Morat

It is really beautiful, that's for sure. Sadly we've been there twice and been disappointed both times. The second time was in April this year for Sunday lunch. We'd seen the "under new ownership" signs but we were given raw vegetables, packet gravy and very dull beer. Hey ho. I'd really love that pub to be taken over by someone who can make a success of it, because I'd love to sit outside it watching the boats and drinking good beer.

Volts Jolt, Current Kills. edit: this is a gross simplification but I still wouldn't be sticking my fingers in a 12V socket.

Hahah, excellent reply

OK, if cost is the main consideration then I can see why... but given the choice when building a boat I'd go for a diesel powered range every time. If you can offset some of the cost by re-using the space saved from the gas locker and shortening the boat by a foot or two then I think it would soon make a lot of sense, even if you were hitting your budget ceiling. edit: fat fingers

I also fail to see why LPG is so popular on narrowboats, especially when you have to have a diesel tank for the engine which in many cases is so oversized that people then worry about stale diesel and "fuel bug". Surely it makes sense to save the space used for the gas locker and specify a nice diesel powered range instead of a gas hob?

But what recourse is there? It seems to be a fundamental problem with both the public and private sectors that there is no oversight of the board and therefore reaching the board is a license to pay yourself whatever you want. If this were restricted to BW, then BW could possibly be shamed - but it isn't and one more story of fat cat pay-offs isn't going to change a thing.

I was just thinking that myself. That's a 350z with a new name!

Is it too early to open the sweepstake on how long it will take to replace the last BW "stay forward of the cill" sign with a rebranded one?

Hah, yes. relocation, relocation, relocation

Time will tell. I doubt that there will be any money saved by swapping these admin functions from the quasi-public sector to the public sector. The only gains will come from consolidating the various talking shops into fewer talking shops - wherever they are located in the wiring diagram of power.

Save money? It's not about saving money, it's about killing off QUANGOs.

I have no direct experience of working with BW but when budgets are tight, in any organisation I have encountered, it is infrastructure spending that gets pushed out into next year and board member's pet projects that get funding.

R4 today discussed this and the general opinion was that the functions would generally be transferred back into Government. To me that sounds like the whole lot gets absorbed by the civil service. Cue a feeding frenzy as mandarins engage in the biggest single era of empire building since Ghengis Khan. Payrises and Knighthoods all round, Hurrah!

I did say 240V in the title... but yes the 12V ones are more likely to be of use on this forum - good spot! I was a bit unsure about the shipping but they arrive from Hong Kong in about a week

A 12V charger sounds like the perfect solution to me, although I'm no expert. What make/model is your laptop? Dell do a range of "Auto/Air" adaptors for their machines, I think they are rebranded Kensington kit.

Not quite through the back doors... but here's a boat that we rescued on the Thames We got £10 "salvage" which seemed a lot for tupperware

Folks, I don't know if many people have the little Halogens on their boat but if you do (or if you want to save power onshore) these little beauties are a great replacement and cost a lot less than other options I have seen. I've got four in the kitchen ceiling and they give great light, slightly on the whiter side of normal but not at all harsh. The light pattern is a nice wide and even flood. Worth a try, I'd say! http://www.1topstore.com/product_info.php?language=en&currency=GBP&products_id=12379 I have no affiliation with the vendor...

Hear Hear

Regulations can only enforce a minimum standard. Work carried out on a boat should meet that standard but afterwards it is up to the owner to protect their own life and investment. Please don't go off the deep end and demand yet more pettifogging regulation, the only things that it can increase are blood pressure and the tax burden. The bottom line is that if you don't care about your safety, you'll probably get hurt. Remember, Darwin is watching you!

That man is drinking water! He cannot be trusted!

BW spy detected!

Maybe it's a dredger?

build the 300ft contour canal! OK, how about better water points like the ones on the Thames that flow like a fire hose instead of a garden hose?