Owning a Boat

Escaping the rat race sounds romantic, but could you live without instant power and a postcode? Tony Jones describes life on a narrowboat. “It depends on what you consider cramped,” laughs liveaboard convert Tony Jones who runs a copywriting business from his beautifully appointed but distinctly bijou 50ft narrowboat home, the Watchman. He’s currently moored in St Mary’s Marina, Rufford, south of Preston, Lancashire but will be moving on soon. “I have a sim...

As increasing numbers are drawn to life on the water, Jo Roche considers the pros and cons. There’s an undeniable romance that goes with living on a boat. Waking to dappled patterns of light, reflected from the water, dancing across the cabin, hearing the call of ducks through your porthole, the sounds of rainfall pattering on the deck or carp nibbling the bottom of the hull. Added to that is the intrinsic freedom that cannot be found in bricks and mortar, with the ability to cast off ...

In this article I am reviewing a product that has been developed and thoroughly tested over several years. The early versions were brilliant, and a new version has made them even neater with even better performance. This latest incarnation of the Automatic Fender System had its European launch at the prestigious Cannes Yachting Festival in September 2019 and was shown in full operation on the demonstration rig.   This promises to revolutionise the way we all take the handling of fen...

We can’t get away from the fact, your engine has oil and with oil will come wear and tear. Your test will pick up anything in the oil that should not be there. Generally, in engines these would be fuel dilution, coolant matrix leaks and dirt ingress.    Oil analysis is not new and has been in use for many years.  It started in the early 1940s in the American railway industry as steam trains were replaced by diesels. A key factor for its development was the introducti...

So much has been written about the multitude of things you should do to layup a boat for the winter that it can seem daunting if you’ve never done it before. So we’ve put together a simple list of five tips to remind you of the most important tasks.   Remember that hours spent now to make sure everything is properly stored and cared for when not in use over the colder months could save you significant time and money further down the line. Darks spots of mould caused by l...

An outboard that is failing to start and get going can be due to a multitude of issues but seek comfort in that the cause will always fall under one of the following:   Improper ignition timing Poor fuel and air ratio Lack of Pressure  Exhaust blockage   Here is a checklist of potential reasons why your outboard won’t start or run to help you troubleshoot the problem.   *Throughout this guide there are areas highlighted, which can pro...