vanboosh

Don’t think it’s rust - newish boat with stainless tank. How would we check for erratic power supply? Just hold a multimeter on it and see if it fluctuates? This sounds like a possibility! Motor failure rather than not pumping water. I’ll send him the forum link and see if he can reply to clarify things.

Has anyone experienced multiple water pump failures? My neighbour has had 3 pumps die in in the last 6 months…

I've got 4 x brass toe steps I've never used as I can jump onto the roof relatively easily, but the missus struggles a bit, so I think its time I fitted at least two of them. Anyone have any advice? I've never screwed anything into the outside of the boat... I assume drill/tap and maybe sikaflex? Stainless bolts? M5?

Probably, but I’d rather support him and his business, plus it’s delivered straight to the boat.

I ended up taking a couple of jerry cans and paying £1.80 at the petrol station around the corner. Painful, but we only put in a little bit to last until Chris can get back down this way, hopefully in a couple of weeks!

So Penton Hook lock is closed, which means Chris can't get down our way for another couple of weeks. Any ideas? We don't need a lot, just enough to keep our heater going until Chris can get through, so I guess maybe a trip to the local petrol station with a jerry can, but I'm not in love with the current diesel prices at the pump!

As above, no charger. I think she'll get one, but they're quite keen to get the water out in the meantime! Its actually a jabsco water pump we've attached hoses to. Gets in all the nooks and crannies! I think you are probably correct in this assumption!

This would have been my first choice, but they have a really odd set up with no battery charger and apparently their wiring needs to be totally redone.

Got it! Much appreciated from both me and I'm sure from the very wet boat. Good thing we're slowly coming into spring/summer. I think it'll take a while for her to dry it all out completely.

Thats great, thank you! I just didn't want to kill my own batteries but sounds like I should be fine as long as the charger is 'charging'. I guess it doesn't matter which terminals I use on the bank as long as its obviously + to + and - to -?

At the marina I'm in, someones boat has taken on a lot of water after their calorifier failed (they're getting someone in to fix all that stuff). But to get the water out, another boater has lent her a water pump and a battery. most of the water has been pumped out, but the battery has now died. I've got some jump leads and I'm on electric hook up, can I just charge the battery by putting the jump leads somewhere on my battery bank?

Shouldn't be a problem where we are. We're on the river so bow to stern/end to end (not sure if there's a proper word for that?) and we're right on the end with the bedroom at the back - no neighbours that side!

Thank you for all the replies, everyone! All very encouraging, really. It seems totally doable, especially on a wide beam if we can afford the 'upgrade' (although I would very much miss our narrowboat). We're not super into possessions and would definitely be more into the 'experiences' side of bringing up kiddos and you can't get much more of an experience than living on a boat!

We get on great, so that side of things I'm not worried about. Its the space/practicality/safety aspects, really. I'm pretty sure we'll have to go for a wide beam, which would 'help' with most space issues (Not sure how much help, but if we moved to land, I'm not sure how much bigger a space we could get anyway), but I'm still not sure about practicality/safety stuff. We're on the Thames (as in on the river not in a marina, but we're on the marina wall, so hookup, permanent mooring, etc.) so space for the boat isn't an issue. Apart from one or two big cruises, most of our cruises are day/weekend trips, but we're prepared to stay put for a while. I know a couple of families that have moved onto boats when the kids we're a bit older, but I haven't met anyone with a newborn/first child yet.

We've been living on a narrowboat for about 4 years and we (I mean, I'd rather a dog, but what can you do 😝) are now thinking about babies. So we're thinking about getting a fat boat, possibly with two rooms, cost permitting, so we can have a bit more space. Does anyone have any experience with firstly being pregnant on a boat, followed by having a new born? Is it silly? Should we be moving to land for a few years first, then maybe come back to boating when the kids are a bit older? P.s. We have a permanent mooring.