Jump to content

Advice needed (not a narrow boat)

Calranthe

By Calranthe
in New to Boating?

 Share

Featured Posts

Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, Calranthe said:

I will be asking that question on our next visit but the BSC is 2021 April, which means to my limited understanding the boat has had a proper safety check in April this year it my be as simple as disconnected because it hasn't sold for a while. not naive you bring up a very valid point, I will find out that.

Over the last 12 months I have explored solar power both portable and mains, all phones/tablets/rechargeable itms in the house have been for twelve months completely been powered by  a 24w ravpower folding solar panel charging a 26k mamp battery, last month I completed my games room project now my entire gaming room including gaming pc + oculus rift is powered by dual 250w flexible panels on the shed hooked into 2 100ah gel 12v (parallel) hooked into a 1000w pure sine inverter.

That is just to put into context what I am planning for the boat.

Electricity?

we will be taking 2 tablets 2 phones + huawi mifi 4g with three they will all charge via a Ravpower 24w hooked into 2 26kmiliamp battery + a couple of backup 15k solar+charger.

If the battery are dodgy then a new marine leisure or even one of our gel will take its place as long as the wiring is good, 150w slim flexible solar should help charge it when engine is off it will power a qnap media server (films/music) and a draytek router)  

 

As for heating short term blankets, long term look into a deisel refex heater.

All the solar stuff we already have so no expense

 

Great

You have the 'right' attitude a good understanding re 12v electrics so are 90% of the way there.

 

Just find a suitable boat and there will be no stopping you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
The Grumpy Triker Community Regular

The Grumpy Triker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

There is no mention of a BSSC in the sales details. I would make it a condition of purchase that it is sold (at sellers /brokers expense) a full BSSC. That way it is one less thing for yo to worry about (incur additional cost) for the next 4 years.

 

That looks like a portable LPG heater in the bathroom - that is an instant BSSC fail.

 

No 'leisure' wiring in place - no leisure battery so no phone charging, no lights, no water pump, no TV, no Radio if you are unable 'do'12v wiring then that will be a additional expense.

No method of heating - it can get quite cool 'on the water' in the evenings.

No hot water - you can wash with cold water, or boil a kettle.

Price - it is not 'cheap'.

BSC 2021! Excellent stuff - I am buying my first narrowboat but was warmed by your thread and can-do attitude .....if you fell in love with it AND you get a chance to try it out without loss of deposit....AND.....it is close to you, then given that BSC I would say don't waste time thinking about it, do it, buy it, enjoy it as much as possible this summer, learn what needs changing and what you can and can't do, and sort things in the winter.

i seem to think I can do a lot more than I can, yet am capable of far more than I think I can.....so now I am saying, sod-it....just do it! ;)

ENJOY!! :) ( and get a rescue Service and cross fingers) :) ...even breaking down creates wonderful memories ...in my experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Calranthe Collaborator

Calranthe

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thank you for all the great advice, we put in a conditional bid of £3,300 which was accepted paid the 10% deposit today, conditional on cold start of boat on thursday (they are reconnecting the batteries on Monday,boat sat over winter batteries disconnected at that time) firing up the engine (if it does not start then they get in an engineer) Engine left cold from Monday to Thursday so that I can see what it will be like to start it on a normal day.

Also conditional on a jaunt around the Marina and on to the canal.

Then it is insurance and CRT river license  breakdown cover then deposit at the mooring and transport which should not be too bad on a 20ft.

Visited Aston Marina that is going to be our home base, it is only 20 minutes from where we live.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Calranthe Collaborator

Calranthe

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi all,

As some know we are visiting Sawley Marina tomorrow taking this boat https://bwml.co.uk/brokerage/sm-9359-kathleen/ for a water trial, if all goes well we will be drop the rest of the money, now because the boat is only £3,300 we are not having a survey, from my visit it looks good, dry except for a small amount of water in the bilge (I am inclined to believe it is condensation).

The Stern drive is an Enfield Z Drive I believe.

Tomorrow we will arrive and the broker is going to take us out on it, apart from a battery and engine test on Monday (They did that just in case it didn't work and the owner needed to fix it before sale) it will be a cold start as per my request.

So this is just me asking for any advice on what to check and what to ask before sitting down and taking ownership.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rusty69 Veteran II

rusty69

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Calranthe said:

It all went well we is now the owner of Kathleen as long as the cheque clears which it should being a counter cheque.

 

Congratulations, may you have many happy times boating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MHS Experienced

MHSDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)

Congratulations to you both. Have you considered moving your new boat up to Aston yourself? It will take you around 4 days, and is a lovely trip. 

We had 12 months at Aston, and left last June to cruise a different area. It's a lovely Marina, though I understand the farm shop has closed. It wasn't cheap, but some of the cheeses were fantastic. I hope Nick is still in the office, as he is a great guy. 

Ps I would be happy to help you move your boat, depending on when. 

Edited by MHS
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Calranthe Collaborator

Calranthe

Posted
  • Author
Posted
27 minutes ago, MHS said:

Congratulations to you both. Have you considered moving your new boat up to Aston yourself? It will take you around 4 days, and is a lovely trip. 

We had 12 months at Aston, and left last June to cruise a different area. It's a lovely Marina, though I understand the farm shop has closed. It wasn't cheap, but some of the cheeses were fantastic. I hope Nick is still in the office, as he is a great guy. 

Ps I would be happy to help you move your boat, depending on when. 

Peter X is going to crew with me to get it up to Aston :) and yes Nick is a great guy showed us around when we visited. looking forward to being there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MHS Experienced

MHSDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Calranthe said:

Peter X is going to crew with me to get it up to Aston :) and yes Nick is a great guy showed us around when we visited. looking forward to being there.

Glad you've got that sorted. Hope you have a good trip. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Calranthe Collaborator

Calranthe

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So what stage are we at ?

Canal and River License 3 month bought.

Insurance full cover bought.

Canal and River rescue Gold plan bought.

BMC Marine 1500 operators manual bought.

5L of SAE 30 oil bought.

2 Oil Filters (so we have a spare) bought.

Large amount of absorbent padding and towels bought (Sunday visit will see me down in the bilge getting rid of as much gunk as possible so I can see anything new happening)

50m 10mm Red Polyprop rope bought (will use to replace one worn rope, create a few hand holds around the boat and to never hurts to have spare rope on board.)

camping kettle/pot/pan all fit within each other to save space.

Mooring pins

Citrus flush for the Porta potti and Bio degradable toilet rolls.

Birmingham & the Heart of England No. 3 (Collins Nicholson Waterways Guides)

Set of camping cutlery and plastic cups/plates/bowls lol

CRT key and Anti Vandal key.

I think you get the picture, I would rather have too much and trim down what I do not need than need something I do not have.

Plan is

Spend a couple of days while the cheque clears (a good enforced wait period so I don't just go out half cocked) planning and stowing all the equipment, cleaning all I can and generally poking things on board to make sure it is all good.

Probably leave between Thursday and Monday depending on when the funds clear.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Peter X Experienced

Peter X

Posted
Posted

This should be a fun little trip, can't wait to get started on it. Jason seems to be preparing properly, just as well because probably the worst place on the trip for the engine to let us down would be in the first mile where we'll be on the Trent upstream of a weir. It'll be the smallest boat I've ever taken on a canal, so I'll have to get used to the steering which I suppose will be a tad more responsive than your average 70 foot steel boat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Calranthe Collaborator

Calranthe

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, David Mack said:

That gas bottle shouldn't be there! Do you have a proper self-draining gas bottle locker or a bracket on the outside of the stern?

Yes that is a spare it seems.

1 hour ago, Peter X said:

This should be a fun little trip, can't wait to get started on it. Jason seems to be preparing properly, just as well because probably the worst place on the trip for the engine to let us down would be in the first mile where we'll be on the Trent upstream of a weir. It'll be the smallest boat I've ever taken on a canal, so I'll have to get used to the steering which I suppose will be a tad more responsive than your average 70 foot steel boat.

A tad more responsive hehe it turns in its own shadow. It also has an anchor.

Edited by Calranthe
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Starcoaster Veteran

Starcoaster

Posted
Posted

Has it got:

Hammer for mooring pins. 

Sea magnet? (Optional but useful!)

Chains or hooks for piling?

Windlasses?

Boat pole and hook?

You mention citrus rinse or something for the bog, have you got blue for the holding tank too?

A spare cassette if there is not one already is also a really sound investment. I would also check the cassette with the existing bog too before you use it to make sure it is not leaky, and if so, order the replacement seals if needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rusty69 Veteran II

rusty69

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Starcoaster said:

Has it got:

Hammer for mooring pins. 

Sea magnet? (Optional but useful!)

Chains or hooks for piling?

Windlasses?

Boat pole and hook?

You mention citrus rinse or something for the bog, have you got blue for the holding tank too?

A spare cassette if there is not one already is also a really sound investment. I would also check the cassette with the existing bog too before you use it to make sure it is not leaky, and if so, order the replacement seals if needed.

And a Unicorn to ride to the local pub! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.