LadyG

Once upon a time I could tie quite a few knots, and I think the midshipman hitch was one of them, I didn't know the name. As well as sailing knots, i had a few horse knots and hitches, which is why my bowline is non standard, the problem is that once the muscle memory takes over, its difficult.to re program. I just do them automatically. The figure of eight is a stopper knot, to stop a rope running through a block for example, but ive really stopped using it

The reason I don't use a bowline is that if a fender and line get jammed tight I can undo a round turn and two half hitches , happens occasionally

Regardless, always draw enough water to clear the tap and the standing pipe.

I had agms installed when I left shorepower, probably 600ah nominal four years ago, and they are showing no signs of old age. I have two solar panels [550w] which provide energy six months of the year, without hassle. In winter I am carefull to keep batteries charged using the 70amp alternator off the engine, about eight hours per week. At this time of year I run the engine for thirty minutes first thing to provide hot water if I am not moving, so this will give batteries a boost if insufficient solar that day. As @Tony Brooks says, a power audit is required to design a workable system. Off grid usage has to be sensible, and monitored day by day. I check my readings at dawn and also at bedtime, so if I've let things go too low, I can recharge the next day, even if that means eight hours on the engine, which fortunately has only happened once. I normally try to minimise the time spent charging, as it can be very annoying for other boaters. Its annoying for me when someone moors up next to me, and then leaves the engine running till 8,00, pm, or even 8.03 pm as happened the other day!

Yes, I felt that the indentations (don't know the the technical term), will have weakened the handle, I would prefer it a good eight inches shorter, though obviously this may be the correct length for this particular boat. I don't even use my own handle as I find it interferes with my movement around the stern deck, and it's a nasty bit of wood with a residue of red raddle or some such. I have considered getting a nice hardwood replacement, but I've got used to just steering off the tiller bar, often with my ribcage rather than my arms. Main thing is that it won't catch on lock walls.

Well, with so many hoses available, you are set for life.... 😀

If money us not an issue you are living in a happy little bubble. However the fact is things can change. You may potter along for thirty years, by which time your boat costing £65K has rusted, still £65K The little house in the Dales might cost £250K today, but be valued at £3.5 MILLION by then. But i can't afford to give you £8.700 , my pension is about £12K. I'd expect to get water in any flat, I assume you mean cost of water and sewage. My flat was not in a bad area, it was built in the 1960's so no insulation, and the neighbour was an alcoholic, You've not had a bad neighbour. PS I don't waste my time having an attitude to you, I will disagree with you if I feel inclined. You are not on my ignore list so some of your posts must have some value.

I may have to move ashore sometime, please tell me where I can find a nice rental property under £12K per annum. I sold my cold , dampish flat five years ago, and it's been cheaper ever since.. The Anchor flats suitable for folks over 55yo, are £12K plus. That's one year, and Council Tax will be about £2K. I live legitimately on my boat for £1300 pa. Insurance cost less than a house.

Hmmm, lots of questions to answer in one post. I think you could do your maths based on two scenarios 1) CC which is a boat which has no home mooring. Licence only budget £1300 year1, £1500 y2, and so on. 2) marina living rent £3K, licence £1K. (y1 £4K, y2 £4.4K) Of course these are ballpark figures. There are some Residential Moorings ie with Planninh Permission, but they do exist, and you will have to add on the cost of Council Tax, this is bound to be significant. If you are working nights, that means you will need to be somewhere quiet to sleep during the day, make sure boat is well insulated and well ventilated. In summer I often moor under trees to keep cool. These places may be out in the sticks, but you should be able to cycle along the towpath to your car, your commute is going to increse. If you commute daily, and cc, you probably need to find a new mooring every week (14 days if you want to push the licence limits of the licence) with parking. You will soon identify nice moorings. I can tell you Burnley is not one of them. If you are new to boating, and the boat is new to you, stick to the one it is on, eg the L&L. I trust you wife is with you on this plan, as she is going to sleep on the boat alone, which means selecting a quiet mooring, which also has vehicle access, but what is she going to do during the day, (housekeeping one hour, walking one hour, sleeping eight hours, leaves another fourteen hours to fill)

The non essentials probably include things like signage, general educational stuff and image promotion: these things are required by UK Govt, the main funder of the network. Boaters forget they are a minority and have little political influence.

Yes but that is when i get confused, the map does not show my sightings.

Hmm, unfortunately i can't find this heading BOATS, where is it? I know I once found my recent sightings, but I have clicked on the bit that says find your boat sighting here, and it does not seem to work. I thought I had signed in, do I have to stay on that sign in page.? There is something claiming to be an interactive map but is it really, it's just a map with different layers, something like a raster map, its not something i can pin something on, which is what I would term interactive.. .

Not everyone with a boat has any idea about blacking the hull, or any other tpoic, so there will always be thread drift. This keeps your thread live, but the longer it goes on, the less specific will be the responses.

In my opinion, it's a completely different scenario, if your boat has bitumen on it, that all needs to come off, lots of bare metal work, then a primer, then two or three topcoats, all done accord8ng to data sheet instructions, then a week curing, so in reality, it's two weeks with good weather and good facilities, then curing for 5 to seven days. Blacking over bituminous coating,, its a five day job.

I dont think licence fee increases are responsible for increasing overstayers. There seems to be a lot of assumptions and downright rubbish spouted in the article.

Yes i noticed that too, its been mild but wet and windy, not good. I hoped it was a blip, but im afraid its a sign of worse to come. The affect on the big continental masses could be horrendous, and of course lots of island communities..

Filling a lock, watch out out for overhanging walkways behind the stern, just the thing to compress your tiller at the very least. If you are singlehanded while operating the paddles the boat will tend to move back, and the centreline will tend to slacken to allow this.

What is this WFH, another acronym which may or may not be essential.

It seems that we are going to suffer further weather related issues, essentially the oceans are getting warmer, more hurricanes expected, etc. Will this affect the water management of UK canals, short term, by this i mean in the next five to ten years.

I have a huawei router, the twin aerials were £19.99 from amazon. Im with Three and it works fine 98% of the time, not good enough for professional use, but OK for me. The battery is swollen, but its been like that a while. Ill probably replace them this year, technology and all that....

OP does not say if they are working while on the boat or onshore while living on the boat. They might have a marina berth with facilities in mind. I cant see a problem moving the boat to satisfy the CRT. There will always be people who set out to dodge every restriction, but we cant assume that OP fits that category. Im sitting on a 48 hour mooring, The adjacent boat has that particular look of permanence.

My priorities were something that looked nice, was made by a good hull builder and not a project. I used Appollo Duck, however, this boat was suggested by @Tumshie , and was the only one I saw. I swerved one that turned out to be of uncertain ownership, and looked like a project. You have to be happy with important aspects, and accept that there will be things you want to change, not immediately , but before naive enthusiasm has faded. I was under the gun to buy a boat, but did a lot of research, so in fact this boat has worked out, five years on board When I left the marina (shoreline electricity), I had to replace all the batteries and the solar, (being off grid needs a bit more attention to detail or you will kill the batteries). I also cleaned the diesel by collecting as much as possible and letting it settle over three days. Added some additive, let it settle, return to the tank, then pumped it out again and let it settle. I got rid of 30 % of the diesel, replaced the fuel intake gasket, and have had no problems with water or bug etc. The Webasto used to scream, but I bought some Diesel Boost, which mentioned the heater, added it when tank was low, and ran the heater for a few hours. I save £1000 per annum, just to cover maintenance: haul out, high pressure wash, new anodes, and coating the hull every 3 to 5 years. Sandiing, painting the cabin and gunwales every five years. The better the job, the longer it should last Servicing the engine depends on what you have bought. I did my own oil flush and change when I decided to go cc, and there was no one marine qualified available. I get someone more flexible to do the 500 hour service, includes checking mountings, and fittings.

Well, 17ft is fairly small, do you have a trailer and intend to move about on the inland waterways or on a river? You could buy a self inflating life jacket. You will almost certainly need a licence from the Navigation Authority, and insurance. BSC will depend on the fit out. .

I saw a little boat the other day, outboard driven, the cabin looked very like a garden hut, with side windows, I'm not clear how he could see to steer, and must struggle to generate enough electricity to charge a phone, OK for few weekends in summer, but absolutely not suitable to liveaboard.

Buying Advance Tickets used to save a lot of money, but I find the current journey planners on Trainline and National Rail are a bit unclear about that now. I seem to recall the options used to be so varied the occasional traveller complained about complexity. Now it seems there are simply very few options, take it or leave it. Obviously a Railcard is essential. Split ticketing is cheaper, make sure you can comply with stated restrictions. I'm not clear about double sleeper cabins arrangement, but there should be showers at Euston and Inverness. Check out refund options before you buy the ticket.