TUGBOAT

Latest development on these Moorings are that Upton on Severn Town Council have rejected these plans according to reports on Narrowboatworld forum. JOHN

Hi Stuart We have a Heritage Duo. which we ordered from Heritage and we were given a choice of where the pipes come out either side or to the rear. so I guess it may be the same if you ring them up ask for Sam. he is the man to talk to. ps. they are amazing cookers but remember they need mains power all the time they are turned on and being used. John

Are we all going soft? Why do we put up with this crap, I for one will carry on using this mooring as I have in the past. What is this boat going to do when it see's boats doubled and trebled up on the pontoon?... untie them all? no, they will just find somewhere else to use ( the marina perhaps, plenty of parking there! ) . Don't be bullied by people like this stand up and be counted if enough people do she will be out of a job John

I agree with Narrowboat Communicator portholes look stunning We like portholes for the security we also have four side hatches in our lounge and kitchen with plastic screens and two wooden dog boxes above with double glazed panels so no drips! Side hatches can be bought and fitted to most boats to let more light in and give you a view of the outside world Hope this helps John

Hi there Re your battery Charger @30 amps you normally need 1kw for each 30 amp of charge so I would suggest a 20i Honda generator reliable and cheep to run. Hope this Helps John

I agree with Blackrose. We nod and say hello to all boaters on our journeys. And yes we do have a new Boat with shiny Brass portholes and we stop and chat with other boaters whether they have an old Boat or a new Boat ( Time share is another story ) as we are all Boaters enjoying the boating life John

A few thoughts In my view it is horses for courses if you have a Boat that suits Vinal then go with it. simply roll it on and job done. On the other hand if you want something that stands out then go for Sighnwtiting we did and it looks supurb and gets lots of comments and it is surprising how many people can recognise Phils work as we can recognise other painters work including yours Dave!. We had Phil scumble and decorate our back cabin and 8 sets of doors and it looks amazing and all the side doors are different something you will not find to easy with Vinal. and not at an extortionate price either ( you will pay more P/Hour at your local Garage to service your car ) these are skilled artist and well worth what they charge. John

Hi Simon We tried rubber mats on our Tug deck and after two months we had rust even on a 2 year old Boat. we now use dried kiln sand.easy to apply and very easy to keep clean. Also rubber mats slip when the deck is wet Hope this of help to you John

Hi Tim We also like crutch rockets we also have a Ninja and a Busa in storage for when we go back on the bank. anyway lets go back to sorting this guys inverter problem out and the best of luck to him John

Hi Tim It is just to let people know what they get for their money not just a product but after service as well which is often more important! which is what the forum is for ps we have a renault cleo.and a Harley Davidson John

Hi Steve We have a diesel range. in case of overheating we have a blow off valve/safety valve which dumps water through a skin fitting into the cut and therefore releases any build up of preasure. cost's about £10 in plumbers merchants. hope this is of use to you John

Hi Richard We had similor problems with the Vetus when we lost shore power it was a major issue it nearly caused the boat to catch fire! our Vetus unit will not run the charger from a generator we had a 3kw geni and it did not like it one bit being geni intolerant This is only our view on Vetus John

Hi there We have not long finnished fitting out our Tugboat. we decided on a Heritage diesel range/arga type cooker which is amazing it cooks and supplys hot water and central heating all at the touch of a switch. no stokong up woodburners. and the switch is all by remote control so we can even switch the heating on while still in bed!.and as it is diesel it makes us gas free as well. For your 70ft boat it will power 10 rads but it does run on mains so you need an Inverter on day and night approx 70 watts needed to run it + 7 watts for the cerculation pump. cost is around 7k with rads.and it's 700+ kg of ballast. John

Hi there We have a Vetus 3kw inverter /charger fitted in our tug.We would never ever recommend one, even to our worst enemy.Nothing but problems from day 1 and no customer after care, it took 43 phone calls before they sent somebody out to look at it and it is still not right. Now they don't even answer emails we send to them! And no chance of a refund either! Hope this helps John

Hep20 is by far the best to use but you cannot use it with any other type ie Polyplumb or Speedfit. there are two lots of Hep20 the older which is grey and the new system which is white make sure you use the white system. another point to check is. are they suitable for the Heating system as not all plastic pipes can take the heat for the central heating. I have built 3 Boats and I only use Hep20 and I have never had a problem. One other thing I suggest is always fit an on / off switch near the main door that you will use and put the Boat key on a hook next to it and on leaving the Boat just flick the switch off to lesson the chanch of a flooded Boat on your return if something does fail

Today in Gloucester to celebrate the launch of the new CRT they had a party at the Canal Museum for about 30 or so people, mostly in suits. All very nice and apparently a free Bar open for just the 4 Hours! Sorry, Boaters not welcome. Perhaps this is what the £3.00 a month is for? John

Hi Andy & Arielle I don't think you will get a mooring in Bristol as their is normally a long waiting list and you will be pushed to make Cardiff in an hour. The Glos /Sharpness Canal has moorings either at Saul Marina or possibly with the new Canal trust but again to get to Cardiff in an hour will take some doing. I would add at least half an hour to each journey Hope this helps John

Hi Tim You are right the 2LW is as good as it gets.we have one fitted in our tug and its great sounds amazing.looks amazing, and just potters along at just over tickover. its also fitted with 2 alternators and gives 80amps at tickover! JOHN

We called out the police and they said it is not uncommon and so did BW. and speaking to other boaters they agreed JOHN

A few thoughts on this speeding thing, our tug is 2'8" in the water with a 22" prop so we have a lot of water displacement which draws boats away from their moorings even when going slow. We only need just over tickover anyway with our engine but we notice the boats that do rock on their moorings normally have very loose ropes so this does not help. As for the hirers or owners debate when you are on the Shroppie the worst boats are timeshare boats, they have their 2 weeks and they are going for it, we have seen the same one crash 3 times in 2 days! Just remember 2 wrongs don't make a right.We always slow down and always will. JOHN

A little warning to anybody thinking of mooring in Trevor basin on the Llangollan Canal.DON'T we stayed there on Sat night and we had yobbos kicking the side of the boat in at 11.30 pm. Also we had a drink at the Telford Inn at trevor £3.20 a pt and we could hardly drink it and we here the food is not much better ! So not a good evening. JOHN

We have a Heritage Duo cooker and we are very happy with it. running costs work out about a gallon a day in winter for heating,cooking and hot water and less than half that in summer and all at the flick of a switch but remember they only run on 240 volt so you need mains power all the time. I would sudgest you check the price for the cooker and also the electrics and chimney to go with it.also make sure you can find somebody to fit it as most heating engineers do not have a clue when it comes to fitting these to boats!. I fitted our myself and its not that difficult JOHN

We have a pump out with a 50 gal tank. we tried brewers yeast but it was a waste of time and it just smelt of fermented p-- we now use odourlos from midland swindlers and it works fine and very cheap to use but it does not break down the waste. hope this is of use to you John

Someone who goes through life without giving a dam about other people. Like the people who buy boats to live on and never licence it. they moor where they like and for as long as they like and run engines/generators as long as they want with no respect for other boaters. trouble is there seems to be more an more of them on the cut these days. John