Favorite faculties

[SuzyQ]

As a newbie nboater I've started to look around my nb and think about what I can bring aboard that'll add easy or happiness to my trips. As the basics are pretty much sorted, the first thing on my list at the moment is a replacement for the plastic kitchen bucket that's storage for the stove fuel. A coal skuttle would do, but I rather fancy an old fashioned painted tin bucket, the sort you might get a the seaside. I've seen some old icebuckets that could work well too.

 

Just wondering what sort of things fellow nboaters look back on as a favourite early addition to their nb days.

[Ray T]

Got rid of the Porta Poti and installed a cassette loo. It must be a favourite as we use it every day we are on the boat.

[GSer]

Waterproofs and a taste for whisky

[NB Lola]

Automatically switching appliances off, my children no longer know how to use their fingers except for spending my money!

[RLWP]

Favourite faculties?

 

Well, I'm pretty keen on sight

 

and the Faculty of Engineering has served me well

 

<coat>

 

Richard

[johnmck]

In the intended spirit of the O.P, I think the most useful bit of kit we have obtained this year was a Dehumidifyer. Obviously only used via the travelpower or when on shoreline, but has been invaluable in keeping especially the bedroom dry and free from moulds. We bought a Meaco DD8L and it is a brill bit of kit.

[SuzyQ]

Waterproofs and a taste for whisky

 

Waterproofs and gin installed on first day ;D

 

In the intended spirit of the O.P, I think the most useful bit of kit we have obtained this year was a Dehumidifyer.

 

Thanks, a dehumidifier is a great idea. I am off researching now...

 

Favourite faculties?

 

As soon as I hit post, I did wonder if someone would go all university on me. ;D

[luctor et emergo]

Waterproofs and gin installed on first day ;D

 

 

 

Thanks, a dehumidifier is a great idea. I am off researching now...

 

 

 

As soon as I hit post, I did wonder if someone would go all university on me. ;D

 

 

Ohh, they will. I'm just surprised, that it's taking this long, for others to come out..

[IainW]

folding trolley has been really helpful

[Psycloud]

Just replaced the 240v sockets with these:

13amp with USB

 

So now we don't waste a socket with a charger or need to keep any with us, just a cable

 

I paid a lot less than this but the place I got them is now out stock.

 

David

[MtB]

Corkscrew and an Ecofan.

 

Mike

 

Oh, and bottle openers fixed to the wall, like in pubs. One in the kitchen and one in the hatches. Brill!

 

(With a magnet fixed below them to catch the caps as they drop. Very pleasing to use!)

[ditchcrawler]

Just replaced the 240v sockets with these:

13amp with USB

 

So now we don't waste a socket with a charger or need to keep any with us, just a cable

 

I paid a lot less than this but the place I got them is now out stock.

 

David

You would be better off with this. No need to have the inverter on.

[Psycloud]

You would be better off with this. No need to have the inverter on.

 

Thanks, but we already have one of those in the car and I am yet to work out why it won't work on the 12v socket on the boat. Our 13amp sockets are fed by shoreline hookup while moored so we're not running the inverter

[JerryP]

Chainsaw ,push bike ,and binoculars ,the bino's are really usefull to see any lock activity before you get there (especially usefull if your on your own)

[tafelberg]

A warm fire, a sleeping cat and a narrowboat. Perfect.

[Rustykev]

As a newbie nboater I've started to look around my nb and think about what I can bring aboard that'll add easy or happiness to my trips. As the basics are pretty much sorted, the first thing on my list at the moment is a replacement for the plastic kitchen bucket that's storage for the stove fuel. A coal skuttle would do, but I rather fancy an old fashioned painted tin bucket, the sort you might get a the seaside. I've seen some old icebuckets that could work well too.

 

Just wondering what sort of things fellow nboaters look back on as a favourite early addition to their nb days.

 

From SWMBO - the Squirrel, a pile of DVD's and a Bose (portable docking station for Ipod that has our 2800 songs on it)

 

From the Captain (thats me!!) - the solar panels, a bow saw (uses no petrol like a chain saw), folding bikes.

 

Loads more that I could mention, mainly as the boat and its contents work as a "whole" and many things are, whilst not by themselves indispensible, part of the whole boat thing and Leo could not work as we want without them.

 

What you need will evolve over time, but you must recognise that you will need to compromise on certain aspects.

[Ange]

LED lights (courtesy of Bedazzled). Expensive but wow what a difference! We're gradually replacing all our lights and in doing so transforming the shadowy night time boat interior into a haven of brightness where I can actually see what I'm looking for (or the keyboard of my laptop!) without having to put a head torch on . And they use less power!

[ditchcrawler]

LED lights (courtesy of Bedazzled). Expensive but wow what a difference! We're gradually replacing all our lights and in doing so transforming the shadowy night time boat interior into a haven of brightness where I can actually see what I'm looking for (or the keyboard of my laptop!) without having to put a head torch on . And they use less power!

Handy when you go to the pub as well, as you can leave loads of lights on without melting the batteries, even if you turn them on well before dark like in late summer.

[Guest]

Handy when you go to the pub as well, as you can leave loads of lights on without melting the batteries, even if you turn them on well before dark like in late summer.

 

[Ange]

Handy when you go to the pub as well, as you can leave loads of lights on without melting the batteries, even if you turn them on well before dark like in late summer.

Dave fitted a new LED light to our bedroom today. The difference this evening was simply stunning - I could see the insides of my cupboards whilst finding my comfy trousers and comfy t-shirt for the evening.

 

Slightly one of the things that I've become aware of while we've lived in the semi dark is how wonderful the sense of touch is. I can rummage through draws and cupboards and know the feel of the item of clothing I'm looking for. It's a very underrated sense.

[Ally]

led replacement lamps (CAK tanks...much cheaper), solar panels, and the pushbike for transporting cassettes and coal! Oh, and the stove......wouldn't be without it! Oh yeh, and the cellar box in the floor.........cooool!

[RLWP]

CAK tanks are about 200 metres from where I live, if anyone would like me to drop around for you...

 

Richard

[Ange]

led replacement lamps (CAK tanks...much cheaper), solar panels, and the pushbike for transporting cassettes and coal! Oh, and the stove......wouldn't be without it! Oh yeh, and the cellar box in the floor.........cooool!

OMG yes! Solar panels! They really did transform our lives this summer. We didn't run the engine at all for five months to charge our batteries! Seriously! That must have saved us oodles of money on diesel, saves the stress of worrying whether you're annoying anyone nearby, even if you're within your 8-8 parameters, and saves the irritating rumbles and vibrations inside the boat for hour after hour everyday when you just want to chill out and have no noise, Even now on a sunny day we get a certain amount of charge, though we do have to run the engine again for an hour or so every day.

 

Between £500 and £600 for two solar panels and all the stuff that made them work - I dearly wish we'd done it ages ago.

[bizzard]

OMG yes! Solar panels! They really did transform our lives this summer. We didn't run the engine at all for five months to charge our batteries! Seriously! That must have saved us oodles of money on diesel, saves the stress of worrying whether you're annoying anyone nearby, even if you're within your 8-8 parameters, and saves the irritating rumbles and vibrations inside the boat for hour after hour everyday when you just want to chill out and have no noise, Even now on a sunny day we get a certain amount of charge, though we do have to run the engine again for an hour or so every day.

 

Between £500 and £600 for two solar panels and all the stuff that made them work - I dearly wish we'd done it ages ago.

The end of the world is nigh!!!! You do realize Ange that all this use of Solar energy is shortening the Suns life bit by bit and will all help it to burn out sooner rather than later, with the obvious and most terrible and devastating consequences.

There is no such thing as FREE energy in the this world or indeed the whole universe, always a price to pay.

[Ange]

The end of the world is nigh!!!! You do realize Ange that all this use of Solar energy is shortening the Suns life bit by bit and will all help it to burn out sooner rather than later, with the obvious and most terrible and devastating consequences.

There is no such thing as FREE energy in the this world or indeed the whole universe, always a price to pay.

)

you're lovely bizz - I dearly hope we meet one day.

 

hugs