The Narrow Way

To be fair, only along Hackney Wick, Vicky Park - people who are basically building their home around them! De-rusting, painting - I'm adding those! Plumbing in plastic is probably something I could dabble with too.

Yeah, interesting. This does echo a lot of what others have said. I'm surprised (but glad) that there's so much close consensus. I'm getting the feeling that, beyond the obvious, it's better to just add skills as and when they are required. I was expecting people to say 'woodwork' or 'metalwork' more, but I guess the people I see along the towpath sanding their boats and pulling out welders are serious fixer-uppers!

A good point, well made. Yes, I think the tests of narrowboat living, with all the system management and life adaptations is probably a skillset in and of itself.

That Smartguage site is a peach - thanks. Link for others here - http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/technical1.html

This is a reasonably good point actually.

I guess if you sign up for their service it's actually in their interest to keep you self-sufficiently up-and-running, rather than activating callouts from them. Yep, I am garnering this. I have to say, allocating a chunk of budget to lithium is quite tempting to me.

Thanks, this is really useful. I like the amount of consensus that is forming at the top of the list. Gives me some very definite areas of focus. Appreciate your extended priorities too. Working on #10 😂.

I'm still at the naive stage. I'll learn to hate CRT later 😉.

This is a good point. However, I think we have settled on a 1) and a 2), so that's a start!

Actually, I think you were right to pull that sentence out - it's a bit clunky. from what I perceive, narrowboat living (and leisuring) is a mix of traditions, collective needs, and individual whimsy in any case. But the point is - I respect it's foibles!

Brilliant, many thanks. There's a definite theme emerging - 1) Electrics & Batteries 2) (but very close to 1) Engine & Drive Your site looks like an incredible resource, and I do understand the context of it being reference for a previous course, so will bear that in mind while perusing it. Cheers! I appreciate your last point too. I definitely am aware that I would be entering a community and reliant on mutual support to an extent.

Ah, this is very cool. Just checking their site, they offer a Helmsman Certificate course, which interests me. Any idea whether it would be advisable to do this with them or with the Narrowboat Skills Centre?

Yes, I'm already doing a lot of reading on here about charging states, etc. I think battery management is definitely going to be a focus. No worries on the considerate boater front. I'm a community-oriented person, and somebody that really respects the tradition of the lifestyle.

Thanks, this is great advice actually. I hadn't really been thinking about self-maintaining the engine much, but you are right - it's the heart of operations!

There are so many skills that could potentially aid a new liveaboard in maintaining their boat. I'm thinking - electrical knowledge, woodworking, welding, engine-wrangling, etc. As somebody with a low starting base in all things mechanical, I don't have the capacity to learn all that is required in-depth, but I would really like to throw myself into learning one or two of these areas in order to reduce my reliance on paid help and favours. So if you were just starting out (for context - I am pre-boat and just planning ahead), and didn't know what you know now - what would you prioritise? Beyond boat-handling skills, what topics would you prioritise to give the best chance of avoiding issues and making repairs and modifications while out on the cut?

Thanks for having a look. I'll keep on bearing it in mind. Definitely an interesting topic.

Hmmm, interesting. However, it was a pretty long report - I dunno what hydrocarbons are, but I reckon they were on it! Test is from 2011 mind, but still... http://www.leamarsh.com/lea/leatesting.html

Now here's an idea - I read an online report on the water quality on the river Lea that which seriously discouraged me from any canal scooping ideas. I know you should be able to trust your filtration system to cope with just about anything, but when you are slurping up water that has raw sewage running directly into it, I think you have to have a serious think about your strategy. However, it left me thinking - how about filtering your own grey water? Would that work? Advantages / Disadvantages?

When you posted up the first set of pics I wondered why you were bothering. Then the next set of pics made it abundantly clear - great job!