thornhill

hello,we have a 60ft liveaboard and we have 5 batteries [good ones] and i of them is on a seperate circuit for the engine,,our batteries are 110 amp,hope this helps,kind regards Marlene and Bill

this was a very sad event,his boat has been bought into the marina where we are moored,hearsay has it that vandals broke into the poor mans boat the day after hos tragic death and ransacked it,they should bring the birch back,they would think twice before touching other peoples treasures, my neice has her nb down in devises at wiltshire,and she told me that there has been four tragic incidents where boaters have slipped or tripped in the snow ,fell into the canal and died,we cant underestimate the importance of wearing non slip boots/shoes,dont we al think we are invincible untio a tragedy happens,so please please please wear the correct footwear and treat ice and snow with trepidation,if one person reads this then i will feel i have done one small thing to save someones life,take care and keep warm,regards Marlene and Bill,willington derbyshire

hi Sue,did we see you last week,???? were you moving your boat to the pumpout or diesel pump ??? if so you passed us on your way round there ,we watched you go by, have we already spoke too ??? do you hav 2 dogs,and where are you moored,??? as you come into marina,if you look straight ahead you see our red boat moored in centre of marina, i know what you mean about the warranty bit,its as though they dont want to know once they have your life savings in thier pocket,northwich boats were good in the beginning but now having to bully them into coming and seeing to various problems,one of which is a rusty front deck,an unlagged water tank which freezes up and we then have no water supply ??? keep in touch and let us know how you get on, regards Marlene & Bill

hello all,we have finally taken delivery of our new widebeam boat Margaret lydia rose ,and yes we are snowed in today,we are moored at willington in derbyshire until spring,so please get in touch and tell us your boat name and we will look out for your boat,we took delivery of our boat in november and of course had teething problems,loose rudder,electrical problems,bis mssing here and there,but Northwich boats are sorting them out,we are surprisingly warm and cosy too,even in the snowfall today,it has proved to us that you can be warm,comfy and happier on a boat than in a house,its the best thing we have done in our lives,i am disabled too !!! we had a few special touches to the boat to make my life easier too,!!! cheers Bill and Marlene

hello everyone,merry christmas to all we have taken delivery of a new wide beam boat and have found that the stainless steel water tank has frozen during the extreme drop in temperature and we wondered if anyone has any knwoledge or tips on insulating the tank,if we had known that the tank would have not been lagged we would have paid the extra for the lagging,this i feel should have been done especially as the boat company did know we were going to live aboard ,the tank is accessable through the wardrobing in our bedroom,please let us know asap if you could advise us,,,thanking you in anticipation Anne & Brian

hello Mark,1st is VODAFONE IS BEST RANGE TO HAVE 2 ND IT CONNECTS VIA A SMALL MODEM [FOB SIZED] INTO A PORT,NEEDS NO WIRES OR THE LIKE WHATSOEVER, 3RD I HAVE TRAVELLED EVERYWHERE WITH MY LAPTOP AND VODAFONE MODEM AND ALWAYS CONNECTED TO INTERNET WITH NO PROBLEM 4th whats more the vodafone modem right now is free at pc world,all you pay is £15 per month for 3 g modem brilliant offer HOPE ALL THIS HELPS SOMEWHAT,KIND REGARDS BRIAN

hello Pete,we have made many mistakes too,some big some not so big,but mistakes are a part of life,and they are a learning curve too,,so i like to think of my mistakes as valuable to the future and decisions we make later when youre young you make an awful lot of mistakes,and still do as you grow older,but at least you look back and think our mistakes when we are older are not quite as irrational,at least some thought went into making them,,lol throughout our time on my neices boat,we have found eberyone we met were welcoming and warm hearted people,they are so community minded people, and that applies to boaters across the board, we are all in the same boat so to speak ,lol pardon the pun !!!! we are off to the boat builder [ northwich boats ] sandbach cheshire] for our final design meeting,,this is where we decide on the layout,and i get to choose my colours of flooring,blinds,walls,tiles ect ,im finding this a very exciting time,and cant wait till wednesday,,it cant come fast enough for me. i will let you know the outcome of the meeting ,,they have been very professional at Northwich boats so far,and the finished spec of thier boats is unbelievable,,,they are truly stunning boats,i cant praise them enough,,,,Artie Chalmers is such a lovely person to deal with ,,will be in touch soon,take care Marlene and Bill.

hello Pete,thanks for your reply,we have 2 sons,,one of them is so pleased about us buying a brand new widebeam boat,the other son thinks we have lost the plot,i know he thinks we are stupid,also a lot of other friends neighbours,ect have thought it too,but what they all donrt realise is that we will be more organised than e have ever been,Bill wont have the upkeep of a garden,we wont get traffic noise,if we get bad neighbours we can just up the anchor and move,the time we have spent on our neices boat has been absolute bliss,and at the end of the day,its no-one elses business what we do with our money and time,and how we spend both too !!!! if people have a problem with what we do,then it must remain their problem,,,we have had a traumatic time at times during our 37 years of marriage,we have lost 5 loved ones at very young ages,in sad circumstances too,our oldest son has undergone major heart surgery at only 15 yrs of age,i am myself disabled following a car accident that broke my back in 4 places,and now suffer osteoporosis,osteo-arthiritis,and fybromyalgia,and my attitude is now,that we come into this world with nothing and you leave with nothing,so you have to get what you can out of life,you are a long time dead,and life is what you make it,it can be darn right miserable or very happy,we all choose our fate at the end of the day,and if i drown through falling off our boat,then ill be very happy,,, dont listen to other pessamists,they are probably very envious of what your doing ,,,there is a lovely boat and a great life out there just waitng for you,so grab it while you can,Marlene and Bill,

hello pete,thanks for your reply,you wont have more arguments than we did,lol ,and we still have to part with more over the next 2 weeks,but wont have anymore arguments as we have now seen the boat and know we do in fact have more storage than we first expected,we have come up with the idea of having all 3 beds with total storage underneath,this has cost extra,but well worth it,that has made a huge difference,to what we can take with us.so thats something well worth thinking about ,,it would be good to hear how your decluttering goes,so let us know ,,,it will be interesting to hear from you,kindest regards Marlene and Bill

HELLO BOATERS OUR NAMES ARE MARLENE AND BILL AND ARE NEWBIES TO BOATING ,WE GET OUR FIRST BOAT IN A FEW WEEKS TIME,AND WELCOME ANY HINTS AND TIPS ANYONE CAN GIVE US FOR THE LIFE CHANGING MOVE TO OUR BOAT,AFTER LIVING ON DRY AND FOR 37 YEARS AND CHILDREN NOW FLOWN THE NEST,HOW DO YOU FILL YOUR TIME,????,WE WILL WLECOME ANY TIPS,HINTS,OR SUGGESTIONS M & B

we are moving on a new boat too in a few weeks time and are currently in rented accomodation whilst our new boat is being fitted out,we had moved from only a 2 bed bungalow to the rented property,and we thought we had decluttered,but we still have to ge rid of loads of clutter within the next few weeks,how are we going to do it ???? i have a game plan,i have taken photos of all the storage space on the boat,i have also taken measurements of all cupboards and nooks and crannies,and my aim is to fill cardboard boxes with what will fit into the space available,i have a set of priorities,as follows, nesessaties ie food, pots pans and kitchenalia,clothes,shoes,personal papers,tools,towels bedding,towels,t,towels, must haves ie hairdryer,styling brush,toiletries.tv dvd,computer,printer,small supply of craft stock.{ I AM A CRAFTER] WHITE ELEPHANTS NOT TAKING !!!! THESE INCLUDE ,HOLIDAY KEEPSAKES,ORNAMENTS,BOOKS,[NOT READ FOR AT LEAST A DECADE] CHRISTMAS TREE AND ORNAMENTS,[ NOT NEEDED AS GOING TO SONS FOR CHRISTMAS DAY] HE KNOWS THIS TOO !!!,,,,,,CLOTHES NOT WORN OR LOOKED AT FOR AT LEAST THE PAST SIX MONTHS,OFF TO CHARITY SHOPS FAMILY PHOTOS AND KEEPSAKES STORING AT OUR SONS HOUSE [HE KNOWS IT TOO ] AND MY THEORY IS THAT AFTER ALL THIS I WILL HAVE EVERYTHING TO MAKE OUR LIVES CLUTTER FREE,DUST FREE,ORGANISED[FOR THE 1ST TIME IN OUR 37 YR MARRIAGE,] BUT COMFORTABLE AND COSY, I WILLKEEP YOU POSTED TO LET YOU KNOW IF MY PLAN OF ACTION WORKS OUT IN RELALITY !!!!

hello we are new to boating,we are having a 60ft x 10ft widebeam built that is when we find a reputable builder,this is a life changing descision we have made,we have been on my neices narrowboat quite a few times,and had the priveledge of being able to learn about steering,maintaining ,but we,felt we needed something bigger due to my disability,and would love to hear from other disabled people who own and live on a canal boat,we would like to know about how you find living afloat,,,,and about any companies who specialize in ramps,platforms for exit and entry onto the boat,do you know of anyone who has had adaptions made to accomadate a disabled person on a widebeam boat,or narrow boat for that matter, we would greatly appreciate any advice ,information and any info on these and any other topics concerning life afloat, we have sold our home and look to commisioning a boat in the next few weeks after our holiday in suffolk,we will be glad of the rest after moving home,into rented accomodation,hope to hear from you boaties out there,regards Thornhill

HI Alan im on mobile braodband and cannot download photos ect,but i have found out that most mobile broadband providers do insist on age authentication before you can download photos,games,ect ,i have chosen not to prove my age as at least i know my young grandchildren are safe when they ask to use my computer,but it is the only thing about mobile broadband that annoys me,,i suppose i should be grateful for mobile braodband,A

hi all,we are new to boating and want some serious advise on reputable boat builders to build our new widebeam boat, we want thicker steel than the steel boat builders are using,we are looking 4 12mm bottom plate,10mm hull,8mm cabn,and 6mm top,what boatbuilders will supply this.???? thanks for reading this and we will be grateful for any replies or advice,B & A