Recent content by gtuson

bikes Very useful to have a bike for uphill section as crew can go ahead and take mooring lines. Ladders not much fun and several locks dont have any and lock keepers dont do your lines

Possible motor sailer I know of a good m/s for your purpose. Roamer 36 wheelhouse ketch. Steel hulled, triple keel draft 1.2mtrs. Extensively travelled french canals. Spacious......pm if would like more info

I've got 2.00Hp Yamaha 2 stroke which is not quite powerful enough when tide against me. Would a 2.00HP 4 stroke have same performance...or might it be a bit more powerful despite same HP.....

Arimar 4 person valise, bought from Alladdins Cave. Mayday Marine quoted £90.00 plus Vat...obviously might be more depending on what they find after looking in bag!

Last year Cosalts said they couldnt service my particular make of liferaft.

There is a company in Southampton doing liferaft servicing for good price, and can deliver back cheaply (I'm in Pembrokeshire). Getting it there is the problem. Carriers either expensive or won't do it. I just wondered if there were one or two others in the pembrokeshire/south wales needing...

Generally not recommended to use polyester glass fibre on ply. It does not bond well. better to use 2 pack epoxy and glass fibre. We did wheelhouse roof this way and absolutely no problems....10 years old now. Don't necessarily need glass as well as epoxy unless surface going to be walked on or...

A factor not much mentioned by others is your relationships with family and friends. We happily lived aboard for 3 years but had to come back to help resolve several wider family problems. If you have relationships which matter to you, then sailing away may well weaken them, or you have to come...

Hayling yacht Company is a possibility. Drying mooring, with pontoons ane electricity - not a smart marina so prices reasonable. Dont know if have aliveaboard policy, but certainly some people are living there on boats and even in shacks I think! Nice down at heel boatyard atmosphere and apart...

We have a steel hulled motor sailor, with ply/hardwood superstructre including wheelhouse. Al the wooden parts are epoxy bonded and epoxy waterproofed, but not all glass-sheathed. Our structure is completely rigid(so far !), but any movement in crucial places would probably crack some epoxy...

We put a circle of that geen kitchen scrubber stuff into the plug hole of the shower. The pump will suck through this and most gunk gets trapped before it reaches the far less accessible pumpfilter. When green stuff gets clogged( every shower), just wash under tap and replace...Still have to...

No you don't need holding tanks for French waterways and mostly there aren't any pump out facilities - at least not that we noticed during our waterway travels!

thanks for this posting - a useful bit of experience and information to tuck away for when needed

Many thanks for all the responses - very helpful

Bother - both previous meassages were meant to be private ones - but clicked reply button instead.....