Justin Smith

I don`t understand how an Omni directional aerial can be a winner in any TV reception stakes. I tested an omnidirectional aerial back to back against my preferred canal boat aerial (a DM Log Periodic) and it didn`t perform too well , which is what one would expect. As in so many things in life there`s no such thing as a free lunch, and a directional aerial will pick up far better than an omni diractional aerial. Similarly it will reject unwanted signals far better as well. The "free lunch" moral also extends to the size of aerial too. Basically, all other things being equal, the bigger the aerial the more gain it will have, i.e. the more signal it will pick up. It is very important to realise that a low gain aerial cannot be made equivalent to a high gain aerial simply by using an amplifier, for simplicities sake, that`s an inferior type of gain !

Would that include the dinette in the kitchen ? If so that`d be perfect, apart from the fact it`d be 57ft long, i.e. pretty pricey.....

I`ve just had a look at the layout of the cruisers from Canaltime, and I still don`t see why the bed needs to stretch right across the boat. Not unless it`s designed for the kind of people you wouldn`t want sitting next to you if you were flying economy.... That said, they probably wouldn`t fit through the canal boat doors anyway !

I agree that a bed fixed right across the boat would be a bad idea, but I don`t understand why that would be necessary. Both the boats we`ve hired had a double bed to the side, leaving room for a walkway, and it was fine. We do need to have a double bed because we`ve only been married 5 years !

I get the point about better views if the parlour is at the front, but I reckon that`d be less significant for people hiring a boat. If you`ve only got a boat for a relatively short time (and let`s face it they`re bleedin` expensive......) you`d probably want to spend as much time as possible actually cruising, so the rear kitchen area is more important. My wife and I are adamant that we don`t want a rear bedroom boat, which greatly limits our choice. In fact I have to admit that we couldn`t find a "reverse" layout double berth boat, which wasn`t already booked for the first week in May, so we`ve ended up hiring a cruiser on the Great River Ouse at Ely. Ohh, perhaps I shouldn`t have mentioned that !

My wife and I have taken to canal boating holidays and hire one every year, but we find it hard to find suitable boats. Why ? Well the vast majority have the kirtchen/living area at the front, and it seems obvious to us that it should be at the back. If it`s at the front one cannot talk to each other if one`s partner is sat inside/making the meal/doing some cleaning etc etc. Furthermore every time one wants to get into the parlour one has to walk all through the bedroom and down the side of the bathroom. Similarly if one wants a cup of tea, it requires an expedition to the front of the boat (possibly in wet and/or dirty shoes) and then back again ! We figure there`s got to be a reason for why so many boats have the living area at the front, but we can`t think what it is. Can anyone enlighten us ?