Roving boaters

[ditchcrawler]

50 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

The more difficult case is that of laundry facilities. For similar reasons, the number of launderettes in the community has dropped drastically since their height. All new homes will come with at least a washer and dryer as part of the package and the lack is focussed on specific sectors, such as the lower quality rental market. Increasingly, new boats will have them as standard but the proportion of liveaboards with out is probably much higher than in most other parts of society and, in any case, they are a fraction of boaters as a whole, most of whom can readily take it back home at the end of their week or fortnight. In addition, CaRT laundry facilities do seem to be prone to misuse and have a high maintenance cost.

 

In our previous boat we were dependent on finding launderettes so I know how scarce they are, even 7 years ago. On our new boat, we specified a washer to be built in and certainly do not regret allocating that space for that purpose (being built in it only uses its own volume and not the space above it). Equally I am aware of the difficulty encountered by liveaboards without such a facility. One or two places, including camping sites beside the canal, are noted for being welcoming but it is the exception rather than the rule.

 

 

Low energy washing machines are to be featured on the BBC lunchtime news

[Naughty Cal]

2 minutes ago, M_JG said:

 

For me - I do. 

 

But we are careful to use sites that are spotlessly clean and I do wear flip flops in the shower. I can't recall any CRT shower that was as clean as the ones I use on site.

 

Mrs M_JG doesn't, she prefers the shower in the 'van.

We very rarely use the toilets and showers on sites. It's just easier to use the ones on the van.

 

Only time we have used site facilities has been when we have stayed somewhere for a few days at a time and we are conserving water and grey waste tank capacity rather than nipping to the service point. A couple of times in almost three years.

 

We probably used the CRT facilities more when we had the boat, although again we rarely used them. It was easy enough to nip to the loo or grab a quick shower while the water tank was filling on the boat. If we were in the marina we would use the marina facilities to shower during the winter rather than the boat shower. There was no heating in the boat shower room as it was a wet room so it could drop a tad chilly in there at times. Much warmer in the toiler blocks.

[GUMPY]

13 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

"I got a caravan instead" -so if you go to a caravan site, do you not use the facilities there?

Why would I when I have perfectly good facilities in the van.

I will admit to having a wee in one once🥴

[Arthur Marshall]

4 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

That shows just how little you know!!

 

There are plenty of smaller cruisers on the system that do not have a shower.

True, I'd forgotten them! However, I presume they do have washing facilities, and it's a bit horses for courses, isn't it? You can't really buy a boat without a shower and then complain you haven't got one and so they should be provided for you.

I've never had a washing machine on the boat either - same applies. Handwashing is fine for one or two people. If it isn't, same as the no shower but can't live without one brigade, you're on the wrong boat for your lifestyle. One or other needs to change.

Currently, CRT is struggling to provide enough water to float on, and enough working locks to get anywhere.

[GUMPY]

Besides which most of the CL we use don't have any facilities 

[Mad Harold]

52 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

True, I'd forgotten them! However, I presume they do have washing facilities, and it's a bit horses for courses, isn't it? You can't really buy a boat without a shower and then complain you haven't got one and so they should be provided for you.

I've never had a washing machine on the boat either - same applies. Handwashing is fine for one or two people. If it isn't, same as the no shower but can't live without one brigade, you're on the wrong boat for your lifestyle. One or other needs to change.

Currently, CRT is struggling to provide enough water to float on, and enough working locks to get anywhere.

On a boat without a shower a "stand up budgie wash at the sink" is quite adequate untill you get to services.

As for laundry, my dad told me to use the army method, slap your socks against a wall and if they stick, they need washing.  😄

[Arthur Marshall]

8 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

On a boat without a shower a "stand up budgie wash at the sink" is quite adequate untill you get to services.

As for laundry, my dad told me to use the army method, slap your socks against a wall and if they stick, they need washing.  😄

My dad reckoned he had three socks and washed one a week .

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Arthur Marshall said:

True, I'd forgotten them! However, I presume they do have washing facilities, and it's a bit horses for courses, isn't it? You can't really buy a boat without a shower and then complain you haven't got one and so they should be provided for you.

I've never had a washing machine on the boat either - same applies. Handwashing is fine for one or two people. If it isn't, same as the no shower but can't live without one brigade, you're on the wrong boat for your lifestyle. One or other needs to change.

Currently, CRT is struggling to provide enough water to float on, and enough working locks to get anywhere.

 

But the problem with that is people have bought boats without a shower based on what facilities are available and what they can reasonably expect to be maintained in the future. Especially with above inflation licence fee increases.

 

It's not like now expecting CRT to provide facilities to deal with composting toilets which were a rarity and the facilities don't exist.

 

None of this of course affects me personally but I can  see why some boaters will be pee'd off with CRT for a reduction in facilities provided given what was in place when they bought their boat.

[IanD]

2 minutes ago, M_JG said:

 

But the problem with that is people have bought boats without a shower based on what facilities are available and what they can reasonably expect to be maintained in the future. Especially with above inflation licence fee increases.

 

It's not like now expecting CRT to provide facilities to deal with composting toilets which were a rarity and the facilities don't exist.

 

None of this of course affects me personally but I can  see why some boaters will be pee'd off with CRT for a reduction in facilities provided given what was in place when they bought their boat.

 

Understood that they might be p*ssed off, but then they're probably also complaining about poor maintenance and stoppages and the increased license fees...

 

CART don't have a magic money tree, they have to choose what to spend their (inadequate) income on, and boater showers are presumably low priority.

Edited December 13, 2023 by IanD

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

Understood that they might be p*ssed off, but then they're probably also complaining about poor maintenance and stoppages and the increased license fees...

 

CART don't have a magic money tree, they have to choose what to spend their (inadequate) income on, and boater showers are presumably low priority.

 

Yes this has all been done to death previously.

 

These things however are only a low priority if they don't adversely affect oneself.

 

I can sympathise with boaters who mourn the loss of such facilities that is all.

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, M_JG said:

These things however are only a low priority if they don't adversely affect oneself.

 

 

Eggsactly - the widebeam surcharge only affects widebeam owners, the 'CC' increases only affect 'CCers'.

 

NB owners  go : 'phew, dodged a bullet on that one, long may it continue'

[Arthur Marshall]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Eggsactly - the widebeam surcharge only affects widebeam owners, the 'CC' increases only affect 'CCers'.

 

NB owners  go : 'phew, dodged a bullet on that one, long may it continue'

And some, of course, vacate the premises entirely and go lumpy.

I'm not sure any narrowboaters do think like that, any more than moorers used to hate CCers, or rustyboaters hated shiny boaters etc etc. They were all myths put about by those who just liked stirring. None of it existed in real life.

[Tacet]

4 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

The more difficult case is that of laundry facilities.

The most difficult case is locating public slipper baths.  I used a couple in the 1970s when boating but a quick Google suggests none remain in the UK.

[Tracy D'arth]

7 minutes ago, Tacet said:

The most difficult case is locating public slipper baths.  I used a couple in the 1970s when boating but a quick Google suggests none remain in the UK.

I don't wash slippers.

[Ronaldo47]

Could we be reverting to the pre-1970's situation, when a boat's essential equipment used to include a spade for burying the Elsan's contents when it got full?  We had to use the one supplied with our hire boat in 1976, when the water shortages of that year's drought severely limited lock opening times, there were no facilities in the pound we found ourselves in when the loos got full, and the next locks weren't going to be opened until noon the following day. 

[Sailbadthesinner]

2 hours ago, Tacet said:

The most difficult case is locating public slipper baths.  I used a couple in the 1970s when boating but a quick Google suggests none remain in the UK.

 

What's a slipper berth?

Google suggests it's something to do with horse racing.

Edit  Sorry, must-read slipper Bath

Edited December 13, 2023 by Sailbadthesinner

[Ewan123]

I used a CRT shower once, last year. Thought I might as well, it could be a long one without wondering whether the gas water heater would have a tanty part way through. It was at Brentford and, well... grim. I felt cleaner before going in.

 

I'll stick to my own shower now. I did answer that consultation to say I thought showers were the least necessary service, though do sympathise for those that might appreciate them.

 

I also said laundry facilities might as well go, though I have no washing machine. Given how facilities are treated by some, I just wouldn't trust the machine to be clean and working properly anyway, short of the facilities being staffed - I can usually rely on launderettes to be clean and work, or often have a person on hand to refund me when the tumbler was cold.

[magnetman]

A decent fire extinguisher evacuated of its contents, filled with water and pumped up using the schrader valve in the neck can work as a shower. Put it beside the fire for a while to warm it up. 

 

Stainless version would be nice !

 

I did have a Hozelock hanging basket watering unit once for this as well but the result of using it was that I pulled a woman and all hell broke loose. The kids are almost teenagers !