Hartlebury lad

"With respect", good humoured post aside, breaking the speed limit is the least serious offence the crew of this boat are likely to commit. It is the same boat mentioned in previous threads some months back.Seen them several times mainly around The Llangollen, Nantwich, and also Middlewich.There were offences committed involving serious violence and a major police operation - the constant thieving has been virtually ignored or swept under the carpet despite good evidence being available. I have witnessed it for myself. Until the authorities that have the power actually use the power to permanently deal with this type of cruising lifestyle choice, in my opinion people have a right to be tipped off if there is a significant risk of damage, theft of property, or worse. Especially if the person giving fellow law abiding boaters the "heads up" is not breaking the law in doing so. As an aside, People have a right to be virtually anonymous on here and other forums. A trawl through posts can reveal a good profile of all sorts of details that could give an insight into folks boats, and their security. If an anonymous poster said or did anything illegal, I would think that could be traced anyway.

You lot are great. Thanks. If anyone has any connection with admin on here, please put this onto Building and Maintenance where others may find it useful?

Given the boss is halfway "up" the horizontal tank end, would it have to be completely empty? Surely just below the lower thread edge would be ok?

This is all great advice and thank you all. So I am presuming once it "gives" the calorifier can be emptied via all taps after turning off the supply valve on the tank. Once the immersion element is fitted, I presume it will simply refill when the water tank valve is reopened and the pump switched back on? I suppose the wiring side doesn't even need doing same day. To be honest, my biggest worry was that someone was going to say that the blanking end was completely unsuitable to take an immersion!

Sea Dog, I agree! Is MTB anywhere around Shropshire?

Thank you all so far. All good advice, but i am now concerned! It seems the risk of damage could be quite high here and I am wondering if it is worth it now myself. Is the extra flexibility worth the risk of damage and a new calorifier I wonder? The boat is always out whenever I can use it, but on the rare occasions we are stuck in the marina ie:frozen in, i would much rather use an immersion off a hook up than run the engine for an hour for hot water. Incidentally the wiring circuit and switch are close to the calorifier mounted on a cupboard.

Hello all, I would like to fit a 1KW immersion onto the existing calorifier, but looking at it and the fitting, I could be into opening a can of worms. It looks like someone has put some wiring and a switch in place, then left it alone! Any tips or comments will be helpful. Thank you.... Sorry, should have posted this into a different section - admin, feel free to shift it!

It's the British Barcelona! Fab vibe and great architecture and history. No small amount of civic pride too. On the boat trip bucket list.......

Richard - thanks, we have one of those taps in the kitchen, but it happens on the other "standard" taps in the bathroom. Will take a look regardless. Ditch crawler - thank you again, and your suggestion sounds a possibility, as the hot water can be spluttery. How do you rectify it if so?

Some good advice on here for you. There are many official 48 moorings in decent spots in quiet locations in the middle of nowhere, especially for your first and last nights.If you are that keen, PM me for more specifics. If your boat had to be back at base first thing Friday, Wednesday night at Llangollen will mean having to do Llangollen to Ellesmere (almost) in a day, which is possible, but will entail an early start! I would aim to get as close to the locks as possible Monday,pm and look to spend Tuesday pm at Llangollen, giving you two easy days to get back. It's a wonderful trip though, with suberb rural landscapes, and marvellous canal engineering feats to see. Don't expect lots of pubs - The Narrowboat at Maestermyn offers sustainence,The Jack Mytton is still closed. Poachers near Chirk is a safe bet.

Thank you so far. I will have a look/listen for a pressure relief valve knocking. It may well be a two person job as one of us can turn on a tap and the other listens for the source of the noise! I don't think there is a thermostatic mixer valve - again , I will check. I take on board the pipe support aspects, but as this is a recent phenomenon and the pipes are unchanged I am sure this is not the cause. It's the noise chasing down the length of the boat terminating at the tank that is odd.

Fair enough. I mentioned it as if the water was super hot going in, it may have caused something. Air it may be - which makes me think if air gets in, water may have escaped! Also, I am wondering if the lack of pump servicing would have any bearing on it.

Thanks Bottle. It's recent and now been like it two or three months. No related work I can think of, although I have had some engine overheating issues recently. There was an airlock in the skin tank/cooling system on the engine (Beta 38) and I have discovered an intermittent coolant leak just below the leisure alternator which is being addressed shortly. The rattle underneath any guests perched on the front steps is becoming entertaining to say the least. I had a visual look at the pump last week - (I am on the boat 12-15 days a month, but I don't live aboard so can't check much at the moment) - and it seemed secure enough. The pump is about t four or five years old and had nothing done to it since I took ownership 2.5 years ago. Probably not been touched since new. White plastic plumbing onto the black fitting. The noise makes an almighty racket down the full length of the boat via copper piping into the water tank, which is of course the supply line. I was suspecting air in a line somewhere or a blockage of a filter? Wierd how it is only on hot water .

Hi all. Hot water gets drawn off the supply (standard calorifier, shurflo pump, accumulator set up) Huge rattle as it presumably re-primes, reverberating down the entire boat, from the pump at the back right up to the water tank at the front. Rattling loud and up to 8 seconds long getting louder and louder. Only happens on hot water. Any suggestions before I start dismantling stuff and mess it all up? Cheers in advance. ps: still looking for a decent "new bathroom" fitter - Whitchurch area....

Busy Septembers are to be expected as the so called silver surfers arrive, only to be suprised with the amount of hire boats still out in force taking advantage of slightly lower rates, and all are expecting the canal to be quieter! Not so. Barely a hire boat in base this week. I can also personally add I feel it is best to get into Llangollen weekends. Heading back towards Whitchurch Monday/Tuesday will entail meeting numerous flotillas of boats heading at pace towards the promised land though! I have a cratch repair to carry out after being forced into tree branches yesterday..... And yes, the place takes on a different beauty in deep winter as Oarfish suggests....

I am local to this. Guns? Certainly talk of knife threats. I am led to believe the guy is in custody. Other boat occupants are certainly still on the boat - and back on Prees Branch, after 2nd lift bridge. No name boat, bright green in colour, red brown back panel. Lots of stuff on the roof etc. We encouraged a number of holiday boaters moored close to move on. See my previous post!

Boat ransacked on Prees branch. Very unusual. There appears to be a connection. Coincidentally, the petrol heads boat is back in the vicinity. Be careful out there....

Drowning of our canine friend is not my main worry. Crushing is a greater risk I feel, especially if she plops in when it is windy in a confined space of canal like a bridgehole, as happened once. Top and bottom is i think you will soon get to know what is required given the personality of the individual dog. And always err on the side of caution.....

Cassie is a bit dippy and getting on. She will have a jacket on most of the time- having been in a couple of times - but locks and lift bridges are the main problem. If we shut her in the boat, she hollers, and if we let her off, she follows my wife everywhere and becomes a nosy trip hazard. So she gets off with my wife, and gets tied up to watch. The biggest problem is getting her off the boat easily - she can only hop off the trad stern when it is up against the piling or bank and we are stationary - hence lots of scrapes and second attempts when she hesitates - unless I get off and hold the boat close. Our boating buddies only recently cottoned on to why our boat was often at an angle close to locks!

Don't beat yourself up over that. She is a well known misery guts to local boaters passing through. Maybe she, and others like her expect to eventually frighten off the number of boats on this busy canal. Only one winner there. I simply don't understand why people choose a permanent mooring on a busy stretch next to a feature such as a lift bridge near a corner, then dart to the curtains every time a boat approaches. A bungalow on a cul de sac should be the home of choice.....

Thanks guys. Sorry, I didn't explain it very well. I will of course be keeping the "Gulper" - as you say, good bit of kit, and it will hopefully cope well with a new shower installation. I think it's more a question of getting someone who can give an informed opinion on what could be done to radically improve the whole set up. I can have a bit of a bash, but like most DIY efforts, you learn from the mistakes first time around, and it has to be done right on this occasion!

Hello all... Well, I finally concede my wife is right, and the boat needs a new bathroom- It currently has an old but perfectly functional Thetford cassette loo (bench style) which we will keep, but the small bath (Whale Gulper pump) and sink have to go, along with a modern spruce up all round. I am thinking of a small quadrant shower cubicle and a repositioned small hand basin which can be used without banging our heads on the tumblehome walls! Open to all ideas except a walk through. I am probably not going down the DIY route for this one. I have been given a mobile number from a forum member but not getting any response from the number. Can anyone offer any tips and also possibly recommend a competent fitter to inspect and advise - i am in N Shropshire. Cheers.

We are off to see Burt Bacharach on the 6th at Llangollen. Based fairly handily, I fancied the pilgrimage by boat, but we tend to stay clear of Llangollen over these busy peak months having made our visit 3 weeks ago the last one until autumn. My lady has put her foot down - shame really as a cruise over Chirk and Ponty and into Llangollen to see the maestro would tick so many boxes. Still some tickets left as well apparently....

Martin, I don't quite understand why you wonder why you bothered? I was merely hinting for advice or guidance, in keeping with someone who has posted 13 times compared to someone who has posted over 25,000 times!

I have seen some voltage stabilisers on sale at about £45 - almost half the cost of the tv.......