Tankage for a month of splendid isolation.

[TheBiscuits]

8 minutes ago, Gybe Ho said:

here is either that giant linear 3 ring gas hob that seems to be designed for a commercial kitchen and featured in 50% of Crick exhibition narrowboats kitchen or scaled down lidded hobs for RV kitchens. Is your hybrid hob idea a design concept or a real product?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204830239027

 

 

 

No connection with the seller, just the first one I spotted on Google under £500

 

Edit to add:  There's plenty of other makes and models available at varying price points.

 

Edited July 22 by TheBiscuits
Add a bit

[cheesegas]

1 minute ago, Gybe Ho said:

Tis reassuring to read you achieve solar self sufficiency for 8 months with a sensible technical investment. Do your think your largest daily electric consumption is a fridge or computer?

 

The caravan/narrowboat equipment suppliers have a blind spot in the kitchen hob department. There is either that giant linear 3 ring gas hob that seems to be designed for a commercial kitchen and featured in 50% of Crick exhibition narrowboats kitchen or scaled down lidded hobs for RV kitchens. Is your hybrid hob idea a design concept or a real product?

It depends what I'm doing - my fridge uses around 20-24ah per day, more if the boat's really hot inside on a sunny day. If I'm doing office tasks on my laptop it's less than the fridge, if it's doing CPU/GPU intensive stuff like CAD renders then it's more. I work from home 1-2 days a week on average.

 

The hob idea is real, I've bought a single ring Sterling (https://sterling-power.com/products/induction-hobs-1?variant=43182790574269) as it's got the smallest counter top footprint I could find. It is however Sterling, so I don't expect the best reliability...

 

I intend to buy something like this and fit both side by side, which gives flexibility in placement and it'll fit into a reduced depth countertop.

https://cookology.com/product/collections/black-products/cookology-ggh306bk-30cm-2-burner-gas-on-glass-hob-with-cast-iron-pan-supports/

[IanD]

2 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

It depends what I'm doing - my fridge uses around 20-24ah per day, more if the boat's really hot inside on a sunny day. If I'm doing office tasks on my laptop it's less than the fridge, if it's doing CPU/GPU intensive stuff like CAD renders then it's more. I work from home 1-2 days a week on average.

 

The hob idea is real, I've bought a single ring Sterling (https://sterling-power.com/products/induction-hobs-1?variant=43182790574269) as it's got the smallest counter top footprint I could find. It is however Sterling, so I don't expect the best reliability...

 

I intend to buy something like this and fit both side by side, which gives flexibility in placement and it'll fit into a reduced depth countertop.

https://cookology.com/product/collections/black-products/cookology-ggh306bk-30cm-2-burner-gas-on-glass-hob-with-cast-iron-pan-supports/

 

I think not, to meet the manufacturer's installation recommendations (needed for a BSC) you always need clearance between the front edge of the hob and the worktop edge and between the back edge and any wall/upstand. I expect it needs a standard kitchen 60cm deep worktop, just like all the other hobs the same depth (including mine).

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

I think not, to meet the manufacturer's installation recommendations (needed for a BSC) you always need clearance between the front edge of the hob and the worktop edge and between the back edge and any wall/upstand. I expect it needs a standard kitchen 60cm deep worktop, just like all the other hobs the same depth (including mine).

 

Quite right, and 600mm deep worktops in a narrowboat are just too deep when there is are worktops on both sides of the galley.

 

The worktops in this boat I'm on now are 550mm deep (and on my other boat, 525mm IIRC)

[cheesegas]

7 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

I think not, to meet the manufacturer's installation recommendations (needed for a BSC) you always need clearance between the front edge of the hob and the worktop edge and between the back edge and any wall/upstand. I expect it needs a standard kitchen 60cm deep worktop, just like all the other hobs the same depth (including mine).

Ah sorry, I meant I'd be installing it landscape rather than portrait if that makes sense - it'll easily fit into my 500mm deep worktop that way.

[Gybe Ho]

3 hours ago, Bod said:

@Gybe Ho when someone recalls the name of this boat, you could spend a very useful hour or so researching the boat and it's recent history.

Another worth studying albeit a much different case, but still one where "fresh ideas" were used, is" Dover".  A large Woolwich, renovated, fitted with mod cons, mostly removed by subsequent buyers at ever reducing value.

 

 

Technology, why would I want any of that? For techno gizmos go to Crick and you will see touch dimmable lights everywhere, remote Nest central heating control, Amazon Echo remote control, TV soundbars, motorized TV stands that were inspired by the StarTrek Enterprise bridge, LED strip lighting behind every strip of oak trim. There is clearly a cultural disconnect if forum members associate all this with YouTuber fitouts, it is the Crick Boomers who pay for gizmos.

 

I am focusing on the material essentials e.g. a proper wooden floor and not Amtico plastic laminate, skylights and not lurid remote controlled multi colour strip lights. Manually tilted solar panels and not push button TV stands. A big water tank and not an onboard desalination plant. Growing things on the roof and not Tesco home herb deliveries. Just gave me a light switch with a reassuring mechanical click and preferably one with a patinaed aged brass faceplate.

2 hours ago, cheesegas said:

It is however Sterling, so I don't expect the best reliability...

 

 

The Yachting community has similar doubts about that company.

Edited July 22 by Gybe Ho

[IanD]

18 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Quite right, and 600mm deep worktops in a narrowboat are just too deep when there is are worktops on both sides of the galley.

 

The worktops in this boat I'm on now are 550mm deep (and on my other boat, 525mm IIRC)

Mine are shallower (50cm?) where they're on both sides (but still deep enough for domestic appliances underneath), the deeper hob/oven one (60cm) is positioned where the central galley walkway has to go across the boat anyway to get round the dinette.

 

[Gybe Ho]

27 minutes ago, MtB said:

Quite right, and 600mm deep worktops in a narrowboat are just too deep when there is are worktops on both sides of the galley.

 

The worktops in this boat I'm on now are 550mm deep (and on my other boat, 525mm IIRC)

 

 

I notice from photos that Oakhams have asymmetric linear kitchens with a wider looking counter on the hob side. They also place a skylight over the galley and eliminate a widow on the hob side which means no concern over a curtain dangling near a hob.

Edited July 22 by Gybe Ho

[IanD]

30 minutes ago, Gybe Ho said:

 

Technology, why would I want any of that? For techno gizmos go to Crick and you will see touch dimmable lights everywhere, remote Nest central heating control, Amazon Echo remote control, TV soundbars, motorized TV stands that were inspired by the StarTrek Enterprise bridge, LED strip lighting behind every strip of oak trim. There is clearly a cultural disconnect if forum members associate all this with YouTuber fitouts, it is the Crick Boomers who pay for gizmos.

 

I am focusing on the material essentials e.g. a proper wooden floor and not Amtico plastic laminate, skylights and not lurid remote controlled multi colour strip lights. Manually tilted solar panels and not push button TV stands. A big water tank and not an onboard desalination plant. Growing things on the roof and not Tesco home herb deliveries. Just gave me a light switch with a reassuring mechanical click and preferably one with an patinaed aged brass faceplate.

 

Technology has its place when it actually delivers something useful not just "woo, that's neat!".

 

A Nest CH controller (I have one) is useful because it's flexible and easy to use and program/change, you can move it around, and it can be remotely accessed if you need to do this -- for example monitoring temperature and changing settings for frost protection while away from the boat, or turning on the heating or hot water before you get there.

 

I've got Sonos speakers in the dinette (which can also be taken outside) and saloon (soundbar) and bedroom which mean I can listen to decent-quality music (entire library on a USB stick, radio, streaming...) anywhere I want to, and have a music/radio alarm in the morning, and this is genuinely useful if you like music -- which we do. And they can be voice-controlled (or from a phone app) so you don't have to hunt down a remote control or get to a control button on the speaker.

 

A table in the dinette that rises and falls electrically (and costs getting on for 2 grand IIRC!) is needless complexity that might help sell a boat but is pointless in reality. As for LED multi-colour strip lights under the gunwale, these are about as useful as the programmable dashboard/door strip lights in my car... 😞 

 

12 minutes ago, Gybe Ho said:

 

I notice from photos that Oakhams have asymmetric linear kitchens with a wider looking counter on the hob side. They also place a skylight over the galley and eliminate a widow on the hob side which means no concern over a curtain dangling near a hob.

 

I don't think it's a concern, I think it's a BSC failure. Same reason you can't have mains sockets right next to the sink...

Edited July 22 by IanD

[Gybe Ho]

1 hour ago, IanD said:

Technology has its place when it actually delivers something useful not just "woo, that's neat!".

 

 

I can understand you made logical decisions to incorporate technologies in your new build. I was pushing back against the forum culture that continually demonstrates an astonishing degree of misunderstand about YouTubers. Apparently because I posted some positive comments about YouTube narrowboat fitouts, this is positive proof I want an immobile marina based houseboat full of ridiculous experimental technology that will inevitably lead to my personal financial ruin.

 

I challenge such posters to watch yesterday's new episode from ThisTinyLife and identify any daft experimental narrowboat fitout technology. She even makes her own baby bath lotion for her 6 month old baby. The vessel is actually a serial hybrid but the technology is hidden away as it should be. Actually it is a semi serial hybrid because I don't think there is a fitted GenSet aboard. 

 

 

 

Edited July 22 by Gybe Ho

[IanD]

47 minutes ago, Gybe Ho said:

 

I can understand you made logical decisions to incorporate technologies in your new build. I was pushing back against the forum culture that continually demonstrates an astonishing degree of misunderstand about YouTubers. Apparently because I posted some positive comments about YouTube narrowboat fitouts, this is positive proof I want an immobile marina based houseboat full of ridiculous experimental technology that will inevitably lead to my personal financial ruin.

 

I challenge such posters to watch yesterday's new episode from ThisTinyLife and identify any daft experimental narrowboat fitout technology. She even makes her own baby bath lotion for her 6 month old baby. The vessel is actually a serial hybrid but the technology is hidden away as it should be. Actually it is a semi serial hybrid because I don't think there is a fitted GenSet aboard. 

 

 

 

 

Many posters on CWDF seem to have a pathological hatred/fear of technology even when it can do something useful -- or indeed anything that didn't exist in "the good old days".

 

The fact that they're only able to post on CWDF or use their smartphone (if they have one!) due to such technology seems to escape them... 😉 

 

I'm sure they could also go back to using incandescent light bulbs that get hot and have short lifetimes and consume 10x the power of LED ones (flattened batteries!) if they wanted to -- or doesn't this count as "technology"?

 

Boats are no different to cars or houses, there are a lot of people nowadays over-impressed by the latest "woo-woo" technology for the sake of it, even if it's no better (or even worse) than doing it "the old way", and so there are plenty of suppliers willing to provide such technology because their customers want it and will pay for it.

 

That's not a technology problem, it's an attitude/education problem -- just like the "tech phobia" I referred to in the first paragraph, but the other way round... 😉 

Edited July 22 by IanD

[BilgePump]

3 hours ago, IanD said:

 

Many posters on CWDF seem to have a pathological hatred/fear of technology even when it can do something useful -- or indeed anything that didn't exist in "the good old days".

There's a big difference between your boat, looks lovely and all the tech is related to propulsion and power, well thought out with matured battery tech, and Whitefield which was just strange. How many TVs does someone need and boasting about DVD players now seems a bit antiquated. Joystick steering on a narrowbpoat, WTF?

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

There's a big difference between your boat, looks lovely and all the tech is related to propulsion and power, well thought out with matured battery tech, and Whitefield which was just strange. How many TVs does someone need and boasting about DVD players now seems a bit antiquated. Joystick steering on a narrowbpoat, WTF?

 

Exactly.

 

Whitfield attracted so much derision because most of the 'tech' was pointless and done 'just because they can'. It became a beacon of how not to do it and put a lot of people off trying new ideas, sadly. 

[IanD]

21 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

There's a big difference between your boat, looks lovely and all the tech is related to propulsion and power, well thought out with matured battery tech, and Whitefield which was just strange. How many TVs does someone need and boasting about DVD players now seems a bit antiquated. Joystick steering on a narrowbpoat, WTF?

There is tech inside my boat too, but only where it actually gives a real-life advantage not just for the sake of it. And only one TV (32" Samsung smart monitor, streaming only) mounted flat on the wall, no silly rising up out of a cabinet -- which is there but used for books and electronics and storage, with the Sonos sound bar on top. As far as I'm concerned, practicality wins over "woo-woo" every time... 😉 

 

The joystick steering on Whitefield seems to have been an unmitigated disaster, it seems the boat just zigzagged down the canal... 😞 

 

14 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Exactly.

 

Whitfield attracted so much derision because most of the 'tech' was pointless and done 'just because they can'. It became a beacon of how not to do it and put a lot of people off trying new ideas, sadly. 

The problem with a lot of new tech nowadays is that it's a product/solution looking for a problem -- new sexy hot-off-the-press gewgaws which look pretty and make people go "Wow!", but either don't really give any advantage or in some cases are harder to use and often more expensive to buy, even if it's cheaper to make.

 

For example, see getting rid of all the physical controls and replacing them with touchscreens in cars -- looks sleek and cool, but a disaster as far as usability is concerned... 😞 

 

It doesn't mean that new tech chosen and used appropriately is bad, but the amount of shiny sh*t around often hides this fact, and as a consequence lots of people automatically assume that new=bad -- because it is, all too often... 😞 

Edited July 22 by IanD

[BilgePump]

6 minutes ago, IanD said:

There is tech inside my boat too, but only where it actually gives a real-life advantage not just for the sake of it. And only one TV (32" Samsung smart monitor, streaming only) mounted on the wall, no silly rising up out of a cabinet -- which is there but used for books and electronics and storage, with the Sonos sound bar on top. Practicality wins over "woo-woo" every time... 😉 

 

The joystick steering on Whitefield seems to have been an unmitigated disaster, it seems the boat just zigzags down the canal... 😞 

I'm sure that there are a lot of non-boaters who would look at Rallentando from the towpath and have no idea that it's a new boat with electric drive. As for a few life luxuries, that all makes sense, just not consumer junk TVs in every part of the boat. Not had a TV on a boat since it went digital. Oh, not got a TV at home either 🙂

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

  Not had a TV on a boat since it went digital. Oh, not got a TV at home either 🙂

Bet you still get demands to buy a licence 

[IanD]

1 minute ago, BilgePump said:

I'm sure that there are a lot of non-boaters who would look at Rallentando from the towpath and have no idea that it's a new boat with electric drive. As for a few life luxuries, that all makes sense, just not consumer junk TVs in every part of the boat. Not had a TV on a boat since it went digital. Oh, not got a TV at home either 🙂

 

They know when it goes past them silently, though... 😉 

 

What people think is sensible or silly is entirely down to personal preference -- I'm sure other people would think that having music available everywhere and space onboard to store instruments (and a minibarrel or two of beer just inside the rear doors) was non-essential, I beg to differ... 🙂 

[BilgePump]

Just now, ditchcrawler said:

Bet you still get demands to buy a licence 

No demands. I still pay the licence as stream on computer and really do not need a load of hassle.

28 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

They know when it goes past them silently, though... 😉 

 

What people think is sensible or silly is entirely down to personal preference -- I'm sure other people would think that having music available everywhere and space onboard to store instruments (and a minibarrel or two of beer just inside the rear doors) was non-essential, I beg to differ... 🙂 

If you were moored up in Failsworth earlier in the year, you weren't moving when walked past so didn't hear the silence. Lovely boat, elegant lines.