IanD

If your router/MiFi runs off USB and you have USB sockets (or adapters) on the boat you should be fine -- the warning was for routers (like your new Huawei?) which normally run off 12v DC via a mains adapter, don't run these straight off the boat DC.

Whether it's legitimately licensed and insured for rent is another issue entirely... 😉

And it's bigger than a typical CART licence fee!!!!

The Huawei is a good choice if you don't want/need 5G. If you still have poor reception/data rates then a better antenna might help. You could also (cheaper and easier) try a different network, EE have the best overall coverage but are not as cheap as Three -- you could try this out using a 1-month SIM from 1pMobile.

I agree, but unfortunately most people (and governments) don't -- and the costs and timescales to build nuclear are enormous... 😞 Yes there are all sorts of proposals for things like SMRs but these are completely unproven and their proponents ignore their disadvantages -- and there's still the waste to deal with, which people are terrified of even though there's not very much of it, and it (and nuclear power) have killed *far* fewer people than fossil fuels -- or even hydro power... 😞

Schrodinger's inspection hatch, then... 😉 Methinks there are also two possible meanings for the acronym in "Thanks for the BS extract Alan"... 🙂

Nobody is saying that cutting down rainforests to grow palm oil trees is a great idea, assuming this is indeed the source used for HVO. But you always have to look at what the alternative is -- and if that's burning fossil fuel diesel, HVO palm oil is very likely a less bad solution when everything is taken into account. (palm oil trees are green trees, just like rainforest trees, and do a similar job of carbon sequestration -- probably a better one given how fast they grow) Of course truly renewable energy (wind, solar...) is a much better solution than HVO, but if you can't use this for propelling a boat (or whatever) that doesn't matter. Again, it's a case of what's the least bad solution -- is it still better than any usable alternatives for this case? (baseload power generation when there's no wind or sun) Transport costs -- money and CO2 emissions -- for moving stuff round the world on ships are quite small, IIRC this adds something like 10%-20% to the carbon budget for those woodchips. That still makes them far better than burning fossil fuel, if that's the alternative to providing baseload power (since people don't want nuclear power plants in their back yard). It's all fine saying "palm oil and woodchips are terrible!", but that ignores the fact that the energy has to come from *somewhere*, and if that's not renewables then they're still better solutions than burning fossil fuels...

My guess would be at least £400k -- probably more -- given the custom build and high-power electric drive/generator required. Always assuming the OP can find a boatbuilder willing to take this on, I doubt that anyone on the canals has any experience with these power levels... 😉 An extra 2" in width is pointless, it's of no consequence internally (an extra 2' would be...) but will restrict where it can go on the UK canals... 😞

To sustain 10kts in open water a narrowboat will need about a 70hp diesel or a 52kW (continuous) electric motor according to Vicprop, and a massive battery bank (200kWh?) and generator -- if you want to be able to keep this up for hours after the batteries are depleted, something like a 60kVA generator to allow for losses. That's getting on for 4x the motor power and 7x the generator capacity that I've got -- finding space for such a genny (which would probably also weigh getting on for a ton!) on a narrowboat would be challenging to say the least, and it would burn about 20l/hr of diesel. Apart from the challenges of fitting all this in, I doubt that there'd be any change from £100k just for the propulsion/electrical system, and it could well cost more given the power levels involved. A series hybrid makes a lot of sense for UK canals where average power demand is very low (a few kW) and even maximum demand is quite low (up to 15kW for a few hours). It doesn't make sense for a boat which needs to sustain 10kts in open water for long periods, a parallel hybrid with a 70hp diesel and a much smaller electric system for canal use is a far better and cheaper solution. Just like hybridmarine say... 😉

Indeed, and it'll need to be a pretty damn big and expensive one to provide the power levels required, not a 9kVA midget like mine... 😉

Including mine, and many others I've been on. Does that mean they're all illegal, or is the inspection hatch not actually required? I know which I think is more likely... 😉

So that's a fiddle to get an insurance policy in the first place, so you can get a license. Whether the insurer would pay out in the event of a claim once they spotted the (obvious) fiddle is another issue entirely...

I wonder how many narrowboats with integral fuel tanks have such an inspection hatch? AFAIK mine doesn't -- but then it doesn't have a "diesel engine" as such, only a generator... 😉

Decent MiFi are quite expensive; the Netgear M2 (which is often recommended) is more than £400 new. You might be better getting a domestic router, there are plenty of good ones available secondhand (e.g. Zyxel NR5103E for £130 or so) which will even do 5G for "future-proofing"... 😉 (these can run off 12V via cheap DC-DC converter, about £10) You don't need a screen, a phone app is a much easier way of managing them.

Because they're got used to paying SFA for years, and don't like the fact that their fees are now going up -- even though they'll still be *far* cheaper than living on land... 😉

All the CART waterways and rivers including Ribble Link, Trent etc. are perfectly doable on a properly designed series hybrid boat, as is crossing open water areas like the Wash in good weather, because typical power use is quite small and high power (well, not that high, maybe 15kW/20hp maximum for a narrowboat) won't be needed for more than a few hours. But for a boat to be able to cross the Channel and navigate strong flows on large rivers abroad (as well as travel on the inland canals) where you may need lots of power for long periods -- and long range -- a parallel hybrid with a big diesel (for offshore) and smaller electric motor (for still waters) makes much more sense. If you want something getting on for 100hp for many hours (in a seagoing wideboat) the cost/size/weight of electric motor/batteries for a series hybrid will be huge, and there's still the risk of running out of juice.

Moored up, not moving...

Because it's still much greener than burning fossil fuels, as pointed out above... It's not perfect, but than nothing is... 🙂

I forgot to book the Bridgewater last year and nobody arrested me, even though we stayed overnight on it twice... 🙂