Neil Coker

MtB, take a look at these links http://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/homeowner/solar-water-heating http://www.solarfriend.co.uk Im thinking of something similar myself.

Alan, good points, I've experience with both a 12/240 WAECO and more ancient three way fridges in off-road vehicles with trailer campers and small yachts ( all with separate battery power and solar panels and with invertors when necessary as I travel a lot so have to set up many a Heath Robinson setup). If I could source a 12v unit fridge that would be ideal. Ideally I want to put in a larder style undercounted fridge with drawers (as opposed to shelves) as that means the cold stays in more efficiently when you have to open it to remove or place items inside.

As I'm going through the process at the moment I read this article with a lot of interest. Whilst some of the the costs are inflated overall they are pretty realistic. I've got actual quotes for custom made mattresses which are comparable. by being selective in the purchases, including be willing to buy secondhand and refurbish things, a lot of savings can be made. Just from my own perspective I wouldn't even consider installing a pair of £3000 cupboards. If you can't do the work yourself there are a lot of good joiners who can make a more cost effective option. As far as the kitchen is concerned it can be as expensive or as cheap as you want to budget. My target is good quality handmade units from marine ply and hardwood facings, a second hand AGA (off EBlag), a second hand three way fridge (off EBlag)' stainless marine sink (off EBlag) and all refurbished for under a tenth of their new price. Same applies to multifuel stoves, etc. Most people don't have a limitless budget and guides like this do give newbies like me a outline of what the costs may be.

I just went online and googled boat blacking. Some yards had very good online information and responded in a timely manner and some didn't. Essentially I got a few quotes regardless of their location and then looked at what was both practical and cost effective and that led me to choose the local yard I have.

Ditchcrawler, the issue would still be my having to get the boat down to them either by paying someone to take her there or sticking it on a truck. Neither make financial sense when I have a yard on the doorstep who have been very helpful and not, IMHO, excessive on their charging. The are numerous places around the country where I could get a cheaper quote but when looked at in conjunction with the other costs they simply didn't make sense.

From the looks of that conversion, access seemed pretty good with the doors at the front. Fairly sure a sensible solution could be developed.

Have to agree the one posted by Alan is definitely the best looking conversion I've seen so far.

You guys have certainly given me food for thought.

Alan/Ray, many thanks that is exactly what I've been trying to find. My idea was to have portholes either side and doors to the front. Now at least I can see what it may look like

The whole interior is being ripped out and start again. Currently the stove is in the middle of the boat on the starboard side. The more I'm thinking about it the more I'm starting to favour lengthening the boat to 60' and maintaining a layout with the main bathroom at the rear left, then open plan kitchen and living space with L-shaped couch (convertible to bed) going into bunk bed cabin with beds against the right hand (4' at the bottom and 2'6" at the top) and into the main bedroom area with a 4' bed pushed to the right. If my measurements are correct then by lengthening I can have an additional 6' space to do something with.

Certainly striking!

I'm not having FIONN refurbished with a view to sell. This is intended to be a one-off purchase so I'm trying to make sure my other half is happy with her. Ultimately, there has to be compromises and she will have to make them in the same way we all must. She doesn't want to have to go past sleeping family when she needs the loo in the middle of the night. The proximity of the loo to the bed is irrelevant considering I've seen numerous examples where bedrooms and bathroom are merely separated by a simple bulkhead.

FIONN is currently 53' but one of the options I'm considering is lengthening to 60' whilst everything is stripped out and sandblasted. Waiting for the quotes for the work at the moment.

Gordias, some interesting ideas. I think her main driver is she doesn't want to share a loo with me (can't ink why LOL). I tried suggesting bucket and chuck it but she had a sense of humour failure (even if it was ajoke)

Thanks for the link, I will take a look

FIONN already has a side hatch and if we went down the enclosed route there would be an means of getting out the front too. The other alternative is to lengthen the boat but I will have to discuss that with the yard and see what their recommendation (and costs) are

She has a thing about personal toilet space, a female thing I think as I have encountered it more than once!

At the risk of being shot down for asking what may be a daft question. Has anyone seen any examples of someone permanently enclosing the front deck area in either steel of wood? Now I've bought FIONN all sorts of ideas are coming to the fore and one is to extend the cabin forward and utilise the space for either storage or (as the girlfriend wants) a nice little en-suite! The general idea is to have the double bed up front in the main cabin so it would be very handy having that extra space accessible. FIONN is being stripped out in the new year for a compete refit so am open to suggestions/advise.

Basically the numbers I got were as follows: Aqua - £574.94. In Willington, Derbyshire (71 miles) Stokeboats - £530. In Stoke-On-Trent, Staffs (71 miles) Calcutt - £518. In Southam, Warwickshire (55 miles) JL Pinder - £667.20 (next door) All prices above were inclusive of VAT and were for docking and blacking only. The additional cost on mine was for the descaling and sorting the rust areas so I've removed that from the comparison. Distances are estimates using the AA as I havent a clue how far it would be on the canal system.

We are moored at Diglis Basin.

My boat is 53' and the price was pretty much inline with other quotes I got. What decided it for me was that if I took it to any of the other yards then I would also have to factor in the costs getting it there (can't do it myself as I'm working away from home at the moment). The yard I'm using is literally on the doorstep of my mooring so it represented reasonable value. No doubt if I shopped around I could get more competitive rates but the yard I'm using has proved to be very helpful and communicative, all valuable in my eyes.

Useful post for me as a new boat owner and going through same issues as the OP. To put some perspective on the matter. I've scheduled some work and the breakdown is as follows: Docking the boat: £300 Pressure wash/Descale & Remove minor rust ares:£260 Blacking: £367.20 Service on engine (BMC 1500): £180 Supply & Fit new starter battery: £90 Check & pack stern gland: £20 Supply & fit 4 anodes: £180 This is with a recommended boatyard who have been very helpful with their advice and sequencing the works. I got a number of quotes and this is pretty competetive considering the other yards would require moving my boat a substantial distance with the associated costs and time considerations. Also I just managed to get a insurance quote for Her at £150 pa which I thought was pretty good. The OP can PM me if he needs contact details or we can compare notes and the vagaries of divorce settlements!

Well took the first step in the new adventure. Paid the deposit for FIN ( soon to be renamed Fionn) and the first phase of work is scheduled and paid for and due to start in four weeks. All being well everything should be signed up and sealed by the 10th of next month and I shall be a narrowboat owner!

Preferable to when on that "sinking thingy"

I like "steering thingy"