Bettie Boo

Hi and welcome to the forum; now I'm Very much a novice myself and can offer no recommendations to your questions. However, I just want to clarify something. We have a Barrus Shire 40hp and our large domestic altenator is 16amp/240v travel power which puts out 3.5kw of AC power, which charges our 8 x T105's quite adequately supported with our solar aray, this provides us with all the 240 AC power we require. Are you sure it's 240amp rather than 240v AC? Just asking as others have said that's a massive alternator at 240amp.

Hi Phil, First and foremost let me clarify something, although we have lived and cruised on our boat for 4 years now, we do not consider ourselves to be experts, and in actuality we are still considered by a fair few on this forum to be complete novices. With that said I'd be happy to share with you "our experiences" in cruising a widebeam on the Southern section of the Network... As perviously stated we are just shy of 11ft, we are 10.10 (a strange width, and I have yet to come across another WB of the same width). There are at least 2 WB Hotel boats that cruise the GU, both are 12 ft and I know they go up as far as Warwick at least if not onto Soulihull. How they do it, I'm not really sure as I know between Brentford & Braunston there are a few pinch points, most of which are deconstructed old bridges but with the foundations still in place. You will, as others have said, need to take care at some the the bridge holes which are on blind bends and have a decent sounding (as in loudness) horn, and not be afraid to use it. As we tend to travel slower than most narrow boats (due to us causing to much of a bow wave if we travel over 3mph), we keep a look out for any narrow boats behind us and offer to pull over and let them pass at the next safe spot to do so. I'm not really sure if the bow wave is due to the design of our boat or if all WB's have this effect. But since we are never in any rush it is not something that concerns us. As far a length we are 57ft. and with a Trad stern, we have loads of interior space. 2 bedrooms, bathroom, large galley & salon, the design of the back affords us to have a laundry facility on one side and a larger than average tool/spare parts storage area on the other side of the interior of the hatch before entering the main bedroom. This is our first boat and although we love her dearly, are there things we would change if we were to buy another? Sure there are, things like having a proper broom closet to store mop, broom, dust pan & brush and hoover, having the multi fuel stove on the port side instead of starboard, as a widebeam we need to give up the centre of the cut when meeting other boats oncoming and quite often end up going under low hanging branches, we are on our 3rd chimmeny now More to follow....

We cc with our WB, but can't really comment as to wether the North or South is best. We bought her up north and had her road hauled down to Braunston where she was renamed and launched. We are just shy of 11ft wide and have had no problems at all on the southern canals (GU/K&A/North Oxford/Paddington/Regents) as well as the Rivers Thames, Lee & Stourt We've met a fair few other folks with WB's down here who cc; some within a very limited range and others who cruise everything available to them.

Spot on Starcoaster - she is causing no problems for anyone else. And the really great thing about boating is if your the type of person who gets offended by they way someone else's boat looks you should simply pull your pins and move on!

How about burning a Citronella candle close to your wine glass...you won't be killing them, but at least they should avoid death by drowning in what to them must be a vat of wine

Hi Caitlin, I just noticed that I made a typo in my original post; it should have been T105's not T150's, they are 4+ years old now and seem to be holding out fine. We have not been on shore power at all now, for the past 4 years. And not to be misleading, we run the engine when using the washing machine regardless of what time of year it is, or how sunny a day. It's a Candy slimline 7k load capacity. & as someone has kindly point out already, we are not considered experienced boaters as we have only been living off grid for a little over 4 years now - mind you we live the life style that suits us & haven't had the need to replace our battery bank yet. So I guess we are either doing something right OR have been just really lucky. btw - Tony Brooks and WotEver, both know what they are talking about when it comes to battery management. Tony at one point gave classes on the subject along with loads of other mechanical issues, and engine maintenance. A wise person would not ignor advice from Tony. I remember how hard it is to figure out who gives sound advice around here from those who simply feel the desire to type something, when your new and it takes some time to figure out the wheat from the chaf. Another who gives sound advice and is in the trade is Richard (RWLP) not sure if I have those letters in the correct order or not, but you'll soon catch on. Good luck B~

LOL - actually I think you'll find you are the one who has misunderstood the op on this occassion. They simply asked what set up other power hungry boaters have, I answered the question asked; not by telling them how they should live and what electrical appliances they should or should not have on their boat, but rather what we have and the power supply needed to run it. I didn't in anyway mean to imply our set up is how everyone else should have theirs, it just works for us and how we like to live. & yes, you are correct; I should have stated that we've only been living & cruising on our boat for 4 years now and are still very much considered complete novices by the boating clique that have been doing it for 40+ years. I've often meant to ask just how long does one need to be cruising/living on a boat before one is no longer considered a novice? Yes we could all stand out in the rain for our bathing needs, or lite a fire pit on the tow path for our cooking needs; we could even get a couple of large stones and beat our dirty cloths on them using canal water to wash them, personally I'd prefer a few "home comforts" in "my home" Maybe if more folks stopped judging/assuming how others live, or should live, it would be a wee bit nicer place LOL - & to add insult to injury...we have a Pump Out & LOVE it

We have 4 x 250w panels, & 8 x T150's + starter and BT batteries. (the T150's are 12 not 24) We are power hungry though, washer, fridge, freezer, lg screen tv and all the other electronic gagets that most folks have, although we don't use a hair dryer. I've limited myself to only having 4 electrical kitchen appliances...bread maker (in case we get froze in & I like homemade bread), slow cooker (which in hinesight I hardly ever use...we use the wood/coal stove as a slow cooker in the winter months), my food processer (I do a fair amount of cooking/baking), and of course my coffee machine Heating is via the wood/coal stove and on occassion we turn on the central heating, but this is not a daily occurance just when it gets close to being proper cold not that it shoud make any difference other then roof space, but we are a 10.10 WB & yes we still need to run the engine daily in the winter months, but the solar saves a heck of a diesel in the summer months Hope this helps

Ours is a trad stern, as liveaboards it works really well for our wants and needs. The hatch is big enough for one of us to stand "inside" without getting in the way of the person with the tiller. Bike rack & wirrly gig holder behind the swan neck. Inside the hatch (before entering the bedroom) on one side is where we keep all the tools, spare parts, oil, pins, goat chain, wet weather gear etc. and the other side is dedicated to the washing machine, laundry soap, cloths pins and some spare gardening stuff, seeds, extra pots, part bags of compost & soil. There's a fair amount of storage space under the board where his tools are, we have the "emergency porta pottie" down there along with the chain saw, grinder, sander & buffer and other bits & pieces...stuff you only need a couple of times a year. We don't store anything under the washing machine for obvious reasons, although there is ample space down there beside the hot water tank. Access to the batteries is under the boards where his tools are, but you don't need to remove both boards to get at the batteries, access to the engine bay is under the stairs in the hatch it only takes him a couple of minutes to remove the stairs. Since we have a trad layout rather then reverse, we do our socializing in the front well deck, which comfortably fits 4, 2 on director chairs and 2 on cushions on the side lockers. I wouldn't like the thought of entertaining at the back of the boat...guests would need to walk through our bedroom to get to the loo, grab another bottle of vino etc. Trad stern works well for us, although they don't seem very common on widebeams. I've only seen a couple of others in the 4 years we've been cruising.

This ^^^ is what we did when ours stopped working 6 months after buying the boat. I do admit there have been a couple of days when winding on blustry days that it would have come in useful. Other than that we haven't missed it at all. But as someone else said or implied...to each their own. Hope she enjoys her new boat

If you find the "perfect" boat for yourselves, but the stove is not on the port side don't fret. The worst that will happen is you loose a chimney or two and maybe a few chimney caps. It's not a "really" big deal. As far as layout, some prefer reverse others prefer the traditional. Ours is traditional, after living on her for 4 years, I wish we had gone for reverse. Most people enter and leave their boat via the stern, I just can't get him trained to take his boots off once inside the stern doors, so everything gets tracked through the bedroom, down the corridor to the living area of the boat. As far as loos go, it really is "to each their own", ours is a pump out and I wouldn't have it any other way. But I respect other folks choose cassette or compost, as they are better suited for their needs and lifestyle. IMO the boat you had the first link for was fairly overpriced for what you are getting. Is the gas lines already installed? Is there a gas storage locker? I am far from being an expert, but I'd think you would need a much larger battery bank and/or a good solar set up. We have 1000w solar and still need to run the engine each day for an hour or so. We are pretty enery hungery though to be fair. Fridge / Freezer, large screen tv and all the other electronics taboot. Everybody's set up and usage is different, keep that in mind when taking advice. Some things are just personal preference.

Lisa - to be fair to the forum and it's members... Could I just point out to you, that for whatever reason you choose to take the advice of a member who at the time had a total post count of 1, as in it was the first time this person had ever posted on this forum. The surveyor you choose was only recommended by 1 person, where there were other surveyors who were recommended by numerous people (ALL with a higher post count than 1) I appreciate when your new around here it can be rather difficult to know who to listen to and who to give a miss, and post count does not necessarly mean the poster is knowledgable in the topic they are posting We were complete novices when we bought our boat 4 years ago and Trevor Whitling was recommended by a couple of members, we took their advice and to be honest he was bloody brilliant, we'll be using him again for our upcoming BSC.

In 4 years we've lost at least 2 chimney's and 4 caps by needing to navigate into overhanging trees do to oncoming boats who like a little too much of the centre of the cut and/or meeting another widebeam (if it's one of the really big ones)

Hi Peppers and welcome to the forum. There are a "few" of us on this forum who have widebeams, not many, but a few. Ours is our first canal boat, so I really can't tell you if it's easier or harder to handle than a narrow boat, but I can tell you we have no problems in cruising. Ours is a 57 x 10.10 with a trad stern which gives us more internal space, a very generous main bedroom and a good size spare as well the bathroom, large galley and good size lounge. After living on ours for 4 years now, the only thing I'd have different if we were looking to replace it would be: 1) reverse layout (galley & lounge at the stern of the boat) 2) soild fuel (coal/wood) stove on the left (port) side of the boat...this really should be a no brainer, but as novices we didn't understand the difference and bought a boat with it on the right hand (starboard) side 3) I prefer a U shaped galley rather than the L shape I have, more efficient use of space. We've cruised the GU, K&A, Thames, Paddington & Regent canals & the rivers Lee & Stort. We've always been able to find a spot to moor and only once did we need to double (breast up) moor and that was at Wallingford on the Thames during the peak season. We went through London a couple of years ago, and had no problems with finding a place to single moor. To be honest, there aren't many spots in London I'd be comfortable to double moor our boat, I'd feel we would just cause too much of a obstacle especially to other widebeams. I don't envy you living on a boat in London, I wouldn't want to do it, but others do. Just make sure you fully understand what is expected of your movements by CRT as a cc'er. I'd also recommend that either you or your partner have a decent grasp of diesle engine maintenance, battery managment & electrics. Best of luck in your search. *when looking at boats, we found you get a lot more for you money the further north you go. If our boat had been in London when we bought it, it would have sold easily for 15 -20K more than what we paid for it in Chorley. Ours had one previous owner, the engine hours were ridiculously low, it hadn't even been broken in

I think your right Mark, we've read the navigational notes in the Nicholson's as well... "CRT request no wide beam craft moor on line between here & Braunston" (it's actually on the Hemel Hempstead page I believe) Somewhere along the line some folks have turned a "request" not to moor into "your not allowed to navigate here, there's a rule about it" But, if it is something CRT are serious about, then they wouldn't organize wide beams through the tunnels at 8 am; which means we have to moor overnight before both tunnels (not complaining, just a fact); and they sell LT & winter moorings to loads of WB's online & allow boat yards and EoG moorings for WB's as well, between Hemel and Braunston. End of day, I figure we can go anywhere safely that a working pair can go when tied side by each without causing any major amount of agro to anyone else.

Widebeams are not allowed to navigate north of Milton Keynes on the GU....or so we've been told by a few narrowboat folk over the past few years

You'll be ok down as far as Marsworth Nick, we've just been there and there was an abundance of moorings and that's with the steam rally taking place down there on Sunday; yes we did pass a few wide beams, some on the move and some moored up, we also passed 2 sets of narrow boats double moored!! (shock / horror) but as someone else has said in this thread there were no drama / dismay. Other than we've lost yet another chimney cap!! Having a lovely little trip (my first real cruise since being discharged from the hospital) and can say I am throughly enjoying it. Brilliant weather, meeting some lovely folks along the towpath & at the locks. Life is good, I love living on a boat, but it's especially good when it moves (for me) (Yes, I assumed your post was tounge in cheek)

I guess we were just really lucky...we moored in 3 different spots around the London canal system when we were heading for a trip up the river Lee and 2 different spots on the way back. Non of those times did we need to travel far to find a free mooring once we decided it was time to moor up for the day & don't forget we didn't have the opition to double up as we are a wide beam. I appreciate that trip was 2 years ago, but it was "just" as CRT were strating to crack down on folks overstaying in London. I would have thought that it would have only got better since then.

Sorry, I didn't mean the doctor's or nurses of the respiratory unit, but rather the discharge nurse and/or the Occ Health nurse which cover the respiratory unit. They will both have experience of installing oxygen supplies to various different locations as well as portable units for various different life styles requirments. Good luck in the search for the answers your looking for.

Although I can offer very little experience, I think I can offer some positive support. Recently I was misdiagnosised with either COPD or sleep apnea, they weren't sure which. As it turned out, it was neither, thankfully. But the doctors were well aware that we live on a canal boat, and as we were discussing my course of treatment and eventually returning home to the boat and what that meant. There was discussion about having a portable version of the hospital stats machine installed on the boat along with three forms of oxgen supply; 1 for the bedroom which would supply the NIV mask which would be used while I was sleeping, a tank which would be on a small trolly that I could take with me as I moved about inside the boat whilst hooked up to the nasual feed; and finally a portable canister that fit into a knapsack type holder which they said I could use whilst manning the tiller through locks (Dave would have needed to do the working of the locks, as I would not have been comfortable of crossing the gates with an oxgen filled knapsack on my back and being as light headed as I now find myself most days). So, if it were me and I was looking for the answers to your questions, I'd try and set up a meeting with the discharge nurse of the respitorary unit of your local hospital. Chances are he or she will have had some experience with getting an oxygen supply to some pretty bizzare locations for other patients, and even if they can't arrange it for you; they would more than likely be able to point you in the right direction and give you some points of contact. I was quite impressed at the stance the hospital took regarding me living on a boat. They were quite insistant that I should return to the boat, being able to live a good quality of life and ensured I had all the bits of kit I needed to maintain that quality of life. There was never a mention that maybe it was time to think of a different life style. I was quite impressed with the effort they went to, to understand what it means to live on a canal boat and some of the obstacles we incure, which are different if you live in bricks & motar.