Thomas C King

We've just bought a boat and (at least) one thing is missing, a lock on the rear doors/hatch. I've attached a photo, and I was just wondering what people on here would fit? The only thing I can think of is a regular lock on the doors, and a hook added to the hatch for a padlock. Is there a way to keep it secure with just one lock? Just interested in ideas and what other people have done or would do.

Thanks, I'll do that soon.

Thanks all. I went ahead and did it, after reading up on it again, your responses helped make it click. And here is how it looks (pretty much as you'd expect...)

Hi, I have a really basic question. We are new boaters, and we were going to get a galvanic isolator installed, but in light of recent events the planned work was cancelled and I can't find anywhere to do it for us. I have bought a Sterling 30amp Galvanic Isolator and I'm getting a bit confused about what seems like a simple job - installation. This video suggests that I just cut the cable in the boat near the shoreline power inlet, and install the galvanic isolator inline - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d35KxA8qmAc However, the manual for the Sterling 30amp Galvanic isolator says that I connect the boat's bonding system and the AC inlet's ground to the isolator. Isn't the bonding system just a way to connect earth to the hull in some way? These seem like two completely different methods. Excuse my ignorance, I'm not an electrician, and thank you if you can help. P.s., I will buy a multimeter to test the installation...

Fantastic thank you. The Nauticus looks perfect, I'll scour sites/brokers more closely now.

Thanks that is very helpful. Our budget is actually 15k, so from what you are saying I will look harder. All of the Viking 26s seem to have an outboard petrol on apolloduck.

I do now, thanks!

We've not bought it yet, but most seem to be outboard petrol (although we would prefer inboard diesel). It's also hard to imagine where to mount a heater on the inside to the bulkhead, most of the walls are just windows. Perhaps an outboard diesel heater is best, but that seems very expensive (1500 installation + 1500 for the actual heater).

The only other thing is that we're thinking of something the size of a Viking 26. We're having difficulty seeing where a stove or even a portable heater would actually go?

Thanks everyone! Regarding wood burners, my only problem is that on a GRP is it really okay to drill through the roof for the chimney?

Hi, I have a few questions regarding heating GRPs. 1) This is something that is hard to answer without seeing the boat. But, plenty of GRPs seem to have a hot and cold water system, and very few advertise central heating. Is the water typically heated with a gas boiler or just the engine? 2) Can the hot water be hooked up to radiators easily? 3) Would a portable gas heater be safe? It seems like the room inside simply isn't big enough (they require 80 cubic metres and I think a GRP is far less). Is there a similar alternative?

No, it's on the Oxford canal. I was asking about the Thames as an alternative to being on the canal.

It's an auction so we don't know if we will win

Thankyou everyone. To clarify, we want to stay in the Oxford area and so we're just trying to work out what is best because there is only one leisure mooring available at the moment. Your responses have been very helpful!

I've been on the Environment Agency website but not found an answer. I was wondering how often you have to move if you are a continuous cruiser on the Thames (e.g., near Oxford), and what the rules are regarding coming back to the same place after a while? I know most mooring places are 3 days maximum (and paid). Any answers or links would help a lot, I really can't find the answer anywhere.

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. We will look into raising the budget a bit.

Thanks Mike, hadn't thought about dropping the price. I can understand that it all depends on the variables. I can give some more specifics if that helps anyone to give an estimate. We do not want a project boat, so if we were to pay 15,000 for a 30' boat that is old (e.g., 1990s) but in good condition, are we talking a few months to sell, half a year? Then, if we were to drop its price to around 12k (i.e., in the unlikely event of an emergency), would it sell in around a month? No problem if this is all too difficult to guess at.

I have searched for an answer to this question but have not found one, so any estimates are helpful. By a short boat, I mean 30' or less. The main reason is that me and my partner want to buy a short boat, we know that Viking 23s are apparently easy to sell. But we would rather have an "actual" short narrowboat to live on. If it is quick to sell, then that would provide us with more security should we suddenly need to move somewhere without a canal I've also tried to get a sense of an answer from apolloduck, I'm currently watching some ads to see how long it takes before they are taken down, but I'm not sure if the website will notify me. Thanks in advance!