Bargebuilder

I accept that, but how many current narrowboat fabricators build NBs without weed hatches? I assume they do this because of a need, a demand, convenience, to avoid having to enter the water when that is the only other option. Of course, you do the best you can if you don't have a weed hatch, but they haven't become so popular for no reason. The very first week after we took delivery of our new barge, we picked up a men's puffer jacket on our prop and it stalled the engine. Even with a weed hatch and direct access, it was a devil to get the thing off. Imagine that happening in a tunnel: you may have half a mile of legging or punting to do if no other boats came along. I for one wouldn't be without a weed hatch on the inland waterways.

All shaft drive narrowboats have weed hatches: the OP wants to use his boat on the cut.

Not advice that would have helped the chap we found drifting sideways with the current on the Nene. His cruiser didn't have a weed hatch and neither bank could be reached because of dense vegetation. We helped him from our boat, but what he really needed was a weed hatch.

Well, it outputs 19kw to deliver 11litres of hot water per minute, so quite a lot.

Not sure about the output of your Morco, but my F11e had to have a 15mm pipe dedicated to it from within the gas locker where it had its own gas cock. The supply pipe was 3 metres long with no joins apart from within the gas locker and of course at the water heater. The challenge was to get all the pipe bends in exactly the correct places and to exactly the correct angles so both ends of the 3m pipe ended up in precisely the right place. You have to get really good with a 15mm pipe bender.

I've been on waterways where I've needed to use the weed hatch several times a day. If it's a GRP boat, then adding a weed hatch wouldn't be that difficult for a competent DIYer. Epoxy resin and biaxial cloth is simplicity itself to use. The first experience I had using it was installing a bow thruster, and I'd happily undertake building weed hatch.

A 13kg Butane doner cylinder is much easier to manage and store and still makes for a cheap refill of a 4.5kg bottle. I can live aboard full time for two months and not get through a 4.5kg bottle, and most yachties only sail for a few weekends each year with perhaps the occasional week as well: 47kg would outlive some of my friends! I see where the confusion lies: Butane is 13.64 kWh/kg which is lower than Propane at 13.99 kWh/kg You buy both gasses by weight of liquid, so these figures are of more use when comparing prices.

Actually, I think enough of them are re-filling for themselves and for their friends who ask nicely. Some will turn to Flogas, but they seem to use a number of different bottle dimensions.

Me and all my yachtie friends use butane on their boats and the 4.5kg is the most widely used amongst them.

Or possibly the other way around?

Why would they need to when there is a valve at both bottles?

But to fill a 4.5kg calor bottle you need a 21.8mm reverse thread hose connector, not a POL connector.

The parts being sold on eBay would suggest they do.

Someone so inclined and prepared to break the rules and accept the risk, will get a shiny new 4.5kg bottle while they still can and keep refilling it themselves.

If you can't get your deposit back, sell it on eBay empty, where some enterprising person will re-fill it and sell it privately to someone who can't accommodate a larger bottle and are struggling to buy a legitimate one from a Calor retailer. Then it's caveat emptor!

Stern drives might allow the engine to be positioned further aft, but do they save any space? You can access a stern drive prop fairly easily, but it's very easy to clear a shaft drive propeller from a weed hatch. Stern drives stick out and can therefore be vulnerable to collision. They are made of an aluminium alloy that is vulnerable to corrosion. They are often accused of being very expensive to repair or re-condition. Stern drives are said to wear and or fail more readily than shaft drives. Before you decide which is best for you, ask people who own both, lots of questions about servicing and reliability.

It might wake them if they are dozing, but I always think the horn is a bit discourteous; perhaps not.

Given the lack of space behind the panels, maybe a multifoil material such as 'Superquilt' could be used, so long as each piece is sealed to the last and around the edges. Double glazing the windows would be difficult, because whatever material you use, you will need a 3/4" air gap to get a good degree of insulation. I had factory made double glazed sealed units on my barge, but the air gap was only 6mm and it didn't help much at all; still cold and with lots of condensation.

At least with a direct contact they would have to acknowledge your presence, rather than being free to ignore you.

A friend of mine bought one for his daughter to live in down south. Her issue with it was, it was difficult and costly to keep warm. They struggled to fit sufficient insulation behind the panels and the windows were huge and single glazed and haemorrhaged heat. It wasn't comfortable to live in, because the poor insulation meant that at head level it was hot and stuffy, but you couldn't sit and relax without your legs and feet feeling cold. She didn't keep the boat for very long and now lives in a flat.

My experience was, an approach where I could be seen from many minutes away, I crept along, expecting to see a change of the traffic light; nothing. I continued to creep closer; still nothing. I stopped in the water; still nothing. I started to drift out of control so U turned away from the light; still no change. I headed back, in and out of gear and eased passed the light not knowing what to do. The chap then appeared and curtly told me to go back behind the light before he would operate the bridge. I did wonder if he had something against pleasure craft and enjoyed making their life difficult.

Perhaps he just enjoys shouting!

Don't worry, he shouted at us as well for creeping ever so slowly past the light to avoid being blown sideways: we only did it once!

We have a 500l water capacity in a built-in grp tank plus two flexible bladder tanks; easily enough for two weeks, even with quick showers every 2 or 3 days. We have 460Ah of battery capacity that carries us through 4 days of dull wet weather (not much solar) if the engine isn't run. We cruise continuously for two months each summer with no problems. We regularly anchor on rivers where it is permitted, to get the prettiest spots where solar is plentiful; very useful on rivers such as the Nene where moorings are scarce and the Thames where they are expensive! I like the traditional look too. If you are tall, the headroom might be an issue and if you have to use a marina they often charge 50% more for cats, but a very nice, stable platform compared to a monohull.

We have 200w of solar panels on our cabin roof with room for another hundred if we needed it. Last year, closures on the K&A kept us from moving at all for a week and our PV kept the fridge, TV, laptop and phone charger going for all of that time with no problems. The alternator on the diesel when we motor really tops up the batteries. Clearly, the PV would be insufficient during the winter, but it's not a boat I'd want to live on during the winter.