggested the diesel heater + timer solution, he estimated the same as the broker, around 3K. I appreciate what NMEA says, perhaps I should take the boat down to the South Dock for a proper quotation, I somehow trust that the broker and the surveyor are not wrong, it's not my plan to stop using the wood stove, I would use the radiators mainly at night and the timer to warm-up the boat before I get back, I'm not expecting to use it non-stop or as the only source of heating, I guess I would make use of them as OldGoat describes. To reply to one of the posts, it's a tug style narrowboat, here are some pictures (interior is not red and green anymore, that was a bit too intense): I'm reading everyone's posts, it's all very useful and I'm learning a lot, thanks again for sharing.

I used Roy Scot Larch to get a mortgage, I tried a personal loan with Barclays and they said first yes, then no when I told them that it was to buy a narrowboat to live aboard, so it's OK to borrow for exotic holidays but not for a boat that will be your home... that's how things are. Anyways, the whole process with RSL was quick and painless, I recommend them.

Charges apply at the Teddington lock (river Thames) only if you want to stay overnight, IIRC is £12 per night.

Thank you Athy, fingers crossed that the boiler engineer finds my message, I'd like at least to get a quote. Keith, yes I expect anything in London and greater London will be more expensive but not that much, the difference is huge. Thanks all for replying. I'm not sure what you mean...

Hello all, I got a lovely 52ft Tug, it needs however another way to keep it warm in winter, I only have a wood stove. After a lot of research (I got a lot of tips and useful info in this forum, thanks to all) I've chosen to get a diesel fired central heating system (preferably Webasto) fully fitted, together with radiators and a 24hs timer. The problem is I can't find someone to do the job in my area, that's Kingston upon Thames and up to 50 miles around, I got a quote from the broker where I bought the boat for 3K (this matches my estimates and budget) but that's in Nottingham, the only quote I got in the area was for 5K -which I think it is way too much, I can't understand the discrepancy. Can anybody recommend either a professional that can do this or a boatyard that does this kind of job? Thanks to all for reading. Paula

The fuse! I didn't think of that, I'm buying a multimeter tomorrow to check this, the switch is also beneath the sink, very close to the water pump so it shouldn't be too hard to find out if this is the problem. Thank you all for the help and advice, the whole boat adventure feels now a little less scary. Cheers, Paula

Hello to everyone, I'm new to boating and this is my first post, more of a cry for help. So I spent 4 full weekends and long hours after work to get the boat ready to move in this weekend (I'll be living aboard full time) and then yesterday as I was doing the last bit of cleaning the water pump stopped, as simple as that, the little pump thing went silent and running water stopped. At first I thought maybe I ran out of water so I topped up the tank but... still nothing. I had a look at the little thing under the sink but couldn't see anything obvious (faulty wires, loose pieces, smell) and that's how far I could go as I have **no clue** about these issues (I'm planning on learning though). I also considered it could be a general electric problem but the 12v system seems to be working fine in general. The model is a Flojet R4305-500 - like this one: http://www.jabscoshop.com/flojet-marine-products/flojet-water-system-pumps/r4305500a-pressure-controlled-pump.htm So here is my question: is there anything obvious/simple that I should look at? I wish there was a reboot button... =/ If I can't fix it myself today (very unlikely) then I'll get someone from the marina to look at it although not happy at all with this idea, they have already gave me absolutely insane quotations for work that I ended up doing myself or in other places. Many thanks in advance for reading my message, any help will be much appreciated. Cheers, Paula

Hi Graheme, could I have the contact details of Andrew Phasey, please? Thanks!