The Gravy Boater

I had considered that having watched Jono's vid on the subject. His findings at the time were that petrol was cheaper per KWH and that must be the case right now, at least. It has pros and cons I think... there is gas on the boat already (two 13kg) but I'd be a bit nervous about having a gas line going out onto the towpath. Not sure why, exactly, I just would.

Getting back to the generator, my other concern is storing it and the petrol. I think the only safe place I have room for it would be on the well deck. There is a cratch cover and a sturdy metal ring welded to a locker I could use to secure it. The well deck has three metal lockers sadly without padlock rings and the middle one has the bowthruster battery, which I guess is a potential source of ignition? The gas locker is on the stern deck and the bedroom is at the bow end. The two smaller lockers in the cratch could hold a petrol can or two if they were made secure. Is there other stuff I need to consider about this?

100% with you on all that.

Talking of Panasonic I did look at this seller the other day who offer 'free installation'. They haven't replied to my enquiry. https://loryanmr.com/advice.html

That was kind of my original thought. It's either that and/or I just try and marina hop until things are sorted. I have a car so it would probably solve a lot of grief finding parking.

Thanks. Ideally I just wanted to have three large solar panels on the Midsummer mounts at the back of the boat, but it's not going to happen as the available space is hampered by the side rails (there is about 105cm of useful space between them). Going along the boat it's two meters to the chimney, then about 1.4 meters to where it would start to get in the way of the center line. I wanted to use the front of the boat for storage boxes but maybe I just need to put one of the three panels at the front.

Great post fella. I'm under a certain amount of pressure to get my boat half way across England to be nearer family so I do need to get going as soon as the navigation allows. I wouldn't be confident doing my own solar install at all I'm afraid. I know it's (relatively) simple but I'm too busy to research it thoroughly and want the peace of mind of getting a proper marine electrician to do it. I've been advised to avoid all the asian stuff and buy German, plus I have the requirement of needing to walk on the roof... so the mounting system must allow for this while maximising the panel size. I'm not sold on flexible panels... the fully tiltable mounts sold by Midsummer Energy looked ideal but they are out of stock. My chimney position and side rails also kind of preclude certain kits and I'd also probably need to have my barge pole racks ground off.

No worries, I appreciate all the suggestions. I'm still researching where to get my solar done and not having much luck so far, so I should probably do another thread about that. As far as power use goes I work online and ideally want to use a (relatively) low power desktop computer I rebuilt for this purpose. I could have just got a high spec laptop but it was cheaper to do the rebuild... something that I am potentially beginning to regret. It's not on the boat at the moment so I have no way of doing a proper power audit but when it is really the most the boat will ever need is the computer, a monitor, a router, the 12v fridge and a few LED lights. The current invertor/charger is a Stirling 2.1kw which I imagine will need to be changed. I would only really use the computer for work and just use mobile devices at night.

The engine is a Vetus M4.15 and the alternator is 50 amp. I'm looking into getting whatever I can out of alternators but the advice I've had so far is that it's unlikely to be spectacular out of this 33 hp engine and probably expensive, being Vetus. I have something of an annoying roof configuration for solar and the need to walk on the roof as a solo CCer also rules out some kits, but I'm hoping to get at least 6-800w up there. My overall budget for electronics is of course much higher than £500.

There are currently 3x110ah LA Domestics, 1x110ah LA Starter and 1x110ah LA bow thruster batteries. The Invertor/Charger has 70 amp output. Budget... let's say up to £500 but if I can get something perfectly serviceable for my needs for less, then I would do this. It is not intended as a long term solution to my power needs.

The only other brand I've heard mentioned favourably - so far - has been Clarke.

My current alternator is inadequate for my battery bank and I have no solar yet, both issues that I intend to address as soon as possible but - as a new CC - I've decided that I need a portable generator to bridge the gap until this is done. It will also be useful as a long term backup. So I'm looking for some opinions on: 1) Which is the best overall type and model. 2) LPG vs. Petrol. 3) Fuel & Generator storage tips 4) Which is the quietest 5) Best value for money 6) Anything else that I need to bear in mind I'll be cruising a lot so the current alternator will do some of the work, but I'll also need to use the generator to keep my batteries healthy and for when I need mains electric.

Is this a I'll show you mine if you show me yours kind of deal? Regarding your painting... do green if you're just trying to match your boat colour... do light grey if you want to demonstrate how pristine your engine bay is after the work.

As you say it all comes down to how you present yourself to the broker. They get so many folks who are just kicking the tyres that they just switch off after a while. Even if your circumstances currently preclude you from buying if you can demonstrate that you are going to make it happen sooner or later most brokers will make the effort to keep you informed.

Boat acquired and first night aboard. One of my boxes exploded carrying it to the boat so I have contributed three tins of Napolina Red Kidney Beans to the next magnet fisher.

I'll definitely get around to it. I'm continuous cruising for the foreseeable and hope to do the entire network.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. While I would love to amble my way down I think it would probably be prudent to take the shortest/easiest route this summer. I want to get down to Northamptonshire to be nearer my family. My brother-in-law is a retired joiner and is going to help me modify the fit-out a bit There is also the spectre of a second lockdown if the virus decides it wants to play again so I think I'd rather be down south ASAP.

It certainly has character and if it ticks your boxes I see nothing wrong with it. You can get a lot of boat for £40k so if you have not already I would suggest you look at as many boats as possible before making any decision. I looked at about 30 and in hindsight I'm glad I didn't go for any of the ones that interested me early on.

Having spent the last 9 weeks in lockdown with a bunch of wannabie bakers I need a break... one more brownie and it will be like Mr Creosote all over again.

That certainly does look like the easiest route. I think we may have a winner.

I think you broke the forum as it wont let me quote this: "The marina guy says there's 2 types of people, those to drop my to maintain their boat and those who leave it there and wait for the money, but will take less. I believe him to be the second type. " He's not wrong. With the 30 odd boats I looked at there were some in a sorry old condition and it really would not have taken that much effort or expense to present them nicely. Particularly in winter when you need to put measures in place to stop your unoccupied boat rotting. Are you looking to liveaboard your boat? Sorry if I've missed this in earlier posts.

Make my first experience of narrowboating in 35 years a good one... looking for the best route CCing from the Upper Shopshire Union to the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union... June to October (Pox allowing). Criteria in order: Scenery Interesting destinations Waterpoint/Elsan Availability Easy free parking (I'll be cycling back to collect the car) Great marina options when necessary Ease of Cruising (number and type of locks, volunteer staffing etc) Avoiding scallies Thanks in advance for your opinionations... and feel free to add criteria I have failed to address.

How much of your interest is driven by this? I can only speak as someone with limited (recent) experience, but... if you are on a budget you will almost certainly have a better experience up t'north, both in terms of value and honesty. This is assuming you are happy to move a boat and don't need something near Bristol from the start.

The real question is are you prepared to deal with the work yourself, or get someone to do it in the hope of negotiating a much lower price? Or you could suggest the owner needs to fix it before he has any hope of selling, saying you're interested but not commiting to any deposit or survey until the work is done. There are currently 1004 narrowboats on the Duck and it's a buyer's market. I don't know your budget but you can almost certainly do better.

Interesting stuff. The boat I'm buying has polystyrene insulation (an oversight on my part as the type wasn't listed and I forgot to ask, after having asked about the 30 boats I had looked at beforehand... d'er). Having researched it further I'm not too bothered about it. Me being me I'm likely to refit the boat in stages anyway and will replace the insulation where possible with more modern materials. You clearly know your stuff but for anyone who would like to know more about insulation, I found this video by Greg Virgoe very informative.