Question from a total novice

[Onewheeler]

Don't forget that if you are going out on a river you'll need an anchor and a good length of line (some chain is a bonus). Make sure the end is fixed to something secure!

[zapgaz]

1 minute ago, Onewheeler said:

Don't forget that if you are going out on a river you'll need an anchor and a good length of line (some chain is a bonus). Make sure the end is fixed to something secure!

Sound advice! I saw a boat for sale on the Derwent (Yorkshire) that didn't appear to have one.

I don't know what scared me more. That or the though of me attempting to get it onto the Selby Canal!

 

Just now, zapgaz said:

Sound advice! I saw a boat for sale on the Derwent (Yorkshire) that didn't appear to have one.

I don't know what scared me more. That or the though of me attempting to get it onto the Selby Canal!

 

Onewheeler!

I've posted about not having any tat, but, I do have an item of tat onboard

A pink unicycle rescued from a HWRC I was working on last year.

That's reminded me to find someone to give it to...

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

Currently use a single Trangia stove to cook, an oven would be nice, and "the word on the street ' is that it is now permitted to refil gas bottles on the forecourt LPG pump.

 

The BSS is not optional and if you are using a trangia stove I'm pretty sure it will be a BSS fail.

If using gas on board then the cylinder MUST be kept in a gas tight box with a drain so that any gas leak is discharged overboard. Just standing a cylinder on the reardeck (or anywhere else) is a BSS fail

Some small GRP cruisers have a steel basket/cradle bolted onto the outside of the transom - this is acceptable as the gas leak just 'drops' overboard

 

Imagine this bolted to the back of the boat :

 

Edited September 5 by Alan de Enfield

[zapgaz]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

The BSS is not optional and if you are using a trangia stove I'm pretty sure it will be a BSS fail.

If using gas on board then the cylinder MUST be kept in a gas tight box with a drain so that any gas leak is discharged overboard. Just standing a cylinder on the reardeck (or anywhere else) is a BSS fail

Some small GRP cruisers have a steel basket/cradle bolted onto the outside of the transom - this is acceptable as the gas leak just 'drops' overboard

 

Imagine this bolted to the back of the boat :

 

Past experience tells me that there will be no breakfast or morning cuppa in winter when the propane inevitably freezes!

Would an Origo stove be a BSS fail?My Trangia is one of the pocket bushcraft stoves, an Origo would be nice, expensive, but nice

[Onewheeler]

12 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

Onewheeler!

I've posted about not having any tat, but, I do have an item of tat onboard

A pink unicycle rescued from a HWRC I was working on last year.

That's reminded me to find someone to give it to...

I've got three in the garage but current health issues are stopping me doing anything. It's worth learning to ride if only for the core muscles, I had a six pack which was admired by many of the women in our village 🤪

[Tony Brooks]

27 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

Have no need for shore power. Fridge, microwave and TV would be of no use to me whatsoever, so my power demands are almost non existent.

 

27 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

My 'new' bike is more than capable of carrying cylinders, wood, supplies etc, so.

 

Power demand almost zero, and that means there is some demand, add to that the suggestion about electric outboards and the fact that the older and smaller the outboard is the less ability to battery charge it is likely to have, plus your plan to not move much when you are working, I foresee a potential problem. I am sure solar charging will go a long way to meet your electrical need, but on such a small boat roof are is important and unless your cycle is folder I think it may be competing for roof space with any solar.

[Alan de Enfield]

6 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

Past experience tells me that there will be no breakfast or morning cuppa in winter when the propane inevitably freezes!

Would an Origo stove be a BSS fail?My Trangia is one of the pocket bushcraft stoves, an Origo would be nice, expensive, but nice

 

I have never had propane freeze - the marina has been frozen over so that you could walk on it, but Propane never froze it doesn't freeze as easily as Butane.

[Tony Brooks]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I have never had propane freeze - the marina has been frozen over so that you could walk on it, but Propane never froze it doesn't freeze as easily as Butane.

 

I confirm that. One winter was so cold the marina froze to such a depth that the ice held the boat solid when I stepped aboard, but the cooker and gas central heating still worked. Anyway, the OP can always P on the bottle to warm it enough to get some gas to heat some water, which can be poured over the cylinder to warm it even more.

[Onewheeler]

Some of the trangias use meths or gel. I have no idea how that works with the bss.

[BilgePump]

17 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

Past experience tells me that there will be no breakfast or morning cuppa in winter when the propane inevitably freezes!

Would an Origo stove be a BSS fail?My Trangia is one of the pocket bushcraft stoves, an Origo would be nice, expensive, but nice

Origo, like a meths trangia isn't covered by the BSS as far as I understand. A twin burner Origo is cool but I tend to waste meths in it by putting too much into the doughnuts. Only got one a few years ago and had managed with a trangia on boats for a few decades beforehand. All this is leisure boating though, but still works fine in the depths of winter.

[zapgaz]

1 minute ago, Onewheeler said:

Some of the trangias use meths or gel. I have no idea how that works with the bss.

Yeah, my little Trangia is making me coffee now on Meths.

I have a Coleman petrol stove too, massive no-no!

Had propane freeze on several occasions, in Cornwall too, but admittedly, they were 47kg cylinders stored outside, could have been the external pipework, I can't remember how it was solved as it was a while ago.

5 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

Origo, like a meths trangia isn't covered by the BSS as far as I understand. A twin burner Origo is cool but I tend to waste meths in it by putting too much into the doughnuts. Only got one a few years ago and had managed with a trangia on boats for a few decades beforehand. All this is leisure boating though, but still works fine in the depths of winter.

That's good to know. I'm new to meths, and I'm using to try and lower my use of fossil fuels.

Nothing to do with the discount I had at work buying meths mind!......

Should point out to readers in the future that meths/alcohol can be bleddy dangerous!

Invisible flames and carbon monoxide can be a real hazard.

And they can flare up alarmingly in draughty conditions!

[Tony Brooks]

2 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

Had propane freeze on several occasions, in Cornwall too, but admittedly, they were 47kg cylinders stored outside, could have been the external pipework, I can't remember how it was solved as it was a while ago.

 

Eventually you do get a horrible liquid gunk in the gas pipes, I am sure that will become more viscous and possibly freeze in really cold weather, but that is more down to lack of maintenance than the propane freezing. Propane stops evaporating at minus 42C against plus 1C for butane.

[BilgePump]

14 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

Yeah, my little Trangia is making me coffee now on Meths.

I have a Coleman petrol stove too, massive no-no!

Had propane freeze on several occasions, in Cornwall too, but admittedly, they were 47kg cylinders stored outside, could have been the external pipework, I can't remember how it was solved as it was a while ago.

That's good to know. I'm new to meths, and I'm using to try and lower my use of fossil fuels.

Nothing to do with the discount I had at work buying meths mind!......

Should point out to readers in the future that meths/alcohol can be bleddy dangerous!

Invisible flames and carbon monoxide can be a real hazard.

And they can flare up alarmingly in draughty conditions!

Absolutely. I mentioned a paraffin lamp in small boat earlier - ventilation and CO detectors are absolutely essential. 

[Mike Hurley]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326247591214?itmmeta=01J7129Q3M6BGVFHJ19XJ2A8A6&hash=item4bf5df2d2e:g:z7sAAOSw0FdmzOqb&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwIGlUAWZBx1gbu%2FRwYCIK9zepvPQiehAzKi2lqDO%2F5gUiRqp9DE%2FAOJVYSoszk%2FgokPW0iDDcazqTGupNHXoyNkVaiIfDY0swCcbYB04P2e1%2BbbmPk8mbIOWvWB4uHgtkcaPXUN%2BR6GN4oBc%2FKTY86HuZAq1C5pyRFleAatRNT2X7ysoJWPIO7%2FJeNQ23Q1PBvKTC7zar1aeLBlQ9oRSX6vPtw7rtbol9kcwzRWYrv%2B4b3RlJWpjZB%2FAlEKzWG1OXw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_TxpqK4ZA

 

5.5K, looks nice.

[jonathanA]

47 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

Past experience tells me that there will be no breakfast or morning cuppa in winter when the propane inevitably freezes!

Would an Origo stove be a BSS fail?My Trangia is one of the pocket bushcraft stoves, an Origo would be nice, expensive, but nice

I have had propane freeze. Well actually what happens is the Regulator stops passing gas , whether its propane frozen or ice forming in the regulator I don't know. What I do know is that an (electric) kettle of hot water poured on the regulator of the bulk tank sorted it.... Calor later told me that they have a winter and summer version of bulk gas, with the winter version having some sort of additive to prevent freezing.

I've also had the same happen in August, but on that occasion I was running a couple of water boilers, cookers and gas rings off one 13kg cylinder and the regulator couldn't cope and iced up.... it was a uk wet August a few years ago 😑

Edited September 5 by jonathanA
Sp

[zapgaz]

1 minute ago, Mike Hurley said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326247591214?itmmeta=01J7129Q3M6BGVFHJ19XJ2A8A6&hash=item4bf5df2d2e:g:z7sAAOSw0FdmzOqb&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwIGlUAWZBx1gbu%2FRwYCIK9zepvPQiehAzKi2lqDO%2F5gUiRqp9DE%2FAOJVYSoszk%2FgokPW0iDDcazqTGupNHXoyNkVaiIfDY0swCcbYB04P2e1%2BbbmPk8mbIOWvWB4uHgtkcaPXUN%2BR6GN4oBc%2FKTY86HuZAq1C5pyRFleAatRNT2X7ysoJWPIO7%2FJeNQ23Q1PBvKTC7zar1aeLBlQ9oRSX6vPtw7rtbol9kcwzRWYrv%2B4b3RlJWpjZB%2FAlEKzWG1OXw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_TxpqK4ZA

 

5.5K, looks nice.

I was looking at a Shetland on another site

Don't know if I read too much into it, but, apparently when the hull is constructed they are pumped full of foam (for buoyancy?) from the OUTSIDE and the hole plugged with sealer.

I've read a story about the seal giving way, silently saturating the foam, and causing problems which would be way out of my depth.

I may be reading to much Into stuff

 

 

 

[Mad Harold]

54 minutes ago, zapgaz said:

I was looking at a Shetland on another site

Don't know if I read too much into it, but, apparently when the hull is constructed they are pumped full of foam (for buoyancy?) from the OUTSIDE and the hole plugged with sealer.

I've read a story about the seal giving way, silently saturating the foam, and causing problems which would be way out of my depth.

I may be reading to much Into stuff

 

I have read some stories about foam sandwich hulls. Fine if water is kept out of the foam, but a bit of a nightmare if the hull has a puncture.

Regarding boats, I have had two Norman 20's  and think they are very sound little boats, but have tiny cabins with low headroom.I am 5'-9" and cooking, washing, having a pee had to be done stooped. Fine for two or three days, but I once had a ten day cruise and was very glad to go home.

Have a look for a Norman 22, 23, or 24.You may find one within your budget or perhaps a Viking 23, which may be a bit of a project.

Dawncraft 22,and 25 seem to go fairly cheaply, and for their size are very roomy boats, but old ones have problems with leaks (both hull and cabin) so may need some remedial work.

Good luck.

 

 

[Chris G]

2 hours ago, zapgaz said:

when the propane inevitably freezes!

I think it's butane which stays liquid. Propane is OK in winter.

[MtB]

You don’t seem to have considered where you will be getting all this electricity you keep mentioning. Give it serious consideration as it is failure to manage batteries and power that causes most liveaboards who pack it in, to do so. 

[Tony Brooks]

11 minutes ago, MtB said:

You don’t seem to have considered where you will be getting all this electricity you keep mentioning. Give it serious consideration as it is failure to manage batteries and power that causes most liveaboards who pack it in, to do so. 

 

The OP did say "Have no need for shore power. Fridge, microwave and TV would be of no use to me whatsoever, so my power demands are almost non existent". So he is less likely to run into the lack of electricity problems that many do. I hope he took my warning about low charging outputs on small and old outboards to heart.

 

In fact, if it is a pull start OB then as long as he can control the charging a lithium battery would be ideal because he won't be faced with sulphation if left discharged, or running out of cyclic life.

Edited September 5 by Tony Brooks

[zapgaz]

47 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

I hope he took my warning about low charging outputs on small and old outboards to heart.

I certainly have.

Any outboard, or inboard for that matter would have to be able to be started by hand.

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, zapgaz said:

I certainly have.

Any outboard, or inboard for that matter would have to be able to be started by hand.

 

 

And your light bulbs, phone charger, computer etc etc all pedal powered.

Solves the question about being cold.

 

 

 

 

 

[zapgaz]

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

And your light bulbs, phone charger, computer etc etc all pedal powered.

Solves the question about being cold.

 

 

 

 

 

Genius! 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, zapgaz said:

Genius! 

 

Not sure it would work on a Uni-cylcle - maybe you'd have to fit rollers into the floor (like a car MOT station)

[zapgaz]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

You don’t seem to have considered where you will be getting all this electricity you keep mentioning. Give it serious consideration as it is failure to manage batteries and power that causes most liveaboards who pack it in, to do so. 

I’m the least power hungry person you’ll ever meet!

But I’m aiming to start with 200w solar which should meet my needs of charging my iPhone once a day, if I use it, my Nokia brick once a fortnight, and my rechargeable lantern twice a week.

And tbh, I could live without any of these.