lee b

i have been given a price of £3600 for a pro paint job...to have a bow thruster fitted will cost £3000 but if i do the bow thruster myself i can buy a complete vetus kit for £900 at a trade price...don't forget,the paint would in affect be on a new shell so no shot blasting old paint back or sanding and re prepping...i would think if you have tired paint on your boat you would be looking at much more than 3600... i have got two painter and decorators who are both good gloss painters i may still go with a ''home'' paint job...i know techniques are different,applying the paint with a roller then using a brush to take air bubbles out and give a better cover then tip it with a dry brush but its still a gloss finish in affect,i have seen paint runs on some top boats so if i get a few extra runs but save 2k upwards would it be so bad,after all,i keep getting told that narrowboating is a contact sport so i may be able to keep a smile on my face when i take paint off my boat while passing bridges,trees and other boats,also i have seen one boat that a chap spent nearly 5k on the paint,its less than 18 months old and theirs blisters round windows and a few other places,5k to me isn't chicken feed,i would be after blood if someone done a dodgy paint job and charged good money...

the builder cant fit a paint slot in for a few months because they are busy so i may put another coat of undercoat on and carry on with the fit out,see how far i can stretch my pennies and also probably try paining either the stern end''doors and back'' or the front and see how it looks...i can also call in one of my brothers who is also a painter and decorator....after all,its hand painted so i have been told if your good with gloss and prep properly it should come out ok...dont get me wrong,a new paint job would save loads of time and effort but i am still worried about paying all that money knowing it will end up with battle scars... if i was planning on living in a marina i would 100% go for a pro paint job...because i will be a permanent cruiser it will take some welly...like i say,i'll try a small area and if it looks ok i will carry on...if not i'll have to ring my wallets neck !!

the bow thruster tube is in its own water tight locker,i'm 50/50 on a bow thruster,also on the paint job,i was planning on painting the boat myself''with the help of my father who was a painter and decorator'',i am considering a professional paint job but at the same time am worried about spending that much money on paint to have it scratched down the first over hanging tree's and bramble bush...

when i mean part completed sail away i mean the builder is still fitting windows and engine,the inside will be spray foamed and insulated,ballast and treated floor,a stainless steel tank,bow lockers and bow thruster tube in place,blacked and primed,i get the correct paperwork from my builder as is required by law...thanks for your concern... i just want one to help with the front end a bit cause of not having a second mate with a big stick,not push me side wards across the channel lol

what about the base plate?

not that i know too much about boats but i have done lots of plumbing and where possible i always clad pipes with the round foam tubes and when going around bends using a miter cut and some insulation tape...believe it or not but water can drop below freezing point without actually freezing,even outside in the winter when water is kept inside a plastic container and out of the wind the air temperature haves to be way bellow freezing before the water in the container will freeze...keeping draft from the pipe work in a home or garage is a key point in stopping pipes from freezing''i will keep this in mind when plumbing out my sail away''.... also by cladding both hot and cold water pipes you conserve heat in the hot pipe,this is especially good for central heating systems but also if you are like me and turn off the shower tap when soaping up the water doesn't freeze ya tits off when you put it back on... you can buy the tubes from wickes,b&q etc...they are well worth the few quid they cost... your pumps should have a shut off valve each side to allow for easy replacement if they fail or for draining if you are leaving your boat for extended periods''also shut off valves on all taps is a great idea,even today i still see the same old tricks with plumbers just allowing one stop cock for the whole system when you can buy a bag of 15ml shut off vales for £10 ,....some one above said to leave the taps open after draining the system....this is sound advice cause it creates space for expansion if the remaining water in the system freezes....

i dont do sarcasm,worst form of wit,soz if it came across that way,i just cant afford 7k on a bow thruster,i will be having a few helmsman lessons so i can at least salvage some of my paint''and the poor sods coming the other way''...cheers

cheers,that's the main thing i wanted to know,are they worth having,i just wasn't sure if it was possible to fit them while the boat was in water because if their is a weed hatch i wasn't sure if the tube was totally bellow the water line or water came just bellow the top of the tube to allow access of some description,i was pretty sure out the water was the way but thought i'd ask on here with people who know best...being a builder,multi traded,plumbing,electrics is a second nature,i once fitted a wind turbine in spain on an old villa that was on a dry river bed,this had a 75m bore hole sunk into the river bed and drawn water up to 4 x 4m3 water drums,then that run down hill into a big filter system and into a pump which then gave fresh water to the villa,i installed a 7.5kva diesel generator for electics,wiring the house from scratch,also i installed solar power and a inverter for during the night along with a 12v lighting system for back up,it was a pretty complicated system,as long as i have a set of instructions and advice i'm pretty sure i wont have a problem with installing a bow thruster but help is at hand if i need someone with more experience,if i dont think i cant do the job correctly i wont touch it,...ps...as with my other post this is not being sarcastic in any way shape or form...the first reply to my question was i think full of sarc but heyho,i dont mind,the rest of you have been helpful...vetus or lewmar seem to be the front runners...95kgf....what size boat have you got?

i wont be spending 7000 on one thats for sure,i thought vetus would be ok as they seem to be the main runner,its a vetus 55 i was looking at....i may just take deans advice and leave the tube empty for the time being...i'll see what my searches on thrusters bring...900 is ok if its a ok tool for helping me out when i'm on my own,if it saves scrambling up the front end of my boat with a big stick that will suit me...anyone got a vetus 55 on here? thanks for the replies....anyone who needs advice on stone restoration,rendering and general building work feel free to ask....other than the first person who sent a reply...lol building houses/barn renovations etc is my trade...if some one asks me for advice i give it to them.... i am confident with most things when the time will come with kitting my boat out but like i have said,i have never owned a boat so things like bow thrusters i will ask people who know better....cheers

not really that's why i'm asking...i have was reading somewhere of a weed hatch on the thruster tube but now i am assuming this must be a joke too...if i wanted to tell jokes i would be giving odds on who will be next to life the ahses.... England....6/4.....the Aussies....3/1.....winnie mandela 1/3....Sheryl gascoigne....4/5 lift ! not life

sorry to pester again ! the sail away i am buying has the bow thruster tube in place,i asked a few days back about blocking it off or putting cables in place.... i have been looking at bow thruster prices ''to be honest i think for myself it would come in handy being a one man crew and a virgin narrowboater'', does anyone know anywhere that can beat £895 including vat on a vetus 55 complete kit? also will i need to fit it before the boat goes in the water or is it possible to fit it in the water without sinking my boat?....no piss taking please,i am good at putting things together but understand very little about boat bow thrusters... other than a canoe this will be my first boat and the only time i sank that was when some tit in a narrowboat hit me...probably a novice boater who needed a bow thruster lol

ive been looking on the net and cant find any bow thrusters other than expensive ones,vetus seems to be the main runner in the uk...to be honest when i first typed in bow thrusters i thought a million and one different 12v bow thrusters would have come up...at least if i have one i wont have to spend too much time deciding which one...cheers

cheers...you can sell me yours if it works considering you don't use it lol !! thanks... it all depends what i can expect to spend on one,i'm pretty sure i can squeeze one in my budget but would only want to part with my money if it will be a asset on my boat not a hindered piece of equipment...when i was first looking at boats a bow thruster did appeal because of being a one man crew most of the time,i would imagine it will be difficult getting un-stuck in a sticky situation,especially being a virgin narrowboater lol...

think i'll have a word with the builder again...i feel like i am pestering and being picky but the whole project will run into 40-45k so its a lot of money for me to part with as with most people so i need to be sure as i can be...

hi all,i seen a sailaway the other day that was almost finished,their were a few things that i wasn't looking for'''partly because of the extra money in doing them...the sailaway already has a bow thruster tube in place which because of the expense i was no planning on having a bow thruster on board,i have been told that i could put cables in place for a later date or they could plug the hole...i was concerned that plugging the holes could compromise the hull but as i have no experience i would like to here if anyone has had this done at all? the other option is to actually install a bow thruster but the kits seem very expensive from what i can see so far,in excess of £1500 ! the sail away is a 57 ft cruiser stern,would anyone know where i could buy a cheaper kit,if i could come in around 6---800 it would not cause a massive nose bleed but some kits are over 2k....any advice please ? also i will point out that i am totally new to narrowboating so a bow thruster might come in handy,especially considering i will be a single man crew... all the window holes were in place and in the correct place for the layout i wish to have but a few are slightly bigger than i was planning on having,mainly due to heat loss in the winter...its a reverse lay out with 4 port holes at the front followed by 4 feet normal windows,i was going to have 3 feet,do you think the larger windows would make much difference to heat loss?... i have been told that people generally go for bigger windows for light?... thanks for your advice... on the plus side the front bow lockers are in place at no extra charge which saves 3-4 hundred squid...!