loner

No matter how much you plan out your first boat it won't be long before it is the wrong boat . I agree with many of the others. You should get on the wet with something small and cheap. You will learn a million things about boats and boating by meeting other cruisers and seeing what you like and don't like. Even after all that you will still learn alot when you are living on your own boat. Living on the water is a wonderful adventure. Don't put it off. We both wish we had done it sooner. After you have your second boat, don't take you wife to boat shows. She will want a different one, and another and another.

Well, yes. Many of us Yanks don't pay attention to what we are doing. Look who we just elected as president? Why do you think I like the UK so much? When we still lived on the dirt we would go to a boat launch on many sundays to watch the drunks try and back their trailors into the water. What fun.

This boat would work perfectly for us. Of course at the first boat show we would need a different one and at the show after that another one, ect, ect, ect.

Its sad when people are so foolish. Two young children ( 3 and 4 yrs old) were lost when their fathers snowmobile went thru thin ice in Michigan. There was 4 people on it at the time. Why is it we must do crazy things to feel alive?

We are living on our boat in Florida. It isn't as cold as the UK but it was very record setting cold for us. It was 17 degrees last night. Ice on windows and dock. Very slippery. We aren't really prepared for the cold. All we have is a small electric heater. The boat isn't tightly closed either. First snow since 1977. We wouldn't give up the boat life. Our intention in March of 2009 was to take a trip then return to land. We like the floating life too much to leave. Hot or cold.

I noticed on a youtube video a narrow boat with interesting windows. They were pointed at the top and wide at the bottom like a church window. Looked really nice. Hadn't seen any like that before. Do a lot of NB's have similar windows?

Sad to see someones boat go down.........................

Neighbors in our marina call their dog "Galley". I like that for a dogs name.

Do a lot of stretching and walking everyday. Both will help prevent the pain. Walking and easy stretching is also good to do when it hurts. If it is hurting, apply ice 20 minutes per hour. That will reduce the swelling. Only use pain killer to rest. Hiding the pain will keep you from knowing you are doing something wrong. Wear a back support as little as possible. Long term use will weaken the muscles and your back will be worse than ever. See a chiropractor if it persists. A rubber nonslip mat is better to stand on than a steel floor.

My best friend lost every bit of hair on his body due to chemo. That was 11 years ago and he is alive and well. Still bald as a bowling ball. We will take him bald over gone any day. I wish you success in this battle.

If you think the word mississippi is long you should try going down it at 4mph dodging 500 ft long tugs. We did it this summer. Can't wait to do it again.

Our friend runs his boat engines on veg oil. First he starts it with diesel then when it is warm switches to veg. Before shutting it off he switches back to diesel. It is getting harder and harder to get the free veg oil with so much demand. The oil sit for a week and then has a 3 stage filter. The particles are burned in a stove. He started out running it in his mercedes. He is ccing on the mississippi now. Smells like a McDonalds. It helps to have a large boat for storage etc. The payback was very fast. Only 2 months. His boat uses a lot of fuel.

What happened? Did you get gruonded? I've just been talking to someone about this and what would happen if we did. The rain hasnt stopped for weeks now. We were moving and there was a short burst of very heavy rain. We were in a narrow part of the river with high banks. I spoke to some locals boaters and it was something new to them. There was a lot of local damage. Some lost lost their boats. It was such a short flood that it was barely noted in the news with so many other things going on like our presidential election. I threw out our biggest anchor and even though it slipped a little we were OK. In just a few minutes it was gone like it had came???

We saw on the news that there has been a lot of flooding in the UK. I wish everyone well. We were caught in a flood last year in our boat. It was a real stressful situation.

I met a boater who was using veg oil to run his boat. He collected veg oil from fast food places for free. He then filtered it through several filters. Running the enginie went like this. He started the motor with diesel to get it warmed up then switched to veg. Before shutting the motor off he switched back from veg to diesel. That helps keep the lines and engine much cleaner. He and his wife spent a lot of time collecting free(???) oil. They had huge tanks for the veg oil. The boat smelled like a Mc Donalds restaurant. He estimated his diesel use was reduced by 90%. I could tell from his face that he wasn't really sure it was worth all the effort. I know his wife didn't think so. There was quite a complicated fuel line arrangement. When I last spoke with him he said it was getting harder and harder to get free oil. He also heated the boat and water with wood. He thought that was a much more efficient way of saving money. They have a large boat with room for all the tanks etc.

Well done Carl ........ Maybe the Forum should start a hero of the month or year club. When our boat sank this summer many offered help and some actually did assist us. None would accept any compensation, not even a beer, despite giving us items and/or supplies that cost them money. One old couple even left us $50. They got away without us knowing it. Boaters are a special breed.

Our first rental experience was through Foxton Locks. We had been given a 5 minute training???? by Canaltime of how to operate the boat. The Foxton lock keeper was great and helps us through. It all looks so simple but realy isn't. We have had loads of experience with locks but not manual ones. I saw a lady crushed in one on the Mississippi when she feel and was caught between a barge and the wall. She and her mate were both drunk. A common occurance in the states unfortunately. I think everyone should take a handling course before renting a boat. That might negatively effect the rental business though.

I guess this is Thomas the cat just refused to stay on the boat. The boat was docked at our house for a while as we got it ready to go. He would do anything to get off. Constantly winned and just sat staring out the window. Wouldn't eat or use the box. Jumped at the door if it was opened. If he got out he would run down the dock to the door and just sit looking at it. Sometimes he swam to shore and when he got to the door did the same thing. If we fished him out he would still run for the dock, to the house and the door. After 5 days of that we took him back in the house. He just casually walked to his bowl, ate and drank (a lot), then strolled over to his spot on the couch and took a nap. We were going to be moving a lot with many stops and limited time and were afraid he might get away. He is all we really missed.

We have been CCing since March. When we left home the boat was packed to the gills and it seemed we were doing without so much. No TV, no bath tub, no cat and only a portapotti. Now, nearing home again there seems to be plenty of space on the boat. Our life has become about experiences not possessions. These last 7 months have been the experience of a lifetime. The only thing we really missed was the cat. Look ahead to what you will see and do, not what you will do without. Even more important, what you will learn about yourself. No one can say what you need, just bring it all. In a very short time you will find out what you really need.

I noticed an ad for sun roofs. Do many narrowboats have them. What are the pros and cons? I haven't noticed any here in the states but many of our boats have a large outside area where we can spend time.

How much would it cost to cut out 15ft so it could be used all over the system? If they can't sell it they can ship it over to us Yanks. We will boat in almost anything. I do like it when someone stretches the envelope like this. It gives us ideas to try in a more reaonable manner.

We had to give up our cat. He just wouldn't stay on board.

We once returned from dinner and 3 little kids were on the back deck of our boat. No parents in sight. We called the police after waiting an hour for them to show up. The police took the children to child services. 5 hours later someone knocked on our boat looking for their kids. They were very surprised that they couldn't just leave their kids to play on our deck while they went shopping. They were apparently docked a few boats away. "We are all boat people" they said and just naturally thought we would watch over them. Not sure if the kids were returned or not. More than a few times we have found kids on our boat with no parents in sight. I blame the parents. So few show their children discipline anymore.

A lot of agents will list your property for sale at any price to get the listing. It gets their name out. When offers do come in they will be low and the agent will say "I guess my price was a little high". Its sort of an agent scam. You were right to get several opinions. Don't sign a long contract. 3 months should be plenty to start. You can always expend but if you don't like how things are going you can switch agents.

When we were in Market Haroborough we used the public library. There was no fee. We did sign up ahead of time and walked around the town a bit before we could get online. The wait was short and the walking around is nice. The marina is near town.