Ernie

We have a 12V Shoreline fridge and a 12V Shoreline freezer, they were on the boat when we bought it. In the summer (well, warmer weather) we find that the pair together consume just over 5 amps and the compressors run more or less continually during the day. Over a 24 hour period, the pair currently consuming around 100 amp hours. The consumption drops off a bit in the cooler weather – but not a huge amount less. Both units are as well ventilated as I can get them and I have also added a 12V computer fan in an attempt to circulate the air behind them a bit. I have also bored some large holes in the floor in an attempt to get some cool air up from the base plate (Gibbo’s idea). The fridge temperature is set at 3 degrees C and the freezer is set at minus 18 degrees C. We are live aboard CC’ers and would not like to be without a fridge and a freezer. The real pain is the time required to re-charge the batteries every day to put back the charge used by the fridge and freezer. It takes on average around 3 hours charging (engine or generator) every day to get the batteries back up to somewhere around 80% capacity again. Without the fridge and freezer, our power consumption would be very low as the only other real consumer is the computer.

It's all OK now

Loughborough Lock Emergency Stoppage Tuesday 15 July 2008 - Tuesday 29 July 2008 Following reports of damage to the cill, Loughborough Lock has been closed for inspection and repair. We anticipate that the lock will be closed for two weeks The nearest downstream turning point is the river downstream of Bishops Meadow Lock. There is no suitable turning point between Bishops Meadow Lock and Loughborough Lock. Upstream turning points can be found at Pillings Marina or Loughborough Canal Basin. We apologise for any inconvenience. Enquiries: 01636 704481 More stoppages on this waterway: http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-river...ating/stoppages

Hi Alan, we have been up and down the Southern Oxford a couple of times in the last year and haven’t come across any yellow paddle gear.

Hi Tosher, I agree. We all pay for facilities such as water supply, rubbish disposal and sanitary waste disposal (should it be bit by bit as in cassette or in bulk as by pump out). As far as I am concerned, if BW are considerate enough to designate certain sanitary stations as suitable for self pump out, I am going to use them (considerately). I could go on about the odd occasion (and they are few) that I have wanted to pump out and have had to wait for the guy with the trolley load of (four) cassettes that he is taking half the day to empty, rinse and titivate – but I won’t. I am quite happy to live and let live (on this matter). I am now off to open the second bottle of wine that I can almost consider as free due to the amount of money I have saved by pumping out myself. Happy Friday to all - pump out and cassette

http://www.erniesplace.com/CanalWorld/SelfPumpOut.jpg And - long may they live !!!!

It would be easier for us to list the days when our fire has not been lit. We just lit it again half an hour ago. Just had some heavy showers here (just outside Warwick). It’s not just for warmth that we light it, it just makes us feel better when the fire is lit and it is chucking it down outside. It’s also very handy for drying wet cloths by. We only burn wood in the summer (Ash) so it costs us nothing to light it. We met a boat recently and the bloke on it said he would love to light their stove (ours was lit with the lovely smell of Ash smoke) but his wife will not have it lit between April and October – our opinion is that life is too short for such nonsense. Providing you are not harming anyone else, live your life the way it pleases you as and when you can…… Sod the date, if you feel better with the fire lit – light it. Edit to add: The sun has come out now ---- but only for five minutes I suspect.

I understand your point here – people should not be using pump out kits at elsan points that were not designed to take pump out loads. However, I see nothing wrong with the use of self pump out kits at points designed to handle them. I have (so far) not come across any problems caused by folk self pumping out at designated self pump out stations. Our tank can last us up to around 4 weeks with just the two of us on board. The tank has a level indicator and as soon as it indicates half full, we start looking for somewhere suitable for self pump out (BW put up signs to indicate that a sanitary station is suitable – no sign and we don’t use it). If we don’t find anywhere after about a week (tank three quarters full), we will visit a marina and pay for a pump out (the equivalent cost of around 4 bottles of wine gone). We also carry a Thetford portable cassette toilet in cases of emergency (toilet failure, stuck in a location etc.). So far, the Thetford has never needed to be used. I find it strange that anyone would want to call for a ban on self pump out just because of a few idiots out there with no consideration for others. You could also say that we should ban cassettes because people empty them in hedges around the system (we have seen many instances of this – the dogs sniff the offending remains out!). Where do we end calling for things we personally don’t like to be banned ?? Eddited to add: WARNING: WARNING: WARNING: We will be back in the Braunston area in a week or so and the morning we leave, probably around 07:00 or there abouts, we will be using the self pump out facility just along from the Stop House………….Any one interested is very welcome to come along and inspect the facility when we have finished using it

Well, we are sitting a couple of miles north of Stratford upon Avon and it has been raining for hours – it doesn’t bother us at all as we are in no hurry to get anywhere. The weather forecast is for another very wet July so we have decided to abort our trip down the Avon and up the Severn as we don’t want to rush it and don’t want to have to worry about flooding. We have already turned around and are pointing north again. This is a lovely canal and we don’t mind retracing our journey – normally, we don’t like to go back on ourselves – so to speak. We feel very sorry for all of the holiday makers on their holiday boats going past us looking miserable in the rain - such a shame for them, it’s not cheep to hire a boat at this time of year.

The boat with the garden furniture out – is it definitely on a visitor’s mooring? I ask because I know that in some places BW have been allowing permit holders to moor at visitor’s moorings indefinitely without putting up any signs to show that the moorings have been given over to permit holders. I believe there are some near nb Alnwick at Cropredy (permit holders moored at visitor’s moorings). If they have permission from BW to moor there long term than I personally would have no problem with them using the grassy area beside the tow path as a small garden. It doesn’t look bad to me. If they shouldn’t be moored there and they are stopping passers by from mooring near pubs etc. then they should be moved on by BW.

We have a 12v pump out pump supplied to us by Garry – very pleased with it, it works a treat. We also have a manual one that we keep in case the 12v one ever breaks. We bought the manual one first but found it slow going and hard work. We can afford to pay to get pumped out at a marina (sometimes we have no option but to pay someone to do it for us if there are no self-pump out sanitary stations in the area) but given the option of someone doing the pump out for us for £15-£18 or spend 5 minutes doing it ourselves (yes, it really is that quick with a good pump) and buying 3 - 4 bottles of wine with the money saved – well, there is no competition. I can not think of one occasion when we have held anyone up at a sanitary station as we are early risers and tend to pump out first thing in the morning (07:00 ish).

Hi BSP, The bridge in your photo has been in that state for months now. The photo on the page below was taken last November. http://www.erniesplace.com/_BoatingDiaries...71121_Rugby.htm I was told by a couple of BW guys that there are two pots of money. Can’t remember their terminology but they told us that the K&A was not in the ‘big bucket’ group which they claimed explained why it is not as well maintained as say the GU.

Thanks Tillergirl, This is where I would have expected to find it but it does not seem to be there. www.shakespearesavon.co.uk is the place to find the info. Many thanks, that's what I was looking for. £50 looks like a bargain compared with the Thames prices. Just need to keep fingers crossed that it doesn't rain......

After spending 15 nights stuck on the Severn last summer and 5 nights stuck on the Thames last month, staying away from rivers is a serious option. Any sign of rain and we won’t be on the Avon next month!!

We are thinking of travelling on the river Avon from Stratford-on-Avon to the river Severn but have not been able to find any information about license fees etc. Any one know what the current licensing fees are and what the process is in obtaining license? PS. WARNING – should we decide to visit the Avon and Severn, our advice would be for everyone else to stay off the river as every time we go on a river it floods!!

Someone is feeding someone rice I too play on line occasionally (every time I think how much I would like to be able to commission a new build narrow boat to my spec). What little winnings I ever receive get paid straight into my account.

Someone is feeding someone rice I too play on line occasionally (every time I think how much I would like to be able to commission a new build narrow boat to my spec). What little winnings I ever receive get paid straight into my account.

Mark my words – it will all end in tears !!! DIESEL RULES OK

Have a read through this thread: http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...0bunny&st=0 We started off looking at the Squirrel but after advice from other forum member we ended up with a Becton Bunny. We are well pleased with the Becton, it was running 24/7 from October to April and quite a lot of the time outside this period (it’s on now burning Ash). I agree with the posts above, the stove alone is sufficient to heat the full length of our 60 foot narrow boat and the stove is situated right at the stern end. The only thing I would like to have is the ability to heat the water from it but it would be difficult to fit a back boiler and plumb it all in due to it’s location. If we should ever be lucky enough to commission a new boat build, I would arrange the internal layout such that the stove was more central in the boat rather than right at one end. To heat the bedroom which is right at the front of our boat, we have to have the stove quite hot and the windows in the living room cracked open (during the day/evening) as it is right at the other end from the bedroom (we have a reverse layout).

Thanks all, Looks like it's PVA and high temp silicone sealant then.

Well, I have just spent a fun few hours removing the tiles and sanding the old tile cement that is still stuck to the Asbestolux smooth. Looking at it, there appears to have been good adhesion of the cement to both the Asbestolux and the tiles so I suspect the problem has been flexing of the Asbestolux causing the cement to split. The cement I used was not of the flexible variety. Photo at: http://www.erniesplace.com/_BoatingDiaries...09_Banbury.shtm I really want to make sure I get it right this time as tiling is not my favourite pastime and I don’t want to be replacing them all again this time next year. The general consensus on this forum appears to be high temp silicone sealant or no more nails. I take you point about sealing the Asbestolux, I will do that this time…… I would love to know what professional boat builders use – hence the question to Gary.

Hi Garry, When I fitted the new solid fuel stove in place of the Bubble diesel last year, I re did the fire surround with Asbestolux and fixed the tiles with ordinary (good quality) ceramic tile cement. Over the past year, the majority of the tiles have come away from the Asbestolux. Not sure if it due to vibration or heat – I suspect it is the heat as they get very hot when the stove is stoked up. In the not too distant future (when I can get myself into the right frame of mind), I am going to re-tile the fire surround. Question: What do you use to fix tiles to Asbestolux?