2015 05 10 Newsletter – Engine Room Leaks
At the beginning of the week, Bank Holiday Monday we made the mistake of moving from Tixall Wide to the water point at Great Haywood junction to top up our tank and empty the full to the brim cassette.
The junction was packed with bank holiday boaters, most of them trying to get on to the water point as the same time as me. There’s space for three boats to moor close to the taps, but one of the spaces is usually taken up by Anglo Welsh and one of their hire boats. I don’t know whether the mooring belongs to them, or whether they’re just taking liberties, but the additional space would be useful at such a busy spot.
We squeezed the boat in, did the necessary, then rather than try to reverse back the junction to turn, carried on for quarter of a mile to turn in the entrance to Great Haywood marina. Once turned, we past the junction again, then rose through Haywood lock before tying up on the towpath with a first class view of Shugborough Hall and its landscaped grounds.
We tried to stay out of the way of hundreds of bank holiday walkers, joggers and cyclists for the rest of the day. A guy two boats behind us had the right idea. He sat in his towpath camp chair all day with a pint jug full of beer, toasting passers-by and thoroughly enjoying himself.
Unusually for the day following a bank holiday weekend, the weather took a turn for the worse. Black clouds scudded above the oak branches whipping to and fro above our boat as rain rattled against the windows. Tuesday was the perfect day for staying indoors doing little jobs around the boat.
The most important task on my endless to do list was to try again to pinpoint the leak steadily filling the engine room bilge. Two days earlier I used a cloth to mop up half a gallon of clear bilge water. On Tuesday, the hour long mopping produced twice as much.
With the bilge bone dry, while I was waiting for signs of further ingress, I decided to empty my mud box.
My Mercedes engine is raw water cooled, which means that rather than the engine coolant passing through a tank welded to the hull beneath the surface of the water on the inside of the hull, water is drawn from the canal through a fine meshed grill into the engine, through a heat exchanger, and then, slightly warmer than when it came in, expelled through the exhaust.
Before the water circulates around the engine, it passes through a sealed vertical steel cylinder where most of the waterborne sediment falls to the bottom allowing the clearer water to continue on its cooling mission. This is my mud box. It needs periodic maintenance to clean out accumulated mud and other debris.
Because I’m naturally inept, I’m always slightly worried about opening something which, if I make a mistake, can fairly quickly sink the boat.
I was off to a flying start thanks to the full set of easily accessible ratchet spanners which I now have fixed to one of the cabin sides. After squeezing myself into the tiny gap between my battery bank and the engine frame and then bending double to duck under the frame so that I could reach the mud box, I carefully removed three 15mm nuts securing the mud box’s circular top plate, then even more carefully, put the nuts safely on a shelf so that they couldn’t fall into the dark and inaccessible space close to the mud box at the back of the engine. Before doing any of this I had checked and then checked again to make sure that the sea cock was closed to prevent canal water flooding into the engine room as soon as I took the mud box lid off.
With the top plate removed, and a little more careful contortion, I was able to scoop out three or four pints of stinking grey mud from the bottom of the cylinder with my hand and drop it into the bucket resting on my knee.
Feeling very proud of myself for getting this far without mishap, I replaced the top plate then promptly dropped one of the nuts God knows where beneath the engine. Of course, this was inevitable, and a bit of a problem.
I spent ten minutes with a powerful torch examining the space under and behind the engine from every angle, but the nut had disappeared without trace. Sally popped her head into the engine room to establish the reason for my swearing, then offered to help.
“There’s no point,” I told her, “I’ve spent ages looking for it. It’s gone. If I can’t find it, you’re not going to do any better.”
The two remaining nuts might possible have held the top plate firmly enough in place to prevent water pouring into the engine bay when the engine was running but I didn’t want to take the chance.
I decided to go cap in hand to Anglo Welsh who run about a dozen hire boats from their base at Great Haywood Junction. I took one of the two remaining nuts with me on the five minute walk back to the junction.
A very accommodating guy in their office unhesitatingly agreed to help. He pointed to their workshop across the yard then told me to search for a replacement in the dozens of small plastic bins fixed to the workshop wall.
Ten minutes later, when he came to see how I was getting on, I wasn’t doing too well at all. In fact I wasn’t searching in the wall bins, but in the dark space under one of his benches where I had dropped one of my two remaining nuts. Without my glasses or a torch, I really was working in the dark.
He tried but couldn’t quite hide the look of mild disgust as he bent down and instantly spotted and retrieved my red Damboline painted nut among all the other dull grey nuts and bolts laying there, then just as quickly found a replacement for me before glancing at me suspiciously then put two more in my hand.
Back at the boat, Sally asked whether I had been successful. I proudly showed her my new nut collection. “No problem,” I told her triumphantly, “I’ve got a replacement and now I have two spares as well!”
Sally gave me the same look as the engineer at Anglo Welsh as she placed something in my open hand. “Actually, you have three spares now. I found the one you dropped as soon as you left. It was under your feet!”
I finished securing the top plate standing in a pool of water. In the half hour I’d been away, the mysterious leak deposited another couple of pints in the bilge. I suppose I could have asked Sally to have a look. She probably would have found the source and fixed the leak in minutes but I’d suffered enough humiliation for one day, so I did what I do best and replaced the deck board so I couldn’t see the problem.
I took myself out for a walk in the evening. Sally stayed in the boat after wearing herself out earlier in the day so I had to entertain myself.
At Haywood Lock, the Staffs Way crosses the combined rivers Trent and Sow before cutting through the beautiful parkland of the Shugborough estate and then the ancient forest which borders nearly Cannock Chase.
Away from the constant stream of speeding cyclists on the Tarmac surface of the Staffs way and the noisy teatime traffic on the A513, I sat with my back against a towering scots pine close to a stand of magnificent oak while I enjoyed a fresh ham and cheese baguette and half a packet of fig rolls as I watched a buzzard circling overhead.
Satnall Hills Cannock Chase
I wandered aimlessly around Satnall Hills for an hour before heading back through Shugborough Park. I sat in the shuttle bus shelter on the main road through the park while I eat the rest of my fig roles and watched two rams butting heads in a nearby fenced off field.
Back on the canal, a heron splashed noisily through the shallows chasing his evening supper. Then, to round the walk’s wildlife sights and sounds nicely, a tawny owl uttered its familiar too-wit too-woo from its tree top perch a hundred metres away.
On Thursday I found the engine room leak.
All I had to do was look properly. I found looking properly very much easier to do once I spent the five minutes necessary to remove all of the deck boards covering the engine to let a little light into the engine bay.
My engine is raw water cooled. Canal water is sucked through a grill in the side of the boat, through a mud box which traps and sediment, and bits of dead badger, then it passes through the engine’s heat exchanger before through about five feet of hose and two plastic boxes – I don’t know what they’re called, or even what they do – before being expelled from the boat.
The first of the two boxes runs past the engine close to the gearbox coupling. It was held away from the coupling by a cable tie. The cable tie appears to have broken recently and allowed the plastic box to rest against the revolving gearbox coupling which had then worn enough of the plastic away to allow a small jet of water to spurt into the space beneath the engine where I couldn’t see it. That’s why I hadn’t seen the leak. At least, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Given that the water leaking from the plastic box was slowly filling the bilge every time the engine was running, and that I clearly needed to have the engine running in order to move the boat, I thought I’d better have a bash at curing the leak before Sally and I had to resort to swimming rather than walking through the cabin.
There wasn’t a chandler or boat yard within walking distance so I used my all-encompassing engineering experience to think of an effective way to repair it with easily sourced materials. After a ten minute walk to Haywoods, the Spa shop in Great Haywood, I set to work with a tube of superglue and a roll of duct tape.
After carefully cleaning and drying the surrounding area then filling the tear in the plastic with nearly a full tube of superglue, I thoroughly bandaged the injured area with half a roll of duct tape. Then, with a self-satisfied smile, I stood back to admire my work for a minute or two before turning the engine on so I could marvel at my freshly waterproofed plastic box.
The engine purred into life, water surged through the engine, the duct tape groaned, bubbled, swelled, then with an exhausted gasp flopped to one side to allow a joyful jet of engine tainted water unlimited access to my trousers.
I was disappointed but not in the least surprised.
We left our old friend, Great Haywood Junction, at 7.30am on Friday, gentle ripples from the bow disturbing the glass smooth canal after two days of gale force winds and heavy rain. With one eye on the hills of Cannock Chase on my right and the other on the deepening pool of water in the bilge beneath my feet, we cruised sedately south past Little Haywood and Colwich, stopping the boat briefly at the honesty box under bridge 69 to swap two £1 coins for a dozen fresh farm eggs, before mooring close to Tesco in Rugeley to exchange £100 and four bags of rubbish for a trolley full of fresh food.
I swapped route information and the time of day with Peter Stacey on NB A Frayed Knot before continuing through Brereton, Armitage and Handsacre, buffeted by a freshening breeze and cooled by occasional showers.
Just after bridge 54 at Rileyhill we tried our hardest to moor against the frustratingly straight but shallow and rocky bank opposite pretty Ravenshaw Wood. After the grinding the bottom plate over a rocky shelf for the fourth and final time, we gave up, dropped down Wood End lock then stopped for the night on visitor moorings above Fradley Junction’s Shed House Lock.
The swathe of nearby short and muck free grass would have been a perfect playground for Charlie and Daisy apart from the brooding presence of Samson, a four year old rescued German shepherd, who lay on the grass next to his owner’s boat quietly watching us as we moored fifty feet away from him. I asked the lady owner whether our two soft spaniels would be safe near him. She asked her husband who sat reading a newspaper under the pram cover of their cruiser stern. “I haven’t a clue!” he replied without looking up. “Your dogs should be OK,” she added, “I can drag him off if he goes for them.”
Assured, but far from reassured, we made sure Daisy and Charlie stayed inside for the rest of the evening.
Once moored, my first job was engine bilge bailing. I removed two gallons of clear water, half-heartedly added another half roll of gaffer tape to the mountain of sticky stuff covering the offending hole then, in a rare moment of piety, offered a prayer to the god of narrowboat engines before closing the engine room door and heading for dinner.
Sally had the evening’s meal ingredients ready to cook. Fresh oysters, a bag of samphire grass ready for steaming, and a kilo of allegedly fresh Scottish mussels. The mussels didn’t look too fresh to me. All of the shells were open so, not wanting to run the risk of food poisoning miles from anywhere with just one small capacity toilet cassette between us, we threw the mussels away and replaced them with a tin of pilchard in tomato sauce, Pilchards and oysters aren’t the best combination but any port in a storm.
The following morning, we dropped down Fradley Junction’s Shed House and Middle locks, turned right at the junction then cruised ever closer roaring traffic on the A38 before pulling in to Streethay Wharf on the off chance that they could either repair or replace my leaking box.
Noisy but ever so helpful Streethay Wharf
Boss Nick climbed into my engine room to have a look. “The plastic box is a waterlock. We won’t be able to repair it, but you may be in luck. I think we have some old ones in the workshop somewhere. I’ll have a look now for you.”
Ten minutes later he was back with a waterlock almost identical to my own in his hand. “This one’s obviously second hand but it’s moulded plastic so if you can live with the discoloured plastic, it will do the job perfectly well. They’re £140 new. How does £70 sound?”
Seventy pounds sounded like a bargain. Nick told me that he could do the job immediately for me and he could stop the problem from happening again. The waterlock should have been fixed in place so that it couldn’t move. There was nothing nearby to fix it to so Nick suggested they manufacture a steel basket, weld the basket to the engine’s frame, then strap the waterlock into the basket.
Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I asked if their engineer could replace my stern gland packing at the same time. I had the packing replaced about eighteen months ago but I still have a problem stopping water dripping from the gland after then engine’s been running.
Nick promised to have a look for me and replace the packing if necessary. However he warned me that if the old packing was still in good condition, the more likely problem was that the drive shaft was worn. If the leak persisted after the packing was replaced again, the next step was to take the boat out of the water to remove the shaft and examine it.
Taking the boat out of the water, removing the shaft, then waiting for spare parts to be either sourced or manufactured was likely to be a lengthy and expensive job so I prayed, again, that replacing my packing would cure the problem.
Five hours later and £300 lighter, we were on our way. Half an hour after that, at 6pm, we stopped again. Our original destination for the day had been Hopworth Woods but, ever flexible, we moored close to Kings Orchard marina to devour a Piri Piri spatchcock chicken before walking half a mile to The plough at Huddlesford for a pint of Thatcher’s cider for me and an uninteresting soft drink for Sally.
This morning we cruised for an hour and a half to reach our current mooring opposite Hopwas Woods. We passed the immaculate canal-side gardens of Whittington, one complete with two proud swans and five new born cygnets, then next door, two haughty German shepherds loping through their garden to keep up with our boat, trying to peer into the cabin looking for something with four legs to savage.
Soon after we saw acre upon acre of polytunnels stretching both along the canal and away from it. I asked a lady of a certain age walking her bull terrier along the towpath if she knew what they were for. She did. Her face lit up as she increased her sedentary pace to keep up with me and tell me everything about the polytunnels, Whittington and her life within the village.
She told me that they used to be used to grow strawberries which were sold to both Tesco and Sainsbury’s but now asparagus was grown there instead, and also sold to the two big supermarkets, because of recently imposed pesticide restrictions.
She told me about the eastern European workers bussed in daily to pick the crops, the effects the pesticide used to have on her, her dogs, and the rest of the Whittington population, and much of her life in the half century she’d lived in the area. She told me much, much more but the conversation started as I was slowly negotiating a tight bridge hole, then continued as I increased speed and engine noise along the straight section which followed, so the engine noise drowned out most of what she was say. I didn’t have the heart to tell her.
I moored close to Wood bridge near the entrance to Hopwas woods then, fingers crossed, lifted the deck boards over the engine to see whether yesterday’s £300 had been a wise investment.
The engine bay was bone dry and the waterlock was still immovably strapped in place. Sadly, the stern gear was dripping as much as ever so the repair hadn’t worked. I’m not too bothered about that at the moment. There’s a high tech solution in place to collect stern gland leaks. I have a 10 litre grey plastic washing up bowl sitting in the bilge under the stern gear. There’s a float switch glued to the bottom of the washing up bowl next to a bilge pump.
The bilge pump regularly empties the washing up bowl, so as long as the pump continues to work, the engine bay should now stay dry.
Apart from the annoying barking of a nearby Labrador, excitedly waiting for his owner to throw a stick for him into the canal for the millionth time in the last half hour, I’m a very happy bunny.
Hopwas Woods – Perfect for a sunny Sunday picnic
The dog walker is one of the dozens of Sunday strollers close to the boat at the moment. I’m going to join them in a minute. Sally has a packed lunch already stowed in two rucksacks. We’re going to walk a mile into the woods, find a quiet and sunny glade, then fall asleep on a soft carpet of fallen leaves.
It’s such a hard life.
Discovery Day And Narrowboat Helmsmanship Training
If you’re new to this site you might not know about the service I launched in June 2014. I host narrowboat experience days on board my own 62′ long narrowboat James No 194. The ten hour days are a combination of discussion about the pros and cons of living on board, narrowboat designs and the best equipment for live aboard boaters, and a six to eight hour helmsmanship training cruise along the Oxford and/or Grand Union Canals.
I’ll be running the discovery days approximately on the first ten days of June, August, October and December this year. As summer approaches more and more site users are booking the relatively few discovery days still available. In June just Friday 5th and Tuesday 9th are available. August onwards is still relatively free. If you are interested in joining me for a fun and information packed discovery day please check the diary before it’s too late.
In the meantime, meet recent discovery day attendee Chris Cole…
“At present my plans are not properly established. I will buy a narrow boat sometime later this year and would like it to be a ‘live aboard’…… but I do not think I will be happy as a continuous cruiser. That presents the problem of moorings which we know are difficult to find especially if you want to be in a particular area. Perhaps I might get an ordinary mooring and just spend a great deal of time on the boat …… although that isn’t overly attractive.
As for booking a Discovery Day the reason(s) were simple …. I needed to get the feel of the water again and I needed to see how the other half lives. The hope was to gain an insight into not only of the pleasures of, but more importantly the problems of, living day to day on the water. It doesn’t matter how much you read on the subject or listen to the view of others you need you be there.
Well the day generally was everything I had hoped for, except perhaps for the weather …… it was much too kind.
Information ? plenty of it …. all questions asked were answered as were many that I didn’t ask. Tips on boat purchase, etiquette, steering, maintenance, day to day problems and chores, IT, home management e.g. storage, fuel and power, and so on, were all extremely helpful (even if I didn’t write them all down).
Instruction ? your patience was commendable and your instruction fine …… narrow boats have unique characteristics and the amount of handling you gave to your student (that’s me) enabled them to be understood. I promise to do better.”
What to add ? I have given this thought but can’t think of anything missing.”
You can find out more about my discovery days and availability here. Don’t forget that there’s just one date for a single person remaining for April now so if you want to spend a spring day out with me you need to book quickly.
I Need Some Help!
Each time I write a newsletter, I tick another subject off the list of things which those new to boating have told me that they want to read about. The hardest part of the process isn’t the writing itself, it’s constantly thinking of new content for each issue. The trouble is, I don’t know what you want to read. I think I keep the newsletters reasonably interesting but I don’t know for sure. That’s where I need your help.
Can you let me know what you would like to read in the future? Are there any areas of narrowboat life you don’t think I’ve covered enough or areas which I’ve missed completely? Please let me know what you want to read about. Thanks for your help.
Newsletter Index
I created the site just over four years ago to provide a source of information for anyone interested in narrowboats and the possibility of living on one full time. The site has grown to encompass a comprehensive listing of inland marinas in England and Wales, dozens of articles, a forum and regular newsletters. I’ve already created (below) indexes of the site articles and the more popular forum posts. I thought it was about time I created an easy to use index of the newsletter content. Here’s the index so far.
Engine room storage space – If you haven’t decided which style stern narrowboat is right for you, look at the tools and equipment I can shoehorn in to my traditional stern engine room
Kingswood Junction to Hopwas – Week two of the journey as we head through squallid Birmingham into beautiful and wooded Staffordshire
A cruise from Braunston to Kingswood Junction – My account of the route, the sights and the occasional problem along the way
Following on from last week’s newsletter, here’s a guide for you if you are thinking of continuously cruising the network. This is information you need to know if you don’t plan to have a home mooring.
You need a licence to cruise the waterways of England and Wales but with a number of different licences and options which do you choose? This post tells you what you need to know.
Three years since we last painted our hull so this week we had the dubious pleasure of taking the boat out of the water to do it again.
Five live aboard case studies – I added four new case studies to the site and updated my own which I had written three years previously
Water pumps and security – Bits and bobs from a life afloat
Narrowboat ownership on a shoestring – How to cut your boat ownership costs
Buying a narrowboat Part 2 – More great advice on choosing and buying your first boat
Buying a narrowboat Part 1 – Some great advice on choosing and buying your first boat
Routine engine servicing – The basic stuff every narrowboat owner should know
Running a boating business – How to earn a living on the cut.
A detailed breakdown of my own narrowboat running costs for December 2014
An unexpected cruise – A surprise cruise to Braunston, secondary double glazing panel fitting, and why dogs and laminate flooring don’t go well together
Battery Banks – The pros and cons of lead acid and AGM batteries
More winter cruising – The tail end of my Christmas break afloat
Winter cruising – A narrowboat isn’t just for the summer months. Winter cruising is a joy. Here’s my account of a week on the cut over the Christmas break
Cooking on the cut – Here are some gourmet festive recipes suitable for a narrowboat’s small galley
A Cautionary Tale – Canals and narrowboats offer all the ingredients for some pretty nasty accidents. Here’s one which could have been much worse.
Shared ownership – If you can’t afford a whole boat, why not buy part of one? Here’s how you can enjoy narrowboat ownership but at a fraction of the normal cost.
Here’s a live aboard narrowboat fully equipped for long term cruising. It’s my own boat James No 194. There’s a five minute video tour of the boat and a summary of the pros and cons of the boat’s design and equipment.
London cruising – Every week I receive emails from potential boat owners who want to live on board in London or who want to visit the capital as part of a holiday cruise. This advice from a very experienced boater will be of great interest to you if you’re one of them.
Narrowboat fuel consumption – How many miles to the gallon can you get out of your floating home?
How to spot bogus narrowboat adverts – Beware narrowboats for sale at bargain basement prices. Here’s a cautionary tale to make you think twice about reaching for your wallet.
Narrowboat CO2 emissions – Is living on a boat a green alternative to a home on dry land? You’ll have to read this newsletter to find out.
Finding reliable tradesmen on the cut – They are out there but it’s not always easy to sort the wheat from the chaff. Here’s a new service on the site which is going to make the job much easier for you.
Anti social behaviour on the cut – How common are the unpleasant incidents you sometimes hear about on the canal network and who are the worst offenders? You’ll probably be surprised.
The pros and cons of buying an ex hire boat to live on – How suitable are ex hire boats for living on board full time?
I ran short of time during this week and couldn’t think of much to write about anyway, so I just detailed an idyllic week we spent away from the marina, pottering about for a few days in Braunston and then finishing off the week on the south Oxford canal down as far as Fenny Compton. Six months before the start of our continuous cruising lifestyle, it was just what we needed to whet our appetites.
Emergency food on board – Some of the most pleasant places to moor are a long way from the nearest supermarket. Here are some suggestions to ensure that you’re never short of a tasty meal on your idyllic canal-side retreat.
Cruising in adverse weather conditions part two – A continuation of the previous week’s newsletter.
Cruising in adverse weather conditions – Steering a narrowboat over the glassy surface of a placid canal on windless day in the middle of summer is child’s play. Here’s what you need to do on a “normal” day’s cruise.
Following your dream – Is your goal to some day spend a life of leisure out on the canal network? This article might encourage you to make a move sooner rather than later.
Route finding for narrowboat owners – Here are the popular paper and digital route finders to help make navigating the network child’s play
Long term narrowboat hire – Is hiring a boat long term a realistic alternative to buying one?
living on board in the winter, the cost of living afloat generally and where you can moor your floating home are all subjects which are misunderstood by many aspiring narrowboat owners. Here’s what you need to know.
Narrowboat heating, electrics and engine specifications – How is the perfect live aboard narrowboat configured? Here are a few suggestions
Essential boating equipment – Here’s the stuff every boater should carry on board
The pros and cons of a wide beam boat – More and more wannabe boaters are considering more spacious wide beams rather than narrowboat. There is clearly more living space on board but how practical are wide beam boats on the inland waterways?
The dreaded weed hatch – Sooner or later your engine will start to overheat, you’ll lose propulsion and you’ll know that you need to dive down your weed hatch to free an obstacle or two from the propeller. Here’s how to do it properly and a list of the tools you’ll need.
Digital aids for narrowboat owners – Digital applications and maps for inland waterways boaters
Practical experience for lone boaters. Here’s an account of a day’s cruise with a nervous single boater. He wanted enough confidence to deal with locks on his own. I spent the day with him, designed a route to include twenty six locks and spent ten hours helping him hone his locking skills.
Extending your boat’s storage space – The pros and cons of fitting covers to your front and rear decks
Naming your boat – The legal requirements when naming, renaming and displaying your boat plus the inland waterways’ two hundred most popular boat names
Speeding boats – Are rocking stationary boats the fault of speeding passing boats or the fault of boat owners who can’t moor securely?
Boat Handling – lock and paddle gear types.
Boat handling – Swing and lift bridges
Single handed boating – Negotiating locks.
Single handed boating – Choosing the right type of boat for single handed cruising and equipment to make your solo journeys safer and more enjoyable.
How to avoid common narrowboat accidents. They happen far more often than you might think. Here’s what you need to keep yourself out of harm’s way.
If you want to live on your boat and don’t want to, or can’t, cruise full time, you must have a residential mooring. Here’s how to find one.
What makes a perfect live aboard narrowboat. Two experienced boaters discuss layout, size and essential equipment
A cautionary tale if you are considering buying a wide beam boat to live on.
A further update to the site content index.
The A -Z of everything narrowboat – With over 5,500 posts and pages on the site now, quickly finding exactly what you want can sometimes be a problem. For this newsletter I started creating and A-Z index of all the site content.
How do you continue to earn money to support your boating lifestyle as you cruise the network?
Sharing your narrowboat space – The practicalities of sharing living accommodation the same size as a large shed.
Paying for a narrowboat – What practical steps can you take to ensure you’ve established legal ownership and how do you deal with the transfer of monies between buyer and seller?
Narrowboat Knots – At my first lock on my first cruise I watched my boat drift into the centre of the canal along with my twelve year old son. If you want to avoid the same embarrassment and potential damage to both your boat and your self esteem, you need to know how to tie your boat securely in a number of different situations.
Toilets is a subject often discussed by narrowboat owners but they usually talk about either pump out or cassette toilets. There is a third type though and it’s one which is both environmentally friendly and cheap to run. Here’s all you need to know about composting toilets.
Boat owners who live on board are considered to have a pretty simple and basic life by many living in bricks and mortar homes. Compared with the lifestyle of the farmers I’ve been staying with in the Philippines though, my UK life seems overly materialistic and expensive. Cou
Here’s an account of my very first winter on board and that of one of the site’s subscribers, Nigel Buttery. They’re very different experiences. My first winter was the coldest on record. Nigel’s is one of the mildest winters we’ve had for a long time.
I’ve also included to links to my Philippines blog. I spent the whole of February living in a rural farming community on the island of Negros.
Have you ever wondered how a narowboat is built. Here are the first two parts of a very detailed account of the building of a Sea Otter aluminium narrowboat. You’ll be particularly interested in Sea Otters if you don’t fancy the constant battle with rust that you have with traditional steel narrowboats.
Condensation is something all boat owners have to deal with. Here’s an explanation of why it occurs and what to do about it. I also tested a remote boat monitoring application in this issue.
Cold floors, cold air above the floors and cold hull sides. It’s a combination which can cause your bottom half quite a bit of discomfort. Here’s what I do to deal with the problem.
Weil’s disease – It’s an often talked about and often feared aspect of living, working or playing close to inland waterways but just how dangerous is it and what can you do to keep yourself safe?
If you’re on a budget maybe a self fit our sailaway is the way to go for you. Here’s the story of a wide beam self fit out to give you inspiration (or put you off completely)
Planning for the year ahead – Written plans and goals have always been important to me. They help me see into the future. Here’s what we’ve planned for our lovely floating home in 2014.
The practicality of hosting Christmas afloat – How do you achieve a floating festive event (and do you really want to)?
Liveaboard case study, The Pearl – Tony and Jane Robinson believe in forward planning. They stated their narrowboat fund thirty years before buying their own boat. Now the two retired education workers moor in a marina for the winter then explore the waterways during the warmer months.
Narrowboat Storage Space – How much space is there to store your worldly goods on board a narrowboat? Here’s a video walk-through of my own boat James.
Roses and Castles Canal Art – What is it and why do boaters spend so much money decorating their boats with it?
Fitting secondary double glazing – Fitting the panels is a simple operation for those with the most basic DIY skills, something which I sadly haven’t developed. As you might expect then, the fitting didn’t go as well as it should.
Narrowboat videos – I launched the Living On A Narrowboat YouTube channel
Secondary double glazing for your boat – The pros and cons of double glazing on a boat and why secondary double glazing is a much better bet and a fraction of the cost.
Living on a narrowboat vidoes – My first hesitant steps into the world of video production for site content
Can you either live or holiday on a narrowboat if you have a disability? – Here’s what you need to know.
Winter fuel allowance – Do you qualify for one if you live on a boat?
Case Study – NB Progress. Kim Wainwright recorded her journey on the forum from nervous anticipation to current liveaboard boat owner. Here’s her story.
Narrowboat central heating – I don’t have any. All that is about to change. Here’s the system I’m going to install and why I’ve chosen it.
Narrowboat running costs – I compare my own running costs to those of a prominent YouTube video blogger and detail my exact costs for October 2013
Popular narrowboat terminology – Hundreds or words or phrases used to describe parts of boats and the waterways they cruise through.
The wind chill factor – How strong the wind is blowing and which direction it’s coming from can determine how difficult it is to heat your boat. Here’s what you need to know.
Case study – Another couple from down under living the dream on the inland waterways.
20th October 2013Condensation. It’s a common problem on boats. Here are a few suggestions how to keep your boat’s interior dry.
A new organisation for liveaboard boaters
On demand water heater problems – Discover a common fault with these water heaters and what you can do to resolve the problem.
Know your firewood – Not all timber burns well. Find out which is best and which to avoid.
Managing your boat’s water supply. You can use your water supply as and when you need it when you live in a house with all mod cons. You can pretty much do the same when you’re on a marina mooring with a water supply just a hose length away. It’s a different kettle of fish when you’re on an online mooring.
Liveaboard case study – A prime example of mooring without a water supply on tap.
The folly of using unseasoned wood as a fuel – Here’s essential information if you plan to use logs you find to heat your boat for free
Creating lasting memories of your cruises – Slightly off topic, but please bear with me. You’ll have some wonderful adventures as you travel throughout the network. They’ll be adventures worth remembering but will you remember them? I have a very poor memory but instant and total recall of all my cruises is just a click away.
A tragedy at Calcutt. Sudden Oak Dieback hits our 1,500 twenty year old oak trees
Forum private messaging – Now you can email other forum users from within the site
Managing your water supply
An American blogs about his travels
Solving engine room leaks – A simple solution to a dripping stern tube
All about the weed hatch – Removing debris from your propeller
8th September
A disaster – I inadvertently deleted this week’s newsletter and there wasn’t a backup on the server. What a shame. It was all about the damage you can do to your boat if you don’t watch what you’re doing in a lock. You would have loved it!
Effective fly killers for boats
The downside to living on a narrowboat
Liveaboard Case Study – American Richard Varnes has taken a year out from work to cruise the canal network and write about his adventure. Here’s his case study and a few stories from his journey so far.
CART Guide Approval – The waterways’ governing body is now promoting the information packages available from this site. Yippee!
Narrowboat Insurance – A summary of insurance quotes from the major narrowboat insurers
Liveaboard Case Study – Keith and Nicky downsized their property in Jersey, used the released capital to buy their 57? “go anywhere” narrowboat and now live on their boat full time while they continuously cruise the canal network. They’re ridiculously young to retire, and I’m very, very jealous
Downsizing from a 3 bed semi to a narrowboat – What do you do with a lifetime’s accumulated possessions?
A free download – Living On A Narrowboat: 101 Essential Narrowboat Articles
Narrowboat tips – Handy hints from experienced narrowboat owners
The cost of a continuous cruising lifestyle – How one liveaboard boater manages on a shoestring
The perfect narrowboat washing machine? – It’s low cost and doesn’t need plumbing in, but does it actually clean clothes?
The cost of a continuous cruising lifestyle – How much does living the life of a water gypsy really cost?
The cost of living on a narrowboat – An article in the Daily Mail… and why most boaters disagree with what they said.
Hire boat expectations – Fully understanding what facilities will be available to you is essential if you’re going to enjoy a narrowboat holiday. Here’s what not to do.
Fenland river cruising – Another boater’s maiden voyage to whet your appetite.
Anticipating winter weather – You may well be enjoying unusually warm winter weather but the winter will be with us all too soon. Now is the time that you need to plan for the cold weather ahead.
Keeping your stove glass clean – Maybe you think it’s an odd subject for the summer but you can’t trust the English weather. Late June and the stove was still on now and again. At least now I have a crystal clear view of the fire I shouldn’t need to light.
Traffic chaos caused by Braunston’s historic boat rally – On a day with high winds and a canal full of working boats returning home after the rally, I had the pleasure of taking some very nervous hirers out on the cut.
23rd June 2013 – The cost of a two week cruise. If you live on your own boat, what’s the real cost of taking it away for a two week break?
Case Study – Mary Anne swapped dry land home rental for floating home ownership. Now she loves life afloat and works from home.
Life as a continuous cruiser – The Holy Grail of narrowboat ownership. The ability to travel where and when you like. Peter Early tells all.
The Ashby canal cruise part two – We spent a bit more time on the Ashby before heading south again, joining the Coventry canal, this time following it into Coventry’s rather depressing and disappointing city centre, then retracing our steps back to Calcutt
Most popular narrowboat names – Here’s the definitive list of the top 200 most popular narrowboat names and a resource you can use to find out if any other boat has the same name as yours
Considerate boating – An article prompted after a near head on collision with another boat trying to avoid a fallen oak.
I was on holiday for the first two weeks of June. Sally and I cruised from Calcutt to Braunston, north along the north Oxford where we joined the Coventry canal briefly before taking a very sharp right turn onto the Ashby canal. Here’s a daily report of the first week of our holiday.
An encounter with two poorly prepared holiday boaters and my own impending two week cruise encouraged me to put together a pre cruise check list
Laptop hacking – An update on the problems I encountered after buying a brand new laptop which I suspect was tampered with before I bought it.
Diary of a new narrowboat owner – Frequent forum poster “Our Nige” finally moved on to his new floating home. Here’s his story
My comments about an encounter on the Oxford/GU section between Napton and Braunston sparked a debate about the pros and cons of wide beams on the cut.
Keeping dry – You don’t really need to limit your cruising to sunny summer days. There’s something very special about standing on the back deck in the pouring ran protected by a set of bomb proof waterproofs.
Do you really need a car? Living on a narrowboat is all about enjoying a simple and stress free life. Sally and I had a car each. Mine cost £2,000 to run in the previous 12 months so I decided to get rid of mine to see if I could manage without one.
An encounter with a wide beam boat and why they aren’t suitable for much of the canal network
An interview with the Trust’s head of boating. Sally Ash talks about the Trust’s approach to the thorny issue of residential moorings
Narrowboat fuel tanks – How much do they hold
Meet one of your legless canal side companions
The canal network’s largest floating hotel
Narrowboat blogs – My own first cruise, Our Nige takes his new home on its maiden voyage and a chance for you to have your very own blog section on this site.
The Trust target illegal moorers but just what does the Trust consider to an illegal mooring?
Identity theft – The ongoing saga of my hacked laptop
RCR engine servicing – River Canal Rescue (RCR) are well known as the waterways equivalent of the AA but did you know that they will also come to your mooring to service your boat?
The perils of exceeding your monthly broadband data allowance. Learn from my mistakes.
Narrowboat security – A spate of burglaries from boats and a break in at my former family home encouraged me to write this article
Case study – You need to committed to sell your home to fund the purchase of your narrowboat. That’s what Mick and Marlene have done.
Case study – Sarah lives on wide beam Antioch on the Leeds Liverpool canal. She can do man things with her hands. Here’s her story.
Be inspired – There are always reasons why you don’t make the move from bricks and mortar to steel and water. Here’s an anecdote which demonstrates once and for all that there really aren’t any worthwhile excuses.
Here’s an example of what happens when you really don’t understand how your narrowboat works.
Essential boating equipment – Here’s a low cost item which has paid for itself over and over again.
Whilton marina boat sales – Sometimes things aren’t what they appear to be. This alleged fact about the boat sales at Whilton has come to me from several different sources.
Where can you find residential moorings? Here’s a great place to start
Getting rid of unwelcome visitors – Geese used to regularly disturb a peaceful night’s sleep where I moor. Not any more. Here’s my solution
Know your narrowboat costs – Detailed costs for my own boat for February 2013
Half a dozen boaters now have access to their own blog section on the site. You can too. Here’s how.
James’ upgrade – Adding solar panels and replacing carpets with oak effect laminate flooring
Stove fuel test – What works best; coal, wood, briquettes or something else entirely – Here’s my own take on a Waterways World test
Essential stove maintenance – Here’s what you need to do to make sure that your stove always performs well.
Internet connectivity – I use the internet four or more hours every day. This is the setup I have on my boat to make sure that I’m always connected.
Detailed running costs for my own boat for January 2013
The real cost of going cheap. An in depth look at the cost of my 36 year old boat, and how much I spent (and still need to spend) before it will be a comfortable full time cruising boat.
Case Studies – I put together 21 of the best case studies and analysed and summarised the data in this low cost guide. If you want ton save yourself hundreds of hours of research and costly mistakes, you need to read this guide.
Case Study – Mike’s circumstances are similar to my own. He moved onto his boat after a failed marriage. He’s upgraded from a 27? GRP cruiser to a 50? narrowboat
Narrowboat electrics part 2 – The concluding article from Tim Davis
I asked newsletter subscribers to send me detailed breakdowns of their bricks and mortar expenses so I could compare them with the cost of running a narrowboat. Quite a few subscribers obliged. I added the breakdowns to my narrowboat costs guide and the budgeting application.
Understanding narrowboat electrics – Another excellent article from Tim Davis
Satellite television for narrowboats – Information from a system installer
Low cost narrowboat ownership – A low cost solution to the problem of funding your first narrowboat
Solar power – All you need to know about installing solar panels on your boat. Written by the inland waterways most popular solar system installer
Case Study – Mr. Solar Panel Tim Davis writes about life on board his own narrowboat
First tests and reviews of the budgeting application
The best aerial for a narrowboat television
The first release of the new spreadsheet based narrowboat budgeting application
An unscheduled dip in the marina prompted me to write about safety on the waterways
Living on a narrowboat – Through the eyes of a young lady who would clearly prefer to be somewhere else
I started to develop the narrowboat budgeting software. This newsletter detailed the concept and the progress to date
Practical flooring for narrowboat dogs
Case study – Mike and Mags use a double redundancy payment to pay for their new floating home
The best tip for a wannabe narrowboat owner – Advice from existing boat owners
I published my guide Living on a Narrowboat: The REAL Cost of a Life Afloat. When this newsletter was published it was only available as a Kindle edition. Now it’s available in both Kindle and PDF format and is bundled with Narrowbudget, the site’s bespoke narrowboat budgeting application.
VAT on narrowboat sales
Dealing with pests on a narrowboat – spiders and swans
Posh boats – My personal favourite: S.M. Hudson
Repeat prescriptions, diesel heating systems and solar panels
Survey – Do you want a forum on the site? (You already know the answer to that!)
How to clean your stove glass – One of the real pleasures of a living fire is watching the flames on a cold winter’s eve. Here’s what you need to do to ensure you can actually see the fire.
Smoking on board – An alternative to smelly smoke
DIY narrowboat painting – I’ve broken down the complete cost of painting your own boat and
Dealing with wind on the river – A guest article from liveaboard narrowboat owner Alan Cazaly
DIY narrowboat painting – I spent three weeks in April painting my boat. Here’s the first of my progress reports
Life on the river Cam – A guest article on the pleasures of river life by wide beam liveaboard Luther Phillips
Case Study – Freelance writer Anne and her South African farmer partner John reveal all
Case Study – Toni cruises constantly with ex husband Allan. They cruise together but they live apart… on separate boats
As a result of the article about the downside of living on a narrowboat published in the 18th March newsletter, I asked liveaboard narrowboat owners to complete a survey to give a balanced view of the issues raised by Pauline. Here are the survey results and a much more positive article by liveaboard narrowboat owner and frequent forum contributer Peter Early.
The downside of living on a narrowboat – This was a very controversial post. Liveaboard Pauline Roberts wrote about the less pleasant aspects of life afloat… and attracted a storm of comments
Case study: The Woodsman – Pauline Roberts again giving an insight into the life that you may think she doesn’t like.
Reviewed: The Liveaboard Guide by Tony Jones. A great guide to living afloat
eBay Narrowboat scam (and a little bit of flack for me from another forum)
Case Study: Author Toby Jones on his own liveaboard narrowboat
A review of Debdale Wharf marina
Two more case studies. One of them waxed lyrical about life on the waterways and enjoyed every minute of her life afloat. Now (April 2013) she’s selling up to follow another dream in Spain.
The first four narrowboat case studies published
I’ll start with myself; Paul Smith, living on my own, moored in a marina and working full time. Narrowboat James case study
Meet Peggy. She has a husband and two small children, works full time and cruises the network during the summer months. Narrowboat Violet Mae case study
Fancy spending your retirement cruising the waterways of England and Wales? Meet Barry and Sue Horne. They’re living the dream! Narrowboat Adagio Case Study
Here are another working couple. Lina and Warren cruise the cut with their two cats.Narrowboat Olive Rose case study.
Article – Living on a narrowboat in winter
1th January 2011 – 1st Newsletter
Dealing with the coldest winter on record
Digital reading – A detailed review of the Kindle, the perfect solution for book loving boat owners
Comprehensive Site Article Listing
There are dozens of helpful and interesting articles on the site, but have you found them all? I thought you might appreciate a list of the more popular articles that you can glance through and click on the ones that take your fancy. Here it is.
Popular Forum Posts
There’s a wealth of information on the site in general, but if you’re struggling to find the answer to a particular issue, the forum is the place to find it. I’ve listed some of the more popular posts below but if you can’t find what you’re looking for, ask your question on the forum. If you don’t know how to create a post, or if you can’t log in, please let me know. I’ll be more than happy to get you up and running.
- Aluminium Boats – They don’t rust so why don’t you see more of them on the inland waterways?
- Ironing Board On Board – How do boaters manage a crease free life?
- Freezing Water – How to stop your pipes and pumps from freezing in the winter
- CRT & Continuous Cruising – The Trust and their enforcement of the rules
- Heat – Advice for the owner of a cold boat
- GPS Devices and Canal Mapping – Are there any decent ones available for your narrowboat and do you need them anyway?
- Battery Monitors – Replacing your leisure batteries is one of your more expensive maintenance costs. Here’s some detailed information about a device for looking after your batteries
- Survey Costs – How much should you pay to have your boat removed from the water for a survey?
- Battery monitors – Gimmick or essential boating equipment?
- Engine size and performance – Most engines are suitable for pottering about on the canal but what size engine do you need if you plan to cruise on rivers?
- A Big Inverter Or A Suitcase Generator – What are the pros and cons of either option?
- Who Owns Your Boat? – How do you find out if there’s still finance attached to your boat when you buy it.
- Boat Shares – A low cost alternative to outright narrowboat ownership. Advice from a current share owner
- Plumbing In A Back Boiler – Advice Offered
- Inverter Installation – What do you need and can you fit one yourself?
- Getting Rid Of Space Wasting CD’s & DVD’s – The solution is to digitise your collection. Here’s how to do it.
- Depreciation – How much does a new narrowboat lose in value as the years go by?
- The Cost Of Continuous Cruising – How much does the nomadic lifestyle really cost?
- 12v Narrowboat Washing Machines – Is there any such animal?
- “Chiggers” – It’s a mite you can pick up from the ever growing population of Canada Geese. Beware!
- Post & Postal Addresses For Continuous Cruisers – You need an address in order to receive post and open bank accounts, register for doctors and hospitals etc. How do continuous cruisers with no fixed abode manage it.
- Keeping Cool On A Narrowboat – How to keep people and pets cool in the summer
- It’s Official: There’s No Need To Pay Mooring Fees – Or so this Daily Mail article claims. You may disagree. I do.
- Overcrowded Waterways – More and more people are choosing a life afloat. Are the waterways becoming congested?
- VAT On New Narrowboats – Can you knock 20% off the cost of your new narrowboat?
- Lock Techniques – How do you handle a narrowboat in a lock on your own?
- Narrowboat Burglary – Two boats burgled at the same location. Where is it and what can you do to minimise the risk of theft from your own boat wherever you are?
- Insuring Your Car When You Live On A Boat – A boat owner had his car insurance cancelled when he told them he lives on a narrowboat. How does he approach other insurance companies?
- Remedies For Sooty Stove Glass – For me, one of the great pleasures of living on a narrowboat is a winter evening in front of a flickering fire. Here’s how you can keep your stove glass clear so you can see the fire in all its glory
- Visitor Moorings With Shore Power – Sometimes you need to hook up to the mains when you moor for the night. Where can you find these moorings?
- Steam Power – Are there any steam powered narrowboats on the network?
- Lightning – Is there a risk of your narrowboat being struck by lightning?
- Overplating/Replating – What’s the difference between the two and what’s involved in having the work done?
- The Logistics Of Buying A Boat – A fascinating account from a potential narrowboat owner as he tried to get a boat out of the water so that it can be suryeyed.
- Winter Stoppages 2013/2014 – The Trust carry out essential scheduled repairs during the quieter, cooler months. Here’s their planned stoppages for the coming winter.
- A New Narrowboat Dog – Alan recently moved on board his own floating home. He loved his new boat but something was missing. Now he has a new best friend and he’s in love, although his new best friend has proven a bit of a challenge.
- Electric Boats – What do they cost to run? Why would you want one? There’s a huge amount of information for you here if you’ve ever considered an alternative to a diesel narrowboat engine.
- Pram Covers – “Pram cover” is the term for a cover over the rear deck, usually on a cruiser stern narrowboat. Here are the pros and cons.
- The difference between cruising on canalas and rivers – This is a very popular thread for very good reason. It’s packed with advice if you’re new to river cruising.
- Checklists – What do you need to check before you set off on a cruise? There’s some very detailed information including a very useful post by fellow Calcutt moorer Graham who has issues with his mobility after an RTA many years ago.
- Television Aerials – If you can’t live without your Corrie, you’ll need a decent aerial for your boat.
- My New Life – I urge you to read this forum thread. If you dream of living on your own narrowboat one day, reading this post, written by a new liveaboard boater, may well prove the catalyst you need. It’s essential reading for any aspiring narrowboat owner.
- Narrowboat Ownership – How do you prove that the person offering a narrowboat for sale is the real owner?
- Tips For Continuous Cruisers – He’s making a bit of a habit of it; Pearley’s back with some great cruising tips
- The Llangollen Canal – One of the country’s most beautiful canals discussed
- Deliveries to your boat – Excellent information from regular forum contributor Pearley
- Mobile Broadband – All you need to know about internet connectivity on board
- Internet Data Theft – Did you know that fellow boaters can steal your internet data allowance?
- Boat Planning & Design – Is there any free software available to hel you plan your dream boat?
- A Narrowboat Checklist – What checks do you need to carry out before you set out on a cruise?
- Tunnels – How do you navigate them? Who has priority?
- Windows Or Portholes – Round or square, which is best? Is it just a matter of personal preference?
- Day To Day Questions About Narrowboat Life – How can “newbies” find out the answers to questions about day to day life on a narrowboat? The answer is simple. Find out by reading this post.
- Beds – The pros and cons of fixed doubles and cross beds. You need to read this if you are taller or slightly wider than average.
- Flushing Out a Toilet Waste Tank – Emptying your pumpout toilet holding tank isn’t just a case of sucking out your unmentionables. You also need to flush water through the tank to remove the built up solids. Here’s how to do it.
- Narrowboat Knots – Do you know your bowline from your buntline hitch, your cleat hitch from your clove hitch or your poacher’s knot from your square knot? No? It’s about time you did!
- Free Narrowboat Heating – Is there any such thing? Read this post to find out
- Narrowboat Furniture – Not everyone wants fitted furniture on their boat. Here are a few ideas if you want to add your own.
- Weight on a narrowboat – How many people can you carry on a narrowboat, and how much luggage can they bring with them?
- Narrowboat Finance – A Canadian hoping to move to the UK, buy a boat and cruise the network.
- Internet Data Theft – Did you know that you can have your boat’s broadband allowance stolen? Here’s what you can do to prevent the theft.
- Problems Powering An Inverter With A Generator – Why didn’t it work and what’s the solution?
- Diesel Costs – You need it to run your boat and maybe your heating system. How much can you expect to pay for it?
- Stove Top Fans – Are they worth the money?
- Mooring Pins and Piling Hooks – What are they and when do you use them?
- Water Pump Problems – What to do if your water pump appear to have a life of its own
- Fuel Contamination – How do you know if you’ve water in your diesel… and what do you do about it when you have?
- Anchors – What’s the best size and weight anchor for narrowboats on tidal rivers
- Single Handed Boating for Ladies – Can a lady on her own pass safely through locks?
- Different Types of Mooring – What’s the difference between residential and leisure moorings? How long can you stay on your boat with each type?
- Which Ropes To Use? – There are so many different types available. Are the more expensive ones worth using or is it just a case of money for old rope?
- Windows – Why do narrowboat owners tolerate condensation? Why don’t they have modern uPVC windows fitted?
- Best Ex Hire Boats – Are you considering buying an ex hire boat to live on? Should you? Here’s some important information for you.
- Liveaboard Conclusions – Mel Davies has been doing plenty of research into her hoped for lifestyle afloat. Here are the conclusions she’s reached and comments from a few existing liveaboard narrowboat owners.
- Handling Floodwaters – How safe is a river mooring during and after heavy rain? Can you stay on a river when the level rises? What can you do to minimise danger?
- Narrowboat steel thickness – How thick is your boat’s steel? How long does it last?
- Retro fitting a solid fuel stove – Where’s the best place to put your stove and what’s involved in fitting it?
- Converting from a cassette toilet to a pump out – A pump out toilet is far more convenient to use than a toilet with a portable cassette but how easy are they to retro fit in a narrowboat?
- Gas free boating – If you don’t fancy heaving unwieldy gas bottles into a difficult to reach bow locker, a gas free boat might be the solution
- Winter on the cut – Are you able to cruise all year on your boat or should you find a mooring for the winter?
- Transporting your boat – Sometimes you may want or need to take your narrowboat by road rather than cruise along the canal. Here’s an idea of the cost
- Bike types and preferences – If you don’t have a car parked near your boat, you’ll probably want a bike, but which type of bike is best?
- Towing a butty – I’ve upset someone. I didn’t mean to. Wainbody wanted to know the best way of towing an unpowered second narrowboat (butty). I came across as patronising when I replied. It was unintentional but to make amends I thought I would ask anyone with boat handling experience to reply to his thread with some constructive advice. If you can help him, please reply to the post.
- The best flooring for a narrowboat pets – What’s the best way to protect your floor from a dirty doggy?
- The best time of the year to buy a boat – Is there a deal to be done by buying a boat in the winter?
- The best length for a liveaboard narrowboat – What’s the best length to buy? What are the pros and cons of different length boats
- ONE tip to offer a potential narrowboat owner – If you are already a narrowboat owner, you can share your experience. If you haven’t bought one yet, you need to read this thread.
- Powering your computer on a narrowboat – Can you power your computer/laptop from the boat’s 12v supply or do you need mains power?
- Must-have gadgets and necessities – The most useful/useless gadgets for life on a narrowboat
- Choosing a stove for your boat – Are domestic solid fuel stoves as good as the ones designed specifically for boats? Which is the best one to buy?
- Diesel heating for boats – How important is a solid fuel stove on a liveaboard narrowboat? Is a diesel heating system OK as a primary heat source?
- Computers on boats – Can a computer be powered from your boat’s 12v system or does it need to be plugged into the mains
- Receiving post on your boat – How does the postman find you when you’re cruising? How do you apply for a driving license, a TV license or a bank statement when you have no official address?
- Bikes on board – Many boat owners do not have cars so they rely on bikes to get them to the shops (or the pub). Some use bikes to collect their cars after a day’s cruising. There’s a huge selection of bikes to choose from. Which are the best for your boat? To tell you the truth, I don’t know the answer. Can you point forum member Ainslo in the right direction?
- VAT on narrowboat sales – Does the price of your narrowboat contain a VAT element? Can the VAT be reclaimed?
- Internet access – How do you connect to the internet when you live on a boat?
- Living off property rental income – Do you have a property that you indend to let while you cruise the waterways? Read this before you work out your budget.
- How to find a narrowboat to live on – Here’s an article about choosing a liveaboard narrowboat, and a question about finding a narrowboat with a steering wheel.
- Vertigo – How to deal with walking over lock gates if you’re frightened of heights.
- Long term narrowboat hire – If you aren’t ready to buy a narrowboat yet, what are your chances of hiring a narrowboat for more than a few weeks?
- Residential moorings and single handed boating – How do you handle a narrowboat on your own? What do you do about a mooring if you live on board and only want a mooring for part of the year
- Too tall for a narrowboat? – Is a narrowboat suitable for you if you are above average height?
- Dealing with condensation – Do all narrowboats suffer from damp? What can you do about it?
- Solar panels – More information about portable and fixed solar panels
- Heating systems – Hurricane and Mikuni heating systems discussed
Useful Links
Living on a Narrowboat: The REAL Cost of a Life Afloat – Narrowboat costs explained in detail. My own maintenance and living cost on narrowboat James for a full year. Use this information to work out your own costs.
CRT (Canal & River Trust) maintain the waterways. Here’s their site.
Find out what parts of the canal are closed and for how long. Essential cruising information for you.
Do you need to find a home for your boat? Here’s a comprehensive list of the narrowboat friendly marinas in the UK
Do you want to see where these marinas are on a map? Here it is.
Here’s a map of all the canals on the system to help you plan your route.
Newsletter Archive – Browse through a wealth of useful content in the newsletters over the last year.
Find out more about narrowboat central heating costs here.
Join the forum discussion on this post