Opener

I saw a good/neat idea on our marina on a liveaboard wide beam. Square (optional) metal plate slightly bigger than the coolie hat with a circular hole in the centre so that it slides down over the chimney (and probably over the roof collar too) with a small lip around the hole. Small lip around the outside as well so you basically have a flat tray fitting around the base of the chimney. Now cut a hole in the outer lip and attach a piece of rigid small bore tubing long enough to clear the side of the boat, large enough bore to take any tarry deposits without blocking and with a slight downward slope to encourage drainage. Any gunge from the chimbly drops on the tray and, with a slight cant on the tray, will run overboard, missing the boat. The design has the added advantage (I guess) that rain will also fall on the plate and rinse it periodically. You remember rain, dont you? Stuff used to fall from the sky and fill the canal!

Have a look at a previous thread "Sofa bed" started by ajs1001 in Feb. My post is #3. The Texas still seems to be available and comes in a box which is just over 4ft wide (how small IS your door?) and maybe a foot thick (6ft long) Mine still looks immaculate after a few years of admittedly limited use (fair weather boater), but remains very popular with the crew!!

Once you have your system sorted can you also get a sign made to go on the roof to explain what's happening to other boaters! I passed a shortlist narrow last year and went to say 'hello' to the steerer. But there was no-one on the back deck. Gulp! Thinking back all I could recall was the couple sitting in comfy armchairs on the front deck under the cratch. V civilised!

Flat wooden baseplate - choose your own size but mine is about one foot square. Secures to the roof using four of those magnetic cupboard door catches (plastic body which has a couple of slotted screw holes in the ends and a magnet between a couple of metal plates). Length of broom handle sticking straight up with a large screw through the baseplate into the end of the mast - length optional. A couple of screws driven horizontally into the top end to give you something to tie the bunting to. Can be a wee bit unstable in winds / with too much bunting on so usually ends up with a heavy plantpot/planter weighing the base down as well. OK for short term use - not a long term solution.

Just spent a few days bumbling around the Skipton area. Noticed the the boat was lying a bit lower than usual before setting off. Left our on line mooring last Thursday.......at least I tried to. Cast off all ropes and engaged forward. Lots of noise and churning but no motion. Hmm! Fender fouled somewhere? Engine in neutral and give the boat a bit of a push to work out what's going on. Boat moves freely. Hmm!! Engine again... Repeat until the penny drops. Boat just about floating until the prop drags it down onto the bottom. So, left mooring under man power until there was enough depth to drive away. File that experience away for future reference. Tide mark down by around 9 to 12 inches around the area. Not sure what effect Gargrave / summit pound closure and continued operation of Bingley will have on the pound despite its length.

You can get ?carborundum tape ie a coil of carborundum faced cloth tape a couple of inches wide and X feet long (Scoobydoofix or similar). Cut off a comfortable length, loop it under the rail/tube and pull/pull alternate hands. Must say it is a tiring and boring process and I'm not wholly convinced how effective it is. Did mine last year and rust seems in evidence again but that must be down to how much rust I actually took off and how effectively the area was treated.

I must have a good look at mine to check if they have an expiry date. If they have a USE BY DATE, do I have to start a fire then use them? Not clear whether the words would be advisory or an instruction.

Lucky you!! I discovered that I had a selector cable problem as I attempted to engage reverse to slow down/stop entering a lock following in a first-time hire doing his second lock. Cable snapped, still in forward. Natural reaction to entering too fast was to increase revs in reverse - just made me go faster!! cos I was still in forward. And it was Good Friday evening. Nice RCR man was there (middle of nowhere!) after an hour and replaced snapped cable. And next morning the CRT lockie said there was "..no significant damage .." to the lock gate which stopped me. Crew comment - "Why didn't you slow down?" Hey-ho

You seem to have identified the stat as your problem. However, just in case.... I had a similar (Barrus Shire) mystery a couple of years ago. Warning buzzer, hot engine, cold hoses and skin tank. Everything looked OK at first glance. Then I had a grope around. The backing fabric of the fan belt was present so looked OK - however, the rest of the belt had stripped off and was lying in the bilge. So, no water pump or alternator - hence overheating/no charge warning. Fortunately I had an old belt as a temporary fix even if it did involve taking the boat apart to find it!!!

Yup!

Affirmative - you don't catch me out saying 'Yes' - BONG!!! - damn!

Wow! Do you reckon, if I put my Ecofan on top of it I could use that to heat the bedroom? ...............

Sorry to return to the original topic/question and ruin the comic flow but what about common or garden sealant out of a gun - bathroom/kitchen should be watertight. You drilled the holes in the first place so just use the same drill (by hand even) to remove the sealant when summer comes (!!!). I find the stuff around the bath stops leaks yet comes away in one piece when needed.

Many thanks for the prompt and helpful responses which go to reinforce the way my thinking was going. 12v fridge so no issues there. Sterling inverter fitted about seven years ago so fairly modern. Batteries from the same era but they have had a hard life eg run flat when a split charge relay failed some years ago (replaced). Despite that, however, they still seem to be going strong. Never thought the inverter would use that much when in standby - all seems like a good case for following my instinct - I normally leave it for five minutes after using 240v just to see if it wants to run its internal fan, then switch off. cheers, folks. I'm much happier now.

You step carefully along the outside edge, place one foot on the timber edging of the bank, which is greasy after the rain, skid and end up @rse first in the drink! With one foot entangled in next doors mooring line. Just glad there were no spectators!