Don't laugh, but

[ditchcrawler]

1985 iirc. Just tell me it isn't three quid a pint yet

Not in London it's not.Some other parts of the country it is and some places a little bit cheaper.

[Ange]

Not in London it's not.Some other parts of the country it is and some places a little bit cheaper.

 

You can get decent ale for £2.50 a pint in Loughborough. I doubt whether you'll get much change from a fiver in London nowadays though.

[Laurie Booth]

One important question: how much is a pint of beer? Over here it's NZ$6.50; when I left the UK it was just getting to be a quid a pint in London. Has it gone up at all?

Troll

[Ange]

Troll

 

Explain please? It may seem a silly question but that doesn't fit my definition of a troll, which is someone posting to deliberately provoke an argument. Maybe you're the troll here?

 

The term is widely abused by people who don't know it's meaning IMO.

[Decker]

Yeah, I certainly wasn't trying to be a troll, just get an idea of the price of stuff. Petrol, bread, milk can vary fairly quickly over time or place but beer tends to be a bit more stable (and is far more important to me).

I lived in London from'78 - '83 and it was just hitting a pound a pint in London (cheaper outside London). I knew it would have gone up, of course, just curious as to how much.

One of my earlier comments reads a lot more sinister than it should: when I said I was commited to narrowboating it's not that I'm on the run, just that I can't afford a house and fell in love with the canals after a brief holiday in my youth. Plus I need a change of lifestyle - years of computer teching have taken their toll; I need a healthier lifestyle.

Edited May 25, 2012 by Decker

[Graham Davis]

Why do you think that living on a narrow boat is going to be any cheaper than being land-based?

[Decker]

Maybe not cheaper to run, but at least I can buy one outright and be reasonably comfortable.

 

What about names, if I'm not happy with what I get - are they registered (I noticed two called Easy Tiger) or do you just slap any old name up? Are there costs involved? Taste proscriptions?

Edited May 25, 2012 by Decker

[Grace and Favour]

Maybe not cheaper to run, but at least I can buy one outright and be reasonably comfortable.

 

What about names, if I'm not happy with what I get - are they registered (I noticed two called Easy Tiger) or do you just slap any old name up? Are there costs involved? Taste proscriptions?

 

You can have any name you want, although there is (an unofficial) time-honoured process for changing the name

 

There are taste proscriptions, 'good' being the main one (though 'tis highly subjective of course)

 

Have a look at Jim Shead's websitefor ideas (Kingfisher' is popular)

[Decker]

.. there is (an unofficial) time-honoured process for changing the name

What is it? That site has a truckload of info, maybe I missed it.

 

I didn't see dunwalkin on the list! But bad idea letting me loose on the naming business

Kingfisher isn't on my list. Graf spee maybe..

[Chertsey]

Beer - easily £3.50 in London (and at the Black country Museum!); pushing three quid in the West Midlands, still well below in Yorkshire (but you're paying for the froth then of course )

 

You need a unique name on the Thames (hence addition of numerical suffixes) but not on BW waters as you will have a unique index number.

[Leni]

Why do you think that living on a narrow boat is going to be any cheaper than being land-based?

 

Of course living on a narrow boat is cheaper than living in a house! I'm amazed at the number of people who claim it isn't! All I can say is they must have a very expensive land-based life-style, and if they want to move that whole life-style onto a boat then yes, that would probable be more expensive. But in my experience life on the cut is very different from life in a house, and very much cheaper! Horses for courses!

 

 

Re boat names: I'm thrilled to see my boat's name has at last appeared in Jim Shead's list - and it's unique!

[mrsmelly]

Ee, there's nowt wrong wi Pontefract

 

Apart from its a Sheeeite hole of course

 

Tim

 

Of course living on a narrow boat is cheaper than living in a house! I'm amazed at the number of people who claim it isn't! All I can say is they must have a very expensive land-based life-style, and if they want to move that whole life-style onto a boat then yes, that would probable be more expensive. But in my experience life on the cut is very different from life in a house, and very much cheaper! Horses for courses!

 

 

Re boat names: I'm thrilled to see my boat's name has at last appeared in Jim Shead's list - and it's unique!

 

Aint life funny. I find living on a boat at least as expensive as living in a house. House paid for so no mortgage or rent. Boat paid for so ditto. Council Tax on house 1200 squid, Licence and insurance on boat very slightly cheaper. Moorings for house......nowt moorings for boat 2600 squid. Any form of heating purchased for house is moooooocho cheaper than having to buy smaller amounts each time such as gas bottles, diesel etc especialy cc ing and producing own leccy that is massively more expensive than a house. Not as much storage space on boat so bog offs etc harder to deal with. I could go on......I often do but yes life ont cut is very diferent and much nicer than a house but it aint cheaper in my experience.

 

Tim

[Leni]

House paid for so no mortgage or rent. Boat paid for so ditto.

 

Aha! There's the first big difference! House - still got a mortgage Boat - cheap, and all paid for (OK, except for the work still needed to get it sorted - but that's now mostly cosmetic.)

 

House - much more space to heat and light. Boat - cosy and warm, and a tendency to get up and go to bed with the sun

 

But whatever floats your boat!

[mrsmelly]

Aha! There's the first big difference! House - still got a mortgage Boat - cheap, and all paid for (OK, except for the work still needed to get it sorted - but that's now mostly cosmetic.)

 

House - much more space to heat and light. Boat - cosy and warm, and a tendency to get up and go to bed with the sun

 

But whatever floats your boat!

 

So there you go it IS cheaper to live in a house...............

 

Tim

[Decker]

I so hope you're wrong. I can live on nothing in a house and hope to do the same on a boat.

Rates, power, phone, mortgage, all gone.. just wood and diesel to pay for. I hope..

Ok, plus blacking and maintenance

[Leni]

So there you go it IS cheaper to live in a house...............

 

Tim

 

Can't see how you work that one out!

[mrsmelly]

Can't see how you work that one out!

 

Its simple maths. If you OWN your house or OWN your boat then the running costs of the house are less than the running costs of a boat.

Simples

 

Tim

[RLWP]

I so hope you're wrong. I can live on nothing in a house and hope to do the same on a boat.

Rates, power, phone, mortgage, all gone.. just wood and diesel to pay for. I hope..

Ok, plus blacking and maintenance

 

Well, if you check the forum, it usually comes out much the same

 

Richard

[Decker]

A serious question on toilets, as one who has always just flushed and let the universe take care of the rest.. what are the mechanics of a pump out? I was serious when I said do you just suck, because it seems to me you would have to liquefy it a bit.

 

Also, with composting ones, what do you do when it's full? I imagine chucking it a passing allotment wouldn't be on the cards.

 

And a supplementary question - what do you do with normal waste, the cadboard, paper, tins and normal detritus of living. Again, I just put it outside my gate once a week normally. I know they're basic questions, but bear with me.

 

Oh, and has anyone heard of BMC engines? Any good?

[Leni]

Its simple maths. If you OWN your house or OWN your boat then the running costs of the house are less than the running costs of a boat.

Simples

 

Tim

 

Ah! But if you have a mortgage, the Bank technically 'owns' your house, (or a big chunk of it ) and every month you have to pay them a big chunk of your wages! We may never manage to pay them off the way things are going at the moment, so actually paying for the house is an on-going drain on the old finances, never mind the 'running costs'. So on costs per month, he boat wins every time!

[carlt]

Ah! But if you have a mortgage, the Bank technically 'owns' your house, (or a big chunk of it ) and every month you have to pay them a big chunk of your wages!

Likewise with a boat mortgage except you're paying higher interest on an asset that has little chance of increasing in value.

[Athy]

....but probably on a smaller sum, as in general a boat costs less to buy than a house.

Swings, roundabouts, roundabouts, swings....

[RLWP]

A serious question on toilets, as one who has always just flushed and let the universe take care of the rest.. what are the mechanics of a pump out? I was serious when I said do you just suck, because it seems to me you would have to liquefy it a bit.

 

Also, with composting ones, what do you do when it's full? I imagine chucking it a passing allotment wouldn't be on the cards.

 

And a supplementary question - what do you do with normal waste, the cadboard, paper, tins and normal detritus of living. Again, I just put it outside my gate once a week normally. I know they're basic questions, but bear with me.

 

Oh, and has anyone heard of BMC engines? Any good?

 

Go hire a boat - all of these questions and more will be answered by practical experience

 

Otherwise, you're just tyre-kicking

 

Richard

[Athy]

Decker, BMC was at one time the largest car manufacturer in Britain, producing the Austin, Morris, Riley, MG and Wolseley makes. The "BMC" engines often found in narrowboats were, I think, marinised versions of the engines fitted in the company's light vans on the 1960s and 1970s. More recent examples were imported from Turkey after UK production ceased. I think there is a thread about them curently running, with contributions by Tony Brooks who knows what he's talking about.

[RLWP]

Decker, BMC was at one time the largest car manufacturer in Britain, producing the Austin, Morris, Riley, MG and Wolseley makes. The "BMC" engines often found in narrowboats were, I think, marinised versions of the engines fitted in the company's light vans on the 1960s and 1970s. More recent examples were imported from Turkey after UK production ceased. I think there is a thread about them curently running, with contributions by Tony Brooks who knows what he's talking about.

 

There is a whole section of the forum dedicated to them:

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showforum=52

 

Richard