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Peter009

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I don't understand this hatred or dislike of widebeam boats and or boaters....people make choices dependant on there needs not because they want to be bloody awkward or difficult or because they fancy blocking the oxford canal.....if they want a widebeam then so be it......answers with terminology such as orrible great sewer tubes or monster wide beams etc is just not really needed.....

 

Id live on a wide beam if i could afford one to hell wether the traditionalists like it or not.....

The originator has joined this forum and has asked for help so lets at least attempt to assist.....

The best thing about boating is the canal community but sat behind a keyboard for a few that collapses and keyboard war takes place.....

Enjoy your widebeam and best of luck finiding a mooring ill keep my eye out as im K&A and ill let you know if i see anything suitable.

Matt.

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Yes, good points - but, whether by design or not, a 12' wide boat WILL cause blockages on some parts of the Oxford.

 

"Monster" means "very big", which in canal terms is a fair description of a 60' X 12' boat.

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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

Firstly let me mention that I have 2x Widebeams (one wide at 14 foot, and the other a 'tad wider')

 

There is no hatred of widebeam boats (or boaters) per se, just hatred & frustration when they are used in places which were never designed for them - I know where I can 'easily' go and would not be selfish enough to inflict chaos and mayhem on other canal users by going where I "don't comfortably fit"

 

An analogy would be trying to take a 40 Tonne Articulated Lorry down a windy, single track road in Cornwall / Devon.

Yes, it could be done but at the expense of a few garden walls, taking 'hours' to negotiate (forwards / backwards / forwards / backwards) tight bends and generally causing much frustration for other legitimate users of the road.

Yes i understand but what has the op asked for.....a mooring down south which may denote they intend to sit put on that mooring potentially......i dont want to assume but its what ive taken from there post.

Im sure that the op does not want to disrupt or slow down progress on the canals for others any more than you alan as you say......

So lets give them a shred of credibility assist in there question and believe that he or she has the heart and community of the network in there best interest.

I just dont think its right to judge on there movements and potential for disruptions because they choose that boat as there home.

 

10 minutes ago, Athy said:

Yes, good points - but, whether by design or not, a 12' wide boat WILL cause blockages on some parts of the Oxford.

 

"Monster" means "very big", which in canal terms is a fair description of a 60' X 12' boat.

Yep totally agree having travelled it myself but as per my previous point this person is looking for a mooring.......so may not be travelling very often (assumption i know)  and is it really then end of the world if you have to hang back for a few mins while the "monster" swims by......hardly m25 in rush hour...

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3 minutes ago, Matt&Jo said:

Yes i understand but what has the op asked for.....a mooring down south which may denote they intend to sit put on that mooring potentially......i dont want to assume but its what ive taken from there post.

Peter's previous posts would suggest that he does intend to cruise the boat.

He has asked about steering, Inverters, washing machines, etc etc which would to me suggest that he intends to 'move about' (or why else have an inverter - for example)

 

IF the intention is to have a 'static' mooring (which many are now doing) then there are far better options that a boat - many marinas are now offering 'floating flats', which having no means of propulsion so are VAT Zero rated (for residential use) saving £20,000+ 

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Perhaps some members ned reminding of the opening post here:



Hi everyone starting to look around now for mooring and we are looking down south due to our current location does anyone know of any mooring avaialble at all on the Grand Union towards middlesex or proximity of the area, also looking at the oxford canal, we have been on the canals and river trust website but not much there we have a 60 x 12 widebeam so makes it a bit limited on what canals we can moor on

 

We are looking to live on the boat not leisure mooring thanks

Note the 2 highlighted statements, which I think is where the concerns are being raised. To me the second implies that they want to cruise the boat and in thaat case the Oxford is not suitable.

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10 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

its not the ownership , its the use on canals that were patently not designed for wide boats or where trials of wide boats failed The guccc widened the gu in the 1930s trialed wide beam boats and it didnt work.

now entitled jo  bloggs buys a wide boat as a home  having seen a program about the charm of living afloat by  ejit tv, plonks it on a narrow canal with no mooring and gets upset when people give him the truth about his behaviour.

 

Yep yep and yep true......but he is looking for a mooring.....i dont want to start a big debate just think some folks need to think on how they reply to newbs.....everyone starts somewhere....these negative comments can turn people away from this forum.....detracting from how great this online source and wealth of experience is. 

Make your points just try not to scare off the newcomers ? 

 

7 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

Perhaps some members ned reminding of the opening post here:

 

Note the 2 highlighted statements, which I think is where the concerns are being raised. To me the second implies that they want to cruise the boat and in thaat case the Oxford is not suitable.

Well to me that 2nd statement means we need a mooring we are aloud to live on not as a residential mooring there is a difference usualy quite a few ££££......i dont need reminding i can read graham........

 

I may be way of base with the cruising in which case i agree 100% the oxford is a bad choice its tight on some bends on a narrow boat. Its just a view point from a fairly new member on how some posts can be perceived by newcomers 

Edited by Matt&Jo
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6 minutes ago, Matt&Jo said:

.i dont want to start a big debate just think some folks need to think on how they reply to newbs.....everyone starts somewhere....these negative comments can turn people away from this forum.....detracting from how great this online source and wealth of experience is. 

Make your points just try not to scare off the newcomers ? 

 

Peter009 has been a member here since September 2018, and has made 152 posts - hardly a newbie.

Edited by DaveandDebby
To add a bit I forgot.
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2 minutes ago, DaveandDebby said:

Peter009 has been a member here since September 2018, and has made 152 posts - hardly a newbie.

Okay valid point. Ive been here longer and still see myself as a newb.....but newbs may read these threads and be put off from asking or head off to other forums....

 

Im clearly on my own here with this train of thought but its a forum and people will always have, and rightly so differing view points.

 

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1 minute ago, DaveandDebby said:

Peter009 has been a member here since September 2018, and has made 152 posts - hardly a newbie.

6 months of not a lot of boating I suspect,  so the term newbie is still relevent.

The OP deserves to receive good advice on the basis that snags have been overlooked,  I've lost count of the number of times in my 73 years that I've said " oh I didn't think of that" when somebody has pointed out a pitfall.

Phil

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I think various posters have been trying to open the OPs eyes to what owning and living on a wide beam may involve. Putting such a craft on a suitable waterway designed for wide beams or plonking it permanently in a marina is fine and would probably make a nice home. But trying to cruise a waterway designed for narrowboats, even if it has wide locks, should not be encouraged.

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46 minutes ago, Phil Ambrose said:

6 months of not a lot of boating I suspect,  so the term newbie is still relevent.

The OP deserves to receive good advice on the basis that snags have been overlooked,  I've lost count of the number of times in my 73 years that I've said " oh I didn't think of that" when somebody has pointed out a pitfall.

Phil

The OP is not a newbie to this forum. That was the point I was making, not about how long he's been boating. Therefore he should by now be aware that he might get unhelpful or perhaps angry answers or comments to some questions. 

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35 minutes ago, DaveandDebby said:

The OP is not a newbie to this forum. That was the point I was making, not about how long he's been boating. Therefore he should by now be aware that he might get unhelpful or perhaps angry answers or comments to some questions. 

Doesn't happen over the road.

Phil

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Excuse me but where was the anger in my post? I was trying and obviously failing to impress with a little humour that a 12' wide boat will effectively block the Oxford can for other boats most of the time. 

It will be fine on the GU, and other canals built for wider boats but the Oxford is barely wide enough in places for a narrow boat to pass a moored narrow boat never mind a "monster" 12' hull.

And 12' is a monster in a narrow canal, no lock or bridge will be passed with certainty.

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2 hours ago, Matt&Jo said:

 

 

Yep totally agree having travelled it myself but as per my previous point this person is looking for a mooring.......so may not be travelling very often (assumption i know)  and is it really then end of the world if you have to hang back for a few mins while the "monster" swims by......hardly m25 in rush hour...

Oh, quite - I have been known to say, when a n/b speeds past, "If you want to rush, go on the M40".(it's O.K., they never hear me for the roar of the labouring engine). But there is a difference between brief hanging back and continuing inability to move (e.g. getting stuck in offside mud when pulling out to pass a wide moored boat).

 

But, despite what some members have said, I haven't found anything in the O.P.'s posts to suggest that he won't be content just to treat his boat as a floating home in an attractive location. That's absolutely fine, will give him pleasure and will give no one else grief.

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Peter's previous posts would suggest that he does intend to cruise the boat.

He has asked about steering, Inverters, washing machines, etc etc which would to me suggest that he intends to 'move about' (or why else have an inverter - for example)

 

 

Because it converts 12v power into 240v power - which (for example) the washing machine will require. People do use one when they aren't moving.

 

You have a point about steering, though this could of course simply be from the mooring to the marina's water point and/or diesel pump.

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8 minutes ago, Athy said:

Because it converts 12v power into 240v power - which (for example) the washing machine will require. People do use one when they aren't moving.

A residential berth in a marina would usually have water and electrickery 'on-tap'

 

Running the engine to charge the battery to power the inverter to produce 230v is highly inefficient and expensive when compared to 'plugging in the shore-line'.

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5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

A residential berth in a marina would usually have water and electrickery 'on-tap'

 

Running the engine to charge the battery to power the inverter to produce 230v is highly inefficient and expensive when compared to 'plugging in the shore-line'.

I did think of that, but assumed (not having figures to hand) that running the engine would be FAR cheaper than using plug-in electricity - after all, it will heat the water at the same time and thus do two jobs for the price of one.

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15 minutes ago, Athy said:

I did think of that, but assumed (not having figures to hand) that running the engine would be FAR cheaper than using plug-in electricity - after all, it will heat the water at the same time and thus do two jobs for the price of one.

A few months ago someone actually costed out the production of 1kw of 230v electricity by using on-board equipment - from memory it came to something like £14 per Kw when compared to about £0.15 per Kw in a marina.

Boat generation cost ~100x the cost of plug-in-electricity.

 

I cannot remember who it was, but I'll try and do a search.

 

Edit to add : Found it - it was 'Johny'

 

What a memory !!

 

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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2 hours ago, Matt&Jo said:

Okay valid point. Ive been here longer and still see myself as a newb.....but newbs may read these threads and be put off from asking or head off to other forums....

 

Im clearly on my own here with this train of thought but its a forum and people will always have, and rightly so differing view points.

 

No, you’re not on your own, I agree with you!  Also, I’ve been a member for nearly three years and still consider myself a relative newbie.

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22 hours ago, Peter X said:

Peter009, I think you need some more direct answers. My apologies if I'm restating stuff you know, but:

All the locks on the Oxford canal are narrow i.e. 7 feet wide; your 12' boat is way too wide to fit through them, and many of the bridge holes too.

The same applies to many canals especially in the midlands, so if your boat is in the north and not seaworthy enough to go around East Anglia, the only way to reach the Thames etc. is by craning out, road haulage and back in; not cheap.

There are waters in the south which your boat will fit along, notably the Thames, the K&A and the Grand Union. The latter all the way up to almost the centre of Birmingham, but generally the further up you go the more awkward it gets for a widebeam. However lots of people want to live on a widebeam in the south, so moorings don't come cheap and you will need to shop around for the best compromise for you between price, facilities and location. It sounds as if you're not interested in moving far, so you'll be wanting a place in a marina really.

You say you don't want to be on a leisure mooring, which will really limit your choice, but maybe others can point you to fully residential moorings in your desired area, perhaps somewhere on the Thames or along the GU through West London or up from there towards the Tring summit. It definitely won't be cheap; good luck!

Hi thanks for your reply, I have had a look at a couple of marinas as we wont be living there all the time so until we make the final move I want the boat to be safe, we are looking more towards the Grand Union due to the size of her packet boat marina seems a good choice at the moment thanks

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4 hours ago, Boater Sam said:

Excuse me but where was the anger in my post? I was trying and obviously failing to impress with a little humour that a 12' wide boat will effectively block the Oxford can for other boats most of the time. 

It will be fine on the GU, and other canals built for wider boats but the Oxford is barely wide enough in places for a narrow boat to pass a moored narrow boat never mind a "monster" 12' hull.

And 12' is a monster in a narrow canal, no lock or bridge will be passed with certainty.

All good have not had enough time to really look at the width of the oxford canal but it does seem that the Grand Union is the best bet for us in any case.  Our monster boat will definitely cause a few problems in any case more likely because we will be the fools not knowing how to properly navigate her so best that we start off in the GU canal, just thinking that may be a good name for our boat "Monster" as it eats all our money in any case ☺️

6 hours ago, Phil Ambrose said:

6 months of not a lot of boating I suspect,  so the term newbie is still relevent.

The OP deserves to receive good advice on the basis that snags have been overlooked,  I've lost count of the number of times in my 73 years that I've said " oh I didn't think of that" when somebody has pointed out a pitfall.

Phil

We are definitely newbie's to this without a doubt and this advice is appreciated as the last thing we want to do is make mistakes on mooring thanks

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7 hours ago, Matt&Jo said:

Yes i understand but what has the op asked for.....a mooring down south which may denote they intend to sit put on that mooring potentially......i dont want to assume but its what ive taken from there post.

Im sure that the op does not want to disrupt or slow down progress on the canals for others any more than you alan as you say......

So lets give them a shred of credibility assist in there question and believe that he or she has the heart and community of the network in there best interest.

I just dont think its right to judge on there movements and potential for disruptions because they choose that boat as there home.

 

Yep totally agree having travelled it myself but as per my previous point this person is looking for a mooring.......so may not be travelling very often (assumption i know)  and is it really then end of the world if you have to hang back for a few mins while the "monster" swims by......hardly m25 in rush hour...

We are planning on living on the boat in the future and we will want to cruise the boat and travel from time to time without a doubt we dont just want to sit in a marina long term that would be boring so I guess the Grand Union is the best place to start it would seem thaks

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15 minutes ago, Peter009 said:

We are planning on living on the boat in the future and we will want to cruise the boat and travel from time to time without a doubt we dont just want to sit in a marina long term that would be boring so I guess the Grand Union is the best place to start it would seem thaks

Thanks for the clarification - that was my impression from your past posts.

 

As a fellow 'fat-boat' owner I'd suggest you should really consider The K&A or Thames.

Or even, if living in the South is not totally necessary move up-North, so many more opportunities for a 'fatty' (in fact NB's are the minority)

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