Mad Harold

A50ft boat in sound condition with a good BMC 1800 sold here in Huddersfield for £24000 Built 1995 and just needing painting. Decent boats are available,but may need to be searched out and not always advertised on boat selling websites. Although this boat was advertised on the 'Duck,the bloke who bought it heard about it by word of mouth. After lockdown,it may be a good idea to go to your nearest marina and chat to a few boaters about wanting a boat. It is quite likely that someone will know someone who wants to sell.

You can get a boat on your budget,but probably not south of the midlands. Most important is,how much corrosion has the hull got.? Hence the necessity of a survey.Hull repairs are very expensive! Then engine and gearbox.Again,if they need replacing,you are looking at £10K+. If you are careful and lucky you may drop on a good un. The inside is of lesser importance as it can be altered to suit. A point in passing: don't buy a boat with a wood or fibreglass top,as they leak with age and can prove well nigh impossible to seal for any length of time.

Yes,see "cruising the cut" post no.27.

The price bracket you are looking at will most likely buy a sh---ed out wreck! An old cheap steel boat may look ok,but the steel on the hull may be within a couple of mm of being scrap. Sure,they can be overplated,but you are looking at £120 + per foot. As to fitting a boat out while trying to live on it,forget it.There are too many difficulties to list. My suggestion (although others will diagree) is to look at grp cruisers.Far cheaper than narrowboats and being fibreglass,no corrosion. The major work you will have to do is,fitting some form of heating. I have known three people who have lived aboard grp cruisers.A 25ft Buckingham,a 26ft Dawncraft,and a 22ft Mayland. They all had gas or diesel blown air heaters and were quite comfortable. Rather cramped,but comfortable.

A brilliant illustration of how a cv joint works.

A sad decision,I do sympathise.It is one we will all make sooner or later. The writing is on the wall for me,stiffening back,hips,and knees are making boating and locking rather painful.Another year,perhaps two,and I will be giving up. Best of luck. PS The Origo works a treat.Won't be going back to gas.

I found the series a bit boring watching a boat cruising along on a sunny day with blue sky and fluffy white clouds and happy smiling people. The reality is a bit different. A better more realistic programme would be in my opinion would be to put some of the people on this forum who have strong views together on a canal boat. I suggest mrsmelly as skipper,LadyG and Dora the Explorer doing the locks,Alan de Enfield making the tea,Tony Brook as consultant engineer,and Tracy D Arth doing the commentary. Send them up the Huddersfield Narrow in winter,and watch the fun.(and see who gets chucked overboard first!)

That looks a cracking boat. Sorry to hear about your health,hope you are fit enough to get your boat up and running.

You've not posted for a bit. How's the Norman 32 project coming on?

On a Norman 20 and having recently sold my tin slug,the narrowboat is a doddle to steer going forward,but in reverse the stern goes more or less where you point it but the bow follows the breeze. I actually prefer my Norman to my last narrowboat,because of it's low cost,although I found spending a week on it a bit of a trial. My narrowboat had a Hurth gearbox (BMC 1500) and it was no bother.It has a poor reputation for durability I think because it was known as the dollar an hour gearbox.At the time it cost $1000 and was reckoned to last 1000 hours. Don't know what engines they were coupled to,but it's likely they were bigger than a BMC 1500,and perhaps going balls out towing water skiers.4mph on a canal is unlikely to overstress it.

Big problem with boaty vlogs Martin, is every new boater and their dog are doing them. To make yours stand out from the crowd you need advice and the experience of long term boaters to help you hone your vlogging skills. In that respect you have come to the right place as as most of the more senior people on here have been boating since Pontius got his pilot's licence. Perhaps simply asking for advice on here as to how your vlog could be improved,will get more positive responses. Anyway,I wish you the best of luck with your vlogging.

I find as a single hander that you do a lot of walking at locks. Tie up on the lock landing,walk to the gate,fill or empty the lock,open the gate,walk back to the boat,drive in,up the lock ladder or step off,walk back to close the gate,walk to the other end,open paddles,walk back to adjust mooring line,walk to the gate to open it,walk back to the boat,down the lock ladder or step on,drive out,tie up on the lock landing and walk back to close the gate,finally walk back to the boat. it can be worse than this if there are double gates. You don't say if your other half is fit enough to do the walking.

Careful lad! Don't be like some birdbrain on here and post the same reply nine times!

Regardless of noise and speed,keeping a good lookout is the most important. After fifty years of crash free motorbiking,I decided to give up after having three SMIDSY's in two years. SMIDSY = Sorry Mate I Didn't See You.

In my motorcycling days,a friend who had a Harley Davidson with open pipes (no silencer) had a sign on the rear reading; LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES.

Yes,ok. Don't rub it in!

Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. 6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. +6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. +6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. +6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. +6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. +6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. +6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. +6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Your boat looks to be a Norman 24. +6'-10""beam,really nice boats.At this time of year and for the distance you need to move,I think road transport would be more sensible. Also,does the boat have any heating? Once spent a winter night on an unheated boat. Brrr, never again! Damn! sorry about the multiple copys. didn't think it had posted so kept pressing.

As a previous member of TB,I have followed Tony Dunkley's posts with great interest.He is one of the really helpful and knowledgable posters on that site.His knowledge and experience (particularly of the R.Trent) has been given freely to many people. He has been a most vociferous critic of CRT,and some of his postings about them have bordered on being libelous. This could have a bearing on the way he has been treated.

Acting in good faith,or covering their back? All the long term moorers on the Calder know it is a volatile river and take precautions like mooring on a scaffold pole with a slip ring to account for the rise and fall. Yes,I know a couple of boats floated onto the towpath,but that was due to poor mooring by the skippers.

Sounds like voltage drop due to wiring to the unit being too thin. There is a ready reckoner on here somewhere (that I can't find) for calculating the thickness of wire for minimum voltage drop,posted (I think) by Jen In Wellies or Alan De Enfield.

Very enlightening Alan. Been boating now for five years and I thought a Porta Potty and a cassette toilet were one and the same thing.

I supose you are a bit limited in your cruising range. Never mind there's still Brighouse Sur La Mer,Sowerby Bridge,(very nice at this time of year I'm told) and Dewsbury. Overnighted at Dewsbury recently and found it a pleasant and quiet mooring.

Ooh bowels in spit as Poirot described them.

Lock 5 Huddersfield Broad out of action. Update next week. Lock 1E HNC is padlocked,due to fluctuating water levels and passage through has to be pre-booked.

You might politely ask that the price is reduced to cover the cost of the surveyor's recommendation of two part blacking. If it is refused,then say you will meet halfway and cover half the cost yourslf. I too find haggling over money a bit distasteful,but you might point out that the boat is top whack for that age. As for water,I use bottled for drinking and making tea/coffee,I wouldn't trust tank water except for washing.