Just looking

[Alan de Enfield]

We have a double (gas) oven, a 4-ring gas hob (with a grill beneath) a 12v fridge, a 230v freezer and a 230v microwave in addition to 'small portable electrical appliances'

 

The 230v twin-tub washing machine is stored beneath the bed in the master-cabin and sits on the rear deck (or in the shower) when in use

 

 

Edited March 3, 2018 by Alan de Enfield

[rgreg]

9 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

We have a double (gas) oven, a 4-ring gas hob (with a grill beneath) a 12v fridge, a 230v freezer and a 230v microwave in addition to 'small portable electrical appliances'

 

The 230v twin-tub washing machine is stored beneath the bed in the master-cabin and sits on the rear deck (or in the shower) when in use

 

 

This is similar to my set up, except that I have a 230v fridge and no separate freezer. 300 watts of solar, 405ah of batteries and 2500w inverter generally supply enough power in the summer and a maximum of a couple of hours engine running each day in the winter if offline. The only thing I don't run is the heater on the automatic washing machine, instead pre-filling with hot water and setting to cold wash. Is your upper chamber on the double oven actually an oven? It looks identical to mine (Vanette GG7000) and the upper chamber is just a grill.

[Markinaboat]

Latecomer into this thread. Have to agree that what we think is important to us from beds (orientation/make-up, position in boat) toilets to electrical, to bow-thrusters, to heating almost always changes, not just after our first boat but in my case, after my 6th (did someone mention indecisiveness?). Whichever route you take be it build new, buy new or buy used, go and look at as many different boats/layouts as possible. I looked at 50+ boats before buying my first live-aboard in 2000.

Keep us posted on what transpires and good luck!

[13-10]

On 3/3/2018 at 02:49, Mike the Boilerman said:

My advice is buy a used boat. Find a boat you like, use it and almost immediately you'll start finding things about it you want to change. Change them and as your experience grows you'll find more and more things wrong with it and you have the skills to make the alerations in between boating trips.

In ten years,  I predict you too will be on here advising the newbies who think they know precisely what they want in a boat that they actually don't, and to get some serious boating experience under their belts before designing a newbuild. 

Would agree with what Mike says. We decided to follow the advice from this forum (and others) and bought a second-hand boat which hopefully we won't lose too much money on.

We've only been on it for about 5 months and what we started out thinking we wanted has changed at least half a dozen times. Hopefully by the time we start looking for a boat to live-aboard in a couple of years time we'll know what we need (but no guarantee) 

Good luck, hope it all goes well

[Dr Bob]

3 minutes ago, 13-10 said:

Would agree with what Mike says. We decided to follow the advice from this forum

I agree with 13-10. Almost unanimous agreement on the best type of toilet to have and how good ecofans are.

[13-10]

4 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

I agree with 13-10. Almost unanimous agreement on the best type of toilet to have and how good ecofans are.

So compost toilet it is then 

Edited March 4, 2018 by 13-10

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, 13-10 said:

So compost toilet it is then 

Yes - the environmentally friendly version of 'bucket & chuck it' its now ' bucket it, keep it, & then chuck it'

[13-10]

Well they apparently need a fan to keep the s##t dry, so you could run a pipe from the eco-fan to the compost bog. Totally environmentally friendly

[rusty69]

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

Yes - the environmentally friendly version of 'bucket & chuck it' its now ' bucket it, keep it, & then chuck it'

Its bucket it,keep the solids, whilst trying to convince everyone else on the forum that it's true "composting", whilst emptying the liquid as normal (behind a hedge), then chuck it.

[mrsmelly]

15 hours ago, Errant Ewart said:

Tar ( sorry no pun intended) two pack mandatory and suitable for rivers ( apparently there are 2 types but need confirmation on that), yep into the zinc thing , Air/Natures head my personal preferences but relieved ( pun again) your experience confirms our thoughts. Engines Beta Marine 43/ Barrus 45 silenced . We love the sound of a truly traditional engine but don't want to live with one. would like a gen set  but no gas . Questions are endless answers diverse oh well.

There are some things that are personal choice and some that are tried and tested and best to stick with as quite simply they work.

MUST have are as follows

SOLID fuel stove

GAS cooking

Modern Diesel engine 

Proper lengthways bed

NEVER ever haves are

Electric cooking even if gennie is feasable

Composting bog

Diesel stove ( ok as back up )

Cross beds

Pram hoods!!

Other stuff is optional such as type of Bog though cassette is the best a fridge can be gas which are brilliant or some form of lectric, mains being the best. The stern is again optional as its whatever floats ya boat. 60 foot makes more sense than 57 unless u realy are going to stay in one very tiny part of the canal system all your life.

 

[Dr Bob]

19 minutes ago, 13-10 said:

Well they apparently need a fan to keep the s##t dry, so you could run a pipe from the eco-fan to the compost bog. Totally environmentally friendly

It wasn't me! I never started the discussion on things ecofans cant do! There is an 'informal' ban on that. Informal 'cause the nice Mr Athy won't make it formal.

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

It wasn't me! I never started the discussion on things ecofans cant do! There is an 'informal' ban on that. Informal 'cause the nice Mr Athy won't make it formal.

Stop that. Mr Putin don't like it!

[13-10]

3 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

It wasn't me! I never started the discussion on things ecofans cant do! There is an 'informal' ban on that. Informal 'cause the nice Mr Athy won't make it formal.

A big boy did it and ran away

Just thinking, if you could burn the poo you've got perpetual motion 

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, 13-10 said:

A big boy did it and ran away

Just thinking, if you could burn the poo you've got perpetual motion 

Brownian motion!

[MtB]

50 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Its bucket it,keep the solids, whilst trying to convince everyone else on the forum that it's true "composting", whilst emptying the liquid as normal (behind a hedge), then chuck it.

 

'xactly. All they do really is dessicate the poo. 

And I doubt much of the 'liquid' really gets emptied behind a hedge. After a few weeks of looking for gaps in hedges I bet the novelty of being so 'green' wears off and a good proportion of 'composting' bog owners just pour it in the cut. 

<Awaits incoming>

[TheBiscuits]

11 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

'xactly. All they do really is dessicate the poo. 

And I doubt much of the 'liquid' really gets emptied behind a hedge. After a few weeks of looking for gaps in hedges I bet the novelty of being so 'green' wears off and a good proportion of 'composting' bog owners just pour it in the cut. 

<Awaits incoming>

It's more fun to empty the wet stuff into the pumpout drain on the boat next to you. Especially if they are frozen in and nearly full.

[Dr Bob]

51 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

There are some things that are personal choice and some that are tried and tested and best to stick with as quite simply they work.

NEVER ever haves are

 

Pram hoods!!

 

 

Our pram hood is the best thing since sliced bread (but we can still get sliced bread). You trudge down the pontoon with armfulls of shopping bags with the sliced bread about to fall out, get on the stern, fumble with the keys and oops, the bread is in the water. With our Pram hood, this doesnt happen. We have a nice area you can carefully place your bags down (in the dry) without loosing the sliced bread overboard. ......and boy doesnt it help doing an engine service over christmas. We can also check the SG on the batteries which we do daily to ensure SoC is 100% without getting cold. You'll be telling us next that ecofans dont work.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Dr Bob

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Our pram hood is the best thing since sliced bread

 

Swerving even further off topic, what was the best thing before sliced bread? This has always puzzled me since I was a brat.

[TheBiscuits]

3 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Our pram hood is the best thing ....and boy doesnt it help doing an engine service

Not in the slightest.  That's what the nice warm engine room is for.

1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Swerving even further off topic, what was the best thing before sliced bread? This has always puzzled me since I was a brat.

Beer.

[Dr Bob]

4 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 That's what the nice warm engine room is for.

 

Our engine doesnt deserve it's own room. The duck hasn't got one.

[rusty69]

24 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

'xactly. All they do really is dessicate the poo. 

And I doubt much of the 'liquid' really gets emptied behind a hedge. After a few weeks of looking for gaps in hedges I bet the novelty of being so 'green' wears off and a good proportion of 'composting' bog owners just pour it in the cut. 

<Awaits incoming>

Incoming:-

Ye olde Shakespeare fans avert thy eyes.

To Pee, or not to Pee: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the bladder to suffer

a full cassette of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a hedge of brambles,

And by opposing empty it.

To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The bladder-ache, and the thousand unnatural visits.

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a constipation

Devoutly to be flushed.

To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to poo: aye, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of constipation what may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal Thetford.

[Dr Bob]

7 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Swerving even further off topic, what was the best thing before sliced bread? This has always puzzled me since I was a brat.

Well that is pretty obvious. When this saying was coined invented, the norm was unsliced bread. Hence when someone worked out how to cut it up, they thought it was cool. Unfortunately they got it wrong as we all know unsliced bread is far superior unless you are making scouse butties where sliced bread makes it more eatable (you can get more scouse in).

[TheBiscuits]

2 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Our engine doesnt deserve it's own room. The duck hasn't got one.

I admit I have never seen a duck with an engine room. 

I have seen a DUKW with an engine on fire though, and all the people on it were trying to make as much room as possible.

And another where the engine wouldn't catch fire because it was underwater at the time.

[Dr Bob]

2 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Incoming:-

Ye olde Shakespeare fans avert thy eyes.

To Pee, or not to Pee: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the bladder to suffer

a full cassette of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a hedge of brambles,

And by opposing empty it.

To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The bladder-ache, and the thousand unnatural visits.

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a constipation

Devoutly to be flushed.

To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to poo: aye, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of constipation what may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal Thetford.

See, I told you, pump out plasma toilets are far better.

[MtB]

7 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Well that is pretty obvious. When this saying was coined invented, the norm was unsliced bread. Hence when someone worked out how to cut it up, they thought it was cool. Unfortunately they got it wrong as we all know unsliced bread is far superior unless you are making scouse butties where sliced bread makes it more eatable (you can get more scouse in).

 

I agree. In fact 'regular' sliced bread is disgusting stuff. EVERYTHING is better than sliced bread!

I've given up trying to buy good bread in shops and dusted off my old Panasonic bread maker and pressed it back into service. These premixed 500g packs of flour, yeast etc most shops sell now make really good bread really easily.

Now, don't get me onto tea bags. Leaf tea is FAR superior.