MtB

^^^Good advice^^^ I was also thinking the OP could use a line to pull the boat into and out of locks. This removes any need ever to get on the roof when locking. Also means they are already on the bank which recovers some of the time 'wasted' by using a line to move the boat instead of the engine. I've encountered a number of single-handers who use this technique for lock transiting and I quite like it. Bridges and walkways over the navigation can be a confounded nuisance though. The OP might do well to hang around a lock for an afternoon and watch how each of the single-handers coming along does it.

@KezzerN, how long is your boat and are you concerned about taking it through narrow locks (7ft wide)? Or wide locks 14ft wide? If narrow AND your boat is 45ft or more you may well need to get on the roof when going uphill but there are still ways around this. With wide locks you can probably sidle along the gunwale a few feet to reach the ladder, even with the type of handrail you have.

Interestingly I have only just discovered there are two versions of this type of step. 1) Where the step bit folds down exactly 90 degrees from the vertical fixing face. 2) Where the step bit folds down about 95 or 100 degrees from the fixing face, for fixing to a cabin side with a degree of tumblehome. I have both versions in various locations on both of my boats.

And your Waterways key? Never out of the cabin or out of your pocket? Really?!!

Ah yes. E.g."What is the most dangerous nut on a boat?"

You sure do mix with some lovely, charming people. Oh, hang on a sec....

You can't fool us like that, you just paid fifty quid for it on Ebay didn't you? Gwarn, admit it!!

This is a very good point. One way to distract the dog would be to ask it to hold the umbrella while you combat the human bean. The dog will be so confused about how to put up (or down) the umbrella it probably be distracted while you get on with the business in hand.

No it's the 'repeating post' bug. I caught it doing it and pressed "SUBMIT" twice more to recreate an instance of it, then reported it.

Lithium or lead acid? Lithium or lead acid? Lithium or lead acid?

Yes this is my reading of it too. I strikes me as more a case of them genuinely believing it's Not Their Fault, even though it actually is. Mainly because no-one there quite understands what it is they've installed or why it has gone wrong.

Oh yeah I forgot about that stuff. Dunno why all shell builders don't use it! Maybe its more difficult to weld....

Yes I think given the importance to you of getting it working again, I suggest setting aside any attempt to get the builders to do it or even allowing them to be involved in any way. Their primary focus will be on how to swerve or minimise the cost to them, not how to make you a delighted customer so any input from them will be diversionary and will just muddy the waters. So I suggest marshall your resources and 1) get the problem fixed then 2) once fixed turn your attention to getting the builders to pay for it, if you have the time and the energy. Otherwise chalk it up to experience and keep a close eye on your alternator temperatures in future!

Not stainless steel?!

I think your own understanding of what's wrong will shortly (if it hasn't already), overtake the understanding of the staff at the company that built the boat for you. So your uphill task in getting any sort of warranty work done and paid for is going to start with you having to persuade them there is/was anything wrong at all, given their inability so far to grasp and diagnose the problem. Once you take the alternator to Lancashire Rotating Electrics, get their finding in writing as I think you'll be needing a strong paper trail to get any sort of acknowledgement from the builder that this is a warranty issue. They might accept an alternator failure but I fear they might reject any suggestion of a system design fault as the cause of the alternator packing up.

Ah but with three times the correct amount of oil, you only need to change it one third as often Shirley.

Nor me. I've had six boats and none of the pumps on any of them ever ran unless I turned a tap on.

Plenty of them do hit bridges though. Just look at all the damaged brickwork at handrail height. I wonder how an HDPE hull will cope with the shock of the cabin corner hitting the brickwork on a bridge. With a steel boat the brickwork usually comes off second-best. Not so sure about HDPE. Maybe bridge bars will make a come-back!

May I enquire where you envisage a user of this boat getting the electricity from? Will you be installing a hefty diesel-powered generator? I think one will be needed as there is no meaningful charging network on the canal system, nor any plans to have one in the future AFAIK. I'm sure you will have thought about this though.