sooz

T'other half and I were travelling down a flight of five ever-so-slightly spaced out locks. She was on the canalside and I was on the boat. As we came out of the second one, she had difficulty with one of the paddles so I hovered to make sure she was alright and could close the gate okay. As I was about to moor up and give her a hand, she got it sussed and so we continued on our way to the third lock. This third lock was around a slight bend, so visibility was reduced until the bend had been cleared and as it was a quiet day on the water neither of us were rushing. As we came around the bend, we saw a boat coming our way through the top gates. It transpired that the man was single-handing, so t'other half sped up and told him she'd just closed the bottom gates of the second lock, but if he was going through then she'd go back and open them since he could leave these open for me. He didn't repsond to her, but instead proceeded to tie his centre line loosely to the open gate (stern within the lock and bow outside of it - plenty of photos available if I'm not being clear!), step off and walk round the bend to the next lock - all with a smug smile on his face (okay, so that bit is a personal comment, but it irked me). Seeing what he had done, and that I was now prevented from getting into the lock by his boat floating in the middle of the gates, I called over as he passed me, "is everything alright?" to which he replied, "she closed the gate" and carried on. We were completely astounded and rather bemused by this behaviour, and rather than confront him I simply took plenty of photos. It has been playing on my mind ever since though. We felt he was unnecessarily rude. Yes we had closed the gate, but as soon as we came round the bend and saw him, t'other half tried to converse with him and offered to run back and open it (if he wasn't mooring before the lock). As far as we can see if he hadn't wanted her to open the lock for him then he could have just stayed aboard until the next lock, tied up there in the usual manner and opened the gates - that way he wouldn't have had to return to this lock to get his boat. He, however, went deliberately out of his way to hinder us as if we had caused him the greatest offence. (Smug git) Would be grateful to know if we did make some heinous error or if his actions were unacceptable, please. Thanks.

Hello! I thought it best to do another introduction of sorts, since I’ve had a bit of an extended absence from the forum. Completely unintended and really poor timing, actually; around the time we got our boat I had a relapse of a health condition. Well, it sucked (and still does) but during some of the ‘slightly-more-well-than-usual’ moments we managed to get up to the boat – albeit not as often as we had hoped. Anyhow, I’m slowly regaining my ‘online presence’(!) and catching up on forums etc. All the advice from people here was invaluable when we were buying. Often conflicting and confusing, but invaluable nonetheless! We thought that going through the process of researching and buying a boat was complicated enough, but it turns out that was nothing compared to everything we’ve had to contend with since it became officially ours – it has been the steepest of learning curves! Within hours of having the boat craned into the water I made a foolish mistake and blew up the inverter (and funnily enough haven’t managed to save enough to replace it yet). Over the next couple of days we discovered that the cooker was ‘unsafe’, the fridge was an ineffective waste of space, the shower was kaput, the engine was leaking water (okay, that may not have been quite what it was doing but that was my non-technical interpretation of the issue), the 240v hookup socket was potentially lethal, the electric wiring and gas pipes were running too close together and uninsulated, in places they shouldn’t have been, a couple of sockets were hazardous So we had to spend a couple more days than we had planned at the marina where it was craned in so that they could help us prioritise things and get it at least safe to run. As such we were delayed in reaching our own marina, and when we got there we made quite an entrance (the less said about that, the better!). We also had our first experience of manoeuvring in the wind – not fun! Our cruising had till then been limited to the eastern end of the K & A and a small section of the Coventry Canal. Suddenly it was all very different on the exposed marina and western K & A. Over the following months, we discovered many more delights; some niggly and some deeply frustrating. When trying to get the gas central heating system working (three radiators and a boiler), it turned out that any allusions to a ‘system’ were wildly inaccurate; anything that had once been had long since been decommissioned and out of use. Our water pumps spent the winter working erratically (more not than often) so we were largely without water, which was marvellous since the marina had the taps turned off for most of the winter, too. After five months and three different opinions it was diagnosed as faulty wiring and fixed last month (hooray!). Our stern hatch is proving to be a sod, the side hatch leaks more than most locks I’ve seen and the steel work on the bow deck is unsafe. The chimney and several windows leak; one to the point where I put my hand on the wood panelling below and an entire plank shelf-type thing just fell off through damp. All mattresses and dinette cushions are actually gross inside. We had planned to get them remade, but didn’t expect them to be quite so dire – it seems all the lockers under the bed and the dinette are at best damp and at worst liable to flooding. The sofabed is somehow too big for the gap it occupies, which left us with nice scratches down the wood panelling when dropping it for the first time. Speaking of beds, attempting to drop the dinette table to make it into a bed proved impossible without unscrewing the desmo legs each time (we ended up taking a jigsaw to the table and now have to put up with its constant wobbling). One other giant frustration is that we had some steel work done to the stern before the boat travelled down south to us and it was primed ready for us to paint. It’s turned out that with child-free weekends having to coincide with by being well enough to go anywhere, we haven’t had a single dry trip up to the boat in these six months and so painting has never happened, leaving us now with an ugly half grey undercoat / half rusted stern deck and lockers. Oh, and the varnish the yard had finished off the taff rails with flaked off at the first drop of rain, which was just plain rude of it. Of course we expected teething problems – it would be foolish not to. We just hadn’t expected it to be quite so draining emotionally. Fortunately(?!) it all seemed to become so neverending that it was ridiculous and we ended up with an if-you-don’t-laugh-you’ll-cry attitude towards it. The joys of ‘sold as seen’ and being complete newbies, eh?! So, that’s been our first six months of boat ownership. We’ve genuinely loved every minute we’ve spent on the boat and we’re so excited for all the time to come, but dear me we’ve cried so many tears over all these extra expenses and still have so far to go to get it to a state where we’d be able to have guests / visitors. Thrilled to be getting the signwriting (well, vinyl) done in a fortnight though – a purely aesthetic thing, but we think it needs personalising and we did at least budget for this! Apologies for the huge ramble =/ It’s good to be back here and I’m looking forward to reading all the waterways news etc. Though first I seem to have a few unread messages in my inbox that may well need an explanation for such a delayed reply! sooz =]

Oh, that sounds promising - perhaps I am overcomplicating things? I searched for 'thermostatic mixer showers' on the B&Q website, the results of which is the link that I posted and they all look to be complete shower replacements. Apologies then for the daft question, but exactly which bit of the picture is the bit that needs changing?! The kitchen tap is a mixer and from memory it was mixing okay, though will now be the first thing I check tomorrow! Thank you =]

Hi all, Just after some advice, please, before we head up to finally greet our boat properly tomorrow. To quote my own post from another thread, the problem is thus: I think we established that a new thermostatic thingy was needed, but that's where it all falls apart for me! I'm still not exactly sure what it is we are looking for - is it effectively a whole new shower? Also, I presume we are limited on what will fit the existing system? For example the cheapest (£60) one on this link suits us nicely budget-wise (we've already considerably overspent on this whole boat lark and haven't even moved ourselves onto it yet) but doesn't look at all as though it'll fit the existing system. Is that right or am I grossly underestimating what a technical bod could do? I have attached a picture of the shower as it is. I'm afraid it's the only picture we have and was taken from the original advert. Being a couple of hundred miles away from the boat still, more detailed pictures and any measurements will have to wait until tomorrow. Please, if I am asking for an impossible diagnosis over the web then do just tell me. I was simply hoping to be more prepared for going up tomorrow, and particularly hoping to not be without the use of a shower for too long - t'other half might be hardy but I'm a wuss and it's dangerous for the children who will be coming up with us in half term. Any and all advice gratefully received, thank you =]

Thank you for that website, Brian, very handy. Thanks Rob for your pm, I shall go and have a read of it now. =]

Thank you for those =]

Right, it's just under a week until we finally take delivery of our boat. With huge thanks to everyone who helped us in the 'Niggles or Concerns' thread, we think we have our priorities sorted for what tasks to tackle and in what order. Now, however, we are wondering where the best places to find local tradesfolk might be? In the first instance, we will need a gas-bod to check our cooker and a plumber (or just someone better with tools than we are) to replace the thermostatic mixer shower majiggey. Do we need to look for someone who is specifically used to working on boats? I'm presuming that would make sense, but am also wary of being charged a premium for what could essentially be quite simple tasks. We've also got a couple of less-essential things we'd like to consult an electrician about and we would like to get a carpenter to have a look at knocking up some small drop-leaf tables. Again, would we need boat-specific folk for these jobs? They won't be done till some point in the future, mind. I know that a couple of local marinas / boatyards will do such things, but I wondered whether we'd be best looking for independent tradesfolk. Yes, by 'best' I mean financially, I admit. Whilst not wanting to do things 'on the cheap', we are needing to be a tad more frugal than we have been thus far (tell me, is it normal to set a budget for a boat and then 'just have a look' at others that are beyond said budget but to end up falling in love?)! Any recommendations greatly appreciated, thank you (those with lovely-caring-attitudes-towards-newbies-who-have-already-gone-way-over-budget-and-are-happy-to-accept-payment-by-way-of-liquid-refreshment especially welcomed!) =D Oh yes, we'll be based near Devizes on the K & A, by the way.

A couple of far-from-technical points from very novice boaters, here. Having been on board Marseilles (same layout, I believe) for a poke around, overall we were impressed with the boat but felt it served a certain purpose, namely corporate bonding weekends for company executives. Everything was very well-maintained and the chap who showed us around seemed to know every last detail about the boats (and immediately sought answers to anything he didn't know). As for the boat itself, it had a certain hint of luxury about it, but felt far from inviting. It felt strictly 'business' rather than 'personal'. Taking it exactly as is, the lack of anywhere cosy to snuggle up of an evening was a big drawback. Yes, it has a grand dining area with leather sofa, but with said area being the only social area on the boat it was far from comfortable - the sofa was far too high and upright to serve any purpose other than dining. Altogether it felt just too formal. The kitchen was nice-looking but lacking usable space and storage. Each cabin and bathroom had a nice amount of space, however. We loved the sliding roof but purely as a novelty and I can fully see the points regarding its upkeep. The small rails surrounding the bow deck were a bonus on this fleet as other Napton boats don't have them yet the outdoor seating at the front of all their boats is higher than one usually finds (just a few inches lower than the gunwales) leading us to be concerned for the safety of t'other half's children and our not-entirely-there dog. The stern was our favourite feature of the Napton boats, so much so that we've just had our newly-bought cruiser stern modified to a similar style. Whilst not for everyone (and I know there will always be those who love their trads and those their cruisers etc) it suits us very well - extra storage and a bit of seating to make it more sociable at the back whilst avoiding the dangerous rails cruisers have. We also liked the quirkiness of having a fitting for a small desmo table at the stern, for corporate champers no doubt! Like I say, these were just our thoughts and relevant to our needs only. Also we had no interest in the boat (far too long for our intended use) and we were just indulging in a spot of nosiness! Of course if you were planning on altering the boat in any big way or are specifically looking for a classy boat for winning over potential business partners then most points are moot!

A couple of questions on inland boating courses, specifically finding vendors in the south. We are very interested in some sort of basic mechanics / maintenance type course so that we can be better prepared for dealing with any of the more 'simple' issues that may well crop up with our boat. Are there any such registered courses available with local provision (our boat is on the K & A, and we live further south still)? Or alternatively are there any local providers who run their own day / weekend courses? Also, does anyone know what the RYA Helmsman's course covers that the Certificate in Community Boat Management does not? The main difference that I can spot is that the former appears to include a very basic inroduction to engines which, whilst handy, is likely not enough to justify doing the whole course in addition to the CCBM (which we are currently doing anyway). Many thanks =]

Thank you for that - loads of useful advice which is much appreciated. Hope it wasn't too much thinking for the time of day! Not smug at all - any and all advice is appreciated, thank you. Seems most of my original points are simply niggles but yes, first task is going to be getting the gas looked at and definitely by a proper gas-bod. Also, the interior is indeed 2010. I'm probably doing it all no favours through my obsessive detailing of every single thing we notice, but it really is a pretty nice boat, honest! Got a spare pair of crampons, perchance?! Maybe an icepick or two as well?! I never knew there were so many weird and wonderful things available for the kitchen - it was fascinating! We thought we were safe and would never go back, till we discovered that one thing we came away with was faulty. Think we'll need a strategic plan for the return trip, possibly involving blinkers! Fab stuff, thank you, particularly on the tv issue. Reading all the past threads on 240v / 12v tvs did nothing to help my decision, but every so often I have come upon something / someone who has stated that 240v is quite fine depending on the usage. We will definitely be getting a quote for installing a 12v socket in the living area, but should we consider it too costly we'll likely end up with a 240v as we do intend to be cruising every day and the usage won't be huge. Have to ask, by the way, just where do you keep your, err, 'dipstick' when not dipping your waste tank?! Can just picture it being accidentally grabbed hold of... =S Thank you for that. We shall see how we go with it and how the consumption is, but I shall get trawling through previous threads on fridges (one topic I think I missed before!). Oops, sorry. I (perhaps incorrectly) assumed that bombarding the forum with that many individual threads would have been poor etiquette, particularly since a good number of the issues were fairly readily solved. You are right though, members have been superbly helpful (as ever) =] Good to know, thank you. Okay, that fridge info did just fry my brain but on rereading think I've got the gist! Thank you, seems as though replacing the fridge may be something to look into as (or if!) our funds gradually recover!

Thank you, will check that one. Sounds handy, thank you for that =] Right, let's see if I can sound as if I vaguely know what I'm on about! We have a calorifier, I know that much. Okay, that's the limit I'm afraid. Sounds like a plan, will be sure to get that done. Will look into getting a quote to have this done - it seems odd that there aren't any, because the previous owner put so much thought into the layout and making sure everything was accessible. I think he was on hookup permanently though, so probably didn't need the 12v socket in the living area. Bookmarked that website a while ago as they seemed to be ridiculously good value so would lean towards getting one from there. Definitely want to get the shower sorted so will probably look at doing the same. It's a 1986 build. The previous chap bought it ten years ago but had it completely refitted in 2010 and seems to have spent the previous eight years figuring out exactly what he would want and where to fully maximise usage. It's so well thought out both layout / decor-wise (bar the lack of 12v socket in the living area) and all the technical bits, too. To quote t'other half, it's "lush"! =]

Righto, will see where we can poke some holes! See you're not all that far from us (or our boat, anyway) - if it's anyone you could recommend please feel to pm me, thanks =] Feeling a tad embarrassed to have not thought of that - was merrily calculating how much bottled water we'd have to buy at a time! D'oh! The engine is a 1.8 BMC, there's a panel with the battery charge status, water temperature, bilge, horn, tunnel light and glowing lights - is that what proprietary means in this context?! Clearly I'm not as good wiv big words as wot I fort I wos! =S Haha, check us out, eh?! Thank you for the boatyard advice. We'll be craned in at Hilperton so will get in touch with Spencer to see what he can suggest for us. As for the sockets - there are two 12v one, just none conveniently in the living area.

I don't know, I'd say mine are far from charged, too! Ah, thank you. I see now why it's happening. Glad to know it's not a major concern. Just to say, we were on hookup all weekend. Or does this not make a difference because the lights are 12v anyway? I guess then that the pump is 12v too? Also, since we are restricted to weekends and holidays for a good few years yet we'll be doing as much cruising as possible so fully intend to have the engine running most days. The fridge has its own dedicated battery. I'm presuming that it shan't need to be switched off at night since it ought not to be affecting the domestic batteries. It might well have to be greased, as t'other half is one of those folk who didn't have the foresight to grow to a sensible height and so she struggles to reach to the full extent of the hatch as it is and the stiffness just makes it tricky.

Bother, I don't know. I want to say pump because there are switches for pumps all over the place but I couldn't say for certain. The system was bled last week. It's also just occurred to me that there's a small thermostat on the back boiler itself - I'm wondering if that is set too low. Speaking of thermostats, we couldn't get to grips with the main central heating one - perhaps that has something to do with it. Guess we'll need to have a fiddle (so to speak) next time. Thank you, LCD seems to be the way to go. Being from Tesco is yours 240v then or did you still go for 12v? Thank you, we'll definitely go down that route first then. Tasty, haha! There were a couple of blackened chips(?) on the oven floor so we'll have a poke around the back by the jets, too. We'll be at Caen Hill Marina, just west of Devizes on the K & A. I've already been eyeing up a certain boilerman who's not all that far away... This made me giggle a little - try informing people unfamiliar with life on a boat that you can tell when your loo's full because your kitchen drawers start sliding about! Will do, though what quantities for such a system? Is it a case of get it in the tank and then run the taps to draw it through the system? Fear not, eBay has proved invaluable thus far with collecting bits and pieces. There just happened to be one particular curtain fitting (a bendable corner joint) that seemed to be only available at Ikea (for a sensible price, at least). And yes, it was nowhere to be found once there (I won't say out of stock since the website that was open on my 'phone at the time said there were 16 in stock but the sales assistant was adamant she wasn't going to go looking for any. Grr.). That's both reassuring and concerning all at the same time! Right, now I know to expect better from it we shall look into it further. If it was considered normal we'd just have left it and run the engine or fired up the Alde. Thank you

Very good point, thank you! Okay, we probably did this in rather an inefficient way. We have three radiators but closed down the one closest to the stove in order to bypass it and get the heat further up the boat. When we're back on it we'll try closing down the farthest two and let the heat build up in the first. Would you suggest that the inefficiency would be such that we'd be better off installing a 12v socket nearby or is it negligible? Fab, thank you. Thank you. We'll make this one a priority. As for the carbon monoxide detector - it's already sat nicely in the garage waiting for us to properly move all our bits on board. We'll be certain to install it straight away, often such things get put in a cupboard to do 'later'. That may be, but thank you for taking the time to reply, it's much appreciated. We will be, yes. I guess we'll be spending the first couple of visits getting things tweaked then! I've been fearing the same =S.

Okay, please don't chuck me off the forum for this post, but it is going to be pretty lengthy =/ I will add a disclaimer here at the beginning that yes, I do indeed realise that most of these concerns can't be diagnosed / solved from my vague ramblings on here, especially given that we're back home now which is a fair way from the boat and so can't double-check anything. Yes, most of these things are very minor and would definitely be classed as niggles rather than issues, but we'd just like to pre-empt anything that may be on its way to becoming an issue. Also, please know that I have read as much as I can on some of the more frequently covered topics, but would still apreciate any advice relevant to our specific situation. Thank you. Most importantly, we had a fantastic first weekend on the boat, even if we couldn't go anywhere on it. The good vastly outweighed the niggles, but with all that said, we have one or two (or a couple of dozen) questions, here goes: 1) This one is my biggest concern. The 'mixer' shower runs at two very distinct temperatures - scalding and freezing. This is no good for the kids (or indeed me, because I'm a wimp at both extremes!). Twiddling the temperature-knob-majiggey, it's possible to find one teeny position where the water will alternate between scalding and freezing every twenty seconds or so, but to the 'red' side of this position it's just too hot and to the 'blue' too cold. Based upon this highly technical description(!) can anybody proffer a suggestion as to the cause or a remedy? I'd say the mixer is not mixing, but that is what we would call an uneducated guess! Is it a task for a plumber or an electrician? 2) We have a back boiler on the stove. We had expected it to thoroughly heat the water and get the radiators belting out the heat, but both nights it only produced lukewarm water and the radiators were warm to touch but not really emitting any heat. We hadn't been anywhere and only had the fire going from about 7pm. If we are moored up somewhere, not cruising, and have the fire going all day, could we expect hot water and radiators or will a back boiler only ever get everything lukewarm and we'd have to run the engine or use the alde boiler for proper hot? 3) We want to get a small telly and DVD combo but we're unsure on the whole 12v/240v issue. It'll be for DVDs only, we shan't be plugging an aerial in, and it will be mostly for the kids and partly for curling up in front of a film on a winter evening. [Decision made, no discussion on how disappointing it is that we can't live without a telly. I'd rather have it rather than force the children to 'have fun watching the raindrops race down the window' on a miserable evening. Besides, if (as has been alluded to) we will be taking their pals with us too (eek!) I think it will prove to be incredibly tension-saving, for me at least!] Anyway, we will be fine when we're on hookup, but we don't intend to spend much time in the marina so what about when we're out and about? We have a decent 12v system, but no sockets in the living area where the telly would be situated. We have a 1000w pure sine inverter and several 240v sockets in the aforementioned living area. Having read previous threads I've been left confused as to whether it makes an awful lot of difference to go for a 12v over a 240v telly. Also, the prices are comparable so that doesn't help with the decision. Given the predominant usage would be in the evenings, after a day's cruising, would we have any issues with a 240v or ought we to get a 12v socket installed in the living area so that we can use the telly without any limitations? If we do go with 240v, what exactly is it we need to check with regard to the power it draws - is it the ampage? How does one check that? 4) The only copy of our ignition key is bent almost beyond all recognition. Having had a key snap in the ignition of an old car, I'm a tad wary of that happening here. Is it fairly cheap / easy to replace the whole ignition business? Is that a task for an electrician or a boat-builder or someone else entirely? 5) The top hatch is a tad stiff to slide - what is the best stuff to use to grease it? I know that sounds like a ridiculously simple question, but my technique is WD40 for everything and I wasn't sure if that was recommended for this task! 6) The cooker (a Newhome) lost its spark a while ago, as most seem to over time. With a long handle lighter, the hob and grill light just fine and work as they ought to. The oven, however, when lit burns a huge yellow flame and we're pretty sure it shouldn't do this! I know it's not a specific boat issue as it could probably happen to a cooker on dry land too, but since I'm listing our niggles this is one of them. Are there any reasons it might do this and can it be remedied? If not by us then by whom? Also, should the Boat Safety Certificate Inspector have spotted this last week? 7) I posted here about an issue with our water pump that we plan to investigate further when we next see the boat. Another issue with it is that every time we flush the loo or the pump makes its 'clicking' noise, the lights flicker. Is this likely to be a problem or not? We can live with it but didn't want to ignore it just in case! 8) The fridge is a nice little (a Thetford) that can run off its own battery, hookup or gas. It seems to be incredibly hot in use though (the outside, not in - even I'd know that was a problem!) to the extent that the heat is coming through the 1.5" thick countertop and warming up anything sat upon said counter. I know fridges have to get hot to get cold, but how hot is too hot? (We've only run it off the hookup thus far.) 9) What 'type' (for want of a better word!) of person would we be looking to contact to have a couple of drop-leaf shelves made and put under the gunwales? By 'type', I mean carpenter, boat-builder, newsagent, milkman etc?! 10) We'd like to get some new ropes. We think we're okay with the length and width we need, but I've been struggling to work out the most suitable materials from those mentioned in other threads. Also, we'd like to get some snazzy-coloured ones if possible - we've seen some on a few, far posher, boats and rather like them. Is there a recommended supplier? 11) The shower pump switch is a press and hold jobby. That seems far too much like hard work to me(!) - is it fairly straightforward (read: cheap) to have it changed to an on/off one? Again, who would do this for us? 12) This is our first experience of a pump out toilet (please, no debates - we have it and that's that!). Is there a more pleasant way to guage when it's due to be emptied than, how can I say this, peering down the hole? I believe we have what is known as a 'dump through'(?) and the waste tank is deep within the boat. There's certainly no luxury traffic light system in place, that's for sure! 13) From one tank to another, is there a way to sanitise the water tank / pipes in order to get drinking water from the taps? It's an integrated steel tank, if that helps, and we'll be getting a replacement hose. 14) How is it we went into Coventry Ikea on Sunday (t'other half was, till then, an Ikea virgin) for three specific things, each costing between £5 and £10. Two of these were out of stock, but we still came away £180 worse off. Is that normal or is there someone who can fix such things? Is the only remedy to losing all this money to have never bought a boat in the first instance?! Thank you for reading, any advice would be appreciated, include who to contact for any particular alterations (if there's a one-profession-fits-all who could do electrics and plumbing etc, that'd be handy - particularly on the western end of the K & A!). Thanks again =]

Sounds fab, we too bought our first boat this weekend (though did have a little previous experience). Rather envious of your moving onto it, sadly that's not remotely imminent for us - we live a good two hours from our mooring and t'other half's youngest still has a good twelve years of schooling left (if it wasn't for those pesky kids.. =S ) Hope you continue to love it =]

In our previous (minimal) experience (hire boats and Girl Guiding boats), the water pump would kick in for a few seconds about an hour after we'd gone to bed. With the hire boats we had been told to turn it off at night if it bothered us, but we found it would only happen one time each night. The first night on our own boat this weekend, the pump did the same a couple of times after bedtime, presumably as the pressure changed when the stove had died down. The second night, however, the pump was making a clicking noise every blinkin' minute. T'other half slept right through, but I had to wander up and switch it (them - there's a hot and cold pump on this boat and I was too tired to work out which one was making the noise) off. I was a tad concerned, it normally only makes the clicking noise when flushing the toilet (which would indicate it's the cold pump, I guess), running taps doesn't cause it to click, merely to kick in and gurgle / purge. On reflection, perhaps the flush pedal was slightly depressed that night? Shan't be able to investigate for a few weeks, but hoping it's not a problem. =S