should I start with a shorter narrowboat ?

[Tumshie]

Up here in the frozen north we're quite fond of the saying "There's no such thing as bad weather there's just the wrong clothes" I suppose a pram hood thingy gives you a bit of a "boot room" - some space to take of your soggy, muddy jackets and over trousers and wellies and dry the dogs off and give your self - I mean the dogs a good shake.

But that doesn't make them any less ugly!  

[MtB]

On 11/02/2018 at 13:44, PMcC said:

With my little knowledge, I would have thought that a hood that's easy to take down would be a godsend

 

Oh look, another of them Holy Grails!

[Tumshie]

1 minute ago, BWM said:

A pram hood once fitted will rarely be taken down, in the same way a mains hook up often becomes an umbilical cord preventing the boat to which it's attached from cruising..

Do they not un hook/snap/tie quite easily or is it that folk just don't bother?

[TheBiscuits]

1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Oh look, another of them Holy Grails!

Low bridges seem to help fold hoods down quickly.

Can be a long job getting them back up afterwards though.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Naughty Cal said:

A larger boat doesn't necessarily mean more storage. It all depends on the layout of the boat.

That is a very good point. When we fitted ours out it was all about storage, as we knew we would be living on it when retired. We have been on similar sized boats and thought "where do they keep all their stuff?"

[BWM]

6 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

Do they not un hook/snap/tie quite easily or is it that folk just don't bother?

I guess folks don't bother or more likely the area would be filled with the bric a brac that is always looking for a home on a boat. 

6 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Low bridges seem to help fold hoods down quickly.

Can be a long job getting them back up afterwards though.

I saw a cruiser with one of those statuesque, improvised cabin extensions 'modified' by one of those lovely bridges on the Aylesbury arm.

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, kawaton said:

Whats with the anti-pram hood sentiment?

Having never used one, i wouldn't know.

I am torn between semi trad and cruiser and have been considering a pram hood to keep the stern dry and covered when the boat is not in use.

So im curious as to what is peoples issue with them.  is it just that to some they are not pleasing on the eye?

 

imo.....

Cruiser - more space for kids/dogs, but imo uncomfortable for long journeys and my tea gets cold, and diluted by rain.

Semi trad - more comfortable, if gated can keep dogs in the boat, but tend to have steeper stairs which the dogs dont like

Trad - not for me

Living aboard this winter and owning two very large dogs, I wouldn't be without a pram hood on our semitrad.  It is merely a temporary structure that folds away. It came to light a few years ago that they used to build them on working boats (rainsheds IIRC) so it is official; they are allowed.

[MtB]

On 11/02/2018 at 14:15, catweasel said:

Living aboard this winter and owning two very large dogs, I wouldn't be without a pram hood on our semitrad.  It is merely a temporary structure that folds away. It came to light a few years ago that they used to build them on working boats (rainsheds IIRC) so it is official; they are allowed.

 

It came to light there was one....

Soon abandoned and forgotten!

[Tony Brooks]

FWIW. When we were looking for a boat I knew more or less what I wanted and the one we bought ticked all the boxes apart from some very large dents in the bow. A hydraulic body raw, sledge hammer and body filler soon cured that. What I soon realised was that by having a relatively small stern cockpit (but still plenty large enough for our use and only a small chain locker at the front of the well deck our 54 ft boat has as much internal space or possibly more than a "typical"  57 footer.

The stern gas box also makes it easier for worn out knees to climb onto the roof when required as well, you don't get that on a trad.

[PMcC]

Thanks Tony I'm going to have a good look at different boats, at first just looking with a view to buying once the house in France is sold.

Phill

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

It came to light there was one....

Soon abandoned and forgotten!

One that we know about...

[system 4-50]

Boating is about travelling serenely along the waterways, and for this you do not need a vintage engine. They are for folk who understand the expression "ramming speed" a la Ben Hur.  The engine is the quiet thing under the deck that you ignore except for the regular service intervals.  And now back to the bunker... 

[MtB]

On 11/02/2018 at 15:41, system 4-50 said:

Boating is about travelling serenely along the waterways, and for this you do not need a vintage engine. They are for folk who understand the expression "ramming speed" a la Ben Hur.  The engine is the quiet thing under the deck that you ignore except for the regular service intervals.  And now back to the bunker... 

 

Thus speaks a man who has never steered a boat with a vintage engine. 

Power is not something they are noted for!

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

The engine is the quiet thing under the deck that you ignore except for the regular service intervals.

Thought that was the wife

[system 4-50]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Thus speaks a man who has never steered a boat with a vintage engine. 

Power is not something they are noted for!

Bong. The reference (Bong) is not to (Bong) power.       Bong...

[mrsmelly]

1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

 

1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

The stern gas box also makes it easier for worn out knees to climb onto the roof when required as well, you don't get that on a trad.

the 70 foot trad we owned had a poxy cratch fitted. It was a pretty pointy ended boat with a silly little gas locker lid. Changing the gas bottles with the cratch board up and getting in and out of the silly low locker was an absolute nightmare and took somewhere in the region of eighteen hours to perform whilst balanced on one leg and one arm, the damage done to my spine lives with me to this day. In contrast on this semi trad they are in a large side locker at the back and can be lifted in/out without even bending in seconds. 

[Peter X]

5 hours ago, 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)

For the reasons I've put into bold, a 57 foot narrow boat is definitely the way to go. You're presumably aware that above that length some of the northern canals become difficult or impossible. Shorter boats are not much easier to control, you'll soon get used to whatever length of boat you have. If you can afford a 57 foot boat I would recommend you go for that length, because while a good layout matters, one way or another you'll find the space useful. The disadvantage of a longer boat when single handed is that you have to be careful when mooring if the wind is blowing away from the towpath; the stronger the wind and longer the boat, the more likely it is to end up blown away from you to the far side of the cut. It's a matter of stepping ashore with the centre line and quickly securing it to a bollard or whatever's available.

It's best to get an experienced boater to crew with you at first, to teach you the techniques of going through locks single handed before you attempt it alone. So long as you're reasonably fit and apply common sense and take your time you'll be OK, but when doing any journey involving a lot of locks (e.g. those canals over the Pennines which can't be done in a 70 footer) it's a good idea to persuade a friend or relative to come along for the trip to help you. Or you can get crew by asking in the Crew Swap section of this forum.

[PMcC]

54 minutes ago, Peter X said:

For the reasons I've put into bold, a 57 foot narrow boat is definitely the way to go. You're presumably aware that above that length some of the northern canals become difficult or impossible. Shorter boats are not much easier to control, you'll soon get used to whatever length of boat you have. If you can afford a 57 foot boat I would recommend you go for that length, because while a good layout matters, one way or another you'll find the space useful. The disadvantage of a longer boat when single handed is that you have to be careful when mooring if the wind is blowing away from the towpath; the stronger the wind and longer the boat, the more likely it is to end up blown away from you to the far side of the cut. It's a matter of stepping ashore with the centre line and quickly securing it to a bollard or whatever's available.

It's best to get an experienced boater to crew with you at first, to teach you the techniques of going through locks single handed before you attempt it alone. So long as you're reasonably fit and apply common sense and take your time you'll be OK, but when doing any journey involving a lot of locks (e.g. those canals over the Pennines which can't be done in a 70 footer) it's a good idea to persuade a friend or relative to come along for the trip to help you. Or you can get crew by asking in the Crew Swap section of this forum.

Great advice many thanks

[Dr Bob]

Surely the length of the boat you are looking for will be inversely proportional to the distance it is parked in the field away from the canal and how many walls you have to lift it over?

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?

[system 4-50]

1 minute ago, 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?

I used to do it for a living for 9 hours per day. It did not make me rich. What was I doing wrong?

[TheBiscuits]

4 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

I used to do it for a living for 9 hours per day. It did not make me rich. What was I doing wrong?

Doing it for somebody else.  What you need in life is minions!

[Dr Bob]

13 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

 It did not make me rich. What was I doing wrong?

You didn't have a calibrated smartgauge. Is this the 2nd dubious post of the weekend from......? Com'on Mr McCavity, come clean.

[rusty69]

3 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

 Com'on Mr McCavity, come clean.

macavity's not there

[PMcC]

22 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Surely the length of the boat you are looking for will be inversely proportional to the distance it is parked in the field away from the canal and how many walls you have to lift it over?

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?

You can have a darkroom anywhere there's no light :))

17 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Doing it for somebody else.  What you need in life is minions!

A good b/w printer is hard to find , there are a few that became very very well off. No great shots without great prints. A bit like having a boat interior without a hull

[Tumshie]

27 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Can you have a dark room on a boat?

I couldn't. One good dint from a boat going past and I would be wearing all those chemicals.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Tumshie