Mad Harold

It'll make your brain hurt trying to work it out. My boat was a bit tail down,and i worked out the amount of forward ballast needed by inviting a couple of fellow boaters aboard for coffee.Sitting them in cratch on the benches the trim was about right, I would guess that most boaters work out the ballast needed by trial and error. Your boat seems an odd size and shape. Are you converting a skip?

Thinking about my next boat,and perusing the web,saw an ad on e bay for shells and sailaways from Victory Narrowboats of Nottinghamshire. Their prices seem most attractive,and I would like to know if anyone on here has a Victory boat,or has had one built by them. Grateful for any info.

Sigmund Romberg,the composer who wrote the music for the operettas,The Student Prince,and The Desert Song among other compositions. Irrelevant I know,but I love airing my ignorance!

Yes of course. A practical solution. Regarding views,I have seen plenty of lovely scenery when cruising,but when moored a lovely view of the towpath and a wall or bushes,at one side and looking at someone else's boat on the other.Depends where you are of course. The advantage of portholes over bus windows is that it is harder to break in.

But don't you think it looks much more nautical.Much more like a boat,than a floating c---van. You could fit pigeon boxes for more light,or those light tubes I have seen in some modern buildings. Think they are called sun tubes. I like that boat,it could easily accommodate a motorbike and with a long cratch cover would be a good garage.

No not a grim future,you will find lots Neanderthals both male and female on the cut. So you will have plenty of company. Forget the woman, My old dad used to say, (and I can still hear his voice now) "Partnership is the worst ship you will ever set sail on son"

Yes, agree completely.

I strongly suspect a bodge job. Someone has probably done a DIY rewire and got it wrong. Its probably best to remove the present lighting wiring,and get someone who knows what they are doing to rewire. Had a house some years ago,and got a sparky in to fit a new central heating thermostat. Switched off at the fuse box and as soon as the sparky put his screwdriver in the thermostat BANG! the screwdriver went flying across the room. It transpired that some previous owner had somehow managed to wire in the thermostat BEFORE the fuse box,so switching off made no difference! If you're not sure of what you are doing, pay a professional.

Got a tin of Plus Gas recently from Halfords.

GORDON BENNET!!! What was the price before? Were you just buying one boat,or several? Reading this,I almost had a wallet attack!!!

Whatever boat you buy,you are going to have to take a bit of a risk. Follow most of the advice given here and you will reduce the risk,but not completely eliminate it. With the best will in the world,you cannot crawl over every inch of your prospective purchase,until you actually own it. In my case,the engine never reached it's operating temperature,investigation found that there was no thermostat fitted.The cooling water pipe to the water filter ( it's canal water cooled) kept getting blocked with weed,and was a pig of a job to clear it.Had to undo the pipe at both ends and shove a curtain rod through it. Investigation revealed that there was no inlet strainer fitted.There were other niggles too that were missed,a leaking window frame,poppers missing from the cratch,and other things that I have forgotten. The point I am trying to make is that untill you have lived with your boat for a year or so,you will not really know what you have got. But don't let this put you off,just offer up a prayer to the appropriate authority,and dive in!

Could well be. My boat was blacked just over a year ago,and the waterline has a light brown coating of canal muck which at first sight looks like rust. A stiff yard brush dipped in the canal and a bit of elbow grease gets it clean again.

Love to,but have you seen the prices! There wouldn't be much change from ten grand,taking into account removing the old engine,new gearbox,engine mountings,and aligning. As my old boat didn't cost much more than that,I can't justify that expense. The more I think about the cost,the more I learn to love my noisy,smelly,vibrating BMC.

I met a couple on the cut last year,can't remember their names,but the boat was called"Buffalo".They had a car and a Ducati,and one would drive to the next mooring,while the other took the boat,and then drive back to the previous mooring to pick up the bike. I first met them at Whaley Bridge and they were heading for Sheffield.He needed transport for his work,and although this seemed to me to be a rather laborious way of doing things,it seemed to work for them. Where's there a will there's a relative. way.

You could try borrowing a friend's dog,(one that isn't afraid of engines ) to keep your dog company for a while,to see if your dog calms down If it works,then get another dog as a pal for yours. Don't commit sacrilege by getting rid of your Gardner!

Er,some parts are already,and rough sleepers. I do like the idea of keeping a motorbike on the boat.Not possible on the one I have at the moment,But a tug deck looks the most practical

An easier way to clean the flue is to gaffer tape a wire brush to a broom handle and shove it up and down the flue a few times from the roof. Remember to close the stove door and the air controls.

The vendor was obviously expecting more.Hope you find a suitable boat soon. I remember your original posts here when you were first looking for a boat,and thinking you were pretty exacting in your requirements. I was too initially,but after looking at several boats,I realised that I wasn't going to find one that ticked all my boxes. I bought one that ticked 60% of my boxes,and have learned to live without the 40% that I would have liked. Happy boat hunting,best of luck.

What a lovely little story. A boat for $1! I wish I was so lucky. I bet you do too.

Much too dear for a 1970s boat.The vendor seems to be stressing the benefits of the mooring,but it is a leisure mooring, ie, non residential. It may well have had a"complete hull restoration" but the amount of work done and the quality can only really be judged by a qualified surveyor.The interior looks ok,but I suspect a "cheap and cheerful" re-fit.At £35K I think the vendor is dreaming a bit,and with the greatest respect,is waiting for someone like you to come along,a novice.I don't think anyone who has had a boat before would pay anything like that price for a 40+ year old boat,unless of course it was a genuine historic boat. I would guess from reading the ad and looking at the piccies,about half the asking price. I speak (write) as someone who has been cheated before,and in the words of an old jazz song, "Is'e done got wise"

Especially when trying to reverse with a bit of wind blowing!