Jump to content

Questions, Advice and Discussio boating Adventure.


Calranthe

Featured Posts

Trip is still on so I thought I would ask what are the nicest places to visit (graveyards and architecture) also nice places to visit for food and farm shops, anything you think we should take a look at between Sawley the start of the TMC all the way up to Aston.

Also any specific locks to look out for or parts of the canal to watch for, wife will be with me but I will be doing the locks as single handed until she gets comfortable steering the boat.

Edited by Calranthe
Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, Calranthe said:

So nothing to see or do on the TMC :P

Stenson lock is a right 'handful' and particularly awkward when singlehanded.

The leakage from the bottom gates is almost as fast as the top paddles let the water in - it can be difficult to actually get enough water in the lock to be able to open the top gate.

As the lock fills and the water pressure increases the pressure seems to make the leak worse and worse, rather than as normal, forcing the bottom gates closed.

Make sure you have your 3 Weetabix, you will need them.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Stenson lock is a right 'handful' and particularly awkward when singlehanded.

The leakage from the bottom gates is almost as fast as the top paddles let the water in - it can be difficult to actually get enough water in the lock to be able to open the top gate.

As the lock fills and the water pressure increases the pressure seems to make the leak worse and worse, rather than as normal, forcing the bottom gates closed.

Make sure you have your 3 Weetabix, you will need them.

Will watch out for that one thank you.

Hopefully by then Paola can pilot the boat.

Edited by Calranthe
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Mr Norman said:

How did the trip out go?? Hows the boat running??

not happened yet still waiting on the fuel pump, it still had an issue so the engineer took it back to the company who reconditioned it, he wasn't happy, we weren't happy, it will happen soon lol

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay the official trip date is Wednesday, we have appointments to go to before then so that is the next day free and we will have 6-7 days to have a slow voyage, yes I will keep you all informed if something else goes wrong or even if something goes right!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hope it all goes well for you. It looks possible that I'll catch up with you towards the end of your trip somewhere between Fradley Junction and Great Heywood, as I'll be crew aboard Nuneaton and Brighton going the same way. It depends how slowly you're taking it and how many hours a day we'll be moving.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 14/07/2017 at 09:55, Peter X said:

Hope it all goes well for you. It looks possible that I'll catch up with you towards the end of your trip somewhere between Fradley Junction and Great Heywood, as I'll be crew aboard Nuneaton and Brighton going the same way. It depends how slowly you're taking it and how many hours a day we'll be moving.

It all depends how Paola handles boat life, it will be an experience for both of us, hope yours goes well too :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 13/07/2017 at 23:18, Calranthe said:

Okay the official trip date is Wednesday, we have appointments to go to before then so that is the next day free and we will have 6-7 days to have a slow voyage, yes I will keep you all informed if something else goes wrong or even if something goes right!

 

 

Has your mechanic chap successfully tested the engine now then? If not I'd be wary of banking on your slow voyage starting on Wednesday. 

Just sayin', from personal experience of the way this sort of thing tends to pan out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Engine tested, ready to go tomorrow morning, if Paola can get on the boat without too much trouble she is coming with me, we will be travelling down via car to Sawley, should leave Sawley at about 11am, will take it carefully. will post a lot of pictures once we get back. planning to log on the forum and give updates.

 

Thank you for all the advice.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well that was short, it started really well went up the Trent, got on the TMC, did the first lock no problem, second just inside the gear/throttle system stuck in forward, managed to get out, headed towards Aston lock trying to get it to go into neutral  it would not, I became very effective at at coasting into the side and using the boat hook to grab on.

Before Aston lock we called up Canal and River Rescue, first engineer thought it was a broken cable but the version for our boat was longer than he had so another engineer came today (great guy) before trying the cable he examined the Leg and found out the part that switches in and out of gear was frozen solid.

Tried everything to release it,

So with a heavy heart our boat is going to be towed back to Sawley on Saturday and we will be putting her back on the market, too many questions hanging over the boat now.

It could be something simple but we spent £3300 on the boat plus 480 to have the fuel system reconditioned (that side is fine) and now this happens.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a shame this happened, and I know little about engines so have no idea how big a problem this latest one would be to fix, but please sleep on it a while before you give up on the boat. In many ways it seems to be the right boat for you, and maybe a few hundred pounds later it'll be all working properly and at around £4500 all in for a 20 foot boat with a working inboard diesel engine I'd suggest the boat would then feel like good value.

Whereas if you sell up then buy a different boat, it may well come with a different set of troubles which are more of an unknown quantity.

But it's your decision of course, and might depend on what sort of deal the marina offer if/when you have a chat with them about the boat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The positives from this experience are, taking Paola out on a boat something she had never done before, both on the Trent and the TMC, completely lost my fear of water, love locks, love piloting a boat and sleeping on the boat felt like I was out caravaning which I used to love.

Learnt a lot about boats, met some amazing people and the boating community is amazing, the amount of people that saw us tied up on the side of the lock (I tied up far enough back to not cause any problems for traffic) and asked us if we wanted to join there boat going up the canal, we even had a couple of convoys of boats that went passed inviting us to tag along behind.

We found an amazing way to get Paola into a boat like that, bought a disabled persons swivel shower chair (£25 amazon) from outside the boat she sits on it and turns till her legs are over the side of the boat then helped in, getting out is just the reverse, set the chair up inside the back of the boat and she can swivel around raise her legs over the side and step off onto the canal side.

We are thinking of hiring a narrow boat and going on a short trip to see how we like it (after seeing so many narrow boats and some GRP) and the way the front and the back of a narrow boat it, Paola should be able to step on far easier than a cruiser.

so the plan is a short break on a NB to see if a NB suites us.

Other than that, I will be looking into Viking boats, seems they bought the moulds when the people who make the Buckingham ended, the viking 20 is an updated copy of the Buckingham 20

I have also learnt that we need something a little bigger than 20ft, a 23-25ft the bathroom if you can call it that is way too small on the Buckingham, I could not even pull up my pants without stepping outside the closet lol.

But I think a more recent boat or a boat that comes with a warranty.

We will be making a loss on the Buckingham it was £3300 and working, now it is not and it does not matter how you look at it if a buyer can not take it out for a spin then it will be sold as a "project" boat, probably I am thinking around £2000-2500 which is a bargain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, Dave Payne said:

I really would get someone who knows what they are doing to have a look at the leg, taking such a big loss when it could be not that expensive to fix seems crazy.

 

I Know what you are saying but it is an Enfield Z drive and only a hand full of people in the country know them and work on them call out alone and hours work would make it too much for us,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Calranthe said:

We are thinking of hiring a narrow boat and going on a short trip to see how we like it (after seeing so many narrow boats and some GRP) and the way the front and the back of a narrow boat it, Paola should be able to step on far easier than a cruiser.

so the plan is a short break on a NB to see if a NB suites us.

Just a suggestion :

Before even considering renting a NB try and see if you (Paola) can actually get into the boat - OK - no problem to get onto the rear deck, but then irrespective of 'model' you need to negotiate several steps (on some boats almost a ladder) which are accessed thru a 'very narrow' doorway, and you may well need to bend over (a fair bit) to get in under the hatch.

Getting in the 'front end' can be ever harder as you need to stretch over the gunwhale and then have a big drop on the inside, and a 'sharpish edge that catches the back of your leg. You may then need to bend double as you go down a couple of steps into the cabin.

 

My suggestion - go and look at somewhere with an assortment of NBs for sale (Sawley - seeing as you are here anyway) an assess for yourself the possible problems. It could save you £1000 hire charge, which when you arrive at the yard, and find that you cannot actually get aboard, may well not be refunded.

 

Note - a 'small' NB will also have a small bathroom (walk in - reverse out). In a small space like a boat, a bathroom is a 'waste of space' and is generally only 'big enough to do the job', there are always exceptions, and you may find someone who had a boat built with an enormous bathroom, with whirlpool bath, and changing room.

You will need to revise you budget a 'little'.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I woukd seriously consider getting the leg looked at before doing anything rash. 

People will be looking to knock you right down in price if you try to sell it not working. It could be something quick, simple and cheap to fix. They are pretty simple engineering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a shame.

Look, I recognise that feeling of just wanting to throw up your hands and walk away, taking a financial hit if necessary. We once came back to our boat to find every window but one smashed, the doors forced open, and the interior trashed with most of our possessions gone. This after spending thousands on it. If someone had walked past right there and then and offered me £10 to take it off my hands, honestly, I'd have been tempted just so I never had to look at the damned thing again! But it would have been completely the wrong thing to do.

My advice is to take a deep breath and give it a couple of weeks to get things in perspective and do some thinking about what sort of financial hit you might be looking at vs. how long it might take you to save the cash to get the problem looked at. It could be that inside a month or two you're back aboard cruising, or at least in a position to get a better price.

Very best of luck whatever you decide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Note - a 'small' NB will also have a small bathroom (walk in - reverse out). In a small space like a boat, a bathroom is a 'waste of space' and is generally only 'big enough to do the job', there are always exceptions, and you may find someone who had a boat built with an enormous bathroom, with whirlpool bath, and changing room.

 

I sort of disagree that a small boat will automatically have a small bathroom. While I have been in lots of smaller boats whose bathroom was more of a closet, particularly those that are older and with the original fit-out, my 30ft NB's bathroom does not take up a lot of the boat's space, but is very roomy. It is a wet room constructed as a large quadrant shower tray with an add-on ledge of about a foot at the back that the bog and two spare cassettes sit on. This means that there is plenty of space to use the bog and pull your drawers up, turn around etc., and also plenty of room in the shower. It is much roomier and more comfortable than any of the usual types of bathrooms and showers I have used on other people's much larger (68-72ft territory) boats that have a more traditional set-up of a very small fully enclosed shower that you can't even bend over in properly, with the bog squashed up against the sink.

The other boat that I spend/have spent a significant amount of time (Reginald, 45ft with 15ft of that being tug deck) has the same sort of wet room arrangement and similarly comfortable peeing and showering space without losing a lot of the interior to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Starcoaster said:

I sort of disagree that a small boat will automatically have a small bathroom. While I have been in lots of smaller boats whose bathroom was more of a closet, particularly those that are older and with the original fit-out, my 30ft NB's bathroom does not take up a lot of the boat's space, but is very roomy. .

And if I remember correctly - 'as standard' it had a 'normal' small bathroom and you ripped it all out and had it rebuilt to your design & requirements.

As I said - boats can have a 'big' (well biggish) bathroom but it will always be at the expense of some other space in the boat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • 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.