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[stillgame]

Hi there, we are Neil and Mary and later this year when we sell our house we are going to buy a widebeam narrow boat and hopefully spend at least 6 months of the year cruising the widebeam circuit of the North of England....we are hoping to get some advise on the kind of mooring we will need,bearing in mind that we will need a "base " to return to......Neither of us have any experience of narrow boats or canals...although I have 20 years of sailing to fall back on...although I can't see that helping much!

We would appreciate any input from anyone and look forward to making some new friends in the the process !

[Phil Ambrose]

Welcome to the Doppelgangers' (forum humour)

Phil

[peterboat]

Hello to you all.

 

I am new to the site and extremely excited and motivated to be in the market for a Wide-beam "sailaway" to make into my future home-afloat. I have decided that a 57' - 60' x 12' wide beam should suit my purposes nicely and fully anticipate widely accessing waterways accessible to such a craft. I am particularly keen to establish what the MAXIMUM length of my future home should be, ensuring that I should, for example, be able to enter waterways such as the Lancaster Canal via the Ribble Link without a sleepless night before attempting it!

 

Aged 62 and a well-seasoned caravanner, I am looking forward to transitioning from a land to a water-borne lifestyle...albeit on a very tight budget. Any tips/advice from those who've already trodden this path will be very welcome.

 

Comments regarding installing a pre-owned AGA/Rayburn "type" range to provide cooking, heating and hot water would be especially welcomed.

 

I also look forward to contributing to such a well-supported and knowledgeable forum membership.

Hi I have been on holiday just back when I have read your thread. I have a Rayburn Royal solid fuel model on my 57 x 12 widebeam. The Rayburn heats water and does the central heating. I have also installed the same on a friends boat with equal success. These stoves are very cheap to buy £200 was paid for mine and Richards was slightly cheaper, be aware though they are very heavy. As for the Ribble link the maximum size craft is 62 x 10.6 foot so that gives you something to aim for. Good luck for the future

 

Peter

[DailyMike]

Hi I have been on holiday just back when I have read your thread. I have a Rayburn Royal solid fuel model on my 57 x 12 widebeam. The Rayburn heats water and does the central heating. I have also installed the same on a friends boat with equal success. These stoves are very cheap to buy £200 was paid for mine and Richards was slightly cheaper, be aware though they are very heavy. As for the Ribble link the maximum size craft is 62 x 10.6 foot so that gives you something to aim for. Good luck for the future

 

Peter

Hi Peter and thanks for your reply.

I am off to Boroughbridge tomorrow to view a boat for sale. I live in North Nottinghamshire...not a million miles from Rotherham..and wonder if I might meet you sometime over a pint and "pick your brain" regarding potential pitfalls to be aware of with installing a Rayburn?

I hope you enjoyed your holiday!

Kind regards,

Mike

[Shinypurple]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm Kerry

 

Having failed to find a house to move to that has a bigger garden from my dogs, and an extra bedroom for my visitors, I've decided that what's needed is to expand onto a narrowboat. Kind of like a floating extension to my house...the dogs will love it, and my visitors will have to come and find me.

 

That's not as random as it sounds - my parents had narrowboats for many years, so I do (vaguely) know what I'm doing, and I do live in Bromsgrove, where there is an abundance of local canal boating to be had.

 

So, I've (fingers crossed, subject to survey next week) found a 40' boat, and am currently looking for moorings closer to me, as the boat is in Nottingham. Telling you the name of the boat now will invariably Jinx the survey, so I'm keeping quiet about that until after the guy has hauled it out of the water and told me that it's the best boat he's ever inspected....

[Dave Payne]

Welcome Kerry, fingers crossed for the survey, when i did mine this time last year i was crapping it!

 

All turned out good though.

[Phish]

Hi All,

 

Newbies here, looking for our very first floating home. I've been around boats often enough to understand the practicalities of living on, and maintaining them - quite hands on too, and certainly not afraid of a bit of welding/carpentry/electrics. I've learned a lot over the past few weeks, both about unthought of practicalities (fridges etc) and about surveys, licences and the like, and am keen to keep building up this knowledge as we continue our search. I've always liked dutch barges myself (much to my fathers disappointment), as I find the trads a little, well, narrow in places, and the inability to have a decent sized kitchen without having to compromise on seating space is a massive bugbear. With that in mind we're looking for a widebeam of about 50ft in length or so, but not too finished. Structurally sound with an engine being the minimum requirement. We saw one recently but an excess of business trips may have cost us the opportunity.
I was wondering if the turnover/sale of widebeams was something that happened faster than their narrower counterparts?

 

Thanks for having us, and I look forward to plaguing you all with questions in the future!

[Phil Ambrose]

Welcome Shiny Purple and also Phish.

Phish, if you get the right NB your space need not be compromised, our galley is 3mtr long and our saloon is over 4mtr long, treat a boat as a blank canvas

Phil

Edited April 2, 2016 by Phil Ambrose

[PX207]

Hello all,

 

My wife (Susie) and I (Paul) have recently purchased a little 19ft project Stuart Stevens Weekender; well she surprised me for my birthday actually! I was just looking to buy a Canadian canoe for messing about on the Broads and Ouse, but this is much better. The boat is looking at little tired in places but the wife is keen to get the interior sorted first with new head lining, it's currently floppy carpet, and new covers for the seat and bed. Best thing is the nearly new electric start Honda 8hp engine and throttle control.

 

So I've spent the last week cleaning and repairing the canopy, jet washing the old porta loo and scrubbing, mopping the interior.

 

Looking forward to getting plenty of sound advice from a group of experienced boaters.

 

Regards Paul

 

 

[puppy999]

Hi everyone

I am Yvonne and don't have much experience on boats.

I have not got my boat yet I have a friend with a NB on the Leeds/Liverpool canal and another friend with a

Viking 23ft on the Lancaster canal

My friend with the NB dislike's the GRP cabin cruiser's he call's them plastic duck's, but for what I want

I think a 27ft GRP with a inboard engine is more suitable and far easier to maintain for me.

I find this forum very interesting I have read a lot of

your comments and learnt from your experienced boaters.

Edited May 2, 2016 by puppy999

[Steve Burgess]

Hi, I'm Steve, 50, separated, selling house, buying boat and a bit nervous lol

But very much looking forward to a watery future.

Please bear with me if I ask lots of "rolls-eyes, oh god not this again" questions

[cuthound]

Welcome Yonne and Steve.

 

There are no stupid questions that can be asked here, only the posters shyness at asking. Don't be embarrassed, we all had to start learning about boats once.

 

If you use the search facility first, you may well find your question has already been asked and answered.

[Ray T]

Bostin ay it ?

Trina (Mrs Bearwood Boster)

 

Sorry, couldn't resist:

 

 

Edited May 21, 2016 by Ray T

[Phil Ambrose]

Welcome Yvonne and Steve as Cuthound indicated the only daft question is the one that is unasked.

Phil

[The Bearwood Boster]

 

Sorry, couldn't resist:

Love it ?

12642708_1019615928099480_6652546540673800415_n.jpg

[Steve Burgess]

Thanks peeps

Edited May 21, 2016 by Steve Burgess

[Phil M]

Hi! I'm Phil. I've been cycling towpaths for a while, and recently started to experience canals from the water.

 

With my wife Valerie, we spent a week on the LLangollen in a hire boat and were rather taken with it. Valerie is a wheelchair user, so she had to stay on the boat most of the time, but was able to enjoy the constantly changing view.

 

We are very tempted by the idea of our own boat. It would probably be 40 to 45 ft with a cruiser stern for the bike and wheelchair. I feel that a longer boat wouldn't be as easy to manage single handed.

 

We wondered if any forum members have any thoughts on boat accessibility/ adaption for the disabled.

 

Are there any disabled boat users out there who would lke to share ther experiences and wisdom?

 

 

 

 

[cuthound]

I steered a 70 footer modifed for disabled access from Lyneal to Llangollen and back about this time last year. See the attached link to show the mods theybhad

 

http://www.lyneal-trust.org.uk/about-the-lass/

 

In particular it had a very long cruiser deck which had a hydraulic wheelchair lift to make access to the cabin easier.

 

Edited to say a belated welcome to the forum.

Edited May 22, 2016 by cuthound

[Phil M]

Hi Cuthound!

 

We saw the Lyneal Trust boat when we went past their wharf. It looked like a well thought out adaption, but more suited to a party than a couple!

 

I was curious about more modest boats that could comfortably be crewed single handedly. Especially I was wondering if anyone has tried a tracked hoist rather than a lift. I have a few ideas!

 

Thanks for the information though.

[cuthound]

Hi Cuthound!

 

We saw the Lyneal Trust boat when we went past their wharf. It looked like a well thought out adaption, but more suited to a party than a couple!

 

I was curious about more modest boats that could comfortably be crewed single handedly. Especially I was wondering if anyone has tried a tracked hoist rather than a lift. I have a few ideas!

 

Thanks for the information though.

Yes it sleeps up to 8. The reason why I mentioned it was to bring to your attention the extra long cruiser deck needed to accommodate a wheelchair lift.

[Phil M]

Hi Cuthound!

 

Yes - thanks - I was with you! There are some on hire fleets with that set up too.

 

It's just a shame that such a set up takes up so much space, adding probably at least 9ft to the length of the boat and presumably makes 24v electrics a necessity which is why I was wondering about a hoist instead with personal sling.

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Frugal2]

Hi all.

 

We are Mark and Rachel and newbies to life on the water. We thought we'd start with something simple so ordered a 61' narrow beam Dutch barge from HT Fabrications, Leicester, and are fitting her out ourselves. Hey, what could possibly go wrong? (Lots apparently!!)

 

She's called "Purdy" and is of all steel construction so no wooden wheel house and a reverse layout...ish. We took delivery of her last year however progress has been slower than we would've liked but she is in paint, watertight, insulated and most of the panelling in place. The bow thruster had its first growl at the weekend too so we have some electrics in place too. The engine was in but is now out after running out of oil pressure. (Oh how we laughed!!)

 

I'll post some more details of the build on the boat building blog over the next couple of days.

 

 

Cheers..

 

 

 

 

[David Mack]

 

We wondered if any forum members have any thoughts on boat accessibility/ adaption for thedisabled.

 

As well as boats designed for the disabled, there have been discussions here in the past about boat adaptations to get motor cycles on board. These might give some food for thought about possible accessibility options.

[Richard X]

Hello everyone! My name is Richard and I'm just taking the plunge after first thinking about buying a narrowboat 25 years ago! ?

We've decided on a widebeam and are currently looking for a boat builder, we've been to the Crick boat show 3 years running and spoken to a few boat builders, any help in this area will be very much appreciated ?

 

It's very nice to meet you all and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions in the coming weeks, months and even years ?

 

Richard

[cuthound]

Welcome Richard.

 

Have a look at some of Fergyguy's posts, he is in a very similar position to you and looking for a widebem.