Mike Tee

It was mentioned earlier that the baseplate is the culprit - if there is enough wiggle room at gunnel height, it might be worth shifting all moveable weight to one side and attempt to go through on the list. Worth a try to save a few thousand!

Can you explain why 70’ x 7’ won’t go through Napton locks? Is it slightly oversize or not straight?

Bout the only thing they didn’t change was the colour of the grass!

Take out the similar pane on another window and take it with you to a local glazing company. I’m sure they will sort you a replacement.

Cleaning bar!! That’s the words I wuz looking for - although it does look a bit like a tent peg........

Did you clean the pipe from the Toby valve that lets fuel into the stove? Reason I ask, when you routinely scrape the bottom of the burner pot it is easy to push small amounts of the slag into this pipe if you don’t block it with the thing that looks like a tent peg (used to keep the oil orifice clear of slag). This will eventually buildup and choke the fuel supply. Also, yellow flame could indicate an obstruction in the flue causing the oil not to burn properly. If the fire has been good in the past, there should be no reason to go near either the high or low adjusters - the fault is sure to be elsewhere.

I am planning to be there on Wednesday - things might change but unlikely. Won’t be there very long though, just a quick boat check as haven’t been for a few weeks.

Instant mooring points, a bit like Armco. Just have to learn to do a standing 1.2 metre hurdle off the back deck - I can see a lot of incidents coming up on YouTube!

There used to be a time when boats were exempt from the restrictions on fire fuel - bring back the good old days (but not all of them).

I hope they don’t treat it as you are not supposed to burn it.

I have to admit my wife is the driving force for this cooperative living (we will own the flat - leased - but the building will be owned and run by the group which is us the residents) so I have not really been too involved in it all. I’ve lived and worked in some odd places so don’t really care as long as it is comfortable etc. As regards the community living I’m a bit of a loner, hence the escape pod! It sounds like this air source thing works OK provided the building is new and is designed properly around it, which I believe ours will be - it’s not the developers first rodeo so here’s hoping......

Air source

Thanks - it is planned to be well insulated but the developer, and the group we belong to, are proposing no underfloor heating, and radiators (which apparently will have to be bigger than 'usual'). Unfortunately its all or nothing as it is a smallish (29 units) block of flats and a housing cooperative so planning has been interesting! My current plan, assuming my health doesn't decline too much, is keep the smaller boat so I have an escape pod!!

Is that because of running costs or just not efficient enough? (Our yet to be built 'retirement' flat is planned to have these so just collecting info!)

It’s interesting that the top photo, although obviously old due to the ladies dresses, the brickwork looks ancient even then!

As the old saying goes 'Don't take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway'

Time to start thinking laterally - you said you have two stoves set up with similar flue etc, one burns good, one doesn't . Next time they are both cold, switch the front doors over. Also, I can't remember on the Bubble how it lets air in, because if you are not getting good controlled air in it will burn badly. Check the air in vents are clear. Worth a try anyway! You may be getting close to calling in an expert - if the engineer from Lockgate Stoves will work on a Bubble I can highly recommend him. Not cheap but as Red Adair once said 'if you think a professional is expensive, wait till you hire an amateur'.

Well done, that's looking much more as it should - the yellow high fire is probably more to do with the length of the flue and chimney rather than your settings. Even when iced in, we rarely run our stove over No.2 and the boat is as warm as we want it (and normally only lit from morning to bedtime - bit chilly first half hour but I'd rather that than burning diesel for nine or ten hours at £1.25 a litre).

That will cover it.

The majority of people ‘residential’ on boats are on a normal leisure mooring and supply an accommodation address (friends, family), stay on board long term and basically keep their heads down. No security of tenure, upset the marina and you are out with no recourse . Even C&RT leisure moorings are used like this, supply a postal address and away you go. You need to go in person, talk to the marina, and kind of ask ‘how long can I stay aboard’ nudge nudge etc.

Yet ..................... until you get that one visitor who doesn't listen or won't read!

I have no sympathy with either the passengers or the gondolier - I know there was a language difficulty but if they ignored his first instruction to sit then he should have stopped the boat and got them off.

Go Greek / Brazilian / loads of others, and put used paper in a bin and dispose with the usual rubbish if you are concerned. If you don't want to put it in the bin 'loose', then use cheap dog crap bags.

The jags gone!

Is that the famous telegraph pole double bridge?