Episode 1 of my Narrowboat Vlog describes how I bought a canal boat almost by accident - or luck, I hope - when looking to do something more interesting in my life.
With my offer on the canalboat accepted, it was now time for a full survey to see if the boat has any problems. What would Justin Green of JG Marine, Keith Meadowcroft of Voltmaster and George Marshall of Audlem Boat Company find? And, will the vendor accept any haggling on the price afterwards? This episode reveals all!
At last, the narrow boat is officially mine and I spent a day aboard just having a really good poke around and enjoying the fact that I've bought a boat. There's much to do onboard however...
Vlog number 4 and this is a tour of my canalboat from top to tail. It's still on chocks at a marina whilst I line up some maintenance to be done on it but will hopefully take to the water again in a few weeks - just in time for winter!
It's now 3 weeks since the narrowboat became properly mine and yet I'm still not aboard and still not afloat. It's OK, there are various reasons for this. I knew it would take a little time. Oh my, but it's very frustrating!
At long last the time has come for the excellent Justin Green of JG Marine to visit the boat and do lots of work on it including an engine service (oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter etc), add the Adverc charge controller, change the old engine mounts and much more.
Not content with my "patch it and hope" painting of the rusty spots along the gunwales of my canal boat as seen in the last episode, I decided to try to do it properly. This did not entirely come to fruition, as I explain.
Vlog 8 and I spend my first night aboard the canal boat - still on land! There's all kinds of squeaks and groans and bumps in the night and they're not from me. No, it's nothing saucy, don't get your hopes up...
After months of waiting while my house was sold, the boat was fettled and lots of boring stuff was dealt with, it was finally time to relaunch my narrowboat into the canal and take it out for a quick trip!
In which I take stock of a few things that need doing on the canal boat and then do them. This involves drilling, screwing, and a whole lot more entirely unnecessary yet amusing innuendo.
A brief technical interlude before the video of the trip to Braunston because my battery charger packed up and suddenly the boat had no usable power. So in this video I explain how I diagnosed and resolved the problem.
I was supposed to be taking the narrowboat to a winter mooring in Warwickshire but for reasons I explain in this video, I didn't. Instead of cancelling the trip though - as I had invited a friend along to show me how to do canalboating properly - we went for a two-day cruise to Braunston. This is the video of that trip.
It's rainy, cold and blowing a gale outside so I made a quick video about five simple things - three of them lightbulbs - that make my life nicer on board my canal boat!
Come journey with me down into the depths of an English canal, to a lock at Banbury in Oxfordshire that was emptied for maintenance by the Canal and River Trust. Find out how the locks are maintained and what unusual things have been found at the bottom!
Once the Spring arrives and I go out continuous cruising on the canals, I will need a way to generate electricity. Ideally this would be done without running the engine. Hence the installation of solar panels.
A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine, a former colleague from my life in TV, came to visit and experience narrowboat life so we went for a cruise.
For viewers who do not own a canal boat but are curious about life on board, this Vlog shows one of the most frequent domestic tasks undertaken by liveaboards.
With temperatures currently plummeting in the UK and at least a fortnight's cold snap predicted with sub zero temperatures coming, it's time to have a look at the main source of heating on my narrowboat, the Villager Puffin stove. It's the heart of the boat and keeps me very toasty on these winter days and nights but it did need some fettling when I moved aboard.
An episode in which I do a canal-oriented shopping "haul" type of Vlog then follow it with a intricate explanation of how to run a mains cable half the length of the boat in order to install more power sockets. This involves disassembling much of the boat's interior and a lot of swearing.
How on earth do you keep your clothes all clean and lovely whilst on board a narrowboat cruising round the canals? In this video, I explain the options.
A nasty discovery one day when I went to turn the gas bottle off as I left the boat, finding it leaking ever so slightly which it must have been doing since I installed it three months earlier.
After a viewer request I hereby present a (rather long, sorry) video of how I set and light the Villager Puffin stove on my canal boat. I do two examples, one of lighting it from cold and the other of rekindling it from dying embers.
I take a walk around the marina and point out some different types of narrowboat styles and features for the benefit of viewers either in other countries which don't have narrowboats, or those in this country who might be looking to buy.
I've been shopping. At least, my fingers have shopped online and this video is the haul of stuff I ordered namely things to make me safer with regards to gas, gunk, a shower thingummyjig and a map.
Could this be the end of my watery adventures..? There's only one way to find out and that's by watching this episode when Things Are Changing. How very teasing of me.
Just a few weeks after putting in the order for new dinette cushions for my canal boat, they have arrived! No doubt to immense anticipation, in this video I described why I didn't like the old ones and show off the replacements.
This was going to be an entirely different Vlog but I have a problem with my water pump going off randomly - usually the sign of a leak somewhere in the pipework. But where?
Several people have asked me where I plan to take the narrowboat over the summer and several possibilities have occurred to me. In this video, I describe why I abandoned one plan and have settled (mostly) on another.
A question that I've had a lot lately is "how do you get the Internet on board a narrowboat in the middle of a canal?" So in this video I explain how I do it for both local WiFi and 3G or 4G access when cruising. Hope it's useful!
In advance of leaving the marina for the summer and going touring non-stop, I decided to have a practise run / warm-up. So marina manager Neil and I took our boats in convoy up the Grand Union Canal Leicester Arm to the Welford Arm and down the end (to the pub again). This is part 1 of the account of that trip.
This is the second and concluding part of my two-day trip along the Welford Arm of the Grand Union Canal (Leicester section). In this video, we - my friend Neil and me, each on our own boats in convoy - continue along the arm to the end, moor up, go to the pub and then trundle back.
I was supposed to be leaving the marina today for continuous cruising around the canals. Today, I have changed my plan. This morning I came up with a brilliant idea to strip out and re-design the boat inside and out. This video describes that plan.
This is a retrospective, looking back at what facilities you get when mooring in a marina; specifically Yelvertoft Marina where I was for winter. A massive thank you to everyone there who made my early boating days so pleasant.
At last! After waiting all winter, here's the first Vlog that charts my journey as a Continuous Cruiser on the canals of England and Wales. Leaving Yelvertoft marina on April 1, 2016 I head south to Watford Locks. Join me, won't you?
After a night's stop at the bottom of Watford Locks it was time to move on again. Originally I had Braunston in mind but I didn't need to be there for several days so in part because of that and partly because the weather was chilly, I ended up in a lovely spot at Norton Junction. This video shows that journey.
After a lovely couple of days hanging out in the sunshine at Norton Junction it was time to move the canal boat to Braunston ready for a minor engineering fix. This involved going through the hideous Braunston tunnel and six wide locks. There was also a nasty moment for me at the water point.
In this instalment, I move off from Braunston and head to the east side of Rugby, firstly to do a bit of laundry and get some diesel, then onwards to Hillmorton Locks. There I take a look around and chat to volunteer lock keeper Maurice Farndon about a restoration project that's underway.
Having come through Hillmorton Locks on the eastern outskirts of Rugby, I now make my way west - right through the middle of town. This also involves a stop near a large supermarket to stock up on tea and cakes then its onwards to Brinklow Marina where a viewer is paying me to film and edit a video of their newly-purchased boat for their family and friends.
In this video I move from just outside Brinklow up to the end of the Oxford Canal at Hawkesbury Junction, whereupon I shall turn onto the Coventry Canal and go north in the direction of Tamworth.
After a pleasant few days at Hawkesbury Junction, the time has come to move on but - oh no, there's a traffic jam at the water point. Then it's a swift turn onto the Coventry canal and onwards past Bedworth and through Nuneaton in one go as I have been warned not to stop there overnight for fear of vandalism and hooligans running wild. I didn't stop to find out if this is actually true.
After a day moored just outside Nuneaton, I'm moving a little way north up the Coventry Canal, through Polesworth and up to Atherstone. I'll try to get to a spot between locks 9 and 10 as I've been told it's a lovely place to spend a while. Some beautiful scenery on the way and some lovely weather too!
A brief diversion from the usual videos of my route around the canals today because - due to popular demand - I hereby present a video which attempts to demonstrate how I go through locks on my own.
A busy day in this one: 8 miles, some locks, a water refill, a loo emptying and a near-miss round a sharp bend. But all's well that ended well. Except for the results of an irresponsible dog owner.
The first of three long days begins in this video as I head south from Fazeley towards Birmingham and the many, many locks I will have to go through to ascend to its giddy height. In this video, I move to Curdworth which is just outside the Birmingham suburbs.
Finally the big day is here: a massive 27 locks await my pleasure on the way from Curdworth into the middle of Birmingham. It was a warm, sunny day and a lot of effort - I ached for several days afterwards - but it was rather satisfying.
This was supposed to be the video from the Crick Show, so as to keep the show video timely. However, since I've been ill and off visiting family, the Crick video is only 1/3 complete, so have this one instead. It's the next part of my travels after doing all those locks in the last one.
We interrupt our scheduled broadcast of trips around the canals of the east Midlands to bring you a quick Vlog from the Crick Show 2016, the annual inland waterways extravaganza held at Crick Marina in Northamptonshire.
After a few days paused at the mooring in Shirley, Birmingham, I moved on down the Stratford upon Avon canal, through the Lapworth lock flight and turned at the Lapworth Link onto the Grand Union canal.
I'd spent several days idling away my time quite pleasantly at Kingswood Junction at Lapworth but now wanted to go and visit family for a bit so needed a better place to leave the boat.
Every year sees the rally of historic working boats at and outside Braunston marina on the Grand Union Canal. I went along to get some footage and talk to the people who make it what it is.
I'd spent about a week moored at the Saltisford Arm while I went to visit family (the ones who I was supposed to have gone down the Birmingham and Worcester canal to see, but didn't). With the Crick Show fast approaching, it was time to head on back towards Northamptonshire, so here's a couple of days cruising in that direction.
This is a very ad-hoc video because as I was sitting on the boat near Braunston, staring out of the side hatch, a chap paddled alongside in a kayak. As I leaned out to chat, it turned out he wasn't doing it for fun but for charity. So here's his story.
Getting back on track with the travel vlogs from my Grand Tour earlier this year, I pick up where I left off in Vlog 51 (Bascote) and continue my route back towards Braunston. In doing this I pass through the Stockton lock flight with the help of the lovely folk on the Mikron Theatre Company boat (http://www.mikron.org.uk) and up up just past Wigram's Turn marina (Napton Junction)
Here's my final leg of the First Great Round Trip of the East Midlands canals, taking me back from just outside Braunston to Yelvertoft marina where I began.
Now back at Yelvertoft, my narrowboat gets taken out of the water so that I can tackle the rusty gas locker properly, using Fertan rust treatment followed by red oxide primer, bilge paint and then two coats of Intertuf 16 blacking for good measure.
Up, up and away as I take to the skies to gaze down on the canals from the air. All courtesy of my friend and former BBC "rival" Jon Hunt, aka The Flying Reporter - link to his channel and his version of this video below.
I've been sent an 80 Watt semi-flexible solar panel to review by a company called Lensun (www.lensunsolar.com); note that this is not an advert, they've not paid me to say nice things and they have no editorial control over this video. It's just genuinely my thoughts on the panel as I found it (until the point where I broke it, for more on which, watch the video).
In which I travel - by car - to a legendary canal village and meet the inhabitants both human (should that be "hooman"?) and animal of the narrowboat Ewart and find out what brought them to the waterways.
The August Bank Holiday brought rain at first but sunshine by the Monday and so off I trekked to the annual Festival of Water, organised by the Inland Waterways Association.
In which I try to condense everything that's happened in July and August into a ten minute video. Spoiler: I succeed because in reality there isn't much to tell. I also trail what I'm going to be doing over the next few months and some new videos that I'm working on.
A much requested video, this lengthy ramble discusses the three main types of narrowboat toilet, namely the cassette (eg Thetford or Porta Potti type), the pump-out, and the new kid on the block, the composting loo. There is much discussion of poo and wee and even a brief shot of it going through a pipe. You have been warned!
This is a follow-up to the last Vlog which was all about narrowboat toilets, hence the odd numbering of this Vlog. In this, I show you how I took out and replaced all the seals, vents and slides inside a Thetford C200 toilet cassette.
I thought I'd try a Q&A because some stuff comes up quite a lot so here's my first go at it. Also I reveal the answers to the recent competition plus the name of the winner!
On August 23, 2015, I uploaded Vlog 4 - a tour of my newly purchased canal boat. It was out of the water, fresh from its prior owners and I hadn't changed a thing. So now, 14 months later and after a year of living aboard, I present part 1 of a brand new, really really detailed look around the boat. I show what I've changed and what it's like to be afloat today.
This is part 2 of my extensive narrow boat tour. In this video I cover the bathroom ("head"), bedroom and then the engine room. The latter takes up the bulk of the video so to skip straight to that bit, go to 8'50"
After months of people saying "but what does it cost?", here's the first in a series of 3 videos about how much money it takes to buy, own and live aboard a narrowboat. In this video, it's all about the buying process. Actual monies required for buying typical boats are covered in Part 2 then ownership and liveaboard costs in Part 3
This is part 2 of my short series about the costs of buying, owning and living on a narrowboat. In this video I discuss what it costs to buy a narrowboat, from cheap second-hand ones to expensive second-hand ones, to new builds, sailaways, share boats and even GRP cruisers!
This is the third (and final, as it turns out) video in my short series about the costs of buying and owning a canal narrowboat. Here I talk about the annual ongoing costs you will incur regardless of how you use the boat, plus a quick overview of what I spend to live on board each month.
With many thanks to Alan and Wendy for letting me on board, this is another video where I peek into other boaters' craft - but also, this particular narrowboat has a fairly rare type of engine set up, being a hybrid diesel-electric.
On Saturday December 3rd, a group of narrowboat dwelling / owning / buying YouTube video bloggers came together in London for a Christmas shindig. For most of us, this was the first time we'd met in person rather than as a comment on a YouTube page. This is a quick video of our meal, necessarily brief as we were really there to socialise, not film!
It's cold and dark outside so I'm spending a lot of time watching YouTube. There are some excellent channels to keep you entertained and these are some of my favourite ones that are nothing to do with narrowboating.
I spent a rather chilly evening over at Foxton Locks for the inaugural Illuminated Boats Festival to be held at that venue. The boats were excellent - lots of decorations - but the event was a bit flat.
It's Christmas time and there's nothing finer than a slap up roast for lunch. Unfortunately I can't cook but pal Expert Gary from Yelvertoft marina is a dab hand in the kitchen. He, his wife Carol, plus boating friends Myra and Adrian came over to my boat and cooked up the full works in a cramped galley. This is how they did it.
We're right into the middle of winter now and unlike last year, this time it's quite cold with overnight temperatures in the Midlands (where I'm moored) dropping as low as -7C. So although I've talked about my stove and the radiator system before, this is a dedicated video on the subject of narrowboat heating including various types of stove, diesel-fired radiators and insulation. Plus - there's a very special guest apppearance from Mads and Jökull from Sail Life!
Oh the weather outside is frightful ... but hopefully it'll be much nicer in the Spring so I've begun planning my adventures for this year and this video is the gist of my musings. The video features amazing high--calibre cartography much like last year!
Can a decently-sized solar array provide enough power for day to day living on a narrowboat during the winter? There'll be sunny days, there'll be cloudy days, there'll be rainy days and maybe even snow - but can the panels pull in the power? In this video, I do some sums.
What's it like to go out shopping for a second-hand narrowboat at a brokerage? In this video I accompany a viewer, Paul Bush, on his journey to ABNB at Crick (where I bought my boat) and chat with him as he looks over two possible canal boats.
I've had a few people ask how you get TV while out and about on the canals on a narrowboat so here is my quick guide to watching telly. It's mostly just like watching TV at home but you have to muck about with the aerial when you move the boat.
With only a few weeks to go until I set off on my Grand Spring Tour, I've decided to go through the boat and check I've got everything I think I have. So in this video I'm rummaging around in the port side well deck locker and taking stock of what's what. I'll do the starboard side locker in the next vlog!
There is a surprising amount of unused bits of canal across the UK, in varying states of decay. In this vlog I take a look at two separate (but geographically near) projects which are digging out and restoring parts of the original route of the North Oxford canal. It has, quite literally, taken me months to film this one as the I had to shoot on several occasions at the second location so I do hope you like it!
Cast your mind back to the videos I did about buying a narrowboat and you may recall a brief mention of "share ownership" - that's what this vlog is about. How do you own part of a boat, who else owns it, and how does the system work when it comes to using the boat?
What better day than April 1st to upload a new item for the channel, in which I take a look at some top news stories that might be doing the rounds about narrowboating and the UK canals. Ahem.
It's time for my 2017 Grand Tour to begin! Firstly I had to put in to Hillmorton Wharf for a fix of my leaking fuel pipes on the boat's Lister Petter LPWS4 engine, then it was off - very gently - to Braunston. This'll be a bit of an amble for the first few days as I'm scheduled to meet someone at Kilby near Leicester in the middle of the month.
In the second of my cruise vlogs for this year I move the boat from Braunston to Crick. This involves a lot of locks with which I had a lot of help, thankfully. There are also two tunnels and some lovely mooring spots. Join me!
It's time to move the narrowboat on from Crick and I'm heading north up the Grand Union Leicester line to Kilby (via the always impressive Foxton locks). Once there I'll wait for some friends to join me for the next stage of this year's trip.
After much anticipation, and a cruise up to Kilby from Braunston, I am finally ready to attack my first river on the narrowboat. It's the River Soar which runs through Leicester and I'm being joined by another boat to ease my fears of river boating.
In which I continue in convoy with another narrowboat up the River Soar through Leicestershire, going from Birstall to Loughborough which is a place of Special Memories for me.
My voyage down the River Soar in Leicestershire continues, this time going from Loughborough up to Ratcliffe lock. On the way we - me and my convoy pals Alan, Wendy and the dogs Max and Monty - encounter Many Interesting Things.
Here it is, the big crescendo to the River Soar trip - coming out at the end where it meets the Trent. Then I turn onto the Trent, and head onto the Trent & Mersey canal for continuing my Big 2017 Tour.
In this vlog I bid farewell to Alan, Wendy and the dogs Max and Monty, and continue along the Trent and Mersey canal encountering a large plastic bag around my propellor, a lot of shallow canal edges and some quite pretty countryside too.
As I continue along the Trent & Mersey canal on my narrowboat, I need to get some coal - the early April evenings are still a bit chilly sometimes - as well as kindling, a new Calor gas cylinder and most vitally of all, do a load of laundry. So I stop at Barton Turns marina for those essentials as well as popping into PC World in Burton-on-Trent for a portable hard disc to offload loads of old vlogs onto; my poor old laptop is filling up!
After a couple of days in the rather lovely village of Alrewas I take the boat further along the Trent & Mersey canal to Fradley Junction, where it meets the top of the Coventry Canal. From the CRT cafe, I buy and enjoy a nice slice of lemon drizzle cake. Yum.
In this vlog, I move on from Fradley Junction, take a sharp 90 degree turn to the right and start heading North West, still on the Trent and Mersey canal, up towards Shugborough. En route, I get a haircut in Rugeley, go past the Staffs and Worcester canal at Great Haywood, and despair of the plastic waste drifting along the canal.
Continuing my journey up the Trent & Mersey canal, this time I go through Stone in Stafforshire and its assorted locks before arriving at Barlaston for the night ahead of the trip through Stoke on Trent the next day.
After spending the night at the village of Barlaston, I'm ready to go through the substantial town of Stoke-on-Trent, past the CRT facilities yard at Etruria and on towards the southern portal of the infamous Harecastle tunnel.
It's finally time for me to face me greatest canal tunnel fear and go through the (almost 3,000 yard long) Harecastle tunnel. It's wide enough only for one boat and has partially collapsed in the middle so headroom is extremely limited and all boats are checked before they enter (and counted in and out by dedicated tunnel-keepers). Here goes!
Continuing my narrowboat journey on the Trent and Mersey canal, tackling the many locks of "Heartbreak Hill" as you start heading away from Kidsgrove and out into the countryside through Rode Heath and Hassall Green.
Taking the narrowboat up to and through Middlewich and out the other side.
Several people suggested that as I was going all the way up to Middlewich I ought to go that little bit further north and visit the Anderton Boat Lift, an amazing engineering structure dating from 1875, which lifts boats from the Trent and Mersey canal down to the River Weaver and vice versa. So I did.
In which I continue my return trip to Middlewich but then do a 90 degree right turn onto the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union canal, get some fuel and fenders from a fuelboat, go all the way along to Barbridge and turn left onto the Shroppie, and past the entrance to the Llangollen canal.
An episode in which I spot an escaped cow, a swan hinders my progress and I send a hireboater to their doom.
Continuing down the Shropshire Union canal and going under an awful lot of bridges. I mean, a really amazing number in quick succession including one very well-known one. Plus a water refill and a bit of stickiness as I try to be a good boater.
High drama in this video as I become a sitting target for oncoming boats, stuck under a bridge when my propellor picks up something large and unpleasant.
After the fun and frolics of the Boat-Tubers' Christmas meal, we all decided to meet up again for a summer barbecue. By boat, train and car we all congregated a nice convenient spot in the Midlands and ate sausages. This is a very adhoc record of some of the afternoon.
My journey down the Staffs & Worcester canal continues, picking up from Compton where I moored at the end of the last vlog, and heading south through Kidderminster and eventually ending up in Stourport.
Moving on from Kinver, through Kidderminster in the rain and onto Stourport, also in the rain. Most of this vlog is about rain which may explain why it's so short.
At last there's a sunny day and despite the wind it's time to take the narrowboat off the canal and onto the mighty River Severn. Eventually I'll go to Tewkesbury but today it's only to the entrance of the Droitwich Barge Canal at Hawford Junction.
Moving the narrowboat from the top of lock 2 on the Droitwich Barge canal (near Hawford Junction) and up to Droitwich Spa itself. I end up on the visitor moorings at Netherwich basin and go for a walk around Vines Park.
After 48 hours on the visitor mooring at Netherwich Basin in Droitwich Spa, I reversed my path up the Droitwich Barge Canal and headed back out downstream on the River Severn.
Here's a quick overview of the hasty oil and filter change that I did on the boat while waiting at Tewkesbury lock for the lock-keeper to return from lunch (as seen at the end of the last vlog).
This is the start of my trip up the River Avon from Tewkesbury to Stratford-upon-Avon. In this episode I leave Tewkesbury and go past three sailing clubs as well as the mooring our family used to use at Bredon, before tackling two ferocious locks and mooring for the night in a tranquil corner of the countryside at Comberton Quay.
Here's a vlog of two more days of cruising up the Avon, from Comberton Quay where the last vlog ended, through Pershore and Evesham, and up to Offenham. I went through a lot of locks, all of which were rather turbulent and one of which had a puzzle to keep you guessing.
Filmed way, way back in the dizzying summer scorcher of mid-June, this is the final section of my trip up the River Avon in Warwickshire, from Offenham lock (where the last vlog ended), to the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon.
On a glorious day in mid-June I departed from the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon and headed north up the South Stratford canal. En route I ducked under low tunnels, breathed in for narrow bridges, held my breath on an aqueduct, saw some unusual wildlife and showed off my pasty white legs. All of those treats are included in the video.
It's the penultimate vlog from my Great 2017 Cruise and a short hop up the South Stratford canal from Preston Bagot, through Lowsonford and up to Kingswood Junction at Lapworth. Here I turned east along the Lapworth Link and out onto the Grand Union canal before pausing for the night.
My massive 2017 cruise around the canals of England is drawing to a close and in this episode I take on the massive 21-lock Hatton flight again - this time with a Special Guest Crew.
With my summer canal cruising for 2017 all complete, in this video I sit down by the roaring stove and give a general update on where I am, what I'm up to on the narrowboat and what's coming in future vlogs.
A bit of DIY and a product review in this video as I think back to when I was moored over the summer and took the cratch cover off, firstly to kill off the algae growing on it (courtesy a free review product from Kinver Canopies, who nonetheless had no say in the editorial content of my review), secondly to clean it, and thirdly to re-waterproof the canvas.
Over the summer I noticed that in heavy rain there was a slight trickly of water coming down the stove flue. It appeared to be getting in underneath the chimney collar so I had to take it off, clean everything up, de-rust and re-seal. This video shows how I did it and how it was a bigger job than expected.
Time for another fireside chat as I sit down and answer (the first tranche of) questions submitted by viewers after I recently said a Q&A was in the offing. This covers topics including bow thrusters, lift bridges and tunnel lights amongst many others.
It really is that simple - a Happy Christmas message from me and a load of "boat-tubers", who all assembled - much like the Avengers but with boats - at the Admiral Nelson pub in Braunston at the start of December.
It's the start of a new year and since there'll be nothing much to watch on telly this New Year's Day, I thought I'd throw out a few suggestions of utterly splendid YouTube channels for you to enjoy instead; these are some of the people I watch regularly and I hope you like 'em too. Happy New Year!
How is a narrowboat built? That's what this vlog aims to answer, looking at the construction process from the very first pieces of steelwork forming the baseplate, via an awful lot of welding up to a finished shell which can then be insulated and fitted out.
When taking the narrowboat to a marina for work on the bilge and also to get the hull blacked, I noticed that the batteries didn't seem to be holding a charge and also that the alternator was disturbingly warm.
In October last year I headed along the North Oxford canal to Hillmorton Marina where they have a little dockside crane, suitable to lift an engine out of a boat.
This vlog picks up immediately where the last one left off, as I head from Hillmorton Wharf to Yelvertoft marina where I had the boat taken out of the water and into their shiny new boat shed for blacking.
What do narrowboat brokers do and should you use one, either to sell or buy a boat? These questions and more are answered in a sit-down interview with James Millsop of brokerage firm Rugby Boats, based at Stowe Hill Wharf in Weedon, Northamptonshire.
This is Part 1 of a three part mini-series about classic / vintage narrowboat engines as often heard chugging past on the canal. In this episode, I talked to Chris Wenham aboard NB Herbert about his Russell Newbury engine. He tells me why he bought it, why he likes it so much - and how much polishing it needs!
This is Part 2 of a three part mini-series about classic / vintage narrowboat engines as often heard chugging past on the canal. In this episode, I talked to Rob Goodman about his 1940s-era Kelvin K2 and its unusual starting procedure!
The third and final part (for the moment) in this mini-series about unusual, rare and vintage narrowboat engines. Here we meet Keith Lodge who had a replica working boat built to his specification including a two-cylinder National DA2 engine from 1949.
Every winter the Canal & River Trust shut parts of the network down for a time in order to do maintenance which often includes taking out broken or old lock gates and replacing them. New lock gates are not something you can just order in from Amazon however, so the CRT have to make their own and in this video I visited their Birmingham workshop to see how the process works.
Every Spring Bank Holiday, London's Little Venice hosts the IWA (Inland Waterways Association) "Cavalcade", a gathering and procession of narrowboats celebrating life afloat. I'd been meaning to visit for ages but finally found the time this year - and I bumped into some special guests on the way!
Can you buy a canal narrowboat if you're not from the UK?
When I received a panicked phone call from The Narrowboat Experience, who were stuck half way up the Grand Union canal and just too tired to carry on, of course I had to help.
Following a few recent questions and comments from viewers, here is a beginners guide to how electrics work on a narrowboat. It may also have general relevance to people in campervans, motorhomes, caravans and RVs although there are slight differences but the gist is similar.
On a beautiful sunny day in June I drove to Wales for an experience of the canals as they used to be, with the boat drawn by horse! The animal in question is called Cracker and he works for Bywater Cruises.
After all the work I went to last year in re-sealing the chimney collar on my narrowboat, I was disappointed during winter to find white grungy muck dribbling down the flue inside the boat onto the top of the stove.
No, I have not sold the boat. No, I do not live in a van now. You might not believe it - but I'm going off cruising. Yes, in my own boat. Before the winter maintenance shutdown begins in November, I've got two months to chug around the canals so I've decided to head south, down the Grand Union towards London. I won't go anywhere near the centre of the City - or really much towards the outskirts - because it's so busy and just plain grotty down there. Big cities are not my thing. However, I'll head down in that general direction until the end of September and then turn around and come back up again before mooring for winter once more. This is the first of my trip vlogs.
In the second of my Autumn cruising videos for 2018, I leave Norton Junction on a blustery morning and turn 90 degrees right, to head south down the Grand Union canal on my narrowboat. The first thing to deal with is the Buckby lock flight of seven locks, then it's just a couple of miles to a mooring at Weedon Bec.
Another little jaunt along the Grand Union canal in the narrowboat saw me departing from Weedon after a pleasant couple of days, and heading towards Gayton Junction. On the way, I stopped to refill the water tank and met a lot of boats coming north from Stoke Bruerne after a big event that's held there every year. I end this vlog about a mile before Gayton so as to stop in the countryside.
In this video I take my narrowboat on the Grand Union canal from near Gayton Junction to Stoke Bruerne, via Blisworth - and Blisworth tunnel - all 3,075 yards of it. Weirdly, as I went through, there was a bit of an unsettling ghostly apparition...
My autumn jaunt along the Grand Union canal continues as I take the boat from Stoke Bruerne (where I can't get a decent 4G mobile signal) towards Cosgrove but I end up mooring in the lovely countryside. En route there's an awful lot of pretty countryside to stare at.
At the start of September 2018 I joined Jo and Michael of "Minimal List" as well as London Boat Girl, Lorna, and we went on a rather exciting and interesting voyage up the tidal river Thames from Limehouse lock to Teddington. Narrowboats are not at all designed for any swirly waters so the choppiness of the tidal Thames around Limehouse, London Bridge and the Houses of Parliament makes for an interesting - and wobbly - experience which requires confidence and a steely hand on the tiller, all of which Michael has in spades.
Part of my autumn cruise south on the Grand Union canal, in this video I go from a very busy Cosgrove into Milton Keynes which I find to be very green and unlike any other built-up town or city I've been through by canal before.
After a few days at different places in Milton Keynes, it was time for me to move on but the weather had different ideas and a tree across the canal put paid to movement for an evening. Eventually I was able to get going again and back out into the countryside, ending up near Stoke Hammond.
In my continuing narrowboat adventures for autumn 2018 I finally exit Milton Keynes and out into the countryside through Soulbury and down towards Leighton Buzzard and Linslade, where I stop to restock my food supplies at a very handy mooring next to a supermarket, then go on to the countryside again, almost not getting a mooring due to low water levels.
Continuing my Autumn 2018 cruise down the Grand Union canal, I head from near Slapton lock to Marsworth, going through about nine locks and one swing bridge in the process. A lovely - but long (ish) day.
Filmed in the last week of September 2018, this was the last part on my autumn cruise in which I headed south; the plan always was to turn around at the end of the month and go back. For logistical reasons - LOTS of upcoming locks! - it also made sense to do a 180 degree turn at this point.
Having turned around at Cowroast, my narrowboat journey on the Grand Union canal now continued north but with a diversion down the short length of the restored Wendover Arm. The navigable canal is only about 1.5 miles long so far and I found it quite narrow and shallow but quite scenic. I moored right at the far end where there's a large winding hole. Then I went back up the Arm and down the Marsworth locks before pausing one lock before the end of the flight.
In anticipation of both some friends coming to join me for an afternoon, and then some special guests from overseas coming aboard a few days later, I edged just a few miles further north on this leg of my trip up the Grand Union canal, mooring my narrowboat at a point where both sets of visitors could easily find and get to me.
Starting from just above Stoke Hammond lock, in this trip I did a mammoth journey (for me) on a beautiful sunny October day, up through Milton Keynes, continuing through Cosgrove and ultimately ending up at Yardley Gobion where there was a boatyard I could ask about a newly-found and substantial diesel leak on my engine.
It was a great pleasure in amongst my canal cruising this autumn to welcome, all the way from Canada, the RV Geeks onto my boat. Peter and John were enjoying a vacation in England, touring in a rented motorhome, and stopped off at Grove Lock Marina campsite just a couple of locks up from where I'd moored the boat the night before. They joined me for a day to experience narrowboat cruising, even taking the tiller and steering the boat as we did a circular route up into Leighton Buzzard, back south for 3/4 locks, and returning to Grove lock at the end of the day.
After several days at Yardley Gobion, during which time I had the boatyard opposite look at - and hopefully fix - the diesel leak, I carried on with my return journey up the Grand Union canal, going back through Gayton, up the Stoke Bruerne locks and up through Blisworth tunnel (no signs of any ghosts this time round).
After several weeks, at last I embarked on the final leg of my autumn 2018 cruise along the Grand Union canal, the return stretch taking me from Blisworth, through Gayton, Weedon, Norton Junction and ultimately to Braunston. Video includes me singing, please exercise appropriate caution.
At the beginning of the month (December 2018) I took the train into Birmingham to visit a floating Christmas market - essentially a gathering of trading narrowboats on the canal outside the Arena. The weather was mild but dull and the streets and towpaths were almost deserted. There weren't many traders either but I had an enjoyable afternoon and this is the video of the trip.
Happy new year! Welcome to 2019. If you're lolling in a chair relaxing after festivities last night, these suggestions of some excellent YouTube channels that you might enjoy could be of interest.
Drop your jaw and gasp in disbelief as you watch me take the boat out for a cruise in winter. Yes, winter. OK, it's not snowing but it was December, a time when I'm normally tucked up by the roaring stove with the boat on the mooring. I've split the journey into two parts else it would be a very long video indeed; the whole trip was Napton to Brinklow and this video covers Napton to Hillmorton.
I am nothing if not predictable so congratulations to those handful of people who knew in advance what this episode would be called, being part 2 of the previous one. In this episode, my mystery Crew member (not Lorna!) and I continue our winter jaunt along the North Oxford canal from just outside Rugby, through Newbold and up to just past Brinklow.
After getting frustrated with the cheap little twin-tub washing machine I had aboard the boat from the early days - see vlog 20 - I ditched it and bought a proper automatic machine. Due to a lack of space and onboard power, I had to choose a small one that didn't need to run a heating element; the one I chose is the Hotpoint WMTF722H. In this video I explain what I think of it and why it fits the bill.
After three-plus years on my boat, did I choose the right one for me and if not, why not? These are the thoughts I've been having on that subject, prompted by an email from a viewer.
The sun is out and it's time to sort a few bits of the narrowboat that are looking less than prime, notably the paintwork needs a spruce-up and polish plus one or two tiny rust spots on the roof need attending to.
A quick demo of a new toy I bought for the boat, a temperature / humidity gauge with three wireless remote sensors. Hours of fun!
The (in)famous hand-drawn canal map returns in this vlog where I contemplate places to go in the narrowboat in 2019. Thanks to The Navigator for the video title :-)
There's nothing finer than looking around other people's narrowboats so join me on this quest to find another narrowboat (as mentioned a couple of vlogs ago). Or not, as the case may be.
Join me at the Newbold Tunnel just outside Rugby, on the North Oxford canal, as I interview Professor Oliver Lia about his exciting plans for a new technological breakthrough for narrowboat cleaning.
In this vlog I visit the "Pamela May", a trip boat run by the charitable Droitwich Canals Trust. We see their current boat and hear about the excellent work of the Trust then visit Ortomarine, the company building the Trust's brand new, all-electric powered boat.
I visit a narrowboat hire firm in Gilwern, South Wales, on the Mon & Brec canal. Amongst their fleet of conventional narrowboats they also have two fully-electric ones that don't even have solar or a generator on board. So how have they managed this feat when it would be impractical elsewhere? Watch and find out!
It's the longest, highest canal aqueduct and it's in Wales; in this video I'm visiting Pontcysyllte but I'm not doing so alone - my boat's nowhere near there so I'm hitching a ride with Kath & Anna of the Narrowboat Experience. Don't look down!
At last! The lines have been taken up, the mooring relinquished - yes, let go entirely - and I'm off on my 2019 cruising adventures starting with a trip up the North Oxford canal to Hawkesbury Junction where it meets the Coventry canal.
After several pleasant days moored at Hawkesbury Junction on the North Oxford canal side, it was time to go through the stop lock and up the Coventry canal for a short way before turning right onto the Ashby canal. However, I also needed food supplies, so I first headed away from the Ashby to a supermarket about a mile or so south of Hawkesbury.
A Bank Holiday weekend approached and as I was going away for a few days to visit family, I wanted to moor the boat somewhere secure rather than just leave it on the towpath. So I headed a bit further up the Ashby canal to Trinity Marina at Hinckley and paid to have it moored there. On the way, it rained.
A quick bonus vlog! Having popped back to my childhood home of Droitwich for my sister's birthday and a family meal, I was also able to pop down to the canal as that weekend saw the annual St Richard's Festival being held in which narrowboats converge on Vines Park and sell all kinds of wares from their boats on the towpath, with other sellers in marquees in the park.
After the first May Bank Holiday weekend away from the boat, I left the marina at Hinckley and continued my journey up the Ashby canal, dodging rain showers as I went, to arrive at Market Bosworth.
I haven't been to the Crick Show for a couple of years because it's much the same each time but this year I wanted to book some boat tours and also buy some bits for my current boat - so I moored the boat again and headed off to Northamptonshire in the camper van.
The weather was sunny, the mood was chilled, the final three-hour stretch from Market Bosworth to the navigable end of the Ashby canal at Snarestone was, without doubt, the most beautiful cruising I've ever done. It did indeed take me to the edge of heaven.
At the time of filming this it was just over a week since the Crick Show where I had bought three new 100 Ah lead carbon batteries for my narrowboat. Having also bought some new wiring and dongle things to plug into my Victron inverter/charger, it was now time to pull out the old batteries and put the new ones in place.
Having reached the end of the Ashby canal there is no choice but to turn around and re-rewind, going back the way you came. Having already documented the journey up in several videos, I compacted much of the return trip into this one, ending up back at Trinity Marina where I stopped again while I went to the Crick Show.
With my time on the Ashby canal come to an end, I took my narrowboat back onto the Coventry canal and headed north, through Nuneaton and it's well-tended back gardens and allotments, and up towards Atherstone where I'd spend a few days while the heavens opened.
After staying in Atherstone due to a week of non-stop rain, I finally had a nice day when I felt like moving on, and took the opportunity to descend the eleven-lock flight.
I had a friend's birthday party in Kent to attend so once again needed to put the boat somewhere secure while I left it for a few days. With the next marina on my route being at Alvecote this seemed like the obvious solution, and from there I'd get a taxi and train to go and pick up my campervan before driving down south. Upon my return, I continued journeying along the Coventry canal, now heading west, stopping a few hundred yards short of Fazeley Junction, having gone through the two locks at Glascote.
Filmed at the end of June and start of July, this video captures the very few miles I did in the narrowboat between Fazeley Junction and just past Hopwas. En route I picked up food supplies from a supermarket and plumbing supplies from a DIY store. Well, it would be odd to do it the other way around.
By mid-July it was time for the final gentle amble up the last bit of the north Coventry canal to Fradley Junction. The main thing of note was how thick the overgrowth was not only on the offside but the towpath side as well - and quite a lot of weeds growing up within the canal itself. I've been told this whole area is earmarked for a good cut back by CRT's volunteer team and you can see it really does neeed it!
At the end of July 2019 I was delighted to welcome fellow vlogger Karen Nisbet to the boat, visiting all the way from New Zealand. Karen lives and tours NZ in her caravan, filming her travels on the channel "Travelling K". She was in the UK for several weeks, touring the sights, visiting other vloggers and meeting viewers.
A brief chat about things I've been doing lately while paused on a mooring during August.
A few weeks ago, I cruised past what remains of the Lichfield canal, now used by the Lichfield Cruising Club, and mentioned that the canal is under restoration. In this vlog I've been to meet the team who are heading up that restoration and see the scale of the works underway.
The end of August meant the resumption of my travels on the canals so I set off again from where I left off in Vlog 184 - Fradley Junction - and went up the Trent and Mersey canal towards Handsacre, in the process managing to look like an utter incompetent as I bashed into another, stationery, boat at a lock queue. Woe is me :-(
In this episode, I set off from Handsacre and squeeze through the tiny narrow section just after the town where it's only just wide enough for one boat and you can't see if anyone's coming the other way... Then I went through Rugeley, which was very busy and moored near Weston, waking up to an emergency involving a sheep. Yes, really.
When I reached the town of Stone in Staffordshire, I paused to pick up a special guest - Jasmin from YouTube channel "This Narrowboat Adventure" (link below). Battling the mighty forces of wind, rain and vicious swans, we made it through the town until calling it quits for the day.
Day two with Jasmin aboard (from This Narrowboat Adventure, link below) and we headed up from Stone through Stoke on Trent. There are several rather deep locks to traverse but the day was fine and we stopped to pick some towpath damsons as we went along.
A video in which Jasmin (who is still my guest at this point) and I turn off the Trent and Mersey canal and onto the Caldon, going through the suburbs of Stoke on Trent and I get very grumpy about how many narrow sections and tight, blind corners it has not to mention a distinct lack of convenient spots to moor up.
With Jasmin now gone back to her own boat in London, I carried on along the Caldon canal out of Stoke on Trent towards Endon where I'd stop to get some supplies from a convenience store. Along the way I had to deal with two lift bridges, the first of which was easy and the second quite the nuisance.
Having stocked up with provisions at Endon I carried on down the Caldon canal, stopping briefly to empty the loo and top up the boat's water tank then going to Denford where the canal splits into two branches. I took the Froghall branch which soon after runs underneath the Leek branch. It gets very dense, there are deep locks, a heritage railway and I bumped into Aussie Boater as well as going past a historic mill.
Having stopped overnight at the end of the Froghall arm, I turned the narrowboat and headed back the way I'd come, up to the junction where the Caldon canal had split into two. One very sharp left turn later and I was going down the Leek branch through heavily wooded sections and a very narrow tunnel indeed, emerging at the navigable end of that part of the canal.
Having explored the furthest, murkiest depths of the Caldon canal, I turned around, came back the way I'd come and continued up the Trent & Mersey canal, through Harecastle tunnel and then took a sharp left onto the Macclesfield canal. Spoiler alert: it's utterly *lovely*.
Pressing on from the mooring at LMH - see last vlog - I unexpectedly stop early for a week when the Bosley lock flight is closed due to a leak in the canal at the top. Once it's re-opened, I go up the flight in a pretty good time, all things considered, despite the peculiar "dual top gate" installation on these locks.
My journey up the Macclesfield canal continued, leaving a lovely mooring at the top of Bosley locks and going through two swing bridges which weren't as bad as I feared even though they are a nuisance when you're travelling solo. Through Macclesfield itself where I stopped to nip to the shops, and then Bollington before stopping just on the north of the town.
The northern end of the Macclesfield canal was in sight (well, about six miles away) and a beautiful day dawned so the engine was engaged and the boat chugged along up to Marple where, at a T-junction, you meet the Peak Forest canal. I turned right and headed south along the Upper Peak Forest, just a little way to find somewhere to stop.
For the final leg of my 2019 autumn cruise, I continued along the Upper Peak Forest canal, south towards Whaley Bridge and Bugsworth basin. The six mile stretch of canal includes two swing bridges and two lift bridges so I shamelessly took advantage of some passing hire boaters to help me through.
After coming back down the Macclesfield canal (which I didn't film, as it was exactly the same as going up as shown in prior vlogs, albeit in the other direction), I turned south and retraced my path along the Trent & Mersey until I got to Stone, Staffordshire. There I'd booked the boat into a dry dock for re-blacking. This video shows that process. Yes, this is where Minimal List had theirs done too :-)
In mid-October I moored the narrowboat on the Macclesfield and hopped on a bus and a train to Liverpool where I met with Jo and Michael of "Minimal List". They had a rather interesting trip planned, to take their narrowboat across the Mersey estuary and up the Manchester Ship Canal. Joined by Lorna (aka "London Boat Girl"), we got up at a ridiculous time of the morning and set off. This is Part 1 of that journey, covering the Mersey crossing.
After crossing the Mersey estuary with Minimal List aboard NB Perseverance we now had a 36-mile journey up the Manchester Ship Canal, to get to Salford. Also aboard, as before, London Boat Girl Lorna.
Just a quickie - ooer missus - to say thanks for tuning in over the past year and here's looking forward to 2020. Happy Christmas! David.
This is a real time recording from the bow of my narrowboat from when I cruised up the Macclesfield canal in September 2019, from Hall Green stop lock, through Congleton, to near Bridge 65. Towards the end there's a bit of a pause while I waited for another boat to come through two bridges close together but I do move on again after that for a bit before finally coming to a halt.
After I had the narrowboat blacked at Stone I set off along the Trent and Mersey canal to head to my winter mooring. Unfortunately, disaster struck on the outskirts of the town when one lovely sunny Sunday morning, the engine made a peculiar noise which resulted in a horrible discovery...
While my boat was broken down recently (see vlog 205), I had the great pleasure of Pixel, Maggie and Ryan aka Narrowboat Chef being my neighbours. They very kindly agreed to instruct me in the mystical ways of baking scones and this is the result.
If a traditional narrowboat that's 6'10" wide is just too limited in width for you then you might want to consider a widebeam for the canals of Britain. However, there are limitations on such craft so in this video I talk to widebeam owners Julie and Mark Weir about their experiences on a boat with an 11' beam.
A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of spending a day aboard the fuel boat and butty of "Jules Fuels" on the Grand Union canal. The day started - early! - with loading of supplies and then off we went to deliver to customers south of Milton Keynes.
This is a day in the life of a narrowboater who's self isolating having come back from overseas. There's not a lot to do so it mostly involves eating, drinking tea and watching the telly.
Filmed entirely on a DJI Osmo Action camera - which has the most amazing stabilisation - with a Rode Videomicro microphone, this is a recording of the first brief walk I took after completing 14 days of self isolation having come back from overseas. The weather was beautiful, the birds were chirping like crazy but the waters were almost totally still. Hopefully this is a nice little background video to bring a window of peace and calm into your day.
A little thing like a global pandemic and lockdown is not going to prevent further boat videos on this channel so I present the first in what may become a regular "virtual tour" series, as we meet Dimitrios and Carine Theologitis from Brussels and have a look around their amazing narrowboat Galene, which is filled with ingenious design touches.
A year after I moved aboard, I did a video (vlog 68) about what the annual costs were of life afloat. Now, after four years on board, I present an updated version of the same using averaged figures over the full four years.
On Wednesday 13th May, the lockdown restrictions on the English waterways were relaxed slightly to permit day trips (no overnight stays away from a home mooring) for leisure boaters. As I'm currently moored in a marina where I'd stopped for winter, I am following those guidelines rather than the Continuous Cruising rules. Anyway I took the opportunity to fire up the narrowboat and do a five-hour cruise down towards Fazeley Junction and back.
Over recent months I have noticed a number of unsightly rusty spots erupting on the boat's roof. Some, I assume, are from bits of grit rubbing through the paint as I've walked over it; for others I have no idea as to their origins. All needed tidying up and the rust stopped in its tracks though so in this video I show you my initial attempts, which fall short of a full repaint.
In the second of my lockdown Skype interviews with other boaters, we cross the pond to Missouri, USA for a chat with Kay Davis and Jeff Hoesel who own a 1994 Gibson Cabin Yacht and take it for trips along the mighty Mississippi River.
A "slow TV" (real-time) bow-camera recording of the trip from Kings Orchard Marina at Lichfield to Fradley Junction on June 21st 2020.
I leave Kings Orchard Marina near Lichfield and head north up the Coventry canal to Fradley Junction where it rains a lot and I moor above the locks.
After almost drowning in the sea of rain falling onto Fradley, a new menace threatened my journey as the furious weather switched tack, turning instead to attack me with blazing rays of sun at a million degrees. Parched, weak and craving to escape the furnace I hauled myself to the back of the boat and just about had enough energy to propel the boat in search of shade, even as my last drops of water were exhausted. This is that traumatic tale.
At the end of a very warm day in June, I set off from Shugborough to Great Haywood, turning there onto the Staffs & Worcester canal because from there down to Autherley is a section of canal I've never done before. I moored at Tixall Wide - beautiful - and then headed on around Stafford before being perplexed at what people have at the end of their gardens in Acton Trussell.
Picking up from the previous video, I continue down the Staffs and Worcs canal from Acton Trussell, through Penkridge and moor outside Otherton Boat Haven. En route, I demonstrate how not to open a lock gate.
An episode in which, despite wind and rain, I boated on like a trooper to get from Otherton to Autherley, including the *extremely* narrow section that's barely wide enough for one boat just before you get to Autherley.
It's not really a vlog because in this episode I'm just re-tracing my steps from the prior five cruising videos and didn't really film as usual but I compiled this selection of clips to illustrate Stuff Of Interest - mostly to do with how amazingly busy the canals got after July 4th when lockdown restrictions were eased and people could use their boats again.
A few weeks ago, I sanded down and touched up a load of rusty spots on my narrowboat's roof but I didn't then have the chance to finish the job and overcoat the whole thing in its entirety. I was also unsure what paint to use. Now, at last, I have had a few days of decent weather and got the whole thing done.
Enough people spotted and commented upon my sad-looking stove chimney in the prior (roof painting) video that I thought I had better come clean, do a confession, and explain why it's looking so dented. This is that story.
Back cruising again, quickly before a) winter and b) another lockdown. I headed back up to Fradley Junction and turn east onto the Trent & Mersey canal, going through Alrewas and onto Barton Turns marina.
In another tense, nail-biting episode, I cruise further east along the Trent & Mersey canal on my narrowboat, through Burton-on-Trent and up to Willington. This involves the lockside purchase of some carrots.
The annual IWA Trailboat Festival 2024 was held on the Ashby Canal at Moira in Leicestershire, a gathering of compact, lightweight canal boats that can be towed on a trailer behind a suitable car or van. These included Wilderness Beavers, Sea Otters and even a Caraboat!
There are some aspects of the boat's refurbishment that simply can't be achieved (or are difficult to do) while it's in the water so in this video I took the boat from its mooring at Stourport a little way down the river to a wharf where it's been hauled out so that I can work on it on dry land.
Formed in 1969, the Grantham Canal Society is undertaking the huge task of restoring a 33-mile canal dating from the Industrial Revolution, over 200 years ago. I went up to see how they're getting along.
Having brought the boat out of water for refurbishment, it first needed a really good shower to get some of the long-standing muck off. It's still a bit mucky in places but it was a good start.
I visit a rather splendid canal narrowboat which has just been bought after sitting in a marina for three years. It's new owner, Matthew, is a specialist and enthusiast in the systems on board.
The Evesham River Festival was held on Saturday July 13th and within it was a gathering of the Russell Newbery Register. I went along to find out why people love these engines so much - and to have a browse around the rest of the festival.
Join me as I take a wonderful trip on a wonderful, tiny, hand-made boat along the Leeds & Liverpool canal. Created by engineer Jonny Bowker, "Nessie" is an absolute beauty.
Canal boating on a brand new, tiny (and very pink) narrowboat. My good friend Lorna of @lornajaneadventures has just bought a brand new narrowboat and she kindly invited me to join her on a trip along the Market Harborough canal arm.
I have long suspected that the transom on my fibreglass cabin cruiser Twiggy might need to be replaced, due to various cracks and holes in the fibreglass which would have been letting water in and rotting the wood core. Therefore I decided to investigate by drilling some holes, which first required me to remove the outboard motor.
Despite the name of the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal, it doesn't actually go through the county town of Stafford so a group of volunteers are now trying to make that happen.
There are a small number of aluminium canal boats which are a hybrid of traditional narrowboat style mixed with river cruiser design. I went to see two of these and chat with their owners.
About three months ago, I visited Gabs Heneghan who had just bought a compact widebeam barge and was about to rip out the interior and completely refurbish it to her own spec. Mid-way through the process, I have been back to see how she's getting on and whether the project is going according to plan.
As described in the prior videos about the refurbishment of Twiggy, my 48-year-old fibreglass cabin cruiser, I needed to cut the back off the boat in order to replace the rotten wood in the transom. Unfortunately, things didn't go entirely to plan.
After enjoying my first cruise last December, I decided to go on another this year and the place that was on my 'must go' list was Norway. So I booked a week with P&O and this video is my review of the trip.
Although traditional steel narrowboats cost many thousands of pounds, even second-hand, there is a cheaper and easier way to get a foot on the water and that's with a fibreglass cabin cruiser. In this video, I visit a woman who's chosen exactly that as her first boat.
Ignoring, for the moment, the vast gashes I have carved into the back of the boat which will need fixing later, in this episode I tear into the transom and start removing the - extremely soggy - wooden core.
