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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

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

Hi, roughly how wide should a sacrificial chine be? Does the attached photo look okay or a bit worn? It's a Liverpool Narrowboat boat! Thanks

Hi, sorry if this is a stupid question. I viewed a boat for sale today and looking through the file I noticed it was originally built in 2007 with a bow thruster tube. In 2014 the owner decided they weren't going to use the bow thruster tube and because it caused condensation on the boat, and made access to shut off taps difficult they had the tube removed and 2 plates were welded to the hull openings. Will the extra plates that were welded on be a vulnerability or have any negative effects on the hull? Thanks

Hi, I'm in the process of buying my first narrowboat to live aboard. It was surveyed today and I've just received a quick update from the surveyor saying there's some pitting on the hull that needs spot welding. I'll receive the full survey report in the next couple of days. The boat is 16 years old and is for sale for just over 50k. Is pitting that requires spot welding a serious problem? Thanks in advance.

Hi, below are photos of pitting discovered on a hull survey on a 57 ft narrowboat built in 2007. The survey report says there is a small amount of deep pitting on the side plates and some other pitting measuring upto 0.9mm, and the deep pits require back filling with weld. The photos are of both the deep and upto 0.9mm pitting after the hull has been jet sprayed. The hull readings taken are all ok and there's only been minor diminution of plate thickness. I'm trying to get opinions on the severity of the pitting if possible based on the photos. Unfortunately it won't let me upload the individual photos because they're above the maximum allowed size limit so I've had to take a screenshot of all 14 images. Not sure if they will be clear enough. Thanks.

Hi, I'm buying a used narrowboat, ABC are the brokerage. Are there any searches/checks I can do to check for any outstanding debts/finance secured against the boat from the previous owner? Thanks

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

Hi, I'm in the process of buying my first narrowboat to live aboard and have viewed a really nice boat. My only concern with the boat is the engine running hours as it's an ex hire boat. The engine is a Beta 35 with almost 12,000 hours, it was serviced a year ago and had new filters and belts but that's the only engine history I can get at the moment. Should this be a concern or is 12,000 hours not to much of a problem if the engine starts and runs well? Thanks

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/

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

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!

Hello there! I'm retired and am looking to do something better with my savings than have them earning a meagre interest rate in an account. I had been looking at static caravans, as a holiday home and to rent out, but the fees seem ridiculously high. I then thought about the canal holiday I had years ago and how peaceful it was, so I'm now thinking about getting a narrowboat in Northwest England to use and to rent out. I'm aware of the certificates it'll need and the annual cost of running a narrowboat, but as I'm completely new to this, I'm aware that there's LOADS that I don't know. So...... 1. Is it a viable idea? 2. If I had someone (Hoeseasons?) managing the rentals, cleaning etc, what would they charge and are there any rules about the boat's age, size etc? 3. I'm not looking for a large boat and have a budget of £30K. Would it be better to buy a project boat cheaply and pay for refitting it or get a better boat that needs less work? 4. I'll pay for full hull and engine surveys. Can you recommend a decent surveyor? Thanks in advance for your replies. Chris

Hi all! We are looking for someone to help us move from Paddington to Islington before Saturday the 20th. Have called all the "usual suspects" including the boats around us, but no one is moving! Happy to pay of course. Much appreciated

Looking for a bit of advice...I’m looking at buying a narrowboat which comes at a good price, however the survey recommends gritblasting and painting the baseplate, because apparently it is thinner than usual and has ‘widespread pitting’ There seems to be two schools of thought when it comes to baseplate maintenance from what little research I’ve done, ie painting or leaving as is because of thickness/lack of oxygen etc. I would prefer not to have to blast and paint it if I didn’t have to because of the expense. Here’s an excerpt from the survey for more details.... ‘The base plate had a nominal thickness of 8mm, but point thickness measurements indicated some diminution. The majority of readings were above 7mm, the lowest reading being 6.1mm. Widespread pitting, not uncommon on narrowboat base plates, was widespread, resulting in shallow craters with an estimated depth of 0.5 – 1mm, but no loss of structural strength was detected with hammer testing. 1. Given the comparatively thin base plate, grit blasting and applying a protective paint coating would greatly reduce the chance of serious diminution in the future. However, boatyards are reluctant to take on this work due to the limited access beneath the hull.

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!

Hi there. I currently live on a 46ft narrow, built in 1989. I share this with my partner. I would like to get another boat, around 60ft long, for use as a home, and turn the 46ft into a shop. Theoretically I could have access to £28,000 in the coming year, and would then be able to spend money as the months go on, as I save from work (£500 here and there for various jobs). The boat would not have to be a live aboard straight away, this can be developed over time. I have been researching space-saving fit out ideas, mainly from community groups dedicated to fitting out vans, which seem to have some very good solutions, much more contemporary than boat fit outs. I'm happy to pay carpenters to make specific wooden furniture with functionality - e.g. tables which fold to the ceiling, seating areas with storage underneath. This would be what I envisage the "£500 here and there" to be for. My personal opinion is that second hand boats are often over priced, and that a new boat could have the potential to be fitted out as a blank canvas. But perhaps I am being naive about the amount of work involved. What do you think? Would you buy new, or second hand? New - best builders? What to avoid? What to look out for? Secondhand - price guideline? What to avoid? Where to look?

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

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

Mods - please allow this post - which is not a sale pitch - but some exciting and long awaited news. Thank you. CJB === Flower of Gloster - 2 x DVD release - Sept 2015 This is a very long awaited 'lost' t.v. series that started many folks on the long path to holidaying / living on the canals. The gods in their ivory towers must be listening ... http://networkonair.com/shop/2225-flower-of-gloster-the-the-complete-series-5027626436841.html "The first Granada Television series to be filmed in colour (though initially transmitted in black and white), this popular children's adventure featured a star who is 72 feet long and painted in cheerful shades of red and yellow! She is The Flower of Gloster, a converted canal barge which over the course of the series winds her way from Wales, through the inland waterways of England to the Pool of London at Tower Bridge. "When their boatyard owner father is taken ill, ten-year-old Michael, his twelve-year-old sister Elizabeth and elder brother Dick decide to deliver a narrow-boat to a buyer on his behalf. During their 220-mile trip, they make new friends but also encounter all kinds of danger and difficulties, played out against the changing pattern of the British countryside." CJB. ===

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 there, Im matthew and i am soon to begin a life on the river. Intitially i wiill be renting a permenant mooring on a 55ft narrowboat and intending to purchase my own boat and moorings sometime next year if everything goes according to plan so wish me luck! Having done rather alot of reseach the only obstacle i forsee is that of securing permenant residential moorings at good price as they do seem to cost alot. My question is as follows: Where should i look to find available moorings preferably within the midlands but not too far away from worcester? Any help will be greatly apprieciated Regards Matthew

Hi, I'm looking at buying a narrowboat, but its original engine - a keel cooled Yanmar 4TNE84 diesel engine - has packed in. Seems there was a problem with the coolant pipe, which caused damage probably to one or more of the pistons or the block, but maybe to something else - rebuilding it failed to fix the problem. Anyway, it's out of action and my engineer friend recommends scrapping it and replacing it. I'm new to boating (I thought about putting this in the New To Boating forum, but thought this probably made more sense) and wanted to get some advice on replacing an engine. What kind of money should I be expecting to pay to buy and install a decent engine in a 55' narrowboat? What kind of timescale would be sensible for getting a replacement and getting it fitted? What sort of trade-offs might I be making if I really wanted it replaced within a month, say? And can anyone recommend someone to fit it in Edinburgh or surrounds? Thanks a lot!

Ditch bricks and mortar and buy a canal boat? It costs a fraction of a house but it's not all plain sailing ...? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-3084373/Living-canal-boat-cost-fraction-bricks-mortar-s-not-plain-sailing.html