speejo

We have on our boat what I believe is a Deville Diesel Stove. Large rectangular box and Brown. In a moment of cleaning madness I have managed to crack the glass to the actual fire box. Its circular, about 4 inches in diameter and curved (concave). I have tried a quick search and can't find anyone mentioning spares, there appears to be one reseller in the midlands but have tried emailing them for help to no avail. I know I can get porcelin glass cut but this is concave. Anybody any ideas? Thanks John

Eugene, thanks for the update -good to get from the horse's mouth as it were. We have headed down to Stoke Bruene until we get the update re Braunston on Monday. Can imagine there will be a bit of a back log when the tunnel does reopen. Thanks John NB Mugwump

Any update on this -just been through Watford flight and word has it there has been a landslide on the northern entry to Braunston tunnel. Apparently BW teams on their way to assess how long this will take to clear. Access must be a nightmare. No confirmation of this = just trying BW and local boatyards, any updates gratefully received before we decide to turn around. Thanks John NB Mugwump

Nick, thanks for that Alas the thing I didnt mention is that my £300 was actually paid to Mikuni themselves, I sent the unit to them to be repaired and serviced. So I am assuming the unit is working correctly?! We are talking quite serious flooding, to the extent the unit spits diesel out through the exhaust at the same time as producing the vast quantities of smoke. Although this doesnt always happen. It did happen on second start up after the service. Has anyone else had this problem - is their a fault with the unit that I should perisit with Mikuni? Thanks John

We acquired our current boat just over 12 months ago and in that time we have experienced the Mikuni MX40 flooding with diesel on two or three occassions (we are not live aboard). We do remember the broker mentioning that they had experienced the same problem once while showing the boat so we assume this is a long standing fault. (The boat / installation is 6 years old). The boat is a semi trad and the unit is mounted as high as possible up under the side of the engine bay. Any suggestions what I can do to stop the unit filling with diesel. The last time it cost £300 to get the air motor replaced and other bits. Its a real problem when the unit is left on timer and we are awoken by clouds and clouds of white smoke that have filled the entire marina at 6.00am. Also whats the best way to drain the excess diesel so I can restart the unit. Thanks John

To be honest lets leave it here Blackrose, anything I say is going to come back at me in an aggressive / confrontational fashion - "I think most people know.." etc I have given my experience and made no general comments about which is better- if my experience is wrong so be it. All the best John NB Mugwump

For me I can press the bow thruster button and it works well immediately, if I am in a really tricky situation (and we had one in the storms a couple of weeks ago) I can simply move the throttle forward either in gear or out of gear and the thruster power increases proportionally. There are no seconds delay, pushing the disengage button and moving the throttle takes less than half a second and you can have the thruster working at the same time if you wish. In the instance above I was quite happy to remain in gear - I actually managed to move the boat rapidly sideways using the tiller and thruster to get out of the way of a fast moving, completely out of control hire boat, who thought they could counter the wind by simply going faster straight at me and hoping for the best and with no chance of stopping. It really is quite clever (albeit obvious I guess) but perhaps it needs to be tried to be believed. John NB Mugwump

I was simply trying to give a real life experience having had two boats built from scratch and now having a third I didn't spec and having used both systems. To many opinionated postings on any forum come from people who have actually never experienced the item being discussed, this is one of those occasions when I have. 30 seconds was meant to be total usage in a day rather than one blip (30 seconds with this unit would have you doing cartwheels), if you have had a 62ft boat on a very windy winters day on the Trent & Mersey you'll know 30 seconds is quite possible. I agree 9 days out of 10 I wouldnt touch the bow thruster (its a point of principle ) but its great to know its there when you are going sideways in a marina near everyone else's boat. I am not sure why reving the engine is such a time delay, the thruster works fine in neutral and in split second I can( if I need ) have additional power an electric system simply cannot provide. It simply gives you more options - it still works in neutral! I personally would not have selected a hydraulic system had I built this boat but having now experienced its advantages in terms of what it is designed to do outweigh any disadvantages. The Vetus (and one owned by friends) are also prone to shear pins at inconvenient times. As always each to their own - but try it some time, you might be pleasantly suprised - I was John NB Mugwump

Just to add to the views. Our previous boat had a Vetus electric bow thruster and while it was fine we always had problems with keeping the batteries charged, the bow thruster was fine for 30 seconds but then started to run down. Our current boat came with a Cramm hydraulic system and it is fantastic. Yes at tickover the thrust is less than when running the engine, but to be fair the thrust at tickover is not far off the best the electric bow thruster had. I find the ability when turning around in a strong wind to simple disengage gear and rev the engine and get the resultant extra turn truly impressive. I accept this is only my experience but I wouldn't go back to an electric unit after experiencing this unit. The difference is quite something. You get used to the changing thrust very quickly, it simply gives you more options when you need it. Of course I didn't spec our current boat from new - so cost might be a consideration. As always a matter of personal choice but I have owned both. John NB Mugwump

Indeed What is always intersting in these posts is to get some feedback as to whether any of the posts actually helped - has Kristian found an external aerial from the links supplied and did it improve reception. John NB Mugwump

Thanks for the clarification. The confusion comes because you don't seem able to select Web-n-Walk Professional as a phone add on online (on the T-mobile website) it seems to only allow this as a seperate data card. Or I am looking in the wrong place. I guess I need to visit the shop to sort out. John NB Mugwump

Interestingly T-Mobile's terms and conditions say [i]Web 'n' walk price plans provide unlimited internet surfing on mobile handsets in the UK. To ensure a high quality of service for all our customers, they are not to be used for other activities such as (but not limited to): modem access for computers, internet based video/audio streaming services, peer to peer file sharing, internet based video download and internet based telephony.[/i] So in theory you can't use a 3G handset (or GPRS for that matter) to connect your laptop. Slightly strange because I have seen in a few places people say T-mobile themselves have recommended that approach. They also "officially" don't allow use of Messenging services but I contacted them and the reply was I can conform that, in accordance to the terms and conditions, use of Voice over Internet Protocol and Messaging over Internet Protocol is prohibited by T-Mobile. However, since clarifying this with our technical department, MSN messenger can be used in accordance to our fair use policy. If you abuse this policy and usage is not reduced, notice may be given, after which network protection controls may be applied So in other words I don't think they really care what you do as long as you don't download 100 full length movies each night. As for aerials I have the Mini Mag aerial mentioned above for my Vodafone card (soon to be swopped to T-mobile to save £25 a month) however I have struggled to get any improvement in reception, in fact it often makes it worse. I beleive there were some problems with the sockets on the vodafone cards actually not being connected. I am yet to test with someone elses card. Expansys also stock aerials and connectors (when in stock) See Cable Indoor Aerial External Aerial Not sure if these fit the T-Mobile card - best thing to do before buying anything is to email their support and check exactly what works. Let me know John NB Mugwump

We had a fully fitted boat from them in 2000. Both Dom and Sam are excellent and once we had agreed the initial spec and price that was it. Changes here and there, extra draws and cupboards were all thrown in with never a mention of revisiting costs. In fact I seem to remember we had 4 stage payments, one after the shell and the others during fitout. They were so relaxed I think we paid 2 or 3 together right at the end. As a full fitout they are (or were) slightly old fashioned in style but quality joinery everywhere. I am not sure who there team is now Darren Aldridge has done his own thing. Lean Beauchamp was there when we had our boat but for some reason I could never work out did nothing on our boat. Personally I think the shells are to die for - Colecraft - this is (or was)our boat {click on the photo for a better view}- photographed after we sold her. Recessed panels all the way down and a beautifully level line and excellent paintwork. As a shell or sailaway I would have no hesitation. Just wish children hadn't come along and the need for a bigger house. Still we are afloat again - perhaps not in the same style. John

Thanks for all the posts - some really useful links in here. The heat and plumb site and also Designer Radiators 4u look promising if a little pricey. You can even choose your colour from a very long list on the Designer Radiators 4U site. Shame they all take about 4 weeks - not that I am impatient John

Would be interested in dimensions - I have checked every website I can find but nothing smaller than 400mm x 400mm. Going to the boat this weekend again to see what the absolute maximum is. I think it has to be less than 400 wide but can be slightly taller. THanks John