Jen-in-Wellies

Fixed that for you.

And boaters complain about CaRT encouraging cyclists to use the tow path. The Bridgewater were encouraging pilots to use it over 40 years ago. Slow Down. Share The Space!

Again, read the actual BSS documentation, not go by what someone tells you, including a BSS examiner. The rubber mat is not a BSS requirement. It just stops the paint on the gas locker floor getting scratched, which ultimately, years later, might lead to rust problems and a hole in the floor that would fail. A good idea, not a requirement. A rubber mat might just trap water underneath it, leading to rust anyway, so a couple of plastic strips as @Tony Brooks suggests could be better. A longer chain can go round/through three gas cylinders, so no need to get rid of the third if you don't want to.

2011. Ten years ago today in Doncaster. Passing Strawberry Island Boat Club Coming in to town. British Waterways were in the process of selling off Doncaster Minster at the time. I wonder who purchased it in the end and what it is now used for? ?

Secondhand. You don't know what you want in a boat if you've not owned one before and are liable to make expensive mistakes specifying one with little experience. What you think is really important now won't be the same after a year or two of boat ownership. Depreciation is high on a new boat, low on an older one (actually seems to be negative at the moment). Later on, with more experience you can go about specifying your ultimate new boat. Any boat is good for pootling around if the engine works and it still floats. A good well looked after one will be a nicer experience though. Jen

Carbon fibre fingers? Strong and light. ?

Another possibility for you is to get a marina berth with a shore power bollard for the winter months give it up and cruise over the warmer months when plenty of solar panels can keep your IT and other electrical needs going. Lots of people do this. Some keep and pay for the marina mooring all year, but cruise in the summer. Others pick a new over-winter spot each year, which saves money and provides novelty.

I wonder if the owner did the blacking themselves to save a bit of dosh.

Another valid way of doing it. A rod welded between the top and bottom of the gas locker, then a ratchet strap to clamp up to three gas bottles to it. They don't budge a millimeter. Passed multiple BSS exams. Jen

The rules on securing gas bottles haven't changed, to my knowledge, in the 13 years since I first put a boat through the BSS. It is always best to go to the source document for the requirements for private boats, rather than go by what different people tell you are the requirements, including me and definitely including BSS examiners. Different examiners have their own interpretation of the rules, which can be sometimes rather creative shall we say. Section 7.1 covers LPG cylinder storage and 7.4.1 covers securing said cylinders. Basically the cylinders must be prevented from moving, so they can't damage hoses, regulators and so on, which could lead to a leak. How that is achieved is up to you, but the examiner must also agree that it complies. Jamming in enough bottles so they can't budge could be said to do this, but you may have to argue it with an examiner, who is more used to seeing chains, ratchet straps etc. I'd imagine some examiners would not be open to the idea that lots of cylinders jammed in to a small space fulfils this, then you'd have to argue it with the BSS head office and maybe still not get a pass, plus the cost of a retest. Easiest to fit some securing straps, or chains as they are expecting. No argument then. How hard can that be? Better to get the brackets for the securing arrangement welded (with the bottles removed!) to the inside of the locker. Problem solved. Bolting something through the locker is not such a good idea as BSS examiners don't like unexpected holes in the locker, except for the drains, even if they are filled with a bolt. Jen

If you budget for spending a pound on what you are used to spending a dollar on, you won't go far wrong. We have VAT, a sort of sales tax, which is higher than most sales taxes in the States,. Things will seem expensive compared with back home, but at least you aren't going to Norway! Won't work if one, or the other currency disappears down the toilet between now and when you come over of course. Jen

The 10A charger should suffice. Don't know about that particular model, but a lot of fridges seem to take around 5A at 12V to run and run for maybe 50% of the time, with a high inrush current for a fraction of a second when the compressor starts up. A 10A charger will cope with this and should keep the new batts happy. The power consumption of the fridge depends on a lot of things, even for the same make and model. How well ventilated the area around its heat exchanger coils are, how good condition the door seal is in, but the above numbers shouldn't be far off. Jen

On the plus side, our pints are bigger than American pints!

The most common type of PRV (pressure relief valve) looks like this - Its job is to release any excess pressure in the system. Very important. Sometimes they can drip because scale gets caught inside and prevents it closing properly. Follow the pipe that comes out of it and find out where the excess water ends up. Could go overboard, or in to the bilge, or in to a bottle that needs to be regularly emptied, or in to the engine bay. Depends. The copper pipe in my picture, but yours may be plastic. Turn the red knob a few times to try and clear the scale. Jen

If it can float the same way up and is big enough to get on board, then it is a boat. After that, everything is optional.

Along the L&L in March? E's sure ta catch 'is death o' cold.

Welcome to the forum. Is this travelling on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the Bridgewater? Going there via the Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal you can have a much bigger widebeam. By John Eyres - https://www.flickr.com/photos/32865578@N02/3418179672/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16394014

I see the problem. For mitre read single leaf, which is what I intended to say! Couldn't see it for looking.