How to combat boatlessness?

[koukouvagia]

For the first time in thirty five years we’ve been without a boat. I find myself mooching alongside canals, visiting nearby docks, watching life on the river from our flat and cadging lifts on other people’s boats. All a bit sad, isn’t it?

Any suggestions how to alleviate the symptoms until we get our boat back in September?

[MtB]

I totally understand.

Even when I'm down to one boat I find myself browsing the boats for sale looking for one to buy and use for the short term, then sell again. Which is not actually that bad an idea given repair projects always overrun. Why not buy yourself a £6k cruiser to gad about in then flog it again once Hampton is finished?

[dmr]

Volunteer lock keeper? Though you might find the CaRT training program and rules and regulations a bit frustrating.

.....Dave

 

[mrsmelly]

Life without a boat is simply no life at all.

[Alan de Enfield]

3 hours ago, koukouvagia said:

For the first time in thirty five years we’ve been without a boat. I find myself mooching alongside canals, visiting nearby docks, watching life on the river from our flat and cadging lifts on other people’s boats. All a bit sad, isn’t it?

Any suggestions how to alleviate the symptoms until we get our boat back in September?

Buy another one 'up norf', spend a couple of months heading South, painting the interior white as you go.

When you get somewhere near the M25put an advert on Apollo Duck with a price twice what you paid - it'll sell within a couple of days and you'll have the cash just in time to get your boat back.

[Rickent]

I truly believe the best way to combat boatlessness is to buy another boat. Simple really.

[Starcoaster]

Do something/get a hobby related to the boat ? Ie., paint or make some stuff for it or something...

[Neil2]

Pass the time listening to music, I recommend;

"heaven knows I'm miserable now"

"I only want to be with you"

"it might as well rain until September"

 

Meanwhile, I'll get me coat.

[Stormbringer]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Buy another one 'up norf', spend a couple of months heading South, painting the interior white as you go.

When you get somewhere near the M25put an advert on Apollo Duck with a price twice what you paid - it'll sell within a couple of days and you'll have the cash just in time to get your boat back.

Quality reply Alan 

[MtB]

"A man without a boat is a prisoner."

Old Norwegian proverb.

[Giant]

Boatlessness is really just a symptom of wider problems. We need to get tough on the causes of boatlessness if we are truly to help its victims.

...more moorings available would be a good start.

[MtB]

I wondered at the time if selling OWL was a good thing to do while HAMPTON was in dock... 

 

[cereal tiller]

6 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

"A man without a boat is a prisoner."

Old Norwegian proverb.

Thought it was Egyptian,Pharoese.

[MtB]

On 15/07/2017 at 22:03, cereal tiller said:

Thought it was Egyptian,Pharoese.

 

Nah, you're thinking of the ancient Egyptian proverb "A man without a pyramid can't see very far"...

[system 4-50]

17 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Nah, you're thinking of the ancient Egyptian proverb "A man without a pyramid can't see very far"...

Nah, you're thinking of the Irish proverb, "A man with an empty glass can't see beyond the bar"...

Edited July 15, 2017 by system 4-50

[MtB]

On 15/07/2017 at 22:31, system 4-50 said:

Nah, you're thinking of the Irish proverb, "A man with an empty glass can't see beyond the bar"...

Lol.

Actually I've made up a better Egyptian equivalent; "A man without a camel is a prisoner." 

[alan_fincher]

Come and talk to us about all the latest issues we have just discovered with Flamingo, and now have to work out how to deal with - they could be enough to put most people off boat ownership I think.

(For clarity all current issues relate to things contained somewhere within the boat, not to the actual structure or integrity of the boat itself).

Do you need to borrow the keys to Sickle - you know where it is!

 

[magpie patrick]

I was pondering whether to get rid of one or both of mine: Thanks for reminding me how foolish this would be! 

[magpie patrick]

1 hour ago, cereal tiller said:

Thought it was Egyptian,Pharoese.

And I thought it was faroese, which is similar in  pronunciation but not the same thing! 

(And if you haven't got a boat on the Faroe Islands you are a bit stuck  ) 

[MtB]

On 15/07/2017 at 23:15, magpie patrick said:

And I thought it was faroese, which is similar in  pronunciation but not the same thing! 

(And if you haven't got a boat on the Faroe Islands you are a bit stuck  ) 

 

Actually I think you're right. 

(I tried googling it before posting, which revealed absolutely nothing!)

[koukouvagia]

2 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I wondered at the time if selling OWL was a good thing to do while HAMPTON was in dock... 

 

Actually, we never thought we'd sell Owl so quickly.  We were reckoning at least on one more attendance at the Braunston Show and probably one last summer boating with it.

Also, when we took Hampton in for work, we thought it would take about four months.   Because of the work involved, it'll be nearer nine.

 

[koukouvagia]

One of the things that has kept me cheerful is going up each week from London to WFBCo to see the progress of the work.  Frequent visits also mean that there has been no misunderstanding about what needs to be done.  I have nothing but praise for the work that is being done.

Hampton is on schedule.  All the steelwork on the hull is completed; new water and diesel tanks have been made; there is a 10' extension of the undercloth conversion to make a utility room; the hold area has been radically altered; the electrics are being upgraded; the wooden back cabin has been replaced in steel and is being fitted out;  the painting should be finished by next weekend and new cloths have been ordered.

Following Starry's suggestion to do something boat related while I'm boatless, I've decided to put together a website showing the history and the restoration of the boat.

Here are a few of pictures showing the current state of play:

[Starcoaster]

It is going to look AWESOME when it is done.

Other things you can do when you don't have a boat but desperately want to be in the boat gang:

• Carry a key float with your house keys on them and put them prominently on the bar in the hope of drawing boaters to you in the pub.
• Wipe diesel and stern grease down your jeans so that you give off the right pack smell to the other dogs boaters.
• Lurk around locks with a windlass and a bike and harass hire crews into learning forward setting.
• Walk remote stretches of towpath in a long knitted jumper, rigger boots and a flat cap, hoping someone passing will stop and offer you a lift "back to your boat."
• Take your car's engine apart, leave the parts lying around the kitchen for a bit, tell everyone of your grand reconditioning plan and then put a new engine in anyway.
• Stand around near a line of moored boats with an empty mug, a full tin of biscuits, and a hopeful expression.
• Train your dog to leap onto every moored boat they see so that you can start a conversation with the boat owners whilst hoiking said dog back off.
• Push everything on your shelves right to the back so they don't fall off when the house rocks.
• Get up in the middle of the night and run down to the cellar to check that there's not a few inches of water sitting in it.
• Turn your mains fuses off at 10pm every few nights and learn to live without electrical stuff until the following morning.

 

 

 

 

 

[Rob-M]

You could volunteer for one of the groups, such as Heritage Working Boats, and get involved in a few boat moves. I get four days this week taking a pair to Audlem.

[LEO]

7 hours ago, Starcoaster said:

It is going to look AWESOME when it is done.

Other things you can do when you don't have a boat but desperately want to be in the boat gang:

• Carry a key float with your house keys on them and put them prominently on the bar in the hope of drawing boaters to you in the pub.
• Wipe diesel and stern grease down your jeans so that you give off the right pack smell to the other dogs boaters.
• Lurk around locks with a windlass and a bike and harass hire crews into learning forward setting.
• Walk remote stretches of towpath in a long knitted jumper, rigger boots and a flat cap, hoping someone passing will stop and offer you a lift "back to your boat."
• Take your car's engine apart, leave the parts lying around the kitchen for a bit, tell everyone of your grand reconditioning plan and then put a new engine in anyway.
• Stand around near a line of moored boats with an empty mug, a full tin of biscuits, and a hopeful expression.
• Train your dog to leap onto every moored boat they see so that you can start a conversation with the boat owners whilst hoiking said dog back off.
• Push everything on your shelves right to the back so they don't fall off when the house rocks.
• Get up in the middle of the night and run down to the cellar to check that there's not a few inches of water sitting in it.
• Turn your mains fuses off at 10pm every few nights and learn to live without electrical stuff until the following morning.

 

 

 

 

 

Another one for the list - come and cut the brambles back on your mooring...................

10 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Come and talk to us about all the latest issues we have just discovered with Flamingo, and now have to work out how to deal with - they could be enough to put most people off boat ownership I think.

(For clarity all current issues relate to things contained somewhere within the boat, not to the actual structure or integrity of the boat itself).

Do you need to borrow the keys to Sickle - you know where it is!

 

A.

Have already offered use of our boat, plus access to polish and dusters to practice 'keeping paintwork in good condition' but not heard any more...........