Felshampo

Apparently so! "It doesn't cost much to have the oil tested, so If I was looking at a boat with no history, or not much history, I'd have the oil analysed and assume the worst if the results were negative. Neil2" "The first boat I bought had an oil analysis done as part of the survey. It revealed that the wrong type of oil had been used at the last service, but seemingly had done no harm in the short time it had been in there. Catweasel"

In a similar thread ( http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=66303 ) the consensus was that engine hours were hard to relate to engine wear if the maintenance schedule was not known. It was advocated that testing the oil was then only way to judge the state of an engine. But how many people get that checked before they buy a narrowboat?

My advice is to take your time. It is a steep learning curve and there are no short cuts. Yes you could buy the first boat you see, and some people do. But... If you want to live on the boat then you will need to know all about the technical stuff to survive. You can get a lot of good advice from people on this forum about every aspect of boating. However it will be you who will be left holding the tiller so buy a few books, see a lot of boats and then you will be able to decide for yourself. Jon

Hey, as long as it suits you then what does it matter if it is popular or not. The jist of the article was that when it comes to buying or selling some layouts are more popular than others Jon

Thanks for that. I am not actually looking at buying a boat. Just wanted to know what it means. Jon

Its in an article in the Crick Boating Times. Jon

I have just read that the most popular boats are "fifty to fifty seven foot, two plus two, semi-trad or cruiser sterned" Could someone tell me what two plus two means. Thanks Jon

Whichever one wins I bet it still ends in a slanging match between the usual suspects!

Sitting on the fence... Isn't that what what the bargees used to do? The compost loos are " just dried shit" but that is much better to deal with than the wet stuff inside cassettes and holding tanks. It doesn't smell or stain and you can get rid of it in a field or even on a handy muck heap. Jon

Another option could be a quality sofa bed in the saloon.

I appreciate that but the point I was making is how reliable modern cars are. I have a ten year old mondeo that has done 85000 has only been serviced three or four times and yet it still sweet according to my garage. Are modern deisel engines like Rolls Royce?

Don't you mean "elevators" !

What would you test the oil for if you sent it off? And where would you send it. I have listened to a lot of engines but I am not very good at telling the good from the less good. Can you compare car engines which are built in thier millions with marine engines which have only been built in their thousands for quality and longevity.

I am looking at old boats and wondered if there is any way of gauging the state of the engine by looking at the hours. They are often advertised as low hours. Is this a good guide to whether the engine is knackered or still has plenty of life left. Can you do this with narrow boat diesel engines? It can give you a good idea with car engines. I appreciate there are lots of other variables such as size of boat, hp, canals vs river use, use as a generator etc. Also has it been serviced regularly. Has it had problems with water or diesel bug. What is the alignment of the engine like or pylon drive. What do members think?

Beware if you intend to do a lot of cruising, cruiser sterns can be cold as you are always at the back out of the shelter of the cabin.

I would like to thank all the above contributors for their helpful advice Jon

I have been contemplating buying my own boat to spend my retirement on the canals. I have had many a holiday on various rivers and canals in my kayak and even had a few on a narrow boat and my sisters small cruiser. I get both Waterside World and the Canal Boat every month. One thing that puts me off is the constants references to pubs. In this months WW the review of the Macc includes a typical quote "don,t even try to leave the town without trying one of the pubs, Waters Green is a good place to commence a pub crawl" These sorts of comments are all too common. I also noticed that in the recant TV program "Canal journeys" that many a bottle of wine was on show. Yet in the similar "Great railway journeys" and "Walking canals" programs local pubs never get a mention. Are all narrow boat owners pipe smoking Camra members? I don't think so. Does the lifestyle turn you to drink? Should I buy an RV instead?