mr toad

Walsall Council have their own hire boat that does trips from walsall art gallery, it was at last years brownhills boat festival when they opened the new watersports centre, They hire it out. Might be worth contacting the council and asking them.

Thanks for reply, I already have a morco 61b. They are good but I do not want a boiler mounted to the wall. I looked at the alde compact but they are a bit expensive.

Unfortunately my engine is a lister air cooled. No water cooling

Does any one know of a diesel or paraffin water heater. I am looking for a heater for about 20 litres of hot water at a time. I dont particularily want to part with £1000 for anythinh like a eberspacher. I have thought about an immersion heater because I have a solar water heater panel to fit (small one). Just after ideas for hot water when fire is out.

My boat is similar to this it has a cranked fuel filler, however the vent pipe is straight so i remove the vent plug and use a garden cane.

Can I just say about those little twin tub washing machines. I have had one now for 6 months using it twice a week. They are good and a low power consumption. I run mine off my generator with a surge protect plug just for good measure. Also I have just ordered a 800w tabletop tumble dryer which I hope will be delivered before the weekend so I can try it out.

Just thought this might be usefull on here. When cutting plastics and nylons with a jigsaw it helps to put a strip of masking tape across then cut through. Masking tape stops the plastic welding itself back together. I know this works on 15mm thick plastic because I have tried it

Yep! easy to use but you do need to make sure you have a good pipe deburrer and a pipe cutter (some people have in the past used hacksaws for copper pipe - dont do it. makes awful mess of pipe edges). Make sure pipe is deburred then push it on the pipe. I found you push it up first then give it a final push and you feel it just move another few millimetres. I even used them on my old house plumbing - 2 years and there were not any problems and more important no leaks first time.

ecofans - Im still a bit sceptical about whether these things work or not! and cant justify spending 75 quid on one until ive seen one working - one of the chandlers round here demonstrates a stove, perhaps will give them a call and ask if possible for a demo! at moment I use solid fuel stove in saloon and 800w heater in rear of boat from genny.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bush-FREEVIEW-scart-...1QQcmdZViewItem try the above link. obviously argos must not do it anymore. although looking at this picture on the back there is 2 connections - one for remote eye perhaps other is a small plug in power adaptor. I enquired about this product with bush and they did not have any information about power consumption or that it had a power adaptor!

Take a look at the argos site from memory they are selling a bush? digital adaptor that plugs into the scart socket. just a small black adaptor that sits behind the tv. which makes it cheaper to buy a lcd tv & this digi adaptor rather than tv with built in digital. From what I see there is no power supply to these magic boxes, they must draw their power from the scart socket on tv.

Perhaps it would be prudent to use a high temperature flexible exhaust hose, but I can only find this in 38mm bore which is a bit big!! on the back of the kipors there needs to be an extension piece from the exhaust of about 50mm long then I could use something like this by sealing the bigger pipe to the smaller with exhaust sealing tape making sure there are no gaps for fumes to escape because as said im going to put this in an acoustic enclosure. If i use exhaust hose of this size I would think it would help instead of a silencer?

thanks for that reply. I just was not sure if it would affect the running of the generator, presumably assuming that outlet pipes from exhaust are larger than exhaust then there should not be a problem. I was thinking of using a piece of 50mm nominal bore pipewith 15mm in one side from genny and other side 22mm out. and I was planning to use some of the exhaust repair compound to seal it all.

Try towsure - theyre cheap for a lot of things but take a look in the electrical section. they do 12v 2 pin polarised plugs in a size to suit standard socket backboxes. but at the moment I use 5A 3 pin plugs and sockets from tlc direct. cant remember web addresses I just search for them on msn when I use them

I have a kipor suitcase generator. Great little generators and when running at low power it is quite quiet however it can get a bit noisy as the electrical demand increases. Now my thought was on the rear of the generator is the exhaust - about 15mm diameter pipe. Does anyone know if it would be possible to take a copper pipe from this then through a large can of some sort ( a bit like an engine silencer) then another pipe from the other side of the can say 22mm copper. Would this reduce the engine noise? I also plan to make up an enclosure for the other sides and line with engine acoustic foam. I want to use this generator for all my 240v without anoying my neighbours!

You can get a very narrow chequer plate by special order the raised pattern is very close together. It is more comfortable than you might think. the only problem is the waste. you have to grind the pattern down with a grinder to allow the waste to fit flush. alternatively I will consider 5mm thick steel plate with a small lip at the front that a shower screen rubber edge could sit on ( i mean as it would rub across a bath to keep water in.

thought about getting one made from chequer plate (naturally non slip) and I work for a company that can get this for me at cost price and made to my request. But i would have prefered one that is perhaps plastic, i dont think I would like making one myself from grp. Cannot get a standard width tray in 2'6" because I have a central corridor. Good ideas though.

waudbys try this link to waudbys web site. cassette is at bottom right hand side. From looking at them previously there are no blade handles to pull out it is just a small lever on the top that you twist. could not work out how to insert the image directly will have to look into this

Does anyone own a bench cassette toilet. I like the look of these because they dont appear as primitive as a portable cassette however I was wondering about if they were functional. I am still thinking about installing a vacuum cassette effort to try it out myself see if I could improve on it and yes I have read the other topic on problems with vacuflush but I like to have a porcelain bowl rather than plastic but I do not want a pump out holding tank well not at least until 2009 when bw announces if they will be needed for waste water.

Great when your painting your narrowboat without turning it round at the nearest winding hole! I should say just touching up and general maintenance. I have used one around one of my yachts for replacing coloured vinyl decal strips along the hull.

Does any one know of a narrow shower tray. The one in my boat is a steel one that has rusted it is 550mm wide by 1115mm long. I am thinking about getting one made from stainless steel with a non slip mat in it. I want one that is bigger than the standard 2 foot square, not so much the width but i like the length. Also I have one of those twin tub type washers that fits quite well in it.

My experiences on the canals. I would like to share this article with your readers about the trials and tribulations of my journey moving my narrowboat. In July this year I decided to buy a narrowboat to restore to my taste so that I had a third holiday home, having already got 2 sailing yachts. I found a 50 foot narrowboat that was well laid out but the owners were not able to keep up with the maintenance of the boat and had decided to give up boating. After obtaining a pre purchase survey I decided to buy the boat knowing full well that I would have to re line the entire boat, re floor some areas and install a new bathroom. After consulting the guide books, canal map software the journey was going to take about 5 or 6 days to move the boat to the marina I chose. This is where the problems began! Before the boat could be moved it needed the safety certificate to be renewed and there were 2 gas appliances which failed along with bilge segregation and ventilation. My surveyor advised me that the bilge needed segregating, after lifting the deck boards I could see oil below the engine, however there was none in the rest of the bilge. I think the surveyor needed new glasses but he did give me some good advice on the work for the boat. After 3 months the boatyard finally got around to removing the faulty gas equipment so I could get the safety scheme certificate but they also found a gas leak on the gas hob which the surveyor did not find. I managed to attend a RYA helmsman course before moving the boat but we all know that on a course the instructor is telling you which way to steer and on a boat that is 50 foot long with a stubborn engine I got a bit flustered getting the boat out of the marina and resorted to needing help. Once out on the canal within half an hour or so I soon became used to the controls. My engine is a lister and does not respond immediately, it has to think about it first then the propeller kicks in so if you need to reverse quickly there is no chance. Down I went along the Leicester canal and on to the grand union canal. I travelled through Braunston Tunnel, only rubbing the sides a few times. But someone had stopped about a third of the way in the tunnel to allow their engine to cool down and to have a cup of tea. I think the boat was a hire boat. Out the other side of the tunnel I decided to moor up for the night. This particular night I happened to be ill so all the lights were turned off and I was in bed early. At about 8:30 there was a bump followed by a banging. Two youths were trying to force open the front doors. One door was bent open at the bottom and the glass window cracked in a diamond pattern all the way up. Needless to say they ran off when the lights were on and I had found my torch. After cleaning up the glass from my broken window I decided to walk my dog. (she would not have barked at the youths vandalising the boat because she is ancient and sleeps very heavy. Not even a h bomb could disturb her sleep – well not without giving her a few nudges to convince her to get up followed by a growl. The towpath after the tunnel was soaking wet and there was a constant flow of water over the towpath making the mooring pins constantly come out when the boat moved. The journey progressed to Braunston Locks. They are double locks so you can get 2 boats in side by side. One person who I asked to share with told me NO in stern words because they had re painted their boat and would not risk my boat scratching their paint work. Another told me their insurance does not cover lock shares. I eventually shared with 2 women who I again saw at Hillmorton locks. The shop on the Braunston locks selling food and fuel are very well stocked and I would recommend it. Most people on the canals were very friendly. I travelled up the oxford canal then onto the Coventry canal. In Nuneaton I moored up so that I could get fuel when the a boatyard opened. One evening some school children came past throwing stones at the boat, then they stole my lump hammer off the back of my boat. Going under another bridge and a young boy was spitting as the boat went under – dirty little sods. What are the parents doing? In Nuneaton I have to admit I did drive the boat into a bridge. There was another boat coming and I as trying to move the boat over to the right and it was also a sunny day making visibility not that great – the sun was in my eyes, or at least that’s my excuse. I moored up in tamworth for a couple of days. Does anyone remember the picture in one of the magazines recently about a pair of laidies knickers on top of a sign post in Curdworth? While I was moored up at Curdworth top lock I had the displeasure to see two girls under the bridge, one of them stooping down, trousers around her ankles having a pee on the towpath. After the Coventry canal it was on to the Birmingham and fazeley. What a mistake. It was over Christmas when we had the icy weather any yes I was stuck in an inch of ice. If you are wondering how moving in October ends at new year – I was moving the boat a few days at a time then leaving it for a week or two at a time and I left it in a marina for a month while I worked a full time contract. After a telephone conversation to British Waterways I enquired if the locks needed keys on the canals as listed above, A woman told me that all I needed was a windlass. Any one going through the canal network will tell you there are water conservation keys on the paddle gear. New Years Eve and I reach Minworth locks to find Water Conservation Keys needed, eventually I found a boatyard open in Tipton able to sell me a key (well I should say my sister went and got it for me because I was out of calling credit on my phone but I could still send messages. Onto the Tame Valley Canal – Perry Barr locks. The water level was very low in the pounds between these locks. I decided to brave it and went aground between locks 8 & 9, before this in the previous pound I had both a jumper and a handbag caught on the prop. Emergency call to British Waterways (I should say my sister after a text message from me) She was a big help during my journey. The waterways men turned up and got me moving and helped me through the next lock in the dark. Going through the top lock on the Perry Barr Locks there was so much rubbish I had to get down the weed hatch again, Also the bottom lock and generally all the way through is literally littered with dog waste. After Tame Valley it was onto Rushall Canal then Daw End to Aldridge Marina, I have ever experienced canal as worse as these. They are in serious need of dredging. I could not even get near the side to moor up. It was also difficult to get close to the mooring posts at Rushall locks because of the silt and rubbish. Do British Waterways ever clean out these canals? My journey has taken me through some of the most extremes of weather conditions – hail, rain sleet high winds, ice and snow. But it is good experience and I would not change any of it. I have single handedly done over 30 locks and had help with others, been along beautiful stretches of canal such as along the oxford canal and have gained immense experience in handlng the boat. But I do not think I would like to do it again! Most people would be put off narrowboating by these experiences and others I have not had space to mention but I remain ever enthusiastic. Best Regards and Happy New Year carl

ever thought about one of the electric outboards - perhaps with one of those portable jump start power pack units. a lot easier than pumping the fuel to start it, pulling starter cord. and then of course theres the size, weight and noise of a petrol one. but you wont get the speed that you get from a petrol