LIFE ABOARD: Your Questions Answered (Narrowboat Q&A) 

Hope you enjoyed our first Q&A! Comment below if there’s anything you’d like to know and we’ll get a list on the go 😁 Hope you’re having a great weekend 🤩👍

You two are so cute together, and very funny. You could do a morning talk show from Holly. You could call your show, The Morning Buzz, and have guests on to whom you service your latest coffee blends.

You two are so adorable together! Loved this one!

I love Vics’ James Bond faces that he pulls for the camera LOL

Question for the next Q&A: Where in the UK are you both from? How are you supporting yourself through the renovations (you didn't answer this in this Q&A 😉)? Has the pandemic changed your business plan for the cafe?

You two are just lovely people, well suited and I think your cafe will be a great success

Regarding pedal power, you could set up a couple of bikes with small generators, on stands and recharge your batteries. This would be particularly useful in the winter when you want to keep warm and there’s not a lot of solar going around. Or, you could set up some miniature treadmills with ferrets and teeny, tiny generators and feed them stale cake from Holly to encourage them to run (fresh cake on special occasions or when you want to go really fast...(p.s. Enjoyed your Q&A - a laugh riot, as we used to say!).

"How do we hipster-up our lifestyle?" Okay I have to admit, that was funny.

What a wonderful couple you are. Wishing you both all the best with your new venture. My wife and I hope to someday join you for a coffee on Holly

You two are so watchable, I just love you both, lots of love & best wishes xx

Hello Boaters, if you want to see what sailing is like, have a look at the movie " Adrift " loosely based on a true story, I think canal calm looks so much better than life on the open waves!

Sunday evening and your video is becoming my favourite part of the week. The wife has agreed we need a boat after our recent week on the Llangollen. Going to wait until next year for the boat, but hope to get something from your cafe in the future... Oh no 7 days until next Sunday now :(

I now know how come you are so good at editing videos.

Your roving supplies for the cafe: An idea I had, maybe worth a try. You should do county or shire specials from local producers. I.E. Fruit cake n' Wensleydale or Curd Tarts when in Yorkshire etc. Scone's n' Clotted cream in the South West and so on. Jellied Eels or pie n' mash in London, the list goes on. It could become a signature thing for you, keeping food culture alive and maybe even taking it other parts of the country if you retain a dish on the menu as it where. Hope your cafe boat is a success. PS. When sailing, try a Catamaran or Trimaran they heel less!

Loved this Q&A. I am a displaced Cheshire-ite now living in California. I have been watching your vlogs for yonks from CA. It happens I am currently in Southport and do have transportation for the next six weeks and am desperate to get coffee and cake. I truly hope I can before I have to go back…. Please Please Please open before the middle of July AND somehow let the world know where you are (read let me know where you are…). So I can come and have a slice of decent cake and coffee AND say a brief hello before I have to go back to Cally. That would put the icing on my cake, so to speak. Thank you both, and William of course! ❤️❤️❤️David

Loved that!

Lots of fun, thanks!

Could watch a movie of you two, love your personalities and suit eachother so well..

Thanks guys had a laugh 😂😂and keep up the good work 👍🏻

Excellent, great video! Q & A with the usual "Vic & Jo, lets just go for it" approach. Settled a discussion I have been having too, I thought Jo had an East Lancs accent. Be good and take care.

Great vlog! I love the variety of the videos... so much fun. I look forward to watching you guys each week! Can't wait to visit for a coffee sometime :-)

I think I could watch you guys do just about anything and enjoy it. Another charming video. Thanks!

What a joy to watch you both and see your progress with Holly each week. and thanks for answering my question too :)

Hi Jo and Vic, it must be great not having a care in the world and living the dream, you are both always so laid back. I live a mile from goldstone wharf on the Shroppie , I am looking forward to my coffee and meeting you both. Take care Steve.

Best boating Q&A I've seen...very funny 😁 ....cheers

Hi Joanna and Vic, Loved your question and answer vlog. Enjoy watching you two figure it all out together.

Great video guys keep up the good work 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇵🇦🇵🇦👍👍

Spanking editing! So much fun for a Q&A...

Enjoyable vlog. I admire your spirit. You will succeed.

Love that orange kettle !! cheers and thumbs up from Florida USA

we are very happy for both of you remember tomorrow is yet untouched looking forward to next week

Great vlog - such fun and I wish you well in your endeavours. Having owned/run a artisan deli/coffee shop in Manchester I feel your excitement, which I had - it was hard work but loved every minute - I'm sure you will

Wow, what a difference a few weeks makes, I am impressed, Holly looks great, and who cares about the port holes, adds character. Looks like it's going to be a while until you're down my neck of the woods, hopefully next year. Looking forward to seeing the inside take shape, good job guys, well done !

I was wondering about those portholes, opening from the outside.

If it's not too personal I'd like to know how you support yourselves, financially. I can only imagine the cost of renovating Holly and it's such a brave thing to do. But then there are the day-to-day costs as well. Cannot wait to see Holly up and running!

Doing such a grand job all around! Keep It simple or KIS for Holly. I'm sure you already have a business plan. I wish I could visit, but I will put it on my bucket list for sure. Retirement has been made very different because of the panemic, but who am I fooling, I have a teenager also. Best wishes, I surely hope you can keep up the vlog, it's my fav along with Country Gent!!!! You two make my day with every aspect of your adventures.

I enjoyed too see your videos. hugs from Denmark

Good morning, that was good!

Love U guys....UR one lucky guy ! LOL I am following 10 narrow boaters

Would you say you speak, “Lanky”? You both are so funny, love your interaction and how you are on the same wavelength. Millennial snowflake, hipster, too funny, (none of the above, thankfully) A Wales narrowboat holiday was suggested to us for a 45th Wedding anniversary, that’s what brought me to your site. Loving each moment, can’t wait for the next episode.

Joanna - would you like an award winning Lime and Courgette cake recipe. I know it's going to be awhile yet until you're carving it up and serving it to people. Lime and courgette doesn't sound right but believe me they'll be banging on the door for more. Rich x

Love your videos, they are inspiring and fun, also I am from Nottingham but am long-term based in distant Canada so it's lovely to see a bit of where I grew up. A couple questions re a moving cafe, I'm thinking by moving around you are eliminating the chance to build up a core of regulars, I'm sure you have thought of this but how will people plan a visit? Will you have a circuit you repeat weekly or just be at large on the waterways and hoping people want a coffee when you are passing? Will you be vending at festivals? What about static cafes next to the canal, would you not be stepping on toes if you set up shop next to them? The other practical issue that comes to mind is water, the replenishing thereof and waste-water removal, surely that'll become a daily chore and limit where you can set up shop? Excited to see how things progress, good luck!

Hi! You talk about two things to check when buying a boat and that´s the hull and the appliances, what about the engine then, a troublesome engine and you are stuck.

Lovely to to see you both! :-) Stay safe! :-)

Nay, its a Blackburn lass! Turkey salad teacakes, tripe, black puds, 'stew and hard' broth and dumps, steak pud, chips, peas and gravy. I hope you've let Vic know about the East Lancs section of the menu?🤣

For the eco boat, marine sailboats have marine wind generators, how much wind do you get on the canals? Also there is a pull behind generator that is based on the analog speed logs for marine vessels when underway but may not work for the canal systems because of shallowness... just throwing ideas out, seeing what sticks.

Looking forward to the electic boat project, thats right up my street. MrTeslonian on RU-vid has some cool projects to get the mind ticking, do you know of him? The cafe boat looks stunning, well done everyone! So I'm guessing it's going to be a sit in cafe with coffee, tea, cake, biscuits?

Victor, it sounds like you are talking about a Stirling engine for a boat, which would be pretty ambitious, but great to see?. The problem with whatever you call home, be it boat or house, is you often fill it with things you may or may not need, but at least with a boat you already know you are a space limited so it easier to justify getting the widget or not.

ha ha what a bunch of fruit cakes (in a good way of course) great to see your enjoying what your doing and having fun :)

Did you use wallboard (drywall to us here) on your upper walls?? If you did you could cut strips the correct width, lightly score the back where the curves are going to be and it will obligingly bend where you want it to go. However you will still have the edges to contend with. (Jo I have actually done a couple of archways using this method and it is lots of fun!! there is a thin metal strip used for corners and you could bend that also....but then there is the mud....and that might not be good on the boat). Maybe you could also try a wood veneer?? I too had wondered about those windows. So we'll see won't we. Hugs as always.

Soooo annoying that You Tube no longer send email notifications for new episodes when they are released! Nearly missed this one, had to manually search for it!

So adorable

Well done! I enjoyed the Q&A! For those of us who live across the pond, would you explain the AGA cooker to us? We would call it a stove or a range. What is the big deal about having an AGA? I watch a lot of British shows like Escape to the Country, and they seem to be a goal to own one. Thanks! God Bless ( don't forget your logo!)

Gluten free and ice cream, kids are chomping at the bit to come and visit. I'm fairly sure we've seen all the vlogs but didn't know about your q & a, are we missing a page? Will you be continuing the vlogs once you open the cafe up?

Put a hefty flywheel on a generator and use pedal power to turn it. Once it starts rotating, a small amount of physical energy will be needed to keep it going.

Does the duck keep in touch?

Good luck

Have you done the Ribble Link before on the way to the Lancaster canal?

I agree with the person wanting to see how you trim the inside of the windows. all the years I worked on peoples houses I kept wishing some one would want a Hobbit house so I could make round doors, windows, halls...........

On a rather mundane point - as you will be moving around how does the Hygiene Certification work? Also your food handling certification and trading licence?

How.long does it take to learn to steer the boat? How hard are the locks to move?

Just catching up on past videos. The heat generating electicity is a thermocouple, or Seebeck effect. (Same as electrtic coolboxes use, but in reverse.) But it is not very efficent. Running your heating flat out, with acres of elements between you radiators and the hull, is only going to generate tiny amounts of power. barely enough to charge a phone. Running electric propulsion, you need serious amounts of power, that will only really come from grid power, or a fuel powered generator. And for a generator you are converting that mechanical power to electricity and back, which will add losses. So you end up in a situation where running the prop directly from the engine actually turning out to be the most ecological solution. Solar is going to be really challenging in the UK. If you cover the boat completely in panels, you are going to be charging for weeks, to get a day's light crusing. So these are fun things to play with (I do it all the time), but be realistic and keep the engine in place for when you need to fall back on it.

First question... moustache is mandatories and electric engine it’s the way forward ... then you’ll be between ..... Uma......and .... la vagabond ..... sorry About my English is not my first language you guys are a good watch 🖖🏻

Did you do a avert for river cruises.

Claiming my 1st place as per usual

12:15 hope you change your mind, that system will not make enough even to light a bulb all night. Hope that both of you are ok and the pandemic stuff will go fast. Did you think to make also a space for few tables on the roof? it will be taller, but maybe you think at something to be fast deployed, like the furniture for the camping, to be able to pack all if it's a low bridge on the way :). I think this will be nice and work better with the covid rules to have smth on open space.

Again, top notch vid. Great to see you two,playing with us.😊 Just curious,do you have a personal email add, as apposed to your business add? I ask, because, like I recognised the accent, your from Blackburn. I lived there from 1969 to 1986, and I still have family there. Totally get it if you think I'm prying.

Does that cooker run under floor heating

🤣🤣😂🤣😂 Well done.

Love your videos,dont change a thing. Dont go La Vagabond way to artificial, Take care.

OK call me mad, but why not 3 wind generators. As there are tunnels on the Cut they would need to be able to fold down, so 2 small that would be lets say 3 to 4 ft mounted on the roof that are employed while moving and then one that can be stored along one side that when erect could (folded up)sit say 10 plus foot above the boat away from the bedroom so at night the hum and other noises would not keep you awake, this would be folded down during travel. Great channel see you soon. Tony in Australia

I missed some videos so just wondering what engine she has and if you had to do much work on it.

useful

Tom from Quebec Canada Heat your boat with compost will go up to 140f horse shit and wood chips make a box put some pipes together and a fan and you will have hot water and hot air think .

Your partner is adorable, such a lucky man xx

"Mineral? Gold!" 😂

I just looked at the Video of you taking Holly out the boat yard and it do appear that a porthole is the wrong way round 🤔😮

Are you planning a web site for Holly showing where you are (when it opens) of is it just going to be customers find you by chance?

What shoes did Vic have on for this interview?

When the EU forced the UK to tax pleasure diesel back in the 90s it was the The Boating Industry that put up the biggest fight. As it's impossible to take the red stain out of the tanks, pipes and pumps, diesel sellers would need to install another complete system to sell white diesel. Commercial boats would still use red diesel and pleasure boater would still be able to use for heating, cooking and electric power generation. A compromise was found that Red diesel would still be used and tax added to 75% of the amount purchased the remaining 25% tax free for heating etc. The biggest problem was for boater visiting the EU as customs started fining + taxing not the volume of fuel in the boat but on the size of the tank and even confiscating boats in some cases. If white diesel is going to raise it's ugly head again then unless a cleaning method has been found to rid the Red stain, then boaters will need to install a complete new fuel system for the propulsion side , plus use white diesel if the charge the power system from the main engine. You guys need to get together and lobby your MPs. But being on the move who is your MP ? Join an association, get together with marina and other fuel sellers. On the cleaning side I have experienced trying to rid red from trucks that had been used off road on a construction project. Flushing through with white diesel and installing new fuel filters does not work. One truck driver was summons and luckily log books were filled in each day the truck was off-road as they would be if it was on the road. plus invoices to the client included the registration numbers, so the case was thrown out.

It may have been almost asked, but can Xero tow Holly across the Ribble link. Also, I have seen untethered boats struggle with the turns of the Savick Brook. Is it possible to tow Holly? Actually, Does Holly have an engine?

And how are you financing the refurbishment of Holly? Not sayin!!

When are you guys planning on a live vlog

What will end first, do you think, Q or A?

will you be offering Gluten Free options? :-)

When do you think you'll be going Electric ?

Are the Portholes the wrong way round or is it a joke ? 😯🤔

👍👌🇨🇦❤,,

Younger James Franco ?

If you want a low carbon means of pollution, why not get a horse?

Boring!! stay with the subject of your channel>> "Cafe Boat"