Harry keep away from me lol …very vulnerable out there us cruises ,and dont for get no post box on boat so no …bills i have lived on this boat for years of and on not a problem …enjoy
Harry Monk:
bazza123:
Beautiful boat Harry, any more pictures?We’re hiring for a week in the autumn, I am experienced on traditional river cruisers but not narrow oats, any tips for steering the etc?
The brokerage link to the boat is here, aqueductbrokerage.co.uk/inde … at/desiree and that has more pics.
As for steering a narrowboat, piece of ■■■■, push the tiller one way and the front of the boat goes the other way. The boat will take a second or two to respond to tiller movements, almost like they have to think about it for a moment, but it only takes an hour or two to get the hang of it.
You will bump into things, you’ll never see a narrowboat without numerous scrapes up and down the length of it. Just try to avoid hitting other boats if possible, although owner boaters are very tolerant of hire boaters and will offer help rather than giving you a telling off if you get into difficulties.
You cannot steer a narrowboat in reverse, whatever you do with the tiller when reversing, it will only go in a straight line.
Learn to recognise the shallows, canals are only about 3’ deep so boats can get grounded if you are not careful, although it’s normally just a case of using the wooden pole to push away from the obstruction.
Where are you hiring from, and where are you going?
Aldermaston, probably to Windsor and back in a week. What I normally do with a cruiser when trying to manoeuvre into a mooring etc is swing the stern around with a burst of speed with the wheel over going forward , then when lined up go astern again. Will that work with one of these boats?
Yea, that works, but you can also use the pole to manoeuvre, the canal is only about 3’ deep so you can push against the bottom. You’ll probably only need to get onto a mooring at the end of the holiday though, in general you just moor up at the canalside, bringing the boat towards the edge, generally on the towpath side, until somebody can jump off and hold it with the centre line (a rope attached to the roof in the middle of the boat) then you either tie up to rings if on a visitor mooring, or hammer in mooring pins front and rear and tie up to them.
foden 01:
0Harry keep away from me lol …very vulnerable out there us cruises ,and dont for get no post box on boat so no …bills i have lived on this boat for years of and on not a problem …enjoy
We pulled up at a tunnel and there was a GRP cruiser already waiting, the folk on board said “You can go in front”.
I said “Are you sure, you were here first?”
They said “No, if anything is coming the other way it’s best if you hit it!” 
So, will this make you one of those traveller people you’re so keen on H? 
Gettin sea sick here reading all these ole sea dog tales (and some very un-nautical terms) 
I’ve done a tiny bit of sailing, did a crewing course then day skipper thingy then bare chartered a stunning classic wooden live aboard racing yacht for my and the misses (by mistake thought it was for novices as that’s what the company said!). We had a ball, didn’t want to give the thing back after a week despite having some er, ■■■■ ups.
I’d love to own a classic yacht for weekends, but don’t wish to be one of those yachty nob heads you see in marinas. Cant stand them with their hats and stupid shirts and flennelette trousers. Be my own man with no identity to boats, just for the enjoyment with a fishing rod, dog and not a sod in sight. Not sure I fancy living on a river boat full time. I’ve never tried it for any length of time beyond 2 weeks.
I worked as a freelance Skipper for the same company for 3-4 years and used to live on board whilst in the UK between jobs if it wasn’t worth coming back to the US.
I miss it badly, I still struggle to sleep in a totally quiet room that doesn’t move at all!
W.
PilotWolf:
I worked as a freelance Skipper for the same company for 3-4 years and used to live on board whilst in the UK between jobs if it wasn’t worth coming back to the US.I miss it badly, I still struggle to sleep in a totally quiet room that doesn’t move at all!
W.
Up until 2012 I held a foreign going masters ticket but now just an old home trade cert and play at boats on the Thames now for a living, do I miss it when I go home … do I ■■■■ as like 
I was under the impression Ray that maritime/nautical terms are generally not used on canals, it’s left and right etc.
Harry Monk:
Yea, that works, but you can also use the pole to manoeuvre
I am gone from trucknet for a while and then I bump into it to learn that Harry Monk himself uses Poles to do manoeuvres for him I knew that he’ll finally learn that they are better drivers
Coat, hat…
orys come back we’ve missed your humor
I believe boaters traditionally used poles to manouevre but not they are starting to find that Bulgarians are cheaper.
Desiree is having the post survey work done at the mo, re-blacking, new chines welded onto the swim, propeller needs dressing, accumulator needs re-pressurising, a few other bits 'n bobs, I’m hoping to pick her up on the 16th which by coincidence is my birthday.
Then I’m going to bring her down from Nantwich to Crick area, I’m still not sure whether to carry on running the truck for another year or just move aboard right now…
We’ve hired a narrowboat for holidays over the last few years and every time we get home again we have a look for boats for sale
We’ve only ever had one for a week/ten days though which isn’t a good test of whether you can live on one but it is a bit of a dream of mine. We met one couple when we were on the Leeds Liverpool canal who spent their whole summer on theirs travelling around, suppose you need a fair bit of dosh to be able to do that though.
Not really, the only extra cost involved in moving around is the diesel, most boats use about a litre an hour and you pay less than the price of road fuel (when you fill up, you fill in a declaration as to what proportion will be used for propulsion, and what proportion for power generation, 60/40 for example, and the power generation part is charged at the rebated fuel rate- many boaters get this calculation wrong ) so it’s going to cost less than a tenner for a full days cruising, and against that you won’t be paying marina mooring fees which are around £6 a day.
Boat is being blacked this week so it looks like all will be ready for next Tuesday.
Would have thought that a boat would be filled up with red diesel or similar,as its not DERV.
alamcculloch:
Would have thought that a boat would be filled up with red diesel or similar,as its not DERV.
Used to,but the eu put a stop to that in 2006.
Red diesel can be used by UK boats for heating purposes but using it to power engines is illegal.
Under an opt-out from EU directives, recreational boat owners in the UK were able to use red diesel for several years but this provision expired at the end of 2006.
Harry Monk:
I believe boaters traditionally used poles to manouevre but not they are starting to find that Bulgarians are cheaper.Desiree is having the post survey work done at the mo, re-blacking, new chines welded onto the swim, propeller needs dressing, accumulator needs re-pressurising, a few other bits 'n bobs, I’m hoping to pick her up on the 16th which by coincidence is my birthday.
Then I’m going to bring her down from Nantwich to Crick area, I’m still not sure whether to carry on running the truck for another year or just move aboard right now…
Chines onto the swim?? What’s that then?
Lengths of angled steel welded onto the back corners of the boat (the “swim”), designed to protect the main structure of the boat, and specifically the welds from being damaged when the back of the boat gets bashed against bridges etc. They are “sacrificial” and need replacing when they wear down beyond a certain point.
Lived on one for a while. Very cosy and cute but very limited space and often smells of fuel, but not to bad if you have simple needs. Just don’t expect broadband or other electronic amenities. The majority of entertainment will be had in the little bed with your other half!