waterdog

This one is on the K&A, might be worth a look, not sure about the stove pipe though ?? https://www.abnb.co.uk/boat_pages/3607web/3607abnb.php?BoatID=3607

Our two go on short leads within the semi trad area when in locks etc. Otherwise they tend to sit looking at the world going by or lie down for a sleep.

Ed Shiers at 4 counties marine. https://fourcountiesmarineservices.com/ Also the "go to guy" for travelpower issues.

Ours has a stat, once up to temp it cycles on and off as required.

Our Morphy Richards one is labelled at 130 to 163 watt. Works great when on days cruise (remember when we could do that) just bung it it on in the morning and you have a hot meal ready when you stop. Even now while in lockdown the solar usually keeps up with it without the need to run the engine. ( Not today though, no sun )

Mine too, complete waste of time.

Other end of the boat for me today, I've sanded and given the gas locker a coat of vactan ready for painting tomorrow. The engine bay will be left for another day. I'm sure there are areas of the boat that can't be seen that are quietly rusting but I can't do anything about that. It might just be me but I feel that the areas that can be seen and got to should be maintained. When looking to buy I walked away from quite a few boats that had engine bays in a right state. If what you can see is a mess what does that suggest about the rest. I intend to keep this boat for a long time and I'd rather slap a bit of paint on now than have a huge welding bill further down the line. I'll second openers suggestion of a mini roller too, it made prepping the gas locker less difficult.

The jobs on hold at the moment, I can tilt the hatch up at the rear but the roof box will have to come off to get the hatch of the runners. The hatch runs on four neoprene ?, blocks and that part of it looks OK. I've removed all the rotten internal trim from around the hatch and the panel on the underside so will wait till I've sourced the replacement wood and get it all done in one go. Finding somewhere open that will cut the wood to size will be the difficult bit.

Brilliant, thanks. That will be tomorrows job ?

On 20/03/2018 at 10:06, Traveller said: Blackrose did you actually cut right through the brass slider and is 5mm the depth or width of the slot? Thanks. "I cut right through the brass runner and then took the piece out with a screwdriver. I painted over the steel underneath with some primer. Make sure you cut the slot at 45 degrees otherwise your hatch won't slide! 5mm is the width, it may have been slightly wider. The brass strip itself is only about 2 or 3mm deep. While you're at it turn the hatch cover over and check for rust at the contact points. Rub it down if it's rusty. I'm actually going to stick a small strip of brass onto that point with stixall to stop the rust returning." Edited March 21, 2018 by blackrose. Hi Blackrose, I've copied a reply of yours above from a 2018 post. The rear hatch on the new (to me) boat looks like it has been leaking for years, so much so that the internal wood trim is starting to fall apart and obviously I would like to get this fixed. How well is your method working two years later? and would you have done anything different, I think I've "got it" from your description but do you have any photo's of the slots you cut in the runner so I can see exactly what you did. Thanks Waterdog

We've had two of these running for a year now and they seem to work OK. Solar is providing all our power at the moment so no need to run the engine. I love solar

Hi all, We're back onboard and safely moored up outside the Marina. No issues on the journey or when collecting the boat, only saw 2 police cars and they were heading south on the M40 on blues & two's. (We were heading north ?) Staff at cropredy were again fantastic and couldn't have been more helpful. ?

Moving day tomorrow, will report back when / if we get settled back on the boat.

Might be interesting getting arrested for stealing your own boat no need for any subterfuge though, it's all agreed with the marina for us to collect the boat. Happy to say that the staff at Cropredy have been brilliant and really helpful, both when we left the boat and in making the arrangements to collect again.

Update, The marina are happy for us to collect the boat subject to some entirely sensible precautions. Also they are providing services for passing / nearby static boaters on a pre arranged basis, i.e. phone first and then pay over phone. So getting back to our home looks entirely feasible. Just the obstacle of making the journey to overcome.

Guy's please, there is enough squabbling about semantics in other threads regarding covid 19. Rest assured we are well aware of the dangers around this horrible virus, we have already lost a family member to it who died alone in hospital with no visitors and was cremated with no family present. All things considered though and with a smidgen of common sense thrown in, I think we would less of a risk to others on the boat, and others would be less of a risk to us when compared to our current situation. If, and it is still an if, we return to the boat we will have considered all the options carefully. I am noting the concerns raised on the thread so far but sometimes things are not exclusively black or white.

Thanks Mike, we filled up / emptied at Fenny on our way down. The pump out there is self service so could well be an option if they are still operating.

Thanks for that Nightwatch, yes the boat is our home, normally 24/7. We have a porta potti onboard so using an elsan would be possible. Much rather get a pump out though ? Please no pump out versus cassette arguments ?

Thanks for your input

Hi All, Semi hypothetical question here, We're looking for some info on services (water points, pump out, fuel) etc near Cropredy (ish). We are c.c. liveaboards and left our boat in Cropredy Marina just before the lockdown to look after our grandson in Sussex when the schools closed and his mum & dad were at work. Three weeks later the government has now announced another 3 weeks minimum lockdown and our daughter and son in law are now both on furlough so we have become spare parts really and would like to get back to our home. I'm not even sure if we can get into the marina whilst lockdown is ongoing, (I will phone them tomorrow) but assuming we can collect the boat and get back on the cut we then have to think about services, is anyone in the area who can advise on the current availability of water / fuel /pump outs please. Are any of the marinas in the area letting boats in to use the pump out ? We will stick it out for another 3 weeks in a house if we have to but I'm starting to go a bit nuts. Not even sure if driving to the boat would be an essential journey but we would really just be going home, although our "paper address" is here at our daughters in Sussex which might cause issues if we were stopped by the police on the way. Be grateful for any info.