DustyDave

I knew there was something missing from my boat. So many times I could have used a flare on the Worcester and Birmingham. I can just imagine a big sea king coming to save me from the nightmare of tardebigge. Dave

Yikes, I nearly took a mooring there last year. Was the obnoxious lady an owner/staff? I didn't have any problems dealing with them other than a cheque they sent me which seemed a bit bouncy. Dave

Same thing happened to me when I was buying a boat. Fresh set of batteries did the job. When used occasionally I still had reliability issues but when used daily it was great. Still could have done with a wood burner for the winter. Dave

Had a hopper smashed once when I wasn't there. Apparently police had the dogs out very fast. Shame CRT failed to pass on the report to me until 24 hours later....including refusing to hand over details to the police. When CRT decide to be awkward they are a total pain in the arse. Too many times considering I have only dealt with them for 5 years. Dave

Pretty sure I paid for two surveys prior to receiving the reports. I can understand surveyors wanting the money as my stomach turned when the first boat turned out to be a bad one. If I was the type I could have easily not paid for the survey. As it was I sold the report back to the seller for a bit of money...with permission from the surveyor. Dave

Not sure I would want to stay for long with the big kids around. I love drootwich but retreat to the pontoon area of the park in the evening. Dave

I use an app on the phone called Waze. It redirects you based on traffic. Quite clever with all the routes. It has saved me hours of being sat in traffic jams. Eats battery so you must be plugged in. I find my older TomTom better than swmbo's. Older is about 8 years old, newer is about 2. The new one takes you on daft routes and has a habit of saying directions a little too late. Dave

Droitwich is a good place to start though not if you have a high boat or lots of stuff on top like solar panels, boxes, etc. The m5 culvert can be very low for some boats. Park moorings are one of my favourite. Great cruising to be had. If you use the boat frequently you will want a different marina every couple of years just to be able to explore more. Saul is great but limited cruising unless you go out on the river. If you are a country person Gloucester moorings give a nice taste of town life. Worcester has some moorings but it is mainly river cruising unless you do lots of locks. The river gets you to lots of good places though. It can also flood for several weeks at a time restricting access. Other crt moorings on the worcester and birmingham. Bittell, tardebigge, dunhampstead and tibberton are the first that come to mind. Tibberton is very nice but no facilities. Keep the boat closer for your first year or two. You can always get more adventurous after that. Dave

blimey. You did well to warp a clearview. I have one and have heated the hell out of it without problems. Very popular in my area and never heard a bad thing about them.

Let me know the outcome. I have a stove I would like to get fitted by the end of September. Same area. Dave

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Glow-Plug-GH408-for-VW-Transporter-Caravelle-/301707018506?hash=item463f23c10a

I've now done a search and noticed I've discussed this before. Can anybody confirm a GH408 will fit? It is £14.40 on ebay.

Is there a cheaper alternative to mikuniheating.com for a glow plug for an MX40? Cheers, Dave

I am sat on my 365 at the moment. It needs new bellows but that comes at the bottom of the spending list. I have a pump out sat next to me but it sits unused while not out on a big trip. In light of the above comments I will stuck with old faithful until it gives up the ghost. Better go and chat to swmbo now. Dave

You have lost me on that one. I pay for a bss inspection. It passes. I get a link to an online copy emailed through to me by the examiner....who does know who I am because I asked him to do the inspection. Link could password protected if extra level of security is needed. So that still leaves your statement valid but gives me access to an online copy. Was there some other reason which I haven't understood? Dave

Having just had my bss done I was a little stunned to read up on what it really means. I thought it was for my safety but it seems not. From the description there is no explicit mention of boat owners: The Boat Safety Scheme, or BSS, is a public safety initiative owned by the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency. Its purpose is to help minimise the risk of boat fires, explosions, or pollution harming visitors to the inland waterways, the waterways' workforce and any other users. Oh well, there goes another chunk of money. Dave

Maybe he was just having a bad day. I'm sure we've all had bad days and maybe even done something out of the normal as a result. Dave

Run a very hot fire to burn off the bulk. Once cooled use baby wipes. Dave

I arranged for a boat to be blacked post survey. I was there at the survey and it didn't go well. Result was I told them I wouldn't pay to have it blacked. I am sure it annoyed the person who was due to gain some money from the job but I wasn't about to throw good money after bad. Only black it if you aee going to buy it. Dave

Just before reaching tibberton or two locks up on the route to stoke prior. Depends what you call a day out. For me dunhampstead would do but I am quite a lazy boater. Dave

I stopped using orange recently. As well as taking a largeamount of money from me they argued and shouted at me when I rang to complain. I won't touch them again no matter what shape or form they are in. They may have got one chunk of money from me but they will lose out in the long run. Just wish I had checked the reviews before signing up. They offer no protection to the customer. Big bills are preferred rather than a quick text or phone call. Dave

I used my boat this winter on electric radiators. I was hooked up to marina electrics though. It wasn't as expensive as expected though it didn't cope too well with the sub zero temperatures. I will still be fitting a stove this summer though. The electric heating is very slow to heat up the space compared to a stove. Also getting new electric cards from the marina is a pain as they have short office openings hours. I would say you will go slightly over 1k for a diy job. Dave

I had bunks in my boat for a short while. My biggest mistake was to get big thick mattresses for them. I could have got away with half the thickness and gained valuable space for those sleeping in them. The only other way I could have gained space is using a steel frame rather than wood (I think). Dave

Weather is in my side this week. I have plenty of electric heating plus I now have the mikuni working. The stove is on order but won't appear until after Christmas. Never thought I would have so many heating options. Dave

Another vote for Goodwin plastics. Much cheaper than other tank makers. Dave