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I has a blog, about boats and that.

gosub said:
Boat per family I think, but there aren't that many of them. Don't know that much about it if I'm honest. Due to the unique management:rolleyes: of the Basingstoke canal never managed to get the boat down there in six years (small time access window made smaller by water issues and repair issues) think fishermen rule the roost.

Is owned by Hampshire County Council and Surrey County Council which is how they are in a position to do it.


Fractionman your canalworld postername now seems to be deletedaccount - given up?
Click to expand...

Nah, it's always been called that :D

Re: social housing, someone round here took the council to court about housing benefit when they refused to pay it for his boat (on a continual cruising licence) stating that he wasn't in the parish all the time. Court ruled that they have to pay a percentage of his rent according to the time he spends in the catchment area (boat is rented). But other than that I don't see it being much of a solution. The canals are crowded as it is and you're technically homeless while aboard!
 
Ooh, nice boat! :D

We're on the Oxford Canal, in a rented boat at the moment, but we'll probably buy over the winter. We'll probably see you at some point when we head down to see my sister in Keynsham. :)

For more reliable 3G you want a telescopic pole and a 10m USB extension. Wrap the dongle in a plastic bag and send the wire back in through one of the mushrooms in the roof - the caps should twist off easily enough.
 
fractionMan said:
Nah, it's always been called that :D

Re: social housing, someone round here took the council to court about housing benefit when they refused to pay it for his boat (on a continual cruising licence) stating that he wasn't in the parish all the time. Court ruled that they have to pay a percentage of his rent according to the time he spends in the catchment area (boat is rented). But other than that I don't see it being much of a solution. The canals are crowded as it is and you're technically homeless while aboard!
Click to expand...

Haven't seen him for a while,HRH PuffandStuff was squatting Islington moorings waiting European Human Right Court ruling on whether he had to move as his kids would then be out of catchment area for their school...

Agree, canal are getting a bit crowded, though at least 3 boat manufacturers have gone bust in last 18 months. Did read an article before the economic crash about some farmer who had sat down and done the maths found converting his land into canal basin made more economic sense than farming it, whether that still holds true i don't know.

Homeless thing was one reason I got the boat. UK residents working outside EU are only eligable for UK income tax if they own a house in the UK apparently, not actually taken advantage of that yet though.
 
Oh yes, storing big long things ...

Hooks in the ceiling for things like fishing rods, and maybe surfboards if you have a spot where the head height isn't really needed, over some shelving/the sofa/beds etc.

You can get one of those lockable hard-top roof carriers for cars fixed to the roof. Just keep it central and as close to the lowest sitting end of the boat (usually the stern) as you can to minimise problems with low bridges.

You will end up buying a trailer to lug cassettes/diesel/shopping up the towpath. Get one that stores flat without too much kerfuffle taking it to pieces, or one that is unappealing enough to leave on the roof.

You can chain stuff to the roof - there might be some eyelets in the rim around the roof somewhere, or if your fender attachments are sturdy enough you could run a chain down to one of them. Avoid fouling the centre-line if you chain anything to its ring/hoop. It wouldn't cost much to get some more hoops welded in if you need lots of secure outside storage.

Make sure anything you leave on the roof is aligned down the middle for low arched bridges.

Are you missing a boarding plank, boat hook and pole? I can't see any on your roof? Or are they just in constant use? :D They're all pretty essential at times, so worth getting them if they didn't come with the boat. And it'll give you something else to paint. :)
 
well jealous......

would love just to have a holiday in a houseboat let alone live in one.
 
It's like being on holiday *all* the time. And you get lots of visitors, but not unwanted ones because they can't find you unless you tell them where you are. :cool:
 
ymu said:
It's like being on holiday *all* the time. And you get lots of visitors, but not unwanted ones because they can't find you unless you tell them where you are. :cool:
Click to expand...

Hmm not so sure about that.... I had an unwanted visitor running up and down the roof at 4am about a week ago. Ok, so we were in Central Manchester, but hey.
 
Heh. Yeah, we haven't been in very urban surroundings yet. I hear it's fun in Birmingham too. :D
 
ymu said:
Oh yes, storing big long things ...

Hooks in the ceiling for things like fishing rods, and maybe surfboards if you have a spot where the head height isn't really needed, over some shelving/the sofa/beds etc.

You can get one of those lockable hard-top roof carriers for cars fixed to the roof. Just keep it central and as close to the lowest sitting end of the boat (usually the stern) as you can to minimise problems with low bridges.

You will end up buying a trailer to lug cassettes/diesel/shopping up the towpath. Get one that stores flat without too much kerfuffle taking it to pieces, or one that is unappealing enough to leave on the roof.

You can chain stuff to the roof - there might be some eyelets in the rim around the roof somewhere, or if your fender attachments are sturdy enough you could run a chain down to one of them. Avoid fouling the centre-line if you chain anything to its ring/hoop. It wouldn't cost much to get some more hoops welded in if you need lots of secure outside storage.

Make sure anything you leave on the roof is aligned down the middle for low arched bridges.

Are you missing a boarding plank, boat hook and pole? I can't see any on your roof? Or are they just in constant use? :D They're all pretty essential at times, so worth getting them if they didn't come with the boat. And it'll give you something else to paint. :)
Click to expand...

Someone pinched me plank dammit! So I bought a new one but it's only six inches wide and requires nerves of steel and balance of a ballet dancer to skip down.

I'm actually considering one of these: http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wc...280522&c_1=1|category_root|Gardening|14047001

They're nicer than the car roof top things, but probably not as secure. I don't think there's many low bridges round here, thankfully. They're also cheaper and already colour co-ordinated with my boat :cool:
 
ymu said:
Ooh, nice boat! :D

We're on the Oxford Canal, in a rented boat at the moment, but we'll probably buy over the winter. We'll probably see you at some point when we head down to see my sister in Keynsham. :)
Click to expand...

Sounds :cool:

I love looking at boats.

For more reliable 3G you want a telescopic pole and a 10m USB extension. Wrap the dongle in a plastic bag and send the wire back in through one of the mushrooms in the roof - the caps should twist off easily enough.
Click to expand...

This is my plan. There's a site that sells those festival flags that also sells telescopic flag poles. I think I'm gonna get both.
 
BEARBOT said:
fractionman..i bookmarked yr blog,thanks for posting:cool:ill have a good look later..i overlook regents canal and ive always dreamed of having a narrowboat or possibly going on a holiday on one:D i like the idea of slowing down time somehow..
Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear that someone who lives next to the canal actually likes boats. You'd be amazed at how many somehow expect people to stop mooring near their houses. If you don't like boats, don't buy a house next to a canal lol. ffs!

Boats are much cheaper to hire outside the summer holidays, so go for it imo :)
 
fractionMan said:
This is my plan. There's a site that sells those festival flags that also sells telescopic flag poles. I think I'm gonna get both.
Click to expand...
I considered a flag pole, but I think they might be a bit too bendy at the top. I was going to go for a telescopic paint brush handle.
 
sim667 said:
How much to houseboats cost anyway?
Click to expand...
How long is a piece of string? How handy are you?

There's a Les Allen 60ft trad with a sound hull that's going for £18k (Streethay Wharf if anyone knows it) the needs the interior sorting, a good clean would be a start and a paint job. If you're really adventurous the engine (a HA3) really wants pulling forward into it's own room.


This gorgeous beast is for sale as well. http://www.youtube.comwatch?v=7tOjTY5n5wU The interior is Oak over Cherry with Utilie framing which I don't like at all and the layouts not ideal for a liveaboard, could be sorted easily enough with a few months work. Still composite though and the stern planks need replacing. The forward 50ft or so is new but I think I'd still put a steel bottom in it.

I want it but Mrs Fred says if I sell our boat to refit another she's fucking off.:(
 
That's one of the nicest, cutest stoves I've ever seen :)

I actually had a pang of missing the boat this morning when I saw the lovely autumny weather and imagined the mist hanging over the water :(,
and reading your blog where you'd written something similar just gave me another pang.
Lovely time of year to be on the cut
 
Our water system has decided to discharge itself into the engine bay. It's pumping out at least a litre a minute, so by the time we knew what was happening, our engine was drowned, starter motor fucked and batteries holding no charge. No leccy or running water for days whilst the landlady tries to make out it's all our fault, despite her not having warned us that it might happen.

Remember these times when you miss it BB!

If anyone sees a nice 70' going cheap, let us know. Can't be doing with this nonsense. :(
 
Ooh - hair down the plughole problem. You can get these little metal discs, like a flat tea strainer, that sit in yer plughole. They work a treat.

And top tip for the stove - you can build the fire backwards (eg coal, kindling on top, paper on top of that) and they light just as well as the more conventional order. Which is handy when you're as cack as we are (were :cool:) at stopping them going out.
 
nice- great pic at the top :)

more friends just moved onto a boat and yet again i've got nautical envy.
 
I've got yet another ex moving on to a boat. That'll make three ex's who didn't live on the canal when I met them, but now do.

:D :facepalm:
 
Ooh. We just had a sooper-dooper Adverc battery management system installed and learnt heaps! Would you be interested in a mini-write-up to nick for your excellent entry on batteries?

Now we know just how badly our rented boat was wired up and why the batteries died so quickly. :mad:
 
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