Clare De Loon

Well spotted!

I'm just in the middle of working on this, a print of it might just end up on my boats wall as I've nothing else up at the moment.

Thanks Martin, I realise that I will have to move my boat every 14 days, not ideal but without a home mooring there aren't any other options. The Selby mooring isn't big enough I'm afraid, I was on the VM's there at the weekend and it's a nice place. I've had a look at the Bramwith mooring and love it down there. Unfortunately the mooring is right next to the lock and after speaking to other boaters down there was told that the reason that it became available was that the guy who had it was fed up of constantly being bashed into by people trying to moor up for the lock! If nothing becomes available soon though I may have to reconsider this one.

Thanks Midnight, after fishing an old fridge out of Bank Dole lock, supvised by the local yoofs and closely watched by the police at the weekend, I can see why you wouldn't recommend stopping there! Is there much in the way of commercial craft on the A &C now? Bit worried about having pins ripped out.

As the title says really! I'm currently looking for a home mooring on the Aire & Calder but am struggling to find one available and wondered where are the best places to moor (as a temporary cc-er) as all the visitor moorings are for 48 hours. If anyone has any knowledge of safe mooring spots in this area it would be most appreciated. Thanks

Bank Dole lock on the junction of the Aire & Calder Nav onto the River Aire has to be one of the most depressing places on the system. To one side a bricked up and graffitied abandoned lock keepers cottage and on the other the chemical works overlook an abandoned caravan. Add in the police presence that was there when we passed through at the weekend and the fridge dumped back in the lock that we pulled out on a previous visit, we certainly won't be in a hurry to pass through again.

Love it, maybe we could get lots of free sweets for the advertising! It may be some time before any money comes my way!

Great name and as an aspiring artist it really appeals! Tomorrow is the day that we collect her and so we want to be sure about the name before we register her as ours. Having a wobble about Pomfret Venturer as a few people in RL have said that its a bit of a mouthful!

I really like this idea. I actually have the original documents relating to all the conveyances that have been on our house and the land that it was built on. Looking at at them I can see that the land was known as "Little Cow Pasture" - I guess that it would make an unique boat name

Thanks everyone for your input, it's been really helpful hearing different views and there have been some great suggestions. Pomfret is indeed Pontefract, home of Ponte races, the castle and Haribo! I suppose it's possible that we could be mistaken for fancy chip shop owners So after mulling on it overnight we have finally come to a decision, the boats new name shall be...... Pomfret Venturer A big thank you to Lady Cassandra for coming up with this combination.

So many great ideas thank you everyone! Husband has just pointed out that as our son is a teenager we might not be a crew of three for very long and as we are not of any religious persuasion maybe Trinity is not the right name for us. We really like Pomfret Venturer though

Claire de Lune is definately out then, can't be a traitor to my home county

Thankfully we aren't superstitious! Thanks for the replies so far. Looks like it's going to be either Trinity or Venturer at the moment.....

Hi there, After spending a few years searching for the right boat this week we should finally take ownership of our first boat. At present she has a name that is very personal to its owners and so we shall be looking to change it. After much consideration we have narrowed our preferred names down but cannot make the final choice. I'd love to hear what other people's thoughts are on our shortlisted names, for a bit of extra info, 1. Is the old English name for my husbands home town. 2. We will be a crew of three (me, my husband and son) 3. Cos we like it! 4. Only joking. Please, please, please do not vote for this! Thanks for looking, we are open to any other suggestions that you might have. P.S I know that the name is in the wrong place on the boat but it was the only pic that I had

Thanks all, plenty of advise to go on there. Having not bought a boat before I wasn't sure on the proceedure so wanted to confirm before handing over my money! As it stands I shall be taking her out for a trial this weekend and if this goes ok will pay a deposit. The survey will follow soon after. I've checked the contract and it does say that the deposit is refundable if more than 5 % of the purchase price is needed. Other than that I'm happy with the price we've agreed on (providing all is well with the survey). I've looked far and wide over a length of time and believe that I've found the right boat at the right price for me.

Thanks for the replies. This is how I see it and tbh would have rather have taken it out prior to making an offer but was told that the water trial could only be arranged after an offer had been made and accepted. Thanks again for clarifying, this is the first boat that I've bought and was unsure of the correct procedure.

Hi there, Just wondered if anyone could shed some light on the process of buying a boat through a broker. I have made an offer on a boat which has been accepted subject to survey and water trial. The broker is asking for a deposit along with a signed contact. I am unsure about paying this as I haven't been on the trial and don't yet know how the boat handles or if all the systems work. Is it usual practice to leave a deposit prior to being able to take the boat out? Thanks for any advice.

You're right the majority of boats that I have seen are primarily finished with varnished wood. I suppose that this is the traditional look that in the past most people have opted for and so most boat builders stick with. In saying that though whilst looking around at second hand boats I have seen quite a few that have been tidied up and given a coat of paint internally to lighten them up. Unfortunately in most cases the standard of painting has left a lot to be desired

Hi from another newbie! I'm just in the process of buying my first boat (although not in the enviable position of designing from scratch) and understand where you are coming from in interior design terms. We hired this boat from http://www.ottersboathire.co.uk/my-o-my.php# last year and loved the light airy feel of the boat. I shall be stealing some of their design ideas when I finally plan a refit!

Small, cheap and tidyAnything small, cheap and not so tidy was an "investment property" ?

Again, lots of great advice all of which I'm taking on board ('scuse the pun!), thank you. As an ex estate agent (please don't shoot me, there are honest ones) I'm finding that the buying process is very similar to house buying - view lots and the right one will eventually find you.

Thanks for all of the advice it's much appreciated. I've looked locally (within an hours drive) but there's not much out there in my price range (under £25,000) to be honest so understand that I'll have to start widening the net so to speak.

Thanks for the welcome Chop. Thankfully there are a couple of places in my area with available moorings (West Yorks) however finding a suitable starter boat is proving a little more problematic!

Just popping by to say hi after lurking for some time on this forum. I'm now in a position to buy my first boat so will probably be spending quite a bit of time around here!