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Hi all, I was hoping somebody could answer my question regarding flue pipe. I 've had a search on google to find an answer to this question but have not seen anything specific enough to put my mind at rest. I am in the process of finalising a boat that I bought at the start of summer, I have built a hearth and fireproof tiled backpanel to safety spec to ensure I won't go up in flames, however I fear I may have been hasty in buying the flue pipe for the inside of the boat. The pipe I have purchased is vitreous single skinned enameled pipe (to the correct 4inch diameter for my acorn stove) but it is incredibly thin compared to other flue pipes i have seen. I know it is important to fit a double skinned chimney but wondered if the vitreous pipe is fine for the internal cabin (I know this may or may not technically pass the safety for a new installation but my main concern is will it be safe? I have noticed that some of the joints also have two holes drilled in and wondered apart from using fire cement whether there are any joint pieces that I may need to fit? I do want to try and make this installation as safe as possible but as you can see still have the odd concern, any help will be much appreciated, thanks, Pete :-)

Hi all, So, myself an my partner are considering buying a 'sail-away' which will consist of: Shell - primed and blacked, Windows, plywood floor, battoned -out and spray insulation, electrics in situ (inverter, fuse box, 240/24v). I will also purchase a multi-fuel burner (4-5k) and install it. Now, im considering doing The plumbing, gas, and installing partition walls/kitchen/bathroom with one other person full time for 2 months and moving to part-time for the following 6. We have budgeted 8k for the whole build and we will be purchasing second hand items to lower the cost I.e a kitchen with appliances can be obtained for >500 on eBay. I have been dabbling in carpentry for 5 years, I have enough tools and access to a industrial work shop with a CNC machine (yes, that's right floral cut-out partitions!) I have also been living on a boat that requires constant attention for three. I can provide a break down of the projected costs but is 8k realistic? One thing I know very little of is plumbing. Is 1.5k enough for a full water system cold/hot: Boiler (for shower only), accumulator, pumps, etc I appreciate this question may invite the polemicists but lay off the pejorative answers! Thank you in advance

Hi all! Might I draw on your collective wisdom please. So, this is the current state of my water tank in the bow, I have a plastic tank I use in the galley for drinking and cooking. I've bought a flexible tank roughly the same size and my current plan is to fit this into the bow tank space. I was going to dry the tank out fully, then do a wire brush and I have a can of bitumen type paint (specifically for potable water spaces) to apply. I'd love to insulate the space too, I have some underfloor insulation (the silver type) which I thought would help protect the flexi tank too? In terms of attaching to the pump, any tips? The outlet for the flexi tank is 12mm, I'm guessing some blue hose and a clip will be okay? I surely don't mind a bodge but wondered if there was a neat solution to connecting these through the stop, the filter and into the pump? Thanks everyone in advance, all help gratefully received! EDIT: Images do not seem to be rendering correctly, but it's a rusty-ish tank attaching to a shurflo type pump:)

Hi everyone, I'm brand new to this forum and hoping for some advice. We are going to be buying a 70' x 12' Wide Beam next year to fit out ourselves, and ideally would like to find a marina in the Midlands with hardstanding that could accomodate us. Any suggestions and information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Neil

Hi, We have painted the outside of the panels on our sides and are yet to paint the actual panels. We have heard that we need to remove the tape whilst the paint is still wet - but won't have painted the inside of the panels until later this week. When do you recommend taking the masking tape off? Do we remove the masking tape straight after painting the final coat of the outside of the panels, then re-mask when we come to paint the inside of the panels? Do we just leave the masking tape on, even though it'll be another 4 days until we finish painting the inside of these panels? We are painting over night because of work so time is a little scarce. This is where we are up to: https://www.instagram.com/theadventuresofdreamcatcher/ Thanks so much for your guidance! Gemma

Hi all, My girlfriend and I did a massive fit-out of our 30ft narrowboat in Hemel Hempstead in August but never got around to finishing it, and now we're back in London, moored (temporarily) near Hoxton, and both working full time. We've still got quite a bit of work to do, and are looking for a professional, competent all-rounder to help us and finish the job while we're out. There is, to complete: * Gas piping work (installed, needs testing) <-- edit: forget, forget, forget about the bloody gas * Plumbing work (just bathroom using pex piping) * Partition installation (sawed up, needs screwing in) * Tiling (4sq meters in bathroom) * Gas boiler installation * Electrical work (wiring in 12v fridge and whale gulper) * Window sealing (one leaking window) and a bit more besides. We're willing to pay £150 per day (full day) for the right person on a rolling agreement. Reckon there's a solid three days work. Start ASAP. Very interested in recommendations. My email is ######@gmail.com / ###### (texts only please) Thanks! Dan

Hi everyone! I have just posted something on lowering the floor and now this one is on putting the ceiling higher up (6'1" - almost 6'2" so a bit of an issue with height). I am thinking about putting a new wooden floor on our narrowboat and if we don't just rip the old ply out it will lower the height by another 2cm. Seeing that I already am touching ceiling at all times in the highest point of the boat and have to bend in others I am wondering whether we can't just put the ceiling a little up. We had a look yesterday at around one of the portholes and it seems that there is about 4cm gap between the insulation and the wood panel which forms a ceiling. Do you reckon I can just unscrew the ceiling boards, shave the battens and stick it back on? Or is it not a good thing to do? Does there need to be a gap? Is is necessary for i.e. insulation. There are additional panels on sides to access wiring so this wouldn't be a problem. Would appreciate your help and expertise! Cheers Ania

Hi All, I'd like to rip apart my existing well deck and re-build it much better and I'm struggling to find ideas on t'internet, especially with photos or diagrams. I like to sit out on my well deck when the weather's good, I have no real need for storage and I'd like seating for guests. I'm pretty good at DIY and would welcome some suggestions (with photos or diagrams if possible). The photos here show my current well deck. It is 4 feet from front to back. As you can see, I have a small diesel tank on the starboard side which can't be moved. On the port side there is a storage locker with 'seating' on top, but I'd like to rip this out. Any help or suggestions would really be appreciated. Many thanks Adam

Hi, This is my first post on the forum so Greetings! I'm a livaboard continuous cruiser who has been on my boat for just over 3 years. I had her blacked when I bought her but was not involved in the process. She is now a little bit overdue. I have 2 months off work and am looking to take her out the water and black her myself. I have time but am on a budget. I am looking for an affordable yard/marina where I can spend two weeks on the hard to take my time derusting and prepping the hull sides as well as the base plate before reblacking. I'm currently in West London but am prepared to travel for up to around 10 days per journey. I will need to live on the boat whilst she is on the hard. Does anyone have some suitable suggestions? The best I've found so far are Willowbridge Marina for DIY but I am hoping to find something a bit less costly. Base plate is not negotiable and I definitely need access to it. I'd prefer to be on the hard rather than a dry dock as I'm slower than most people at DIY stuff. I like to take more time but do a thorough job

Hi all, I've just finished (kind of) the process of re-doing my bathroom. It's a tiny cupboard bathroom and annoyingly I didn't take a photo of the 'before' but I did take photos during the process. I thought it may give some handy tips to anyone that might be having issues with making the most of their tiny bathroom. The first step was ripping out the old floor, I couldn't believe the state of it when I took up the cheap lino flooring. The setup used to be: shower tray sunk in to the floor at the back and the toilet crammed in right by the door so the room was split in to two. The previous owner had literally nailed in chipboard on top of the original floorboards, cut out a square for the shower tray and screwed it in, then popped some lino over it. Foolproof! Only until I took up the lino and the chipboard was sopping wet and crumbled to the touch from years and years of being sodden and was very smelly. Yuck. Next up, mopping up all the leftover horrible water left underneath (And this is why I had water in my bilges regularly). The photo above is just before cleaning up and letting to air/dry out for 2-3 days. Now it's time for a new floor, Thick plywood was added with a countersunk hole for the shower drain. Luckily all the plumbing was fine so I extended the waste pipe and fitted a new drain. One problem I had is because the floor was now lower (more headroom for the shower) there was a 2-3 inch camp from the wall to the new floor. Back to the wood shop! I screwed in the plywood again around the edges to create something resembling a large shower tray. Time for painting, I know it's a sin to use wood walls in something like a wetroom but tiling the whole room wasn't an option. I bought some heavy duty waterproof paint which should hold up fine to a quick splash from the shower, as long as I give it a quick wipe with the towel when I'm done. This is the first coat but it dried nice, white, shiny and thick. It looked like enamel. To make this room as waterproof as possible, especially where standing water will be, so I purchased a wetroom kit. This included waterproofing sheets to lay down, PVA based paste to prep and waterproofing membrane to stick down the sheets and cover all over the place. Everywhere in grey has had a waterproof membrane. Tiling time! I purchased some large tiles from the DIY shop, this is them laid out before using the adhesive. I had limited ways of cutting as I only had a tile cutter, nothing that could cut circles or anything intricate so around the drain is an improvised solution. I finished off the tiling around the edges to complete the large 'shower tray' look which has since been grouted and sealed. And finally this is where it stands at the moment, it's not complete as we're fitting a pump out soon but it really makes use of all the space, or what little space there is. I'm really happy with it and hope it is of any help to any fellow boaters.

Hello all! Just a quick question - does anyone know if there's anything wrong with curing bilge paint by running the engine? (I'm thinking of exhaust fumes, mainly). Does anyone have any experience of this?

What should a new boat DIYer read whilst working on their project?