Ange

Since we moved aboard the boat I've baked loads of cookies and cakes, Dave has made bramble jelly, apple & blackberry jam & elderberry jelly. There are currently 2 gallons of elderberry wine fermenting on the boat along with two bottles of sloe gin. I nearly always cook from scratch - traditional fare like stew & dumplings, or pasta based dishes in the main

I suffered a lack of internet accessibilty when I moved aboard the boat due to making the mistake of trying the postage only 3 dongle. I still suffer with power problems which means I have to ration my internet use after 8pm when I can't run the engine When I do manage to marry internet and lecky to be frivolous enough to enter the chatroom it appears most of the people who initially found it interesting no longer do - there's normally only one or two people in there. The chat room's definitely not to blame for the current dip in posting (which I have noticed too) I'd dearly love to see the chatroom as frequented as it was in the early days - we had a good laugh and I made real friends through it. I do wonder if it would be a bit more popular if there was an obvious link to it - now it's buried in old threads.

oooh! I think Phylis's idea of squirrel kebabs is more appealing than the idea of the smell of burning squirrel rather than woodsmoke filling my cabin!

Thanks for all your input folks - it's definitely given us a better idea of how to use the two vents. Getting the temperature right is going to be trial and error. I said earlier about how easy it is to shut the Squirrel down - tonight it astonished me with it's ability to come back. We try to keep it in the place where you have a bright red glow and the occasional flame - tonight we got chatting and forgot to keep an eye on it. It died. It had two good logs still there so it wasn't lack of fuel but when I opened the door there was nothing - not even embers. I thought we'd lost it but threw in a few bits from the bottom of the log bag, opened up the bottom door and hoped for the best. The eco-fan slowly died and nothing happened - nothing happened - went out for a smoke - still nothing - then whoosh it wakes up!!! Left bottom door open until eco-fan realised it was hot again, shut door and hopefully now have warmth till I decide to go to bed. Tis a marvellous thing

Hubby says sucking the water out of the diesel tank - getting a gobfull every now and then (Currently in the first stage of getting rid of diesel bug)

Please substitute "vent" for "thingy" in my OP! Thanks Salty Edited to add I'm chuckling now cos "taming the squirrel" is now next door to "shooting squirrels" when I view new posts - wasn't intentional honest!

We're struggling to keep a happy temperature in the cabin at the mo - one minute we've got our coats on, then we load up the Squirrel and open it up and we start cooking (we're seriously contemplating keeping summer clothes on the boat in case we can't master this one!!) Dave favours closing the bottom thingy (sorry - no technical terms from me I'm afraid) and using the top one cos he says it keeps the glass clearer. I tend to find the bottom one is more controllable. We had a Rayburn in our first house and an open fire in the lounge so we're both happy with starting and maintaining fires, but this is very different to anything we've come across (and in the long run I think it'll be infinitely more controllable than the Rayburn which could never be shut down at will and used to go potty if there were strong winds!) I like the fact that if I shut both thingys the Squirrel dies within minutes - we just need to know how to fine tune it. I was hoping for some advice from seasoned Squirrel users on the use of the top and bottom thingys. At the moment we seem to be moving from one extreme to the other all evening. We're burning wood at the mo btw, in case it's relevant. We expect to use coal when it gets really cold to keep it burning overnight but I'm sure that'll be another thread! Thanks folks

We had the same problem whe we were living in a house - the manual gives no clues about the hidden menus available. I did write down all the instructions but have left them with the house stuff in storage. Have you tried phoning Sky - last time I did they talked me through the hidden menus and the problem was sorted. (was always baffled about why there where hidden menus - what's going on there??) Best of luck

Just out of interest .... who's Blanche?

Blimey - Warwickshire Ring in a week! I take back the comment about hire holiday - you obviously don't need it Another thing we did when we were researching our purchase was a lot of towpath walking and hanging around at locks to talk to boaters. Everyone we came across was friendly and more than happy to share information. Keep an eye on the "banters & social events" subsection of the Virtual Pub. I've been to a few gatherings and it's a good way to meet fellow CWDF members and share information over a few beers. Ange

Hi MrCJ - welcome In answer to your first question I'd say it's definitely not too soon to start planning - in fact 3 years will give you a good amount of time to arm yourselves with all the facts and suss out exactly what you need to know before you commit yourselve to buying. Second question - there are many single handed boaters out there who manage locks, etc without crew. It's obviously more demanding but definitely possible. As far as layout is concerned I'd recommend viewing as many boats as possible to get an idea of what's feasible on a narrowboat. I agree with Towpath Townie - a clever use of space can make a huge difference. Have you boated before? If you haven't I'd recommend a hire holiday (that's where we caught the bug!) I'd recommend going to places like Whilton Marina where there's lots of boats that you can view unaccompanied which will give you a good idea of what you can get for your money and the difference styles / layouts. Best of luck Ange