Moisha

Hi all. My cousin is staying on my boat for a couple of months. I'm out of the country and he's run into issues that require urgent repairs at College Cruises on the Oxford canal. He's never handled a boat before. Could anyone help him take the boat round from Bossoms Boat Yard on the Thames to College Cruises on the canal for some cash? Maybe £40? It only takes 40-50 mins. ASAP would be great! 07977542210 jdhnorton@gmail.com

Hm. Thanks folks. It's not that easy, I reckon. Maybe it would be better to try to get a mooring for it and rent it that way... j

Hi all, I am hoping to rent out my narrow boat to someone who wants to live on it for a year, continuous cruising. Does anyone have any experience of doing this? Looking at the CRT website, I think renting out my narrow boat for someone to live aboard for a year counts as "Business Boating". According to the CRT website, I will need a Business Licence, a special Business Boat Safety and Gas Safety inspection, and commercial insurance. The CRT website also gives the impression that you can only rent your boat out if it has a permanent residential mooring. Is this true? Thanks, Jon

There are two questions, really: 1) Is there available an official (CRT) list of London visitor moorings available online? I can't find one. 2) Is there a list of all viable mooring spots? I know that people (including me) routinely moor at a lot of places between Ladbroke Grove and Maida Vale, for example, places which I don't think are all 'official' mooring sites as far as the CRT are concerned. Thanks, Jon

Can anyone recommend a brand of t-cut? I'm going to polish and wax the boat thoroughly. I've been told carnauba wax. Is that right? Thanks!

Hey guys, I was just looking at the BW map of the Grand Union. As far as I remember there were some visitor moorings between Southhall and Little Venice. There was one at Kensal Green that I used to like, near the Ladbroke Grove Sainsburies. But on the website no visitor moorings are listed before Little Venice. I'm planning to cruise around the Grand Union for a month or so. Just wondered if my memory is wrong, or if BW have removed some visitor moorings in West London. Thanks Jon

I had my 60ft narrowboat painted last summer (2011) by Oxon Boat Painting Co. at Banbury (Chris Weston and Mark Phelps). They did a beautiful job. It was in Tooley's dry dock for six weeks, stripped to steel, windows and mushroom vents out. It wasn't cheap, but the price was competitive for the area. And the brushwork is just immaculate. People comment a lot on how great the boat looks. They were really good people to discuss and negotiate with, as well. Very fair. It's just not cheap to get a boat painted like that. But I can't see the point in skimping. I originally painted mine myself, on the canal in August 2007. It looked good for about 3 years, then all fell off. j

Hello Canal Shop Man, I'm told that you can cut Masterboard to spec and ship it. Is that right? I'm looking for a 100cm by 150 cm piece of 6mm thick Mastboard. Would you be able to ship that to me? And is there any chance you might be able to get it to me by Thursday or Friday this week? Otherwise, could you let me know when it might arrive and what would be the cost? The delivery address is: Jonathan Norton Address removed. Please PM Jonathan for his address. Thanks, Yours, Jon Norton

Aha! Now that is good advice, thanks! Jon Thanks. Presumably the aquapanel can be bought in smaller pieces than 240x140 cm. 'Generous gap'? Jon Hm. I've just searched for Canalshopman, but can't find him listed among the members. Any advice there? Jon

Hi Guys. I'm looking for about a 100 square cm piece of 6mm Masterboard (fireboard). I don't want to buy the whole 240cm by 140cm piece. It's expensive, and I'll have to waste most of it. Does anyone have an offcut of 6mm Masterboard that I could buy / take? Or would anyone like to split the board and the cost with me? I'm based in Oxford and am often in London. But can drive to you if it's not too far away. Jon

I tiled straight onto the fire board (i.e., Masterboard). I applied a gum-based adhesive straight onto the fireboard (6mm Masterboard), which was advised for its flexibility. Then, with those little plastic crosses at the corners of the tiles, I used a white mortar between the tiles. It's look great for six years. No cracks in the mortar. Incidentally, I've recently had to take my coal stove out and had to take up the floor underneath, which has meant destroying the tiles and fireboard beneath the stove. I'm looking for about a 100 square cm piece of 6mm fireboard. I don't want to buy the whole 240cm by 140cm piece. It's expensive, and I'll have to waste most of it. Do you have an offcut of 6mm Masterboard that I could buy/take from you? Or, if you still need to by the Master board, would you like to split the board and the cost with me? I'm based in Oxford, but am often in London. All the best, Jon

Dear All, Does anyone know if there are any regulations regarding renting out a narrow boat to tenants? Do you have to inform British Waterways or the Environment Agency (or any other authority) that you've rented your boat out for someone to live on? Thanks, Jon

Some part of our Paloma Geyser split in the freeze last winter. Does anyone know someone who can repair Palomas in the Oxford area? Thanks, Jon

Dear All, Can anyone recommend a good brand of 110 amp leisure battery? We got our original set from Phoenix batteries and they have been very good. But they were abused by folks who didn't know how to treat them and need replacing. Can anyone suggest a) how to find Phoenix batteries (I can't find their contact details on the web) or what brand of battery they'd recommend? Thanks, Jon

Dehumidifiers seem like a good option, except we do not have steady access to shore power (but could have some for a week or so) and the domestic ones need to work continuously, it seems, to produce results. Does anyone have experience with hiring industrial ones? Do they actually work in a matter of a week or so? PS: The flood seems to have been caused by the freeze: the water system was not drained and two of the three taps literally split at the seams and our Paloma heater exploded too. Quite a disaster. Does anyone know someone who could fix one? Many thanks for all your advice! Anastasia

1.1.11 brought some fun news from the boat, which we have entrusted to some friends. They left for a vacation over the freeze, failing to isolate the electrics. Came back to find a burst pipe and half a tank of water under--and over--the floor. Real crapper. Alas. So, we've got a hardwood floor with underlay and I wonder whether anyone has any experience with drying such a situation up. We've pumped the water out of the bilges, but now the question is whether one sends a blow heater into the bilges or lets the boards dry on their own (which I imagine--with the wet underlay and wet ply beneath--may take months and months. But quick drying may warp them??? Anyone who has had to deal with such a thing? Thanks, as ever. Anastasia

It is a Liverpool boat? Does this sound familiar? Are they known to leak?

Many thanks, Dave. Very sweet of you. And thanks Mark! I had no idea such a thing existed and what a great thing!!! Many many thanks to you all. As ever, saving lives. anastasia

Dear Dave, Thanks for you reply! The problem is that we are not on the boat, where some friends are staying at the moment, so we cannot check. It is an Isuzu marine 42HP engine with a skin tank and it does heat water in the calorifier. We just wanted to ask somebody to come out to have a look and replace the pipe (which is probably the problem). Do you know anyone who can do it? Many thanks.

Dear all, It seems the coolant managed to get out of our engine and fill the bilges (about 10 inches at the moment). We are really clueless as to how this could have happened. The boat is in Oxford and until we fix the problem we were told we cannot run the engine and the local mechanic cannot make it until tuesday. This means no lights very very soon for us! Is there anyone out there who could come and have a look at the engine and do something about it? My number: 07728306491. Anastasia (known collectively with Jon as Moisha)

Many thanks for this. It seems we will just add some water+coolant and deal with a full replacement next year. But we are certain to heed your advice. Moisha

Hi all, We've got an Isuzu 42hp engine and a 60ft Liverpool narrowboat. We weretold that we are due to change the coolant/water, but nobody seems to know how to drain the water out of the skin or how much water the skin holds. And Liverpool is now, sadly, out of business, we have no one to ask! Has anyone done such a thing and do you happen to know the how and the how much? Many thanks yet again, Moisha

Yes, that's right. Ian Cooper. Thanks! I've tried contacting Aynho Wahrf, but with no luck. Does anyone have Ian's mobile number? Jon

The Ian I'm thinking of seems to do various work inside narrow boats--electrics, gas, plumbing, etc. I have a sense he lived near Banbury. He like's the Cropredy festival a lot. Jon Dear all, Two years ago Ian did the gas plumbing on our narrow boat, the Very Lonely Rooster. Sadly, we have both changed phones and managed to forget Ian's surname and phone number. But I'd really like to contact him about a potential job. He was really good. Can anyone help? Jon

Dear all, Two years ago Ian did the gas plumbing on our narrow boat, the Very Lonely Rooster. Sadly, we have both changed phones and managed to forget Ian's surname and phone number. But I'd really like to contact him about a potential job. He was really good. Can anyone help? Jon