Jump to content

Marinas that charge per ft width darn sarth


Matt&Jo

Featured Posts

Hi guys, our plan when we have our boat built is to CC the k&a and grand union up to the braunston area with stop offs in marinas to charge batts and live life off the cut a few weeks a quater. This would be as far as we can go due to width. Were ordering a 60 x 9ft pioneer (slimline widebeam). Now more and more marinas are charging for different widths and making it cheaper for the smaller width widebeams. Do you guys know of any narinas darn sarth on the GU or K&A that takes this pricing aproach? i know people dont agree with widebeam fat boys cruising those waterways but tough lol im going to. Any help as always apreciated. Many thanks.

Edited by Matt&Jo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't imagine that many marinas on a canal like the GU are going to charge less for a narrow wide beam than a fat one.

Most seem to be based on finger pontoons, that will generally accommodate two 7 foot narrow boats between them.

As soon as what goes in is much over 7 feet wide, then in many places a second boat would not fit, so it would be entirely reasonable for such a marina to charge twice as much for a 9 foot wide boat than a 7 foot wide boat, wouldn't it?

Clearly there will be exceptions to this, but I doubt many are able to easily accommodate 9 foot wide boats without space being wasted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Matt&Jo said:

Hi guys, our plan when we have our boat built is to CC the k&a and grand union up to the braunston area with stop offs in marinas to charge batts and live life off the cut a few weeks a quater. This would be as far as we can go due to width. Were ordering a 60 x 9ft pioneer (slimline widebeam). Now more and more marinas are charging for different widths and making it cheaper for the smaller width widebeams. Do you guys know of any narinas darn sarth on the GU or K&A that takes this pricing aproach? i know people dont agree with widebeam fat boys cruising those waterways but tough lol im going to. Any help as always apreciated. Many thanks.

 

I think you're getting the wrong end of the stick slightly. A lot of fun is poked at widebeams but no-one is going to be much bothered by a 9 or 10ft beam boat 60ft long. There are loads about. Its the 12ft and 13ft x 70ft behemoths that some boaters don't like. Not just because of the size but because some (not all) of their owners tend to be a bit thick-skinned and moor inconsiderately as well as taking up half or more of the canal.

Having said that, I too would expect any marina with finger berths to charge twice the price of a NB, once you go wider than 7ft for the reason Alan outlines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Matt&Jo said:

Hi guys, our plan when we have our boat built is to CC the k&a and grand union up to the braunston area with stop offs in marinas to charge batts and live life off the cut a few weeks a quater. This would be as far as we can go due to width. Were ordering a 60 x 9ft pioneer (slimline widebeam). Now more and more marinas are charging for different widths and making it cheaper for the smaller width widebeams. Do you guys know of any narinas darn sarth on the GU or K&A that takes this pricing aproach? i know people dont agree with widebeam fat boys cruising those waterways but tough lol im going to. Any help as always apreciated. Many thanks.

As has been said before get off those piddly little backwaters and get oop norff were there are some proper waterways and your little nine foot beam will be unnoticeable. Marinas oop norff are bigger and have sensible spaces when I moored in sawley marina their price was the same wide or narrow, it may have course have changed but the whole system is way better to cruise size wise and the ginagermassive bonus is you never go anywhere near the big slum starting with an L.....................

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What MTB and Mrsmelly said! The K and A is wide and easily accommodates our 10ft beam boat with room to pass and moor, sensibly as said. As soon as we retire we are heading up north to explore the canals there. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Matt&Jo said:

with stop offs in marinas to charge batts

With that approach you are either going to find yourselves spending a LOT of time in marinas, or you are going to be regularly replacing sulphated batteries. For batteries to last you need to be charging them frequently, so you need a means of on board charging - engine, generator or solar panels.  An engine or generator will need running for several hours a week to keep the batteries charged. This advice has been repeated here on countless why-are-my-batteries-flat threads already!

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know we're talking narrow fat boats here and not so much fat wide boats, but has everybody forgotten why GUCCCo and FMC gave up after building Pioneer and Progress?. Proper wide boats they were.  Designed with excessive hips to maximise payload and not because the boatmen wanted a Jacuzzi and wine cellar on board.

Although they were able to squeeze through most of the bridges they had trifficulties passing each other due to not being able to breath in enough.

Admittedly we're likely to be talking an average chance meeting totalling a joint width of 18ft to 24ft, it could be up to 28ft! But The GUCC/GJCC was dredged better in the 30s. 

I'd be surprised if there wasn't more than a few places capable of creating delight and much hilarity. 

Hasn't it happened yet?

I for one would give folding money to be present.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, David Mack said:

With that approach you are either going to find yourselves spending a LOT of time in marinas, or you are going to be regularly replacing sulphated batteries. For batteries to last you need to be charging them frequently, so you need a means of on board charging - engine, generator or solar panels.  An engine or generator will need running for several hours a week to keep the batteries charged. This advice has been repeated here on countless why-are-my-batteries-flat threads already!

Yes i fully understand batteries and charging. Most cc charge off the engine or if lucky enough a suitcase or silent generator but a full charge from mains power is usualy always a good thing to help reduce memory plus you can get on with a bit of washing etc. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Please can you enlighten me then. 

Yeah, that is quite a claim. Although some know more than others, I've never met anyone else brave enough and knowledgeable enough to claim that, even amongst military professionals. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Yeah, that is quite a claim. Although some know more than others, I've never met anyone else brave enough and knowledgeable enough to claim that, even amongst military professionals. 

I would particularly like to know about:-

 "a full charge from mains power is usualy always a good thing to help reduce memory "

Perhaps they intend to use Nicads. 

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, rusty69 said:

I would particularly like to know about:-

 "a full charge from mains power is usualy always a good thing to help reduce memory "

 

 

Happened to me when I was an apprentice electrician... or so I was told! :D

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Matt&Jo said:

Yes i fully understand batteries and charging. Most cc charge off the engine or if lucky enough a suitcase or silent generator but a full charge from mains power is usualy always a good thing to help reduce memory plus you can get on with a bit of washing etc. 

 

This suggests your grip on lead acid battery technilogy is shaky at best, as the amusing pish-taking posts suggest. I think you either need to do a lot of homework or decide to adopt the default position of people who don't look after their batteries properly, of buying a new set of cheapos annually.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

This suggests your grip on lead acid battery technilogy is shaky at best, as the amusing pish-taking posts suggest. I think you either need to do a lot of homework or decide to adopt the default position of people who don't look after their batteries properly, of buying a new set of cheapos annually.

 

add - at the best. If the OP thinks memory is involved my guess is they could ruin a lead acid battery bank in a few months.

Did anyone else notice the suitcase generator was not paired with a mains battery charger - how far will 7 amps maximum @ 12v get a live aboard?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

This suggests your grip on lead acid battery technilogy is shaky at best, as the amusing pish-taking posts suggest

They might be going  for Lithium Ion batteries. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And there is something else I've noticed about battery chsrging. Everybody thinks they fully understand iit, whatever their actual true level of grasp of the subject. Myself included. I bought a good set of batteries thinking I fully understood how to maintain them. One wrecked set of batteries later, my knowledge stepped up to a whole new level. NOW I know everything about them! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

NOW I know everything about them! 

Don't worry Mike. One day you will achieve full enlightenment! 

 

By which time we will all have moved onto hydrogen fuel cells or mini fusion reactors. 

Edited by rusty69
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

They might be going  for Lithium Ion batteries. 

 

 

Isn't it lithium iron, not ion? 

But whatever, I've yet to encounter a lithium battery installation in a real life narrowboat. Is there anyone here successfully using them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Isn't it lithium iron, not ion? 

I don't fully understand about batteries and charging, so thats now something else i have to go and Google. :)

 

My old dad has just bought a share in a glider that uses Lithium Polymer batteries. Im sure he said they cost 5k to change

Edited by rusty69
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have boats in 2 BWML marinas - they have different rates for NBs & Widebeams - and - different definitions of what constitutes a widebeam.

Marina 1) Anything up to 3 metres beam pay 'narrow' rates. NBs pay per metre, 'Fattys' pay by 'berth' irrespective of length.

Marina 2) Anything up to 4.5 metres beam pays 'narrow rates. NBs and 'Fattys' both pay by the metre, with 4.5mt+ boats paying a premium of 30%

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Yeah, that is quite a claim. Although some know more than others, I've never met anyone else brave enough and knowledgeable enough to claim that, even amongst military professionals. 

Most things are realy quite simple on boats. As for battery charging all you have to do is fit Trojan batteries and give them their own individual names and read them a bedtime story each night, top up with water eight times a day, do an equalisation charge every six hours and they will last for at least eighteen years. To keep warm on a boat is even simpler you simply buy an " Eco Fan " they are so good that even without a heat source they whiz away and fully heat the boat at a completely even temperature throughout. The boat of course must be gas free, fitted with a composting bog and painted purple for all these things to be fully worthwhile.

26 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

I don't fully understand about batteries and charging, so thats now something else i have to go and Google. :)

 

My old dad has just bought a share in a glider that uses Lithium Polymer batteries. Im sure he said they cost 5k to change

See post 22

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

On 01/07/2017 at 09:47, mrsmelly said:

Most things are realy quite simple on boats. As for battery charging all you have to do is fit Trojan batteries and give them their own individual names and read them a bedtime story each night, top up with water eight times a day, do an equalisation charge every six hours and they will last for at least eighteen years. To keep warm on a boat is even simpler you simply buy an " Eco Fan " they are so good that even without a heat source they whiz away and fully heat the boat at a completely even temperature throughout. The boat of course must be gas free, fitted with a composting bog and painted purple for all these things to be fully worthwhile.

 

In all the pisstaking you missed out one true requirement, equally ludicrous. If the battery is discharged at all, it must immediately be recharged. It says this in the Trojan manual, or something to this effect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

 

In all the pisstaking you missed out one true requirement, equally ludicrous. If the battery is discharged at all, it must immediately be recharged. It says this in the Trojan manual, or something to this effect.

You are of course right Mike :huh: which as we both know because of your job hours is why you kill your batteries and my cheapos survive rather well. But DONT tell anybody or it will spoil any battery threads :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Most things are realy quite simple on boats

If you understand something fully, as the OP claims to, then its probably simple for them, but not necessarily for others, hence all the battery and pump threads. 

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.