Bobbybass
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Posts posted by Bobbybass
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I followed a wooden boat up to the Llangollen.... Over the years it's hull had swollen.
It repeatedly got stuck in narrow locks...
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There was a pub boat a year or so back. I saw it moored in Hungerford . Customers weren't allowed on board...they set up on the tow path.
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Just now, ditchcrawler said:
Met a guy who claimed he did that every morning on his way to work on a nearby boat that was a pain in the butt
It works.....trust me 👿👿👿😃😃
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Sprinkle bread crumbs all over their roof....and allow the dawn chorus birds to do the rest...
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17 minutes ago, LadyG said:
OK, well yesterday I could hear a tiny hiss near the stove, but I thought it was just something in my ears, as sometimes happens.
No smell of gas.
Flame seemed a bit weak.
No gas at the cooker this a.m.
I know the Flogas spare is empty because I can roll it around, the Calor which was connected is a bit of a beast, but as it was purchased only three months ago, probably connected six weeks ago and it should be nearly full. I'm not sure.
I've now turned it off at the bottle.
The other day I was cleaning the grill area, including the bit that flames, so it is possible I have managed to make a gas leak in that area which would account for the hiss and for loss of all gas but not for lack of smell of gas.
It's a Thetford Classic Caprice 2000 cooker.
I don't think I could expect a normal boat fitter to deal with this.
I am going to phone my BSS examiner as he is the only person I know who has this sort of experience, or will all boat gas bods have the know how?
I'm near Elland Wharf.
Also need to get a Flogas bottle so at least I know I've got a method to test for a leak.
Any local knowledge?
I assume that your cooker is older than 3 years?. Thetford guarantee their cookers for three years. That's not "return to base".
I had mine 2 years and on two occasions they sent an engineer...canal side....to mend it.
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4 minutes ago, IanD said:
Reinvent the tiller, surely? 😉
I've steered a boat with a wheel on the canals and it ws *horrible* -- no feedback, dog slow to respond... 😞
Ok.... reinvent the tiller 😃😃
Apart from having the two seats at the back with a control panel between them...it also had CCTV on that panel with cameras showing left right and straight ahead views.
The owners also had a repeat of that joy stick steering at the front....as they had this strange idea that they would sit at a table on the front.... sipping gin and tonic....while cruising along. 🙃🙃🙃😃😃😃
They were wealthy people....a large private gin palace in the Med and their own aircraft.
They seemed to think they could apply the private sea going yacht principles....to a canal boat 😃😃
Didn't the next owner of Whitfield strip out the joy stick and put a tiller back on ,?
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On 06/02/2022 at 14:09, ditchcrawler said:
How much would Whitfield cost if it was built today?
I saw Whitfield at Crick ...when it was brand new and had been taken there for display by the builders.
Boy ....did they have problems manoeuvring it onto the mooring even with bow and stern thrusters..I could have done it easily with no thrusters at all !
I went on board it.
I seem to recall it had 6 large screen TV sets...one of which displayed relaxing videos. ( Not the Pammy Anderson type 😃😃)
That must have been about 15 years ago and the builder confided in me that the build cost was £350,000 😳😳😳
Some months later....I saw the owners trying to tackle a winding section of canal near Napton....looking totally terrified with the silly little joy stick as it zig zagged horribly trying to collide with everything in its path.
Later I found it careering towards me in the Braunston tunnel.... barely under control.
A classic case....of trying to reinvent the wheel.
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I installed a higher power water pump.....and suddenly I had water gushing from leaks all over the place....☹️
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I've moored and walked that section.
He empties his toilet down the bank....and makes the whole area awful.
It is because if people like him that CART waste a fortune in legal fees.....that money coming from your license. Your fees...your license is paying for him.
The cheapest and best thing is that he burns these boats out so they can be swept away.
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On 13/03/2023 at 18:23, ditchcrawler said:
We find that, if I cover the bullseye you have no idea of the time in the back cabin
I covered the bullseye for several years.
One day came back to the smell of burning...and the lens had focussed the sun onto the board I had used as covering.
It was just.....one freak time....when the sun was at a certain angle.
Another half hour and the boat would have been gone.
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Movable ballast is good.
You may view an empty boat at a brokers...and it's nice and level. You move on board and fill the cupboards with tins and bottles.... normally on one side...and it starts to lean.
Also...some boats have toilet tanks on one side that fill and pull them over.
A heavy wife sat on one side....may get you rethinking the ballast situation. 😃
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I've owned and lived on three boats.
You get the regular items.... license... insurance etc...but then you get the unexpected failures... pumps.... alternators ...and unexpected stuff.
Realistically....£5-7k if you are going to maintain the boat in good operational condition.....but that is in my opinion
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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Whilton is the place to go and look at boats so you know what you DON'T want to buy
(But the cafe does a mean breakfast)
I totally agree with that.
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That's why I said......maybe....😃
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On 18/02/2023 at 11:49, Alan de Enfield said:
No, the suggestion is to use the correct 'marine silencer' that is made for the job - not some bodged up automotive silencer where the design allows the condensate (and gasses) to drop out beneath the vehicle.
(By the way) I think you are correct MtB doesn't have A boat.
I had a silencer similar to the photo. If you cover the outlet with your hand and blow into it....it should hold pressure. Although mine looked continuous welded it leaked badly.
I obtained a tubular stainless silencer to be on the safe side.
I'm sure the BSS inspection would fail this... maybe....🤔
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1 hour ago, Loddon said:
I had a 61'8" x 11'5" barge on the southern waterway system for 10 years before I went back to a NB in 2012. Managed the whole of the connected system, and some disconnected bits, south of Blisworth Tunnel with one exception, the K&A! Got as far as Newbury before abandoning the trip, just not worth the agro. Bearing in mind this was 2010 things will only have got worse in the last 13 years.
Yes....I did the K&A at that point.
I went back to it as I had a marina mooring there...and was on it four years until recently.
It's a lot worse...in fact in terminal decline.
If you thought it bad in 2010 you should see it now !.
I did a run ... Newbury to Devizes with some newbies. At Devizes they all said they wished they'd never done it and wanted to sell . End if the dream.
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A spent my last 4 years on the K&A. It was becoming a total nightmare. The canal itself is in a terrible state with the obvious lock gate problems....but worse than that the locks themselves.
About 75% of the locks from Newbury to Devizes have failed pointing on the brickwork and many have big chunks where the bricks have fallen out. I can't imagine where they could begin to find the money to close and repair all of those?. It's only a matter of time before a section actually falls across a boat...with the result that Elf and safety will inspect/ close and condemn the lot.
Also....the number of new boats, particularly wide beams....means you are on constant tick over...and your chance of a mooring spot is very limited. I've had plenty of run ins with the owners of the largest wide beams...who put out deliberately long lines so you don't get anywhere near there glossy paintwork.
Maybe you would find that elusive residential spot on the K&A but I think it's the worst canal on the network for a new boater.I met many "newbies" there that longed for a house again.
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On 24/01/2023 at 21:16, Graham Davis said:
One's a Porta Poti the other a pump out.
Does seem a bit oddNot really....
I stayed onboard a boat for a few nights...while helping the couple to move it.
The portaloo was for liquid...so easy to deal with.
The pump out was for more.... solid items...and so didn't need emptying very often..
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I'm always curious about the people you see on TV....on the various programs like small spaces...who buy a cheap boat then spend ages fitting out the inside. They often give the hull a quick coat....but don't realise that painting the outside is like the forth bridge.
There will be many times when you can't relax you have to scrape rust and repair. That along with the amount of time they spend on the inside compared with a quick scratch of the hull.
It's like restoring train lines or canals. You can't just rub your hands and say..."that's finished" and walk away. There is ongoing maintenance... painting....oil changes if you're living aboard and running the engine...new batteries every few years....abides....ongoing repairs.
" Always look on the bright....side of life " 😀😀
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43 minutes ago, LadyG said:
That bloody jetstream has hit a diversion in the troposphere!
Was it insured? 🤔
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I thought this article about sums it up....apart from not mentioning getting frozen in and running out of water or loo tank 😳😀
Please read it with strains of " always look on the bright side of life" ringing in your mind.
I did think it was pretty accurate though 🤔
https://livingonanarrowboat.co.uk/fifteen-reasons-why-living-on-a-narrowboat-is-a-bad-idea/
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Well......lots of TV and newspaper coverage saying it's cheap to live on a boat.
Why should the mooring owners not cash in on it ?
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On 20/01/2023 at 11:36, bluelapsing said:
The other option is https://tingdeneboating.com/boats-for-sale/narrowboat-42-triton-rosie-oday/
Either way I'll get a full pre-purchase survey done, but in the long run perhaps it makes sense to invest in the (presumably) better boat 🤔
I briefly moored near this boat on the Way...but didn't know she was for sale.
She looked quite tidy....so worth considering.
Can't think she'll stay on the market long at that price point.
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On 01/01/2023 at 11:22, MtB said:
Agree with all this.
The main benefits of a survey appear to me to be twofold.
1) Psychological. Someone new to narrowboats gets someone with more (but still gappy) knowledge than themselves to point out the obvious. Things that are "obvious" to experienced boaters often aren't to the total newbie. Commonly and disparagingly known as "hand-holding".
2) Insurance. If buying a boat older than 25 years, insurance companies usually insist on a survey before issuing a comprehensive policy. So if the boater wants comprehensive insurance, a survey cannot be avoided.
I had a boat survey on the Thames. I was bored and asked the surveyor what qualifications you needed to become a surveyor.
He replied ...none...😳...you can just get some business cards printed and call yourself a surveyor...making sure to put the liability exclusion at the end of the report...in small writing.
Can this be true ? 😳
George Ward evicted.
in Waterways News & Press
Posted
You mean....he was squatting down the bank as he has been for years....😳