Author: David Johns

Vlog 8: Night Rider

Posted on October 5, 2015February 24, 2024 by David Johns

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…

Vlog 7: Paint Shop Boys

Posted on September 24, 2015February 24, 2024 by David Johns

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 in this video.

Vlog 6: Giving the old girl a damn good service

Posted on September 8, 2015February 24, 2024 by David Johns

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.

Vlog 5: Going Nowhere, Fast!

Posted on September 1, 2015February 24, 2024 by David Johns

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!

Vlog 4: Le Tour de Boat

Posted on August 24, 2015February 24, 2024 by David Johns

This is a tour of my canal boat 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!

Vlog 3: It’s Mine, All Mine, My Preciousss!

Posted on August 15, 2015February 24, 2024 by David Johns

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 2: The Day That The Crane Came Down*

Posted on August 2, 2015February 24, 2024 by David Johns

With my offer on the canal boat 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 Systems and George Marshall of Audlem Boat Company find? And, will the vendor accept any haggling on the price afterwards?

This episode reveals all!

Vlog 1: How I Came To Be Buying A Narrowboat…

Posted on July 23, 2015February 24, 2024 by David Johns

Here’s my first video ‘blog, describing how I came to be in the market for a narrowboat on which to cruise the UK’s canal network and hopefully take life easy for a bit.

It’s a tale of mid-life crisis, near-purchase of a campervan, and a calender from the RNLI.