Content Ideas

[anthony]

a good resource would be a live spell checker.

Edited June 12, 2007 by anthony

[sueb]

Has anyone sugested an internet crew site? We had reason to advertise for crew and I know people who would like to crew for others. If we could have a section where boaters could look for crew and volunteers could offer their services it would be good.

[Blake]

As a group, our collective knowledge knows no bounds. One thing I am keen to expand is the content section (Articles and Resources).

 

Do you have any suggestions on topics we could cover?

 

Would you be willing to write about a certain topic?

 

Some suggestions of my own

 

- A guide to choosing a boat builder (don't know anything about this, so anyone with personal experience like to help?)

 

- Emergency first aid for boaters (general and specific stuff) - I'm happy to write this when I have a moment)

 

Anything else?

 

Jon

 

how about a section on waterways crafts - painting (roses and castles ) etc

[Theo]

a good resource would be a live spell checker.

 

I use Firefox as my browser and that has one built in. It is not as good as the one on MSWord but it is OK.

 

Nick

[Blake]

May I endorse the comment earlier about GRP boats? As we have one and it told me that's it's 'quite happy on the canals even when the big bruisers come to close' I also wondered if we could have a topic for them? There are some who just can't stretch to a narrow boat financially and then there's those like us where one of us (me) has a disability and couldn't physically manage to control the weight of a steel boat when it's on ropes, so if we didn't have a GRP boat we probably wouldn't be able to have any. I must say right away that we have never had any comments passed on to us saying we're 'imposters' or anything other than friendly comments, so when I hear of boaters saying that they feel 'out of place' all I can say is get yourself on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, it's so friendly, we're on the pound that is East of Foulridge tunnel and if we travel East it's spectacular scenery, going West it's a bit 'daggy' but from our mooring through Skipton on to Bingley it's fantastic. So, I'm all for a topic area for GRP boats. Best to all for 2007,Denis

hear hear about the countryside - we fell in love with Yorks while up the Huddersfield narrow and back ove rthe L&L. aprt from that despite what you say we had no troiuble for two reasons I think. First we engaged the youngsters in conversation and asked how they wer what football team they supported and were generally friendly and not defensive, and secondly we had acamera that we took photos of everything including the kids. At one time we asked them why did they hide their faces (knowing the answer that they didnt want to be recognised by the police) but we had huge fun with them. teh only problem we had was on the Caldon canal near the junction at Stokeon Tren when we had a couple of stones thrown. Teh other trick my husband did was that he was certain a lad was going to spit on us as we went under a bridge. He caught the guys eye and held it all the way under. Fascinating- he couildl not bring himself to do it. Lets not get too paranoid and put otheres offhappy boating Victoria on Blake

May I endorse the comment earlier about GRP boats? As we have one and it told me that's it's 'quite happy on the canals even when the big bruisers come to close' I also wondered if we could have a topic for them? There are some who just can't stretch to a narrow boat financially and then there's those like us where one of us (me) has a disability and couldn't physically manage to control the weight of a steel boat when it's on ropes, so if we didn't have a GRP boat we probably wouldn't be able to have any. I must say right away that we have never had any comments passed on to us saying we're 'imposters' or anything other than friendly comments, so when I hear of boaters saying that they feel 'out of place' all I can say is get yourself on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, it's so friendly, we're on the pound that is East of Foulridge tunnel and if we travel East it's spectacular scenery, going West it's a bit 'daggy' but from our mooring through Skipton on to Bingley it's fantastic. So, I'm all for a topic area for GRP boats. Best to all for 2007,Denis

hear hear about the countryside - we fell in love with Yorks while up the Huddersfield narrow and back ove rthe L&L. aprt from that despite what you say we had no troiuble for two reasons I think. First we engaged the youngsters in conversation and asked how they wer what football team they supported and were generally friendly and not defensive, and secondly we had acamera that we took photos of everything including the kids. At one time we asked them why did they hide their faces (knowing the answer that they didnt want to be recognised by the police) but we had huge fun with them. teh only problem we had was on the Caldon canal near the junction at Stokeon Tren when we had a couple of stones thrown. Teh other trick my husband did was that he was certain a lad was going to spit on us as we went under a bridge. He caught the guys eye and held it all the way under. Fascinating- he couildl not bring himself to do it. Lets not get too paranoid and put otheres offhappy boating Victoria on Blake

Good idea! LOLActually - how about a 'single handed' tips thread?I've met and talked to quite a few single handers, and have picked up a lot from them - For example: Having an additional roof mounted rope anchoring point fixed forward of the traditional centre point makes for ease of pulling through while locking... (A bit obvious I know, but something I'd not considered)Bet there's an awful lot of painful lessons, good ideas, and the 'bleeding obvious'* worth sharing? *Where do they teach the 'bleeding obvious' btw? I'll have to ask my 'ex' - she had a degree in it! :)Allan

I endorse the single handed threadlol Victoria on Blake

[colin1325]

i think it would be a good idea to have a forum heading continuous cruising i know you have living aboard but this is about living in a marina somewhere . i raised a topic about vandalism and crime I believe that the most of the problems appear to be related to people that leave their boat all day unattended or perhaps for weeks . it would be nice to have somewhere that is purely devoted to the trials and tribs of c/c colin 1325

[Smelly]

Hows about "The ups and downs of restoring old wooden working boats"

 

I think theres a lot of interest in the subjekt!

Edited September 6, 2008 by Smelly

[steelaway]

Like Hondaman I am an auto/marine electrician (greetings comrade) and will happily join in within reason. First "Tech tip", DON'T fit charge controller/battery management systems. Best uprate for a narrowboat alternator is a smaller pulley.

 

 

Have you tried one?

I wouldn't be without mine - double the charge half the time

My alternators already have small pulleys.

 

Alex

[carlt]

Hows about "The ups and downs of restoring old wooden working boats"

 

I think theres a lot of interest in the subjekt!

I'll let you know when I think an "up".

[Daftmare]

How does this thread work? I have just read it through, and concur with some of the suggestions for new sections - how does it become a reality??

 

J.

[AMModels]

I'll let you know when I think an "up".

Ah you know that when completed theres nothing better than a wooden boat.

[Daftmare]

Thanks

[stagard]

A few suggestions :-

 

Firstly for total newcomers - What is a Narrowboat ie shell types ,engines , basic layouts , equipment etc . Documentation - Licences , Mooring Permits, BSS, RCD

etc. How much you would expect to pay for any of the above.

 

 

For newcomers & existing boaters - targetted info on specific canals - eg moorings -good or bad , best pubs , local recommended shops , cheap diesel etc For everyone - Health & Safety, First Aid, training available etc.

General tips and hints - misceleneous info for example how to use a lock single handed , best boating knots to use etc

 

Lastly I have noticed sometimes when there has been 1 topic an almost identical topic starts a short while later , is there any way of putting them adjacent in the forum for ease of reference ?

 

Great idea, might help a few people in making a decision!

[Troll]

Have a special section for Banters

[funallday]

Coming onto it, I know we're a rarity but how about us "Plastic Boat Brigade"?

 

I know you coffin dwellers hate us, but let's be honest, we're here to stay. How about a GRP area? I'd like to discuss problems with having a cruiser on the Canal and how BW feel about us etc. And before anyone starts, I have hired NBs in the past but really can't warrant buying one, hence the reason for owning a GRP cruiser

 

Surely this forum is about canals rather than what you drive? It's like having a motoring forum but ignoring Lada drivers.

YES i have to agree with you, i had GRP cruisers for 18 years, and found that we were looked down upon by other narrowboaters even thought they were classic cruisers and had been around longer that there floating show homes, i now am a narrow boat owner, but still lve to see the cruisers and feel they play just as important roll as any narrowboat, but at a fraction of the price, making this an enjoyable past time for oll, not just the well off.

Mark

[carlt]

YES i have to agree with you, i had GRP cruisers for 18 years, and found that we were looked down upon by other narrowboaters even thought they were classic cruisers and had been around longer that there floating show homes, i now am a narrow boat owner, but still lve to see the cruisers and feel they play just as important roll as any narrowboat, but at a fraction of the price, making this an enjoyable past time for oll, not just the well off.

Mark

Couldn't agree more (though, why anyone would want a plastic or metal boat is beyond my comprehension).

 

Are there enough tupperware owners out there to warrant their own forum section?

 

And does the clik-seal system now make the snap-shut lid obsolete?

[fuzzyduck]

Well there are enough Tupperware owners out there to justify at least 6 dedicated forums, but i'm not sure about one here.

 

I've never liked the new clik-seal system, it doesn't look anywhere near as good as the classic lines of the snap-shut.

Edited January 4, 2009 by fuzzyduck

[Dominic M]

Couldn't agree more (though, why anyone would want a plastic or metal boat is beyond my comprehension).

Indeed. This is why the Royal Navy is still entirely constructed of pitch pine and oak. Even the crew.

[kathleen bridget]

No, unfortunately not. Each entry is stored in a database, so dynamically updated.

 

 

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I really like the idea of the interior design section. Can you elaborate exactly what you are looking for? Is it pictures of boat interiors, or detail descriptions?

 

Does anyone have any other ideas? Would anyone be able to write anything? Full credit will be given?

 

 

Many thanks,

 

Jon

 

 

i am looking to change the interior of my narrow boat and would appreciate an interior design section. both pictures and detail descriptions would be good.. im looking for ideas

[mickspangle]

There seem to have been a few threads recently about using generic (cheaper) filters and glow plugs rather than the OEM stuff - perhaps a section in the equipment bit might be useful i.e. what type of oil filters you can use for a Vetus engine, generic glow plugs for Mikunis etc etc