blackrose

I'm not sure. As well as providing an air gap the idea of putting spacers between the baseplate and ballast is also to allow any water to run to the stern so it can be removed. Once it's flattened under the weight of the ballast wouldn't garden netting create separate cells that would prevent water flow? Having a sealed air gap is better than nothing I suppose, but how's water supposed to evaporate - where can it go? On my boat the ballast sits directly on the bitumen soaked cloth stuck to the baseplate which is just about the worst way to do it.

I don't really agree. It's easy to take one bad example and try to make a generalisation about a lack of clarity, but when I fitted my boat out to BSS standards it all seemed pretty clear to me. Of course there may be differences between the BSS and RCD because they're different sets of standards.

Even if the filter elements are fit for purpose there's always a possibility that some water gets past the element without actually being filtered. Reminds me of that story I heard on here years ago about the guy who couldn't understand why he filled his integral water tank much less than his neighbours and other boaters he saw and he assumed they just used more than him. When the boat finally came out the water they found a small hole below the waterline at the bow! I'm not sure if he'd been drinking it. 🤮

Yes apart from that and some other rare cases amongst the billions of gallons of clean drinking quality water delivered to consumers across the country every year.

Yes I'd put it down to the unseasonably cold and wet weather, plus perhaps the cost of living crisis isn't helping? Less disposable income around.

When you say "that amount of rust" are we all talking about the rust shown in the OP's photo or have I missed something? If the bearing housing is/was loose and there's rust underneath then that's not good but still, the rust doesn't look that excessive to me. Personally if I was venturing onto tidal waters I'd be more concerned about things like whether my anchor warp was long enough, sludge in my fuel tank that might get churned up and block the fuel filter, etc. I'd also be checking things like alternator belts as I had one snap once on the tidal Thames and only knew when the water pump stopped spinning and I got an engine overheating warning alarm.

On my cruiser stern it runs over the back of the boat into the river.

Yes so 5mph from your boat was below your hull speed and the rest was the tide pushing you along.

In other words the OP could save himself an awful lot of time and money by simply buying a conventional narrowboat and planning those tidal journeys carefully, which he would be wise to do anyway whatever vessel he was on. If it were me perhaps I'd be looking for a slightly higher freeboard, vents, etc, and maybe an enclosed bow but they would be about it. The idea of being able to plough through the water at 10kts is nonsense as you generally go with the tide on these passages and any turn against the tide is short. Anyway, I'm sure the hull speeds of most narrowboats limits them below that figure.

I was going to say... If you want a go anywhere boat why would you choose a narrowboat? As much as a NB could be modified and some people have set to sea in them, seagoing boats are just much more suited to the sea.

Both... probably

Sorry but I'd lay money that with a growing kid it won't be long before your wife changes her mind and says she wants to move back to land. I don't just mean that with respect your family. I'm just a bit cynical. I've seen so many men who've had to give up their dream because of a woman. That's the normal way of things I guess... It's why I didn't buy into the whole marriage and kids scenario.

Are you talking about continuous cruising continuously as a lifestyle? That's difficult on any river prone to flooding, especially in winter. Also if you want to be around Oxford or any specific area then you aren't really continuously cruising. Although people do flout the rules, the Thames has less opportunities for mooring than the canals and you don't get 2 weeks grace. I might be wrong but unless otherwise stated I think the EA specify that you're only allowed to stay in one place for 24 hours.