Big John

I favour portholes so think a couple of Houdini hatches would be a good idea for light and ventilation. (I've discounted pigeon boxes because "they leak" and add height to the profile.) So, if you have a houdini hatch installed, what are the advantages and disadvantages, please?

Sorry folks. The list I was thinking about was in Appendix 1 of Graham Booth's "The Narrowboat Builder's Book" I came across it again when looking for something else.

ISTR there was a table of boatbuilders in one of the "recent" canal mags, with the number of boats built, length of staff experience, age of company etc, but I can't locate it. Can anyone point me in the right direction pls? Thanks

I've never had a problem with the depth through the Narrows - just the occasional novice(?) who doesn't look ahead. There are a couple of passing places - and if you leave early you should be safe.

A random number that seemed like a possibility - too many and we'd not reach the critical mass; too few and cost would still be a deterrent. 12 more required .....

How many people on this forum would be prepared to contribute to a CD? £587.50 spilt 13 ways would be about £45 If you each send me £45, I'll buy a copy when I have 13 contributors, and then send you the appropriate files.

SO how do you fit lots and lots of them to a narrowboat without them getting knocked off in locks and shallow moorings?

And how does spray foam compare? Speaking to one boatbuilder recently, he said he was concerned that no matter how good the installer there is no guarantee you'll get a sufficient and consistent thickness. So, could someone provide a table comparing material, price per sq ft (or m), thickness and thermal coefficient/quality?

OK you win. Scenario: Length available to store narrowboat between 58" high fence and garage = 50 feet Desired length of narrowboat > 50 feet Possible solution: slot narrowboat bows into garage, with available height of top of doorframe = 81" Only possible if stern of boat is above fence while highest point on bows is below top of open garage door. i.e. if boat is delivered at angle to horizontal, and later retrieved at simliar angle. There you have the problem. Is it possible?

By non-horizontal, I mean with the bows pointing downwards about 15-20 degrees

Has anyone ever managed to lift a narrowboat with a crane anything other than horizontally, in order to slide the boat into a restricted space - and then extract it again later?