Phoenix_V

That is correct and if you don't want to take the time to find out the estimated rebuilding cost plenty of policies out there which don't need this just ask what type / size house Marine policies (as distinct from motor) used to be "agreed value" and paid out the sum insured in the event of a total loss (unless fraud involved) but I think some are now just market value and if you overestimate the value you are wasting your money conversley if you underestimate may not get full payout. It will be in the policy wording which it is.

Canoes nowadays seem to be made of polythene (not sure if hdpe) rather than the previously popular glass fibre and seem to stand up to the rough and tumble of going over rocks etc so maybe this is an idea that could fly. Given the current state of canals a shallower draft might have advantages.

Another advantage of going early is if there are a lot of narrowboats waiting on the tide, the lock keeper will have told them the theoretical best time, which is when they all set off, this has the benefit for him of fitting them all into one locking (or two) When they get to Brentford the lock will only take 2 boats and there is a lot of shuffling around. Go early and miss the rush.

https://shop.waterwaysworld.com/product/NBBUILDERS/the-narrowboat-builder-s-book https://shop.waterwaysworld.com/product/NBPLANNING/ww-guide-to-narrowboat-planning both books a bit long in the tooth now but still worth a read

Lifted from facebook, I take some comfort from this as presumably they went looking for dangers and the worst thing they found was Chinese standard documentation and no China Export lable Suffolk Trading Standards · Suffolk Trading Standards Imports Surveillance Team have detained 973 diesel heaters at the Port of Felixstowe over the last two months. All products were found to be unsafe, with listings for all sellers removed on eBay. Consignments arrived at the Port in October and November and were stopped by the team, with samples sent to a test house for assessment. Each of the products did not meet the requirements of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 because they could present the hazards of fire and death due to poor supporting installation information. Manuals supplied with the products failed to give measurements for installing and did not give the minimum distance the exhaust pipe can be installed from flammable material, or material that could give off poisonous fumes when heated, such as insulation material. No warning was provided about heat and dangers to the user if installed incorrectly. Large parts of the manuals were written in poor English and had incorrect words used. The intended meaning was, in some cases, difficult to understand. Additionally, the products and instructions did not have the name and address of the importer or manufacturer, and did not included the required Declaration of Conformity (DoC). A DoC is a formal declaration by a manufacturer, or the manufacturer's representative, that the product to which it applies meets all relevant requirements of all product safety directives applicable to that product. If you have purchased a product that you think may be unsafe, stop using it immediately and report it to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.

But there is no reason not to arrange the insurance to start on the date you will take ownership. (Or earlier if you have any financial interest in the boat) Be aware that in the case of an older boat the insurer (unless third party only) may insist on a survey.

I am sure there are cheaper long life antifreeze products especially if you have no older stuff to worry about mixing it with but by my maths 33% dilution of 30 gallons equals 10 gallons which would be about 12 of these concentrated containers I.E. £250 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prestone-Coolant-Antifreeze-Concentrate-4lt/dp/B009T5NZLI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

they all have a rubbing strip on the mitre faces but on the (rather urban) Roubaix this year we were told that they were going back to wood having trialled plastic as the local rats were very partial to the plastic.

The Escaut part of the St Quentin, a lovely but neglected canal. Commercial traffic has been in decline for some 50 years ever since the Canl du Nord openned, before that the traffic was really heavy with the locks all doubled. Now only one lock of each pair is in working order. The famous Riqueval tunnel used to see long strings of barges behind the obligatory tug (due to lack of ventilation). This year we saw 2 empty working boats going south and a couple working the Northern section ferrying grain from the silos. Few pleasure craft too as most of us are wary of the tunnel. The towage system is due to be scrapped in 2024 and will be replaced by a number of CO alarms apparently. The electrification of the locks is quite old and appears to have been done in stages, the first being attaching an electric motor and gearbox to the existing paddles and gates but still keeper operated, then the boater operated system using rods which are pushed and pulled to set all in motion, currently we use a remote control and much of the equipment has been replaced by hydraulics. Though the photo appears to show the motorised original paddle gear. It was weedy this year and the keepers had to be called out for a couple of locks but really quite reliable. The gates are steel with wooden facing where they meet, they seem to last a long time. Interestingly the semi automatic system selected appears to be identical to the ones on the River Lee, but from what I remember broke down/were vandalised less often

It isn't normal in France to even get off the boat when working the lock, there is a siren and flashing light when the gate starts to move, no balance beam to knock the unwary over and an emergancy stop which halts everything.

A foreign take on this issue from the Franco German TV station Arte

I suspect that is not possible. The reason we do is that we have minimal credit on the separate mobile phone number/simwhich we obviously use when off the boat but just for calls and not data. But we have a large call/ datapackage on the router sim so it seems to make sense to use the router phone as much as possible.

As said you need a BT / RJ11 adapter abou £3 on ebay and apparently a dect type phone. I am testing one now with an Asda (vodaphone network) sim which works fine at least on that network! - the phone I am using is is a BT4000. The only drawback is those phones need a 7.5 volt supply either from a mains adapter or a 12 volt adapter. You need the 235 variant of that router the normal version sold in the UK does not have the phone socket you can see the socket on the photo on the ebay link I posted if you look at one of the other variants it is clearly absent.

Its the way to go and probably cheaper. You can by routers that allow an ordinary dect phone to plug in and use minutes on the sim card for calls https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UNLOCKED-HUAWEI-B535-235-CAT7-300Mbps-4G-LTE-WIFI-ROUTER-WITH-RJ11-TEL-PORT-/195472234450?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c6 and add an outside aerial https://www.3grouterstore.co.uk/oldstore/Poynting-4G-Antenna---Cross-Polarised-LTE-4G-Antenna---Outdoor-Omni-Directional-4G-Antenna-with-5m-cable-and-SMA-Poynting_4G_Antenna.html

I'll try and find some photos (might not be today) though mine is not the best design having "evolved" rather than thought out, the full width front and rear windows act as a frame and then there are 2 beams running front to back above the side windows and doorwith cross beams just slotted in to them. If the weather is cold such that you are getting condensation then you probably don't want to be using the wheelhouse as a room, in summer it is fine. If you use panels as some do then the issue is going to be leaks along the joins, which probably ends up with the complication of a canvas covering over the panels. It looks like the blue frame for the portholes acts as a stiffener to the whole construction so the bolts attaching it could be replaced by clips if you retain that feature. Perhaps a start would be to take the roof off (with help) and review how many changes you need to make. The 3 way protex clips are very good and hold in 3 planes where required rather than just 2 but probably not a significant time saver over undoing a few nuts and screws, main consideration is how to make the roof design more easily manageable and retain stiffness of the structure.