Bewildered

It seems from reading these post that the Huawei units are favored. But which is the best one? Does the higher the number denote the newest model? Is the newest model necessarily the best? Is it a matter of value for money? i.e. the newer models don't warrant the extra cash for the extra speed? or something Just asking as I will need to get one at some point in the future. I don't mind paying out for quality but do begrudge paying out for flash and unnecessary

In the spring I am going to move onto my boat; my problem is not which tools do I need to get, but which ones should I leave behind. If I could I would take the lot but where would I keep them all?

oh I don't know, it could produce a lot of power on curry night

You see this is why I like this forum, all that first hand knowledge, experience and expertise in all things boating

Excuse to drink more beer

Not if you keep an eye on the weather (BBC app is pretty accurate for a few days) and accidentally moor up quite near elsan and water point

So what would be the mooring rule for continuos cruisers if the cut freezes over? Could be a possibility this year with the current El Niño predictions stating that we could be facing the worst cold spell in 50 years http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/weather/11999259/British-winter-could-feel-longer-and-colder-because-of-El-Nino.html

Apparently it was old boat men and not, as legend would have it, Kenneth Williams who first coined the phrase “Frying Tonight” Did this idea die out because? a. It was stupid b. It was to expensive, and stupid c. It killed someone and then they realized it was stupid d. It killed several before they realized it was stupid e. It still couldn’t compete with the trains f. Someone mentioned Health & Safety and a shiver went through all of them even though they had never even heard of such a thing but knew it to be the bane of the working man. g. It was pointed out that putting the collector on top of the wires, with a boat pole, on a windy day was way much more dangerous than filling a diesel tank h. They knew it was stupid before they did it but decided to do it anyway, just because we can, because we are British and that’s what we do. For my next trick I will climb Mt Everest in plus fours whilst smoking a pipe and drinking a G&T, "chin, chin"!

Thanks for that Mango I had a feeling you could do a search like that but as I tend to use the iPad to surf the net theses days I find that the app doesn't make all the search facilities easy to use,

British Pathe have released hundreds of hours of footage on YouTube, there is a fair bit of vintage narrowboats and canals

I say Mr Chumley-Warner the barges have gone electric

About 7 or 8 years ago I hired a boat on the Kennet & Avon over Xmas week, It was 55ft x 10ft. This was my first experience of boating. The tuition consisted of a brief explanation of the interior i.e. toilet, galley etc, and a brief explanation of the mechanics of the boat i.e stern gland greaser, bilge pump, weed hatch etc. This done we were off for the cruising tuition. We cast off and just as we were about to get underway another boat passed us, the lady hiring the boat said "this was handy as it would pull out bow out into the center of the channel". So as our bow came away from shore I engaged forward drive, let the boat pull away a little and then steered back into the center. we cruised for about 1/4 of a mile with a bit of instruction on how to constantly center the boat in the channel when the instructor said "I could pull up next the next moored boat and let her off". I asked "Is that it then"? She replied, "I think you've got the hang of it, when we set off you steered back in, most people don't" to me it was obvious, the mechanics of how a boat works are not complicated, but it does worry me that people who cannot even grasp a simple concept like "you actually have to steer the boat" are allowed to hire one. But then the older I get I constantly wonder how human beings ever managed to climb out of the stone age.

Last night I found a YouTube video about speeding hire boats, this then linked to loads more vids of the same ilk. I have also seen several documentaries where one of the main complaints is also speeding hire boats full of drunk stag parties. It can't be a very difficult engineering problem to limit the boat to a set level of revs so that its maximum speed in forward gear is 4mph. Obviously I would expect reverse gear to be able to achive maximum revs in order to stop in an emergency. So my question is why don't hire boats limit the maximum speed? As hire boats are not usually allowed on rivers there should be no current to drive against. Am I being naive here? Is there another safety reason for giving complete novices and drunken parties control of a heavy boat with the potential to cruise at speeds not acceptable on the canal The only thing I can think of is cross currents near a weir, but I'm pretty sure that with enough power to push the boat along at 4mph this should be adequate. Although I could be completely wrong, hence the question. It seems to me that it would be in the hire companies interest to limit the speed at which novices can crash into immovable objects

Having read through this excellent post it seems that 3 is the network of choice for the best coverage. However now that BT have bought EE (who used to be Orange) does this mean that BT/EE could soon have better coverage? Or will 3 still cover more of the waterways network?

Thank you all for your advice. It seems that I don't need to worry about getting the cash together in order to find the right boat at the right time of year; I just need to get the cash together and find the right boat.

I was wondering if traditionally there is a good time of year to buy a used boat? Logically I would have thought that at the end of the summer season there would be more boats on the market. However, in order to get a good deal would the middle of winter be a better time if the boat has been on the market for a while and hasn't sold? Of course waiting till later to put in an offer could mean missing out on the boat you want. Using the same logic I would assume that spring is the time to avoid buying as there are more potential buyers out looking. Not knowing the market this logic could be totally flawed; hence the question

Hi All, I have been interested in narrow boats since I was a kid in the 1970’s, Sunday lunchtimes, more often than not, involved being taken out by my dad and granddad on a pub crawl of various small country pubs and being left outside with a bottle of coke. Of all the pubs we went to, the most enjoyable was the Shovel on the GU at Cowley. I loved watching the boats locking up and down. I came close to buying a boat in my early 20’s when I split from my last girlfriend and needed to find somewhere to live; unfortunately the necessities of life just kept getting in the way. Every few years since I have looked into the idea of following a dream and buying a boat, but my girlfriend has always put a damper on the idea; she likes her garden. However now I have finally convinced her to give it a try. Her only dream is to move to the countryside in a nice little village. I pointed out to her that we could do that now; if we sold our house we could move but then we would need to find work and work in the countryside is scarce compared with the cities. We could of course wait a few more years until we can afford the move but by that time we may well be too old to fully enjoy it. I explained that buying a boat is a move to the countryside and when you are bored with the view you just move on until you find another view. So I outlined a simple plan; buy a boat and rent out our house and live off of the income from the rent. This way if she finds she doesn’t like life on the water we only need wait until the term of lease on the house has expired and we can move back home. As she is getting fed up with her job, and the fact that after 20+ years of working, all we do is work towards the next holiday, with no long term goal in sight, she finally gave into the idea of life on the water. I get my dream of living on a boat and she gets her dream of living in the countryside; the only thing missing is her garden. But hey we get great swathes of the UK for a garden; and each garden has ducks in it J and a waterside view. I initially had trouble validating my account on this site and I had so many questions I was burning to ask. In retrospect this isn’t such a bad thing as I have had a few weeks to read through various threads and found that most of my questions have been already asked and answered; hopefully I don’t need to keep asking the same old stuff. So the plan is to save for the next year to get enough capital to buy the boat and stash some emergency funds in the bank. Biggest headache is what type of boat to get? I seem to change my mind every few days as to what I want. The only constant is that it has to be a 57ft narrow beam; I want to have the option to go anywhere should I so choose (more to the point if I can talk the other half into going there in the first place) I have considered a sail away; I am confidant that I can do a good fit out. I have spent the last 30 years working on low voltage electrical/mechanical installations and I’m a fairly good all-rounder with most trade skills. The problem is, is this a false economy? Spend 20-25k on a boat and another 15-20k to fit it out, plus a year or more of hard graft to end up with a boat that is worth what? Its worth what someone is willing to pay for it based on the quality of the work put in. could be that it isn’t worth a great deal more than it cost to do and you’ve spent a year or more doing a lot of work. Or I could just buy a used boat; if I can find one I like. Sorry if this has been a long winded introduction but I’m at work and I’m bored I will no doubt have plenty of questions to ask as I get nearer to buying a boat