Moorings, boats an all that - Back in hot water?

[ernie_the_fish]

Hi all,

 

First may i say hi to you all and what a great site !

 

I have lived on 4 boats so far and now after being on dry land for some time i am wanting to get back on board but after all these years where do i start, so heres a couple of questions.

 

1, where and can i get an affordable residential mooring in the lincolnshire cambridge areas, and how, so much info such a little brain...lol

2, how is it on your health as you get older

3, is it always damp?

 

I realise these are probably asked loads of times but pelase have pitty on a wee fish, lol.

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Ernie

[Bones]

Hello Ernie,

I am pleased to see you found the site! Welcome! Boats aren't damp. They are like houses, if you heat them they are dry and warm, and if you don't they are cold and damp.

Bones

[Barry]

Hi all,

 

First may i say hi to you all and what a great site !

 

I have lived on 4 boats so far and now after being on dry land for some time i am wanting to get back on board but after all these years where do i start, so heres a couple of questions.

 

1, where and can i get an affordable residential mooring in the lincolnshire cambridge areas, and how, so much info such a little brain...lol

2, how is it on your health as you get older

3, is it always damp?

 

I realise these are probably asked loads of times but pelase have pitty on a wee fish, lol.

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Ernie

 

Welcome Ernie

 

I too am researching before buying my boat

 

All your answers are here in abundance - have fun

[Blue_skies]

Hi Ernie (and Bazza), you're in fine company. I'm doing my research here too before making the move this year.

[magnetman]

Hello Ernie,

I am pleased to see you found the site! Welcome! Boats aren't damp. They are like houses, if you heat them they are dry and warm, and if you don't they are cold and damp.

Bones

Quite important to have the right type of heating I reckon, coal fired preferably although flued diesel and gas works as well. My boat is dry as a bone (why are bones used as a synonym for dry? ) anyway proper heating = no damp even the dog dries out quickly after romping in the snow.

[Bones]

Quite important to have the right type of heating I reckon, coal fired preferably although flued diesel and gas works as well. My boat is dry as a bone (why are bones used as a synonym for dry? ) anyway proper heating = no damp even the dog dries out quickly after romping in the snow.

 

Because we are dry!

[Dave45]

Hi Ernie

Welcome to the forum.

I can only comment on are boats damp.

You can get alot of condensation by the fact that your are in all metal boat which if its insulated well will never get warm on cold winter days on the outside.

Any moisture condensing on the cold surfsces will condense and run off somewhere.

We live on our boat and have the fire on most of the day in this weather and it is lovely and warm .

In the morning when all the moisture in air has ran off it is damp.

....until we warm it up again..... seems to be warm and damp warm and damp always.

Due to not having double glazing you will get the normal flood from glassin the mornings.

Im still seaching for a remey to the problem and would like to hear of any remedies.

Dave

[Bones]

dave - is your boat damp...? Mine isn't at all.... the stove gives off a really dry heat which may be part of it I suppose.....

[Roger Gunkel]

Hi Ernie,

Welcome to the forum. We have lived aboard our boat for two and a half years at Upware Marina on the River Cam between Ely and Cambridge. There are some pictures on our gallery of the boat and the moorings if they are of interest to you. If you are thinking of Cambridge area it could well be worth a look. We are only 15 minutes drive from the Cambridge Park and Ride.

 

As the other posts have said, boat living is not cold or damp if you heat it properly and take precautions to minimize gathering of moisture in the air. A solid fuel boiler which most liveaboard boats tend to have, helps to keep the boat dry, by drawing in air for combustion and helping the ventilation. Many people also run diesel fired central heating systems. Condensation can be a problem on some boats, but for some ideas about this, have a look at the thread further down the living afloat forum 'Condensation on aluminiium window frames' as it gives some insight into what people are doing. There are also a number of other threads if you trawl back a bit or do a search.

 

As regards health, how old is older? I've never been fitter or less stressed since living on the boat and I'll be 60 this month. I think the way of life is much healthier. I keep fit by chopping logs, walking, cycling and I also keep a small dinghy with the boat which I sail and row whenever I can.

 

Enjoy getting back on board!

Roger

[Blue_skies]

I've never been fitter or less stressed since living on the boat

 

I like the sound of this Looking forward to losing the stress imposed by my current noisy neighbours.

 

Just coming back to the idea of condensation on windows... Is there any reason why one couldn't double glaze? I wouldn't do it myself. Cold and condensation doesn't bother me (I lived in an old stone built cottage for seven years with single glazing and no central heating. The bathroom was single thickness stone walls and in winter I would often find myself peeing onto ice in the frozen toilet!) However, I could imagine cold and damp would concern me if I was of a certain age and you do right to concern yourself about it, Ernie. Cold is a killer in the elderly - it thickens the blood and encourages clots. (Not that I'm calling you elderly!)

[bottle]

 

Cold is a killer in the elderly Yes it can be- it thickens the blood and encourages clots.Where does this statement come from?

Edited February 11, 2007 by bottle

[John Orentas]

Why does everybody assume that boats are damp, I can understand landlubbers thinking that but people on this site should know better. I have said it before. If your boat is damp, it is not not an inherent problem or an act of God, there is something wrong with it. You must diagnose and fix it. I tell everyone who will listen that with both my boats, I can leave a salt cellar in it all winter and it will still 'sprinkle' in the spring.

 

My boat is still for sale by the way, no damp, no rust, no wear, no money.

[Blue_skies]

 

I heard it on a Radio 4 programme, there are theories kicking about over the precise medical science involved but just a quick look on the net gave me this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/health/1543327.stm and the line... "In the summer months blood may well be less dilute, and less likely to clot." The full extract below... But why is this off topic? This is about an older guy asking about cold and damp on boats isn't it? Just trying to be helpful.

 

Cold weather effects

 

They also suggested that chilly weather might make the blood vessels constrict, making it more likely that blood clots will form.

 

However, Professor Roger Greenhalgh, a consultant vascular surgeon from Hammersmith Hospital in London, who studied the link in the 1980s, told BBC News Online that another explanation was feasible.

 

He said: "We found that blood appears actually more likely to clot if diluted with saline.

 

"In summer, people tend to sweat more, and the reverse is true in winter.

 

"In the summer months blood may well be less dilute, and less likely to clot."

And another London surgeon, Professor George Geroulakos, said that there might be a simpler explanation.

 

He told BBC News Online: "People, particularly elderly people, who get infections during the winter months are far less likely to move around.

 

"We know that keeping still makes you more vulnerable to thromboses."

[bottle]

Thank you, it was me that was going as I asked the question where your source of information was.

[Blue_skies]

Thank you, it was me that was going as I asked the question where your source of information was.

Ahhh, I see. Sorry, I'm a little unfamiliar with these 'off topic' emoticons. I did go on one website where people jumped up and down at the first hint of drifting away from the subject being discussed.

[Barry]

My boat is still for sale by the way, no damp, no rust, no wear, no money.

 

 

Sounds like quite a deal - a boat for sale for no money

 

I might even buy it site unseen at that price

 

I need a tongeu in cheek smiley now

[John Orentas]

Sounds like quite a deal - a boat for sale for no money

I might even buy it site unseen at that price

I need a tongeu in cheek smiley now

 

 

"No money" Humour, irony and now colloquialisms, am I never out of trouble.

[Bones]

"No money" Humour, irony and now colloquialisms, am I never out of trouble.

 

John.. nope!!!

 

As for blood being thinner or not in winter, there is no reason why a boat should be colder than the house so it shouldn't really affect you. I would have thought mobility could be a a bit of a problem, but then you could just go back to bricks and morter?

[Roger Gunkel]

John.. nope!!!

 

As for blood being thinner or not in winter, there is no reason why a boat should be colder than the house so it shouldn't really affect you. I would have thought mobility could be a a bit of a problem, but then you could just go back to bricks and morter?

Totally agree about cold not being a problem and old age doesn't neccessarily mean mobility problems. Where there are mobilty problems, there are many possibilities. After all if you had a house, you may have problems accessing an upstairs bathroom so you make the appropriate provision. There are plenty of instances of boats with wheelchair access and all I am saying is that where there is a problem, there is always a solution.

Roger

[mikevye]

New boats are not inherently damp thanks to modern insulation methods but the simple fact of keeping warmth in and cold out can lead to condensation problems which we are currently experiencing. A fellow moorer whos boat shows no sign of any condensation advocated the use of a de humidifier. Left on overnight he swears by it and we can certainly notice the difference between his boat and ours.

[NB Alnwick]

We moved back aboard the boat last week because it was far too cold and sterile in the house with all that snow outside.

 

We don't drain down and don't use antifreeze but when we got to the boat with the temperature outside well below freezing, the temperature inside was 45 degrees Fahrenheit and hadn't been any lower than 42. We daren't leave our house without some form of frost protective heating on but we often just shut the boat up and leave it - so the conclusion is that the boat is better insulated against the cold than the house! Sitting in three feet of water may help!

 

Once the Squirrel was lit and the boat nicely warmed through even our cat was happier . . .

Edited February 12, 2007 by NB Alnwick

[Roger Gunkel]

New boats are not inherently damp thanks to modern insulation methods but the simple fact of keeping warmth in and cold out can lead to condensation problems which we are currently experiencing. A fellow moorer whos boat shows no sign of any condensation advocated the use of a de humidifier. Left on overnight he swears by it and we can certainly notice the difference between his boat and ours.

This has come up on a number of threads recently have a look at condensation

[ernie_the_fish]

Hi all,

 

Well thanks couldnt beleive the amount of replies and such help....thanks a bunch peeps.

 

Previous boat was a 70 footer butty barge with a wooden hulll and could cold or could be warm but was warm and damp and wouldnt want to go back to that again...lol.... the musty smell etc etc..it was in the air like books curling up etc.

 

But what great news to hear that some boats are obviously warm and dry, which is the main concern for health being a guitarist an all, dont wanna get damp generated illnesses etc.

 

But seems that buy new and get no damp, buy older boat with issues and get damp..hmmmm

 

Thnaks for the post mentioning a marina ... must admit the moorrings the biggest worry, back to the world of boats, looking through the other posts all i can say is rights what rights.

 

Any way hope to get lots more help thanks a bunch, it is much needed and appreciated.

 

 

Ernie_the_fish

[nichimyo]

What we did when looking for a mooring/marina was to take an Ordnance Survey map of the area we wanted to be in, highlight the waterways and then drive around and look, stopping off at any places that seemed promising and talking to whoever was in charge. Bear in mind that on the phone you will often get onto a so-called waiting list, but if you turn up you can get a place if they like you. It took us about 5 weekends of looking (about the same as it takes to find a house to buy).

[NB Alnwick]

But what great news to hear that some boats are obviously warm and dry, which is the main concern for health being a guitarist an all, dont wanna get damp generated illnesses etc.

 

But seems that buy new and get no damp, buy older boat with issues and get damp..hmmmm

 

Our boat was nearly ten years old when we bought it - never had any condensation or damp problems.

Good insulation and small windows/ports all help.