grahame r

I thnk you'll find that your generator will have to earn its keep a lot more than you expect.

Why not divert your wee into the big holding tank? With no flushing water it will take ages to fill and a pump out every few months is all that is needed.

Have you asked your wife's opinion on this? My wife also has mobility problems and is a nervous steerer. Ten years ago when her mobility was better and she could operate the locks and we had a wide beam we found that a bow thruster allowed me to position the front of the boat precisely enough for her to able to get ashore safely. Now that we have a 60ft narrow boat she is happy to steer through the locks having the security of the bow thruster available if needed, especially if there are bypass wires. The "learn to steer properly" argument is fine for the macho boater but in the real world of people wanting to boat into their senior years a bow thruster can make all the difference

If the canal is wide enough don't be afraid to ask to moor alongside, most people are very accommodating and may even swap to the outside to allow your father easier access ashore.

Two good suggestions, I'll be in Gloucester Docks next week and will also look into the West Epoxy System.

Ahoy, I think Ron is more suited to the domestic market. Hope you're surviving lockdown, don't suppose it affects you any more than it does us!

Whilst our boat is of steel construction we have a lot of exterior wood which is currently in good condition and I'd like to keep it that way. Can anyone recommend a good varnisher? This seems to be a bit of a black art so I'm looking for an experienced practitioner. We are based on the Gloucester and Sharpness but being retired would be happy to travel assuming the Government will allow it. Thanks in advance.

Thank you all for your enthusiasm in answering my question. Tippiness is probably a good synonym for my understanding of "tenderness" When we first launched our boat we needed about a tonne of ballast to get her sitting correctly in the water. All of the ballast was required at the front. We are in the happy position of having an 8 foot front cockpit with easy access to the baseplate over the full width. The original ballast used was of a low density and currently covers the whole of the base plate also taking up a lot of space in the side lockers. I intend to replace the low density ballast with pig iron ingots and retrieve our much needed locker space. Having looked at all of your arguments I intend to try ballasting at the sides, leaving the centre of the base plate unballasted. It is not a big job to move it if it makes the tenderness worse. We appreciate that narrow boats are tender compared to our previous boat (10 foot widwbeam) I am just hoping to make the best compromise I can. Thanks again.

Would a boat be more stable (less tender) with ballast postioned primarily around the perimeter or with the ballast positioned close to the centre? Assuming the boat is already level side to side (no list) and acceptably head up in the water. Thanks in advance. Grahame

Speechless!

Tats, is this an end of garden mooring? your garden? are you the land (and tree) owner?

Are you planning on living on the canal side (constantly cruising) or in a marina? If this is your first boat then a marina for a few months might be worthwhile while you get the hang of power supply etc. If in a marina, simply plug in the landline into the bollard and the Victron will look after your batteries. If you are constantly cruising then running the engine regularly will also charge the batteries directly fro the alternator(s), but insufficiently unless you are cruising 5+ hours a day. Additional charging can be by simply running the engine whilst tied up but charging this way will never get the bateries back up to 100% which is what you are aiming to do. Attaching a generator to the Victron will make a much better fist of charging to 100% but you really do need a good battery monitoring system to keep you informed of the state of charge, Everyone has a view as to the best Battery Monitoring System but hopefully I won't start a riot by saying that a "Smartgauge" (reasonably priced and easy to install) will give you a good idea of when the batteries need charging and a monitor to tell you the charging current and therefore when the batteries are approaching 100%, as described by Alan de Enfield, post 3, shouid suffice. Petrol generators have to be treated with respect. Apart from sizing, as descibed by BEngo in post 2, they are potentially very antisocial if not properly silenced and dangerous, don't even think of putting one in the engine room and remember that all engines, if not being used for propulsion, are banned between 8pm and 8am. Sorry crossed with AdE's reply, same message different words! I'll butt out!

On rivers where a by weir is flowing, leaving exit gates open (upper or lower) at all times of year seems to me to be a good idea. It's certainly common practice on the Lea and Stort and advised on the Avon.

You You seem to be becoming obsessed with smelly feet lately. Perhaps there's a new tenant on April Island who has become a frequent visitor who suffers from this afflication? Our days of enjoying Waitrose bargains and putting the world to rights most evenings are long gone so I think it's probably not me. We had a reverse layout cruiser stern widebeam which was very convenient, now have a standard layout narowboat which is also perfect and Sue now often stays in the saloon whilst cruising, we almost always use the rear door, so I'd agree with the majority of contributors that widebeam reverse layout and narrow standard layout seems to work.