PeterDHS

Hi people and apologies if this one has been hacked to death before but...... I have a 46 foot NB in a marina moored next to an un-maintained rust bucket. I have 6 good anodes and am plugged in via a Victron 1600 (Victron really should get a human being to write their manuals). The question is should I have a GI ? Why doesn't the Victron (being sooooo tecky)have this built in as standard ? or indeed does it? Thanks in advance. Pete

Hi Folks After much frustration with crummy reception inside my steel coffin (without external antenna) I am spending out on a proper car radio/CD and have come up against two issues 1)most car radios have a yellow (continual live) wire from the battery + in order that presets are maintained when switched off. In a boat I am unhappy with the idea of any wire being permanently live, except for the bilge pump. If worst comes to worst I will simply not use presets, but I suspect you guys have worked around this problem years ago. 2)I've got a quality short rubber antenna to fit but the instructions go on and on about ensuring the roof fitting hole is bare so the antenna can get a good ground to the chassis/body. I am pretty sure this is a bad idea on a boat as it sits in water and is not isolated by rubbery tyres. Should any current leak to the aerial cable it would surely be a fuse-out or a fire. Any advice (in non-tech/idiot-orientated language)would be very much appreciated. Peter.

Blast !!! Mine have 'use by' date of 12/2010 on them, despite a manufactured date of 2006 'if not recharged before then'. The added grief is that the boyo behind the counter at 'Extinguishers R Us' ripped of the green safety tab on one to see how it worked before saying he couldn't do it and I should buy a proper British (Chinese) one.

I have 2no 2kg and 1no 1kg 'Delta Extinctors SA'dry powder extinguishers on NB ENDJIN. With a BSC looming I find that local servicing companies are claiming they are too foreign to service/recharge (made in Belgium)and I now need to buy their British (Chinese) equivalents. Since Delta's website claims they are the biggest supplier to the car and boat market in Europe I find this a bit off, however they don't give a link to a Delta UK dealership. (I've e-mailed them for advice). Anybody come up against this? Based in Leicester. Peter.

Just an update... We did decide in favour of a side door, which was built for us as a 'self-fit' by Martin Kedian and we are highly delighted with the results. The kit came as a primed and (oak)lined unit with fixings requiring only the enlargement of the existing window opening to the pre-agreed size and some drilling for the self-tap fixings from the frame flange into the cabin sides. I had wimped out of using an angle grinder for the cuts as I have polystyrene insulation and the fire risk was unacceptable. Also I had been assured by boaters that a jigsaw would work fine if I was happy to take it slowly. Well, I usually pride myself on an unnatural level of patience, but having spent all morning and several packs of quality metal blades to make a cut of about 8 inches I went home to find my Bosch reciprocating saw. This completed the cuts in about 20 mins at the cost of just one blade (probably my fault). The unit was siliconed and ST screwed in place in a further hour and all the rest of the time was tidying the inner lining and adding some trims. Must say the finished job has brought much interest and many compliments from boaters here at Pillings Lock. I should have got an 'introduction agreement' out of Martin Kedian. Without one, at least I don't feel guilty about saying Martin's fabrication was faultless and the oak lining is beautifully crafted solid oak, the guy really is a craftsman and understands exactly what is required. This is not a 'cheap and cheerful jobbie', but it is the quality most of us would want and expect at a reasonable price for a made-to-measure item, and one you can be proud of. Pete and Pat

OK guys, apologies are well overdue for not responding ( I guess retiring, going up North to get no 1 son wedded, boat painting etc doesn't cut it as an excuse), I WILL DEFINATELY be getting a side hatch DIY kit from Martin Kedian very shortly, while there is still some summer (?) left to enjoy it, or indeed get it fitted prior to painting the sides. Big thanks for all the advice, you guys are great. Peter.

Thanks for this and indeed all the other advice. I guess the 'specialist' marine and caravan TVs claim they are designed for 12v and have better auto-search on weak signals in the middle of nowhere. However, I think the above advice is sound in that modern tellies are efficient and techy enough to overcome most obstacles. We will certainly be looking at small standard flat screens based on this, if it is 240/12v so much the better (we have a 1600w inverter). Our research found that if you have a 12v telly you need a stabilizer which is cheap- try http://www.12vtv.co.uk - the product is in accessories AD3 Cigar socket to Clipsal plug (£8). Hope this helps others. Thanks again, Peter.

All 3 links worked and have given us lots more (cheaper) choices to consider - many thanks for your comments

Looking ahead to the long dark nights and thinking of getting an on-board TV ! ... but it seems that 12v LED TVs cost a lot more than 240v flat screens. We would welcome views of the pros and cons of 240/12v screens to help us decide.

We have just bought a narrowboat - 46ft - and one of us wants to hack into an existing window in the galley area to make a side door to get a feeling of airiness when inside the boat. The other one of us is not convinced of the value of this - draughty and dark when shut, pointless when open as there's nowhere to go out to. We would welcme more experienced boaters' views of benefits and drawbacks of having a side door. Pete and Pat