My new old Narrowboat...

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Shandybass said:

I'll make an annual inspection of the strainer part of my routine maintenance, when I put it in drydock every year or two.

 

I'd suggest that scuttling about in muddy ditches, you'd be better doing it monthly, or even weekly.

Maybe ask the question as to why that system is so rarely found on canal boats ?

 

The vast majority are cooled by a closed system - no sucking up the muddy water caused by dragging your bottom along the canal bottom. 

Edited February 22 by Alan de Enfield

[David Mack]

38 minutes ago, Shandybass said:

I'm actually thinking now, that while the strainer is out, I should treat the rusty in the mudbox and paint it with hammerite, or even 2 pack, if I can get my hands on a remnant from someone

I would  suggest 2 pack epoxy, as you would use on the outside of the hull (which this effectively is).

11 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

If it was me I would extend the mud box above the water line so I could take the top off when afloat

Agreed. You never know when you might need to clean it out. Would be OK if the seacock was between the hull inlet and the mudbox, as is more usual with direct cooling.

Edited February 22 by David Mack

[Shandybass]

Hmm. I can see the advantage. It might have to wait until next year though.

I think my issue with it would be that it would make it even more difficult to get at the strainer and pipe

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I'd suggest that scuttling about in muddy ditches, you'd be better doing it monthly, or even weekly.

Maybe ask the question as to why that system is so rarely found on canal boats ?

 

The vast majority are cooled by a closed system - no sucking up the muddy water caused by dragging your bottom along the canal bottom. 

Indeed, but I'm stuck with it for now.

[Shandybass]

 

... EDIT...

what do we think about putting anti-fouling paint inside the mudbox, to reduce the chance of mussels forming again.

[Shandybass]

.. I've decided to go with a 1kg tin of Zinga.

[Shandybass]

Just a quick update - I got my boat home to my mooring...

Next job is replacing my PRM 120 with a 150. But I'm also thinking about the impending fit out of my dinette/lounge area and kitchen. 

 

I was going to repurpose my caravan cushions and build an L shaped dinette, but I am wondering about these sofas and ready chairs that some people buy.

Is there a popular choice of sofa that is comfortable, that can be broken down to fit through narrow narrowboat doors and passageways?

It's a blank canvas at the moment, so all input appreciated

[Russ T]

14 minutes ago, Shandybass said:

Just a quick update - I got my boat home to my mooring...

Next job is replacing my PRM 120 with a 150. But I'm also thinking about the impending fit out of my dinette/lounge area and kitchen. 

 

I was going to repurpose my caravan cushions and build an L shaped dinette, but I am wondering about these sofas and ready chairs that some people buy.

Is there a popular choice of sofa that is comfortable, that can be broken down to fit through narrow narrowboat doors and passageways?

It's a blank canvas at the moment, so all input appreciated

Lots of people have mentioned these people on here in the past. No experience pf them myself but might be worth a look.

 

https://www.sofabedbarn.co.uk/18-narrowboat-sofa-beds

[cuthound]

13 hours ago, Shandybass said:

Just a quick update - I got my boat home to my mooring...

Next job is replacing my PRM 120 with a 150. But I'm also thinking about the impending fit out of my dinette/lounge area and kitchen. 

 

I was going to repurpose my caravan cushions and build an L shaped dinette, but I am wondering about these sofas and ready chairs that some people buy.

Is there a popular choice of sofa that is comfortable, that can be broken down to fit through narrow narrowboat doors and passageways?

It's a blank canvas at the moment, so all input appreciated

 

My last shareboat had an L shaped dinette. It has a wedge shaped cushion to smooth the transition around the part where the two sections form the L. This was great when using it as a seat, but a pain in the proverbial to store when using it as a bed!

 

My first shareboat had two chairs which disassembled (eventually) to form two single beds. They were such a pain that we sold them onto another unsuspecting shareboat and replaced them with Z beds.

 

My current boat has a Canterbury sofa bed from https://www.sofabedbarn.co.uk/. It fitted easily through the narrow front doors of my boat and was easy to assemble.

 

It works well as both a sofa and a bed and only takes less than a minute to transition to either due to the "clik clak" mechanism.

Edited July 8 by cuthound
Clarification

[Ewan123]

14 hours ago, Russ T said:

Lots of people have mentioned these people on here in the past. No experience pf them myself but might be worth a look.

 

https://www.sofabedbarn.co.uk/18-narrowboat-sofa-beds

We just went for IKEA, came flat-packed so it was easy to get into the boat. Four years on and still comfortable. 

[Shandybass]

On 07/07/2026 at 20:45, Russ T said:

Lots of people have mentioned these people on here in the past. No experience pf them myself but might be worth a look.

 

https://www.sofabedbarn.co.uk/18-narrowboat-sofa-beds

Send very interesting designs on their website - thank you.

12 hours ago, Ewan123 said:

We just went for IKEA, came flat-packed so it was easy to get into the boat. Four years on and still comfortable. 

What design did you go for?

[Ewan123]

5 hours ago, Shandybass said:

Send very interesting designs on their website - thank you.

What design did you go for?

We got the Holmsund. Storage space inside, and big enough for two adults to basically just lie down which is what we do as often as sitting 😀 

[ditchcrawler]

35 years ago we had a chair that made a bed, reasonably comfortable as both and a sofa bed that was soggy to sit on and  had bars that got your back to sleep on, hopefully they have improved as they are still in business. maybe I shouldn't name them in case they have improved