Dream On

For your information, the NB BEARLY AFLOAT has been sold. At the price of 2 900 euros, to which must be added 11% of taxes. It is a priori a French who acquired it. I hope it's to restore it. https://dreamonnarrowboat.blogspot.com/2019/05/le-nb-bearly-afloat-est-vendu.html

Thank you for your comments about my blog :) It is the NB Bearly Afloat is abandoned. The NB Dream On is fine, Thanks If you have some information about other NB abandoned in France, do not hesitate to communicate them to me. Thank you.

Yes, you're right : "shoe" is a better translation, a wooden shoe

Yes, there are still Berrichons sailing like the "Blue Berry" and "Le Soleil" (it is in Paris and there are pictures of it on my blog) but they are rare ... Belgium also has this kind of boats: les "Baquets de Charleroi" (bucket of Charleroi), also called "sabot" (hoof ?) ...

Yes, dear Tam, I remember and I agree with you about mooring narrowboats in the big locks. Mooring forward and back is necessary in these locks and you need a good sailor in front of the boat to secure it. My best regards, Laurent

Please excuse my English and my misunderstanding if I make mistakes in interpretation. Of course, narrow boat are typical British boats but I think they also have their place on the French canals like Briair, Burgundy, Nivernais, Midi. This boat model is ideal for channels, not just for English channels. There were French boats with equivalent dimensions and different aspects ("fûte of the berry" or Berrichon, "flûte of the Ourcq") but there is not enough to see them on the water. I am not judgmental or opinionful about abandoning the boat. Perhaps the disease (or worse) kept the owner away. This poor boat is perhaps the visible face of another misfortune, even more serious ...

Yes, it's true that this can be the name of the old owners. The boat may have been bought by French, difficult to know because it has not been re-registered. I am a bit far to go to see (300 km) but I have a French reader of the blog (he informed me about this boat), will take pictures in about ten days ... I'm afraid it's a long adventure if the owners do not come back. The town hall can not sell the boat itself: Bearly Afloat is on municipal land but it does not own the boat. Also, Mr Cougot can not help much, just inform and wait. After 6 months of the notice of abandonment, the Court will seize the boat and put it on auction if it is still salable. If no one buys it, it will be destroyed. Apart from finding the owners, it's hard to do a few things now ... For those who want to buy it, they have a little time: they have until May 2018 to save money and prepare for a difficult adventure

Yes, you are right about Mr. Cognot : he is the deputy mayor and the police officer of the city. The boat is likely to be auctioned. About the Blackmore family, I don't know... The front window of the boat is closed by a wooden plate and I think it is often visited by young people from the area. And thanks for my great photos

Hello, A small message to report you a narrowboat abandoned in France: it is the Bearly Afloat. A "trad" that seems abandoned to Saint Satur in the Cher. The town hall has filed a notice of abandonment on November 15, 2017. The boat will be sold or destroyed on May 15, 2018 if the owner does nothing. Registration is not visible. Only the name of the boat "Bearly Afloat" and the names of the owners, or former owners, Danny & Sue Blackmore " are still visible. If you know them, send the message. Photo and notice of abandonment on my blog. There is an option at the bottom right of the page to translate the text. Best regards from France Laurent

Thank you very much for your help. My narrowboat is normal, with dry exhaust But my English is poor and I do not always have the right technical vocabulary. This morning, I found the water pump in the front of the engine, powered by a belt. Everything is normal ! And I understand and I know the engine better. My best regards, Lau

You are right: it is the same manual for the engine with heat exchange or keel-cooled. Indeed, the manual talks about the tension of the belt of the alternator driving the pump. Nothing more. So much better I learn thanks to you

Thank you very much for your answer. I'll look tomorrow morning where this pump is ... Could you confirm that there is no maintenance outside the belt monitoring? No impeller to change for example ?

I'm starting to try to do the maintenance of my boat myself: oil, filter, that's well understood. Now, I ask myself beginner questions about water pump ! My NB is equipped with a Beta Marine 43 Greenline, a RPM1500 and a keelcooling. There is no heat exchanger. However, I had some questions about the cooling system: is there a pump that takes water to keelcooling? Where is it ? I have not seen anything like this on the maintenance manual. It is only about the version with the heat exchanger ... My best regards,

Absolutely. There is a lot to learn about a boat. The engine was not my priority because the Dream On did not move much. I was doing the annual maintenance by a company but now I would like to do it myself. It is better for everything: know how, know the boat and the financial aspect too

You're right, Peter, I never did it myself. Usually, the mechanic did it but this year I would like to do it myself. I regret a bit to have not better look his work For the cooling water, he had not changed it.