Too Hot for Boating

[David Schweizer]

We set off for our boat yesterday having planned a weeks cruising down the Grand Union, prior to the engine's first post re-build servicing. We arrived in the afternoon deciding to make an early start in the morning. Well it just got Hotter and Hotter, the inside of the boat was nearly 40 degrees and outside under the large umbrella was not much better. By 7.30pm things had not improved at all so we decided to look at the weather forecast on the regional news. They predicted increasing temperatures until at least Thursday, so we packed up and drove home.

 

We had the same problem last year in raging heat where everyone starts looking for the rare shaded moorings by 11am and then just sits and sweats it out all afternoon, so we decided it is a lot easier to stay cool at home. After all when we go boating we like to be moving on the boat, not sitting under a tree looking at all the other boats trying to find a shady mooring.

 

Hopefully it will cool down in the next few weeks so that we can set off again, however it is increasingly looking as if our planned trip to Derbyshire may been scuppered by the weather for the second year running

Edited July 17, 2006 by David Schweizer

[charles123]

For my office at work we bought a portable air con unit from B&Q for about £200, the pipe goes out of the window. Very impressed although I was quite sceptical before we bought it. Shows room temp and draws down from about 24 degees to about 20 in half an hour

Just though that for anyone on 240 hook up on the jetty or a generator it might be worth considering but there again we get a few hot weeks in the year then what do you do with it for the rest of the year

 

Charles

[Silkhay]

 

Just though that for anyone on 240 hook up on the jetty or a generator it might be worth considering but there again we get a few hot weeks in the year then what do you do with it for the rest of the year

 

Charles

 

Vent it into the boat instead of out the window, they make quite good heaters, indeed they are sold in Spain as Air Con / Heating units

[Crazy Scheme]

It's an 'oven' on our boat, but we eased it a little by buying cheap reflective windscreen shades and those little plastic sucker hooks from the £1 shop. Cut the shades to fit the windows, perforate two or four small holes (depending on how big your windows are), big enough to take the hooks and sucker to the window. Voila!

[Janet S]

Normally I am very envious of all you lovely people with narrowboats, but yesterday we took our Wet Betsy up to Tewitfield on the Lancaster Canal, down to Carnforth. Cruising along in the shade under the trees, feet and hands dangling in the water - what more could one ask for on a beautiful day like that?

 

Janet

 

PS. Wet Betsy is a rigid inflatable boat with an outboard. Perfect for pottering!

[Moley]

PS. Wet Betsy is a rigid inflatable boat with an outboard. Perfect for pottering!

Sorry Janet, got to get this straight in my own mind.

 

You've said Wet Betsy can be folded into the boot, now she's become rigid

 

Rigid inflatables, or RIBs, have inflatable tubes on fibreglass hulls and go on trailers; not too easy for folding. So what is Betsy?

 

Don't get me wrong, if she floats and she's fun, and she gets you out and about, I'm not knocking it

[matt]

I've got a RIB that deflates into a suitcase sized bag.

 

These are just about carriable by one person and inflate very very easily with pump provided. Much easier than an airbed.

[DHutch]

Last week on the boat i put a thermometer in the engine room, and it read 59°C !

- And that was hanging off the open porthole!

 

I wanted to hang it in the space between the engine/boiler, but i couldnt find anywhere safe to hand it from. Really is mad hot in there!

 

In 4days the three of us got though 2liters of juice concentrate, even tho my mum has it very weak, and i often just had plain water (pint at a time).

 

 

 

Daniel

[Janet S]

So what is Betsy?

 

She was described to me as a rigid inflatable, I guess because when she's inflated, she's pretty rigid! Don't know what the correct name for this type of boat is, so I aologise for any confusion. We bought her from a marina, where they were selling them as tenders for the yachts. When I figure out how to get photo's on here, I'll post some pics.

 

Although pretty heavy, when deflated, she will just fit in the boot of R.J.'s car. Doesn't take long to inflate - we can be loaded up and on the water in about ten/fifteen minutes. She's very solid - you can stand up in her quite safely without sinking, although as she's very nippy, you have to be careful not to move too fast or you'll end up in the water!

 

We'd ideally like a narrowboat, but with severely limited funds, it's a bit of a dream right now. Betsy was a way to get us onto the water in between hire boat holidays, enjoying the scenery and the atmosphere. We can take her on our camping trips, (we go regularly throughout the year, always near a canal of course!) and take trips on canals not accessible to anything other than trailable boats.

 

It's amazing how close you can get to the wildlife too. Turn the motor off and just glide silently. One of these days I'll get a decent picture of a heron! Makes feeding the ducks more fun too, and being so close to the water, particularly on somewhere with water as clear as yesterday, is absolutely brilliant, watching all the fish swim past.

 

Was good fun yesterday, arriving at the Canal Turn pub in Carnforth, pulling in to the side and clambering out for a nice cool drink and some lunch. Got some very envious looks from people sitting sweltering in the sunshine, as we climbed back on board and set off again. Pottering along was just enough to generate a gentle breeze - much more comfortable than just sitting in the sunshine.

 

 

 

These are just about carriable by one person and inflate very very easily with pump provided.

 

 

Matt,

 

That's very similar to our Betsy, although we have a polished wood seat and transom.

 

Janet

Edited July 17, 2006 by Janet S

[DHutch]

A "RIB" or Rigid Inflatable Boat:

 

A rigid-inflatable boat (RIB) or rigid-hulled inflatable boat, (RHIB) is a light-weight but high performance and high capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The generic design is very stable and seaworthy. The hull provides efficient performance in the water. The inflatable collar means that buoyancy is not lost if a large quantity of water is shipped aboard. The RIB is a development of the inflatable boat.

 

 

 

Daniel

[Janet S]

Daniel,

 

I don't think I'd be able to get that in the boot, but it would be nice!

 

Janet

[mikevye]

Never ceases to amaze me how going off topic is so easily achieved. One minute the internal temperature of boats in this weather is being discussed then Janet S mentions the delights of portable craft in this weather and then we're off on what constitutes an R I B! I've re read where the thread went off on one and can't see any mention of Wet Betey folding up into a boot so I assume it has been mentioned in the past. Back on topic Barry Tuffin at Maesbury Marine Services uses a composite slab for insulation on all boat internal surfaces. When the boat gets cold overnight that low temperature is kept in the boat the following day, same principle applies during winter when heat is generated by stove/radiators.

[Moley]

Never ceases to amaze me how going off topic is so easily achieved. (sorry, off it goes again ) One minute the internal temperature of boats in this weather is being discussed then Janet S mentions the delights of portable craft in this weather and then we're off on what constitutes an R I B! I've re read where the thread went off on one and can't see any mention of Wet Betsy folding up into a boot so I assume it has been mentioned in the past.

Sure has:

The best thing about Wet Betsy is that we can just put her in the boot of the car and head off to any stretch of water we fancy.

On topic, when I went onboard to do a bit of work yesterday teatime I was pleasantly surprised the inside temperature was only 39°C. Grouting the kitchen tiles was interesting though, the stuff pretty much dried on contact.

 

Off topic, and back to “Gone Fishing”, one of the overlooking residents was sitting on a bench on the moorings doing a bit of fishing but catching nothing. When I got fed up of tiling and fancied a break and a beer I went out on well deck and chucked my own hook in the water. Peed him off by almost immediately pulling out a 5-inch roach. Then a seagull swooped down and snatched up an 8 or 9-inch roach, but not very well. As it flew away it dropped the fish from a great height, dead on the towpath, and never bothered turning or coming back for it.

[Crazy Scheme]

Our boat has been up to 34 degrees inside, no idea about today though, I'm at our office where it's pushing 40!

 

But no way would I move back to our rented house. We had tiny louvres on the bedroom windows, the place was West facing (like our office windows) and by the time we went to bed it would be roasting hot, cooling down hardly at all over night. Very hard to sleep!

 

The boat is lovely and cool at night, we're fortunate enough to be able to leave our doors wide open (our mooring has high fences, razor wire and two very vigilant guarddogs) so the boat cools down to about 20 degrees by about 10pm

Edited July 18, 2006 by Crazy Scheme

[Philip]

It's cooler now, so it should be more pleasant for anyone having a week/two weeks now, although it's wet as well.

 

It's one of the reasons why we don't go in summer, we prefer the April/October weather, we often get good, pleasanrt weather, quite a lot of sun, but not too warm. The ground frosts in October are very attractive when we set off in the morning.

Edited July 31, 2006 by Philip