Bettie Boo

The WB boat we are having surveyed on Tuesday was fitted out in Botany Bay Boatyard. Funny enough, even though it's being sold as a self build, the internal building materials seem to be extremely close in design and style to those in Kevin's link above. B~

You could have some of mine Just got this one a couple minutes ago Fatal error: Out of memory (allocated 15466496) (tried to allocate 30720 bytes) in /home/ggbqjfrf/public_html/forums/cache/lang_cache/1/core_public_global.php on line 76 B~

Looking to buy boating books (novice level) on engine maintenance, basic electrics & plumbing for hubby for Christmas. Have a think back to when you were just starting out and what books / manuals did you find most helpful or wish you had at the time. Yes, yes I've looked on the net and there's loads of them, but since I haven't a clue which would be the most useful, I haven't a clue which to buy General boat maintenance would be good as well I think? Suggestions would be most welcome - Happy ho ho B~

Again, so nice to see a long standing member of the forum sharing their positive, helpful, relative and of course "not smug" advice. Just in case the OP doesn't understand the advice you are giving, are you implying the best thing for them to do is sell their new boat, take the money and buy a plastic cruiser until they learn what they are doing on your canals? Just to clarify of course, not being smug or anything Maybe you could put a suggestion into C&RT as to what the most sensible style, size and design of boat would be for novices and restrict them to only being able to buy that until they have spend the time to get to your standard of ability. B~ Edited to change "should be to would be)

Greenie to you - hope your around when we make our first trip B~

Hi and welcome to the forum, I'm new here as well, and hubby and I are in the process of making our dream into reality. Can say from experience that once a broker / seller find out you are in a cash buy situation they are much more willing to spend time answering your questions and negotiate on price. Not sure how many ppl you are looking to accommodate during the transition period, but a bed sit type arrangement might also be ideal. I could see a couple of advantages 1) you will get accustomed to living in tight quarters, and when you do move aboard, it will have the feel of a spacious palace 2) it will force you to downsize appropriately 3) fairly cheap. I "think" the tenants agreement is a little less restrictive as far as giving notice etc Firstly, when asking an open ended question of the forum, you need to prepare yourself for the wide variety of opinions / direction & advice you will receive. Most will be from experienced, kind & willing to assist members, some will state the obvious, some will be sharp/nasty on the verge of rude, some will be humorous, some will have no bearing whatsoever on your OP. Learn quickly to "separate the wheat from the chaff" and you will gain a wealth of knowledge from this forum. You don't state your experience level for either boating or buying a boat. The below points / links are some of the directions I've either received from the kind & helpful ppl on the forum or sites I've happened across myself. If like us you are a novice, some might come in handy in planning and organizing yourself for your new life. - log onto this forum a couple of times a day and look in on: New to Boating, Equipment, Living Afloat, General Boating; these are the four sections I've found the most useful to increasing my knowledge level. All are good and you'll pick up bits and pieces in all the others as well. - log onto the C&RT site, paying close attention to the different licensing, mooring & BSC info http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating - RYA is a great site and full of info as well http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/legaladvice/buyingaboat/Pages/default.aspx - another informative site http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/guides - I found this one very helpful, as well as learning a massive amount of the acronym meanings for different organizations, directives, guidelines as well as obviously the in's and out's of the RCD http://www.britishmarine.co.uk/what_we_do/technical/recreational_craft_directive.aspx - This one covers the BSS http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/ - If a novice, be prepared for one of the steepest and most interesting, learning curves of your life and enjoy. B~

ROTFLMAO Brilliant !! B~

Don't ask how, but after looking at the above post, I went and had a look and that eventually lead me to looking for Rubber Boots (Wellie's) Now keep in mind I haven't owned a pair of Rubber Boots since I was about 6 years old. Earlier today I had been looking at different Freezers for the boat, need to confirm the measurements of the spot in the boat where I plan on putting the freezer and if it will fit, I've got the Freezer picked out. £300.00 So off I go to Google Wellie's....find 2 pair that I "like" (well as much as one can "like" rubber boats). £389.00 and £349.00?? I'm either going have cold/wet feet this winter; be walking around in something that looks more like an Army cadet would wear (No offense to any Army ppl. you don't have a choice what you wear ) or burying my frozen food in snow banks all the while convincing myself that the freezer money was well spent on a pair of trendy rubber boots! OK - back to reality - I have found a pair for £39.00, but was Shocked to see the £389.00 price tag on the pair I really liked!! B~

Really good info - thank you both You are right Tim, if attempting to put out a cooking oil fire one must always remember the most important thing is to starve it of oxy and Not to spread the fuel (oil). Depending on the size of the fire, it is sometimes safest to use a fire blanket to starve the oxy, and then use a powder extinguisher to put out anything the blanket isn't covering.

Is this a good extinguisher to have installed in the engine bay? http://www.boatworld.co.uk/xcite-1kg-automatic-fire-extinguiser-p-56.html What do other ppl do? I know we need to have a fire blanket in/near the galley and at least 3 powder extinguishers in the cabins; but we were thinking of having a self activated one in the engine bay. Thoughts and comments plz. Ta B~

Sorry that just won't do! We'll be froze in before we even launch her The GU can't freeze till the end of Jan this year, we won't be launching the boat at Braunston till 2nd week in Jan and then have to make it as far South as possible; so me and the Cats don't freeze - I left my pink long johns back in Canada Would really appreciate it, if all you CCer's out there could keep the GU & western end of the K&A open until the end of Jan Ta B~

you know; the thought of a radical and complete lifestyle change doesn't bother me at all, the realization it will take twice as long to do "normal" tasks doesn't bother me at all, the thought of going without 99% of my "home comforts" (coffee machine, juicer, toaster, hair dryer, straighteners etc etc) doesn't bother me at all, the knowledge that the "simple things" in life as we know it, will no longer exist. Like leaving the fridge/freezer running overnight, simply flushing the loo isn't the end of "it", the fireplace is now a MF stove and it's no longer just ecstatically pleasing - but the most important piece of equipment you have for staying warm doesn't bother me at all, that I need to plan housework (boatwork) around how much draw it's having on a limited power supply (no washing machine, hover & bread machine all at once) and just when I think I've read enough, chatted to people enough to get my head around what to expect; I come back to the forum and discover there are a Massive amount of things I haven't even considered..... - loose dogs & cats (not ours) will be coming in through the open cratch to have a wee nose around - maniac's who try to stop racing bicycles on the tow path by placing booby traps - the amount of trouble one can get themselves into if they accidently allow their shower water to drain onto a tow path - that two boats can be in the same tunnel at the same time - traveling in different directions - and one of them could be a flippin birch bark canoe - trying to remember to supress the natural (well it would be in my case) reaction of screaming when falling into the water, or I'm liable to swallow some very nasty bugs and end up with a stomach pump - at some point some fool will stagger along in the night and think it right funny to untie the boat from it's moorings - that while trying to stay warm in the dead of winter, one must leave windows open or, endure mold, weeping walls & windows - wiping down of said walls & windows is more than likely going to be a daily job Flippin Heck!!!! Dare I even ask how often most people "polish" the outside of their boats??? and what exactly does entail?? I'm selling my lovely little Golf in the coming weeks, I've had it for 8 months now and have given it 4 car washes in that time, and haven't "polished" it once!!! Am I a bad person? B~ 800W!!! Absolutely NO way is he gonna have one of those if I'm not allowed to have my coffee maker

LMAO Greenie back atcha Thanx for the chuckle B~

Are we meant to still be reporting these? Just received this one a couple of minutes ago Fatal error: Out of memory (allocated 14155776) (tried to allocate 491520 bytes) in /home/ggbqjfrf/public_html/forums/admin/applications/forums/modules_public/forums/forums.php on line 968 B~

Totally agree Bones (with exception of size) We never once implied to anyone one that our dogs were friendly....we didn't want people to think they were, hence we had signs up at the end of the driveway saying "Beware of Dog, she may look cuddly, she's NOT" One of them was a massive German Shepherd - he would put the fear of Gawd into most anyone one who seen him; the other was a very small Collie mix, she was all cuddly and sweet looking. She was also the most ferocious of the two. IMO - it boils down to people taking responsibility and preventative steps for their pets (here's hoping our cats don't attack a dog on the towpath) when there is any chance of them causing harm or damage. B~

Ohhhh - your taking a walk on the wild side with that apology. Hopefully You won't have to endure pages of posts suggesting that an evening of over indulgence is no excuse for making what some would take, as a "crossing the line, inappropriate post".... Thankfully, not all are like that. Most will accept that people, on occasion, do sometimes say (post) things they later regret or would reword in hindsight. Back to the topic - I've been bitten twice by dogs; once attacked as a young child (9ish) second occasion as a young adult. One of the attacks was by a dog on a lead the other wasn't. In both cases, IMHO the dogs were not under the control of their owners. Nor were they aware of or took their responsibilities of dog ownership seriously. While growing up and living with my parents in rural countryside we had 2 dogs, both were faithful and friendly pets and at the same time one of them was a great guard dog. Neither dog was let loose outdoors within vicinity of the house or barns; where suppliers, customers, visitors and other animals could be. This was out of concern for those people & the animals well being, not because of the licensing regulations which were in place at the time, nor fear of breaking any laws; it was simply common sense. Keeping in mind our dogs were guard dogs as well as pets, in the 10+ years we had them there was never an incident of them biting or attacking anyone; however there were many occasions of people who would come to our farm after dark and would not get out of their vehicles until Dad or I went out and either calmed the dog down or took it off it's chain and put it in the house. I can also add that after the first time the farm was burgled and Dad lost over $5,000 (in the 70's) of equipment, we then got and trained the dogs we were never burgled again. Worth more than a rat? Show me a rat worth 5K B~