Popsie

That is comforting; at least one habit i shall not have to change!

Thanks for all of that everybody. Making sense now. I must be getting the bug as I had a vivid dream last night. I was on my maiden voyage in my NB. I was pottering along a canal when a widebeam boat approached. I did not know whether to drive on the left or leave the approaching boat to port as at sea. In a panic, I turned the throttle (a twist grip on the tiller - no less!) and my NB boat surged forward on the plane!! - Aaaaaargh!!!! Thankfully I woke up at that point.

Brand new to this forum and in the early stages of planning a move inland from living aboard a yacht. Please excuse my ignorance. Bit puzzled by this blacking business. I have owned a steel sailing yacht in the past and the only thing ever put on the outside hull below the waterline is primer followed by antifoul paint. The old adage is that steel boats 'rust from the inside' and the culprit is usually sea water trapped between frames and stringers. One of the pre-requisites in a good steel yacht is that, as much as is possible, internal steelwork can be inspected without major surgery to internal fitout. What is different in a NB, spending its time in fresh water to require blacking every year/two years or whatever? Is it the nature or the steel? Galvanic corrosion? or what! Thanks in anticipation.

Hi, we are Popsie (my Jack Russell Terrier girl and me) and we are recovering yachtspeople. There, I have said it. After many years of madness, confusion, disorientation, mal-de-mer, living at a 30 deg angle and constant wet feet we have decided to venture ashore. Not too far ashore as we could not possibly live in one of those horrible brick thingies. At present we have two raggie boats - one on the Algarve in Portugal for the Winters and one in Essex for those long, lazy, hedonistic UK summers. The 'plan' is to spend the next year or two trying to sell aforementioned boats and look out for a 57ft narrowboat upon which to live. Popsie girl is keen to CC (see, she has already picked up the jargon) for a couple of years (she spotted a couple of eligible terriers at Cropredy last year) before we move to our resident mooring in Cambridge. We are currently 172 on the Cambridge list so only 171 more need to meet their maker before we are invited to drop the hook. Why Cambridge? Well, my son will be studying engineering there and I thought that it would be handy for him to crash in from time to time. He does not know about any of this yet as he is only eight. When I asked him what he is going to do with his life he said 'Erm, I want to drive a bus........no, I want to be a boatbuilder (like me), no - I want to be a FOOTBALLER!!!' At this point I had to wash his mouth out with soap. I have also not mentioned any of this to his mother (my ex). Great forum and I look forward to learning a lot. Happy New Year everybody