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should I start with a shorter narrowboat ?


PMcC

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8 hours ago, Hopcott17 said:

I regret buying my first boat which is 50ft but lose space due to front and back. I'd go larger e.g. 62ft-70ft as it doesnt seem so cramped! 

Good luck though!

Thanks, I want to visit all the canals so I'm limited for length, hence 57' choice, my daughter lives in Hebdon bridge and that canals locks are limited.

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On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 10:23, PMcC said:

As a relatively fit 68 year old I'm planning on buying a 57'cruiser stem narrowboat. I will be a continuous traveller , on a go everywhere quest. Photography was my profession and now my hobby again.

So should I start with a shorter boat as I will be alone most of the time ? or will a few days practise be enough to be able to pass through locks alone. I know that in this type of living you never stop learning (just like photography). So I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. I'm hoping that I will be in a position to make the jump this summer , which brings up another question , would I be better waiting to buy a good second hand boat in Autumn, as I would have thought that second hand prices would drop considerably then.

Love to hear your points of view on the subject. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Phillip McCordall (Phill)

Phill,

Back again as promised this time on a proper keyboard (see my first post about this time yesterday)

As I've already said I'm 71 and my boat is 55' . 99% of my cruising is single handed.

In themselves locks are no problem for a single hander and I don't see how a shorter boat would help you become confident and competent any quicker. The point to consider is how you will tackle them. As most will tell you there is no single way. Often, because of terrain, lock design etc I find the easiest way is to pull the boat in or out. As I get older it's this that becomes more difficult. It's not something I find easy to admit to but it's a fact. On occasion the boat will 'run away' with you be it in a lock or when you're mooring / unmooring.(I mean when you're ashore pulling on the centre line). 'Experts' will tell you that that shouldn't happen. It will !

Really what I'm saying is that if you're looking to get a boat think along the lines of the saying " a (for dog read boat)s' not for Christmas it's for life" You'll want to be able enjoy (and use) it some years down the line.

Me, I'm off for at least 4 months as soon as the weather improves.

 

 

Frank

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On ‎2018‎-‎02‎-‎11 at 12:17, bizzard said:

Are they coming again?    Everyone one wants BIGGER these days. BIGGER boats, bigger cars. And then they moan because they'e helped cause congestion with em and deprived themselves of parking-mooring places.

Oh we are coming allright! Got my eyes on at spot not far from the Jolly Brewers, might be some time yet though unless I successively piss my boss of and get that redundancy.

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9 hours ago, Slim said:

Phill,

Back again as promised this time on a proper keyboard (see my first post about this time yesterday)

As I've already said I'm 71 and my boat is 55' . 99% of my cruising is single handed.

In themselves locks are no problem for a single hander and I don't see how a shorter boat would help you become confident and competent any quicker. The point to consider is how you will tackle them. As most will tell you there is no single way. Often, because of terrain, lock design etc I find the easiest way is to pull the boat in or out. As I get older it's this that becomes more difficult. It's not something I find easy to admit to but it's a fact. On occasion the boat will 'run away' with you be it in a lock or when you're mooring / unmooring.(I mean when you're ashore pulling on the centre line). 'Experts' will tell you that that shouldn't happen. It will !

Really what I'm saying is that if you're looking to get a boat think along the lines of the saying " a (for dog read boat)s' not for Christmas it's for life" You'll want to be able enjoy (and use) it some years down the line.

Me, I'm off for at least 4 months as soon as the weather improves.

 

 

Frank

Thanks Frank, very encouraging comment, I really can't wait to start a new life and as a photographer I'm looking forward to getting some nice snaps on my travels . Good luck on your 4 month cruise.

Phill

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8 minutes ago, PMcC said:

Thanks Frank, very encouraging comment, I really can't wait to start a new life and as a photographer I'm looking forward to getting some nice snaps on my travels . Good luck on your 4 month cruise.

Phill

How much Narrowboating experience do you have ?

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40 minutes ago, PMcC said:

No narrowboat experience, I've just rented wider holiday boats several times on the broads and on the canal de midi in France.

In that case I would suggest you try to do a few locks with another boater first, preferably one who does single handed boating to get a few pointers, as when you buy the boat you will be off, so it would be useful to have some first hand knowledge when you get to your first lock alone

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2 hours ago, PMcC said:

Thanks, I'll certainly hang around a few locks and see what's involved at the very least.

Pay particular attention to single handers. There is more to do at a lock when single handing than when you have crew, and the single hander has to do ALL of it!

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5 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Pay particular attention to single handers. There is more to do at a lock when single handing than when you have crew, and the single hander has to do ALL of it!

And with only one hand,whilst hoping about on one leg:giggles:

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27 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Pay particular attention to single handers. There is more to do at a lock when single handing than when you have crew, and the single hander has to do ALL of it!

Very true.  However, the single hander doesn't have to do the bit where he blames his missus for not letting go aft when he applies forward revs and parts the stern line that he's standing next to.  Moral of the story: sometimes its easier to single hand as you always know immediately who's fault things are. ;)

  • Greenie 1
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On 2/11/2018 at 22:38, Dr Bob said:

You must be well off. Processing film in a dark room is a rich man's game. Can you have a dark room on a boat?

Actually it's a poor mans pursuit, at least how I do it! It's  not comparable as far as artistic results go, as I do weird historic stuff with paper negatives really old bellows cameras, but I've bought world class 35mm film cameras for pennies in charity shops, and coupled with £2 worth of film developed in rotgut coffee and vitamin C,  the results would cost you many hundreds of quids worth of digital to equal in terms of resolution and tonal range. If you cared about that stuff.

Unless you're actually printing with an enlarger (which is wonderful), film scanners can be pricey, though I've never paid more than £10 for charity shop examples. It's a nice pastime, and keeping vintage cameras working and learning the historic skills of silver photography is similar to other, er, 'niche' activities people get up to :) 

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I remember assisting my brother when he went through a photography craze in his late teens. We certainly weren't loaded, but managed to use the small dining room as a darkroom with the help of a blanket over the window, and produced some good (black and white) prints. I gathered that developing in colour would have been much more complex and expensive, he never attempted that.

On a boat I suppose the chemicals might slosh out of the trays if another boat goes by too fast; you'd need a peaceful mooring, maybe tucked away in a quiet corner of a marina. Or maybe seek out a little used canal and use the darkroom in the middle of the night.

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