New boater - a couple of questions

[katie_hannah]

Hello! I'm looking to buy my first boat so I'll probably be asking a lot of (pretty basic) questions on here! 

 

I've been looking at a few boats online and found some I like the look of however the storage on them isn't great.  I have a small set of chest of drawers that would fit on the boat, as well as few other pieces.  Can I just bring these onto a boat and put them in place or do I need to think about balancing the boat and ballast, and if I do need to adjust the ballast would this be a big/expensive job?

 

Also my boyfriend has a desktop computer, is it running a pc feasible on a narrowboat? 

 

Thanks in advance ?

[BEngo]

For a small chest of drawers balance is not likely to be a problem, provided you don't use it to store your collection of  lead Ingots  or the like.  You will soon  not have any gold bars left  if you buy a boat.  Most boat sides are not vertical, so you may have a gap at the top.

 

Adjusting ballast is possible, but  much depends on the boat, and how it was built. It is usually a DIY job.

 

Running a desktop PC is possible, but power consumption might be an issue, so might making the right sort of electricity.  Laptops are more popular on boats as they are less power and space hungry.  More details of the computer and the planned use would help.

 

N

[The Gravy Boater]

1 hour ago, katie_hannah said:

Also my boyfriend has a desktop computer, is it running a pc feasible on a narrowboat?

If you have a mooring with hookup it's no different than living in a house.  If you want to run one off-grid then be prepared to spend money on your electrical  setup.  Most boaters just use lappies or mobile devices.

Edited June 13, 2020 by The Gravy Boater
typo

[Alan de Enfield]

11 minutes ago, The Gravy Boater said:

If you have a mooring with hookup it's no different than living in a house.

Except you cannot have (say) the electric fire on and then plug the kettle in, or have the immersion heater switched on and then switch on the electric heater - the electric will go 'pop'.

Supply is limited.

[Opener]

You're talking about a vessel that probably weighs over 10 tons so, like the man says, unless you are storing ingots you are unlikely to upset the balance.

A PC could be an issue. Agree with comments about power but what does he aim to do with it?  There are lots of threads about WiFi on board cos cabled broadband could be a problem.

[The Gravy Boater]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Except you cannot have (say) the electric fire on and then plug the kettle in, or have the immersion heater switched on and then switch on the electric heater - the electric will go 'pop'.

Supply is limited.

I believe you... but tell that to the guy moored next to me... pretty sure he's got a mini hadron collider going on in there. 

[Opener]

Good brand, Hadron. Used to have the one with the pretendy rivets along the side?.

[WotEver]

9 hours ago, Opener said:

Good brand, Hadron. Used to have the one with the pretendy rivets along the side?.

Did you spend much of your time colliding with other boats?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

50 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Did you spend much of your time colliding with other boats?

 Physicist boaters smash them together at high speed to find out what they are made of. ?

[Opener]

9 hours ago, WotEver said:

Did you spend much of your time colliding with other boats?

Hmmmn! That could explain a lot?.

[katie_hannah]

21 hours ago, BEngo said:

For a small chest of drawers balance is not likely to be a problem, provided you don't use it to store your collection of  lead Ingots  or the like.  You will soon  not have any gold bars left  if you buy a boat.  Most boat sides are not vertical, so you may have a gap at the top.

 

Adjusting ballast is possible, but  much depends on the boat, and how it was built. It is usually a DIY job.

 

Running a desktop PC is possible, but power consumption might be an issue, so might making the right sort of electricity.  Laptops are more popular on boats as they are less power and space hungry.  More details of the computer and the planned use would help.

 

N

That's great, I'm going need all the storage I can get!

 

We use it as our tv for Netflix and iPlayer, and he uses it for gaming a couple times a week.

21 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Except you cannot have (say) the electric fire on and then plug the kettle in, or have the immersion heater switched on and then switch on the electric heater - the electric will go 'pop'.

Supply is limited.

I didn't know about this, good to find out! It looks like there's a lot for me to learn 

20 hours ago, Opener said:

You're talking about a vessel that probably weighs over 10 tons so, like the man says, unless you are storing ingots you are unlikely to upset the balance.

A PC could be an issue. Agree with comments about power but what does he aim to do with it?  There are lots of threads about WiFi on board cos cabled broadband could be a problem.

We use it for Netflix and iPlayer, and he games a couple times a week.  I've had a look into various wifi options, still trying to figure out whats best. 

21 hours ago, The Gravy Boater said:

If you have a mooring with hookup it's no different than living in a house.  If you want to run one off-grid then be prepared to spend money on your electrical  setup.  Most boaters just use lappies or mobile devices.

We're hoping to get a mooring, so fingers crossed that will work okay

[Alan de Enfield]

26 minutes ago, katie_hannah said:

I didn't know about this, good to find out! It looks like there's a lot for me to learn 

You soon learn.

When it happens its not the end of the world, you simply switch off everything and go to the shore supply (bollard) and re-set the 'trip switch'. You soon learn what you can have and cannot have on at the same time.

Marina electricity supplies vary, the 'norm' is 16 amps, but some are as low as 6 amps, and very rarely as high as 32 amps (on some residential moorings)

 

Typical appliances are :

 

Electric kettle 2000 watts (9 amps)

Immersion heater 1000 watts (4.5 amps)

Immersion heater 2000 watts ( 9 amps)

Our Electric toaster is 3000 watts (14 amps)

Electric heaters 1000 watts (per 'bar')  4.5 amps per 'bar'

 

You can buy low wattage 'camping' kettles and heaters that are probably only 700  - 900 watts, and

Some of the electric heaters are 700 watts for one 'bar' and 1400 watts for 2 'bars'.

 

It will take 2x or 3x longer for the kettle to boil, and 2x or 3x longer to get warm when using the heater.

 

Managing electricity is the most difficult part of boating for new boaters to get used to.

 

It gets even worse when trying to manage on batteries (when you are not plugged into the mains) but get your head around managing 220v first.

[matty40s]

10 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Managing electricity is the most difficult part of boating for new boaters to get used to.

 

 

...after toilets, and after water supply/use,........

[Dr Bob]

2 hours ago, matty40s said:

...after toilets, and after water supply/use,........

.....and tuning your ecofan.

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

.....and tuning your ecofan.

You can tune chocolate?

[nicknorman]

4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

You soon learn.

When it happens its not the end of the world, you simply switch off everything and go to the shore supply (bollard) and re-set the 'trip switch'. You soon learn what you can have and cannot have on at the same time.

Marina electricity supplies vary, the 'norm' is 16 amps, but some are as low as 6 amps, and very rarely as high as 32 amps (on some residential moorings)

 

Typical appliances are :

 

Electric kettle 2000 watts (9 amps)

Immersion heater 1000 watts (4.5 amps)

Immersion heater 2000 watts ( 9 amps)

Our Electric toaster is 3000 watts (14 amps)

Electric heaters 1000 watts (per 'bar')  4.5 amps per 'bar'

 

You can buy low wattage 'camping' kettles and heaters that are probably only 700  - 900 watts, and

Some of the electric heaters are 700 watts for one 'bar' and 1400 watts for 2 'bars'.

 

It will take 2x or 3x longer for the kettle to boil, and 2x or 3x longer to get warm when using the heater.

 

Managing electricity is the most difficult part of boating for new boaters to get used to.

 

It gets even worse when trying to manage on batteries (when you are not plugged into the mains) but get your head around managing 220v first.

3kw for a toaster!? nought to charcoal in 30 seconds, I’d imagine. Our toaster is around 800w

[The Gravy Boater]

5 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

3kw for a toaster!? nought to charcoal in 30 seconds, I’d imagine. Our toaster is around 800w

Some of them are ridiculous.  My toaster is the same as yours but my 2.5kw electric kettle would worry my current invertor if I tried to use it off grid... even if nothing else was on.

[Dr Bob]

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

You can tune chocolate?

I usually eat it.

[Alan de Enfield]

55 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

3kw for a toaster!? nought to charcoal in 30 seconds, I’d imagine. Our toaster is around 800w

6 slice, still takes 5 minutes for 'frozen to brown & crispy' pikelets.

 

We do have a smaller 2-slice of (I think) 900w for when we are off the umbilical and on the inverter.

[Guest]

On 13/06/2020 at 21:03, The Gravy Boater said:

I believe you... but tell that to the guy moored next to me... pretty sure he's got a mini hadron collider going on in there. 

Is it Steve Haywood who is next to you? I hear he's into a bit of that. 

 

[katie_hannah]

On 14/06/2020 at 17:01, Alan de Enfield said:

You soon learn.

When it happens its not the end of the world, you simply switch off everything and go to the shore supply (bollard) and re-set the 'trip switch'. You soon learn what you can have and cannot have on at the same time.

Marina electricity supplies vary, the 'norm' is 16 amps, but some are as low as 6 amps, and very rarely as high as 32 amps (on some residential moorings)

 

Typical appliances are :

 

Electric kettle 2000 watts (9 amps)

Immersion heater 1000 watts (4.5 amps)

Immersion heater 2000 watts ( 9 amps)

Our Electric toaster is 3000 watts (14 amps)

Electric heaters 1000 watts (per 'bar')  4.5 amps per 'bar'

 

You can buy low wattage 'camping' kettles and heaters that are probably only 700  - 900 watts, and

Some of the electric heaters are 700 watts for one 'bar' and 1400 watts for 2 'bars'.

 

It will take 2x or 3x longer for the kettle to boil, and 2x or 3x longer to get warm when using the heater.

 

Managing electricity is the most difficult part of boating for new boaters to get used to.

 

It gets even worse when trying to manage on batteries (when you are not plugged into the mains) but get your head around managing 220v first.

That's really helpful to know, thanks!