Neil McFarlane

No Alan, all the paperwork, surveys, safety certificates, etc. going back many years explicitly stated 6'10", whereas in fact it's 7'5".

I wish I'd paid more attention to your post, Harold. While the owner, the survey, the safety certificate, the online info, and decades of documents all stated it was narrow beam, I got stuck in a lock at Burton on Trent. It was indeed a wide beam.

OK, understand a bit better now - thanks!

Still a bit confused - do you use the solar panel to charge the leisure battery and then run everything from that battery? If so and it's a sunny day, presumably the solar supplies enough to the leisure battery, the leisure battery supplies enough to the laptop and therefore never discharges, and you can stay switched on theoretically forever as long as the sun is shining? Or do you use the solar to run appliances directly, or some combination of both? (e.g. some of the power goes directly to the appliance and if there is an excess, the rest goes to charging the leisure battery?)

Hello, I have just bought a boat and am looking for advice about solar panels. The boat has a starter battery and one leisure battery which are currently connected. I'm assuming that it may be better to disconnect the two battries so that the starter battery doesn't get discharged accidentally by running my laptop and other equipment. I want to know what I need to power my laptop. If I get a solar panel, should this be routed to charge the leisure battery which I should then use to power the laptop? Or is it better to connect the panel directly to the laptop (with a regulator/inverter), or some combination of both? And what size solar panel would keep the leisure battery discharging when powering the laptop (assuming I'm drawing from the leisure battery and not directly from the solar panel and assuming sunny conditions on a midsummer's day (I know winter will be a different story)? I realise answers will need to be approximate, but it's a typical-sized laptop and I'm just looking for a rough idea and better understanding of how things work. I've read around but am still a little confused. Thanks in advance!

I've taken two weeks' annual leave so am all psyched to do it now. I think two weeks is enough and I will have enough time to take my time, stop and watch other boats if I'm unsure how to handle an obstacle or don't understand what the signs are telling me, etc. I think I will subscribe to the rescue service before setting off. Will be good to have for the first year at least, if I get through that far. Thanks for all the advice so far, exactly what I'm looking for.

That's the one! That rivercanalrescue service looks interesting. I might go for that for the first year, at least until I get to know the boat and engine better. Would it be convincing if I'm not towing my infant son in a dinghy behind?

In a couple of weeks the boat will become "my current home". I don't know the exact details of rules on boats re lockdown, but if I don't live on the boat soon, I won't be living anywhere else. Also I work in a hospital on covid wards, so maybe that will make a difference, I don't know. Otherwise, if I find I am breaking the rules, as long as the authorities treat me with the same unbending rigidity that they treated Cummings, then I won't have much to worry about!

Mark, I'm posting here for some advice. I have no idea why you replied in that way. Feel free to not reply if for some reason you think I'm "not real". Thanks Jen, I already have insurance and license sorted. Didn't know there were downloadable guides - thanks for that - really useful. With dropping an anchor, I assume it can be dangerous to do so in a strong current. (I just did a quick google search and found stories of it sinking a boat if you do it wrong : (

Lincoln to Macclesfield, either clockwise or anti-clockwise around the Peak District. Engine failure - hadn't even thought about that. Do river boats have anchors? What do you do in a strong current if the engine conks out.

Is that because I'd want to time the tides and it could get complicated or because it can be a struggle to control in the strong currents?

Actually I have a choice of tidal route or non-tidal route. Would the tidal route be very unwise for a total newbie? What spare engine parts would you recommend?

Hi, I'm about to solo pilot a 22-foot GRP boat on a 2-week journey along the Trent and various canals. Never done anything more than row a boat before. Could I have some tips for a total newbie to help me complete my journey without mishaps? E.g. drive on the right. (That's about my level.) Maybe you can remember when you were a newbie and think of things you wish people had told you then. Thanks!