calranthe
Well-Known Member
I had a good look at some Dutch boats, they do look really nice. it is another option.
Advice needed for an important project
- Thread starter calranthe
- Start date
MystereMarcus
Well-Known Member
I think there is some concern here and it is probably my own fault, Paola gets about the house fine alone (with a stick if she is feeling unstable) wheelchair is only used outside house when going to hospital or on a walk, the only reason I mentioned taking the wheelchair on to the boat is that it is a really stable and comfortable seating position and can be "locked down" if hooks or rails are available. for those times she would want to be on deck and not in the saloon.
Paola has already decided she will take over a corner of the boat and have it setup for her be that a seat belt or something else.
Wheelchair folds up (good quality aluminium) 8kg I can lift it above my head so getting it on the boat will not be an issue hopefully
Ah! that makes sense. I see Wet Wheels isn't right but a trip on Superheat6k's Corvette shouldn't be missed!
Kildarepete
New Member
Why not adjust your thinking slightly, would a barge not suit you both better ? More room, easier to move around (1 level) and at a pace that you both can handle ? OK, not suitable for sea but the the UK inland waterways or better still the Irish lakes, canals and waterways (I'm a bit biased!).
Have a look at a book called "Reedbound" by Giles Byford, he brought his barge from the UK to Ireland almost 3 years ago and still hasn't discovered all that the Shannon and lakes have to offer ! Nice easy pace of life, manned locks, Irish pubs etc., and your sterling goes a lot further, 60k sterling = 80k euro. Have a look on www.apolloduck.ie
Then there are the European canals.
Have a look at a book called "Reedbound" by Giles Byford, he brought his barge from the UK to Ireland almost 3 years ago and still hasn't discovered all that the Shannon and lakes have to offer ! Nice easy pace of life, manned locks, Irish pubs etc., and your sterling goes a lot further, 60k sterling = 80k euro. Have a look on www.apolloduck.ie
Then there are the European canals.
superheat6k
Well-Known Member
I do not wish to dampen your enthusiasm, but I am concerned that your boating knowledge and experience does seem a bit limited, and you will really need to understand what many on here take for granted from their hard won experience.
I would certainly love to take you out on Boadicea as offered, but please please be aware buying a boat and setting off around the UK does not likely happen within the same season let alone straight after a purchase, and that is for folk without the difficulties your wife has to bear. The sea in a force 6 blow off a headland with wind over tide is completely different from the sea at the beach on a sunny Summer afternoon. 10 minutes of the former will have many taking up golf, but once you find yourself out there and in it you cannot just get off, you have to weather through it and it can be frightening even for the experienced on occasions. For the inexperienced such circumstances can be dangerous, and indeed having suitable experience allows most to avoid most poor situations, at least most of the time.
I bought Boadicea in Jersey and sailed her back. The Gods were smiling that day and I do have reasonable experience of sailing offshore so have a high level of confidence for such boating, but I was still very wary of the delivery trip on a new to me boat.
PM me when you can get down. A wheelchair is not practical for the Corvette and your wife will have to get herself from the carpark to the boat which is ~ 100m of pontoon plus a sloping bridge head.
I would certainly love to take you out on Boadicea as offered, but please please be aware buying a boat and setting off around the UK does not likely happen within the same season let alone straight after a purchase, and that is for folk without the difficulties your wife has to bear. The sea in a force 6 blow off a headland with wind over tide is completely different from the sea at the beach on a sunny Summer afternoon. 10 minutes of the former will have many taking up golf, but once you find yourself out there and in it you cannot just get off, you have to weather through it and it can be frightening even for the experienced on occasions. For the inexperienced such circumstances can be dangerous, and indeed having suitable experience allows most to avoid most poor situations, at least most of the time.
I bought Boadicea in Jersey and sailed her back. The Gods were smiling that day and I do have reasonable experience of sailing offshore so have a high level of confidence for such boating, but I was still very wary of the delivery trip on a new to me boat.
PM me when you can get down. A wheelchair is not practical for the Corvette and your wife will have to get herself from the carpark to the boat which is ~ 100m of pontoon plus a sloping bridge head.
calranthe
Well-Known Member
I think some of my sense of humour is lost on people , I fully intended to spend the first season on the rivers, I actually thought of trying to get a boat through NYA and taking every course they could throw at me before I even let Paola on the boat, Paola was not going to come with me for my visit to try your amazing boat , sorry if I gave people the wrong impression facing death every day it may seem like to others that I don't take things seriously.
Our plan is simple, I find a boat, I make sure that boat is sound, then I spend time learning everything NYA or wherever I can get it from can teach me and after I feel 100% comfortable docking, undocking, river jaunts AND am comfortable with all the basic maintenance on the boat I ended up with then and only then would Paola set foot on that boat.
Our plan is simple, I find a boat, I make sure that boat is sound, then I spend time learning everything NYA or wherever I can get it from can teach me and after I feel 100% comfortable docking, undocking, river jaunts AND am comfortable with all the basic maintenance on the boat I ended up with then and only then would Paola set foot on that boat.
MrB
Well-Known Member
How close to your target are you? You said you have to act quickly because of the health issues so i guess the "go fund me" is just an extra in the grand scheme of things? You also say you will get all the training so everyone is safe before she even gets on the boat, have you factored in that time and cost?
calranthe
Well-Known Member
A Month to six weeks is what we are estimating.
Once the funds are in place, boat chosen and paid for (survey if needed depending on where I get it from) on that day I will organise the informal training, while I am doing that, sign up for the competence and VHF course and while I am doing them any enhancements can be done to the boat, will get everything rolling in parallel but I will not rush it at the same time there will be little down time because most of the courses have online sections so even when I am at home I can be studying between visits to the Marina and once I am 100% certain of the boat I will source manuals for the boat, engines and everything else, I will buy spare filters and impellers make sure I have a competent tool box and start to figure out how boats work from the inside out, oh and don't start me about how much fun I am going to have playing with diesel engines I mean they are absolutely damn gorgeous mechanical beasts! .
That is the kind of person I am, for example first motorbike I owned took it into the back yard and stripped it down completely then rebuilt before riding it, self taught about computers took apart commodor pet's in the early 80's, took apart every air rifle I owned tweaking and finding out how it worked.
Once the funds are in place, boat chosen and paid for (survey if needed depending on where I get it from) on that day I will organise the informal training, while I am doing that, sign up for the competence and VHF course and while I am doing them any enhancements can be done to the boat, will get everything rolling in parallel but I will not rush it at the same time there will be little down time because most of the courses have online sections so even when I am at home I can be studying between visits to the Marina and once I am 100% certain of the boat I will source manuals for the boat, engines and everything else, I will buy spare filters and impellers make sure I have a competent tool box and start to figure out how boats work from the inside out, oh and don't start me about how much fun I am going to have playing with diesel engines I mean they are absolutely damn gorgeous mechanical beasts! .
That is the kind of person I am, for example first motorbike I owned took it into the back yard and stripped it down completely then rebuilt before riding it, self taught about computers took apart commodor pet's in the early 80's, took apart every air rifle I owned tweaking and finding out how it worked.
calranthe
Well-Known Member
After all the advice here, I am going to look into River boats as well.
DoubleEnder
Well-Known Member
I'm not a motor boater, I have a sailing boat. But I think inland waterways might be a better goal for you. There are some very nice wide beam canal boats available. These have floor space and deck space, much easier and more familiar systems to manage and are going to be more comfortable by far than the type of motor boat you'd be able to buy. You'll get a full size double bed, or multiple full size single beds. A nice big shower and a nice big water tank. A kitchen with a full size cooker and fridge. Most canals and rivers will be open to you. England is a fascinating country to tour and you can go to both rural and urban parts. And as for the learning required to make yourselves reasonably safe... well, I'd go out with you on the rivers and canals if you had a week's experience at the helm. But going to sea is a totally different matter.
I do appreciate that your understanding of risk is probably different from many people, given the circumstances. And good for you for thinking like this! But it would be horrible if you were to put your budget, your energy, your time in to buying a motor boat and then something happening that either pins you to the dock or requires expensive and slow repairs very quickly after your adventure starts. Or worse. On a canal or river the probability is that the inevitable accidents and errors will leave you embarrassed or laughing, rather than bring your adventure to an end.
I am no expert on these craft but there are lots for sale e.g.
https://www.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=492061
Other forum folk may be able to expand on this. I wish you and your wife all the very very best, fair winds and blue skies
Graham
Croftie
Well-Known Member
A good forum for the canals is http://canalworld.net/forums/
NGM
Well-Known Member
Apologies for raining on the parade but this timetable seems totally unrealistic, fund raising, boat search, renovation, and then gaining the experience necessary to fulfil your dreams sounds like 18+ months and that would be for somebody that could commit a huge part of their time to it. For someone who is the primary carer of a desperately unwell spouse, and who would potentially be a very long way from their boat I suspect you could double this, if it were possible at all. Given the future uncertainty you describe I'm pretty sure you both want to get on with enjoying life asap rather than have a timeline burden like this one.
MrB
Well-Known Member
They both do not drive either unless they plan to re-locate to the coast.
DoubleEnder
Well-Known Member
Calranthe, I sent you a private message
lisilou
Well-Known Member
Jason, how is your wife going to cope with the rock and roll which happens in even the most benign conditions i.e. wash from other boats? I know you've said she'll commandeer a 'corner' of the boat where you will devise some system to strap her in but that really doesn't sound much fun at all for her tbh and even less so if that corner is below decks as you've said she would be when not berthed up or at anchor. She's not going to see much of the UK from down there. Throw sea sickness into the mix and I think it will be a very expensive mistake.
I can see you're very determined to make this happen but I really do urge you to have a re-think and perhaps take your driving test and see the UK by motorhome. It'll be much quicker by comparison. A month-6 weeks (from when? Now?) to achieve everything you've set out (including your fund me target) as far as a boat/boating is concerned just isn't realistic at all.
I apologise if I sound sceptical but...I guess I am.
L
I can see you're very determined to make this happen but I really do urge you to have a re-think and perhaps take your driving test and see the UK by motorhome. It'll be much quicker by comparison. A month-6 weeks (from when? Now?) to achieve everything you've set out (including your fund me target) as far as a boat/boating is concerned just isn't realistic at all.
I apologise if I sound sceptical but...I guess I am.
L
calranthe
Well-Known Member
You do not know me so its okay to be sceptical and I take no offence at all there has been some great advice and interesting ideas that I did not think of myself.
When Paola first got ill, I spent 8 hours each day at her side at the hospital(in those days there was no closing time on the cancer ward), then for a week I spent all my spare time after leaving there I was at the library learning about leukaemia, sleeping about 3 hours a night, remember this was before google or the internet as we know it, I talk to doctors all over the UK and at the end of the week I also learnt rudimentary swedish why ? because there was a doctor in Sweden I wanted to chat with by the end of that one week, I was being classed as a peer that is 5 days after Paola's diagnosis. So in 5 days I learnt as much as anyone else about my wife's illness and that is when I had to stop because all it told me was just how low her chances of recovery were, the numbers were all against her.
My original Mensa test results in the 90's had a lot of numbers but 175 IQ and 98% problem solving ability were the modern equivalent although not used any more (no I am not a part of Mensa I was bored at university so took the tests) .
A month ago when Paola was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes her glucose levels were 23-30 (normal for a person is 5-6) and while the Diabetes specialist put her on Metformin which made her so ill she wanted to die, I spent 32 hours awake researching all over the world via the internet and at the end of that 32 hours (granted I was kinda twitchy) I had thrown out 90% of the food in the house and the Metformin created a food based low carb low sugar 40-44 carbs per day, routine which within 4 hours of starting it Paola's counts dropped to 6-10 glucose levels. (one day before this the Diabetic consultant and the renal specialist were desperate to get Paola on insulin), I am happy to say her counts have stayed low and we have explained to the doctors that they can offer advice but my wife is not a puzzle for them to solve (they admit even if they do a kidney biopsy and find out what is wrong the prognosis is no way to fix it), sadly from my own research I agree with them so why do the biopsy in the first place especially as there is a 5% chance with a kidney biopsy that the kidney can bleed and not stop bleeding ending in a loss of the organ. (Doctors do not like it when you bring up actual data and medical journals you studied the night before).
Oh did I mention that used to bring dead hard drives back to life for fun or that I managed to build a robot wars style robot out of an old milk crate lol.
Let me explain about cars, we hate them, any holiday revolving around a road bound mechanical beast would be a no no right from day one, we have visited friends on the canal who have let us spend time on boats (Paola can't eat in a car, she can on a boat) Yes maybe the idea of going straight for the coast was a bad one, freely admit that which is why I have re-balanced the gofundme page and our expectations.
Buy a small river cruiser, keep it at a Marina close to our house, get it in shape and then go out for fun days, slowly building experience (travel 5 miles down the river find a good path and go explore on the wheelchair) getting use to it all.
As for time constraints the main reason to rejigger the amount and expectations is I do not want to wait 6 weeks, so at this point if anyone wants to share or donate or thinks they know anyone who could help with the fund raising then you have my gratitude.
One last important point I did not write all that out to make out I am smarter than the average bear, it was just to show what I have achieved in the past to show that I am not 100% crazy.
I do value everything anyone has said.
When Paola first got ill, I spent 8 hours each day at her side at the hospital(in those days there was no closing time on the cancer ward), then for a week I spent all my spare time after leaving there I was at the library learning about leukaemia, sleeping about 3 hours a night, remember this was before google or the internet as we know it, I talk to doctors all over the UK and at the end of the week I also learnt rudimentary swedish why ? because there was a doctor in Sweden I wanted to chat with by the end of that one week, I was being classed as a peer that is 5 days after Paola's diagnosis. So in 5 days I learnt as much as anyone else about my wife's illness and that is when I had to stop because all it told me was just how low her chances of recovery were, the numbers were all against her.
My original Mensa test results in the 90's had a lot of numbers but 175 IQ and 98% problem solving ability were the modern equivalent although not used any more (no I am not a part of Mensa I was bored at university so took the tests) .
A month ago when Paola was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes her glucose levels were 23-30 (normal for a person is 5-6) and while the Diabetes specialist put her on Metformin which made her so ill she wanted to die, I spent 32 hours awake researching all over the world via the internet and at the end of that 32 hours (granted I was kinda twitchy) I had thrown out 90% of the food in the house and the Metformin created a food based low carb low sugar 40-44 carbs per day, routine which within 4 hours of starting it Paola's counts dropped to 6-10 glucose levels. (one day before this the Diabetic consultant and the renal specialist were desperate to get Paola on insulin), I am happy to say her counts have stayed low and we have explained to the doctors that they can offer advice but my wife is not a puzzle for them to solve (they admit even if they do a kidney biopsy and find out what is wrong the prognosis is no way to fix it), sadly from my own research I agree with them so why do the biopsy in the first place especially as there is a 5% chance with a kidney biopsy that the kidney can bleed and not stop bleeding ending in a loss of the organ. (Doctors do not like it when you bring up actual data and medical journals you studied the night before).
Oh did I mention that used to bring dead hard drives back to life for fun or that I managed to build a robot wars style robot out of an old milk crate lol.
Let me explain about cars, we hate them, any holiday revolving around a road bound mechanical beast would be a no no right from day one, we have visited friends on the canal who have let us spend time on boats (Paola can't eat in a car, she can on a boat) Yes maybe the idea of going straight for the coast was a bad one, freely admit that which is why I have re-balanced the gofundme page and our expectations.
Buy a small river cruiser, keep it at a Marina close to our house, get it in shape and then go out for fun days, slowly building experience (travel 5 miles down the river find a good path and go explore on the wheelchair) getting use to it all.
As for time constraints the main reason to rejigger the amount and expectations is I do not want to wait 6 weeks, so at this point if anyone wants to share or donate or thinks they know anyone who could help with the fund raising then you have my gratitude.
One last important point I did not write all that out to make out I am smarter than the average bear, it was just to show what I have achieved in the past to show that I am not 100% crazy.
I do value everything anyone has said.
Bouba
Well-Known Member
Have you thought about cruise ships? A quick Google will show the ones that have disability facilities. The money would keep you on the water for quite a long time
Portofino
Well-Known Member
. (Doctors do not like it when you bring up actual data and medical journals you studied the night before).
Quote from the Op above .
Yup a pt the walks in with a Internet Dx ---
Let me tell you why .
How to make a frog deaf
Take a frog put it on the table ,tell it to jump --it jumps measure the distance .
Put it back to the start ,now cut off one back leg ,tell it jump -- it kinda only reaches 1/2 way and goes off to one side .
Put it back to the start ,cut the remaining back leg off ,tell it to jump , ---nothing , zilch ,it does not move .
repeat x times ,publish data in a journal + Internet
Result of the research /study / trail
To to make a frog go deaf -cut its back legs off !
Frog research it's everywhere .
So a patient walks in with delibiltating tinnitus after going round the houses and insists "-cut me legs off "
Saw it last night on the net .
Good luck with your boating adventures ,some good info and advice given out here .
Re-in forcing what's allready been said get in touch with the many disabled sailing associations /organisation s and go for a few taster trips ,-try before you buy .
Quote from the Op above .
Yup a pt the walks in with a Internet Dx ---
Let me tell you why .
How to make a frog deaf
Take a frog put it on the table ,tell it to jump --it jumps measure the distance .
Put it back to the start ,now cut off one back leg ,tell it jump -- it kinda only reaches 1/2 way and goes off to one side .
Put it back to the start ,cut the remaining back leg off ,tell it to jump , ---nothing , zilch ,it does not move .
repeat x times ,publish data in a journal + Internet
Result of the research /study / trail
To to make a frog go deaf -cut its back legs off !
Frog research it's everywhere .
So a patient walks in with delibiltating tinnitus after going round the houses and insists "-cut me legs off "
Saw it last night on the net .
Good luck with your boating adventures ,some good info and advice given out here .
Re-in forcing what's allready been said get in touch with the many disabled sailing associations /organisation s and go for a few taster trips ,-try before you buy .
calranthe
Well-Known Member
Sadly cruise ships or any kind of normal holiday are a no no, two of the medication Paola is on causes panic attacks and anxiety when around people when around large groups of other people (small boats good, small groups of people with the option to leave at any time back to a safe place (the boat) good).
Understand we did not choose the "get on a boat and float away" on a whim for some reason Paola does not feel trapped on a boat but does in a car/plane/shopping center, boats and the movement of them from what we have seen from canal have a completely different affect on her.
Let me put it this way, an appointment at hospital will start to affect her 2-3 days before the event, night terrors, shaking so bad she actually strains muscles, it is horrible to see and then as soon as the journey and car + hospital is done she is fine again also trains do not affect her badly.
The person who drives us to hospital even bought a really nice car a jaguar sportsbrake XF I love it, but cars do not go well with what ever way these medications have messed up her fight/flight response.
This is why it has to be a boat we have looked into most ideas but no problem looking into some thing new
Also while we understand the very sensible and intelligent concern about sea sickness I have to point out again something "normal" people in a normal situation have a problem grasping Paola is on the verge of being sick from the moment she gets up to the moment she goes to bed, they even give her very expensive anti sick medication which she refuses to use.
If you or me are sea sick it can hit us quite hard just like if we get the flu or cold but Paola deals with these things 24/7, one of the most common side effects of interferon was flu like symptoms.
it is all about scales of suffering and Paola has built up a tolerance over the last 18 years that no one should have to.
Understand we did not choose the "get on a boat and float away" on a whim for some reason Paola does not feel trapped on a boat but does in a car/plane/shopping center, boats and the movement of them from what we have seen from canal have a completely different affect on her.
Let me put it this way, an appointment at hospital will start to affect her 2-3 days before the event, night terrors, shaking so bad she actually strains muscles, it is horrible to see and then as soon as the journey and car + hospital is done she is fine again also trains do not affect her badly.
The person who drives us to hospital even bought a really nice car a jaguar sportsbrake XF I love it, but cars do not go well with what ever way these medications have messed up her fight/flight response.
This is why it has to be a boat we have looked into most ideas but no problem looking into some thing new
Also while we understand the very sensible and intelligent concern about sea sickness I have to point out again something "normal" people in a normal situation have a problem grasping Paola is on the verge of being sick from the moment she gets up to the moment she goes to bed, they even give her very expensive anti sick medication which she refuses to use.
If you or me are sea sick it can hit us quite hard just like if we get the flu or cold but Paola deals with these things 24/7, one of the most common side effects of interferon was flu like symptoms.
it is all about scales of suffering and Paola has built up a tolerance over the last 18 years that no one should have to.
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Seastoke
Well-Known Member
what about a barge ,we boat with a wheel chair user on the sea ,But you are very restricted where you can get on and off ie marinas also you talk of strapping her in not very good what if you take on waterSadly cruise ships or any kind of normal holiday are a no no, two of the medication Paola is on causes panic attacks and anxiety when around people when around large groups of other people (small boats good, small groups of people with the option to leave at any time back to a safe place (the boat) good).
Understand we did not choose the "get on a boat and float away" on a whim for some reason Paola does not feel trapped on a boat but does in a car/plane/shopping center, boats and the movement of them from what we have seen from canal have a completely different affect on her.
Let me put it this way, an appointment at hospital will start to affect her 2-3 days before the event, night terrors, shaking so bad she actually strains muscles, it is horrible to see and then as soon as the journey and car + hospital is done she is fine again also trains do not affect her badly.
The person who drives us to hospital even bought a really nice car a jaguar sportsbrake XF I love it, but cars do not go well with what ever way these medications have messed up her fight/flight response.
This is why it has to be a boat we have looked into most ideas but no problem looking into some thing new
Also while we understand the very sensible and intelligent concern about sea sickness I have to point out again something "normal" people in a normal situation have a problem grasping Paola is on the verge of being sick from the moment she gets up to the moment she goes to bed, they even give her very expensive anti sick medication which she refuses to use.
If you or me are sea sick it can hit us quite hard just like if we get the flu or cold but Paola deals with these things 24/7, one of the most common side effects of interferon was flu like symptoms.
it is all about scales of suffering and Paola has built up a tolerance over the last 18 years that no one should have to.
guyd
Well-Known Member
My wife is disabled due to a bike accident aged 20. We have a policy of ignoring what's supposed to be able to be done by a wheelchair user. If I can help with adaptions, I'd be happy to. I'm an aerospace engineer.
Oh, and I have cancer too (aged43) so have some sympathy. Mines a wussy cureable one though (thyroid)
Oh, and I have cancer too (aged43) so have some sympathy. Mines a wussy cureable one though (thyroid)
