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Regreting living aboard


sueb

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under floor heating and insulation -

 

I have neither and but can see the logical attraction of both - however "most" designs as built have a limited space between the steel base plate and tops of the steel formers - that the floor is placed on ( i avoided stating how but mine is 18mm ply sheets 240 long).

Underneath the ballast was house bricks on their side. - whilst I could certainly in insulation such as kingspan sheets the up heaval in "built " boats is a biggish one and then re-installing ballast.. of a suitablely thiner would mean steel sheets or similar.. not sure how much room for undeer floor piping systems, and would the weight of the filled system be good as ballast? and what would most systems on a boat use to heat the system?

 

( i have my ideas/solution) but dont feel that such an investment / work can really be needed/justified as i find that a pair of slippers socks keeps feet warm for the present, whilst sitting in a t shirt and shorts)

 

 

and in answer the man who asked re composting loo's they work "slower" re evalerating fluids and the actual composting process slows right down or stops as effectively a frozen for the cold snap,,, once it warms up it reverts to normal,, so best not have a serious on going beer session unless you operate a plan B alongside...!!

:cheers:

Quote....Operate a plan B alongside !!..........Would that be a proper boat toilet cassette or porta bog type then ? :lol:

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I'm glad that we don't live aboard. Our boat was taken out of the water for blacking four weeks ago and we can't get it back in. Nor will we be able to for the next few weeks I suspect. There is 5" of Ice in the arm.

If we lived aboard then we would be climbing ladders to get in and out. Not adviseable in these conditions.

 

I am sure that there are many who regret the liveaboard decision but you won't get them to admit it. Very few people will admit that a decision they made was wrong.

If you are stuck in one place for weeks on end, have electricity, water and toilet emptying facilities you are living the same lifestyle as those who live in "one of those brick things" just in a much smaller space.

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Does anyone regret selling the house and living aboard or do you regard this weather as a challenge?

Sue

After 11 years its not a challenge any longer,it is normal.This weather is part of what we all signed up for.Makes you love the summer even more.

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hello,

just to go ot a bit.....

 

Can I ask if you made any provision for insulating below the floor? as I do not see it discussed or specc'd much in boats and is a big issue in new house builds now esp with UF heating... who wants valuable heat leaking into the ground or boat bilges/water?

 

Thanks

Steve

When I laid our floor I put an inch of celotex down over the ply then the engineered oak floring, does mean our floor is 63mm thick though but we have the headroom to get away with it. The floor still cools down overnight when the stoves damped down but warm to the toes when the fires stoked up during the day.

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I'm glad that we don't live aboard. Our boat was taken out of the water for blacking four weeks ago and we can't get it back in. Nor will we be able to for the next few weeks I suspect. There is 5" of Ice in the arm.

 

Ohh now that would be an interesting experiment - lift a narrowboat onto a frozen canal to see what happens (as long as we don't use our boat you understand!)

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Funnily enough a big widebeam arrived here yesterday on the back of a lorry, and I see a crane has arrived this morning... They're going to have to do some serious ice-breaking to get that boat in, unless the idea is simply to lower the boat onto the ice, release the tension on the straps and just see what happens?

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Just for a moment or two I confused:

 

Hi all, Has anyone any experience with Composting Toilets? Also what are your views on these?

 

with:

 

I wrap mine on the floor - it's the only flat space big enough It's hiding the damn things that's the challenge!

 

Tone

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Just for a moment or two I confused:

 

Hi all, Has anyone any experience with Composting Toilets? Also what are your views on these?

 

with:

 

I wrap mine on the floor - it's the only flat space big enough It's hiding the damn things that's the challenge!

 

Tone

 

No, that's about right. We have a composting loo user on here and I distinctly remember there were lots of intimate details about playing with your own waste.

 

Richard

 

:sick:

Edited by RLWP
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under floor heating and insulation -

 

I have neither and but can see the logical attraction of both - however "most" designs as built have a limited space between the steel base plate and tops of the steel formers - that the floor is placed on ( i avoided stating how but mine is 18mm ply sheets 240 long).

Underneath the ballast was house bricks on their side. - whilst I could certainly in insulation such as kingspan sheets the up heaval in "built " boats is a biggish one and then re-installing ballast.. of a suitablely thiner would mean steel sheets or similar.. not sure how much room for undeer floor piping systems, and would the weight of the filled system be good as ballast? and what would most systems on a boat use to heat the system?

 

( i have my ideas/solution) but dont feel that such an investment / work can really be needed/justified as i find that a pair of slippers socks keeps feet warm for the present, whilst sitting in a t shirt and shorts)

 

 

and in answer the man who asked re composting loo's they work "slower" re evalerating fluids and the actual composting process slows right down or stops as effectively a frozen for the cold snap,,, once it warms up it reverts to normal,, so best not have a serious on going beer session unless you operate a plan B alongside...!!

 

 

Hello,

 

Thanks for your answer....

 

I wasn't proposing UFHeating in my (or any) boat.. just saying that the issue of underfloor insulation in new houses was a major factor esp. with UFH...

 

My instincts still tell me that it would help beneath the floor of a narrowboat (kingspan/celotex type that could be lifted out or was glued to the underside of the boards) as valuable heat will be conducted through the boat and effectively be lost to the canal water...

 

My house design experience tells me to (while alllowing adequate ventilation/breathing) make sure all potential heat leakages are insulated and sealed.

 

 

Thanks

 

Steve

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I had some discussion about underfloor CH afloat, on another forum. The main disadvantage that I can see is the lack of air draught to accommodate the extra few inches of height in the decking. I am tall, but shorter folks could cope with the reduced headroom.

 

There is also the delay in heating up the 'heat sink', whatever material that might be. I suggested concrete as it would also act as a ballast. Someone pointed out that this would prohibit access to the top of the bottom plate should there be a leak through it due to running aground damage, but I think this is unlikely to be a major factor and in any case, poured concrete is used as ballast in many boats.

 

The delay in the system warming up can be off-set by the delay in it cooling down.

 

Of course it would have to be pumped.

 

I am currently living in a lock cottage that has UFCH heated by a solid fuel Rayburn. It takes about 24 hours for it to warm up, but then it stays warm in the house for about 48hrs after the Rayburn has gone out.

 

I think the system could be a good option for say, wide beam boats. They are less likely to have to navigate under low bridges, though there are exceptions.

 

Tone

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Just for a moment or two I confused:

 

Hi all, Has anyone any experience with Composting Toilets? Also what are your views on these?

 

with:

 

I wrap mine on the floor - it's the only flat space big enough It's hiding the damn things that's the challenge!

 

Tone

 

I learnt this tip from a fellow hiker....

 

Tesco bags are quite handy. You simply hold on to the handles whilst you do the business, then use them to knot the top.... Just dispose of in accordance with the countryside code, not hang in a tree like the dog owners do.

  • Greenie 1
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I have no regrets having lived aboard for over 20yrs, but we still have a house that we visit occasionally. We haven't got hook up or a generator and I love our pumpout. It does seem that some are not finding it lives up to their dream, but obviously not on this forum.

Sue

 

We have sky tv, laptops, pc, washing machine, dryer, fridge, stove, 5 radiators, genny, 4wd jeep, pumpout loo, all the water we need, why would i even think about moving back into my house...i love it in the countryside..

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under floor heating and insulation -

 

not sure how much room for undeer floor piping systems, and would the weight of the filled system be good as ballast? and what would most systems on a boat use to heat the system?

 

I've seen them around 30-50mm, pipes basically laid on thin shaped metal in polystyrene. Anything that heats water can heat could be used, but you'll need a pump of course.

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I learnt this tip from a fellow hiker....

 

Tesco bags are quite handy. You simply hold on to the handles whilst you do the business, then use them to knot the top.... Just dispose of in accordance with the countryside code, not hang in a tree like the dog owners do.

 

No. You are totally wrong. The great majority of dog owners do not hang the bags in trees. It is the sick minority that do that. Don't exaggerate!

 

As a disabled dog owner who has great difficulty bending down, I wish I could train my dog to crap into the bag direct whilst hanging on to the handles.

 

Tone

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No. You are totally wrong. The great majority of dog owners do not hang the bags in trees. It is the sick minority that do that. Don't exaggerate!

 

As a disabled dog owner who has great difficulty bending down, I wish I could train my dog to crap into the bag direct whilst hanging on to the handles.

 

Tone

 

From my observations it is the minority that actually pick it up and dispose. smiley_offtopic.gif

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From my observations it is the minority that actually pick it up and dispose. smiley_offtopic.gif

 

Okay. As you are so observant, how many of those who do pick up then hang it in trees?

 

If it is the minority who pick up at all, as you (wrongly in my opinion) state, then the OP's unsubstantiated claim that dog owners (in general) then 'hang (it) in a tree like the dog owners do' is proved to be even more irrelevant.

 

Thank you for your observation.

 

Tone

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Having sold my boat a few years ago, and stayed through a couple of harsh snowy winters, I can safely say I miss it all. I cant wait to get back on a boat and this time I wont be selling! The walk to the car may be a bit longer than if you live in a house, and the coal gets expensive in the deepest winter, but its all worth it in my opinion, and it just makes the summer even better. I guess some people it works nicely for if they are the outdoors type, whereas others prefer more creature comforts. Its the old working boaters that faced the real challenges

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Okay. As you are so observant, how many of those who do pick up then hang it in trees?

 

If it is the minority who pick up at all, as you (wrongly in my opinion) state, then the OP's unsubstantiated claim that dog owners (in general) then 'hang (it) in a tree like the dog owners do' is proved to be even more irrelevant.

 

Thank you for your observation.

 

Tone

 

I've yet to see a cat owner (or any other pet come to that) hang it in a tree, only ever dog... :P

 

That said, I've never actually seen anyone actually hanging it in a tree, however, I've never known a dog inteligent enough to bag it and hang itself so guess it must be the owners that do it.

 

BTW, where did I exagerate? wasn't suggesting for a minute all dog owners do.

Edited by Hairy-Neil
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Well we do too of course we do - but I do like actual boating in the winter though too, colder the better.

 

Our problem this winter though has been getting to the darn boat. Currently searching in earnest for a marina closer to home, tis not funny worrying about your boat when it's 150 miles away in the current climate.

 

Mmm Know how you feel there,I haven't had chance to live on mine yetand it's a 350 something mile trip eachway. Can't wait till new season starts when i move aboard permanently. :cheers::captain:

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I have no regrets but it is little different to my previous land dwelling for 20 years. A cottage, about as isolated as you can get on the South Downs, accessed via two miles of single track road with hairpin bends then half a mile of un-made track.

 

In the winter the cars were usually parked 50 yards from the house, at the top of the unmade drive. With heavy snow they were left either a half or a mile away at either end of the un-made track. I hauled supplies in on the children's sledge. Brushed snow off the wood-pile to feed the central heating. Helped to dig the snow-plough out of a drift. Helped my neighbour to dig up and unfreeze his water main. The not-infrequent power cuts were inconvenient, especially the five days after the 1987 storm, but the log burner and multi-fuel boiler/cooker kept the cottage warm enough. Eventually I acquired a Land Rover and a stand-by generator.

 

Alan

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I wish I was a technophobe so I could download the picture of me/boat from the Leicester Mercury which shows me trussed up like a Yeti in the process of doing an oil change last Sunday. It was brass monkeys and I had also found out that the fuel had water in it so the two processess took up all the daylight hours to complete. Brrrrr but after it was done it was back on board snug as a bug with charlie the schnauzer, Happy! :rolleyes:

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Okay. As you are so observant, how many of those who do pick up then hang it in trees?

 

If it is the minority who pick up at all, as you (wrongly in my opinion) state, then the OP's unsubstantiated claim that dog owners (in general) then 'hang (it) in a tree like the dog owners do' is proved to be even more irrelevant.

 

Thank you for your observation.

 

Tone

 

Sorry but I don't keep figures on this. I have seen a number of people hanging bags on trees and once I even asked a dog walker why he did this to be informed that the plan was to pick it up again on the way back so he did not have to carry it all the time, this seemed fair enough to me unfortunately he never did return to pick it up. On my way round the system I do see a lot of bags either hanging from trees or just lying by the side of the towpath.

You as good dog owner and clearer up are let down in my opinion by the majority who do not.

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I wish I was a technophobe so I could download the picture of me/boat from the Leicester Mercury which shows me trussed up like a Yeti in the process of doing an oil change last Sunday. It was brass monkeys and I had also found out that the fuel had water in it so the two processess took up all the daylight hours to complete. Brrrrr but after it was done it was back on board snug as a bug with charlie the schnauzer, Happy! :rolleyes:

 

LMpic.jpg

 

Is this you, Mike?

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I've yet to see a cat owner (or any other pet come to that) hang it in a tree, only ever dog... :P

 

That said, I've never actually seen anyone actually hanging it in a tree, however, I've never known a dog inteligent enough to bag it and hang itself so guess it must be the owners that do it.

 

BTW, where did I exagerate? wasn't suggesting for a minute all dog owners do.

 

Maybe inserting the word 'some' before 'dog owners' would have clarified your point?

 

Tone

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