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Cruiser would be much more social for a mainly summer trip boat (although why the flip you'd have standard layout for that I do not know... Walking through a bedroom/engine room/... to get to catering is rubbish). For a liveaboard trad has more useful space with/without an engine room. (I currently have one of each - both lovely in their own way). Have my 'first mate' (a minor) not be able to share the stern deck with me is a draw back for cruising (although little one does v well being 'look out' on tug deck). Wd imagine that if OP is find of her husband they may wish to share a little!

Happy New Year. Good luck to both the OP who posted what sounded like a slightly reboundy dating profile (nothing wrong with a little cutting loose when the occasion demands) and to the slightly older (one imagines) gentlemen (one pretends) circling the 'challenge' of trying to be less sexist than the next whilst still helping out a 'lady' (7 pages on a 'Hi, I don't have a boat' thread?!? Pur-lease... when did that happen without the suffix 'or a man'?). I don't have a pretty soft focus snap for a profile pic and I post for advice on topics such as plumbing. And that is what I get. Nothing patronising/sexist/inappropriate. Just opinions on boats. Which is rather why I joined a boating forum ? This place is great. The self-deprecating thing is old (and OP will probably find being single gets old too soon enough). Sweet, and overly apparent, dreams all xx

Do you mind me asking what the swim deck (I think that is the low bit at the back?) is for? I mean, I can see using a large amount of space for the cruiser stern (and the tiller actually looks like vaguely like an old butty one so, shrug) but that lower part... if not cluttered with coal sacks/stompy feet marks from when the coal has dropped in the cut... not quite sure what it is there for? And what is the (gigantic?) space at the bow for? I'm keen on the phoenix on her nose ? I own a tug with a (ludicrous for 2020, but derived from historic uses) bow space layout so curious as to what they have done starting 'from scratch' so to speak. HNY and happy cruising!

Who, in their right mind, would feel the need to refer to that activity to another person and therefore require a word for it at all?!? (*applies to many, many words I learnt at university...)

Got it! Cunning plan, yes. Thank you @David Mack also. Happy New Year all xx

I'm maybe getting too festive already (no water yet you see) but am struggling to visualise that... I have Tap-> little plastic thing that goes over tap/into hose -> short mucky hose -> middle of reel -> 'some internal reel magic' -> long filthy hose -> pretty filthy spout Are you making your hose into a circuit or just reversing the short bit? Am confused! (And Happy New Year!)

Yep - I read that thread ? I'm planning to drink from it normally going forwards (on non-prosecco days) was just thinking what to do after it has been sat empty for a while/pressure washed/transported etc. Sort of like I've wiped all the cupboards out with vinegar before popping plates in but will probably never do that again! Ooh, cross-posted. Yes, do have filter jug for use on land which can come with us. Boat fridge is smaller though (and sometimes I need coffee urgently so prefer to pre-filter) hence thought of installing a filter to taps later, later. For anyone who thinks 'any' hose is fine... I'll swap you! (I may even swap with myself as garden hose on old boat significantly less oily/muddy/composty/etc but don't tell anyone on here that as I'm hoping someone will buy the old boat!)

So, on old boat we stuck safely to prosecco, nosecco (for the minors) and the odd coffee. On new boat we may, potentially, for a week or so of 'dry' January, try drinking some water... Tank is integral to boat and now reasonably clean-looking (big hatch lid like a gas locker as gas-free boat) with new-ish looking pale paint and we've removed the visible particulates from the tank. Looked at Aqua Clean tabs and decided they were too toxic for canal life to use to flush through the system. Not sure if there *is* a practical substance to add that is OK for wildlife? I mean, the whole point is to kill stuff in water... Not against fitting a filter at some point but that isn't a 'top of list' job and would need someone to crawl into bows to get it 'before' the head for teeth washing etc so may need to get a boat rather than filter person to do. So, thinking just to fill tank and run it straight through all taps a couple of times and have done? Am quite OK with treating self to a new food grade hose (with what? little sandwich bags elastic taped over the nozzle when not in use?!?) simply for the joy of not having to clean up the decidedly scruffy garden one I have during winter months.

I'm not sure if I have doubts yet... certainly not about them leaking (all looked very dry and unstained) but possibly porousness. The 5 or so air fresheners under the bed near them/the tank and the slight smell make me think previous owners had an issue but it did look like their filter would have been in a 'U' without the masking tape holding the pipes up so could have been to do with that or a previous overflow/filter changing accident/who knows. I've left it all open to air (with window on the non-outlet side open!) as don't have a mattress yet. After that will hoover out all dust and wipe down with my usual floor cleaning diluted bio wash and see how it goes with whatever tank treatment I pop in. Definitely need to change the charcoal filter when Lee San open after new year so will have a chat with them about the specifications of the pipes then. ?

Silly question... with Old Boat I just popped the green stuff in the loo every so often as it was easier than climbing along gunnels to put it in the pump out. On this boat i have three options * pop in loo * pop in rinse outlet * pop in pump out outlet Presumably there is some slight benefit to any of the fluid additive options being swooshed through all three on occasion for pipe cleaning purposes?

It is sea-toilet style. If I don't need anything happy not to (presumably that white vinegar stuff is still OK for bowl cleaning?) - least effort/organisation required the better ? I usually have a relatively eco bio wash liquid around for a poorly trained dog (it is cheaper than those smell-erasing things for them too!) so could try that if found 'emergency' requirement for something after have disposed of the Blue.

Goodness. I once bought a car without noticing it had a different number plate back and front until the police knocked on my door... it was clear to see how slightly bad hand-writing had been misread by the person making one of them - but funny too... What is Delhi/Dehli called on her license? I think that is her current name. I have a one family member with a misspelling of a foreign name on their birth certificate so a completely unique name and one with a phonetic version of a common, generally non-phonetic, name no-one used to believe was spelt right - becasue a primary school teacher had done it to make things 'simple' ?

So, I had help today which meant I did 'heavier' jobs than planned (list below for own satisfaction!) and one of those involved dismantling bed/looking at pump out... I think I have @bookmonkey123's old boat. This is (potentially) relevant as they asked about switching from Blue to Odourless on here but I found a part-used Blue bottle on the boat so not sure what, if anything, is in the tank at present. In any event it was pumped out (by the previous owner / ex-partner of @bookmonkey123 / marina they moored in / brokerage / someone?) a month or so before I looked at it and looks pretty empty at the moment (tank is a white is plastic one with a 'full' light (I assume/hope is operable) but no gauge and centrally located on boat (leaving an underused storage space under bed at the 'side' I'll look into later) but seems to be slightly translucent and looks mostly empty). In any event it is a San Marine loo with 'remote' (through a bulkhead and basically straight in, but not drop-through which I will miss from old boat) Lee San tank. It has the flexi-hoses which may/may not be suitable (I've read the stuff on here about them being porous and am prepared to swap them if necessary - was too late by the time we got to take a look to write down all the specifications which are printed on them, there were a bunch of air fresheners under the bed which is a little concerning... but it was reassuringly dry/unstained/dusty looking and all clamps etc were still shiny) and a Lee San activated charcoal micro filter. I figure I should replace the charcoal filter as boat was UHPressure washed before blacking. I've 'upgraded' the masking tape holding the pipes to/from it with cable ties so I think they are in more or less sensible configuration (no 'U's between tank and filter). But what to put in the tank? I'd like not to use 'Blue' if possible. Old drop through boat was good enough with a Green version (only smelt bad if ppl stood on the foot-flush too long due to being young and/or non-boaters) but was wondering about swapping to yeast for this New Boat... partly due to local availability (plenty hipsters / health freaks; not many chandleries) and partly due to own hippiness... Is it worth popping a bunch in now, not expecting too much, and then doing a good flush out at next pump out? ---Just for us really--- Jobs Accomplished Today * Bow swag fender thingy attached with these on the sides not screwed up to save hanging (one hopes) * Little One's well deck garden created with two hanging (from lovely cable ties) baskets and two sawn-to-fit troughs (with raised plastic feet to do the best we can for the paintwork) * Curtains/mats/fluffy cages/etc, etc measured for * Strap handles fitted to bits of bed so have some chance of maintaining pipes/filters and storing stuff under * Loo seat swapped for child friendly (two sizes) one - a job which required unscrewing the whole toilet due to stupid design of ceramic part! Jobs Little One Accomplised * Assembly of own wardrobe rail * Assembly of own storage boxes * Selection of remarkably sophisticated grey homewares * Identification of need for/purchase of deck shoes for well deck excursions * Unilateral coot feeding ?

Photos later when back from boat. Realise how urban/sheltered I am... Car has typically lived indoors (car park) and, more recently, under a cover... I've gone through entire cycles of car ownership without having to use one of those ice scraper things, let alone deal with living organisms or reliably find the main beam lights... Fortunately I have, being somewhat hippy, identified precisely how far I need to travel from my local (balsamic/organic (raw) cider/...) vinegar suppliers to find the see-through stuff for cleaning sinks etc. That together with an old nail file are my cleaning secrets! Photos later when back from boat. Realise how urban/sheltered I am... Car has typically lived indoors (car park) and, more recently, under a cover... I've gone through entire cycles of car ownership without having to use one of those ice scraper things, let alone deal with living organisms or reliably find the main beam lights... Fortunately I have, being somewhat hippy, identified precisely how far I need to travel from my local (balsamic/organic (raw) cider/...) vinegar suppliers to find the see-through stuff for cleaning sinks etc. That together with an old nail file are my cleaning secrets! Ooh, cross posted... Thanks all - appreciate that I'm a muppet abt most things boat at present but am really enjoying learning xx

But the ones in my car hold the screens/windows tight and don't have a little moss garden condensation channel to clear! The seals on the outside of a few of the windows are flapping around in various places (there is a completely detached one sunbathing on the well deck at present which looks perfectly healthy but is clearly taking a break from doing any actual work) so I suspect they may be easier to re-fit than @Jen-in-Wellies ones but the risk of swimming is probably high... and I've not yet located a place to order replacements for any seals which are missing/swimming/otherwise indisposed... Might be a thing to do when have boat painted in summer as all side moorings are probably over a day away (once window faff time is taken into account) unless I book a visitor mooring at Paddington again - and I'm not sure they are really designed for doing maintenance in...

The nicest 'bottom of curtain' securing I saw when looking at boats recently was large-ish tape loops on the back of the curtain threaded around the bottom bar. Invisible from the inside (no 'vest stuffed into pants' look) and not too fiddly/come to bits-ish either. I'm mostly gonna have blinds though at present. ?

Ah, yes, I know what you mean. Used to have some in a flat. These are more like the bathroom style ones (from that flat), bulbs set further 'in' and don't seem to - altho will double check tomorrow... Pics to follow for the Canal World!

Yes, all on that switch. And all other lights OK. Have horrible feeling will need to find a way to fix as all switches and sockets are charcoal/black with little rounded surrounds so a normal square white one would look very out of place...

So, new boat has hopper windows (plus a couple of sort of hopper port holes) and also a couple of vertical glazed panels on a bow doors... to clean these out thoroughly do I remove all the black rubbery strips (and the glass if it comes - I have a feeling it will in some panels but not others)? it looks pretty loose in places. Presumably putting new seals is one of those many spring/summer jobs I ought to avoid now? But a quick wash down (a few are quite mossy) and re-fitting the seal strips would be beneficial? I thought to start with the bow doors as can easily stand in the little well deck for those. With the side windows I'll need to be on the gunnels for much of it won't I? (No side on mooring spots in vicinity).

Okey dokes... * They do seem to be LED spot lights (little circles of LEDs with three in the middle making up a single spot light) * Each ceiling unit (glass 'lens', metalic circular surround and bulb) pop into the ceiling with something like large mouse trap springs - I couldn't see anyway of getting at the bulb without springing the whole unit out but would love to be wrong on that - was not brave enough to do in case could not get back/that is only for fitting them in the first place * The switch is a 'boat' switch in that it clearly matches my sockets which are mostly in fittings of pairs of 230V/12V cigarette lighter. The light switch is just by itself though so not sure if will be mains style or 12V style itself. Didn't have tools with me today (moving being a gradual process...) but can bring screwdriver and multimeter tomorrow...

Little One turned the spot light things on in LO's cabin last night and they spluttered and went out. There are four all on the same switch - embedded in the ceiling boards if you see what I mean. Have tried turning every control switch (new boat, and there are approx 40 - split across 5 banks each of which is labelled the same but isn't - I have a 'to do' to work them all out and label as a previous owner only has a partial biro map for them) on and off but no joy. The fuses are, as far as I can see, much fewer in number and if one had gone I'd have lost other lights and things too. It wasn't the moment to investigate at bed time but any clues appreciated... They've been working fine off both battery and (I assume - I haven't actually checked it is not just draining batteries) shore power to date. Will try swapping bulbs with others from around the boat on the off chance they are in series rather than parallel (given how over-switched the whole system is I'd be surprised, but, who knows?!?). What other non-ceiling-destructive things should I try? Thanks!

I'm not used to that idea yet! :-) It feels pretty secure - I guess I was worried about making holes for condensation to drip through or something. But thinking about it little holes (filled with screws) over insulation are hardly going to be as bad as windows!

Christmas dinner afloat achieved (hurrah!) I'm thinking to get some real insulation sorted... Measured up today. Is it OK to screw blinds into the boards which form the 'walls' (lining?) of my cabin or do I need to keep them screwed onto the wooden window frames? It turns out the standard drop for little cafe nets wd look nice on the frames but with blinds above (for plenty of hopper clearance). Yours in Boxing Day non-shopping joy, xx

For goodness sake. The original poster doesn't want real answers. He wants to piddle away money on apps he won't use and doesn't need. Few of which will be functional where one would wish them to be and none of which will be significantly better than a free version. Even real answers could be rather superfluous... Boats often come with a nice selection of guides in them. And besides... there are often only two directions to go in on a canal. And at most points having choice implies a yoghurt pot which I don't think is the plan! :-) Love and kisses, An App Developer (who doesn't use GPS/mapping apps/similar and so has a perfectly functional hippocampus)