Jump to content

Are you new to boating?? CLICK HERE


Sam

Featured Posts

Hello everyone.

 

Although I have been a member for 18 months or so. I thought I would reintroduce my self.

I had been a hirer as a child with my family and have introduced my own family on to narrowboats.

After taking the in laws on a lovely trip in and around Birmingham, with thanks to the good advice here.

And another up north. They enjoyed their time so much they have brought a narrow boat. And me and my family will also enjoy use of the family boat.

 

We are moored in the delightful caen hill marina.

And yes a couple of people may of noticed our rather windswept first attempt at mooring in a marina environment during the rather breezy storm Brian on Saturday.

Thanks to the great boater who actually did it for me.

I am really looking to meeting some of you out there and I must thank you all for the advice I have picked up on here already and looking forward to hearing more as no doubt I will need.

 

Now I'm of to find threads on getting onto a pontoon in the wind. Or is that into as you neither get on or in it.

 

Adrian.

Edited by thebfg
  • Happy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saw a luckless duo struggling in the reeds at Barton Marina on Saturday well and truly stuck.  In a 60 footer, dark blue.  Not sure what would have helped in those apconditins other than mooring outside the marina and waiting for the wind to die down as Barton is known to be a windy place at the best of times. Shudder to think of a GRP in those conditions.......hope we never get caught in wind like that! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Sunflower16 said:

Saw a luckless duo struggling in the reeds at Barton Marina on Saturday well and truly stuck.  In a 60 footer, dark blue.  Not sure what would have helped in those apconditins other than mooring outside the marina and waiting for the wind to die down as Barton is known to be a windy place at the best of times. Shudder to think of a GRP in those conditions.......hope we never get caught in wind like that! 

Our first attempt at just entering the marina ended in us getting blown across the entrance.

 

Que boater going past. Camera straight out.

I did smile and wave. Look forward to seeing that on the internet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hiya

I'm new to boating too. haven't actually bought mine yet, have been searching for the last few months. Thought there's no rush as there's lots to learn, and i'm having some boat driving lessons with friends at the mo and still keeping an eye out. Budget is a bit on the low side for a NB (up to 20k), so hoping to get going in my own NB by early next year and save up a few more pennies in the mean time. Bristol/Bath/BoA/Devizes stretch for starters, hoping to find a mooring perhaps later on. 

I've found this forum really useful for advice already. So thanks to all those out there who give advice to us novices. 

Sadie 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, SadieF said:

Hiya

I'm new to boating too. haven't actually bought mine yet, have been searching for the last few months. Thought there's no rush as there's lots to learn, and i'm having some boat driving lessons with friends at the mo and still keeping an eye out. Budget is a bit on the low side for a NB (up to 20k), so hoping to get going in my own NB by early next year and save up a few more pennies in the mean time. Bristol/Bath/BoA/Devizes stretch for starters, hoping to find a mooring perhaps later on. 

I've found this forum really useful for advice already. So thanks to all those out there who give advice to us novices. 

Sadie 

Welcome Sadie. You may want to do some more research in to your chosen area of cruising as there isn't much choice of moorings in that area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all,

My other half and I have been boat owners for about a month and are in the process of arranging for various tradespeople to do some work for us. We're also slowly clearing the boat of the previous owner's stuff. The boat is a 90 minute drive from where we live so only have weekends to do anything. Our plan is to move it closer over Christmas but that will be dependant on the Severn and Avon rivers playing nicely! We've checked the winter stoppages and should be okay with those.

We fell in love with the canals after several hire boat holidays and are really looking forward to being able to go out on our own boat whenever the mood takes us!

Sue

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

We are Roger and Claudette and will have a boat subject to survey in Dec.  This is all new to us, although we sail a yacht in Scotland and our only experience of canals is the Crinan Canal, which I think is probably not typical of what we will encounter on way from Manchester to Nottingham? 

Might as well get a really stupid (to some) Q out the way at this point.  On a 40ft narrowboat, do you put lines ashore when locking up and down? or are the flood eddies not as extreme as at Crinan? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, SWiMBO said:

Hi,

We are Roger and Claudette and will have a boat subject to survey in Dec.  This is all new to us, although we sail a yacht in Scotland and our only experience of canals is the Crinan Canal, which I think is probably not typical of what we will encounter on way from Manchester to Nottingham? 

Might as well get a really stupid (to some) Q out the way at this point.  On a 40ft narrowboat, do you put lines ashore when locking up and down? or are the flood eddies not as extreme as at Crinan? 

You'll get a range of views . Here are mine

1 Going downhill,  narrow lock no rope needed.  Just make sure bow fender does not hang on bottom gate

2 broad lock. As above. You may want to take a centre line ashore to hold the boat across, if people want to use ladders to board boat when lock has emptied. 

3 going uphill narrow lock.  No rope needed.  With a 40' boat you can use engine to stay right say rear of lock.  Or you can put bows on upper gate.  Do one or the other , not something inbetween,  otherwise flow of water will suck you forwards. 

4 going uphill broad lock. If crew are careful and open paddle on same side as boat first then the current should hold the bows in. For myself esp if single handed I use a bow line to stop boat surging forwards or swinging across to other side of lock. 

5 going uphill sharing the lock. Ropes essential if you are sharing with fibreglass boat.  Not required if another narrow boat,  but keep your bows roughly aligned to avoid wedging risk. 

 

Ps never tie ropes off when going down.  Ok when going up. 

Pps it was not a stupid question

Edited by Scholar Gypsy
Forgetfulness
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello everyone,

Newbie here currently looking for both a boat and crew or maybe to crew on a boat for a bit to find my canal legs!  I am retired and have all the time in the world.  Would consider a boat share if that is of any interest to anyone?  I am looking to spend months away travelling the inland waterways - anyone up for an adventure?

Cheers,

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hey all,

So my partner and I have decided to use some of our savings to take a break for a while (or forever) from crazy London life to escape onto the water with our dog.  The idea has been bubbling for a few years but the situation is right at the moment to do it, although we know its not the best time to buy with the market being so buoyant!  We've have done some crewing on yachts and my dad was a yacht boat builder so its not that new to us although the inland part is!

Plan is to continuous cruise and make our way round various parts of the UK starting in early 2018, once we have found the right boat!  I'm lucky as can take a year off while my partner can work from anywhere.

Seems a great site for advice and also just sharing information and tips, so look forward to contributing.

D

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DasDsm said:

Plan is to continuous cruise and make our way round various parts of the UK starting in early 2018, once we have found the right boat!  I'm lucky as can take a year off while my partner can work from anywhere.

Welcome to the forum. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone, new to this forum and new to narrow boating,although I had a 20ft fibreglass cruiser before buying "Popsie" a 30ft steel narrowboat.The cruiser was a pig to steer,and in windy conditions was like a headless chicken. "Popsie"on the other hand,handles superbly even on windy days.

She is presently moored on the Peak Forest canal, [where I bought her] although I have a permanent mooring in Huddersfield I can't take her home yet due to scheduled canal and lock maintainance. 

"Popsie"is quite an old lady,[1978] but the hull survey I had done,was ok for metal thickness,but did point out some hull pitting which recommended monitoring every other season.  Her mooring on the Peak Forest canal is only about an hour and a half away by car,so for the present I spend most weekends aboard and quite happily chug up and down the canal. The more time I spend on her,the longer the jobs list becomes,but will be seen to when I get her home.

She was built by Hesford Marine of Lymm,Cheshire [anyone know anything about them ?] They are still in business,but don't build boats anymore.I contacted them to see if they could tell me anything about my boat,but was told that the business has changed hands twice since "Popsie was built and they had no records of previous activity.

I look forward to reading through this forum,it looks like a mine of useful information.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, Furness said:

Hi everyone, new to this forum and new to narrow boating,although I had a 20ft fibreglass cruiser before buying "Popsie" a 30ft steel narrowboat.The cruiser was a pig to steer,and in windy conditions was like a headless chicken. "Popsie"on the other hand,handles superbly even on windy days.

She is presently moored on the Peak Forest canal, [where I bought her] although I have a permanent mooring in Huddersfield I can't take her home yet due to scheduled canal and lock maintainance. 

"Popsie"is quite an old lady,[1978] but the hull survey I had done,was ok for metal thickness,but did point out some hull pitting which recommended monitoring every other season.  Her mooring on the Peak Forest canal is only about an hour and a half away by car,so for the present I spend most weekends aboard and quite happily chug up and down the canal. The more time I spend on her,the longer the jobs list becomes,but will be seen to when I get her home.

She was built by Hesford Marine of Lymm,Cheshire [anyone know anything about them ?] They are still in business,but don't build boats anymore.I contacted them to see if they could tell me anything about my boat,but was told that the business has changed hands twice since "Popsie was built and they had no records of previous activity.

I look forward to reading through this forum,it looks like a mine of useful information.

Hello and yes welcome to the world boat ownership.

(It's like painting the Forth bridge) - but if you are handy and don't mind doing it you will enjoy it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 05/11/2017 at 19:02, Scholar Gypsy said:

You'll get a range of views . Here are mine

1 Going downhill,  narrow lock no rope needed.  Just make sure bow fender does not hang on bottom gate

2 broad lock. As above. You may want to take a centre line ashore to hold the boat across, if people want to use ladders to board boat when lock has emptied. 

3 going uphill narrow lock.  No rope needed.  With a 40' boat you can use engine to stay right say rear of lock.  Or you can put bows on upper gate.  Do one or the other , not something inbetween,  otherwise flow of water will suck you forwards. 

4 going uphill broad lock. If crew are careful and open paddle on same side as boat first then the current should hold the bows in. For myself esp if single handed I use a bow line to stop boat surging forwards or swinging across to other side of lock. 

5 going uphill sharing the lock. Ropes essential if you are sharing with fibreglass boat.  Not required if another narrow boat,  but keep your bows roughly aligned to avoid wedging risk. 

 

Ps never tie ropes off when going down.  Ok when going up. 

Pps it was not a stupid question

Thanks Scolar Gypsy: I moved the boat from Peak Forest to Nottingham last week and with both narrow and broad locks, all your advice was sound. All but one lock was downhill.  We had a day or two of ice-breaking (photo below), but it was in our plans to have the boat re-blackened anyway!  

A very relaxing, stress free trip. (no doubt that could change when the canals get a lot busier).

Boat name is 'Sir K', so pop onboard for a swallie if you ever encounter us.

Yours aye,

Roger and Claudette

IMG_0533.JPG

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23/12/2017 at 12:07, SWiMBO said:

Thanks Scolar Gypsy: I moved the boat from Peak Forest to Nottingham last week and with both narrow and broad locks, all your advice was sound. All but one lock was downhill.  We had a day or two of ice-breaking (photo below), but it was in our plans to have the boat re-blackened anyway!  

A very relaxing, stress free trip. (no doubt that could change when the canals get a lot busier).

Boat name is 'Sir K', so pop onboard for a swallie if you ever encounter us.

Yours aye,

Roger and Claudette

IMG_0533.JPG

It's still relaxing, even in the busiest of times.  The secret is not to have deadlines!  As an owner you can be more relaxed.  As hirers we didn't want to relax.  We wanted to get in maximum canalling so we started early and finished late, mooring where we happened to fetch up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello all,

Claire and Callum here. This is the year we finally get our houseboat! A dream of ours that we've been working and saving towards for a long time. This will also be our first step in having a home of our very own. 

We've decided on getting a new hull only and some basics, and then doing a lot of the fit out ourselves. We're fairly handy people but there's a lot to learn for sure! Excited to be joining the forum and looking forward to leaning and feeling inspired.

C x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, FoxLovesCrow said:

Hello all,

Claire and Callum here. This is the year we finally get our houseboat! A dream of ours that we've been working and saving towards for a long time. This will also be our first step in having a home of our very own. 

We've decided on getting a new hull only and some basics, and then doing a lot of the fit out ourselves. We're fairly handy people but there's a lot to learn for sure! Excited to be joining the forum and looking forward to leaning and feeling inspired.

C x

Welcome, a world of knowledge here.  Are you buying a houseboat shell or a wide beam shell?  Will you have an engine?

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.