Rufio197

Hi all, My missus and I are well into our first winter aboard, and we are struggling to find the best solid fuel to use with our Rayburn. The rayburn provides us with hot water and feeds one radiator. We have tried several different types of fuel from wood to coal to the reconstituted logs, all with varying degrees of success; Coal is by far the longest lasting but seems to produce the least heat especially when using the smokeless variety. Whereas the Reconstituted logs burn very hot, but the fire dies very quickly if not checked on regularly. We have a 62ft narrowboat and getting all of her up to a comfortable temperature is quite difficult without using the reconstituted logs, especially in the recent cold spell. I may plan to tinker around in the summer and possibly install a second small stove in the forward end and take out the radiator(It's not particularly effective), disconnect the rayburn and use it solely as a cooker/stove and add finally a gas water heater. However that doesn't help us now. I was hoping I could use your collective experience and ask what is the best fuel you have come across? and if you also have a rayburn what specifically do you use? Are there particular brands I should steer clear of or use? Finally, does it sound like I am getting this all horribly wrong and the equipment I currently have should if used properly heat the boat effectively? I am happy to clarify as I am sure I have rambled. Cheers.

I don't have that information to hand at the moment, I'll post it later today, what I can say is the gearbox and engine have been serviced regularly and that the engine is firing is firing on all cyclinders, I have had a look at the engine mounts and they appear fairly sound. One thing of which may be of note our surveyor reccommended on increasing the tickover rate to stop the vibrations (however he did not mention the propeller being driven). We haven't done this yet as we had more pressing issue to attend to but could this cure the problem? I guess I assumed it was one and the same issue as it very much reminds me of trying to pull away in a car in 2nd or 3rd gear.

Hi all, I do not have a great deal of knowledge when it comes to such things but my father does and asked me to sound out your ideas on the following..... We havea beta Marine Kubota engine (38hp) the problem is when starting the engine in neutral the and at very low revs the engine vibrates enormously, on closer inspection it appears that at low revs in neutral the engine is try to drive the propeller, it is turning but very very slowly, the only way to stop the vibration is to increase the revs while in neutral. Any ideas what the problem is? I realise I haven't given all that much info but I am not sure what is relevent so please feel free to ask!!

Would anybody care to share there ingenious storage solutions with me? My Girlfriend is a compulsive horder, yet we managed to strip down our stuff by about 75% prior to living afloat and we really only have essentials and 1 or 2 luxeries left, but i am still looking for better ways to improve the existing storage space. We are already going to have a bed fitted high up to create space underneath and we are also considering buying a sofa with built in storage (anyone know where we could get these?). Are there any other common solutions which I have not thought of?

By Cost effective I really meant a combination of all the things you have mentioned, The only reason I ask is 'Boat Paint' retails at £20 -£30 per litre whereas I have seen Standard exterior Paint (Like Dulux weather shield) retail at £12 per litre. It just feels like a bit of a rip off if Dulux will do the job. Actual outlay isn't overly important, the quality\durability of the paint is. If it turns out that 'Boat paint' will last signifcantly longer then that is the route I will go down. I am fully aware that the overall finish will reflect on me as well as the paint so I will not be shirking on preparation and careful application.

Thanks for the reply, Cost isn't really an issue as I will be saving a fair bit anyway by doing it myself.

Hi All, I am new to the forums and new to the world of Narrowboats, I have recently procured a 62ft narrowboat that needs a lick of paint, I'm quite handy with a paintbrush (and modest too) and have decided to do the lot myself, she is already coated in a red primer so just a few coats to go... My main question is, what is there any difference between Paint for narrow boats and standard Metal Gloss, Or to phrase it another way, whats the most cost effective option? ~Any help you can give me would be very welcome.