Looby Loo

I have a Morco instant water heater and have never had any problems with it. It provides very hot water, even in winter with ice on the canal- Rubber gloves needed to wash up! It's great for showering too. No problems with lukewarm water and I like a hot shower! I would recommend. I live aboard so it's in regular use.

I would have nothing to gain by taking up a winter mooring. I don't need to stay in one place for work which is why I CC. Most of the sites offered that would potentially be of interest to me would involve a weekly 3 to 4 hour round trip to facilities. Given that, I might as well move on to the next location, passing facilities as I go and not have to pay to moor. Surely lots of CCers will be in a similar position. I'm afraid I don't really understand the point of the winter moorings as offered in areas I am familiar with. I can't speak about areas I don't know. You've still got to cruise in grotty weather to use facilities so what have you gained by paying CRT other than permission to return to the same place. Surely if you CC that's of little interest or benefit to you unless you are in an area where facilities are few and far between, which I'm not. Am I missing something?

I am moored a short way down from a winding hole. I have been here a week and in that time a succession of boats have moored directly opposite the winding hole, in some cases leading to frustrated and annoyed boaters having been unable to turn and having to continue on. Both hire and privately owned boats have moored blocking the winding hole. Surely common sense dictates that it is not a considerate mooring spot. Am I being unreasonable in expecting a winding hole to be left clear?

The previous owner was a demon with the DIY- unfortunately not very well to put it mildly! The boat had more tins of paint on it than B&Q and about as many brushes and rollers! He was more into slapping it all over with probably little prep work. There is more of the original red on the front deck visible now than the raddle red he painted over it which has largely come off. The anti-slip gritting consists of clumps rather than an even spread.The rusty bits weren't touched up when I bought it, but fully visible. The kindest thing that can be said about the state of the paintwork is that it has character The boat was fully surveyed prior to purchase btw. I'm currently saving up for a decent paint job on the sides, done by a professional, although it may end up being more than the sides if I make a dog's dinner out of the roof The interior is in need of some TLC too (complete bathroom refit for starters) but that is cosmetic so less of a priority for the budget. Thanks for your help with this. I used to do all the decorating when I had a house, so know that proper preparation is crucial but this will be my first attempt on my boat, hence all the questions.

Thanks for the tip about Rustoleum David. I will google it. Old Peculiar- If I thought I could get away with it I would do just that, but the roof is a bit like Joseph's coat of many colours now. There is so much paint flaking off all over the place I feel happier just getting shot of the lot and starting from scratch. Yes - a lot more work, but hopefully it won't need to be done again in the near future once completed. The roof is sound- ie no rust but the paint is lifting on a daily basis, despite having had one good going over to remove the loose stuff so I could see what I was left with.

Hi Higgs, Thanks for the reply. You mentioned filling rust pits- with what? Can you give me guidance on what sort of filler to use please, and likewise for the surface cleanser... as I said-total novice!!

Hello, Well the opportunity has finally come to tackle the roof. It was in a bad state when I bought my boat a couple of years ago and time has not improved it. I have searched for previous threads on this topic all of which had useful information but what I need is the idiot's guide on how to do it! I am using an angle grinder with a wire brush attachment that strips the many previous paint layers off ok and works fine with the genny. I don't want to hire a scabbler as I will be tackling the roof in stages as and when weather, mooring location and lack of neighbours for the paint removal part permits. So once I have got the roof section I'm doing back to bare metal what then? There are some rust patches but the majority seems sound. I have seen products such as Vactan, Fertan and Owatrol mentioned but need guidance as to which is best suited and what to do with it. As you can tell I'm a complete novice so all advice will be gratefully received. Many thanks

I CC but do need a car for work. I use Aviva. I explained the whole CC thing to them and they were absolutely fine with it. There were several back and forward phone conversations with the underwriters covering things like "how does the car move with you?, is it left abandoned for long periods of time etc - all valid concerns on the part of the underwriters and I am assured these are now file notes in the event of a claim. They were happy for me to use the company's registered address to work out the premium which is where I am "loosely" based for work, although I spend most of my time out and about at a number of widespread locations which they are also aware of. Car is insured for business use. Any CCers with car insurance problems give them a try. I specifically did not want to have to give a relative's address as this would cause problems in the event of a claim.

Def staged. I'm a cycling boater and had it been one of my bikes going for a swim the angler would have followed it in- guaranteed!

Well said DeanS. Some people have jobs, can afford a marina mooring, but don't actually want one due to the proximity of neighbouring boats. It is bad enough in winter but I'm consoling myself that most of the time I'm actually on the boat over winter it's dark so the curtains aredrawn and I could be anywhere! Come March I will be outta there faster than a rat off a sinking ship. In any case the joy of having a boat is the fact that you can move around. If it's a safe area(s) to be out on the canal why would you want to be stuck in a marina except for the conveniences over winter.

Speaking as someone who will soon be leaving a home mooring to become a continuous cruiser it sounds to me as if I would be wise to keep a log and photographic record of my cruising. Not sure if I have got the right end of the stick but the simplistic impression I have gained from reading this thread is that CRT could easily make the assumption that if you were sighted at point A twice over the course of a year and not anywhere else you had stayed in the environs of point A the whole time and you could find yourself having to prove your case. What a pita! It's a sad day when you can't just go out and enjoy your boating without having to document your movements in case of challenge.

Thanks very much for all your replies. It looks like the easiest thing will be to phone ahead and ask as it seems to vary.

Hello, Apologies if this is a stupid question. Can you make use of marina facilities when you don't moor there? I would guess buying diesel/ coal/gas is fine as you are a paying customer but what if you only want to use their water/elsan/rubbish disposal facilities? Is this normally allowed and what is the etiquette if so? Do most marinas charge outsiders? If it's not marked in Nicholson's guide as having any facilities (eg Hatherton in my guide) does that mean no outsiders allowed or would it be worth enquiring in case it's an omission. Has anyone got any info re use of Hatherton? I have come across facilities which have not been marked in my Nicholson's. Thanks for your help.

Ok thanks. Yes you are correct I am a liveaboard. Can anyone recommend a gas safe engineer for boats near Birmingham please? Have I read somewhere that it's hard to find one willing to fit an instant water heater as the only one suitable for boats due to flue height issues isn't room sealed? If so, where does that leave me- apart from running the engine every night All help appreciated. Thanks. I'm still fairly new to boating as you can probably tell.

Could someone please enlighten me as to what the regs are on retrofitting a Morco (not a replacement). Who can fit it, can it go in a spare bedroom or does it have to be the kitchen area? My shower doesn't have separate hot and cold taps, just a central temperature control. Would this make a difference to anything? I am currently reliant on either engine or immersion heater for hot water and will be living out and about on the canal for an extended period shortly. Instant water heater seems to be the best option for getting a morning shower without having to run the engine every night which I would prefer not to have to do. Many thanks.

I'm new to all this but CRT guidance on what constitutes a legitimate CCer is readily available and seemed pretty clear to me at the time when I was investigating my options for boat living. I need to remain in an area to work. Therefore a progressive journey was impossible as the need to stay in a particular area is incompatible with this. This more attractive and cheaper living option of CCing was therefore ruled out. I dislike side by side marina moorings intensely and will never ever live in one, however it seemed to me that it was possible within the letter of the rules (but not the spirit) to take the cheapest nasty mooring you could find, anywhere in the country, using a family member's address, which would then enable you to adopt whatever cruising pattern you wished within the applicable mooring stay rules with no need to ever visit your home mooring. As such the means to legitimise non compliant CCers who shuttle back and forth along the same stretch already exists, or so it seems to me.These non compliant CCers choose not to use it so how would a RMP solve the problem unless significantly cheaper? It also seems grossly unfair to me that grandfather rights should be given. If RMPs are introduced they should be available to all, possibly subject to a quota system not just to those who have already deliberately chosen to flout the rules and are thus "rewarded" for their rule breaking.

Hello, Please excuse my ignorance but I'm a newcomer to all this. My boat has a calorifier and immersion fitted. Am I correct in thinking that if I was away from the electric hookup but not cruising during the week that an immersion would not be a suitable way of getting hot water due to it taking too much out of the batteries? Would running the engine for a couple of hours in the evening be likely to give me enough hot water for a shower? If so would it still be warm in the morning as I prefer to shower then. I am guessing that a Morco would be a possible solution to the lack of hot water. Please let me know if there is any other hot water generating methods more suitable. If Morco is the way to go can anyone recommend a suitably qualified fitter in the Birmingham area. I know the topic of which model has been covered elsewhere so I will search for that unless someone wants to save me the trouble. Thanks in advance for your help. This forum is a great resource.

I'm hoping to make it this afternoon (by car)but I've got a bit of running around to do first.

I have been a single mum for a few years now and have received no benefits other than Child Benefit(which I would get even if I were still married)and which is administered via HMRC not the council as far as I'm aware. Single mum does not automatically indicate a benefit recipient.

The one on the boat doesn't so new calorifier needed I think. I'm also planning on getting a morco water heater and a back boiler on the squirrel installed with radiators in the back bedrooms of the boat if that's at all possible and a heated towel rail in the bathroom. Lots of ways to heat water then and also some heat a bit further down the boat.

I have to say I'm finding this thread very interesting. The boat I am hoping to buy , if the owner ever moves it so it can get surveyed (another story- don't ask ) only has a calorifier for the hot water (no immersion) so sorting that out will be the number one priority.

Thanks everyone for your input. It's particularly helpful to hear from someone in the trade so thanks to Teadaemon for sharing his expertise.

Hi, I've had an offer accepted on a boat which has previously been grit blasted and blacked with 2 pack epoxy which I understand courtesy of previous threads on this forum to be pretty robust stuff. All good so far. I am told the usual method of the surveyor ascertaining the hull thickness at a certain point involves removing the blacking. That doesn't sound so good. Is this to be recommended in the case of 2 pack epoxy and if not what do they do instead? If blacking is removed how do you go about reinstating it? I assume 2 pack means it's a 2 stage process?? Could you do that on a patch and would the patched up places be more vulnerable than the rest? It also seems that once you are using a particular sort of blacking you have to stay with it as one type doesn't adhere to another type or have I got the wrong end of that particular stick? Please forgive my ignorance and stupid questions but I'm new to all this. All advice gratefully received.

I'm in a house at the moment but the heating in the bedroom has been turned off for years and the window is always left slightly open at night unless it's raining. So it's been closed a fair bit recently . I'm always very warm at about 2am! Hormones have a lot to answer for! Maybe I can find some sweat absorbing top sheet for the boat mattress.

What is the usual insurance position as regards this sort of calamity? Do the Insurance company say it's an act of God and wash their hands of it completely leaving the boat owner to stump up for rectifying damage to their boat, damage to the railings they have inadvertently "sat on" and the crane costs? I'd be interested to know. I don't have a boat yet so haven't got a policy to consult. It would certainly be something to bear in mind though given, the regularity with which this happens.