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jimxtc

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Everything posted by jimxtc

  1. Sorry I am getting a bit confused as to who said what here so forgive me if I attribute a comment to the wrong person! Thank you all for your advice, it really has been helpful. I would still like to know the difference between a trad, semi-trad and cruiser stern though! Maybe it is such a fundamental question that people thought I was joking about not knowing the difference!
  2. Hello Blind Novice, well that could sound like a plan! We would have to meet up and be sure we got on of course and it might be nice if I had a boat too....! Covering the cost of the RYA course would be not a problem as it would be in my interest. Lots to consider and work out but than you for the offer, it may come about, I shall store it away with all the other info I have gleaned! I am trying to answer each individual response here but getting lost! Thanks to Peter X for his offer and advice. I know so many blind jokes I would block the forum!
  3. Cheshire-Rose, thank you so much for your very thoughtful reply. Indeed I would love to crew for someone for a short length of time to 'learn on the job' as it where. I lived in a mobile home for 7 years about 40 years ago so I know about living in confined spaces, I took my aunt and sister & husband on a cruiser from Ely the Sept before last (all the naorrowbaots were hired), we went up the Ouse and Little Ouse for a long weekend, I loved it and did most of the 'crewing' as my brother in law was steering - his first time ever! I am more capable than you may think, I ride a trials bike in competition off-road still - I am rubbish but I enjoy it! I have ridden in Spain and Belgium. I won my own house and live alone and look after myself, I own a sports car for my friends to drive me in. I travel alone and don't ask for assistance, I worked in central London before I retired, I have fostered 50 children - that was a challenge and a half! As I am sure you have probably worked out by now, I am a cross-dresser or t-girl as I prefer to call it. I do my own makeup and choose my own clothes. I get dressed maybe once a fortnight to go out. Heels on a boat are not a good idea I guess! I never dress in front of anyone who would be offended by it. My avatar is me, I am straight but not interested in a relationship with anyone. I heard yesterday that my trials riding partner has lung cancer - it simply reinforces to me that now is the time to do things. As I said, I would happily crew and contribute towards costs. I could 'hitchhike' up the waterways! When not on a boat I could stay at an Inn or hotel or come home. Now is the better time to buy a boat I am told, spring is when people are looking to start, now is not the right time for me to buy as I don't know enough so I may leave the purchase until next winter or I may even have changed my mind by then - but I doubt it. I would have a boat professionally looked at before I bought it but I could select my own boat. Being on the network would give me access to boatyards and marinas that otherwise are difficult to find and for me to get to on the road. Thanks again for you response, it was kind and thoughtful.
  4. Hi Tumshie, no I haven't looked at those sections on the forum, I struggled to find this one! Not a fault of the website or forum you understand. I will take a look thank you for the pointer.
  5. Hi Graham, no you didn't cause offence at all, I am too old to be offended! It is good information and solves a dilemma I was contemplating when I find a driver who want to tour the UK in a camper van - after I have done the narrowboat of course!
  6. Hi Peter, if I buy a boat I may just have to call it Tunderbird One! I am pretty sure I am not the only one who wants to spend the summer on a boat, maybe this forum is not the right place to find such a person but I am a novice in all things at present.
  7. Sorry Graham, I get a bit confused as to who has written what! Interesting what you say about the 12V air pumps, I will ask at the hospital, thank you. When I was talking about a skipper for a week or two I was thinking more of my friends who can not spare any more time than that but hopefully I have enough friends to cover the whole period! My disability doesn't stop me doing anything I just have to think laterally how to achieve my goals. I am capable of crewing and operating locks but not steering.
  8. Thanks Cheshire-Rose, great tip on the washing machine, that could well be an option. There is a skipper out there somewhere I am sure, it would be nice to find a lady skipper but don't get me wrong - I am not into women or men - after 4 wives I am happily single! Also, I have to sleep in a mask similar to a WW2 pilots mask which is not exactly sexy in bed!! Thanks for the suggestion Haggis, I intend to do at least one narrowboat hotel with my aunt later this year but want the freedom to go where I choose. All things are possible - I make them so! Someone did suggest a camera at the front of the boat with a screen at the rear, someone else suggested a boat steered from the front - I am open to all suggestions as there will be a solution somewhere.
  9. Thanks Cheshire-Rose, a 12v air pump is not an option, it is a piece of medical equipment that is calibrated to my sleep apnoea level. Indeed, a washing machine is unlikely on a hire boat which is why I don't think a hire boat is probably an option but I could be flexible on that. I will find a skipper eventually or maybe more than one for a week or two at a time - I keep looking! Much as I would love to pilot the boat myself, being registered blind I don't think other boat owners would be too happy to meet me coming the other way! Where there is a will there is a way and I will succeed in my quest!
  10. Thanks Ray, I shall take a look. Thanks Cheshire-Rose, I only dismiss hire boats because they are fitted out for one or two week hires generally, I am hoping to find one with a washing machine and an inverter (I have sleep apnoea and need a 240V power supply all night for my air pump). I also have to find a skipper too of course but hope that will come once I have the boat!
  11. Thank you for that Sally, I guess any solution to my aim of getting on the water for the summer is worth considering, I am open to all suggestions!
  12. Thank you Up-Side-Down that looks like a good contact and definitely worth following up on.
  13. I am looking for a used narrowboat, I have no time for fit outs etc. I want to do as little as possible before I start to use it - I also have a lot of the world to visit and declining years in which to do it!
  14. Thanks for that Don, the 'buy / buy back' idea may have legs, I will keep that one in mind. I am aware that boating is not cheap, I believe that 'boat' stands for Bung On Another Thousand'! Fulfilling any dream is never cheap, thank goodness I never dreamt of racing F1 cars!
  15. Thanks for the advice Mike, an ex-hire boat is exactly what I am not looking for! My time costs nothing as I am retired but I have more than enough to do that I don't want to spend months researching either. Neither do I want some old nail stuck sideway up my posterior that only another fool may buy! Something will turn up, it always does.
  16. A thought... I would like / intend to spend most of the summer on a narrowboat cruising the waterways of England. I am happy to buy a boat and have the funds to do so but really don't know enough about them to know what to buy. I don't even know the difference between a trad, semi-trad and a cruiser stern! I know I want a liveaboard and not a hire boat. A thought occurred to me that here may well be someone out there who has a boat that they are unable to use this summer for some reason and rather than have it sat on a mooring eating money - perhaps they would like to lease/hire it for a few months to make it earn some money? I am happy to pay a sizeable deposit and insurance. I have done a couple of narrowboat holidays in the past so I am not a complete novice. The other thought is the possibility of crewing with someone who is off on an adventure and sharing the costs? The third thought (I am only allowed three...!) is that someone may have a boat for sale? The first two thoughts may suit me best as I intend to winter in the sun and wouldn't mind missing out on winter mooring fees! Is this the right forum/page to be asking this question? Jim
  17. I don't know the answer to most of those questions, I am not sure what the differences are or even what some of them mean! I think it may be a good learning curve if I were to crew on a boat for a while to learn some of these fundamental things. Thank you for your comment, it reinforces that I know nothing and do need a lot of help so I don't make a big expensive mistake when I buy a boat. I did look into that some years ago at the planning stage but they are few and far between. It is an option but still not sure you'd be happy to meet me coning the other way with my guide dog sat on the prow!
  18. Thank you for your posts and advice, in answer to Matty40s question: I am registered blind and have been for 40 years. I have some useful sight and can handle things at close quarters such as operating locks, mooring and cooking. I can't see well enough to skipper a boat when you have to do it from the back! I am pretty sure the other canal users would rather I find a skipper even though it is pretty difficult to get a 60' boat sideways in most canals! To be more specific, I have Stargaart's Macular Degeneration which has left me with only peripheral vision. Thank you LadyG, it is likely I can't cope in light of the foregoing unfortunately but I am undeterred. I will find a way to be out on the canals. I am very grateful for all your advice and comments, the more I learn the more I realise I know nothing!
  19. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to live on a narrowboat and cruise the waterways of the UK. I can now realise that dream as I am no longer held down by work, relationship, pets or finances. Trouble is, where to start?! I have come to realise that I know nothing! I need to find someone who is looking for an adventure and has time on their hands to do it. That someone may already have a boat and need crew or company or may want to share the cost of a boat or just crew on a boat I buy. So many options! Probably the place to start is with finding who is willing to do a trip around most of the navigable waterways of the UK. I need someone who can pilot the boat as it is something I cannot do. I prefer the company of women but I am not looking for a romance here just a skipper! I am 61 and an interesting character I am told! Please get in touch if you think this could be you, all options are open.
  20. Hello everyone, Newbie here currently looking for both a boat and crew or maybe to crew on a boat for a bit to find my canal legs! I am retired and have all the time in the world. Would consider a boat share if that is of any interest to anyone? I am looking to spend months away travelling the inland waterways - anyone up for an adventure? Cheers, Jim
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