JRT

I’ve just returned from a trip up the Leicester line and back and I’m left wondering if anyone is actually maintaining the canal these days!? In places calling an overgrown ditch a navigable canal is a huge stretch of imagination. It would also seem that pounds with enough water in to navigate a narrowboat through are quite a novelty. One near Aylestone Fields was only about 18” deep. Some lock paddles required the strength of cart horse to shift and in one place a poor narrowboat was hung up on some sort of underwater obstacle and could not be freed even with a tow from another boat. (It took about an hour to refloat it using some dark arts I believe) Yes, there were lots of nice blue CRT signs all over the place informing us of this and that and what a wonderful resource the waterways are but these were mostly about as much use as an ashtray on my motorbike. Oh, and I won’t even mention the very lengthy waits at the Foxton and Watford lock flights. So, what do I pay my CRT licence for? It’s clearly not so they can maintain canals so they are fit for the purposes of boating! PS. Would the m%ron who is moored very close to the water point at Norton junction please move your boat. Your immensely inconsiderate mooring is causing a lot of inconvenience and means that those seeking water have to have the navigational skills of Magellan to get anywhere near the tap.

There is little or no evidence of electromagnetic fields having any long term health effects .....the overall evidence for adverse effects of EMFs on health at levels of exposure normally experienced by the general public is weak. The least weak evidence is for the exposure of children to power frequency magnetic fields and childhood leukaemia. see Electric and magnetic fields: health effects of exposure - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

A few months ago I bought a decent 58ft NB for £50k. For the most part, and having had it surveyed prior to purchase, it didn't need anything doing to it and has been fine. OK, I've spent a bit since - solar panels fitted, bigger alternator installed, spruce up inside - but other than blacking and 4 new leisure batteries none of these had to be done. (The batteries were a pain though as I needed to be a circus contortionist just to see them let alone replace them!). £40k for what your after sounds about right but be careful, there are some right wreaks about. Always, always get a survey done prior purchase.

Thanks Alan. Sorry for being such a ignoramus. I'll get my voltmeter out when I'm next on the boat and see what's what. Given that the boat sat for a year before I acquired it and the problems I've been having, it seems those advising I need new batteries are probably right.

Isn't the Sterling Advanced 4 Step Alternator Regulator the monitoring equipment. If not, what do I need?

Thanks for all your advice everyone. It's a Sterling inverter - 1800 W continuous, 2800 W intermittent. There's a Sterling Advanced 4 Step Alternator Regulator and a Shark Switch Mode 26A automatic battery charger. We were cruising for about 5 hours. All that said it seems the consensus is I need new batteries.

So, we were out cruising this weekend and, because we have a 240V fridge, we left the inverter on all the time. Fine the first night (we were hooked up to the main in the marina before we left) but waking up after the second night we found the 12v alarm sounding and very little charge left in the batteries. So, do I need new batteries - there's four 110 Ah leisure batteries - or should we ditch the 240V fridge and go for a 12v one? (I should also mention that we have a brand new 90amp alternator and, other than LED lights and charging our phones, there are no other major power draws being used on the boat). Any advice would be gratefully received!

Thanks again everyone. Time to get the multimeter out and do some measurements! ?

Hmmm. Thanks everyone. I'll check the isolator switch when I'm back on the boat at the weekend. The voltage at the front of the boat with the TV on is 13.1V so with voltage drop due to distance from the battery bank that's fine isn't it?

Thanks Tony. If it was the alternator that problem has been removed as I had an uprated one fitted today. The batteries seem to hold charge well as we ran 12v appliances the evening before with no problems.

I'm still getting used to the foibles of the boat I purchased a couple of months ago. Nothing major, just me getting used to how things work and learning what to turn off and on and when. One thing has me puzzled though. While out cruising the other day I put the inverter on while we were moving so my better half could dry her hair. Everything worked fine for a while but then all the 12v supply inside the boat just disappeared - no voltage at all. Switched the inverter off and the 12v supply reappeared. Electricity is not my strong point but I'm guessing the alternator/batteries just couldn't couldn't cope. Anyone got any other ideas? I'd be grateful for your views.

Thanks for all your advice folks. All is much appreciated and I've clearly some investigating to do. Engine maintenance I can do, I can even do some basic electrickory but plumbing I hate even on land!

I'd very much appreciate some help. I have just bought myself a narrowboat and have been on it for week. Everything seems fine and I'm very pleased with my purchase. However, there is one thing, which may or may not be a problem, that is puzzling me. From the calorifier/water tank in the engine bay is a hose leading to a suspended container which filled with clear water and overflowed into the bilge over a couple of days. I emptied the container yesterday and there was an inch of water in the container again this morning. I have no idea of what is going on and I was hoping someone does. In case it helps I have a gas fired boiler and central heating. I've attached photographs (ignore the Fertan)

Thanks guys. All wise and sage advice. Maybe I'll just do one YouTube clip to explain why I won't be doing any more!

By the middle of next week I should be the proud owner of a narrowboat. I was just wondering about the rules of narrowboat ownership though and wanted to ask if it is compulsory to do a YouTube vlog of the trials and tribulations of narrowboat ownership and a video diary of my travels? I ask because it seems, judging by their prevalence on that platform, that it most definitely is compulsory. Some on YouTube are very good, some less so and some banal in extreme and I'm worried that, if I do have to do one, mine will fall into the latter category. So, is it compulsory? ?

Estates agents?. Yes, lots, but they are bound but some rules and regulations!

So, I want to by a second-hand car. I see one I like at the local dealers only to be told that the description they provided may not be correct, they won't guarantee anything about the car, it may not be safe and it won't have a warranty but, if I liked to get it checked out myself by a mechanic, they may negotiate the price if the fault rectification is going to cost more than 5% of the car's value. S*d that you think so off you go to another car dealer. Once there you find their conditions are exactly the same, as is the case at every other car dealer in the land. Well, that's boat brokerages for you! In no other sales environment I can think of would the public, not to say the powers that be, put it with it but er, boats are different! Scandalous when you think about it. (Yes, I know they sell boats on behalf of the owner so it is 'different').

Thanks for the advice people. Much appreciated. Perhaps I should have been more specific. Basically, she'd like the 1/2 sized bath with shower over to be replaced by a quadrant shower. All the drainage, water etc are there but maybe not quite in the right place for the shower. I'd made a guess it would cost about £2K and it seems the advice is that's roughly what it would cost. but with many variables.

A quick question to all you knowledgeable people out there. I've put down a deposit on a narrowboat and, subject to a full out of water survey, it'll be mine in a few weeks. However, my other half is not that keen on the walk-through bathroom facilities. She'd like a quadrant shower and maybe move the basin. Being a kind soul she's offered to pay to have one installed - how much should she expect to pay to have one put in by a professional? Thanks in advance!

I'm a radiation expert and a Fellow of my professional chartered institution and I can categorically say that there are absolutely no health risks associated with mifi, wifi or another other non-ionising radiation emitters like these. No peer reviewed scientific study has ever found any evidence health risks and the Three guy was talking scaremongering rubbish!

Thanks for your comments and advice everyone - I've 'walked away '. I've lost my survey fees but then I haven't wasted nearly £50K! I won't be buying the boat mainly because the survey revealed significant faults, principal amongst these being the state of the hull. In places the thickness of the hull is within 0.4mm of being uninsurable and although grit-blasting and 2pack epoxy coating may prevent it getting worse, I just didn't want to take the risk. Besides, even if I was to go down the grit-blasting 2 pack route it might reveal the hull to be in an even worse state and/or in a few years’ time I may be left with the need to over-plate the hull thus reducing it’s value and attraction to buyers should I wish to sell it. All that and the reduction in the asking price didn't come close to covering the cost of the grit-blasting etc and other boat safety issues. One last thing. The brokerage revealed that the boat had been moored in their marina for many years. Hmmm I thought, maybe the severe pitting on the boat is partially their fault! I hadn't the courage to say that out loud though.

Once again everyone, thank you for all your advice. The boats needs about £1500 of boat safety things doing to it and the surveyor is adamant that the only way to stop the pitting getting worse is shot/grit blasting followed by 2pack blacking. The latter costs somewhere between £3-4K. The vendor/brokerage have offered me a reduction in the sale price but not enough to cover these costs. The brokerage has also said I should buy the boat at the reduced rate then they'll do the BSS stuff for me and I pay. That sounds a little dodgy to me because I then own an unsafe boat boat and are at their mercy for the work, not to mention mooring fees. Besides isn't it illegal for a brokerage to sell an un-safe boat? So, unless the cost is reduced some more I think I'll walk away which is a shame as I really liked the boat. I'll have lost the survey fees but I don't want to sit on the boat for the next few years worrying about the hull! Do you think I'm being wise or ridiculously cautious? Thanks.

Thank you everyone for your advice. Most useful. I now have the written report and it states: Base Plate The base plate was originally fabricated using 10.0mm plate (nominal). Ultrasonic measurements showed the base plate to be between 10.1mm to 9.6mm. Pitting was present at up to 1.6mm. The sacrificial wear edge was found to be free from excessive wear. Hull Sides The hull sides were originally fabricated using 6.0mm plate (nominal). Ultrasonic measurements showed the sides to be between 6.0mm to 5.7mm. Pitting was widespread at up to 1.3mm. Is that better or worse than expected? The majority opinion seems to be walk away. Is that still the case? Thanks JRT

Some may remember that a while back I asked if I should get a survey done on a narrowboat I was thinking of buying even though it had been blacked this year. Everyone said yes so that's what I've just done - had a full out of water survey done on a boat I had made an offer on subject to survey. I'm glad I did! The survey on this 2005 57ft boat has now been done. It has revealed a few minor faults but also a major issue - the hull is suffering from widespread pitting. Not enough that insurance would be refused but enough to be of serious concern. The surveyor has recommended that the hull is shot blasted and then, at the very least, blacked with two-pack. I trust his judgement and advice (and he has a good reputation on this forum) so I guess I'll reduce my offer to cover the cost or get the vendors to pay for the remedial work. What do people think? Will the remedy work? (The boat is fitted with a galvanic isolator). Could the pitting get worse.? Am I right to reduce the offer? What should I do if the vendor won't accept the reduced offer? Should I walk away now? All advice gratefully received! JRT