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Hi all, I am a new boater, excited to be on the canals, enjoying the experience, and learning a lot in a short period of time. After a recent visit from a River Canal Rescue (RCR) engineer, who was very helpful, I found myself in need of a tank clean and an informal recommendation to use Tankbusters. As this seems to be an issue many boaters will come across at some point I thought an honest review of the Tankbusters service and what to expect from their pricing would be useful. I've seen a request on this forum for advice too. I called Bruce from Tankbusters and after a pleasant phone call ended with a quote for cleaning the fuel tank on my narrowboat which amounted to £275 for a "base clean and removal of contaminants", plus extras and the hire of their generator, filters and £0.22 per mile for travel. A few days later Bruce and his Wife arrived in their van. The actual tank cleaning was pleasant enough. We helped with the fetching and carrying of equipment from the van, the Tankbusters along with a very friendly fellow boater helped us pull my boat a short distance to the nearest bridge. Before Bruce started I asked how much the actual total would come to and in a joking way Bruce told me a story about a large river boat "at least twice the size of yours" whose tank he had recently cleaned "they had change from a grand" at the end of the process. This was given across with a joking reassuring tone the implication being "so yours will be nothing like that". With the £275 quote at the time I was assured that all would be well. During the cleaning conversation flowed, and I kept the tea and biscuits coming. The Tankbusters gave me a few samples of the nitrile gloves they were using, we used my power cable for their generator. For interest, the process was simple, a generator runs a pump connected to a long metal nozzle and a filter, sucks up the diesel, filters it and runs it back into the tank. This is repeated as required. At the end of the cleaning (approx two hours) I was given three diesel samples from my tank, a sample pre-cleaning, a sample post-cleaning and one Tankbusters considered as minimal requirements for any diesel we put into the tank. I was advised strongly against taking fuel from any work narrowboats on the canal and informed I should take the "minimum requirement" sample to any refueling station from here on in and not to refuel if the diesel was dirtier than the sample. When it came to starting the engine up, the Tankbusters sprayed a little quick-start to get things moving. We helped pack the gear away I was given an invoice for the job (which I confess I did not pay close enough attention to - it was getting dark and I wanted to move the boat to out of sight of the bridge to moor overnight. We said goodbye with the understanding we would take care of payment the next day. The next day I looked at the invoice for the service, this amounted to £679.70 The original quote was £275 The extras had totaled £407.70 Water filters (£192) 1 micron filter bags (£68) Fuel additive (£24) All year fuel additive (£18) Generator (£12.50) Mileage had been added at 0.55p a mile. (£90.20) I called Bruce to discuss the invoice, he insisted that I has misheard the cost per mile for travel, I had written this down during the quote conversation and certainly would not have been happy with 0.55 a mile. I also communicated that I believed he had over charged me for an extra set of filters (£94) which had not been used and also that I believed he had misrepresented the final cost of the job when he had given me the quote. He told me the invoice was correct and that he cannot give a full quote at the time of quoting as he does not know the full extent of the job before arriving. Personally I think it would be an honest better practice to give the price of the filters and a general impression of the final cost. Also to give the correct price for mileage. The next day Bruce called and informed me the 4 water filters were added accidentally to the invoice and he would subtract them from the total. I requested an updated invoice to reflect this which I would pay. Bruce demanded I paid the full amount before sending the invoice and after a back and forth of text messages Bruce agreed to produce the invoice. I pressed the point for an invoice as by this time I was concerned at the amount of trust I should have and I wanted to cover myself in case something more were to happen. Bruce emailed the invoice through, a total of £583.70 (still a £308,70 difference) & I paid. On a personal note, I would consider that if the 'extras' for a job are to exceed the quoted price to this extent then an explanation of these costs of those extras should be explained at the time of the quote. The jovial demeanour and impression over the phone in my case certainly did not reflect this and was, in my opinion a calculated decision. Now I must stress that this was my personal experience and I have no experience with any of the Tankbusters team beyond Bruce. Obviously it goes without saying that you are free to make your own choices. My sincere hope is that my experience is useful to anyone who is looking to have their tank cleaned in the future. As a new boater (and as such in a vulnerable position) I certainly would have benefited from this information and I would have made a very different decision at the time. It is probably obvious that I had a disappointing experience here but I have tried to be as objective as possible so other boaters might benefit from the experience either way. Happy boating!

Evening, this boat has been out of the water for 24 hours. Wondering if these are normal rust patches or microbial/biological corrosion.

Good morning everyone, My partner and I have our 60ft narrow boat moored around Cambridge and she is in need of a survey and also needs to be blackened. Can anyone recommend somewhere we can take our girl around Cambridge or anywhere along the K&C canal (as we are thinking of heading that way in the coming months). Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated ✨

Hello all! I have a Morco F11E water heater. Every time I start it all the flames ignite but go out either immediately or after a few seconds. It then tries to relight but only one or two flames will light around the ignition. In the relighting stage I can manually light all the others with a handheld flame. Seems to me there are two problems, the gas flow shutting down and the ignition failing to light fully after the first try. Any ideas? I've cleaned out the water filter and pumped up the accumulator and the water flow sensor stays on while running so i don't think it's a water pressure issue, more likely gas pressure? Thanks in advance!

So we are currently in the middle of buying a boat it has a sr3 3 lister With a lh-150 gear box but having issues with the starter moter it's a Lrs555 anti clockwise 11 teeth Tryed to get a new one but the studs holes are in different positions So I don't know if there's anyone That would know some one with a pre 1980s Lrs555 starter or someone that would recondition the old on any help would be greatly appreciated Thank you

Evening all, I need to find a surveyor to carry out a full narrowboat survey in the Cheshire area (Northwich). Any recommendations would be really appreciated. Thanks

Hello, I'm looking for advice. I'm laying a new floor throughout my 57 ft NB. I’ve just ripped up all my floor so I can lay a new one, I’m down to my subfloor which looks in pretty good condition. I’m going for an engineered, tongue and groove, parquet in a herringbone pattern (sample in pic). The manufacturer recommends gluing it down with a flexible glue. I don’t want to glue it directly onto my subfloor because if it ever needs ripping up for an emergency or otherwise, that would mean destroying both the finished floor AND the subfloor and that’s would be a real nightmare. So, I’m thinking to put down a second subfloor - a thinner layer of marine ply to glue my finished floor onto. Should I put a layer of insulation or something between the 2 subfloors? If so what? When I ripped up my floor there was insulation between the layers and I noticed there was moisture trapped between so I’m unsure it’s a good idea. The floor I ripped up had out of use underfloor heating + t&g + insulation + laminate on top though so it was a bit of mess. Maybe just a thin layer of insulation would be good? Tia

Hello! Is it straight forward to replace / install a new starter battery to a narrowboat? How do I find out which battery to buy and is there a specific procedure to follow when it comes to removing the old one and fitting the new replacement? Thanks

My grandparents owned a narrowboat, and I have recently been thinking about buying one. I have become really interested in seeing if I can trace their ole boat! Even just to see where she ended up, sentimental reasons really. Here's the details: Grandparent names: Cyril and Alice Cousins Bought in 1984 from Cowroast Marina near Tring, she was called "Snoopy" at the time. Re-named her "Cyralice" Serial number is 79826 (there's a slim chance it's 79026 as the photo is fuzzy - attached) She was first moored in Willowbridge Marina and then Gayton Marina in Northampton, on the Grand Union canal. I checked on http://canalplan.org.uk/boats/ but she's not listed. It was sold in the late 90's I think through the brokerage at Gayton Marina (part of Alvechurch group I think) Thanks! Rainey

Only a handfull of narrowboats/small vessels seem to be doing the Ellesmere Port to Weaver Navigation on the MSC this year! Admittedly the owning company, Peel Ports, make it hard work on the admin front, but after 3 days waiting and phoning (check by phone that your emailed application has been received and read - essential!) then waiting some more, we finally emerged onto the canal. Then took us just 1 3/4 hrs to get to Weston Marsh Lock, with just 2 larger vessels coming the other way on the Manchester. Cost was £75 for seaworthiness cert, and £32 for transit on canal. CRT were the most helpful party, quickly arranging the lock opening for us. Cheshire council slow to organise the necessary swing bridge - last obstacle on the Shroppie at Ellesmere Port. ...All worth the effort though - the River Weaver is beautiful and quiet and lots of mooring spaces. Now for the Anderton.

OK, hello to everyone I am looking for some advice. I am beginning to think that I will not be happy living on the cut around the Southeast and in London on anything other than a narrowboat, due to congestion. Of course, I would secretly really prefer the extra width of a widebeam, but I have lived on a narrowboat (and a short one at that), and I loved it at the time, and promised myself I would live on the water again if I got the chance. I was narrower myself in those days, admittedly. But I don't want to feel like a nuisance and I don't want to be a bigger than necessary contribution to making things worse in the waterways where I hope to make my home... I know that living on the waterways is sharing space with others, so the way I see it, what's good for everyone else will be good for me, in the bigger picture. A little info about me - the questions I've see asked of noobs to the forum like me: - Why do I want to continuous cruise? And why in London and the Southeast? I love London, but... More and more I feel like I would move away from London entirely now, whether a life afloat or on land, were it not for my mum being 80 and my dad died a couple of years back and I see her regularly and want to be within reach. No, it's not because I don't want to be too far away so I can save the batteries on my boat by doing the laundry at hers. That would just be a fringe benefit. Sorry. Pretend I didn't say that. Tragic. Having promised myself that one day I would live on a boat again, I now feel like a life on the cut could be great for me - I would not want to stay in London the whole time, I would really love going out on trips further afield. And I certainly would not be hoping to stay in very central and popular areas the whole time. I crave being able to be somewhere quieter and get away from everything... but I do need to be able to get back to everything, too! For now, I want to feel, broadly speaking, like I'm based in London (maybe it's because I'm a londoner...). As to why continuous cruising - well, two reasons really. I have always been a person with itchy feet, and the are itching quite a lot right now, but I don't want to go off far away (see above). The idea of a nomadic life appeals right now. That plus the money. I must confess. Even if I could find a residential mooring in London, I'd struggle to pay for it. But the more I look into CC'ing, the more I think I would really like to do it properly, and to cover some ground, and enjoy the life, not just the savings on the overpriced london moorings. I love boats and water and always have... I hope it's obvious that I do not intend - or even particularly want - to be in central and/or the most popular places all the time. I'd end up going through them, of course, and would enjoy that... If I found a place centrally to moor for a couple of weeks once in a blue moon, that would be nice, but it's not a requirement on my part. I work from home and with flexible hours, and would hope that would lessen the issues and pressures around the moving and mooring aspects. So - should I really be ruling widebeams out? I am kind of expecting the answer "yes" and I am persuading myself I will feel it's the right thing in the end. But, having said that, if I took the word "London" out of this, I would definitely prefer to live on a widebeam, I cannot deny it. Even though I do agree that, often, they can look a bit..... funny. I feel like asking this question as a first post I should be running for cover, but I hope I've explained myself enough to fill in the picture, and I have absolutely no doubt that you good folk will tell anything I missed out or stupid things I said (for which apologies in advance!)

I bought a canal boat about six months go, it is a 50ft rose cruiser stern canal boat, ex hire and has been extremely neglected over the years. Previously has been over plated. It has been surveyed and the surveyors are extremely happy with the thickness of the steel. Have had welding done, and have put a lot of love and energy into restoring this boat into a live aboard. Really need some help and advice to help me get to the finish line on this project. Whilst Grinding out and de-rusting my bilges inside the cabin of the boat i exposed two small holes of the old steel. Unfortunately the boat was flooded whilst in dry dock lol, and the hulls must have filled with water and now there is water trapped in-between the plates of steel on both the starboard and port sides plus the bottom. The boat is now on hardstanding, out of water but there is still water coming into the cab. When I jump up and down inside the boat I can hear the water sloshing around. The water has not been in there more than two months, but I am worried this may cause serious problems. Is this is a case of drilling into the gap and extracting the water or worse case scenario over plating again. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thank you in advance, T.

Ok, first of all, be gentle we have had a bit of a shock. Moored up fine on our first night. Lazy start to the next morning. Wife turned the key and then engine made an odd noise, then smoke escaped from the exhaust hole and we shut her down- though she wouldn't initially turn off. The smoke smelt electrical right away and was later confirmed to be electrical. We called the RCR and it was unfixable- even if he had all the parts (alternator, starter motor) he would have run into difficulties as we later discovered that the wiring was burnt and the ignition switch unusable. As you can imagine we are quite shaken up by this and not a little sad. We were also on a public holiday, so unable to get help till four days later. We were fully stocked though and optimistically managed to have a great time moored up on the tow path watching the boats go by. So, that's our story so far. How common is this? xx Anna

as some of you might remember we bought a boat that needed a bit of work. Well when we looked under the sink it had two of those mould preventer type containers- full up. The sink smelt like mould. So I pulled out the shelves and found a puddle of water under the shower gulper. (I quickly put the shelves back down and buried my head in the canal sand) (Just kidding) ​ I can't see where the water is leaking from. But I know some things. It doesn't appear to be the pipe going to the outside. It does not appear to be the pipes going to the taps. And it does not look like the pipe attaching to the gulper. But somehow there is water under it. When showering under the sink fills up with clean water- not soapy. So I thought maybe the water was leaking through the tiles. I filled only the basin of the shower and it still leaked, thus ruling out tiles. So I tried to take the basin out. WOW. So I ended up removing the bottom layer of tiles- not easy but the shower still wouldn't budge. I unscrewed the plug- then it occurred to me- could the shower be leaking through the plug- it is only a flimsy black bit of plastic on the other side of the hole? So that's where I'm at at the moment. An unusable shower and the thought that it is worth just siliconing the plug to stop leaks around the edges and seeing if that stops the leak. Any other suggestions, or this happened to anyone else? thanks Anna PS On the plus side we've used the marina showers now and they are quite nice.

Hi all, For a while I've been toying with the idea of buying a narrowboat to continuously cruise along the London Canals, for a few weeks or so I've been doing a fair bit of research but for some areas I still haven't found the answers I'm looking for so thought I'd turn to you guys to see if you can help me out at all! Apologies in advance if some areas have been discussed already and also, if any of the questions sound silly... I really am a complete newbie to this... 1. As I mention - I'll be CC along the Canals in London, so have been researching what distance as I need to travel each week, obviously don't want to take the mick and want to stay on the right side of Canal and River Trust. However, their website isn't totally clear on how far - all I can see is that in a years licence, 15-20miles is expected, which seems more than fine. But how far is the minimum? Just for an example, say I started in Little Venice and was travelling East, how far would I need to travel to satisfy the Canal and River Trust for say one weekend I didn't want to travel 'that' far? 2. Which brings me on to my next point - as I read, each 14 days would be the time I top up water, which would top up my batteries (as I'm moving) and usually empty the loos out. May seem like a silly question but are these water points at regular intervals? Similarly, to electric points? (if I needed it half way) Also, are loo-emptying-places at regular intervals also? 3. Again, brings me on to my next point of water storage tanks and electricity batteries... my budget is around 25k and aiming for around a 40ft-er trad steel narrowboat so from what I've seen, many don't have a tank or seems quite small. If so, can this be retrofitted and to what cost? I understand becoming more frugal is all part and parcel of it (which I'm excited about) but for say a 10/15minute shower a day - what sort of tank should I be looking at to tide me over for two weeks? However, I guess this would hinge on question number two! In terms of electricity, I don't watch a lot of TV but would like to charge my phone, listen to music, have lights! Where should I even start with what to look for to tide me over 2 weeks again? 4. I guess this question is more to the nitty-gritty when I view but what are the main tips/points you'd recommend to look out for a bad conditioned narrowboat? Is there such a thing? Don't mind buying something that requires a bit of modernisation but in terms of 'behind the scene' stuff, what do I look for when looking at an engine? At the electric board? Heating system? Or should this all be taking care of at survey stage? Anyway, I think that's probably enough for now on my first post. I really would appreciate any tips/answers - no matter how big or small! Really excited to be buying - just need to get my head around it all first!! Speak soon, Nat

Hiya I'm new to live-aboard boating and have been researching and trying to buy a narrowboat for about 3 months now. My budget is on the lower end of the spectrum (£21k max) and i've found a 45footer just within my price range. It seems as though it's ready to live in, burner, calorifier, batteries (2 leisure 1 starter), solar panel, 12volt for cc'ing, 240v basic landline installation, last survey looks good (no overplating been done), (not had my own survey done yet), however, the engine was overheating when it was brought into brokers by previous owners. The marina advises that they will get this fixed before sale. I'm tempted to make an offer (pending survey) but not first without getting some advice about the engine situation. It's a Perkins 4108 diesel. My main concern is due to the long cruise back to where I live. (London to Bristol), part of which will include a piece of the tidal thames. I really don't want to be doing that with a dodgy engine. another concern is future costs, which i have left a small budget for, but if the engine problem turns out to be something major - i'm not sure i'll have the budget for it. Plus i plan to be a continuous cruiser so this would be an issue. A bit more info about the engine - from the previous survey in Late 2013 it seems the engine was smokey when cold and on high load, cranked pressure was present - both indicators of internal wear. Also fuel leaks were present at the fuel filter top and the aft injector (which was recommended to be fixed - and at this point i assume it was). It also appears that the engine was serviced in Feb 2017. So my questions are - 1) is it possible at this stage, with the information here, to get an idea of what the cause of the engine overheating can be? 2) Is it possible that the fault could appear to be fixed after a short test cruise and an hours running of the engine, and then 4 hours cruising later start to overheat again? 3) Are there some specific questions I should ask the brokers/owners? 3) Am i crazy to consider this boat as an option, since I have so far to travel back? I would be very grateful for advice and information to help me make my decision. Any other advice also welcome. Thanks Sadie

Yesterday, in response to someones post about Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, I posted a video a short video of us crossing it last year. So, I thought you might also like to see a video of us passing through Chirk Tunnel and over Chirk Aqueduct a little while later the same day. We were lucky that a train was crossing Chirk viaduct at the same time!!

When would you think the first narrowboat specifically designed for leisure use was built? Previous to buying Malaya I would would have thought maybe the 1960s or 70s. Before that, most leisure use on the canals seems to have been with converted working boats, as indeed was Tom Rolt's Cressy in the 1940s which really popularised canal cruising. Malaya though was launched in May 1926 and designed at the outset as a leisure narrowboat with a beam of 6' 9" and 40' in length, three cabins able to take a family of up to six, and a toilet and small galley. Waterways World latest issue (October) has my article about Malaya's history which readers of this group might, I thought, be interested in reading? Enjoy.

I am looking for some advice one a less than perfect situation. I spent my summer doing up a narrowboat that I now live on as a continuous cruiser, however the Stove now seems to be giving me grief in making my Asthma unbearable and I have recently been travelling back to my parents just to breath. There seems to be really differing schools of thought on this, but I seem to have a theory of what may be happening. My stove seems to have a decent draw (bare in mind I have nothing to compare this to as it's my first stove) but As the flue Pipe I have used is vitreous enamel and barely a mm thick I wondered whether as I shut it down for the night, after sometime (in the early hours I pressume) the flue may be cooling due to it's lack of thickness and letting some of the gases drop and enter the room via the tiny gaps in the vents. The chap at my local chandlery is really helpful and believes that if it's not setting any of my co2 alarms off then it's probably nothing to worry about and is not convinced that changing my flue will work but suggested changing coal instead. He also handed me a smoke test match to test for any leaks but I think this is unlikely as I sealed everything as best I could. In another local stove shop the bloke at the desk practically threw a catalogue in my face and said 'nothing less than this £800 double insulated flue would do', I left as briskly as I entered. If anyone has any experience of breathing troubles or flue pipe tekkers and knowledge I would really like to hear it as I desperately want to stay on my boat. thanks, Pete

Hi, My husband and I are considering a change in lifestyle. I have been a very keen narrowboat watcher for many years and have really longed to be on one to live on. My first home was a caravan when I was very little so small spaces is not a problem for, nor is being in the great outdoors, in fact I enjoy it. However, as my husband is now in the process of retiring and I run my business remotely we have decided that a change in lifestyle is in order. We are looking for something to live on, perferably not too big, just about 50 feet or so. This is what I think would be ample size for two of us to live on. But I know that there is so many different kinds of narrowboats out there it is hard to make a start of which could be the best design for living aboard. I really would appreciate some help of what is considered the most comfortable design. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Hi I need to keep an eye on what's going on inside my narrowboat as I steer it along. Does anyone use a video system of some type to do the same? I'm thinking along the lines of baby monitors. Many surveillance cameras rely on access to wi-fi which I don't have on board. I would hope to power any device from a 12v supply. I'm interested to read the suggestions. Regards Ian

Hi all 👋, first post on here but probably one of many, I'm currently looking into the heating system I am going to install on my widebeam i was hoping you could take a look and tell me what you think and if it all looks ok. (Heating sorce: Solid fuel fire and diesel water heater Heating up - radiators, under floor heating and hot water) I am thinking of installing the bubble b1c1 corner stove with back boiler, also what are peoples thoughts on the Prity AM 12 ( https://fireplacesforhome.com/Wood-Burning-Stove-Corner-Model-Fireplace-Log-Burner-Solid-Fuel-Prity-AM-12kw ) multifuel stove? And also a webasto diesel water heater. All my heating appliances are going to run to the NRG zone 5 manifold wich does allow thermosyphon , I plan to have 4x radiators, underfloor heating and calorifier attached. The diagram is missing the PRV and the pipes from the back boiler to the heating manifold will be in 28mm. My biggest worry is the thermosyphon safety as it is going to run to the heating manifold so i dont have any heat leak. Any input would be appreciated. Kind regards Brad I've linked the NRG zone let me know what you think to using this as I can't see any post speaking about this or any manifold. https://www.nrgawareness.com/product/nrg-zone-4-5-6-32-32-28/

I'm currently fitting out a 64ft narrowboat and have reached the point of fitting out the plumbing. I'm concentrating on the fresh water system, of which im adopting a very similar (if not identical) structure to C-Warm's schematic drawing...(see image link below) http://www.tnorrismarine.co.uk/images/cal1.JPG This system on paper looks pretty straight forward to me, I've sourced most of the parts yet connecting them together is a mystery to me. I'll be using push fit Hep2O which is relatively basic to fit, my concern lies more with installing the main components like the calorifier, water pump, accumulator tank, shower, valves etc... Has anyone installed a fresh water system and can guide me in the right direction? P.s - I'm very new to boating and unfamiliar with plumbing 'know how', hence theoretic or jargon related advice won't really help me, im much more apt at learning in a practical and visual method, I would be truly grateful if you could cater to that medium of information, regardless any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi everybody. Not sure if anyone remembers, but I posted a few months ago with reference to narrowboat door panel sizes (whether standard or not) - we are looking for head for the cut as the children get a little older, therefore don't have a boat as yet. I cut portraits and other items using scroll saw techniques, and would really love to re-create the 'Roses & Castles'. I have discovered that the traditional techniques are slowly dying out - which would undoubtedly be a tragic shame. I have started creating my own templates (as with my other work) and used a technique called Segmentation, to cut the image. I have used the standard Humbrol oils, although some of the mixed colours are not quite true to form. I would really like any comments or opinions, as this would surely help me to get this important traditional art form correct. I'd like to make it perfectly clear that this is not a sales pitch in any way - I'm experimenting in the early stages and here seems the perfect place to ask for advice. Contact details of anyone who's an authority on Roses & Castles would be perfect. Thank you for reading, and any comments are greatly appreciated. Kindest Regards, Nick.