Peter R

I have never lived aboard, so have no particular experience of what's best. My only observation would be that whilst 'reverse' certainly used to be very uncommon, my feeling (based mainly on what I see tested in the magazines) is that 'reverse is becoming much more popular than it was. However, due to the inevitable time lag before new boats become secondhand, the majority of secondhand will still be 'normal'. The fact that one layout is more common than another doesn't necessarily mean it's better - it's a personal decision, and i suspect that most people will simply 'follow the herd' rather than go out and try something different - especially when it could be expensive if they're proved to be wrong. In case it is of interest, Stenson's showboat at crick was not only 'reverse' layout, but also of the variety with a 'deadend' cabin at the front (no front doors or well deck). Talking to one of the guys he said this was about the 6th they'd built recently in this format - and all for liveaboard's.

I have got one of the ones that snowgoose leathercraft sell to go on a belt, which works fairly well but still has it's limitations. I normally use an alumininum windlass which is ok, but steel ones can feel quite heavy. Also, as it goes on the belt it's not much use if it's raining as it's then under your coat.

The suspects were spotted last night at Napton, once again with alcohol in hand. Believed to be heading in the direction of Hillmorton and Stretton next.

Brian At risk of confusing things even more, don't forget the amount of current inverters will pull on the 12v side - a 1500W inverter will translate to 125A at 12v, which means pretty beefy cables. If I was wanting to run an inverter that size, I would be tempted to keep the existing 12v setup to feed the lights, pumps etc and fit a second (24v) alternator and battery bank to run the higher power stuff (fridge, inverter). That way you'll halve the current that the higher power devices are using which means smaller (and hence cheaper) cables and probably less trouble with volt-drop. Peter

Can't speak for others but i've been for the last three years and always enjoyed it - even when it was raining! For me it's a good few days away, a chance to pick up some bits that i'd otherwise have to get mail-order and a chance for a 'banter' with any other forum members that are around! That's good enough for me.

I was up there a couple of weeks back. If you can get there by late afternoon you've a chance of a mooring near the wharf, but it's quite possible they will be full in which case you might have to go back down near the lock, but it's not a long walk. Peter

depends on the model. My '3' dongle (ZTE MF622) has a aerial socket, but don't know about more recent ones.

Sounds like there's going to be a few people around. Let me guess - beer tent around lunchtime?

I might just be able to come and join you. i'm heading over to crick tomorrow, but so long as i manage to escape from w**k on time, i should get there in time to be able to drive down to napton for an hour or two. No guarantees, but i'll try. Peter

No, but I suspect you will struggle with it. Admittedly i don't use the mobile connection that much, but the fastest connection i've ever had is 1Mbps, the norm is more like 4-500kbps, which I suspect would be to slow for internet gaming. If the signal is weak the connection can get dropped with frustrating regularity. Also, no guarantee you will have 3g signal at all - if you look at any of the operators coverage maps you will realise that the 3g network is still really in it's infancy, and tends to be concentrated around the major trunk roads. Last time I was out I couldn't get a 3g connection for about half the time. Peter

That's certainly food for thought - I paid £10 for 1Gb on my 3 payg account recently when I took the boat out for a couple of weeks. I've just checked the account and during the time I was out I only used about a tenth of that Gb, which will expire in 5 days time and i'll lose the rest. £15 per Gb is obviously more, but with no time limit so you don't lose what you've paid for it's probably a better deal for infrequent users. I wonder if I could just get the 3 modem 'unlocked' and put a voda sim card in it? Peter

As this is the first year i've been there, how much of an advantage remains to be seen! However, it does mean I get in free so the account starts 'in credit' as it were. Peter

I have three similar to this that I use on those occasions that I can't find mooring rings or a section of piling to hook onto. Two of them are 18" long, the other is about 12". Last year at Crick I was mored on these (two boats behind 'alnwick') - 'long' anchor front and rear, with the shorter one centrally and a total of four lines out. I was moored on them for about 5 days, and they stayed put. I use one of the 'paperclip' style piling hooks to screw them in - yes you have to kneel or crouch down, but so what - it's no harder than hammering in pins. I have also very rarely failed to get one in - as they encounter stones and such, they sometimes actually change angle as they go in - the corkscrew action seems to work past most obstructions. I think I got the two long ones from midland chandlers and the shorter one from B&Q. I've had them a few years but I think they were about £15. Graham - I won't be using them this year as i'm in the marina now, so if you'd like to try them and see how they work, let me know and i'll bring them round when I get there (probably sometime on the Friday). Peter

Buoys were only installed recently - probably 'cos no-one ever moors on that bit except during the show. I wondered what they were there for , but then I got the latest 'harbourmaster's' newsletter (my boat's in the marina) and it said it due to voles. Hopefully you'll find somewhere you can 'dredge' your way in. I should be over for a couple of days during the show, so i'll have to come and find you. re: query on entrances - there has to be at least two as the 'new' bit doesn't have any direct water connection to the 'old'. I think the 'new' bit was given two as it allows more moorings as they then don't have to leave a clear 'channel'. The fun bit is that if you look carefully, there is a 'no mooring' sign either side of the entrances, but in between them there is another that says mooring is allowed (I think it's probably an old one they forgot to remove!), so there are often boats moored opposite the entrances anyway! Peter

Daniel I friend of mine is presently fitting a sailing barge which has 24v electrics and I know he has used some of the 2d type round brass effect fittings. I don't know for sure where they came from, and i can't ask him quickly (as i'm on the boat and 'three' can only give me gprs this evening), but I suspect it was probably either aquafax or asap supplies. He used to have a trade account with aquafax, so if they had anything suitable I could probably get them cheaper than you could direct, providing his account's still active. Peter

another thought for you - if you want to keep the house for the time being, and don't have a big mortgage, you could add a bit to the mortgage to fund a boat - it's how I bought my first boat. I bought a 30 year old 30' nb for £13.5k. 18 months later I had an unexpected windfall and decided to upgrade and sold it for something like £14.5k, which covered purchase cost and brokerage fee, so I had 18 months boating for little more than the cost of mooring and licence. My experience was that providing I kept the 'loan as % of value' sensible, the lender wasn't overly interested what i spent it on Peter

You could also try saisons http://www.saisons.co.uk/ The website only mentions up to 6 weeks, but i'm sure i've seen reference in another thread to someone who hired a boat from them for several months Peter

I've got a bit longer to play with, as i'm off work this week and next. Presently at Yelvertoft, heading north. Probably not going to get further than foxton though as i've got to be back at welford on saturday to meet a friend. after that, see where the mood takes me. Peter

If you haven't sorted anything yet, I happened to visit the three website earlier and they are currently advertising the PAYG dongles from just under £30 in case it's of interest.

I can't remember for sure, but I've got a feeling the difference last year was something like £2 on a three day pass. I know it worked out that if you were buying one it was slightly more expensive than in advance, but if buying several then advance was probably worth it. I'll probably be there, but then as it's where I moor the boat now I think I get in free, so I may as well! We had quite a god gathering of forum members last year, so hopefully there'll be a few around this year. Peter

Haven't tried this for a while, so thought i'd have a go Since I think my connection is only advertised as 2Mb, I don't think I can complain Peter

On my boat (45'), the only location for tables is in the saloon. It came with a large table (which you can fairly easily get four people around) which is supported by two of the 'desmo' legs. It also has a small round table that is supported on a single leg. Both tables can be stored against the cabin side when not required. The photo below shows the round table in use - the larger one can just be seen in the distance against the cabin side. Peter

I have a '3' dongle that I use on the boat, generally it works very well but is dependent on where you are. The best performance i've seen to date is about 1meg, and the worst was on a trip up the Leicester line last year - it was fine up to crick, but I only got a 3G signal once between crick and market harborough. Some dongle's have a connection for an external antenna which should help, but it hasn't yet been enough of a problem to temp me to lay out the money to buy one. Peter