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Not only that, but they are far more reliable too which I attribute to electronics. It is these days comparatively rare for cars to break down. When I was a kid, millennia ago, it was commonplace. Furthermore, service intervals are far greater too, again I'm sure this is due largely to electronics. The idea that cars need to be simple in order for owners to work on them is just an uncommercial fantasy. Hardly any owners want to work on them. What people really want are cars that don't need to be worked on, or as little as possible, either by owners or by garages. And to a large extent the motor industry has delivered on that ideal. regards Stev

The only reliable option is the generator. The smaller Honda "suitcase", the EU10i which makes 900w doesn't cost £1,000, more like about £600. The next one up, the EU20i which does 1,600w costs around £900 but it is considerably heavier. You can get cheap generators for a fraction of that, under £100, but they will be massively noisier and won't have the mains quality output of the Honda EU series. Have a look at this site which is probably one of the cheapest and most well known for Honda: http://www.hondagenerator.co.uk/pages/Honda_Portable.htm regards Steve

I've never tried bowhauling when locking single handed and can't see myself doing so. Well maybe I'll just try it to prove to myself that is as much a pain as I suspect when compared with steering the boat in and out then climbing up and down the roof and ladders. Who cares that they didn't have ladders years ago? They didn't have many things years ago but that does not in any way suggest that things were thereby better then, which is what is implied by that remark. Fact is, they do now and I use them as necessary. How else do you climb back down on to your boat after going down in a lock and the roof is way below the lock side? You have to go down the ladder on to the roof then on to your back deck, or if you are lucky and the stern is by a ladder, right down on to your back deck. Yes you have to take care but that is a prerequisite of many aspects of boating. Having to take care doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. You probably wouldn't boat at all if you were that nannified. regards Steve

That strikes me as more work than climbing on the roof and ladders. And if someone is not too agile, which is why I made my comment, they might find bowhauling and then stopping the boat in the lock etc. a little tricky as well. regards Steve

I single handed down the Grand Union earlier this year from Calcutt to West London. Took about six days. Moreover, I had very little experience at that stage and it was a brand new boat, so a real baptism of fire. Just to add to it, the weather for most of the time was awful, wet and cold, even though this was "summer". Many times there were other boats around to share the locks and because they normally had more than one crew person, they would do all or most of the work which was nice. But for well over half the time I had to work the locks alone but one soon becomes accustomed to it. You need open only one gate in a broad lock if you are alone and I didn't bother to close it when leaving in most cases. At some of the locks as I progressed south, there were BW signs requesting the gates be left open! Locks take much longer to work when solo so the journey time is prolonged, but narrowboating isn't usually about being quick anyway. One feature which might be tricky when solo for those who are not too agile, you need to be able to climb on and off the roof of the boat and up and down lock ladders to work the lock. regards Steve

Something like this perhaps http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAMPING-LANTERN-REMO...2QQcmdZViewItem regards Steve

Aren't you the guy who posted the "gay" wind up recently. I had my suspicions about that but now we know for sure that you are just taking the french. regards Steve

Hi Les I don't get one thing. As the boat is being fitted out for you, why are you doing stuff yourself? regards Steve

I don't know the technical difference between the two Pav but it doesn't matter because in my view you should go for full sine wave and moreover stick to Victron or Mastervolt. I understand that fsw consumes more electricity when running than the cheaper types but you have to design your electrical system to allow for that. My reason is so that you are certain that any appliances you may purchase will work including the more sensitive ones such as computers, TVs, 'waves with electronic control, drills with electronic speed control and so on. Whilst the cheaper non full sw models may work the appliances you can never be sure and you never know what equipment you may purchase in future so why take risks just to save a bit? The cost difference against the cost of having a boat built is negligible. regards Steve

Indeed magnet. Queer meant not only ill, but also odd, peculiar, weird. As you say it cannot be used any longer in those senses though perhaps it may possibly be reclaimed in time because it is not used so much for gays any more. As an aside for those interested in words, queer gave rise many years ago to the rhyming slang ginger (ginger beer) for a homosexual, used quite often back then though not heard so much these days. Of course there have been a whole load of abusive terms for homosexuals over the years, just as there have for other minorities that were oppressed. Many more so for male gays than females, which is a bit queer I guess. regards Steve

I'm not singling it out, it singled itself out by being used in this thread. I know many other words that have changed meaning but they are not salient to this topic. I merely dislike the fact that the word has been appropriated by homosexuals thus preventing its original use. But that is a comment on language, not on gays themselves. You have no basis to deduce that because I regret this particular word usage, that it tells you anything about my feelings for the persons concerned. Fact is, I like the way language changes and I like to note slang usages and I dislike pedantry, at least that narrow minded sort which refuses to recognise that language is a living thing which evolves, sometimes quite rapidly in these days of instant propagation by communications such as the internet. But that doesn't mean I find all new usages attractive. To anyone born in the sixties or later, they probably know only the current usage of gay as homosexual especially if they don't read older novels. You need to be well into your farties, like me, to appreciate that it once had a totally different meaning, a useful one, which was destroyed and I find that regrettable. regards Steve

Here's a quote from Wikipedia regarding propane: Propane undergoes combustion reactions in a similar fashion to other alkanes. In the presence of excess oxygen, propane burns to form water and carbon dioxide. C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O + heat When not enough oxygen is present for complete combustion, propane burns to form water and carbon monoxide. 2C3H8 + 7O2 → 6CO + 8H2O + heat Thus it appears to be only when there is insufficient oxygen that CO is formed in a propane burning cooker. regards Steve

Whilst I don't care which way people swing, one annoying thing is the theft of the word "gay", which earlier and in my lifetime meant bright, colourful, happy. I believe this etymological robbery occurred in the 60s, probably in the USA originally. It wasn't a term of abuse heaped on them by hets, they, male gays, took it up themselves and thus denied the language a useful word because of course the result is that one can no longer use it in its earlier sense and still hope to be understood. Somewhat ironically then, "gay" has very recently become a slang word meaning "bad". Just last night I was currying with a young man and he described a football match at which his team was playing as "gay", meaning poor quality. I find the development of language interesting but I don't know how this latest incarnation of gay developed. regards Steve

You have misinterpreted the figures Hobbler. The annual costs were not £14,000, that was the income upon which it was asked whether one could live on a canal boat. regards Steve

I'm with Gary here on the unit being set up wrongly. Victron's Phoenix inverter/chargers are complex but one thing, the company gives great service in the event of problems as we've seen in this thread. I don't think that a lot of boatyards fully understand how they work. And even if they do the user's circumstances may change necessitating adjustment of the unit. Note that the range of functions that can be adjusted with the dipswitches is limited. The manual gives the details. To access properly the full range of options requires the computer link using Victron software and this includes a "virtual" computer version of the remote control input current limiter unit. Another method for users who need to vary input currents at different times, such as switching between different shore lines or a portable generator, is to purchase the actual remote control unit which has a dial for limiting the input current and that gives a greater range of alteration than is available from the dipswitches, and of course is far easier to use and has some other additional features too. http://www.victronenergy.com/product.php?productid=147 See about two thirds down under Accessories, Phoenix Multi Control. regards Steve

Yeah, got a stinking cold so I needed something at which to have a go. I was warned off omni directional aerials because of poor reception, I think on this forum some time back, when I was considering an aerial for my boat. I have a directional one on a longish pole that assembles in three parts and when fully up is around five feet above the boat's roof. I erect it each time I moor and want to view, and then dismantle again when I move off because it is too high to leave up when cruising. That's a hassle though it's fairly quick to put up and down but is probably the way to get the best picture from terrestrial TV. I align it by reference to others I can see but if I can't see any then it's a matter of swivelling it round to get the best picture. I find that reception, both of analogue and digital Freeview, varies hugely depending on area. I'm based in the London area and on a recent trip up to Rickmansworth on the GU the reception at the spot I was moored was virtually non existent, just a very snowy picture on analogue and no Freeview at all. In my marina in West London it is perfect on digital and a recent excursion to Paddington Basin found good digital reception there too. I try always to tune in digital Freeview first, because of its range of channels and if that works then no need to find analogue signals. I like to have TV but am not a major watcher. Films are my main interest, I'm a big fan. I'm thinking of getting a DVD player for the boat and a recorder at home so that I can record films for watching later on the boat. Useful for those occasions when there's nothing worth watching or the reception is inadequate. regards Steve

How do those smart arses on here saying "don't have a TV" as the answer to other readers' TV reception problems think they are helping? It's a total waste of time to even write such messages. I might understand it if they were smart, witty or amusing retorts but they're not. They come across as merely supercilious comment by those who think they are somehow better than others because they don't have TV. All it does is annoy those who are seeking some assistance from the thread. But it adds nothing to the discussion, neither technical assistance nor humour. If you have nothing useful to add, or lack the capacity to be amusing, then why bother to respond at all? People with TV queries don't want to be told that they shouldn't have one. regards Steve

A sad event Carl, I'm sorry to hear about this. regards Steve

Hello anthony There are a number of old threads on this topic, do a search. There are three common methods on modern boats. Engine, separate central heating boiler and immersion heater. The latter though can be used only on a shore line, not from the batteries, because of its high consumption. The ch boiler heats the boat via radiators and produces hot water like a house ch system and in warm weather can be used for the water alone. This three way set up enables hot water to be produced anytime, anywhere without running the engine. A boiler on a solid fuel stove is impractical and of limited use because the stove would not be lit in warm weather. When crusing you obtain free hot water from the engine but once moored that won't last more than a day or so, consequently an alternative method is desirable, though one could just run the engine, that's what a number of older boats do, and that charges the batteries as well. Personally I dislike having engines chugging away for lengthy periods at moorings. Another method used on older boats is the instant gas water heater but those don't heat the boat, just the water. Which approach suits you depends on a number of factors. How much money you have, how much comfort and practicality you want, minimising work and so on. But you do need to co-ordinate your hot water requirement with your boat heating requirement because they are linked. For example going for a diesel or gas ch system will deliver hot water as part of the set up. regards Steve

I thought all wet ch systems, at least those powered by separate diesel or gas boilers, heated the water in addition to the radiators. And of course the water can then be heated alone by shutting off the rads. My Hurricane certainly does this and all the boats I looked at earlier with ch did so as far as I recall. Seems daft to me, a pointless and false economy, to install a diesel or gas ch system on a boat and then omit to connect it to the calorifier to provide hot water. On immersion heaters, I have one but would use it only when on a shore line, never from the batteries. With my battery capacity it would likely damage them, given the 50% rule discharge, and that would be the case for most canal boats where battery capacities are around 400 amp hours at best. Maybe they might just not do so but the point is that it's too risky, not something one should chance. But in any case with a decent ch system it's not necessary. The Hurricane gives plentiful hot water for a shower in about 30 minutes which is similar to the immersion heater time from what others are saying. regards Steve

Indeed Chris but most people are not risk takers and of those that are, the great majority are poor at it and lose or make very little in return for the risks being run. You can't learn to be a good business type in my view, it is something with which people are born, like being a good musician etc. regards Steve

I know it doesn't fit the "simple" design outlined in the original message but I think the easiest way to have hot water available is to have a decent gas or diesel central heating system. In warm weather it can be used just to heat the water and not the radiators. That way when moored up whilst out cruising, you don't need to run the engine just to have a shower or whatever. Incidentally some readers in this thread have referred to crude ways of washing in the past in that peculiarly English way of "it didn't do me any harm". I know it's meant to be a bit jokey but I suspect like a lot of jokes that there is a kernel of truth in there. Well I dunno about the rest of yous, but not doing myself harm is not the standard by which I personally wish to indulge my canal boating. A comfort approaching as near as reasonably possible to that which I enjoy at home is my standard. I don't understand those who think you have to rough it to make it enjoyable. I know that I enjoy my boat much more because it has a decent central heating system and a mains inverter than if I had to rely on a filthy solid fuel stove and 12v only. I do have a stove but have yet to use it. Takes all sort of course, people clearly should go whichever way gives them the most enjoyment. But, there does seem to be a strong element of self flagellation amongst many boaters, at least those on this forum which may not be representative, that it is somehow good for you and necessary to rough it as much as possible. Personally I can't understand that but anyway, whatever turns your prop. regards Steve