Duchess Omnium
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Posts posted by Duchess Omnium
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1) I am not saying that at some future date BW will not inflate the price paid by moorers under old arrangements, if a site consistently goes above "guide" at auction. It is possible they may - but so far they have not.
Actually I think that was quite specifically part of the reason for the auction process. It was decreed that BW must charge a "market rate" for moorings, only no one had a clue what the market rate was... That was the rationale for sealed bid system when the auctions first came in. Bidders were told that they should offer to pay "what the mooring was worth" to them, because BW was honestly trying to find out what they were worth... The plan was that once everyone was clear what moorings were worth in a local area, BW could raise the price that everyone would pay -- gradually, of course, but inexorably.
The problem was, it turned out to be more complicated than they thought, and I guess that is why they haven't made more progress. For instance, a 15 metre mooring near me went for over £2000. A 10 metre mooring in the same place got no bids at all.
So they couldn't do a simple price per metre calculation and it was back to the drawing board. I guess they can't afford the clever economists to work it out. But when they do, moorers under old arrangements in popular spots will definitely pay more. There might be places where they will pay less.
Meanwhile, I do think they are honestly trying to work out what these moorings are worth, which is what the government ordered them to do several years ago.
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I think YMU is right about unused boats, at least in this area -- there are two near me, one v small tupperware that has definitely not moved for four years at least and one narrowboat where the owners are getting on a bit and not very well and haven't even visited for more than a year. There are others that are only used/ visited occasionally.
I think the problem is is partly economics -- NOT that I want to pay more for moorings... but people who have got moorings in the last couple of years (under the auction system) are paying in many cases half again as much (or more) as people on the old system. At some point, as the price rises (which it will, inevitably, if market forces are allowed to come in), I guess people who never even visit their boats might wonder why they are wasting their money.
But I don't agree that they should be thrown out in the meantime. If they want to pay for something they don't use then that is up to them.
Around Oxford waiting for a mooring is a bit like waiting for someone to die...
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Do not buy a specialist 12v tv but go into the normal electrical outlets and ask for there 12v tv's these usually have an external transformer so you can spot them.
I did this when the 12v ones seemed so expensive. I never found that any sales help knew which were 12v so I just went around Comet and Dixons peering at the backs of teles... I did not know about Amperor (mentioned in Sarah and Ian's post), who make regulated power supplies, so I consulted an electrical engineer friend. My theory was that my tele wanted 12v and the transformer it was sold with, along with mains plug etc. only made 240 acceptable to it. Surely I could run it without the transformer and it would be happy, if only I had a plug with the right connections? It was a 12v tele afterall...
My engineer friend said Yes and No and made me a power supply to plug into 12v cigarette lighter. BUT I could only use it when the engine was NOT on, because the supply was unregulated. If I wanted the tele with the engine running I had to plug it into the little inverter and the usual 240v supply that came with the tele.
That system worked fine until someone broke into my boat and stole all my stuff...
MartinC's link to Mr LCD looks pretty good -- but nb if you buy one of their dual teles to run on 12v they want you to buy the regulated power supply for an extra £20. If you don't, there is a good chance the tele won't work or will break fast and then the guarantee won't be honoured. If you go Ian and Sarah's route the Amperor regulated 12v power supply costs almost £40.
The tele Laurieb is linking to is 24". I wouldn't want to run this on a boat relying on batteries rather than shoreline. I'm only a learner on electrics but when I almost bought a 19" tele to replace the stolen one another engineer friend did a calculation for me and claimed it would be like running two headlights on your car with the engine off -- and I think we all know how much battery that can drain in only a couple of hours. I bought a 15.4 inch one instead, plenty big enough and my friend calculated would only use 1 headlamp, so I could run it twice as long.
WeDoDigital have reasonable prices, pretty good customer service, and the regulated 12v power supply is included. Most importantly they will honour your guarantee. Mine went wrong... Doesn't mean the tele was bad: I have terrible television karma.
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Do you put your dongle outside? Mine stopped working too after a heavy downpour (even though it was in a plastic bag -- I guess the rain was so heavy it got inside). I took the SIM out -- and had to dry it off... But a couple of days later the dongle had dried out and was working fine again.
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You must however have a VHF radio, and the necessary certification to use it, (unless in convoy with other boats that have it).
I know you have just done it, Alan, but I am pretty sure that the convoy dispensation applies to the Teddington to Brentford / Brentford to Teddington stretch only. I think ALL boats on the Brentford Limehouse stretch (in either direction) now require a VHF on each boat.
However, it is very hard to get accurate information about this -- which is why I highlighted this in my earlier post.
Just to check, tonight I googled "PLA VHF radio requirement tidal Thames". The very first thing that comes up is The Tidal Thames, A Guide for Users of Recreational Craft, published by the Port of London Authority. It says you only require the radio if you are longer than 20 metres (65 ft).
The next google link gives the information that the rules have changed, and all boats over 13.7 metres (45 ft) now need a radio.
But sometimes you don't look past the first link if you think you have found the information you need.
I really don't know how well the rule is enforced. When I found out very late that I needed the radio, I took the course, fast tracked the certificate, got the license, and borrowed a radio, because I really did not want to be sent home the other way at Limehouse and I like to play by the rules if I possibly can.
At the lock the lockeepers said, "Do you have a radio?" I said "Yes" and that was enough for them. They didn't ask to see it and they didn't ask for any paperwork.
Just out of curiousity, in the lock I asked the only other narrowboat locking through with us if they had a radio. "Oh yes" they said, nod nod wink wink and just for good measure they pulled down the lower lid of one eye. From which I took it that they did not have a radio.
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The trip that's been made to sound scary on the forum isn't Limehouse to Brentford, it's Brentford to Limehouse, and the turn into Limehouse can indeed be scary.
Oh, yes, I am quite clear that that is scary. That's why I did it in the other direction. But even so everyone -- not necessarily here on this forum -- made the whole tidal Thames thing sound scary. The VHF radio course with the MayDay calls etc, etc, didn't do anything to reassure me.
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Wood ash is a good soil additive. Coal ash is not good for plants so shouldn't really be put in the hedge, even cold.
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Just to add that I did Limehouse to Brentford in June. A lot of people had made it sound very scary, which it wasn't -- it was great fun.
But just as a warning, I had the Nicholson Guide to the Thames that I bought NEW from a chandlery less than two years ago. The guide said narrowboats less than 65 feet were exempt from VHF radio license requirement, so I didn't worry. That's wrong! The latest edition corrects that error, but many bookstores and especially chandleries may still stock the older (not very old) guidebook. The requirement changed only a few years ago.
So one week before my trip I was faced with taking a VHF radio course (passing a competency exam is a requirement) and fast tracking my certificate from the RYA. All of which was very expensive -- and I was lucky to find a course at all at such late notice.
At Limehouse they didn't ask for my certificate, or my license. They just asked if I had a radio. But if I hadn't had a license and a certificate, I bet they would have wanted to see them!
Moral of the story: any narrowboat over 45 feet going on the tidal Thames past Brentford needs a VHF radio, a VHF radio license, and a certificate of compentence to use a VHF radio, issued by the RYA, usually after attending a full day course. The license is free, but the certificate is expensive! If you have the certificate and the license you can borrow a handheld radio (that's what I did).
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I did this route mid June. We were advised not to count on moorings at Little Venice or Paddington if we arrived much later than 10 am, so stopped within an hour's cruise the night before. We got to LV by about half 9 on a Monday morning. There were only two mooring slots available then (but maybe there would have been more later in the day). Paddington had a few more slots and we got a very nice spot. My American guests were very impressed with their seven days in central London "hotel" free of charge!
We wanted to stop at Camden for lunch when we left Paddington the following Friday, but there was absolutely nothing within a mile or more of Camden, so we had to give up that idea. We stopped for the night at Victoria Park. There were several moorings there at about 4pm and it was quite pleasant -- we saw lots of dogwalkers so you'ld be fine with that.
I would not turn left onto the Hertford, although it looked like there are some nice moorings there, and it is true you can get to Limehouse that way. There is no winding point and it is a LOT longer round. Of course if you have plenty of time you could do it that way. Or if you are rushed you could do the whole of the Regent's in one day and moor at Limehouse. It seemed there was plenty of space (at least when we were there, though we only stopped for a few hours) and someone is bound to give you the code for the lovely showers, toilets, and laundry.
Edited to add: Sorry, I see you are headed towards the Lee. I should have read better! Then by all means moor by Victoria Park on the Hertford. It looked to me like there you would be on the less busy side of Victoria Park, though I haven't been that way.
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The Maplin panels are also very large for the output, as they are amorphous panels and less efficient. They take up about the same space as two 100w mono/polycrystalline panels. A 100w monocrystalline panel can be bought for not much more than the maplin 60w one.
Roger
I have been puzzling over solar panels for awhile now... As far as I can make out, Roger is quite right that monocrystalline panels have produced the highest efficiency ratings. But I think amorphous is the newest technology, and, apparently, they work better at the kind of light levels we typically experience in a British winter. Also although they are large, they can more easily be made flexible, working well on a narrowboat roof.
I was thinking of looking into one of the kits sold by these folks: http://midsummerenergy.co.uk/
The narrowboats they feature both have amorphous, flexible panels glued to the roof. I think they are in your area, Roger. Have you run across either boat, or this company?
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Weeping Willows grow like weeds (in fact in some countries they are regarded as invasive weedes). You won't do the tree any harm by cutting it back (though if you cut a lot I agree that it probably should be cleared from the canal) and you will be doing some boaters good. I drove blind through a willow at Thrupp some weeks ago (I heard it has since been cut) and just had to pray there was nothing on the other side.
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I borrowed a 3 PAYG dongle but got no reception at all where my boat is (rural Oxfrodshire), so I have a 30 day contract with Orange, which works fine. I had to buy a USB extension cable. I wrap the dongle in a plastic bag and put it out the window. The dongle cost £15 and the contract is £15 a month with 3 GB allowance. I was going to cancel this and just uise my phone, but I think all networks are now limiting phone usage to 500 - 750 MB on new contracts. I don't quite understand that, because I think the dongle and the phone use the same technology -- it is just an ordinary SIM card in the dongle.
Most of the networks have a space on their website where you can put in a postcode and see if the coverage is good enough to get broadband internet. You could try plugging in places along your route to work out which network would give you the best coverage. Most of the networks have similar contracts (though I think the 3 one is the most flexible -- it just didn't work for me).
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I agree that no one can do the food calculation for you -- and why would we: surely you eat what you eat on land or on the canal.
My best guess is that with license, mooring, insurance, diesel, coal, and gas my costs are somewhere between £80 and £90 a week. Maintenance is quite a lot on top of that, as Wrigglefingers said. Something always seems to be coming up, and that is without all the expected, routine stuff of engine servicing (inc consumables, like filters, oil etc). And then there is painting...
I do live day to day for a lot less per week than I used to live in a several hundred year old 4 bedroom house. And I am way warmer and cosier in the winter on the boat!
But the maintenance costs are pretty much the same. And my house (again as Wrigglefingers noted) mostly goes up in value, or at least stays the same. The boat loses value year by year. Day to day I reckon the boat is a cheaper option, but long term it is madness.
Still, I am really much happier here. Happy madness...
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Filters -- britta or jabsco or whatever -- do not deal with bacteria.
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Actually I think what my friend described as "rubbish" was the idea that little prisms in the flat panels meant they didn't need to be angled.
But thank you very much for all your information, which is very helpful. It sounds like I would do better to get rigid panels and try to rig something so they won't get instantly stolen (I have a trad, so no rails to chain to). Sigh. I was hoping you would tell me the new flexible ones were absolutely fantastic.
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I want to get 1 (or more) solar panels. An engineer friend tells me that in the winter, when the sun is low in the sky, the flexible ones glued to the roof will give me rubbish charge. The fixed ones that can be angled to the sun will be much better.
Downside on fixed ones is they are bulky and I will need to get some anchors welded to my boat to chain them to. The flexible ones glue on, apparently and are both less obvious to thieves and less easy to steal.
But if they don't give good charge in the winter, when the sun is low on the horizon, there isn't a lot of point.
Anyone have any thoughts on the relative merits? Flexible cost more, are more convenient, but are they rubbish in the winter?
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Gosh, I guess I got off the Thames just in time. I did Osney to Lechlade last week (having done Limehouse to Osney the week before) and there were no restrictions, warnings or requests. But it was an amazingly dry June and I note the Oxford Canal is now very low.
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I had exactly the same problem with my Villager Puffin Stove. A friend managed to secure the glass with washers, and a screw, drilling directly into the cast iron. But in a few weeks the next bolt had rusted away and we had to begin with another series of washers. The trick was to get it tight enough to hold the glass, but not so as to interfere with shutting the door.
In the end I just replaced the whole stove with a Morso Squirrel. It was expensive, but it was the right decision. The boat would have never passed its next safety inspection with the loose glass and the new stove provided at least twice as much heat and is also much easier to light.
Sorry, that is probably not the answer you wanted.
I wonder if the Villager Puffin is particularly susceptible to this problem?
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there is much advice on other threads.
Aquapanel from B&Q is easy to obtain and has full instructions with the packaging. It is cement-based on a ?fibreglass? matrix.
Cheers. I'll check the other threads
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Yes, I agree. If the stove manufacturer's guidelines are followed regarding the minimum distance that any combustible materials may come in proximity to the stove and all adjacent areas are lined with fireproof board before tiling the hearth, then I don't understand what relevance the size of the stove has, as mentioned in a couple of previous threads?
Most stoves installed on boats are relatively small. Of course the kw heat output of a big stove is greater than that of a small stove, but does that mean the casing of the stove itself gets any hotter or does it just throw out that heat over a larger surface area? I've seen little pot bellies almost glowing red hot and my big Morso Panther seems quite cool in comparison.
Can I get fireproof board from an ordinary DIY? What's the best way to fix it on? My hearth needs retiling -- the current tiles are falling off and there is evidence of charring on the wood behind them, though the stove is quite small.
I was planning a spot of retiling this weekend, but I was just going to stick the tiles back onto the wood! This is beginning to look like a poor plan... Any advice?
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Although the trial doesn't officially begin until August BW have already auctioned two Agenda 21 Moorings on the South Oxford. They haven't announced the price of the winning bid. They simply ask you to bid "what you are prepared to pay". They claim they are committed to finding a market rate, but a real market depends on information, and there is none here.
I need a mooring. This was the first auction... I took a guess and bid a little under 20% over what my new nighbours would have paid. I didn't win.
Unless BW publishes the winning bid prices, and preferably the next best bid too (in case the winner was a looney) we won't know anything about the market.
There could be an argument that an open market rate for moorings was fair, though it seems hard that those on the waiting list system should have the rules unilaterally changed (I have only been on for about 9 months; I know many people have been on for years), and it seems to me a bit of a con for BW to say that if the experiment is abandoned everyone's place will be restored -- you have still lost a year or more.
But it can't possibly be fair to pretend that this is all in the interest of establishing the true market rate and then keeping the information secret. Bad luck to anyone, like me, involved in an early auction, but eventually, if they published winners, and especially if they offered a system where the second highest bid ended up being the price paid -- to smooth out crazy high bids and to encourage adventurous one -- market information would, over the year, emerge.
This way, with apparently no information at all, I cannot see how they can argue it is either fair or market based.
I wonder how much over the odds the two winners bid, and what the second highest bid was. As it is, I have no idea if I was even close, or what to do when the next auction comes through.
As I said, I need a mooring...
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This is already happening. I am on a waiting list for a permanent mooring and got a letter from BW this week to say that there were two moorings available in my area and they were going to sealed bids. I was invited to express interest. Having done that, in another couple of weeks they will send me the reserve price and they will then accept best and final offers.
In year two and three I can renew the mooring at the bid price plus an inflation index. After that they will review...
I feel very uncertain about this process, but I shall make a bid. I have a boat and really, really would like to have a legal, secure, long term mooring... I shall have to bid more than the price I know the next boat is paying -- that's the nature of auctions. But, how much more to bid? It doesn't feel very comfortable to be in this position.
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I bought a boat in October. I am the third owner. I guess the rules have changed a bit, but she has been on the same mooring -- in fact within a few hundred yards of where she was built -- since she was launched 10 years ago, so moorings must have been transferable five or so years back.
I loved the relatively isolated spot where she was, about nine miles from where I work. There are no services -- no water, no elsan, no electricity, no towpath lighting -- though there is a nearby pub and a place to park. The community is wonderful.
The vendor explained to me that he couldn't transfer the mooring to me. He was completely honest. But what he, and loads of other people, said to me was that BW was so disorganised that I could probably get a legal mooring anyway. Spots stayed empty and unpaid for for ages! I should just hang loose and then after awhile drive to the office with my cheque book abnd say, you haven't allocated my mooring to anyone else and here I am to pay.
I even talked to a BW warden who told me that if I was on the waiting list it was BW's responsibility to find me a spot -- he was not the only responsible, reasonable boat owner who said this to me. I did go into this optimistically, I have to admit, but not blind.
So, I was a visitor for two weeks, and then, as it turned November, I paid for a winter mooring. I could have just stayed there for nothing, in fact, but I really, really wanted to be legal and to play it by the book.
When the license came due a couple of months later they were happy to license the boat on the basis of my winter mooring. But unfortunately, on the 31st of March BW weren't as disorganised as I had been led to believe and "my" mooring was allocated to someone else.
I moved down the line to just after the end of the permanent moorings site. It is actually rather dodgy there, with bits of the bank having fallen away, and probably not ideal for visitors anyway. It doesn't actually even say "14 day moorings" but I know that is the rule. And so far the area isn't a bit crowded and there is plenty of space behind me that no one has occupied. I guess it will get busier in the summer though -- although I am also told that there are boats in the area that haven't either paid or been moved on for years...
I take Pangolin regularly on little day trips along the canal, but I am singlehanded and still inexperienced and need a visiting crew to help, so we don't go far and I tend to end up back where I started. Since mid April, I fknow I have been a squatter, an illegal, an evader of payment.
My feeling is, I haven't introduced a new boat onto the canal. My boat isn't occupying any more space than it ever did. I am on the waiting list for a permanent mooring anywhere within a pretty big radius (but BW rules say I cannot be on a waiting list for more than 3 spots -- I have emailed them for advice on how long the waiting list is, whether I should choose a different three slots, whatever, but no answer). I would very much like to be legal and be ALLOWED to pay...
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I really wanted a composting toilet, and I know Lymranger on this forum is really happy with his. I don't have one for three reasons:
1. They take up a lot more room than other kinds of toilets.
2. The manufacturer's instructions say they need to have a fan running for quite a lot of the time to aid evaporation, and ideally they need an overflow/sump in case there is too much liquid. I don't have a land line and it looked like these toilets were pretty electricity hungry. I wasn't sure whether the electricity downside made up for the composting upside. Anyway, without the landline I just don't have the electricity!
3. and most importantly, I bought a second hand, not a new, boat so I didn't have full choice. I was advised to try what I had first and then make a decision about any alterations.
The toilet on the boat I bought was a Thetford cassette. So far it doesn't stink and isn't really a problem and I am glad I gave it a try before I considered any changes. I would rather the environmentally friendly qualities of a composting one, but at the moment I am using some purple stuff in my cassette that is not chemical so I don't feel too bad about it.
I don't agree with the comment that it is a man's job. Having changed a few zillion nappies in my day I haven't had any problem, though if you leave it too long it is pretty heavy to lug up the tow path.
The only problem I had was when I first got on the boat. The vendors hadn't told me that the toilet full light didn't work. You guys can fill in the rest... After that incident I also bought a spare cassette.
Ideally if I had a new boat so that I could decide bathroom size from the outset, and if I had ready, even if intermittent, access to power at a mooring, I would go the composting route. For the moment I am sticking to what I have.
I knew I was a real boater when I started asking questions about toilets, so Shellfish is well on his way. But as a newbie myself I do recognise that you can't have a forum where it is all give and no take. I wish I had more knowledge to contribute. At the moment I mostly have questions. We are all very grateful to those on here who have answers. It is fair enough for old hands to ask that we check first to see if the questions have been (repeatedly) answered before.
TVs - 12 or 240v?
in New to Boating?
Posted · Edited by Duchess Omnium
Sorry I didn't link properly. I will try again.... We Do Digital
I am pretty sure it is absolute nonsense that 12v TVs get better signal than 240v... The power is totally different from ability to pick up signal, which is largely related to your antenna anyway.
edited to fix link...(again)