jonathanA

given most boat flues are quite short isn't the obvious thing, to shine a torch down them (when the fires not burning ) ? now that I've written that I've realised I've never actually tried it so maybe its not that obvious ? Does burning the fire hot for a while help get rid of any tar/resin build up ? running the fire hot seems to clean up the glass if its got a bit sooted up ?

me too - also was really surprised when I followed the 'fatally flawed' link http://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/ about 'safety covers' being anything but... anyone with small children (or grand children)should visit that site - Once again the CWDF has taught me something new !

I guess there's always going to be a premium for the 'convenience' of a plastic bag of coal. My coalman delivers good yorkshire coal (nice big lumps)for £16/50Kg also briquette things which I use on the boat for the same price - they seem to burn well, leaving only a fine ash in the morso. I have to put it in my own plastic bags to take to the boat... 'good yotkshire' not two words normally heard coming from a lancastrian - well it is Christmas :-)

I'd also add there's quite a good group of volunteers doing a fair job of clearing the canal in the burnley area. BW are supporting to the extent of making a work boat available for the volunteers, hopefully something we'll see the CaRT doing more of in the future...

might be slightly off topic - but so so funny (to a northerner anyway)

One thing to add hopefully not too far off topic... its just as hard if not harder to get a big wet dog out of the water.... so we make our dogs wear dog bouyancy jackets that have a handle on, whenever we are on the move. surprising how few other dogs we see with either a bouyancy aid or some sort of harness to make retrival possible... the dogs have fallen in more than me or my clumsy wife although I don't think I'd be able to drag her out using a boat hook.... Jon

Yes interesting not sure refilliable bottles make too much sense in the UK though.

so do you have any scientific or rational basis for your comments ? NO ! Am i wrong about the engineering, physics and chemistry supporting my agruments ? - well I could be but I'm willing to learn to improve my understanding and i hope helping others learn a bit too. I agree absolutely you shouldn't be put at risk by other idiots - Do these devices put you at risk I don't know but would like enough information to make an informed decision rather than jump to a conclusion that its LPG so it must be dangerous. i have a maybe, misplaced trust in the powers that be to put a stop to this if its dangerous or illegal Presumably you are happy enough with people with "zero knowledge" filling their LPG cars and driving around or do you live in a bunker just in case an LPG car comes near you - of course not ! so don't quite see why your so strong in your opinion, but I'll make it clear I respect your right to have it even if I don't agree I'm not saying filling cylinders with these devices is right or wrong ( I don't know) but I am interested in understanding the REASONS why it might be a good thing or bad and understanding the risks and I'm sure other people are too. Don't think my post deserved your apparently stern reply, but perhpas I'm miss reading it.

we're relatively new and have been using Collidge & partners - they advertise in the mags and also have a stand at Crick so you can actually go and see them in person if your at Crick ! good service, helpful and offer an alternative to RCR for £60/yr. the actual marine insurance is underwritten by navigators and general Jon

A couple of things for the debate... although the ebay items seem to have disappeared... I for one can't see what the problem is here, although accept there is a need for some care and safe practice. There has been some errant nonsense posted on the forum, with good intention I'd like to think and not from 'vested' interest but when you look at some of the more ridiculous statements you wonder... 'butane boils at 37 degrees C' being an obvious one, if it did none of us would be using it in our camping stoves etc.. to read some posts you'd think Overfilling bottles will cause a hirosama like explosion - I don't think so. The reason there is a space in bottles is because its the 'gas' (i.e vapour above the liquid) in the bottle that we draw off to burn. We've all probably shaken up very cold or nearly empty bottles to get a bit more gas out. I don't think an electric LPG pump at an autogas station can pressurise the LPG to such an extent that a heavy steel calor gas bottle will split and be ripped apart - seems a bit fanciful to me.... surely if you try to overfill then the pump will simply cutout at its safe cutout pressure or LPG will simply have no where to go, the pressure could not possibly keep increasing beyond the design parameters of the filling system... a few years ago when I was involved in outdoor centres we used several bulk propane cylinders for gas for heating and cooking in large residential buildings and briefly explored the option of refilling our own cylinders but actually managed to get a better deal out of calor for the bulk supply. Its quite common in North america for the big 'DIY' places or larger walmart type supermarkets to fill their own cylinders and they aren't all turning into fireballs every time someone coughs... I'd agree there is a premium to pay for using 'Calor' and its way more expensive in smaller cylinders and its more expensive than bulk tanks or autogas so anything thats puts some market pressure on them must be good. In calors defence I'd add they are far easier to deal with than BOC - who charge eye watering rentals for their cylinders annually (i.e each and every year) and charge for the gas in the cylinder separately... so good debate but lets keep it real - I can't see why some people have felt the need to run off to the 'authorities' and report the sellers to every government busy body and quango but its their choice just as it might be mine to use one of these things if I thought it made sense for me. (it doesn't so I won't be- but I wouldn't deny someone else the option) Cheers all

I wouldn't be without my digital multimeter - so useful for a myriad of electrial things from testing bulbs and fuses to checking battery voltages. The one on the boat has a clamp ammeter built in (you just clip round the wire you want to measure the current in) - really useful for checking how much charge the alernator is really putting out and how much current that fridge/light/pump is really using...

another headbanger here.... will have a bald patch not caused by the significant others thumb print....

yes I think its temperature sensed as it doesn't run all the time but seems to come on when its working hard. cleaning dust out sounds like a good idea and a squirt of WD40 or electical switch lubricant (switched off) might not do any harm. ETA - actually my charger is the Pro C 20A version if its different to the pro budget ? it has up to 3 outputs which is why I liked it.

Ha ha the problem was getting off the towpath side - I did consider chucking a line across to the off side but it was a long way to next bridge... Grappling hook might have worked would probably have got a cow in the field ! (milk for the brew maybe!) Jon

I'd agree with Chris, I emailed them a bit ago looking for the pin out for the remote on my inverter (I didn't fit so didn't get the remote that come with them) and they offered to sell me a rmote for £20 quid, so they'll probably offer you a repair service or the spare at a reasonable price (bit not as cheap as maplin/another) - in my case I wasn't going to pay £20 quid for 3 leds, a rocker switch and a data connector - so worked it out for myself, but did find them helpful. - worth a try I'd say. I'd measure the hole in the charger - I know the fan in mine sometimes runs after the mains is off so I'd bet its 12v, so if you have a rough idea of the size its shouldn't be too hard to match that to whats available, you may still have issues about depth and voltage if Stirling aren't that helpful - so screwdrivers out time i guess

just seen a 12V cammping freesat kit for £39.99 in aldi - its not HD but looks ok for the money especially as it will run of 12v. make is 'TEVION' and it comes with a 3year guarantee. anyone tried one ?

The original OP was about are boats too close for safety? in our marina we are separated only by the finger jetty on one side (2 foot or so) and a foot or so of water on the other. I don't see it as a problem, we've chosen the marina we're in for a number of reasons (our choice). The safety issue is about whats reasonable and practical - do narrow boats/cruisers spontaneously combust frequently - clearly not ! in risk assessment terms the likelihood of a boat fire is small but if it did happen it would be pretty bad ! so what can be done to minimise the risk (control measures in risk assessment speak) - detection and extingusihing the fires as early as possible - fire extinguhers and alarms. (Our marina has extinguishers at regular intervals something you don't see on linear moorings generally) clearly another option would be spacing out the boats - but how far and to be effective and would it be reasonable or practible to space boats that far apart ? you could ban all solid fuel stoves and gas, but what about diesel heaters ? i don't think boats are comparable with mobile caravans or camping pitches in particular - I've seen some pretty spectacular fires from tents catching light from flaring gas/parafin/petrol stoves or stoves being used in doorways and also some nasty injuries from camping stove gas bottles being changed - not something likely to occur in a boat. bottom line as with all safety related issues is you have to make your own mind up and do your own 'assessment' of what your happy with... there's enough people telling us what to do/think lets not encourage more of it...

I can see how a cratch cover would just add to the 'sail' effect of a bigger cabin. I suppose in theory if the bow was the right shape and the wind from the right direction you might find the bow doesn't move when its pointed straight into the wind but in the case were talkiing about - here wind blowing more or less at 90 degrees to the boat I can't see how the shape of the bow would affect things compared to the big square sides of the cabin. so far looks like using the pole was the right thing to do, don't know what I would have done if I'd been on my own... thks

there's been a lot of volunteer cleaning up around burnley/nelson - still plenty to do but its definitely getting better...

probably about an hours cruise after the tunnel (gannow)- just after bridge 134 and between the canal and a railway line on the bend. last time I looked on google it was still a 'field' its only been open about 3 years.... so its the foulridge side of burnley rather than the hapton side. Jon

i think lock 35 is snegneck - which is the first of the gargrave flight if memory serves... there are some moorings between bank newton bottom lock and this one if they're not already taken.

a little further on from Hapton is reedley marina, just after barden mill - they are very competitive on diesel and will allow you to declare your split Last time i heard they were a little cheaper than hapton.

might be for a 'potty' (as another poster called them :-)) but for self pumping out a PO not really other than to store the pumped out stuff I suppose !

not too long ago we went in first and the brand new less than a week old boat we'd just been admiring behind us followed, getting further into the distance as thier headlight had failed .... eventually they found a torch and preceeded very slowly, felt a bit guilty that I hadn'r realised whart the problem was sooner but couldn't really go back to help.... I asume that foulridge would actually be wide enough for two narrowbeams to pass inside, but wouldn't want to meet a widebeam.....

its not unknown for the lights to stick at one end - so if you sit there for ages and (50mins+) and the lights ain't changed then there's something up and a phone call to BW is needed...