Fancy helping a newbie?

[bizzard]

Gorn are the days when Nothampton was a shoe making town, also the famous and wonderful firm of Basset Lowke the precision model engineers of which I have an old catalogue.

[Dav and Pen]

1 hour ago, Tacet said:

My father was evacuated to Northampton.  He said every school subject and lesson was somehow related to the boot trade, there being no real doubt as to one's career.

There was plenty of choice besides the boot and shoe trade which is just about hanging on now. There was Brown Bros Aircraft who went on to make the Dolphin cruisers, British Timpkins the bearing company, Express lifts who were on the site where the lift tower now stands and 2 major breweries. When I left school in 1958 there was an enormous choice of career as well as all the professions who in those times took on articled clerks to learn on the job. Didn’t fancy any of them though and went in the MN.

[Dav and Pen]

43 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Gorn are the days when Nothampton was a shoe making town, also the famous and wonderful firm of Basset Lowke the precision model engineers of which I have an old catalogue.

Used to look in the shop window of Basset Lowkes every Saturday when we went into town there were different models every time. The house that Basset Lowke lived in is now a museum as it was designed by Mackintosh and there are a few models there.

[gooselover]

3 hours ago, bizzard said:

Gorn are the days when Nothampton was a shoe making town, also the famous and wonderful firm of Basset Lowke the precision model engineers of which I have an old catalogue.

lol nowhere in the uk is know for garments now its not worth it to make them domestically. every company outsources to third world labor

[GUMPY]

There are still some shoe manufacturers in Northamptonshire. The shoes they produce are very good but mind numbingly expensive.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Loddon

[IanD]

12 minutes ago, Loddon said:

There are still some shoe manufacturers in Northamptonshire. The shoes they produce are very good but mind numbingly expensive.

You mean like the Solovairs?

 

(the factory that used to make DMs but now sell under their own name, my son reckons they're miles better...)

[Dav and Pen]

17 minutes ago, Loddon said:

There are still some shoe manufacturers in Northamptonshire. The shoes they produce are very good but mind numbingly expensive.

Like Church’s who are actually expanding. I meet an American who always had Church’s and most of them had lasted years as they just got resoled when needed. 

[David Mack]

2 hours ago, Dav and Pen said:

Like Church’s who are actually expanding. I meet an American who always had Church’s and most of them had lasted years as they just got resoled when needed. 

And resold when no longer needed?

[bizzard]

4 hours ago, gooselover said:

lol nowhere in the uk is know for garments now its not worth it to make them domestically. every company outsources to third world labor

They said at the time that Italian shoe makers caused Northamptons shoe industry to go into decline. Might be a load of cobblers though.

[bizzard]

7 hours ago, Dav and Pen said:

Used to look in the shop window of Basset Lowkes every Saturday when we went into town there were different moderdenls every time. The house that Basset Lowke lived in is now a museum as it was designed by Mackintosh and there are a few models there.

Only wealthy folk could afford their stuff as it wasn't toys but proper expert engineering, all manner and types of steam engines, loco's and equipment from about 7.1/4'' down to 0 gauge. They also specialized on planning and building indoor and garden railways for rich folk. Ordinary folk were stuck with Hornby 0 gauge tinplate stuff  from Binn's Rd Liverpool.

Edited November 1, 2022 by bizzard

[Dav and Pen]

1 hour ago, bizzard said:

Only wealthy folk could afford their stuff as it wasn't toys but proper expert engineering, all manner and types of steam engines, loco's and equipment from about 7.1/4'' down to 0 gauge. They also specialized on planning and building indoor and garden railways for rich folk. Ordinary folk were stuck with Hornby 0 gauge tinplate stuff  from Binn's Rd Liverpool.

They also made Architectural models and Ships models for the owners. I wanted an oo Hornby but got a triang instead which were all plastic and didn’t work that well .

[roland elsdon]

They also used to turn out mental health nurses in Northampton.  Berrywood Asylum had a great reputation. Maybe the local raw material was of high quality.

I recruited several Northampton trained staff whilst in Australia. They were much better than the home groan 😩 versions.

 

[gooselover]

4 hours ago, bizzard said:

They said at the time that Italian shoe makers caused Northamptons shoe industry to go into decline. Might be a load of cobblers though.

yep all garments manufacturers outsource nowadays, unfortunate but its just the way business works

[matty40s]

On 31/10/2022 at 18:17, roland elsdon said:

Yep Northamptonshire has changed a lot since we moved up from Lunnon in 1987 to work at the ‘county asylum’

I used to cycle in from weedon every day.

Northampton is so bad  the only time we have been there has been to get our covid jabs in the last 6 years. . Northamptonshire has got so bad we have just sold up. 1400 new houses  less than 2 miles from our village retreat has done for us.

Lunnon commuting  and the rurbanites who want town facility in a rural area have killed the fun.

 

I have to say you are not quite telling the truth Roland, the English Governments incompetence, the CRTs lack of boating focus, and the Brexit fiasco have probably sealed your exit, along with love of twice a year summers.

Northampton will probably gain city status once the council get their heads out of their arses, Daventry will always be a shithole, but with an interested council, could become a hip, Stroud like town with potentially that fabled waterways link.

I do quite like living in the countryside round here, perhaps the canal retains that rurality you cherish...enjoy it whilst it's still here.

[Crewcut]

I'm a bit late to this party but would add if you're working a mooring with mains electricity will make life a lot more civilised, some would say a must have. I'd suggest a boat with a modern engine (kubota or Yanmar based), fixed bed with a proper mattress is a must, have a think about what type of toilet you might find least unpalatable to deal with - in my experience fancy pants electric flushing with a macerator into a large holding tank toilets are anathema but others prefer them to cassette type, with which there's much less to potentially go wrong but you'd need to deal with the waste more often. But you're a nurse so you're more used than most to dealing with poo & wee, BONUS! Forget separator loos if you're tempted, they don't really work on the canals. Reverse layout or not, stern/bow type, fuel & water tankage (especially water, ideally I think I'd be looking for 600 litres plus for FT liveaboard). Heating - again in my experience and opinion keep it simple, maybe a solid fuel stove or drip feed diesel in the middle of the boat (not at one end or the other), maybe if you must a radiator at either end and in the bathroom for occasional use in really cold weather? You can use oil filled rads though if you have mains. A lot of it depends on you & how much "luxury" you want, how much stuff you need to have around you, etc. but it's a massive help if you're practical and confident with tools, interested in how engines work, doing a bit of woodwork/DIY, painting and if you enjoy watching people do something on Youtube before having a go at doing it yourself! Being prepared to learn at least is an absolute must, I've met people who just are not willing to learn or have a go and they end up living on boats in unpleasant if not dangerous conditions.

 

Really, really try to get your head around 12 & 240 volt electrics, batteries, solar power, use of inverters, etc. on boats. Being a sea boater (13 years FT living aboard) it was a great surprise to me that many canal boaters seem to me to be obsessed with using domestic 240v appliances whilst cruising/away from shore power on their boat - you can do without 240v appliances and if you do it will be much easier to manage your power on board.

 

Go have a look at some boats to start to get a feel, anything upwards of 40 odd feet. If it was me as a single FT liveaboard I'd be aiming for around 45 - 50 feet but I've lived on much smaller sailboats and been quite happy. Good luck...

[blackrose]

42 minutes ago, Crewcut said:

I'm a bit late to this party but would add if you're working a mooring with mains electricity will make life a lot more civilised, some would say a must have. 

 

Yes that would have been the case until quite recently, however most non-residential marinas will be paying business rates for electricity with a limited price cap. Everyone living aboard at my marina is busy installing solar panels so they can cut their reliance on mains electricity as much as possible as the price has just increased by 400%. I expect other marinas will follow suit very soon. 

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Crewcut said:

Being a sea boater (13 years FT living aboard) it was a great surprise to me that many canal boaters seem to me to be obsessed with using domestic 240v appliances whilst cruising/away from shore power on their boat - you can do without 240v appliances and if you do it will be much easier to manage your power on board.

 

 

Totally agree, except an automatic washing machine is great on a liveaboard when away from shore power, which is all the time if CCing. 

 

[Crewcut]

2 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

Yes that would have been the case until quite recently, however most non-residential marinas will be paying business rates for electricity with a limited price cap. Everyone living aboard at my marina is busy installing solar panels so they can cut their reliance on mains electricity as much as possible as the price has just increased by 400%. I expect other marinas will follow suit very soon. 

Yeah I'm considering some solar to mitigate the cost increase as well, mine's gone from 18p/unit to 42p/unit which is not nearly as bad as for some. In the coldest months my spend was about £100/month now it'll be more like £250...

[LilMissMolly]

On 31/10/2022 at 19:49, blackrose said:

 

There should be a few people from here who can view boats with you. I'm about halfway down the Nene so if it's on the Nene or GU near Northampton I don't mind going. Send me a PM if you find anything worthwhile that you're seriously interested in buying.

That is amazing!

Thank you - this was one thing I was worried about when it comes to the time of starting to look, It would be a great help taking someone with me!

I imagine you all know what to look out for! 
 

will certainly keep you in mind 😁

will even take you out for a few pints and a meal as a thank you minimum - imagine I can think up a better thank you when the time comes!

 

On 31/10/2022 at 20:56, roland elsdon said:

Thats your profession not the locals believe me.

After a lifetime as a psych nurse in 3 countries my view of humanity is as warped as my sense of humour.

People are the same everywhere.

oh 100%
That was in part just my warped sense of humour 😅

Met many wonderful people in Northampton!

 

On 31/10/2022 at 22:44, bizzard said:

Mental health nurse, splendid, We need one here urgently. One has just left here to live on land because of arthritis trouble. You may know her, Trish Reynolds, She trains and teaches the art. You might know nurse Gladys Emanuel too, although she's a midwife. Nevertheless we need a mental nurse here again.

Hehe

Funnily enough, NHS nurses do tend to know each other in a roundabout way 😂 always get spooked when we get a new nurse from a new area in and it turns out they know ex colleagues etc! 
sadly do not know Trish Reynolds though!

 

ahhh Gladys Emanuel - I hear she’s open all hours that one 😉

 

On 01/11/2022 at 19:15, roland elsdon said:

They also used to turn out mental health nurses in Northampton.  Berrywood Asylum had a great reputation. Maybe the local raw material was of high quality.

I recruited several Northampton trained staff whilst in Australia. They were much better than the home groan 😩 versions.

 

ooof at the use of used to 😭

 

I actually did my training with Berrywood! (Although not the old Crispins hospital but the Berrywood hospital that they built in 2010) 

 

ironically the end goal is to eventually move over to Australia! - still got a good couple of years of UK life left in me though!

 

7 hours ago, Crewcut said:

I'm a bit late to this party but would add if you're working a mooring with mains electricity will make life a lot more civilised, some would say a must have. I'd suggest a boat with a modern engine (kubota or Yanmar based), fixed bed with a proper mattress is a must, have a think about what type of toilet you might find least unpalatable to deal with - in my experience fancy pants electric flushing with a macerator into a large holding tank toilets are anathema but others prefer them to cassette type, with which there's much less to potentially go wrong but you'd need to deal with the waste more often. But you're a nurse so you're more used than most to dealing with poo & wee, BONUS! Forget separator loos if you're tempted, they don't really work on the canals. Reverse layout or not, stern/bow type, fuel & water tankage (especially water, ideally I think I'd be looking for 600 litres plus for FT liveaboard). Heating - again in my experience and opinion keep it simple, maybe a solid fuel stove or drip feed diesel in the middle of the boat (not at one end or the other), maybe if you must a radiator at either end and in the bathroom for occasional use in really cold weather? You can use oil filled rads though if you have mains. A lot of it depends on you & how much "luxury" you want, how much stuff you need to have around you, etc. but it's a massive help if you're practical and confident with tools, interested in how engines work, doing a bit of woodwork/DIY, painting and if you enjoy watching people do something on Youtube before having a go at doing it yourself! Being prepared to learn at least is an absolute must, I've met people who just are not willing to learn or have a go and they end up living on boats in unpleasant if not dangerous conditions.

 

Really, really try to get your head around 12 & 240 volt electrics, batteries, solar power, use of inverters, etc. on boats. Being a sea boater (13 years FT living aboard) it was a great surprise to me that many canal boaters seem to me to be obsessed with using domestic 240v appliances whilst cruising/away from shore power on their boat - you can do without 240v appliances and if you do it will be much easier to manage your power on board.

 

Go have a look at some boats to start to get a feel, anything upwards of 40 odd feet. If it was me as a single FT liveaboard I'd be aiming for around 45 - 50 feet but I've lived on much smaller sailboats and been quite happy. Good luck...

This was so detailed and full of really great tips - thank you!

 

I was thinking more in the range of 45-50 myself! It’s just a case of finding the right boat!

 

I was thinking more cassette toilets - I heard pump toilets can cause some issues down the line? Not sure how true that is but I’m happy doing the dirty work anyway! 
I know compost toilets seem to be on the rise but I haven’t really heard many peoples experience with them yet!

I’ll certainly start reading up on engines, electrics etc 😀

did think about doing a few courses in basic welding, carpentry etc - the more I can do myself, I imagine the better! (Or at least get some confidence and understanding in tools and such)

 

[Tony Brooks]

3 minutes ago, LilMissMolly said:

’ll certainly start reading up on engines, electrics etc

 

For a start try www.tb-training.co.uk.  Plenty for you to start with there. You can print then out section by section.

[blackrose]

3 hours ago, Crewcut said:

Yeah I'm considering some solar to mitigate the cost increase as well, mine's gone from 18p/unit to 42p/unit which is not nearly as bad as for some. In the coldest months my spend was about £100/month now it'll be more like £250...

 

I asked the mooring operator to put £100 on my meter about a week ago before the price went up. That would normally last me about 10 weeks. I wasn't putting money on the meter to avoid the impending price increase, I just needed more shore power as I live aboard and work from home. I assumed the meter would be adjusted and units would be used at a faster rate to reflect the price increase, I hadn't really thought it through. However a couple of days ago he told me he was reading the meters and he'd be charging everyone 3x what was already on the meter. So now I owe him another 300 quid! 😱

Edited November 3, 2022 by blackrose

[LadyG]

6 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

Totally agree, except an automatic washing machine is great on a liveaboard when away from shore power, which is all the time if CCing. 

 

I've got a washing machine but I've never used it, a one hour trip to a launderette every month costs £15 or less. All over in one go.

I wash socks etc by hand daily.

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

8 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

I asked the mooring operator to put £100 on my meter about a week ago before the price went up. That would normally last me about 10 weeks. I wasn't putting money on the meter to avoid the impending price increase, I just needed more shore power as I live aboard and work from home. I assumed the meter would be adjusted and units would be used at a faster rate to reflect the price increase, I hadn't really thought it through. However a couple of days ago he told me he was reading the meters and he'd be charging everyone 3x what was already on the meter. So now I owe him another 300 quid! 😱

 

That makes me even happier about our marina electri charging system.

 

We have a 'credit card that has a chip assigned to the boat.

You buy a number of 'units' (not a number of £s)

You put the card into the meter and it dumps the 'units' into the meter - if you go away for a few days / weeks / months cruising you put your card into the meter and it uploads the remaining units back onto the card.

 

I went to top up our card and was told "you've chosen a good day - it goes up by 40% tommorrow".

 

It was 20 p/unit and was increasing to 28p/unit (fixed for 1 year minimum)

[LadyG]

On 30/10/2022 at 21:51, MtB said:

 

Sort of, but do it for the whole of the month of December to get the authentic experience....

 

 

I think the only way to decide if anyone wants to risk buying a boat to live on is to sofa surf on other boats for a month ie thirty one days  and nights on board, and on at least four boats, two in a marina, two on the cut.

[blackrose]

4 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I think the only way to decide if anyone wants to risk buying a boat to live on is to sofa surf on other boats for a month ie thirty one days  and nights on board, and on at least four boats, two in a marina, two on the cut.

 

These are very specific numbers: 4 boats - 2 in marina, 2 outside, 31 days in total. Presumably this is exactly what you did before deciding to buy a boat to live on?

18 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I've got a washing machine but I've never used it

 

 

Could that be because your boat's electrical system isn't up to it?