Naviagtion q

[Machpoint005]

4 hours ago, WotEver said:

Because she doesn’t want a boat. She wants  “a nice home for my daughter and me to live.” It just happens to be boat shaped. 

... more or less, anyway

54 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Is that anything like short and obese?  If so, count me in. 

I prefer 'rotund' but then the quip wouldn't be quippy enough.

It beats me how anyone with a free choice of where to live would choose London, but there you are.

[WotEver]

2 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

It beats me how anyone with a free choice of where to live would choose London, but there you are.

Been there, done that, got out.

[Peter X]

18 hours ago, Mac10 said:

Hello

 

I'm thinking of launching my 60ft x 12ft wide beam at Watford.  Does anyone know if I can navigate from Watford into London - are the locks wide enough please?  Thanks

 

 

It's a reasonable question to ask because you're new to boating, and has effectively been answered. To be exact, the locks from Watford down to Brentford and Limehouse, and in the other direction up the GU all the way to two miles short of Birmingham city centre are 14 feet wide, designed to take two narrow boats side by side, and your 60' length is no problem. Draught and air draught will probably be OK too, but if in doubt check this with your boatbuilder and the figures on canalplan.

 

I wouldn't encourage anyone to take a widebeam up the GU towards Birmingham, because it would be a tight fit getting through a lot of places. However there's no rule to stop you navigating the canals you can get through, and at 12 feet you would fit through the bridges up there, just.

 

What should worry you, if you haven't already worked out a solution, is where you will be able to moor. In London I think you'll either have to pay a LOT for a long term mooring, or devote a lot of time and effort to finding mooring spots if you CC. The scale of the problem will depend on how flexible you are about location.

[reg]

Chanel 4 and its rose tinted programs about floating homes with wonderful views across clean expanses of beautiful water, blah, blah, blah have a lot to do with people's perceptions about life on the water unfortunately I don't think these translate well to full time living on a Narrowboat in London. This article, just one of many that can be found, gives perhaps a more accurate view of the realities. 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/this-is-what-its-actually-like-to-live-on-a-canal-boat-in-hackney-a3451166.html%3famp

 

Likewise the London Boaters Facebook group gives an idea of the realities, with boats coming lose, residents complaints, CRT actions, overcrowding etc, etc. 

 

I wish the op well with here desire to give her daughter a nice home, but I suspect once launched there will be many challenges. Good luck to her. I'm sure this group would be able to help with practical and technical matters if that should be neccesary but I suspect other groups may be better suited to handling living in London on a large wide beam question's. 

 

[Victor Vectis]

Or could this be another wind up?

[WotEver]

12 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

Or could this be another wind up?

Don't think so, or she'd have stayed and posted a bit more.  As it is she's not been back for 13 hours.

[Bee]

There is something parochial about the inhabitants of the canal system that I don't understand. Its not supposed to be a closed shop only open to those with superior knowledge of old boatmen or those who own a National or something, its 2018 and  for most its a leisure activity, for many its a home, as us old gits die off others will take our place and they will not know everything. If someone wants to know about the difficulties of the Canal du Nord I hope I will tell them what I know without telling them that as they don't already know they shouldn't be there.

[cuthound]

20 hours ago, Mac10 said:

Hello

 

I'm thinking of launching my 60ft x 12ft wide beam at Watford.  Does anyone know if I can navigate from Watford into London - are the locks wide enough please?  Thanks

 

 

 

20 hours ago, Jennifer McM said:

There's all wide on the Grand Union.  Try https://canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/canal.cgi and set the size of your boat, and you'll get all the navigation info you could wish for.

 

Depends on which Watford, Watford Northamptonshire is on the Leicester branch of the GU which has some narrow locks on it.

[reg]

8 minutes ago, Bee said:

There is something parochial about the inhabitants of the canal system that I don't understand. Its not supposed to be a closed shop only open to those with superior knowledge of old boatmen or those who own a National or something, its 2018 and  for most its a leisure activity, for many its a home, as us old gits die off others will take our place and they will not know everything. If someone wants to know about the difficulties of the Canal du Nord I hope I will tell them what I know without telling them that as they don't already know they shouldn't be there.

Well there is a debate, who are the canals for in 2018?

 

The obvious answer of course is me but not them. 

Edited May 30, 2018 by reg

[Alan de Enfield]

There has been 'congestion' previously, but now floating-flat owners expect water, toilets and electricity, not like the old days when men were men and woman cleaned the fish.

 

 

 

 

 

[MtB]

On 29/05/2018 at 21:01, Mac10 said:

 

Hello

 

I'm thinking of launching my 60ft x 12ft wide beam at Watford.

 

 

Does thus not state you have already acquired your monster widebeam? 

 

People understandably based their comments on your statement you already have the boat. 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2018 by Mike the Boilerman

[matty40s]

4 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

 

Depends on which Watford, Watford Northamptonshire is on the Leicester branch of the GU which has some narrow locks on it.

I did have someone who should know better ask why a widebeam from Crick show was being craned in at Weedon today.......

[ditchcrawler]

And you talk about Facebook

[matty40s]

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

And you talk about Facebook

I do??

[dmr]

6 hours ago, reg said:

Chanel 4 and its rose tinted programs about floating homes with wonderful views across clean expanses of beautiful water, blah, blah, blah have a lot to do with people's perceptions about life on the water unfortunately I don't think these translate well to full time living on a Narrowboat in London. This article, just one of many that can be found, gives perhaps a more accurate view of the realities. 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/this-is-what-its-actually-like-to-live-on-a-canal-boat-in-hackney-a3451166.html%3famp

 

Likewise the London Boaters Facebook group gives an idea of the realities, with boats coming lose, residents complaints, CRT actions, overcrowding etc, etc. 

 

I wish the op well with here desire to give her daughter a nice home, but I suspect once launched there will be many challenges. Good luck to her. I'm sure this group would be able to help with practical and technical matters if that should be neccesary but I suspect other groups may be better suited to handling living in London on a large wide beam question's. 

 

I am not sure that a boat in London would be a nice home for a child, especially if CCing. Congestion and CC rules mean that some time might have to be spent in some less good parts. I suspect that Facebook does not paint the most accurate picture but it looks that recently one boat was broken into twice in one week, and robbery at knifepoint is not that unusual.

 

Living on a boat is a good life for kids, but probably not in London.

 

..............Dave

 

 

[PaulJ]

18 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

 

Living on a boat is a good life for kids, but probably not in London.

 

..............Dave

 

 

I think living  on a boat in London is probably an awful lot better than having to live in certain housing estates etc . At least you have a relatively good and easy chance of moving away..

[Alan de Enfield]

34 minutes ago, dmr said:

I am not sure that a boat in London would be a nice home for a child, especially if CCing. Congestion and CC rules mean that some time might have to be spent in some less good parts. I suspect that Facebook does not paint the most accurate picture but it looks that recently one boat was broken into twice in one week, and robbery at knifepoint is not that unusual.

 

Living on a boat is a good life for kids, but probably not in London.

 

..............Dave

 

 

The terms 'CC rules' and 'CCing' have been mentioned a few times in this thread, I wonder if during the OPs  research she has come across this terminology and understands what it means and how to comply ?

[MtB]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The terms 'CC rules' and 'CCing' have been mentioned a few times in this thread, I wonder if during the OPs  research she has come across this terminology and understands what it means and how to comply ?

 

She will no doubt dismiss advice on CC rules as she won’t like it, and call people offering it ‘dicks’. 

[ditchcrawler]

For all we know she may have a mooring, she didn't say

[WotEver]

I doubt if she’s coming back anyway. 

[Alan de Enfield]

6 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

For all we know she may have a mooring, she didn't say

But we do know she has not yet even placed the order to have a boat built so it will be several (many ?) months until she has a boat (or a mooring).

[ditchcrawler]

No, lots of first time posters dont

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, ditchcrawler said:

No, lots of first time posters dont

Strange that.

[MtB]

1 minute ago, WotEver said:

I doubt if she’s coming back anyway. 

 

Let’s hope not... 

 

?

[Ssscrudddy]

Usual arseholes out in force again I see. Someone new dares to ask a question, someone else gets nasty because they know everything there is to know about boating, how dare you ask a question do your research we don't like where you intend going lets take it as an opportunity to get nasty for no effing reason whatsoever, then they get all butt hurt because the newbie dared to stand up for themselves & then rest of the usual crew join in... Post count (just for sh*ts giggles)...

 

Dicks!

 

Bring on the banhammer!

Edited May 31, 2018 by Ssscrudddy