Micha Cook

My SO works in London and his days are much longer/wearying, so if someone has to take the commuting bullet it's me. But in fairness, my end destination is a lovely library so I don't mind Ah yes, that's a good thing to keep in mind. Thank you.

Thank you! Having read through these again that's definitely what we'll invest in, 200W solar and an MPPT. Glad you're well again! My day is weird, in fairness, because I work either 7 or 9 hours at a library depending on whether it's term/vacation, but then have the 3hour each way commute which pushes it to an extreme. Hooraaaah for sleeping on the bus. Only a few more months and now it's bright it's not that bad at all Thank you all for your advice! Only one more question, is there a difference between getting 2 100W panels or 1 195W panel?

Excellent!

Thank you, that sounds very sensible. Considering winter moorings as well. Ahah and sounds like great fun as well ahah.

Ahah yes it is, so that is a very good point, sorry for not quoting, I was replying to you when I said that we have been using the manual start since the power started to falter. I do hope so! From September my hours will change as I won't be commuting 4-6 hours a day, so hopefully that'll solve the generator/running engine conundrum

No problemo at all. Actually, heard good things about the Perivale and Uxbridge area, so looking forward to getting that far

Morning all! Only just got online, thank you ! These considerations are all very helpful. Yes, living on board, and making sure to start the engine manually now so as not to drain the startup. We have enough in the piggy for 2 100W and a MPPT controller (moored up next to a nice man called Simon last week who explained all the ins and outs plus more on AC/DC current to boot so ordering those. We're in St Pancras at the minute, not far from long term moorings so I suppose we could ask! There are some more coming up as well, so if that's an ok thing, that might be a better idea. I worried it would be a faux pas. Is it okay to approach a mooring site with such issues? No car to speak of, but perhaps that's where cooking friends dinner is a good thing We've done alright with running our engine, as we're moving really far. From Stanstead Abbots to St Pancras in just over 2 months Plus, seeing as the boat is small and we're both out over 12hours of the day, so when we get home what we want to do is light the stove, and the LED fairy lights (done and done, what better lighting is there?! and watch a film on a laptop that's been charging all day at work, or read. As for living in purgatory, unappreciated. The implications that we're somehow squatting on a covered raft is rude. You know, Alan, fairy lights with a tiny little book lamp make for some very zen reading light Try it, it's very pleasant and calming Oh? Only bought the boat in January, though I was on here a while ago fretting that an old survey had said Bluebell had patches in the hull only 1mm thick ahahah. Dilemma clarified, new survey and all's well though, so here we are. Wooohooo.

Thank you all, good to know. We think we have enough dosh and roof space for 2 100W panels, fingers crossed anyway, the only clutter up there is a chilli plant hah. Biggest doubt at the minute re: panels is whether to buy a kit or individual parts. If anyone has time, anyone mind giving a nod about these? http://www.hollybrookps.co.uk/pv_modules/100w-solar-panel-a-rated-monocrystalline.html http://www.hollybrookps.co.uk/pv_modules/195w-solar-panel-a-rated-monocrystalline.html If buying the kit separately, which of these panels? http://www.amazon.co.uk/charging-battery-motorhome-campervan-off-grid/dp/B00BNJUBHY http://www.hollybrookps.co.uk/canalboat-narrowboat-solar-kits/200w-canal-boat-solar-kit/action/null/ Or these kits? Someone recently suggested this page as well, http://www.bimblesolar.com/solar but it's very bright and I'm finding it hard to sift through ahahah Muchas gracias for all your help so far

Hello hello, Needing some advice about finding a good, but affordable, solution to flat batteries. Bluebell is a little 23' cruiser with a Honda outboard of 9.9 HP. When we were only exploring and moving it on weekends for 5-6 hours a day, the batteries were doing really well, but now that we're back to work and more settled, moving only one day a week/fortnight, we've had problems with the batteries. We have one startup and one leisure. It seems that the startup is too low, so we seem to be running of the leisure battery, which is not working very well (lights dropping intensity and flickering a couple of days after moving the boat). My SO and I are both out of the house from 7/8am to about 9pm, so we haven't been able to let it idle daily. We've tried to counteract it by using the batteries minimally, charging phones at work etc unless in an emergency, only using one light and candles/fairy lights, etc. We don't use any other 12v appliances, so mostly the batteries are powering the water pump and 1-2 LEDs for a couple of hours a day. Anyhow, we've only just bought the boat so are really skint. We want to invest in solar panels, a mains charger, a traction battery, and a generator but dont have the 3odd grand to fund all those purchases at once. What would you all suggest as a first purchase? Considering the cost of a gennie, would solar panels (which are in our planned budget) serve the purpose of getting our batteries back to scratch and maintaining them? Or do we need to invest in a gennie/panels/charger all at once? We've only just bought the boat and spend 2k kitting it out internally, and adding all of the above amounts to the cost of the boat (though I suppose we can take them with us when we leave) so if we can buy these things in stages that would help. Also, we don't have a place to store the gennie unless we build a storage area onto the stern... All of these are worries... Someone suggested transporting the batteries to an on-land friend's house and charging them back up there, but that seems intrusive and difficult and we'd much rather have a long term solution that works. Would be most grateful for any and all advice Thank you, Micha

Thank you all, will give Tuckeys a call tomorrow morning to get a comparable quote Regardless, from our experience thus far I'd highly recommend speaking to Jason! Very helpful in finding ways to make the cost cheaper (avoiding Low Emission Zone), talking to the marinas to arrange the collection/delivery times and requirements and finding best place to launch. Will report back after all has been said and done

Thank you

Thank you all! Anyone heard/used Squirel Transport before?

In the process and it's all looking very good Just based on my last experience with the forum, in realising how much I hadn't considered, I thought I'd ask Okay thank you!

Hello hello, just in the process of organising a boat move with Jason from Squirrel Transport Recommended by Doug and he has been incredibly kind and helpful and it's finally looking like we're going to get on the water! Wondering, though, if anyone has any experience with the service? Asking as we have a small narrowboat (water bug) with a flat bottom and a lot of the photos are yachts and haven't found any particulars in that regard. Thank you!

Dear all, To anyone that might remember, we are now proud owners of Bluebell! Following your advice we had another surveyor look at it who gave us the OK. We're also looking to moving it overland, following your warnings about cruising the rivers in wintertime. We've been given one quote for around £600 + VAT to move it from Fox's to Harefield Marina, does this seem reasonable? Does anyone have a particularly positive experience with boat movers? Thank you,