Winter on a 54ft Narrowboat 

That was a lovely vlog. You certainly shouldn’t feel guilty of not being ready for winter. A new baby is all consuming. It takes quite a while to get into the swing of having a new little person to care for and to be responsible for. You are both doing amazing so relaxed well that’s how it comes across. I hope that is how you feel.

First off, so pleased to hear that everything was hunky dory on Zero and Holly. It was somewhat unnerving to think that Holly, after all the work you both put into it, was damaged in anyway. In the end, both still the Bees Knees. I love the magical vibe this episode seemed to take on. William has, no doubt brightened your hearts beyond imagination, and that warmth and happiness now shines across the viewing screen, (TV, computer and whatnot), and makes us all feel just a little better knowing that William has come into all of our lives, metaphorically anyways. Stay groovy and stay safe.

You three are just such a joy to watch! I so love William's baby noises too. Makes me almost grieve for my children's baby times. Thank you for letting us into your lives. Health issues prevent me from doing anything too adventurous but I used to live on a sailing barge and your life makes me quite nostalgic. I feel such gratitude. Thank you!

I am so thankful that your boats were not found with frozen pipes and water damage. I think half this world would have been heart broken right along with you. Happy you could light your stoves and warm up Zero so you could be cozy, especially for little William.

Those silly intros bring an instant smile, even rewind and watch again before absorbing the interesting weekly events. I lived and worked from a motor caravan in the UK for 10 years through the 1990s into the 2000s. Brings back a lot of memories watching you both.

Lovely vlog, I know we only see the good bits but Jo is looking so well, seems you have both taken to parenthood like ducks to water 🦆

So thankful you guys are okay- as well as Holly and Zero! William must be the most chill wee one ever- y’all are so peaceful and content ( or at least it seems that way lol). Your videos don’t have to be exciting- just sharing the humdrum parts of your lives is truly comforting and quieting. Love from Texas - where we are still awaiting Winter’s sting.

When I spent winters on my 32' cutter in Woods Hole MA I kept it Miami Beach warm with a Dickerson gravity feed diesel pot burner. It had a SS body and cast iron cook top. The oven could cook a large chicken or small turkey. It had a seven day "day" tank and I kept it going from October thru March. What a pleasure it was to return to ANN of a late night and slide the hatch open to be hit with a wash of warm air. Seven days can slide by before you know it. One late snow covered night when I slid the hatch forward the arctic rose to greet me. This required filling the day tank with 5 gallons which I had in reserve, bleed the fuel lines (which gives the cabin a delightful diesel smell), light the pot on pilot for a time before going on full heat, clean up, jump under the quilt, all of which takes 30 minutes or more. So I do appreciate your trepidation upon returning to ZERO. Cheers, Courtenay

Dont stopp the sillyness!!! we love it!!! happy the boats survived..!!!!

I have to admit that this house was pretty winterized when we bought it. It routinely drops to about -25 a few times each winter for a week or two, at a stretch, without any issues. (Did I word that well enough? Or did I just order a pipe bursting with our first hard freeze?) Now I am the maintenance man and I hope it stays this way. I am just creeping up to 65, not 90, but I will have a hard time climbing under cabinets to wrap the pipes. My husband’s father is 98 and blind as a bat but he still did all the maintenance around the house and maintained his mower and did the mowing. Blind. I don’t know how and really need to stop comparing myself but I used to think that I was a tough old broad. I don’t hold a candle to him. So we have been lucky with this house. I was worried for you two because everything changes when you have a baby on board and I wasn’t sure how you would manage two boats being flooded with a baby on board. Really REALLY glad you were lucky! Did you get right on making sure things were right and tight with the boats? Watching Vic do the bulk of carrying William when out and about, on camera, I can’t help but think you (Joanna) said “I carried him the first 9 months and now it’s YOUR turn”. Or does Vic simply enjoy carrying his son around and taking lead? Nice video! This winter is occupied by William. Do you have it in mind to take all of your winters off?

Yes, you must keep the daft intro's 😀 . I am addicted to your vlogs as you are great guys and ambitious👍.

So pleased for you that the boats were ok. Stay warm and cosy. William is beautiful . A lovely vlog as always. Take care xxx

Glad you had no leaks. Another brilliant video🤗🍰☕🍰☕🎁🎄 Love Sue🎄🎄🎄🇬🇧🎄🎄🎄

Have to agree with MA Yandle. The vibe now that William's around has changed up. Parenthood seems to suit you both. Long life, health and happiness to you all!

Thank you for sharing an insight into life in the Winter months. Here in Adelaide we never see snow so that part of Winter we never experience thus no need to 'winterize' our houses. Then again if your Summer days get over 42C, even up to 45 degrees you would be sweltering. Just to show how temperatures are relative to the locality, back in 2014 I was Santa Claus for Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. To me, it was lovely T-shirt weather, 23-25C most days. Adelaide was going through horrific bushfires with day after day well over 40C. Yet, at Ferrari World and out on the streets of Abu Dhabi there were locals walking around with jumpers and parkas on because of the cold compared to their summer which can easily get over 50C! Such a joy emanates from William when he smiles. You pair can luxuriate in that feeling and it keeps you going even through all that nappy changing and the myriad of other "joys of childhood." Do take every opportunity to enjoy your time with him as children grow up so fast that these early days will be sorely missed. Take care and stay safe and well. Merry Christmas to you all.

I do like the way you capture the sounds - ryvita snapping, pouring of coffee, firewood chucked onto the pile. Along with the photography really helps to become immersed in the scene.

Everyone has already beat me to the punches... Hitting all the salient points. Love the intros & camera antics ..always great music too. Superb luck, no frozen pipes! William travels like a little champ! Yay, recycling to old clothes... And yippee, laundry done! And, that grilled sandwich looked & crunched so amazingly, I'm hungry for one myself now! Cheers & best wishes from Kentucky USA ‼️

Love little William laughing and smiling at his mommy

Glad there wasn’t much trouble on the boats from the sudden cold weather. I guess with a fairly small area, the boat warms up fairy quickly. William looks a happy little boy and you both look very well. Keep us up to date as much as you can. Thanks for the video.

Don't ever stop the intro's they make us laugh and smile :) Glad you had a nice trip home,and the boats are ok. Stay warm the weather is getting worse, I think this winter is going to be a really cold one. :)

Congratulations on the arrival of William. Winter afloat with a baby looks full on.

I was told boats don't freeze as long as the canal doesn't freeze with inches thick ice. Nice to see William featuring, with a few little noises. A gentle babe - so far. Pleased your boats were OK.

And once again you’ve shown us another tip! Toasted sandwiches on the multi fuel stove. That’s this afternoons. Treat sorted.

Don't forget to drain off the hose reel and it's a good idea not to coil the section needed to stretch between the tap and boat. Even if the hose is stiff water will still flow through it. I would have hung onto some cotton item's and used as rags in the engine room, It was chilly here this morning and the garden hose was not as plyable and that was at 29 deg. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tread safe on the frosty decks.

Love the intros, vids, blogs etc. Keep 'em coming. That icy blast caught a lot of people out, we had no de-icer for the cars. AAARRRGGGHHH!!! Best wishes to the star of the show, Little Billy. Gorgeous.

Don't you very dare stop doing those crazy introse, we love 'em! Great to see William sporting that fabulous Koala 🐨 hat. Make the most of the fab hats, as soon as he's able he'll be grabbing them off his head and throwing them overboard. Thank you again guys for sharing your vlogs with us. They are something we really look forward to! XXx

Canadian here. You’ve got some grace time before pipes will freeze, especially if the temperature doesn’t drop too far down below zero for too long. Snow will insulate and the canal didn’t look like it had frozen solid. Glad it all worked out. I use a internet connected thermometer in our remote cabin that tells me when the interior temperature drops below a certain temperature, then I have another remote switch that starts a small electric radiator. I hear you about the gratitude for shelter. Our cabin gets water from a well, waste is deal with via a septic field and for emergencies we have an outhouse in the forest. Heat comes from a wood burner, so managing firewood is a daily job. But few things beat a frosty morning, and I mean Canadian frosty, with the fire going and coffee on the stove.

Every time i watch depressing news on the telly I tune into you. I am 100% better now big kiss for William xxxxx

Such a sweet family! Keep up the silliness! We all need more of that in our lives❤️

Your special intro's are great. You enjoy creating them too.

I love the intros, please don't ever stop. Glad everything was okay for you. Put curtains across your snug then you can shut out the mess, we've all got dumping grounds in our homes. That Neflix film was Gump, We watched it ourselves 😄 Love the fact you don't use a pram, I bet William loves it too x

I just started watching this episode and Williams cooing did it for me. Thumbs up for the little guy. I haven’t heard those sounds for years. Good Bless you all.

love the way your Vlogs are so chilled out. such a lovely family vibe, down to earth with a weave of humour.

Wakey wakey Jo! All William wanted was the Heating on...

So so happy to hear you all make it thru the storm unscathed. Lovely ep, have to say Zero looks so cosy (even when you could see your breath) 🤗🤗

You three really are adorable and a genuine pleasure to watch. So glad all was okay back at both boats - your home and your workplace are important towards maintaining the equilibrium. Already looking forward to your next vlog and hearing your plans for your first Christmas with William. Take care of yourselves and stay safe.

Another brilliant vlog……another great intro…don’t change your format…plenty could follow your lead!! Glad both boats escaped unscathed. What a gorgeous little man you have in William…so chilled…although I;m sure he has his moments….bet his grandparents loved seeing him. Stay safe and keep warm….more winter weather on its way 😞 x

William looks so snug and warmly wrapped up in dad's arms!

So glad Zero and Holly where OK. William is a sweetheart ❤ treasure these happy times. Really enjoy your vlogs, thank you so much. How about a mince pie, Christmas food type vlog , love seeing what Jo is whipping up when Holly open for business. See you next time🤗.keep warm 👼🤶🧑‍🎄

Hi, thank you for this vlog update on the canal. I have lived in Artic places like Norway, Sweden and upper Midwest USA. So seen enough snow, and felt subzero temps plummeted. I learned it's key to keep undersink doors open and to place a special type candle lit beneath a turned over planting pot. Any size pot can do. The larger pots, I can add extra candles if you wish. Test to see what suits the most heat generated. This emergent heat source can easily warm up a small room, like a bathroom with bathroom main door closed. There are RU-vid vlogs on the subject. Also Canadian discovery channel had a reality series about off-grid houseboats living, in upper eastern Artic tundra of Canada. Survivalist skills on steroids, really. Having same latitude as Alaska/ Siberia, living on open iced over waters, no electricity hookup. They have solar, but from September until end of May, little to no sunlight and limited daylight all together (4 or so hrs). They really had to be creative to prevent everything freezing solid. Backup Generators can only run so long on limited petro resources. Here is a list to UCO 12 HR natural beeswax pillar candles, greenhouse tera Cotta pots with hole in bottom. Small stainless steel cake pan or cookie sheet pan. Put candle in center of pan, place upside down Terra Cotta pot over lit candle. Will keep area around water pipes above freezing temps. Note: only these type of candles (beeswax or plant base clean burning candles, unscented. No tea candles will properly heat enough here. Also no other planting pot will work. Terra Cotta breaths, 🔥 the fire heat distribution more evenly! I have my emergency candle kit set aside ready, for January- February ice 🥶 winter temps drop here. You do need to be nearby to maintain the lit candle. It's common sense for any fire risk, goes without saying. I also line the pans with tinfoil, for easy clean up after use of candles. Good luck on winter living with an infant. You both are good, lovely parents. Again, congrats!🇺🇲 🎉🥳💙❄️🕯️❄️☕💙

Couldn't help but notice that plant @11:20 handled the cold well. It bodes very well for the future.

DO NOT STOP THE SILLY INTROs !! Feel me? Lovin' all things William. Stay warm. May your good luck continue.

I love your silly intros! Don’t stop! (William is pretty sweet to watch, too. Keep him!)

Best intro ever! Much love from the US!

The intros are great. Love Williams hat. So pleased no damage on the boat.

You two are brilliant! Made me LOL at the end “oooh, Judge Judy”!

So, so glad the boats were OK. It's tense not knowing what you are going back to. I always "expect" the worse then I can be extra grateful when I'm wrong. :) William is so sweet and so bright. You can tell he's very aware of everything. They turn your world upside down so don't apologize for that. Life becomes chaotic so just go with the flow.

A good series to binge on through the winter is "Resident Alien" if you can get it, I'm sure Vic will source it, it is very funny xx

Ah so cool - your winters are pretty sweet . Zero looks like a comfy spot .

WOWSER, so worth the wait. You have the knack for getting William's voice on all things, it is so cute. So happy that all is well with both boats. Are you thinking about opening Holly for the winter?

Glad you found everything fine on board, William looked cosy and warm

Love your thought process on returning to the boats, anything less than a disaster is a bonus! I've only had one burst in 25 years on my boat and that was when it went seriously low i.e. -7 plus. In hindsight I should have warmed the boat up slowly for a few hours before allowing my water pump to switch on. Like how baby Wills just goes with the flow, what a star he's going to be in future shows. Batten down the hatches in readiness for Storm Barra tomorrow guys.

Love the intro....love the vlog ... William is already handsome and a very lucky lad to have parents like you. Glad the boats where alright ...

Wow! that was suspenseful! I held my breath as Vic opened the doors....so so relieved that all was well! I loved the shots of William looking up into Jo's face...true love! p.s. your silly into's always make me smile! This one was such a massive eye roller, that the trajectory nearly slung me off my recliner....LOL!!

I love that you show all of the life on a narrow boat, even the bits that might not be so glorius. :) A part of me wants a narrow boat or do vanlife, but then we have the part that wants a huge garden to plant in and a huge library... I guess i have to live through you a bit longer... ;)

bluddy love you two (three) pls bring Holly to the Kennet and Avon one day x

Do not change the intro's! You guy's are awesome, always good to have some lightheartedness.

Keep the intro’s they’re a great start to a happy smiley vlog. I’m glad both boats survived the cold weather I felt positive glass half full. 👍

Thank you so much for continuing to post thru' your winter. And all while getting used to a third little chappie on board as well. William is adorable, but how could he not be with you two for parents. Stay safe ... much love from NZ.

I had a similar worry this week, was away from the boat for a week in that cold snap in Skipton. My taps were frozen up, but thankfully no burst pipes on thawing out, lucky I thought. So happy for you guys ❣️and baby William 💖 :)

Hi you three glad you are all home safely 😘 and that you have had a lovely time with your parents they must have been elated to see William and yourselves. I was sure your boats would have been ok it’s got to be really really bad for that to happen. It’s nice to get cosy with the fire on etc get nice and snug. Clearing things out is the best feeling and getting organised because this is what you have to be on a boat everything has to have a home 😂😤 I watched that film wasn’t what I expected but it made me laugh 🤣🤣 love Williams hat he is coming on so much smiling and gurgling I love that sound 👶😀 lovely to see you see you soon 😘 could we have 🎄🥳 decorations up next 🥰 bye xxx

Love the video. You all the are really precious. William seems to be a really happy baby. You all take care and stay warm. Pretty nice here today but rain and wind due tomorrow...and the temp drops. Part of life in the Ohio Valley.

Such a joy to watch your little family doing things together. Look forward to your weekly vlogs. Thank you for sharing your beautiful family with us.

Good night, William! Good night, you two!

So pleased everything was okay on the boats. William is just adorable and seems so content Take care and keep warm x

That was terrific. Welcome home to William. I just lit the big wood stove to warm the house up. It’s just about 3 degrees on Salt Spring today. Cheers.

What a lovely Vlog. Glad both boats were fine when you got back home. Really nice seeing the three of you looking so happy. Take Care.

Aah you guys just make me smile. Your attitude to life should be bottled, well done!

Blessings for William. Thank you.

Aww love your vlogs, your doing so well, babies are quite full on and demanding usually but William seems so chilled! You can only do jobs when he allows 😊. It will get easier as he grows.

Great to see the three of you looking so content with life. William looks like a very good baby or is it just what we see LOL . Take care and keep safe and warm....chris x

pleasure to watch you both and your love for William you are going to be a happy family. lucky with the water now anti freeze in both engines please just don not add to your drinking water not a good outcome. ha ha see your next time around Ed 40 S of Vegasxxx

Such a lovely little family. Thanks for sharing.

Got some time off work, I've been binging all bloody day. Currently 1am-ish, Im still gannin! You make good vids innit.

You fantastically resilient, super couple, your care and love exudes from all three of you, I wish you so much health, happiness and success in the coming months, spring is only a step round the corner, but before that, Xmas, have a wonderful one, the gods are looking over you, all love, Father Christmas x

You nearly need a third boat. I remember every time we left the house when the kids were wee it seemed like we were packing for an Everest attempt. Glad your boats survived the frost. Cheers from Canada where it is currently flooding in the province where I live.

Thanks, and take care.

Your opening few minutes were spectacular! Your are always entertaining and lovingly shared, See ya!

Do NOT ever stop these intros, I absolutely adore them ❤

One of the best blogs on RU-vid

Ha-ha - the penny dropped where you were when I saw the Chelleston Lines and then cut to the power station … btw … that’s my tree for doing pull ups! 🤣

I say this most weeks (I’m a technical producer so I know what it takes) your editing is epic 👍😍

I like how you open your vlogs and take us hither and yon with y’all! Your determination and stick-to-itiveness comes through brilliantly. See y’all soon, over here in Portland, Oregon.

What a lovely normal person vlog you guys make. I can't wait for the next 😍

Another lovely video of the happy family. Lovely.

Brilliant videos, loving the silliness. The three of you are doing amazing

As someone who is old enough to remember waking up with ice on the inside of the windows take it from me that pipes bursting and that sort of thing only happens when the temperature gets to below 20 F ( -6 C for you youngsters).

You three are bloody adorable! Especially that little piece of magic! The very best of wishes and love to you X (From a Chav! lol).

long eaton has a cold feeling to it at the best of times. scatter some snow into the equation and it's damn right artic.

Never ever stop the intros, I love them!! 😊

Love the intros & the Billy Idol snippet to William

Glad everything was OK when you got back. We got stuck in Lancs too with storm Arwen 🙄

I made a pot of chicken and wild rice soup this week - was eating some through the episode. I was intrigued by the steps to make humus. I envy your aga and fireplace. I hope you will share some of your favorite winter soups/meals.

Ahh, 7:43 railway content and a meet no less! :) Even though I live where cold and snow are normal I am no real fan of them, however, trains seem to usually look good to me in snow.

As others have already said, this is a lovely vlog - been following it for quite a while now. I have probably missed this before, but I would prefer it if you wore a helmet when out cycling Vic!

I just enjoy watching your channel so much. Such a beautiful family 💗💗💗

I love the silly openings. Keep it up.

Love your videos! Keep them coming!

Instead of shouting Hello from the towpath on a bright blue bike, it's Hello from the Shroppie! Always enjoying your vlogs. Thanks. Keep 'em coming. PS You're doing a great job with William. Tebay Rob 😊

Who’d have thought you could make humdrum daily chores so interesting. Thank you both, and William of course, for another entertaining episode of the ‘Wiljovic’ family. Stay warm and see you again next Friday!. 👍😜🤓