BargeeSpud

Having now had both, I can say that they each have their own issues & it comes down to personal choice. Eberspacher tend to be expensive to repair, not easy to DIY service & can have red diesel issues, although mine was OK as far as I knew. Power supply can be a problem, mine had to be connected directly to the batteries due to voltage drop via a fuse panel creating insufficient voltage for starting. Webasto are definitely quieter once running & so far the only issue I have with it is the inability to have a room thermostat like you get with the Eber, its full on all the time, so getting the rad outputs for the output of the Webasto right is important. That could make replacing an Eber with a Webasto not as straightforward as it could be. On the whole I prefer the Webasto at the moment, but I've only had one for a year compared to 15 with the Eber.

Going new isn't always the panacea some think it is. What you think you need in a design might not work how you think it should, you need to have lived with a few layouts to have some idea of which elements of their design worked for you & how you can bring those elements together within a coherent new layout. Even then after you've built the dream, you invariably find you still need to tweak things a little or wished you'd built it a little differently. As they say, boats ain't an exact science! I speak from experience having just built my dream & the above sentence certainly applies in my case, despite over 30 years experience. Please don't be put off, designing layouts & turning them into reality is a highly enjoyable experience whether it's modifying an existing boat or starting with a blank canvas, just stick to the tip top, top tip already posted. Take your time & do little changes. With an existing boat, gradual evolvement usually works best. Have fun whatever.

Just an observation regarding the reluctance to make holes in the roof. If you drill & tap for the fine metric machine screws available in both brass & stainless steel to fix whatever you're fixing, you can apply some sort of sealing compound or, as I do, you can make & fit a rubber gasket. All you need is a sheet of thin rubber (tyre inner tube?), draw around the object marking the screw holes, cut out & pierce the hole positions with a sharp point like a bradawl & Robert's your Mother's brother. I've used this method on 2 boats now without any problems. Note: Taps & their relevant drills are available online from engineering supply companies & are reasonably priced, their web site should tell you the drill size required which is important. I would recommend buying quality 2nd cut taps, you don't really need 1st or 3rd cut taps, just take your time & don't get Biffo with them. Also, buy at least 2 drill bits of the size you need for the tap/s you're using as sod's law will dictate that you will break at least 1 before you've got used to them or finished the job!

I had this too, the water would ingress at the forward corners of the hatch opening & my solution was to drill 3 large countersunk holes to cover the entire width of the runner rail inboard of the brass runner strip & just forward of the hatch aperture. This had the effect of draining the water that pools on top of the rails before it reached the aperture corners. Just to make absolutely sure, I used a drill file to cut an angled drain channel off the inside edge of the rails at the aperture corners to assist drainage into the drain slots between the rails & roof. Seemed to cure the problem

Thanks Nick, great advice as usual & I shall get into a regular habit of aiming for less than 1% around 1 per 4 charging cycles to see how it goes. Depending on time taken I might increase the frequency, any way, I shall endeavour to break the habit of a lifetime & write down a record of my charging cycles! Oops! Looks like I've just made a public New Years resolution!

Hiya & Happy New Year everyone. I'm charging 6 Trojans with my onboard generator's alternator & I'm using the amp read out on my Victron battery monitor to judge when I've reached an optimal charged state for the bank's capacity of 675 AH. I've read somewhere that you don't get any benefit after the amp reading drops to 1-2% of the battery capacity. If that is correct then I should stop charging when the amp reading is between 10-11A. Is this a reasonable method to determine your charging regime?

Merry Christmas everyone, here's to a great 2016. Tight lines & may your poles stay on your roof.

If you're wary of cheap bulbs from eBay, then buying from a reliable source like Beddazzled makes sense, doesn't it? I've had their bulbs on 2 boats over the last 10 years, give or take, with no problems whatsoever. Personally, I think their service is great & their products are genuine value for money.

The delivery problems with BMS could be down to delivery type. I ordered 6 thinking they'd be next day, but they were pallet delivery which takes longer, so maybe that's what others experienced?

Is this your sanest tip yet? Either you're losing your grip or you're not feeling well today. Hope its the latter Mr B.

Yanmar make the base engine that is marinised by Barrus. Usually you get a manual for the Yanmar engine along with the Barrus manuals, which give more technical info.

Don't know about having a photo, but I'd be interested in having a large cratch cover made in the fairly near.

That's the big question isn't it? Like all mobile internet access, it all depends on where you are, I'm in Hemel Hempstead & mine works great, but Worcestershire is a big unknown for me. Last year I crapped out with my old 3G T-Mobile unit throughout Warwickshire for example, whether the 4G EE would work, again I don't know. Maybe someone else in your area who's on EE 4G can give you a better idea than I can

My bad, thanks.

I place my EE MyWifi unit in the window & get at least 3 bars on the signal indicator which does OK for the phone, laptop & smart TV.

If you are having this sort of trouble, then go back to O2 & tell them you're not happy & why & can they cancel your contract, giving you your mac code so you can take out a contract with another service provider. You shouldn't have any issues with O2 about it, as I know providers come across this problem quite often & will usually come across. Good luck.

Personally, I see little difference between the old & new. One thing I'd like C&RT to do is provide a facility to renew your MOORING PERMIT online, as you can with a cruising licence. No reason why it can't be done & no discernable reason why it is still not being done, the new web site will be an opportunity missed if they fail to incorporate that. In fact there is no reason why any C&RT saleable service should not be purchased online, its not as if they have thousands of combinations of fees to handle.

Only ever seen 1 Ironworks boat & I'd say they're not in the Colecraft/Piper class nor in the Springer class so they fit somewhere in the middle probably along with Arcrite from the same period, but not as good as Reeves & their contemporaries. Can't say how they compare to the mainstream builders of today like Tyler etc. As the saying goes, you pays your money & you takes your choice.