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regthecat

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Dear All,

Subject to the survey I am about to take delivery of my first narrowboat and I was wondering what I need to add to my shopping list. For example, I know I need more mooring pins as there are only 2 aboard. I know I need some kind additive for the dump through tank and a few more of the obvious things. But Can you guys help me put a list together for other essentials I need to hand whilst on board? Tools, consumables, spares etc.

 

Thanks in advance

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Can you tell us more about you and the boat and your intended use of it?  Does it have a Porta-Potti type toilet or a dump through?  What engine does it have?  How long is it?  Is it a steel narrowboat?  But I would look for lock windlasses and spare mooring ropes plus a centreline as starters.

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23 minutes ago, regthecat said:

Dear All,

Subject to the survey I am about to take delivery of my first narrowboat and I was wondering what I need to add to my shopping list. For example, I know I need more mooring pins as there are only 2 aboard. I know I need some kind additive for the dump through tank and a few more of the obvious things. But Can you guys help me put a list together for other essentials I need to hand whilst on board? Tools, consumables, spares etc.

 

Thanks in advance

Click on blue

 

First aid kit

Bucket

Magnet

Boat pole

Edited by rusty69
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At least 3 mooring pins of the type with rings to pass the rope through, then if you do drop one in the drink you have a spare.

2 piling hooks, also known as C hooks or nappy pins.

2 mooring chains.

Hammer for knocking in pins.

Lightweight windlass.

At least one torch and spare batteries.

Floats for your keys.

Bwb key.

Alcohol of choice !

  • Happy 1
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15 hours ago, Exturnaroundman said:

Frey Bentos pie that will be in the cupboard for years, until one time when you've been ill for days, unable to get to a shop and have eaten everything else on board. This happened to us a few years back !

 
 

Brilliant!  Most tinned food keeps indefinitely if tin is not dented and shows no corrosion.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070509153848/http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/CONSUMER/CON00043.html

Edited by mross
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15 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

Boating Perquisites - Version 3,429.5

 

Alarm, crew summoning ding-dong
Anchor with associated chain and rope.
Antifreeze
Anti-vandal key & spare
Baby wipes - loads
Basic toolkit
Batteries for LED torches & spares
Beer
Beer money
Binoculars for seeing what is happening on the lock ahead
Bread knife
Boat hook
Boat license stickers
Bottle opener
BSS stuff
Bucket
Burgee (optional)
BW key & spare
Camera 

Carbon Monoxide alarm
Cat o' nine tails to keep the crew in order (& some soft rope)
Chair
Chocolate biscuits - loads
Clock (for tunnels)
Clothes & footwear & spares (note all may be needed in a single day)
For cold weather
For wet weather
For warm weather
For hot weather

Cash - loads
Coffee
Compass
Cooking Stove & fuel for it
Corkscrew
Cup-a-soups
Cutters for use in weed hatch
Depth/draft gauge
Diesel
Dipstick for diesel tank

Dogs - minimum 2 max ~ 12 (edited)

Duvet - 99Tog or better

Electric Blanket (edited)

Emergencies Action Plan (edited)
Fan belt(s) - spare
Fenders (for sleeping) - various , to taste
Firelighters, box of, & spare
First aid kit
Floats for keys
Fuses, spare
Gang plank (for mutinous crew)
Gas bottle spanner (must be reverse thread)

Gas lighter thingy for lighting stove zip lighter blocks (edited)
Glasses (optical) as needed & spares
Gloves, nitrile, for dealing with weed hatch material which can be sharp.
Grease - stern gland 
Guides - eg Pearson's, Nicholson's, Waterscape
Hammers 2 - sledge/lump (edited)
Headlamp & spare bulbs
Heating system & fuel for it
Horn

Iphone or other pale imitation (edited)
Jubilee clips, Stainless Steel, spare, in a range of sizes
Jump lead - used on your domestic batteries if for some reason your starter battery dies
Kart tyres on a few metres of rope as fenders
Kettle
"Keys" for eg
water filler
toilet pump out
diesel filler
Keys to everything & 2nd spare set (with keys individually identifiable)
Leatherman/Swiss army knife
Lifejackets (primarily for rivers)
Lock key longthrow with roller handle & spare
Lock key shortthrow with roller handle & spare
Loupe & tweezers for splinters
Magnet with string already attached.
Maps
Mirror
Mobile phone & charging system
Nappy pins 4

Nail scissors (edited)
Oil, spare, engine 
Optimism - large size
Padlocks - spare
Paper & pencil
Pins 4 (2 extra long)

Pole, barge (Must be comfortable with spending long periods of time on the roof)

Quaker's Porridge Oats - for use as a temporary adhesive/sealant only
Radio (for weather forecast)
RCR membership or similar
Ropes, at least 3 (bow, stern, centre) but 4 (2x centre) makes life easier for some

Sacks, plastic, black, for the storage of all manner of thing including Smokeless Fuel & Rubbish

Salt (pinch of) for treating expert advice & traditional wisdom
Saw 
Scaffolding pole, 8ft, preferably heavy gauge aluminium
Scissors
Slippers
Sponge 
Stationary wallet, plastic, to keep paper stuff dry.

Sticky Tape - sellotape, duct tape, easy-off tape, double-sided tape. (edited)
Sun glasses & spare
Sun hat & spare
Tea
Thermos flask
Tiller bar and pin
Tin opener
Tinned food - loads (for emergency use)
Tissue - loads
Toilet paper - loads
Torches (LED) & spare
Towel (for travelling the Galaxy)

Two-it (must be round) (edited)

Umbrellas - 1 large 1 small (edited)
VHF radio & certificate
Vinegar for chips and wasp stings
Walkie-talkies, pair
Water
Waterscape Boaters Guide - print
Water hose
Wellies (aka Wellington Boots)
Wire - spare, electrical
Wok plus two large wooden spoons
Working toilet with more than adequate capacity
Zip ties

Zip (or other) fire lighter blocks (edited)

Note that boats under 12ft in length may have difficulty in passing under low bridges when carrying the full inventory. 

Note that the alcohol may be for guests use only - or not.

A most exhaustive list - thanks for taking the time to compile it. Er, what's the scaffolding pole for?

 

I can't imagine what job you do, if all these come as benefits of it as you suggest in the list's title. Perhaps you meant "requisites"?

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scaffolding pole is for when you are on a river in flood and are at risk of going over the bank/towpath. when the water level drops, you will either tilt over, or get stuck on bank.

drop scaffolding pole down side of boat and lash it to something fixed in the centre, keeps you off the submerged bank.

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Just now, matty40s said:

scaffolding pole is for when you are on a river in flood and are at risk of going over the bank/towpath. when the water level drops, you will either tilt over, or get stuck on bank.

drop scaffolding pole down side of boat and lash it to something fixed in the centre, keeps you off the submerged bank.

Thanks. From previous posts of yours some time ago, I gather that's the voice of experience speaking.

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8 minutes ago, Athy said:

Thanks. From previous posts of yours some time ago, I gather that's the voice of experience speaking.

Kiwidad was also very surprised when he came back from the shops and found his boat 3 feet away from the new top of bank.:lol:

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5 minutes ago, 8 Hairy Feet said:

I cannot see the compulsory roof-top mop

on that list
 

Good point. Evidently Mr. System is not a shiny-boat owner, as his list also omits other cleaning aids such as dusters, cloths and of course Brasso. Surely he doesn't clean the whole boat using his baby wipes!

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Axe(s).

If single handing a nappy pin with a short length of rope with a loop to slip over a dolly in windy days to stop the boat escaping whilst mooring. 

We also have a bow line like this too.

Edited by Ray T
  • Greenie 1
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16 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

Boating Perquisites - Version 3,429.5

 

Alarm, crew summoning ding-dong
Anchor with associated chain and rope.
Antifreeze
Anti-vandal key & spare
Baby wipes - loads
Basic toolkit
Batteries for LED torches & spares
Beer
Beer money
Binoculars for seeing what is happening on the lock ahead
Bread knife
Boat hook
Boat license stickers
Bottle opener
BSS stuff
Bucket
Burgee (optional)
BW key & spare
Camera 

Carbon Monoxide alarm
Cat o' nine tails to keep the crew in order (& some soft rope)
Chair
Chocolate biscuits - loads
Clock (for tunnels)
Clothes & footwear & spares (note all may be needed in a single day)
For cold weather
For wet weather
For warm weather
For hot weather

Cash - loads
Coffee
Compass
Cooking Stove & fuel for it
Corkscrew
Cup-a-soups
Cutters for use in weed hatch
Depth/draft gauge
Diesel
Dipstick for diesel tank

Dogs - minimum 2 max ~ 12 (edited)

Duvet - 99Tog or better

Electric Blanket (edited)

Emergencies Action Plan (edited)
Fan belt(s) - spare
Fenders (for sleeping) - various , to taste
Firelighters, box of, & spare
First aid kit
Floats for keys
Fuses, spare
Gang plank (for mutinous crew)
Gas bottle spanner (must be reverse thread)

Gas lighter thingy for lighting stove zip lighter blocks (edited)
Glasses (optical) as needed & spares
Gloves, nitrile, for dealing with weed hatch material which can be sharp.
Grease - stern gland 
Guides - eg Pearson's, Nicholson's, Waterscape
Hammers 2 - sledge/lump (edited)
Headlamp & spare bulbs
Heating system & fuel for it
Horn

Iphone or other pale imitation (edited)
Jubilee clips, Stainless Steel, spare, in a range of sizes
Jump lead - used on your domestic batteries if for some reason your starter battery dies
Kart tyres on a few metres of rope as fenders
Kettle
"Keys" for eg
water filler
toilet pump out
diesel filler
Keys to everything & 2nd spare set (with keys individually identifiable)
Leatherman/Swiss army knife
Lifejackets (primarily for rivers)
Lock key longthrow with roller handle & spare
Lock key shortthrow with roller handle & spare
Loupe & tweezers for splinters
Magnet with string already attached.
Maps
Mirror
Mobile phone & charging system
Nappy pins 4

Nail scissors (edited)
Oil, spare, engine 
Optimism - large size
Padlocks - spare
Paper & pencil
Pins 4 (2 extra long)

Pole, barge (Must be comfortable with spending long periods of time on the roof)

Quaker's Porridge Oats - for use as a temporary adhesive/sealant only
Radio (for weather forecast)
RCR membership or similar
Ropes, at least 3 (bow, stern, centre) but 4 (2x centre) makes life easier for some

Sacks, plastic, black, for the storage of all manner of thing including Smokeless Fuel & Rubbish

Salt (pinch of) for treating expert advice & traditional wisdom
Saw 
Scaffolding pole, 8ft, preferably heavy gauge aluminium
Scissors
Slippers
Sponge 
Stationary wallet, plastic, to keep paper stuff dry.

Sticky Tape - sellotape, duct tape, easy-off tape, double-sided tape. (edited)
Sun glasses & spare
Sun hat & spare
Tea
Thermos flask
Tiller bar and pin
Tin opener
Tinned food - loads (for emergency use)
Tissue - loads
Toilet paper - loads
Torches (LED) & spare
Towel (for travelling the Galaxy)

Two-it (must be round) (edited)

Umbrellas - 1 large 1 small (edited)
VHF radio & certificate
Vinegar for chips and wasp stings
Walkie-talkies, pair
Water
Waterscape Boaters Guide - print
Water hose
Wellies (aka Wellington Boots)
Wire - spare, electrical
Wok plus two large wooden spoons
Working toilet with more than adequate capacity
Zip ties

Zip (or other) fire lighter blocks (edited)

Note that boats under 12ft in length may have difficulty in passing under low bridges when carrying the full inventory. 

Note that the alcohol may be for guests use only - or not.

Second boat or warehouse to store all this stuff,

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19 hours ago, mross said:

Can you tell us more about you and the boat and your intended use of it?  Does it have a Porta-Potti type toilet or a dump through?  What engine does it have?  How long is it?  Is it a steel narrowboat?  But I would look for lock windlasses and spare mooring ropes plus a centreline as starters.

46 ft cruiser, no 240 volt, dump through loo, isuzu 42 engine, Initially just for fun, not liveaboard, but will be cc'ing

 

Edited by regthecat
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The scaffold pole is pretty much essential if you ever intend to cruise the northern canals.  It's employed as a lever on uncooperative lock gates and when you run aground, more useful than a wooden cabin shaft.

Personally though I think it's a lot more fun to learn by experience rather than trying to second guess every little thing you might need.  Eg you will soon find out that you don't have enough ropes, and those you do have are too short.  

 

 

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