Just how eco can it be?

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

My word,,

Not a lot of Forests around where you moor then I take it !.

[Phil Ambrose]

Just a thought as has been said, we all produce CO2 on our boats so surely we are feeding the trees.

Phil

[ditchcrawler]

 

We dont find it very good though, so stick to the good old fairy

The question is, is it any less environmentally friendly than stuff with leaves and things printed on the bottles and catchy environmental names..

[John V]

My word,,

Not a lot of Forests around where you moor then I take it !.

 

 

[MtB]

The question is, is it any less environmentally friendly than stuff with leaves and things printed on the bottles and catchy environmental names..

 

But what do you mean by "environmentally friendly"?

 

It's one of those warm and fluffy but meaningless terms beloved of The Guardian, hippies and white boys with dreadlocks, innit!

 

For example, is driving your glass to the bottle bank 'environmentally friendly..?

 

 

MtB

[bohomon]

 

We dont find it very good though, so stick to the good old fairy

 

Ecover?

 

I haven't used any commercial cleaning products in years and have a fresh and clean home Vinegar, salt, and soda crystals are my friends. I use small amounts of essential oils for scent, sometimes, but rarely bother these days.

 

When I had wood ash in my old off-grid home (and most boat dwellers do right?) I used it for all sorts of things. Even more of an issue for boaters needing to dispose of it.

 

selfsufficientish home cleaners

lifehacker

 

Also what to do with wood ash.

 

You could keep the (evil proctor&gamble) Fairy liquid only for those super greasy pans, if you weren't satisfied with alternatives.

[bohomon]

residential mooring (or mooring over winter) - lessening diesel use

Yes, but then when not buy a small environmentally friendly house.

 

wood foraging (can it be stored on roof boxes?)

See other answers about the problem in the area you are proposing. Yes it can be stored on the roof, but if you do, where are you going to put your solar panels?

 

1. Because I want to live on a boat.

Home moorings don't mean one never moves. right?

 

2. It all depends on how much heating and thereby how much wood a particular boat needs if it is viable.

Roof boxes like these offer storage + SP area.

Insulate enough if you can. Like Macks.

[Marjorie]

One of my absolute favourite things, that I didn't know until we were on the boat and got a stove, is that you can use ash on a bit of damp newspaper to clean the glass in the stove door with almost no effort. I like that you can clean the thing with the muck it creates. Astoundingly easily pleased, me.

[Ange]

Hey Bohomon

 

We did keep our stove going through two winters 24/7 using mainly wood and just a little coal but that was only because we have storage at my husband's parents' house in Kent. We took wood down there by the carload every time we visited and seasoned the stuff that needs seasoning, some if it (leylandi in one case) needed two years. It's amazing the quantity you go through once it gets really cold, you need more storage than roof boxes, trust me. If you have any friends/relatives with a bit of garden space bribe them with donuts and ask to store your wood there

 

We also travelled widely so weren't reliant on one small area to provide our foraging material - it does worry me that you'll be cruising a well populated area of the canal network where you'll be competing with a lot of boaters very well used to snaffling the burning wood as soon as it hits the ground. Do you need to be on the K&A? I'm just wondering because that is a bit of a hotspot, probably second only to London. If you could relocate to the Midlands you'll find a very different set of answers to your questions and a wide range of canals to cc. Of course if you have family ties in the area then that might not be possible, but it's just a thought.

 

Best of luck

[bohomon]

I like that you can clean the thing with the muck it creates.

 

hehe, yes, I like the way you put that.

 

Do you need to be on the K&A? I'm just wondering because that is a bit of a hotspot, probably second only to London. If you could relocate to the Midlands you'll find a very different set of answers to your questions and a wide range of canals to cc.

 

Hi Ange, I don't need to be but want to be. If there were canals (joined!) in Devon I would stay here. After 12 yrs in Leicester I'm done with the Midlands.... besides a boat visit, I always loved Foxton Locks.

 

The busyness of the K&A is appealing with a child.... I think. If I were alone it would just be me, the boat, and some water fowl.

 

I'm just considering all options on how to make it more low impact than what seems to be the accepted norm. If free wood won't work, I have to research other options.

Edited June 17, 2014 by bohomon

[Orca]

I never really understood why Devon - or the West Country per se, was 'THEE' place to 'dropout'!??! I hated Devon when I lived there (Meldon area), Somerset wasn't that much better (Evercreech area); but Yorkshire was wonderful (Knaresborough). After Lancs, I decided it was time to move back home to the Midlands.

 

Edited June 18, 2014 by Orca

[John V]

When I was a child we always went on holiday to the North East. I was never able to understand why we went to somewhere that was always "two topcoats colder" than the area we left (South East) and not somewhere warmer than home like the South West.

 

Maybe that answers the attraction?

[Phil Ambrose]

 

1. Because I want to live on a boat.

Home moorings don't mean one never moves. right?

 

2. It all depends on how much heating and thereby how much wood a particular boat needs if it is viable.

Roof boxes like these offer storage + SP area.

Insulate enough if you can. Like Macks.

You are correct to assume you do not have to saty on a home mooring. Many people who CC take a winter mooring, online or marina you are free to come and go as you please. The benefit is having somewhere secure in case of flooding, somewhere with facilities in case of freezing in and in the case of marinas in particular, usually power hook up, coal and gas delivered to your door so to speak.

For my own part I have a garden mooring in a marina and cruise very little in the winter but then I am getting on a bit.

Phil

[Guest]

I never really understood why Devon - or the West Country per se, was 'THEE' place to 'dropout'!??! I hated Devon when I lived there (Meldon area), Somerset wasn't that much better (Evercreech area); but Yorkshire was wonderful (Knaresborough). After Lancs, I decided it was time to move back home to the Midlands.

 

We are currently in the South Hams and it's beautiful down here, what's not to like ??

[Alan de Enfield]

You need a log store about three times the size of your annual consumption of wood.

1/3 for this years supply

1/3 for next year

1/3 for following year

 

Even in this mild (last) Winter our friend got thru' 4m³ of wood and still had to 'top-up' with gas occasionally.

Storing sufficient wood on a narrowboat for 2 years + is nigh on impossible, you will need to find a friendly farmer / house owner who will let you use a bit of their land.

 

You have obviously had a wood burner before and know this :

 

Freshly chopped firewood has up to 50% water content and won't burn in your fireplace. First, you must let the firewood season (dry), which allows the moisture to escape––the drier the wood, the cleaner the burn. When the wood gets down below 20% water content, it's ready to burn. Burning unseasoned (green) or even partially seasoned wood in your stove or fireplace will cause creosote build-up in your chimney, which can lead to a chimney fire at the worst, and a lack of fire or a roomful or smoke at best

[John V]

winter fuel by mudlarker2, on Flickr

 

 

 

Have you worked out how to store a winters worth of wood on a narrow boat? (This was just over half my winter store)

 

 

I really wasn't joking with this photo.....and just to give scale the deck section it is stacked on is wider than a narrow boat!!!

[Orca]

We are currently in the South Hams and it's beautiful down here, what's not to like ??

OK, I was a bit harsh and there is no doubt it certainly is one of the most beautiful counties in the UK. But of course, living somewhere is vastly different to holidaying there. It just wasn't for me. Have you moved to Devon then???

[Guest]

OK, I was a bit harsh and there is no doubt it certainly is one of the most beautiful counties in the UK. But of course, living somewhere is vastly different to holidaying there. It just wasn't for me. Have you moved to Devon then???

Just for two weeks. We have hired a cottage about 5 miles south of Totnes. Totnes is a great town as are Kingsbridge, Salcombe, Dartmouth. Stoke Gabriel and Diitisham are nice too.

 

We are surrounded by beautiful rolling hills for as far as they eye can see.

 

Only place we have visited that didn't really impress was Brixham though there was a cracking pub by the harbour side.

[bohomon]

I never understand when people say, "I don't understand why you like X place". We all need and want different things. For me, the West Country is my favourite part of England. But there is a lot of diversity, you can't judge it all by a few areas. Love Gloucestershire too.

 

Brixham gets a thumbs up from my daughter and I - 2 scoops worth of good ice-cream for £1.50. I paid £1.70 for a quarter of the amount at Wembury yesterday. Good ice-cream is a deal maker.

 

[wonders where the heck is spell-check located]

Edited June 18, 2014 by bohomon

[Bod]

Unless you are given the wood by its lawful owner, then it is not free.

All land in this country is owned, by someone, therefore all trees are owned.

Without the specific permission of the land owner, you cannot collect even dead fallen wood.

This could be seen as theft, or damage.

Some wood land is managed for wildlife, and as such is left natural, dead/dieing all left where it falls, make habitate for insects and small invertabrates.

What you could do in parts of the world not covered by English law may well be different.

 

Bod

[peterboat]

If that is your prime concern you could do better to buy a small house or flat and live on the land plus and buy yourself a very fuel efficient low emission diesel car to get to and from work.

Diesel cars may be fuel efficient but petrol cars are catching up rapidly however on emissions diesels are pants particulates being a nasty carcogenic one also modern small diesels are not suitable for town use its the DPF also for euro 6 adds a nitrous oxide filter more expense and problems. Some car makers are dropping diesels already knowing the problems to come we in the trade are now calling them an expensive waste of space

 

Peter

[peterboat]

 

It's all perspective, I and others saw a fair amount of cynicism and negativity rather than constructive and supportive points. On the other hand there are a few wonderful realistic posts in here. I'm taking it ALL in - but I won't be deflated by those that are all about the negative. I'm an optimistic realist

 

And I'm the type of person that takes others as I find them, and each situation as I find it. Much of the clashing here is because there are huge assumptions made about who I am, how I function, and my previous experiences. Like your words above. Judging me and my aspirations by what has occured on these forums before is not helpful.

 

I get it that long-time live aboards can become cynical, but I hear the same stuff from landlubbers - it can't be done, I would be green on that issue but.... I don't judge people by their green credentials, I'm just not built that way, but I also hear when someone has given up or just doesn't want to make the effort. Fine, each to their own. But it is also a defence mechanism - naysay other people's efforts so you can feel better about giving up/not trying.

 

This person here wants to make some difference, and I'm asking for help on how to do so, from those who care about the nature surrounding their boats. Those who are already doing it, have tried different options, or are interested in learning more themselves.

Hi you are trying to make a difference and thats what counts. My boat has 1000watts of solar 1500 ah of full traction batteries they last longer so less cost and less energy to replace. I have a pure woodburning stove with backboiler that is 89 percent efficient it has central heating that generates electric.

It is very well insulated and is double glazed. I try in my life to manage the waste I produce even down to a composting loo,

if everyone adopted these measures their might be a future for our kids if we dont their might not even be a future for us.

I think my lifestyle produces a very small impact but no doubt others will say different but this summer I have not had to run the engine or my clever gennie to do clothes/dishwashing or even me washing so for me it works no doubt it will for you.

Also I have not bought wood for years I just keep on getting it given to me only yesterday I was given at least two years worth of 10 x 3 floor joists to burn happy days.

 

Peter

[bizzard]

The mad desire for cheap or free energy will I reckon cause a premature end to mankind and indeed eventually the complete and utter destruction to our planet. As well as having to contend with the global warming problem and all the solar panels wearing out the sun there are all the wind generators and wind farms now disrupting the wind by presenting resistance to it and slowing it up, sailing boats as do aircraft locally trying to deflect the poor old wind into directions that it doesn't want to blow in, massive great tall buildings putting huge brakes on the prevailing winds and deflecting it and funneling it into all sorts of unnatural eddies and these are just a few of the man made creations that are no doubt having something to do with the strange and fierce world weather lately, the isobars are wriggling about in a giddy fashion probably helping to cause all the high and low pressure systems to go berserk and to track where they wouldn't normally because of mans interference and need of cheap or free power. And there's now also the the interference with tides and waves with wave and tide generators. Mans interference with the elements is going over the top.

No there is no such thing as free power, there is always a price to pay. We're definitely doomed I tell you, DOOMED.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

But Sir Buzz, There is always a positive side,

 

Now I propose using the deflected wind directions you speak of from wind farms and alike, to develop an idea already in use, as a mass air drying / preserving of fish ect.

But for Donuts !.

So it can't all be bad.

[Graham Davis]

Some car makers are dropping diesels already knowing the problems to come we in the trade are now calling them an expensive waste of space

 

Peter

 

Really? Which ones?