grummit

The most common term is "Canuck". Call someone from "Toronto" an "American" will not go down well, They have not forgotting the ransack, rape and pillage of the town by the US Army on the night of April 27th 1813. That would have been York in those days. But we got them back with help of Brits and marched to Washington and burned down the White house.

Well thank you all for your quick responses. Actually I am Canadian/British, and I meant to say 48,000 pounds in my second question, not $. Some good points raised about gas heaters. I plan to do a lot of cruising, so I think an engine heated system would probably be best alongside an instant gas heater. When the water is heated I can turn the gas heater off (some don't have pilots, just battery operated spark). And in Canada we call them realtors. Mross - My situation is that I will spend most of my time cruising but probably tie up in a marina during winter months. I will be running single handed and yes I do plan to rent before making any decision (thanks for that). Getting pretty excited about exploring the beautiful English countryside from a boat. Also expect to do a fair bit of hiking. I expect there are many footpaths that lead off from canals? Oh just one more question. Could anybody tell me which manufacturers are renowned for their good design/quality boats, as I know nothing about them, I've only seen pictures and vids. Thanks again

I have been browsing youtube and the web learning about narrow boats, and I am really interested in buying a boat in the future. I have a couple of questions and was hoping that some experienced boaters on this forum could help . 1. I see some quite intricate hot water systems involving hot water tanks heated by immersion, engine and stove etc. I haven't seen any using instant hot water heaters, you know the ones run by gas which heat the water as it flows to the tap. Wouldn't that be the simplest most efficient way to get hot water, without worrying about storage tanks, or is there some disadvantage that I am not aware of? 2. I see some quite beautiful looking boats ( 57ft) for around $48,000. Could anyone tell me if boats in that price range can be expected to be in excellent shape? Obviously I would get a survey done before making any decision. It's just that on the surface I don't see much difference between these boats and others for around $60,000. Any thoughts or advice? . 3. Finally, I see some companies with a large number of boats on their books for sale, and was wondering are prices usually negotiable or do they tend to be priced firm? I just want to make sure I get decent value for my hard earned cash. Thanks for any input. Graham