Thomas C King

How regular? Ours is 550 litres, which fitoutpontoon states is typical. It lasts the two of us, showering every day, two weeks. That's quite a long time, I think. You have to move at least every two weeks anyway.

I think that it has to be most people being impoverished. I didn't notice that when living in Hackney ten years ago. But I agree it might meet the other definitions.

Actually Alan, you're probably right. I thought each of those conditions had to be met, but they're probably disjoined? In which case the "overcrowding" one means that it probably is a slum. As you were.

I'd read that before commenting. I don't think the London boating scene fits with "very poor". That's the problem I have with calling them slums. There are certainly boaters who would be homeless were it not for the GRP they found someplace, but they don't seem like the majority. But back then people were actually impoverished in those areas.

I think "slum" is overdoing it a bit. Slums can be dangerous (susceptible to landslides, many in Brazil are built on old rubbish tips), and are inhabited almost entirely by impoverished people. Boaters, in London, are mostly not impoverished. Some might be less well-off, but starkly better off than those in actual slums. There needs to be balanced reporting, neither like the Guardian's recent article nor labeling London's canals as slums. Because slums, should be eradicated entirely, whereas canal-living should not.

So, this is expected/working as it should? No fuse, it was connected to a circuit breaker. It's not connected anymore, because it was temporary. But in future, fuse + circuit breaker, or just circuit breaker is sufficient?

So, I was wiring a 12v pump for the cabin bilge when one of the wires touched a copper pipe. And the pump started pumping. I later, out of curiosity, did the same to the engine and the same thing (unsurprisingly, I guess). I assume it's the same for anything touching the hull. I don't even know where to start on this one. Does this kind of thing happen often, and are there any likely places where something has been installed incorrectly? Or is it most likely a worn-out wire? (but, nothing has tripped from a short-circuit). Also, on a scale of 1 - 10, how dangerous is this?

Do other big cities that have canals not have this problem? Genuinely don't know, thought Bath and Bristol were a bit busy, and Oxford, but not to the extent of being un-cruisable. I've lived in London, my workplace is there, and I don't see why people are hooked on being in London specifically. For work, all of the big cities seem to have plenty to offer. For culture, London is nothing special. I understand why people have moved to boats, but I don't understand why their boats have to be in the capital, they'd have a much nicer time if they spread out a bit.

Er, I think that's actually how London boaters typically look. Guardian readers, hipsters, and London boaters probably have a lot of overlap.

Aren't most of us here continuous cruisers? I'm surprised to see advocating banning boat dwelling (unless I've misunderstood). To be fair, I think the wider boating community should push back a bit on the London boaters to be reasonable and not ruin it for everyone. Or campaign for better social housing.

Fred "I beat my wife and got sued for breaching health and safety" Dibnah? He never should have been placed on a pedestal.

True, I didn't phrase that very well. I meant people in general are more willing to contribute, not specifically via tax.

I used to think this way. But, they're tax payers, and the average tax payer is (probably) more willing to pay for things that they use or see a direct benefit (e.g., lifeboats are pretty obvious). I don't know the costs of cyclists to the canals, so can't say definitively that the tax payer puts in more than they take out. But I would guess that the taxpayer does.

I think for boaters, these channels won't appeal, because they just show us what we see every day (minus the gross bits, usually). I do really like Roger Barnes' channel on dinghy sailing/camping though, because it's a type of boating that I've never done: https://www.youtube.com/c/RogerBarnesMusings/featured And he's not advertising a whole lifestyle change.