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I'm not one of those stuck up people. But if you notice the bl**dy water levels in most of the country and dragged your ar*e up the cut as much as we have the last few days, you'd wait as well

Hi there There are several ways to obtain hot water on a boat. First of all though forget any type of electric water heater unless you intend to be on shore line most of the time. To utilise engine heated water you will need a calorifier, this is a water tank that holds water supplied from your water tank, The calorifier has usually 2 copper coils inside, you connect your engines water system to divert the engines hot water through the coil, this then heats the water in the calorifier for use on the boat. You can also use a back boiler on a heating stove to do the same, or specific water heaters that are diesel operated like Webasto and eberspacher units. There is also solar collectors that can either heat through a coil the same as the engine or boat stove, or a solar collector can supply fresh hot water direct to your taps, your cold water tank will supply the solar collector via pump. There's also the gas option which with hindsight I would have chosen. This is a smallish unit that heats water as you use it using your propayne gas bottle supply. These are just basic outlines, you need to do some research on each possible supply to ascertain what's right for your situation and preference. It's not an easy choice to make. IMO though Gas is an all round winner.

Hi David, despite the fact that it seems there has been some deterioration in Jan's condition I am willing you all strength at this time. You will be well aware that seizures are far from uncommon in these circumstances and they are both frightening and tiring. The staff will be monitoring the situation very closely and are likely to have a very good idea of what they need to do to to alleiviate the risk of further seizures but any changes to medication have to be calculated very carefully and be based on the data they are recording with every test they carry out. While seizures are almost "the norm" equally you must remember that the majority of people who get them after surgery will find that as the body heals so the seizures decrease in strength and number until they cease altogether. As has been said so many times before - she is in the very best possible hands. I know from personal experience just how helpless you feel, and just what a toll the visiting schedule you are on is having upon you and anyone else in the family! I would urge you to try, if at all possible, to take a little time out for yourself each day, find a peaceful place to take a walk near the hospital, go to the pub for a pint, take a long bath with a good book or just make sure you tune into your favourite programme on radio or TV. drudgery of daily life can wait, if local friends and neighbours offer assistance then let them help with those chores like washing and shopping and if you are offered a chance to have a meal with someone - either eating out or in then grab the chance. You are going to need all your strength for when Jan comes home so make sure you look after YOURSELF now while there are a full complement of paid staff looking fater her! Please never feel the need to apologise for sharing with us - that is one of the wonderful things about this online community - those who prefer not to read will simply move on to the topics that they do want to read - the rest of us are all wishing we could offer some more practical support!

Hi If you mean walls that divide rooms/cabins then you have some options, you can use single 18mm ply fixed top bottom and sides where appropriate. Personally i don't like that method although it does save some space, you can't run hidden cable though or fit sockets etc. So I would advise some studding. We constructed stud walls like in a building but using much smaller baton. On a n/boat you could use as little as 1 inch baton as the walls are generally short, in our wide beam we used 1.5 inch. This was then lined with 9mm Oak faced plywood on either side. This gives a very sturdy wall if built correctly and allows for easy routing of cable for switches light fittings etc. Of course you can line with what ever you choose, ply wood match board etc. Stud walls can cause drumming (vibration) when the engine is running, insulating each stud wall can minimise this. This also aids in soundproofing between cabins, and through the boat to lessen engine noise. If you do stud walls, remember to line your uprights to span joins in the ply so to utilise full sheets efficiently. Put in plenty of noggins and mark where they are on the end pillar. Also make sure the wall is square to the floor especially where kitchen units might be fitted. If you're using T&G vertically bear this in mind when building your stud wall as you will need plenty of horizontal batten to affix to.

Looks like Hoo Mill. Bow thruster damage under the edge stones Andrew

We've hired for several years and have come across this attitude on only a few occasions. However, I'm pleased to say that the majority of boat owners are both courteous and friendly, so we just ignore it when we encounter it. I well remember one occasion a few years ago when we were cruising back up to Sowerby Bridge after one of our epic trips. I'd just entered the second lock at Brighouse basin whilst my travelling companion was stil closing the gates the first lock. The crew of a boat moored above the locks came down and shut the bottom gates and proceeded to fully open ALL the paddles at once then walked back to their boat, leaving me to fend for myself...despite me sounding the horn and shouting and the top of my voice they simply ignored me. I can't remember ever being so scared whilst narrowboating. In a tiddly little 32 foot boat I was thrown all over the place - cupboards and doors opened, crockery and glasses hit the floor...not something I'd like to experience again! As for waiting for oncoming boats...it we know there's one coming, then in the interest of water conservation we'll wait for them rather than wasting a lockful of water...so what if it's 20 minutes???? On a canal that's low on water, then that makes perfect sense to me. After seeing the Leeds & Liverpool closed last year because of water shortages, and scraping along the bottom on the Huddersfield Narrow, then it's pretty clear to anyone with an ounce of common sense that it's the sensible thing to do. If anyone's in that much of a rush that they can't wait twenty minutes, then perhaps they should consider doing something else... Janet

Hello it's the old STUCK UP PEOPLE who think they know better than all other's but in fact they are still in the 60's save the water let's wait for the boat to come dome it might be 20 minutes away and 6 boats waiting to use the lock but they wait or get in a STROP and sit on there boat waiting for you to leave the lock open for them to come through and not helping, ii just wish i could name them but i'm sure they know who they are.

i do wish we could give the new body a chance, before condemning it. If boaters are busy grumbling about change and how it's all a con, whilst other interested parties are enthusiastically getting involved, we may find that we've whinged away any influence we may have had. I suppose it's easy for the moaners though...A self fulfilling prophecy will just give them something else to moan about.