OldGoat

I use Firefox and have had problems today - but it appeared to me to be more of a system problem. Whatever it was it has gone away now - due, I suspect to 'our' excellent management team???

The multiplugs can be a pain - whic I solved (no problems since) is to peel the rubber cover back GENTLY as you would with a bananana (or something else too delicate to mention), to reveal whta is a loose type of can connector. Clean / replace whatever and re assemble the cable Lucar connectors one by one, checking each cable pair as you go. Then roll / slide the female part up the cable first, followed by the male connectors. That way you remove the risk of disconnecting one or more pairs of cable without realising it! (Idid that when replacing a B50 engine some 10 years ago and (don't tempt) have nad no problem since..... We/ you have to realise that any work on NB electrics will always be a compromise because in order to make any NB system economical, 'you' have to adapt components originally made for other purposes.

They are very, very fiddly to work on - lots of antique components wrapped up in string AND they need non- or semi- standard batteries. Mine's in the loft, but I can't bring myself to chuck it away. Sadly modern Chinese plastic boxes are lighter, smaller and easy to use.

I was amazed t'other day to receive an email from my local council offering very good pricces of items that folks had chucked out! (OK they have a scheme where they collect used items in good condition and advertise them on the council's website).

Very little that you do in today's boating world is 'simple'. I well remember when boating was basic and folks were happy with that. The 'problem' with running a 240v fridge on a 12v boat is not the consumption of power for the inverter and the fridge - it's the power that the inverter consumes while it's waiting for the fridge to run. (quiescent current above) . You need a very good inverter that consumes verylittle while waiting - and such an animal is quite pricey. IME inverters with a 'sleep' mode (often) don't react to the fridge switching on. The solution th that issue is a larger battery bank... Edit: - not asked, but if you want reasonable modern comfort, consider a 3/4 height fridge freezer from a good manufacturer (I'm a Liebherr fan). It'll probably consume less power than an under counter unit and you'll have some space for frozen foods / ice for you g & t and more importantly not having to go shopping quite so frequently.

""This is what you want" - The Narrowboat Builder's Book by Graham Booth (1999-07-29) there are a couple of copies advetised on Amazon

My great aunts had a cottage and in the garden they installed a railway carriage at the end of which they added a loo - not unlike the photo above (although it was smarter with a mahogany surround). We wre instructed to use a small bucket for liquids and the main device required you sprinkled a handful of sawdust into the bucket after use. Once a week the gardener would remove the bucket and dig a hole somewhere in the vegetable patch and bury the contents. There were always fresh vegetables to hand... I've got the bucket, now must find the seat.

Absolutely - Don't blame the device on the competance (or otherwise) of the operator. The kit needs care in their use and CLEANING down afterwards. If in doubt use the P-U machines provided and avoide the preparation / cleaning down process.

Suggestion - Live with the current pumpout arangement - provided that your cruising area has a reasonably practical number of pump out stations. Because you have to pay for these it should be a mix of CRT and boatyard facilities. For why - most folk are put-off by the sight of one's 'output' discharging into an elsan point. with a pump pot facility there's only a sight glas to view the flow, or if even that upsets you, then wait until the hose vibrates or you can hear the sound of the remote pump changing pitch. The first time may be unpleasant to your sight - but it's fear of the unknown that disturbs. Having removed the hang-up worries -then consider a PU kit. You have the unpleasantness of your pipe discharging into a hole (and making sure the pipe stays within it), but it's really not that awful. Just a change of attitude... (OK I', used to dealing with large animals' output - and that conditions you to know what to expect...

I was about to post something to that effect - but you got there first!

As the OP can see there's a lot of banter around - because there's not of information in the OP's question. to give a more considered answer 'we' need more information - location cruising range use of boat type of boat yada, yada, yada. Regardless - a small Beta engine will cope with 'whatever' - second alternators, freshwater cooling, whatever You'll pay mebe a bit more, but you'll have a wide choice of alternators, cooling type, transmissions - all from one source. ps: whereas a 'gull will push a canal boat along and have a sensible propellor; it won't stop the boat or go backwards. For a budget engine a Lister woulod do - noisy, lasck of torque and take a lot more engine bay space...

well known people have moored there. Lovely view....

IME most pumps sold as bilge pumps fo NBs are 'of marginal utility' - especially if there's not much depth of water in the bilge. The impellors just stir the water around. If you want to have a dry bilge is an old curculator pump and a 1/2" or 3/4" hose as short as possible.

I think the major problem with machine sewing on a NB is one of space. My management did all the soft furnishnings for out boat on the large dining table at home. Scale that down a bit for clothing and you need quite a good size table - mebe 4 ft x 1ft six inches and it needs to be solid in itself - and that's a tall order on boats that I've seen....

Rice made jolly good horse boxes. My failed show jumper / hunter hated his - kept trying to leap over his, but failed and banged his head on the roof instead. Stupid Irish Draught (actualy he loved a drop of Guiness)......

EH? - They're fairly hungry beasties. My domestic one is in the loft as The Management won't use it (she thinks is a VooDoo art), but IIRC they consume about a Kw. Their principal advantage is that the don't get hot but you're food molecules do). Happy to be corrected.

I'm sure the LPs nsurrouded in fabcy plastic work as well as the inexpensive varieties - Digital TV Aerial Kit 20 Element HD Freeview outdoor loft antenna 4G with cable (this is the title of one offered on ebay for under a tenner. You pays yer money... An amplifier may well not be needed by everybody - howver I've no idea where everybody is AND the amount of power that they draw is miniscule - less than 100 milliamps IIRC. Another must / highly reccommended is to use satellite type connectors and cable (NOT the TV type). Easily available by post and both stand the rigours of boating.

They're all much of a muchness - Farnet have a minimum order fir free delivery - but as you need an amplifier as well you might qualify. If you move around a lot, then a signal strength meter / indicator is useful - better that twiddling the areial around until you get a picture. Farnel again have good prices.

Bitter experience has shown me that most / all of these fancy looking antennae only really work well in strong signal areas (and IIRC others have posted comments here and on other forums). What I have found that works are 'log periodic2 units. These are folat and thus can be easily stored. However, you do need a pole on which to mount it and some form of deck fixing (I use my anchor mounting - No climbing on roof).

Yes - of course - from the southern side with Lotts Road power station in the background. That would account for the exagerated hump in the middle of the bridge so that sailing barges coud get under to deliver coal to the power station. As a complete aside - 'we' had a physics master at school in Wimbledon wh had a landing craft moore above the bridge which was rather cool AND a sunken bath that was even cooler to us 14-15-16 year olds !!

Me to - as well as the Italianate building on the left - hpme of a film star IIRC The wooden bridge has ne stumped - I thought of Putney, but that was of stone and for the wooden version there was no need for such a high central arch - no tall ships going upstream ...

Oh dear, much as I love my local waterway (Thaames), I find the narrow boats available from some of the fleets are very tired and maybe more suited to booze-cruise hirers... Sad, because the Upper-upper Thames is beautiful but somewhat rural and that doen't suit some holiday makers. Oxford is a great place to visit (provide that you avoid the 'main drag' and walk around the side streets which are quieter and give an air of academic peace. There are two good hire bases on the canal - College Cruisers based in the city and (my favourite) Oxfordshire Narrowboats based at Lower Heyford (the train stops outside...). The Thames is different - being a river it 'runs under the scenery' and the Upper - upper - Thames is very rural - that means there are few pubs if you want to eat out end even fewer shops where you can stock up - so plan ahead. Both routes are great experiences.

Be aware that the Thames river is effectively closed until the end of March (if you need to use it or cross it ) to get from A to B (no clue as to where the boat is). Apologies if you've already done the research - but you were'nt that specific...