Morticiah

Totally informative thread for a newbie! Thank you. Wow.

mine doesn't look like a + :-( it looks like an x I think I might need help. Qualified Kite technicians please contact me.

ummm - nah, I think my engine is bigger than yours.

I've got a landrover like that!

Cheers for that advice - I am wary about telling brokers anything to be honest. Brokers. And estate agents. And used car sales men. All of which I'm dealing with at the moment! Robden, so how quick can you do an oil change? ;-) No Gin or wine will be consumed in the making of a boat buying decions - can't speak for afterwards though

treat them mean, keep them keen. I've been busy selling my house and looking at Moorings and Marinas. Engineers Wharf - oh dear. Packet Boat - nice but expensive! Have Boat viewings tomorrow and next weekend. All the excitement is causing the sales of Wine and Gin to rocket.

and this thread is exactly why I'm selling my house to buy a nb. Thank you for posting this!

Generally I find that breathing on it works.

I just discovered his website - he's straight out of the Chris Cardell school of marketing. I nearly clicked the 'Buy' button but thought I might check out what you guys thought of him first!

I am. And I can cook.

I've just spent an hour reading a thread about mooring up near Lock Gates! I think I'm beginning to get a feel for this forum now. I think I might just fit in ;-)

Thank you! I am so glad that I joined this forum.

Point Taken. Thank you Gentlemen. The Boys are 1 up now. I'm a great believer in the 'knowing of a thing'. In this boat choice situation I have thrown myself open to the Boat Goddess :-) The right boat will occur, in the right time.

Thanks Patty-Ann, I'm taking a look at a couple of boats over the weekend. One of them gives me that 'feeling'. Next on my list of things to do is find someone to teach me the mystical ways of the boat. I absolutely have to be as self-sufficient as possible. And if that means learning Diesel engine maintenance then I'm up for that :-D

cheers MtB I owe you half a pint of lemonade! :-) p.s. Were you and Bobbie-Joe flirting on my thread??

OK - so I'm already avoiding Whilton - but can someone please clarify the above? A boat can pass the BSS but sink 1 week later? (paraphrasing the other stuff I've just read on here) so much to learn!!!

Thank you Bacchus. That was the kind of thing I needed to hear. The fact that you are one of my fave gods helps (but only slightly). MtB - Damn, you are such a flirt. I'll put your offer in the 'under consideration' file. For when I need help with my Boiler. ;-)

damn, I love ALL of you guys 'n gals already!!! This is gonna be a fun time. *When I have a hammer, I'll hammer in the morning, I'll hammer in the evening, all over this Hull. I'll hammer out a warning ....* But not under the pump-out tank p.s. £1000 put aside for surveys

Thank you for that input. So, basically a Boat Survey isn't like a proper Structural Survey of a house? It hasn't changed since your first boat? I had assumed that having a survey meant lifting the boat out of the water etc etc. Which is why I asked about costs. Yes, I think I mentioned I was a newbie!! But from what you are saying . . . it's more of a Foxton's valuation? If a surveyor states that "I can make no comment on anything I cannot see, I will not lift carpets, look in cupboards or look into anything that requires tools, the survey is valid on the day of issue only" then it would probably be a waste of my time and money arranging one. So how do I know if a boat is any good?

cool - thank you people! * waves back at Bobbie-Joe* Nice to meet someone shorter than me * happy grin * I shall also stalk your posts. And who knows, maybe one day we'll end up in the same pub! Thank you, Athy - that is what I thought - but then I read of other people buying boats sans survey and my eyebrows are still haven't descended from the heavens. and Thank you, OldGoat - I should have explained, at the moment I'm thinking that it might be wisest to hibernate in a nice Marina over this Winter. But in the future, CC'ing on the GU is the plan. I'm saving the The Thames for the Summer months as I don't want to end up moored in someone's garden.

Thank you Mike - I'm in the middle of reading posts. I've already learned loads and have just discovered everything I needed to know about Inverters! Thanks for the heads up about the Search function. I've just made my first 'HELP ME!' post and now wish I'd thought about the Search function before I posted it. Steep learning curve! May the Boat Fund Goddess smile upon you.

Not literally I hope, though I'm a clumsy kinda person! After years of marriage/children etc., I have the chance to fulfil the dream of buying a boat and living on board. I don't think I've got rose tinted specs on - I have spent time on boats in the snow/horizontal rain/gale force winds etc - so I think that I know what Summer Winter can be like. I know the horrors of the pump-out. And despite this prior warning, I still need to attempt to live the dream. (basically, I'm a difficult determined kinda person and I'm going to do it regardless of what any Landlubbers say) So ... if everything goes as planned, within the next couple of months I should be able to purchase a boat that I intend to live on. With an aim to be CC'ing the GU/Thames next year. I have literally hundreds of questions in my head but I guess I'd better start with the simple ones. I'm trawling through the boats for sale and have seen a few that interest me. How do I decide which ones need a survey? I wouldn't buy a house without a full survey - so the thought of buying a boat without one is pretty alien to me. Can you lovely people give me your views? and ... can you give me a rough idea of how much a Survey costs and how long it would take? I'm looking at a narrowboat around 55-60' long and If possible I'd like to be living onboard by October/November - settled in for the Winter. Is this feasible? Mort p.s. Yes, I'm already working on the mooring situation. I looked at mooring before I looked at boats ;-)

Yo MtB, I used to look like that - but now I'm more like my profile picture! Morticia and Gomez - the perfect married couple! :-) Thank you Phil, Patty-Ann and Josh for the kind welcome. I'm going to start asking loads of questions shortly!

another newbie here! After too many years of being told NO I'm hoping to fulfill the dream/nightmare of living afloat soon. I'm looking for suitable boats at the moment. My wish list may be weird/unique. I am not a total novice, but my confidence levels have taken a beating recently and I'll be floating solo some of the time :-). All support/help/patronising/urine extraction much appreciated. p.s. Alledgedly I'm a bit odd eccentric, but I'm a great cook, have a unique SOH and there is ALWAYS alcohol and music! p.p.s This is one helluva scary move for me!