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11/10 customer service.

My boating neighbour has had his narrowboat for 6 weeks.When he brought her i looked over her with him and explained a couple of things.Anyway he mentioned this morning that the boat had begun to smell,i had a quick look at obvious things and his pump out loo was full to the neck.He thought pump out was automatic...have now sorted that.Boat is a bit pongy and had a quick look at bilge inspection hole and he had some water in it,now pumped out probably only a coupla pints..Bilge was dry when i looked over boat with him last month so im guessing the pump out loo has leaked where it was full around the neck.So all drained now and cleaning liquid around bilge and redrained..Any opinions on this please? Ian

Ahoy folks, Last week the old argument about the dreadful racket that many modern boaters make by running generators all the the time,raised its ugly head ''again!'',very likely in some cases cos their batteries are knackered anyway.Well, as someone mentioned me as the person that might possibly solve the problem once and for all,here's the way to do it. Ideally you need a water cooled genny but the use of an air-cooled one is also possible.An electric start one is best. Right,are you sitting comfortably,then i'll start. ( Brum-Brroom,brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrpopbrrrrrrrrrrrrrpopbrrrrePOP)-''Just testing it first''. Hunt around and find a 40 gallon oil drum. Cut open the the side '''roundy bit'' with an angle grinder,hammer and cold chistle or whatever you prefer,save the cut out bit. Lower your generator in and bolt or weld it down.Drill 4 holes in the drum,two for in and out cooling water,one for the exhaust and one for the umbilical electric cable. Plumb in both water and exhaust outlets with a good quality one-way valve''important''.Poke the starting and power cables out through the other hole and seal up with waterproof Goo of your choice. Fill the noisy fiend up with petrol. Make a nice waterproof hinged lid from the cut out piece.Tie a rope to the drum and like a freindly depth-charge chuck it overboard.Get some heavy ballast and stuff it under the genny so that it has only just about negative bouyancy and will gently sink to the bottom on an even keel. Connect up the electric cables to your boat and start it up. Now the only evidence that your ''little generating power station'' is at work will only be, quite a pleasant,distant bubbling murmering noise from the exhaust and a shimmering, jellywobblish sort of aspect of the waters surface,a bit like an under sea quake in the offing. If you happen to be an angler,hard cheese,as the fish will have high-tailed it and away,apart from the odd quirky ones that may remain to swoon in the waters ''Good vibrations''and get a thrill from it. This ''submersible electric generating pod'' can also be towed along,whilst running if needed. If anyone requires instructions on building an air-cooled pod please don't! on any account PM or contact me,just use your savvy. Happy and quiet generating. Bizzard.

Do you have a mooring arranged Pedro? Richard

Why not buy a coil or two of rope & a book on Fendermaking? That way you stay busy, do something useful & boat related & might even earn a bob or two...

Entirely different sort of thread (and what's this doing in General Boating anyway?). In the other thread to which you refer, the OP had asked for information. This thread is nothing but comments so mine is not out of place. OK, if you want me to say more I will add that I've always found Jimmy Savile creepy in the extreme. I dunno, Jimmy Perry, Jimmy Savile - who'll be next for the CWF canonisation process - Little Jimmy Krankie?

As the builder in question, I feel I need to reply to this. The sleepers are placed on the trailer for launch, not only to get the crane straps out, but also to ensure the base plate clears all the trailer beams. The trailer is a marina one, nothing to do with our company. The sleepers generally slide away from the boat at launch, or often stay within the parameters of the trailer, as the others did, unfortunately this one didn't, and it was not spotted. The sleeper did then pop out with some force as John describes, during the maiden voyage. All seemed well after the tiller was re-seated, and there was no apparent cause for concern as the boat ran quietly and smoothly from then on for many miles/hours. When we were alerted to the noise, we got an engineer straight out to look at it,if I remember correctly it was on a weekend, and we and he have been out on occassions since....frustratingly, the noise wasn't apparent often whilst the engineer was there. We replaced the prop last week, and I have now had a full shebang of prop shaft and stern gear, bearings included, couriered to us for full replacement of all posssible problem areas next week. The shaft will be examined later, our priority is to get a new one fitted, and then look at it once we have the boat back and mobile. It has been a problamatic noise to resolve, and we have spent quite some time checking different points on the boat. We are giving as much support as we can on this issue, as I am sure John will agree, and whilst we accept it is frustrating and worrrying for them both, it has also been a concern for us. As all was inline and new on launch, we do not view this as a 'builder' problem as such, but never the less, have not walked away from the problem, but have, and are continuing, to do all we can to resolve it. We are charging £0.00 + £0.00 vat for our time or travelling. Hopefully this will all be resolved on tuesday when everything is replaced. We value John and Ali as both customers and friends, as we do all our customers, and have a reputation for good customer aftercare....even if the issue is not directly of our making, it is one thing we feel is the most important part of maintaining a good business.

as is most of the thread, wandering off as usual. would the unfortunate young people have read any notices anyway? imho , cynical as it is, notices are erected to prevent sue-age, how many ignore towpath closed signs, assessing danger or lack of it yourselves and carrying on regardless, or walk across lock gates? at your own risk. While my sympathy goes to the deceased and families I am cynical about the corporate statements ensueing. Also tragedy has been a source of humour since man laughed.

So what advice would you give to non-boaters using the waterways? Mine would be 'stay away from the water's edge at all times'. Any boaters - presumably like you - who are already taking sensible precautions, don't need that advice and would see it for what it is, which is a general piece of advice for members of the public who are non-boaters. Have you really nothing better to do than sit around waiting for opportunities to have a go at public sector PR? .

I think this is the one ? Narrow Boat Indus Liz Skinner (07930 347558) Sourced from This Link

Yes, but probably most will be near London, not Cumbria ? There is a good place in Rickmansworth (Herts) that comes recommended by lots of people, but hardly local to Neil's quoted location. I would just Google something like "Diesel Fuel Injection Services" and see what it came up with locally. Alternatively Calcutt boats offer a "send yours in" exchange service, but I have no idea about the quality of the reconditioned ones you get back. IIRC it was around £30 per injector, but my memory may be hazy, as I used a local firm instead.