FIT FOR PURPOSE

Terry Hibbard from Harworth Heating offers his expert opinion following our feature on onboard stove safety

- Terry Hibbard

As we approach the winter heating period, what an interesting and possibly lifesaving article in September’s Canal Boat. In a few critical sentences, chimney sweep Dawn managed to produce a definitive tour de force of technical and safety observations about stove installations which each and every boater should be aware of.

The days of throwing a chicken down the chimney to clean it have long gone, and in recent years chimney sweeping has become more and more involved.

In the article, reproduced right, Dawn comments on some of the many safety aspects that sweeps now have to be aware of including stoves which look great and are integrated into imaginative design schemes but are entirely unsuitable for fitting under a 6ft chimney.

Stoves designed for boats are not new – our picture shows the wonderful contemporary cooking range designed to cook for the whole of the ship’s company on Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory.

And on the Isle of Wight, there is a superb example of a very expensive, high quality, 1920s yacht stove in a pub called the Spy Glass Inn in Ventnor. It is a well-designed, decorative example of form and function incorporating and demonstrating many features required for marine use.