Canalside Bungalow Renovation

Narrow boats have very small galley kitchens. Most people, in my opinion, go overboard with their kitchens in their homes (no idea what your house kitchen is like).

Si my question is, assuming you did not eat 'boy scout' tinned beans and sausages, did the boat food taste worse than the home food?

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by SteamyTea

On boats a Dalek Toaster is compulsory.

There is no reason boats (and caravans) can't have decent cookers, our present one has 4 gas hobs a gas oven and grill.  What they do lack is work surface so you have to be organised and use things like the table as additional work surface.

 

Failing that there is the much fabled Fray Bentos pie.

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

Fray Bentos

A town in Uruguay.

2 hours ago, ProDave said:

Failing that there is the much fabled Fray Bentos pie.

 

The tins they came in used to make ideal rain covers for motors fitted externally where the fan cover points up.

16 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

The tins they came in used to make ideal rain covers for motors fitted externally where the fan cover points up.

Bad luck if you draw the short straw and have to eat the pie just to get your new motor cover.

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

Bad luck if you draw the short straw and have to eat the pie just to get your new motor cover.

 

Wasn't someone recommending the veggie Fray Bentos somewhere?

 

8 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Wasn't someone recommending the veggie Fray Bentos somewhere?

 

Not Desperate Dan.

On 01/08/2021 at 10:20, SteamyTea said:

Narrow boats have very small galley kitchens. Most people, in my opinion, go overboard with their kitchens in their homes (no idea what your house kitchen is like).

Si my question is, assuming you did not eat 'boy scout' tinned beans and sausages, did the boat food taste worse than the home food?

 

 

Well the fridge broke a couple of hours after we set off so we had no fridge but we had some tins and pasta so coped ok. Just need to check it over. It's only 12v so any replacement fridge isn't cheap!

 

The inverter was taken off as it failed the safety so rather than replace it to get it to pass the boat safety it was disconnected. 12v is fine for us as we can charge our phone etc and the solar charges the leisure/starter batteries.

 

23 hours ago, ProDave said:

There is no reason boats (and caravans) can't have decent cookers, our present one has 4 gas hobs a gas oven and grill.  What they do lack is work surface so you have to be organised and use things like the table as additional work surface.

 

Failing that there is the much fabled Fray Bentos pie.

 

The oven/grill is old but functional and works.

 

7 hours ago, canalsiderenovation said:

Well the fridge broke a couple of hours after we set off

Coleman make a fridge that runs on gas or 12V.

Worth having a look.

34 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Coleman make a fridge that runs on gas or 12V.

Worth having a look.

 

Cheers I'll have a look. Generally Waeco is recommended on boating forums but they ain't cheap. We have my wife's electrician uncle taking a look at it first incase we messed with something when we were cleaning it. Power is getting to it as the light is on but it isn't going cold.

1 hour ago, canalsiderenovation said:

 

Cheers I'll have a look. Generally Waeco is recommended on boating forums but they ain't cheap. We have my wife's electrician uncle taking a look at it first incase we messed with something when we were cleaning it. Power is getting to it as the light is on but it isn't going cold.

 

Do you hear the thermostat click as you rotate it from min to max?

12 hours ago, Onoff said:

 

Do you hear the thermostat click as you rotate it from min to max?

 

Not that I have noticed. I'll double check later.

Caravan fridges run off 240v, 12v or gas.

10 minutes ago, joe90 said:

Caravan fridges run off 240v, 12v or gas.

Dometic seems to be the most common make at the moment.

 

Not sure how boat fridges are vented.  On a caravan you have 2 big air vents above and below the fridge on the outside.  But you don't want to go cutting dirty great holes in the side of a boat, so there must be some other way to vent them.  So perhaps a caravan fridge is not best choice for a boat?

5 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Dometic seems to be the most common make at the moment.

 

Not sure how boat fridges are vented.  On a caravan you have 2 big air vents above and below the fridge on the outside.  But you don't want to go cutting dirty great holes in the side of a boat, so there must be some other way to vent them.  So perhaps a caravan fridge is not best choice for a boat?

Yes but the ventilation is only required for gas use, don’t connect gas to it and just run it from 12v ?(hopefully “uncle” can repair it.)

Edited August 3, 2021 by joe90

what an awesome view you have their. 

 

Money cant really buy it.

 

 

Make sure you don't leave the water tank full in winter.

My sister did, if froze, then split, and sunk her boat.

10 hours ago, joe90 said:

Yes but the ventilation is only required for gas use, don’t connect gas to it and just run it from 12v ?(hopefully “uncle” can repair it.)

 

Yes gas fridges aren't recommended for boats now, not sure why and where I read it on Canalworld forums. Still waiting for wife's uncle to give verdict on fridge but I think it's knackered, light on switch inside but no noise when turning temperature from 0-9. Having seen price of decent 12v fridges we are going to explore getting the inverter sorted so we can get a conventional, small fridge. We just need to make sure it is the right type of inverter and that any conventional fridge doesn't cane the starter and leisure battery and look at the solar too..... It did have an inverter until earlier this year until the Boat Safety guy found it to be non compliant and cut the plug off it so hopefully it can be sorted soon.

 

6 hours ago, Dave Jones said:

what an awesome view you have their. 

 

Money cant really buy it.

 

Indeed it is, hopefully when the garden is sorted and we have a proper patio etc it will be better!

 

23 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Make sure you don't leave the water tank full in winter.

My sister did, if froze, then split, and sunk her boat.

 

Good god! Our neighbours warned us about this. Our tank isn't that big but it probably wouldn't take much to sink the boat, it's one of those 'bladder' types - think of the sort you use when hiking but a lot bigger!

8 hours ago, canalsiderenovation said:

Yes gas fridges aren't recommended for boats now,

I think you will find it’s because gas is heavier than air and if a leak occurs the gas will sit in the boat bilges and be an explosion risk, whereas caravans have a low level vent so the gas can escape. You can’t have a low level vent on a boat ?.