Boaty Jo
-
Posts
647 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Blogs
Store
Posts posted by Boaty Jo
-
-
Not sure of the implications (if any) for red-diesel users but an article in Blue Flag magazine (DBA Magazine) states that 'all gas oil (red diesel) for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) wiil have to virtually sulphur free' as from January 1st 2011.
This will apply to inland waterway vessels.
Advisory comes from the British Marine Federation so if anyone is a member perhaps they can find out more for you.
-
I don't think any generation has died in such a slight, sad, way as those lads in the trenches. Always gets to me....
Quite agree.
An early morning cycle around Verdun last summer was unbelievably moving.
Around 800,000 dead - quite astonishing.
-
That's very distressing for your friend and I hope it turns up very soon - undamaged.
You might just want to edit your post so you're not 'e-mauled'!
-
It’s amazing how an article on small generator can produce such an explosive reaction.
At least you got a reaction - more so perhaps than an article about reading a book by candle-light.
Towpath generators are indeed irksome things, but cheap - for the price of a Whispergen you can go to town on energy-guzzling gadgets.
Perhaps the boater who released the hydrogen sulphide down the bottom of the Montgomery just wanted a bit of peace and quiet with his towpath genny.
-
Pretty sure it's a flexible coupling.
We had a bit of a rattle at tick-over so we wanted to swap ours for a Python drive but we hadn't got room. (Like you I think)
We settled for a centaflex (not that you are talking of changing.)
-
Another vote for the N. Norfolk coast. It is a lovely part of the world.
Cley, Blakeney, Thornham, Hunstanton.
(If you're a golfer, Hunstanton, Brancaster or sherringham)
-
Slightly off topic I know but why is it that (within reason) lumpy water boats seem so much better made(obvious?) and so much better value than narrow boats? especially if they are made of wood. Keith Ball has recently bought a very nice 40' Dutch steel motor sailer for what he said I could sell my boat for. There are some simply sensational mfv /pinnace conversions for the same or cheaper than MOR narrowboats. I am sorely tempted.
Not sure about better value.
The (sold) example above is not really geared up to live aboard. (small inverter / charger / fuel tank / water tank).
They are not well insulated for either summer or winter.
If all systems were upgraded to live-aboard narrowboat specs I suspect there is little or no price difference.
Realistically it's also physically small for anything but extended holidays.
In addition there are also a huge number of similar boats for sale (as stated this one has been reduced - reduced).
The style of these older cruisers soon becomes dated which is why I believe the Dutch (many of whom own cruisers from 8 - 15m) prefer new or more recent models.
That said there is certainly a place for these type of boats - GRP, wood or steel - as thousands will testify. It can be argued that in terms of cruising in a variety of different conditions, they are more adaptable.
It is ludicrous to 'point-score' between the merits of different boats.
-
Would not Auriga not have been better off borrowing a 'porta-potti' in the first place and carrying water in cans.
Sounds like they have a (potentially) expensive repair and probably a need to re-black at least the bow - not to mention the ice scraping other boats as they passed.
We stripped off the blacking to bare, shiny steel breaking out through one inch ice within a few hundred metres never mind trying to break through 4 inch ice.
-
If this link doesn't work google Daily Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/...t-networks.html
-
Just bought a small yamaha keyboard (NP30).
Very compact and light. Runs off mains / batteries, nearly full size keyboard (76 to 88), takes headphones.
Sounds terrible but you can't blame the instrument.
Lobby Loo - you could mute your clarinet by sticking your bell end in a sound-proofed cardboard box.
-
Which one(s) do you have and how are you getting on with it/them for fuel consumption, ease of use, performance and reliability etc?
Had the Old Dutch on the first boat. To be honest can't remember how many radiators it ran (probably 5/6 plus calorifier) but you have to have enough to act as a heat dump when the whole system is up to temperature. This was the only means of heating and as the boiler is in effect either on or off for extended periods and for us was not flexible enough.
On the second we had an E3 (which is also drip fed) which was built into the bedroom wardrobe. The (well protected) flue ran up through the wardrobe - in effect a good airing cupboard. We had seven radiators plus calorifier (though some were turned low). Consumption on average was about 5 litres a day. We also had a multi-fuel in the lounge.
We never ran either of these boilers flat out, cleaned them out once a month and got an extended flue which helped somewhat in windy conditions. The KW will be in the specs but an E3 was enough for us (57ft NB).
If we could have afforded it we would have had a pressure jet (on demand) boiler for heating and water.
Jo
-
www.kuranda.co.uk
These guys supplied me with CH boilers.
-
-
Hello Alice,
Given the choice between SectionVI (Narrow boat owner) and section V(aspiring NB owner) I'm afraid I can't help.
Do let me know if you decide to widen your net to cover other inland craft.
Ditto.
Rather narrow-minded!
Others may have a GRiPe too.
-
The very best of luck with your treatment David.
Have a great Christmas.
-
What a wonderful snapshot of times gone by.
-
Is not the CAB your best bet?
-
Littleborough, my home town. I spent many a happy hour in The Summit (although I did have my hub-caps knicked on one occasion).
That stretch of canal is lovely and though I can't be there I'll be with you in spirit with a touch of envy.
-
Yes, it's a wonderful ship.
To see Tjalks like this and other ships (klippers for example) under full sail is a fantastic sight and one of our abiding memories of cruising in Holland.
I see also that it is berthed at Makkum on the Friesland coast. It is a beautiful old town where the inland waterway meets the sea (or IJsselmeer now). You can see smaller canal craft inland of the 'sea' lock and large charter ships, like this one, call in over the summer and mix with fishing boats drying their nets.
Down the channel a large, modern marina houses a wide variety of sea-going (and pricey) cruisers. The whole area gives you a fair snapshot of boating in Holland.
Jo
-
'.....when we picked him up....'
It might be called Leo but it's probably a SHE.
Narrowboats are female – beautiful, bright, colourful, elegant, graceful and warm
NOT male – dull, shallow, noisy, solid, polluting, weighty, ponderous and loathesome
Enjoy her.
Jo (male)
-
Ok then, one large or two small vertical loops welded to a plate which is bolted to the roof. Run two ropes back to the steering position, one down each side, so you can hop off either side.
You don't need to disturb much roof lining to get at the nuts from inside. Just cover up the 'small' area inside with a false grill.
-
Sounds a bit dodgy (to a non-welder).
Are you saying it's possible to weld when you have spray-foam, rockwool, polystyrene (or whatever insulation you have) tight up against the roof-plate?
-
We engaged Terry Robertson of TR Boat Handling for pretty much the exact reasons the OP states - my wife wanted experience and confidence. The day was really beneficial, including Terry guiding us through our first lock. Jan was the only person to touch the tiller through the training. Both of us learned a huge amount and Jan subsequently had the confidence to handle the boat in and out of locks 'solo'.
This training was on our own boat and gave us the basic skills to enable us to set off on our own and really learn to handle the boat in a wide variety of situations.
Best of luck
Jo
-
I have great respect for anyone with more experience than me, that’s partly how I learn, and often read with interest posts on matters technical and navigational both here and on other forums.
Despite the technical ‘shortcomings’ of a narrowboat for the larger waterways (e.g. ill-placed bollards, lack of side-deck etc.) an earlier post stated that, with skill, it can be done. Entering a lock that may be 200m long, 11m wide and 10m deep surrounded by 1000-plus tonne commercial barges in gear driving against a forward line requires a great degree of care in any pleasure boat. I agree that a great deal of caution and careful planning is required.
We too have been pyssed off by the behaviour of other boaters – but hitherto never a narrowboat – possibly because it’s a numbers game, in other words they are few and far between. Speeding and overstaying are probably problems the boating-world over and it is no different here. Many cruisers and hire-boats simply ignore the speed limits and I am unaware of any policing of this. One 18-metre barge came through a stretch of canal, where boats of all shapes and size were moored on both sides, at 12kph! Two boats lost at least some mooring lines and the rest probably spilled their soup. The guy’s excuse – ‘We’ve got a flight to catch!’
Many boats from countries to the north and east cram as much as they can into their 2 – 6-week trips. Apart from the fact that they have no chance of experiencing ‘real’ France, it means 6 + hour days at some speed.
We were told that France is cheap too. Well, compared to our experience of Holland, it’s not. 400+ Euros for our vignette (season cruising license) plus the overwhelming majority of town moorings with electricity charge from 6 euros per night (often + electric), often more. Many marinas and some Port de Plaisances are restricted to 15m maximum – Challon (15m max) on the Saone for example is 25 euros per night. These charges deter the ‘doddery people looking for a cheap home..’ (insulting) and the ‘mature’ narrowboaters we have encountered moor cheaply (or free) bank-side on pins or non-serviced out of town moorings.
I believe that any boat here less than 15m requires no qualifications to drive it – hire boats are 15m and less, as are the vast majority of cruisers. 10 minutes instruction from a bloke about to rush of for his escargots and the hire-boat is away. Anything over 15m requires a qualification, in our case an ICC. Like the (car) driving test, all a pass gives you is a rudimentary understanding of the car and road – an ICC is little different; it’s when you get out on the water you really learn to drive.
It is not unknown for people to buy a boat or have one built with little or no experience of handling one – an ICC (with cevni endorsement) and you’re away (with insurance, VHF certificate, proof of ownership etc.). Narrowboaters will at least have some experience (in some cases vast) of their boat’s capabilities before they learn to deal with the bigger continental waterways.
SFGO (Sulpher Free Gas Oil)
in General Boating
Posted
Strictly white diesel only for propulsion fir leisure craft. Although commercials (at least in Holland) can use red I believe.
Also I believe (but please check with the experts) that NRMM fuel will contain up to 7% biodiesel which can oxidise (so precipitate the formation of solids) and is more prone to bacterial contamination than fossil fuel.