Marcuswarry

Hello Everyone! Firstly, some rather fun news! Lady Doris & I are going to be on the telly... (on GC's Amazing Spaces, Channel 4). I'll let you know when it's ging to aired.. but not for some time yet, as we have quite a way to go.. in fact, she's still got mud smeared all over the inside! ... But now the weather is warming up a bit, I'm chucking myself back into the project with gusto. I'm afraid I may be on this forum a bit more regularly again, asking for your help and advice! Brace yourselves!! The first BIG thing to tackle is putting in a system that heats the boat, heats the water, and ideally generates electricity too. At the Ecobuild conference (Excel, London), the only thing I found that did all three well, was still in development, and not going to be ready for a few more months! And so I've downgraded my desire to just having a system that heats the boat & water instead! Since posting about this last time, I read all your incredibly useful input, and have been researching and educating myself about the various options out there. I was veering towards Diesel... But now I'm veering towards Gas... One of my primary concerns, as some friends may come & use the boat when I'm not there.. is that the system is super simple & super safe!! Ease at which you can buy fuel is important too (and the cost!).. and the fact that most Petrol Garages sell propane bottles is a plus.. whereas, pootling off to find red diesel, when the boat is mostly stationary, could be come a slight pain. The other thing I want (and this is where I may sound like a slight novice again, so please bear with me!), is for the heating system to work without any Electricity. I have a mid stream mooring, and there is no mains supply. The only way to get 240v would be by using an inverter on my 12v system, and that would RINSE the batteries, which are primarily being topped up with solar (at the moment, looking at other options too). I believe if the system can run off 12v, I'd be fine... The reason why I want the system to be on standby, when I'm not in the boat, is so I can turn it on remotely, using one of these clever systems I saw at ecobuild: www.cimote.com - this would also enable me to control the thermostat remotely too... quite snazzy... but also super handy in winter of course, when I can turn it on 30 mins before I arrive! FYI, this climote gadget doesn't require Wifi.. it actually has a sim card in it.. so you can text it your instructions - neat eh? Other things I'm stil deliberating! 1 - Whether I can "easily" turn Thames water into water I can use for the heating system & for showers etc. 2 - Whether to heat water and store in a tank.. or just have a combi system, that heats it when you need it.. I'm not sure about the pros & cons (clearly having to store it is a con.. and you have to buy an extra storage thing.. AND it takes up more space - but what are benefits to doing that?!) I'll stop before this becomes a mammoth email.. and I eagerly await your amazing replies! Perhaps one for you MagnetMan?!!?? Maybe you could be on the telly too?! Marcus xxxxxx P.S. Richard, let's get you on the Telly! I think getting the sunken engine roaring back to life would be something they'd be very interested in capturing!!

Thanks Wanted - sorry for slow reply - lt's all sorted now, it's in Oxford. I've even put it on Airbnb, and had 3 happy customers already! Check it out here if interested! https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/4413969 Sorry, back to my boats.. freezing cold ones at that! I'm prioritising a quick and inexpensive way to get some heating into the front bow room now... I've just been googling gas heaters of varying types, and my head is spinning a bit.. so are so many, some that require flues, some that don't... why?! Why do the portable ones not require flues?! Sorry to sound like sucha novice again.. My main question is this... I think a wall mounted one would look quite cool, and of course take up less space than a portable one... I've found it rather hard to find what I'm looking for... apart from a few rediculously priced ones from the US... why is this? Am I being a plonker? Thanks for all your help! Marcus x P.S. Lady Doris (aka Fairstar, is doing well (touch wood!!).. I've tidied up the bow room room now.. and pretty soon it should be quite cosy & liveable in! I'll send pics when done, and when I work out how to!

Sabcat, are you a saint, or some kind of angel?! My reason for trying to save money is born out of being frugal too (read 'tight arse'), as well as being skint... But it's not like I'm on my last fiver, I really wouldn't feel right taking any money. I hope you understand? You're a legend for offering It though!! Based on my total lack of experience and the fact that no-one had agreed with me so far... I'm oddly still angling towards tarp first... The polythene... Wrapped tightly around it... So I'm using the tarp, that will be quite taught... As a support for the extended gunwale on the more sunken side, to stop the polythene caving in.. As there's a huge empty space in the middle of the boat... And that method seems quicker than building a wooded rail, or maybe using chicken wire (which might snag the polythene in fact (peter x, good point). You spotted my dyslexia nicely peter! Nougat, nugget... Same thing. Errr... No. Can't believe you don't make Nougat though peter. Disappointed! Haha! Richard, I've left wickes now, without may chicken wire and I'm at the boat... So I'm trying to convince myself now, that it was a terrible idea... But shucks... It's a tough one... Should got flipping chicken wire eh?! Balls... Tarp will work a treat!! Marcus

Thanks! Thing is, if the tarp is on the outside... It's not really doing anything much... The reason for wanting the tarp, is so that the polythene has something more rigid to go against... As along te middle, there aren't any railings... So it would just suck in a probably snap... I've also wondered about making a temporary railing along the middle, between bow and stern railings... Using chicken wire... Again, to support the polythene... Good idea? Shit idea? You decide!! Marcus

Quick question.. Given I've for the wrap up the hull... Again. I've got a more robust tarpaulin now too.. As on the more sunken side, there's quite a big for the polythene to cover, so want tree to be more resistance... Tarp on first or polythene first? I'm thinking tarp... But that's partly because it'll be a million times easier to handle and attach (has eylets)... And then the polythene can be wrapped around and around the boat horizons rely to further keep it all in place?! Mx

Yes I'm rather worried about the rain too... I think my thames work could be a little hairy later this week.... But a fair sea never made a good sailor... As the saying goes... (Or something like that). I have two big boats lined up to go alongside fairstar now... And will try hard to secure bigger pumps! Hss do one that shifts about 1300 L a minute... I think it's about £70 for the weekend... So kind of you to offer to help towards the cost, but I would not feel right at all accepting that! I'm buy some fizz for the hopeful celebrations on Saturday night though!!! Mx

Brilliant, thanks Rob!

I have a very large Dutch barge confirmed for Saturday 16th, to come alongside... It has a 7 kilowatt generator on it. Going to try and firm up a large widebeam to come the other side now. More updates soon! Mx

Thank for you all the continued support and enthusiasm, and sorry for my lack of updates recently! Right. The re-float date is Saturday 16th August. By then, my thumb will have largely healed, and the boat will be wrapped in polythene. My friend on the island has a 2.7 generator... And a compressor (if needed)... And I'm working out with friends on the island which boats can be used to come alongside... I have 4 pumps at the moment, that should together shift 400l a minute. When I get a idea of what else is available to borrow on Saturday... Then I'll buy some more if there's a shortfall. I'm aiming for at least 1000l a minute. I'm hugely grateful for any time or items you're able to lend to the operation!!! If you're able to come, then please confirm if you're able to bring pumps, generators, water tanks, inner tubes... And anything else that might be useful. The main thing is pumps! As the strategy in adopting is as suggested by CarlT... Who isn't overly keen on the floatation devise option. I'm on 07879 812 789 Marcus X

Thanks guys! I actually need a water tank for the boat anyway... Do you think this one is too big?! http://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/1000_litre_water_tanks Is 1000l a bit over the top for a live aboard boat? I can't get my head around it? Marcus X

@craftycarper - I'm considering that! I'm having conversations between sensible me, and the other one - as I type... @arthur - I'll see how it feels tomorrow! But yes, still a fair bit if planning to do... M

Oh dear! Yes, sadly all part if the excercise it seems... Still, it gives me a slight break from diving in the Thames for a bit... Every cloud has a silver lining and all that! Marcus X

Thumb update: I had five stitches... And i cut my tendon.., fortunately not too badly.. And I still seem to have full mobility... I'm on antibiotics to ensure it can't get infected... And annoyingly I have to keep it dry for about a week! Argh!!! Sadly, I may not be able to do much more on raising the polythene gunwale... Until about Tuesday next week at the earliest... Very very frustrating!! I'll keep you updated! Marcus X

Still waiting!

Great! Glad it works Mike! Shame it doesn't appear in the forum, without having to click on it though... Posting the youtube video I did earlier... Was easy peasy... This forum turns the youtube link into a video clip without having to do anything clever at all! So... The image on Flickr shows the full extent that the 2m wide polythene membrane reaches on the wheel house... So it's not wide enough to bring the other side above the water level sadly... So what I'm thinking is that I'll attach it to the wheel house on the other side, using the batons as I have on this side... I'll then secure another membrane... Placing another baton below the previous baton... So it's really water right... And raising the membrane over the roof... And horizontally right across the boat... Creating a cover over that whole side!! Blimey.... Once the main polythene 'structure' is in place... I'm going to go wraptastic... Until I've turned the boat into some kind of cacoon.... From which in the hopefully near future.. A beautiful butterfly shall emerge!! Marcus