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[Grunners]

Hi all,

 

23 year old postgraduate student moving to London this summer, and would ideally want to live on a barge within the next couple of years.

 

Have some boating experience (narrow and sail), and the lure of the liveaboard lifestyle is proving strong! Have been researching, looking for moorings, reading the books etc, but when I'm in London full-time, hope to get moving on this with greater urgency. Earning a decent wage will also help!

[stubbs]

hi have had a part share in a 55" for a few years now and am just about to take the plungeget my and own just need to do a little more research then im a float

[bottle]

Hi Stubbs

 

Welcome and just so you know what to expect on here

 

Make sure your own boat is longer than 55 inches.

[marc daniel]

Helo we are from the essex area twenty eight ish and im looking into getting our first narrow boat but seem lots and lots to learn (anodes inverters etc etc) are there any good books to get to learn a bit more? lots of people have their own opinions such a dont get a wooden top boat as they can leak as opposed to a fully metal one and go diesel standard engine not hydraulic blah blah also is it essential to get the boat out of the water to check the hull steel thickness before purchase? are they all approx standard widths, is it essential to have a mooring? right that will do for now could go on all day cheers

[Liam]

Hi Marc,

 

Welcome to the forums! Have you tried using the "Search" feature - link at the top right of this page? You'll probably find that your questions have already been answered previously - if not then I'm sure others will be along to help you...

[denboy]

Hi Stubbs

 

Welcome and just so you know what to expect on here

 

Make sure your own boat is longer than 55 inches.

[stellar]

Hi my name is Sylvia and I have been trying to pluck up courage to buy a boat (and join this forum which I think is brilliant) for some time. I have seen a boat that I really like but the only access to the propeller to clear weeds etc is by crawling through next to the engine and removing what looks like a very heavy lid. As I am a single female and on the wrong side of 60, this isn't feasible. Should I look for another boat or investigate the possibility of having an external weed hatch fitted? Any other advice for a newbie of my age and gender would also be appreciated.

[flek]

Yup, I'm quite new to boating and canal life.

 

Hi, my name is Lee and i've just bought Hyssop. A 57ft narrowboat.

Moored on the Bugsworth Arm (Buxworth to non-locals), on the Peak Forest Canal.

 

Having a spot of engine trouble. Head gasket gone due to a previous owner not taking good care of her, but its all in hand and hope to be up and running again very soon, thanks Chris.

 

Yes, as I said, quite new to the scene, my Aunty Carole used to live aboard Midama (anyone know what n where it be??) and i kinda got the taste of canal life from there about 14 years ago i think.

 

Very pleased to have stumbled upon the Forum and happy to become a member,

 

Very much look forward to meeting up and drinking beer with many of you in the future.

 

:D

[Keeping Up]

Hi my name is Sylvia and I have been trying to pluck up courage to buy a boat (and join this forum which I think is brilliant) for some time. I have seen a boat that I really like but the only access to the propeller to clear weeds etc is by crawling through next to the engine and removing what looks like a very heavy lid. As I am a single female and on the wrong side of 60, this isn't feasible. Should I look for another boat or investigate the possibility of having an external weed hatch fitted? Any other advice for a newbie of my age and gender would also be appreciated.

Welcome Stella.

 

What you describe sounds like a typical weed hatch. I've never heard of a narrowboat having an external weedhatch. You could go on searching for a boat with a lighter hatch - or be prepared to wait for help whenever you need to get at the prop. It depends where you are going to travel, in many areas you wouldn't expect to need the weed hatch more than once or twice a year, in others you'll need it several times a day.

[The Wanderer]

Hello all,

 

This is my first post so be gentle with me.

 

I have just paid for a share in a managed boat and am realy looking forward to getting a float. We have hired before and thought that a share in a boat was a good way to start and to share the cost of ownership. We are looking to purchase our own boat when we retire.

 

I was hoping to talk to other sharers on the site but there doesn't seem to be any. Is sharing frownd upon?

 

About me, I have a wife of 30 years (that years together not age) 2 sons and 2 cats. I live in Bolton and am waiting for the Bolton/Bury/Manchester canal to be restored to I don't have to go to far to get my fix.

 

Cheers

[Dekazer]

Hi all,

 

What a relief to have found this forum! We're late 20s/early 30s Londoners and at the early stages of all the research (!) and hoping to get afloat early 2009.

 

It's all very daunting but everyone here seems to have such a can-do attitude to it all - I'm looking forward to getting to know you and hopefully picking your brains! (I promise that in a few years' time when I've figured it all out I'll still be around helping the newbies )

 

Deks (AKA Lucy) xx

[Pedro]

Hello everyone, first post here.

 

Looks like a fantastic forum.

 

I am a total Newbie to canal boats/barges, never even been on one before!

 

I'm unemployed at the moment and my London flat is up for sale. I was thinking about getting a narrow boat and mooring somewhere with the plan of living onboard for 6 months of the year and hiring it out for the other six months.

 

I need to start looking at boats so if you are selling, please send me a message.

 

Well I have got hundreds of questions so I guess I had better start reading the forum.

[Wiltshire Moonraker]

Hi I’m Chris,

 

My wife Joy and I are 50-somethings who are in the process of selling our house in order to buy and live aboard a narrowboat. We have had experience of canal holidays but realise that becoming live-aboards will be a different experience altogether.

 

We have good friends who have already been doing the same for some years now & have been great sources of information and encouragement but we look forward to gaining wisdom from you guys too.

 

We plan to purchase a 58 footer and have been trawling the net to get some idea of what we need. We went to Used Boat Co’s Open Day at Blisworth last weekend and found those nice looking gallery stairs ain’t as good as they look if you’re over 5’ tall, the web is no substitute for experience is it!

 

We’ll be looking for a mooring on the Gloucester & Sharpness so I’ll be near to my business (I’m an Auto-Electrician so that gives me a head start with on-board electrics) who knows, my business might become waterborne!

 

Looking forward to getting to know you all and benefiting from the wealth of experience on this forum.

 

Best regards

 

Chris

[bottle]

Welcome Chris

 

Saul and Sharpness are two places there are others but cannot remember them at the moment.

[Grace and Favour]

Hi I'm David, (& dear heart is Josi), in our 50's, and have taken the decision to sell up home & join the waterlogged of Great Britain . . . (maybe waterlogged is a little too appropriate as I look out of my window watching the heavens open . . . )

 

We've holidayed in narrowboats previously, and have come to the conclusion that is where we wish to spend the rest of our able life . .

 

We realise we have an enormous amount to learn, but are eagerly anticipating the enjoyment of that, for we'll make sure we've a fair idea of the benefits and pitfalls before we buy our boat . . . and we look forward to trawling (pun intended) through the forum to benefit from the doubtless many years of experience, joy and misfortune of others . . . .

 

I look forward to joining in chaps!

Edited July 1, 2008 by Grace & Favour

[Wiltshire Moonraker]

Welcome Chris

 

Saul and Sharpness are two places there are others but cannot remember them at the moment.

Thanks for your welcome Bottle, viewed a nice 55' semi-trad yesterday evening with a beautiful mooring on the Gloucester & Sharpness unfortunately not really suitable as a liveaboard

 

Chris

[Yakbird]

Hi, folks, I've been reading around this site for a few days, and finding it amazingly instructive. I'm a complete beginner to canal boats, and don't even have one yet. Hoping to remedy that in the near future, so I'll be posting some daft newbie questions for a while!

 

Great site anyway. Best one I've found.

 

Cheers.

 

[bottle]

Yakbird

 

Welcome, by all means ask your questions but also try the search (top right) or for a better search try this

 

link http://www.ledgardbridge-boatcompany.com/C...arch/index.html

[Yakbird]

Yakbird

 

Welcome, by all means ask your questions but also try the search (top right) or for a better search try this

 

link http://www.ledgardbridge-boatcompany.com/C...arch/index.html

 

 

Thanks for the welcome, Bottle. Yeah, I will use the search to limit the repeats if I can, and just reading around the site has already headed off about 50 of my questions; but I'm sure I'll still think of plenty of daft questions of my own too!

 

[bottle]

No such thing as a daft question...............................but some of the answers will be.

[norm 'n' Q]

Hello everyone,

 

Been lurking for a while now

My partner and i are at present looking to buy a narrowboat and searching through this site has helped us out a lot.

So thanks to all of you, it's a minefield out there.

 

We have placed an offer on a 42' cruiser stern and are awaiting a reply. (fingers crossed)

We would probably end up on the Leeds Liverpool somewhere around Skipton/Silsden area hopefully.

Plan to cruise the summer then, again hopefully moor up for the winter months.

 

Anyway thats it for now.

Hope to meet a few of you on our travels.

[Moley]

Hi Norm 'n' Q, the very best of luck with your purchase, and welcome to the forum

[charlie 3001]

Hi

I'm Charlie,I'm new to the Forum.

I am contemplating my 1st Narrowboat holiday around the Worcester area and wondered if anyone had any reccomendations or tips on what & who to go with?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Charlie.

[bottle]

Hi Charlie and welcome.

 

http://www.alvechurch.com/

 

They are at Alvechurch, near Jnc2, M42.

 

Used them a few years ago, many times, from many different bases.

 

Now getting my own boat.

 

Oh! and you should be warned that boating is very addictive.

[charlie 3001]

Hi Charlie and welcome.

 

http://www.alvechurch.com/

 

They are at Alvechurch, near Jnc2, M42.

 

Used them a few years ago, many times, from many different bases.

 

Now getting my own boat.

 

Oh! and you should be warned that boating is very addictive.

 

 

Hi Mate

Thanks for the reply.I bet you are looking forward to owning your own boat,is it live aboard,if so how expensive is it to live on the waterways theese days,i've heard that it's getting more & more expensive?

 

Charlie.