Kris

Im sorry about this, it will only take a one sentence answer! Is a lock key what you would use to open the 'valves' on a lock, and where would you find these keys!? I tried a search on here but it just told me where every word 'key' and 'lock' was in nearly every post! Sorry again... silly I know. Kris

Hey, I'm just wanting to learn a bit more about how canal boats run and the workings of the mechanical bits. I'm pretty good with engines having grown up with motorbikes and I have always worked on my own cars. I know how an engine works (petrol + diesel) but when it comes to the engine dying on my canal boat for the first time (not that I have one yet, but I WILL!!) I'm sure I will get lost and not be able to find things I recognise. I'm by no means a mechanic! My knowledge goes as for as, 'if it doesn't start, take the spark plug out put a drop of petrol in the cylinder and maybe a quick cleanout of the carb'. And thats only on 2-stroke petrol engines. Is there somekind of manual for them, like the Haynes manual for your car? Only less specific I imagine. Or even better, a website somewhere? I've tried google searches but they just throw up people selling engines. Oh, not just the engine either, the whole drive-train. (If it's called that on a boat!). There's 2 other of my friends who would be joining me on the water, one knows how to drive but it could be a hampster in a wheel powering it for all he knows or cares, and the other probably hasn't heard of diesel!! I am thier only hope in a mechanical breakdown situation!! Thanks alot! Kris

Thanks for your replies, I think I made it sound too much like I was only considering this as a cheap alternative to a flat. I have always loved the water and boats, I have always wanted a boat at somepoint in my life. (Ok so in my dreams it was a big million pound yacht!). The way I see it is I could pay £750 a month to rent a flat, that ultimately belongs to someone else, we can't make it our-own. It would be in a busy town in an unsafe enviroment. OR. I could spend £750 a month on paying the mortgage / finance, buying fuel and gas, paying for a mooring and maintenance. And live in a place we can make our-own, we can be isolated or with people, we can use it as a campervan when we have time off! And I get the opportunity to have a boat and just float in the countryside. I admit to being quite an impulsive person, and it has made life difficult before, but im sure it was an impulsive thing for most of you that first got you in your floating home. I am aware that nothing beats experience and I am looking for someone who will rent out thier boat for a few months so we can really see what it would be like. I thought maybe if I found a mooring someone would be willing to rent me a boat that I could keep there and then I would take it back after a few months. Is this realistic? I really have thought about this alot, and as I have the opportunity to do it, I really want to grab it. I don't mind working on it either, im very hands-on and would be doing any maintenance that I could do myself. I would always have a hidden account to get me out of trouble also. I will keep reading bits on the forum ond other forums and keep making enquirys about moorings and rentals. Thanks again guys! (wannabe) Captain Kris!

Yea, it started a while ago! The three of us joke about it anyway. There is a 4th as well! Matt, Simo, Sarah and myself. 3 guys just one girl! Oh the rumours will be flying! Poor Sarah!

This is starting to worry me a bit! I don't yet live onboard but i'm planning to soon. I'm 21 and will be living with my 2 best friends Sarah and Matt. I like to wear baggy jeans / combats and oversized t-shirts! I'm a professional, sensible person and avoid trouble and confrontation like I would a large, led-covered brick. But I can imagine first impressions would be 'YOUTH!!' Hopfully we can tuck ourselves into a corner somewhere! Would rather not be in a marina anyway just along the bank somewhere with a couple of other people nearby. Kris

Hey everyone! My names Kris, im 21 and I live with my girlfriend Sarah. We were renting a flat for over a year untill the owner returned and wanted it back! (We weren't squatting honest!) Anyway, now we're back at my parents house cramped into my old bedroom. The thing is Sarah recently lost her job (rotten NHS!) and my parents are in the process of selling the house and moving to Scotland. We currently live in the South of Surrey so it's quite a long way! I have a career and friends down here so I want to stay in the area, but as i'm the only worker now we can't afford a flat. whatsmore after living in the flat before, we worked so hard to pay for it, yet is was in a busy, noisey and rough area and we didn't enjoy it at all. So we started looking into alternatives and I've ended up here!! YAAAY! I've spent the past couple of weeks researching and Emailing possibly every Council, National Trust and Inland Waterway person around Guildford, Farnborough and Bracknell looking for a residential mooring. But, as i'm sure you already know, to no avail. I was planning on going to Guildford Uni to continue my training so it would be good to be somewhere near. I don't even mind commuting for an hour. Does anybody have any idea where I'm likely to find a residential mooring that wont cost me the earth. Anywhere between Exeter, Glocester (spelin?!) or Dover! Basically, anywhere south of London! Otherwise how far North do you think i'd have to go!? If that fails, what are the rules on 'constant cruising'? How long can you stay in one place, and could you be cheeky and just move up and down the same mile stretch?! Are there people who check this and what are the concequences? Im not asking this so I can deliberatly break the rules. I would be much better off with a residential where I can have power and water! But if my parents move soon I may not have a choice, move the boat along then walk back for the car! Sorry for all the questions, but as you know this is quite a complicated thing to get into! We're desperate to get out of the urban chaos and just chill, Sarah's quite a keen poet too, how much more inspiration could you get! Cheers everybody!! Kris