IanD

I did float the idea past them of building -- in steel as part of the cabin -- something that looked like a cratch board with a cratch cover attached. We gave up on the idea because this would have been difficult to build (the 3D curved sides of the "cratch cover"), we all thought that the "potters cabin" would look better (don't forget that the twisted "cratch cover" to a full width cabin is a modern invention, boats with a cratch would have been sheeted up to top planks behind it) and give more useful storage space inside, and they had experience with building these. Other opinions are available... 😉

Same misunderstanding as Alan -- things are banned (or at least not encouraged) that might cause significant risk -- including death -- to other people, especially if done by non-experts. Like DIY firework mortar manufacture... And before you or Alan or anybody else says "but I've been refilling bottles safely for ages, there haven't been any such explosions, you're scaremongering" -- today very few people do this (and probably only the ones who are knowledgeable and careful), I guess 99% or more buy the bottles from Calor because it's easy and safe. If the sale of the smaller bottles is stopped and large numbers of people switch to DIY refilling them instead -- encouraged by posts in the internet (including here) telling them how cheap and simple it is -- then the risk of overfilling and a subsequent explosion will be hugely increased compared to today, and sooner or later somebody will die as a result. Even though I'm sure this will get the same objections again, I'm going to say it again -- it is dangerous and irresponsible to encourage people to DIY refill gas cylinders (especially large ones, as opposed to the tiny Camping Gaz ones) when the only thing stopping it going horribly wrong is the care and expertise of the DIYer, which is absolutely not guaranteed to be up to the job for many people... 😞

Could have been worse, could have been like Emley Moor 😉

"Potter's cabin" is what Finesse, Jonathan Wilson and Tim Tyler all called it, so I'm not going to tell them they're wrong -- after all they've built far more boats than me, or anyone else posting on CWDF... 😉

I'm sure you realise this is a BS argument, like claiming that people who want any safety precautions anywhere -- like speed limits -- are somehow trying to stop people enjoying dangerous sports. The difference is that dangerous sports only risk you, driving like a maniac risks killing other people. This is exactly the same case. Suggesting that people should DIY fill gas bottles not intended for this is dangerous and stupid, regardless of whether *you* are capable of doing it safely -- because lots of people who do it won't be as careful as you. If you don't understand this fundamental issue, you're either dumber than I thought, terribly selfish and uncaring, or deliberately twisting the facts (like some other posters do all the time) to avoid admitting that your arguments don't make sense... 😞 There doesn't seem any point continuing this discussion with you if you continue to wilfully misunderstand the basic problem with what you're suggesting.

And if their boat is next to yours when it goes kaboom...? Actually that wouldn't bother me so much, it would be poetic justice for you having encouraged DIY bottle refilling -- after all, Darwin works for everyone, doesn't it? But if they were moored next to a boat of nuns looking after several orphaned children, I'd be rather sad... 😞

I'm sure the kind of idiots we see or read about every day on the internet will be perfectly capable of following your admirably detailed instructions carefully... 😉

Good idea, some people obviously can't understand complicated... 😉

I'm not sure it makes much difference to the corpse whether the overfilled cylinder goes kaboom without any warning, or a little red plug blows out and *then* the boat goes kaboom, they're just as dead either way... 😉

I want a boat that I like the layout of and don't think is fugly; if other people don't like it, well it's not their boat... 😉 But in fact several people who have expressed a genuine opinion instead of sniping on the forum have made comments like "Ooh, that's a nice boat" or "Hmm, that's a good idea"... 🙂

Side doors (glazed) are mainly there to provide a lot of light and ventilation in summer into the area they open into, in my case the dinette -- open them on both sides and it's almost like being outside, except more comfortable and without the sun beating down on your head 🙂 I haven't got any gas cylinders, 13kg or otherwise... 😉 Naah, guests are elsewhere in the boat 😉

Ooh, a square bow as well as a square stern, both with nice sharp corners -- what could possibly go wrong? Apart from knocking bits off bridges, locks, swing bridges, other boats... 😉 I kind of assumed the challenge was to find as much space as possible inside the shape of a conventional narrowboat and without the result looking too fugly, obviously I was wrong... 😞

No, I'm suggesting that your comment about "how many have died on the roads" in response to the fact that 10 people have died by drowning was utterly contemptible. Presumably you subscribe to Alan's premise that it's their fault anyway and it's Darwinism in action? Why don't you go and tell that to their families?

Oops, I meant Hillmorton... 😉

I'm sure it's a great consolation to the families of those who drowned to know that even more people are equally distraught because of road accidents... 😞