camboater

Am in the same boat (no pun intended). Have moved onto a live aboard narrowboat on the Cam and forgot how bitter the wind here is. I have an Alde gas powered boiler which heats the water and a fin radiator that goes all the way round. It's been really toasty up to now, but it's now struggling. Two big things on my wishlist: 1. Ideally, and this is probably wishing for the moon, I'd like a small stove (4kw or less) but with good visibility. If there was a small version of one of these flashy three sided jobs http://www.barbas.com/en/products/woodfires/woodfires-stove/?id=102 I'd like that. The boat is 57ft. 2. I'd like an installer that someone has used and can recommend. My dad and brother did the one on my brother's boat, but I'd like to get it installed as soon as possible.

Thanks. Just to clarify, I have no access to a shoreline on my home mooring. The nearest I've identified is a three hour cruise away, at the Five Miles Inn. I'm not averse to making the trip and charging up over lunch whenever I'm on the boat for a sustained period of time, but I'm not sure how much that can contribute to my general charging plan. I'm pretty sure there's already a shoreline charger fitted, though not sure if it's a 3 stage one. Will check when back on the boat tomorrow.

Thanks all, tremendously helpful. I've got a good list of things to check now (charging current, end point voltage, the cables etc). It sounds as though I should go down the route of running everything off of 12v, and that the order I should buy things in as finances permit is: 12v laptop lead from Maplins (if it won't work, I'll have to wait until I've got the generator and run it from that) new LED lights from Bedazzled (so I don't drain the existing, decayed batteries) generator (so I can at least charge my laptop without running the engine) solar panels at the same time as new batteries and necessary extras, so I don't ruin the new batteries. I will be away from the boat for a week at a time often. get a good full charge from a shoreline as often as I can forget about the existing 240v fridge and keep food in a hatch or in a waterproof barrel hanging off the front of the boat until I can buy a Shoreline fridge/freezer tolerate the high running costs of gas heating for this winter, and look at a solid fuel stove before next winter Big outstanding question at the moment is what sort of generator I should get. I won't have anything especially juicy running off it, so a 1kW generator would leave plenty for charging the batteries. I get the impression that if I have a 2kw generator, I won't really be able to charge the batteries twice as fast - certainly not the last bit. So am I best to just get a 1 kW generator and run it a bit longer? Also, LPG, petrol or diesel? It looks as though LPG will work out more expensive as it's not practical for me to use the biggest bottles, and all the diesel generators seem to be larger than I need, so presume petrol. I'd have preferred to avoid petrol due to horror stories of people blowing themselves up, but I presume it's safe enough if you're sensible.

I've recently purchased a narrowboat for which I've got a liveaboard mooring on the Cam. At the moment, I'm still moving in, and while everything else on the boat is just as I'd like it, the previous owner ran most of the stuff from a shoreline, so I'm going to need to make some additions. Any advice/pointers very much appreciated. I'm starting from a position of almost total ignorance about electricity and marine systems for power. I've had a look at the guide by Reinout Vader http://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Book-EN-EnergyUnlimited.pdf which someone has posted, which was very helpful - but still lots of questions. This post is fairly exhaustive so that users kind enough to respond don't have to waste their time clarifying everything, though I'm sure there are lots of things I haven't thought of. Here's what I know about what I've got: 1 starter and 3 leisure batteries, charged by 2 alternators running off a Yanmar Shire engine. There's a 240v system that can run from a shoreline, with various plugs. The lights are 12v, a mixture of halogen bulbs and fluorescent tubes and squares. The fridge plugs into a 240v socket marked "inverter". The inverter is a 600w Stirling. Current performance: I can have fridge running, laptop and phone charging from the inverter socket while the engine is running. But within a few minutes of the engine stopping, the inverter makes a beeping sound and the current stops flowing. Even after several days of cruising for 5+ hours a day, this still happens. Lights and the inbuilt radio will run happily for a few days without running the engine. There are some 12v plugs in the bedrooms but I haven't been able to test if these work yet as don't have any appliances that fit them. Appliances I need to run: I need to be able to charge and run my laptop. The adapter on my laptop has an output of 19V, 3.42A. I need to be able to run a small fridge (the one at the moment is the size of an average domestic, under the counter fridge. I could get by with something much smaller if it would help cut the power needed. I need rather more light than there is at present: I don't tolerate low light as well as most people, so will need at least as much light as most liveaboard users would think is adequate. I don't need a microwave, washing machine, TV etc, and the cooker runs on gas. The heating can run on gas or a calorifier heated by the engine. Usage pattern: I travel a lot with work, so I'll generally be on the boat for 2 or 3 days, and then away for a week, during which I could switch off the fridge. If I'm on it for longer, that will probably include a day's cruising out and back 10 miles each way with the opportunity to hook up to a shoreline for several hours at the Five Miles Inn. Preferred solutions in order of preference: Solar panels Wind LPG generator, maybe http://www.seddondirect.co.uk/Generators/productDetails.asp?productID=709 Petrol or diesel generator Running the engine Questions I've got: Will it be possible to run what I need off of 12v and avoid needing to use the inverter, as I understand it's more efficient not to get involved with AC? Are there mini-fridges that run on 12v that will help reduce my energy needs? What's the best lighting option for someone who likes it bright (other than living in a house and hoarding incandescent bulbs)? Will I be able to run a 19V laptop off a 12V system? Is there some gadget I need to get to step up the voltage? If you've read this far, thanks very much for your time!

Thanks, very helpful. The particular boat I'm looking at is in West London (I would be cruising to Cambridge over the summer), so presume rather a long way for you to travel.

On further investigation it turned out that, attempting to defy the laws of physics, the tank really didn't have a vent! So as soon as the waste had built up to the level of top the pipes on either side, it started backing up. Some of the resulting pressure had been released initially around the flange of a gauge that had been fitted, but over time that clogged up so the pressure didn't get released. There was a considerable release of pressure when the guage was removed this time! A vent has now been fitted into the top of the tank now, so fingers crossed the problem won't recur. If it does, he'll have to try refitting the toilet direct into the tank as suggested. The two pipes are identical, so I think they are both intended for emptying or flushing as convenient. It's been enough to make me avoid any boat that's a pump-out! Thanks again for all suggestions.

My flabber is truly gasted by the knowledge here and the speed with which it has been supplied. Going to get him to check the various details and see if Ark Right's permanent solution is possible. They're all using the back up (but not backing up) cassette toilet at the moment. Thanks everyone.

Thanks for the responses. To answer the various questions: The boat is only a few years old and has only been lived on for six months or so. The grey water definitely doesn't go though to the tank. The problem hasn't happened before but he has left it late to pump out in the past so it has overfilled. It's happened within a couple of days of pumping out, and there's no water left running into it (whereas he used to be able to leave it for weeks between pumpouts). Maybe there is a vent pipe somewhere (as Paringa said, hard to believe there wouldn't be one) but it has got blocked in the past when it has overfilled, and that's why there's a problem now. "Ive just got to pop and empty my cassette....be back in 30 seconds to help with the answer" - very amusing (don't think I'll get a smile from him at the moment, though!). I will feel similarly smug when I get my boat.

I discovered this forum yesterday and got some very helpful feedback about buying a boat with a wooden top. By chance, a friend of mine had an unpleasant boating emergency last night. He lives on a Dutch barge. It has a built-in toilet tank in the base. He has one toilet running into it which has a macerator. It has worked OK for several months. It was pumped out recently. But after that the toilet has gradually backed up and overflowed. It can't possibly be full up again yet. My thinking is that it should have a vent from the top of the tank for the air to get in and out, but as there's not one built in he doesn't think that can be the problem. It has an outlet to pump out from either side of the boat. Both filler caps have been left loose so that air can go through them. The macerator toilet is T-ed into one of the pump-out pipes. Could it be a build up of gas from waste that isn't flowing through? Any ideas I can pass on would (as you can imagine) be very welcome.

Thanks everybody! I am amazed to have had so many replies during one day. Very helpful - for example, I hadn't realised that you should expect to pay less for a wooden superstructure boat, other things being equal. Your time and expertise is much appreciated.

I'm buying a narrowboat at the moment as my number has come up for a mooring in Cambridge. One of the boats I'm looking at has a wooden superstructure. We've got narrowboats in the family, but they're all all-steel construction. I've been trying to find a guide somewhere about potential problems with boats that have a wooden superstructure on a steel hull, and the particular maintenance issues they bring, but can't find anything. The chap selling the boat is very genuine but I'd like to know a bit more about what to look for before I view it, in case I end up falling in love with it. All I've been able to find is some vague stuff about steel flexing but wood not flexing, but nothing about the consequences of that or what you should do to avoid problems developing. Any pointers or advice would be much appreciated.