paulf

I have a 57ft trad using a 37hp Beta marine with travelpower . This year we went up the avon in Bath after heavy rain , about half a mile against the current, to get back onto the K&A . The lockie reckoned the river was doing seven mph . I personally dont think it was but I bow to his superior knowledge [ he`s been there eighteen years] the engine handled it comfortably so why anyone would need anything bigger is beyond me . Regards Paul

Ive had a BT for 2 or more yrs now . It came with the boat . I use it very rarely . Probably not even once a trip {week} . With hindsight I wouldnt fit one if I were building a new boat . In the begining , having the bt was a `confidence` boost , but since I feel I can handle the boat very well now , unless the wind intervenes I just dont use it. Regards Paul

Alan has summed it up well , this lot are relatively benign . I moor on the K&A and pass through many times . Communication is the key , they are quite nice lads . Regrds Paul

Thanks Gary, for the info . I ended up with one of these , He has some more for sale if anyones interested Regards Paul http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW

I dont get this airlock thing , is it a water tank or pressurised cylinder ? regards Paul

Sorry if I confused you all , We saw a catalogue of errors on the K&A over Easter mainly Hire boats . I dont like to point the finger at hire boats as some of them are infinitely more experienced than myself . But we did watch boats at alverchurch. One pulled out with the instructor on board did the fifty yards to the bridge hole instructor jumps off lesson over . We then followed them until they met a boat coming the other way at the wrong time and ended up wrong side of the canal and in the bankside bramble bush . We did chuckle , been there done that I thought . Then various other incidents culminating in another boat `hung up` on a cill on the devizes flight with the 2 crews just stood watching the poor guy .Everyone at a loss as to what to do . My point is I could imagine the inexperienced tackling top gate paddles and ending up sunk quite easily . When I look back , I was fortunate that the first lock I ever encountered had top gate paddles . At the time I had never worked a lock or knew how . Luckily , A bw chap was coming the opposite way and I asked him . He took the time to show us what to do . sorry for any confusion . Regards Paul

Im sorry to hear its not up to scratch Sparky , I did ring them a year or so ago about a mooring for my 60ft , think it was an awful lot of money there . regrds Paul

Theres some on the GU south , top of the Hanwell flight if I remember correctly . I didnt use them we werent in a rush . After watching hire boaters getting hung up on cills on the caen hill flight and such like last week, I think gate paddles could be very dodgy for the inexperienced boater . regards Paul

If anyones interested I have a different system to those mentioned above . We have 2 alternators . One is a 240v mastervolt 3.5kva which supplies 240v to the galley and sockets but also charges the domestic batteries via a 3 stage mastervolt charger . I thought this a bit odd at first ,but I have no need for a battery mangement system as the charger will charge the batteries `right up`. The second alternator supplies 12v 65a and charges the engine start battery and the bowthruster batteries via a split charge relay. The system seems to work ok but ideally we could do with a larger charger as ours is 12v/25a and it needs a good few hours to charge `right up`. A friend of mine charges his bowthruster batteries via a dedicated charger which alleviates a long run of thick cable I believe . Regards Paul

Hi all , Thanks for the helpful comments l . I do actually live in a mobile home John . In fact , I have never been on mains gas at all. We have got through several cookers over the years and never had ffd`s on the hobs. Always oven and grill but never hob. I recently fitted a big expensive range jobby here last year when I replaced the kitchen again and that hasnt got ffd`s on the hob . Incidentally , I need a `house size` cooker as there is a space left on the boat between the kitchen units at 620mm . After more searching I found a pub catering suppliers website which had one with ffd`s . £1000 though . Thanks for Midland chandlers suggestion unfortunately Im K&A and there are no decent chandlers up the eastern end . Ive tried Walton marine on the Thames , he has several in his catalogue and will ring me back monday . and I might try ringing Stoves direct as they appear to be in Reading and are v.local. I`d rather deal with a comet /curry tesco setup though , for the delivery after sales etc . Thanks all. Regards Paul

Hi all , Im glad I read these posts as Im in the market for a cooker atm . I think we `ve had enough of the little camping cooker we use . When we bought the boat it had no cooker at all, so now is the time I think to buy one. Now , ive been looking for the last few hours or so ..trawling through the many cooker sites in this country and tbh I can find nowt. I see here that the Stoves 500dit is ffd but i cant find any of the cooker retailers listing it , its probably chandlery only item. I can find cookers which are listed as having ffd`s but only on oven and grill . Presumably the hob needs them too . Am I going bonkers ? Ive looked at the Baumatic website and many others, could anyone list any other models please ? Ive seen the little marine cookers on the calor website but would like a 60cm wide `house appliance` size ,type . Thanks in anticipation. Regards Paul