lampini

Some pics - no orders please - they take for EVA to make!

Beautiful, thanks Ray T - love to see these rope techniques in action..

Toddled off excitedly this morning in the drizzle to collect my (very quickly delivered) consignment of replacement LED bulbs... Came back in a torrential downpour and set to..... (after a change of clothes and a cuppa..) Bedazzled are AWESOME! The colour temperature of these warm white LEDs is spot on, the build quality is excellent - and i've reduced our 14-15a drain (with all lights on inc 2x 12v fans in the kitchen and bathroom) to barely 1.5a.... I also cleaned the gold coloured housings and all now looks fab... I also made my first template porthole bung out of a bit of a hula-hoop, some nice Laura Ashley curtain and a bit of a blackout blind!

Happy birthday Bettie!

Cheers Dave, Have bookmarked 'em!

It's a floating bathtub! ( your mult-coloured mooring lines!)

Bluddy Hell - no, thank god we didn't encounter them - if we had i may have needed a lie-down! That's it - I'm sold! Just chuck in a couple of mugs of Mr Payne's "special" hot chocolate and nirvana achieved....

We got measured up for panels.. but sadly the chap we were to see had gorn orf with a hernia! Still, we woulda had to go back anyhoo - am compiling a list of electrical other jobs too for him to quote from - it keeps changing! We're on shorepower at Trinity now so nowt is hurting whilst we sort our lives and worky stuff out... All is good tho... got my post today with new eco-fan in it - so heads up for a heatwave!

Thanks MP Not sure about a chap in a speedbote - but we DID encounter a mad old gay couple in a grp cruiser just after Wittington on the T&M, pulled over to let 'em past to shouts of "cheers - gotta make Tewkesbury!" Not that they were speeding - we just like going slo!

We're jealous MP, when we turned into Trinity i knew we both wanted to carry on and explore... but work commitments and boat works forbid - at least until Mr Lampini has comleted the latest trip to horrid London.. But who knows? We're already plotting and scheming to get out on another trip..... and i'm rather good at plotting and scheming it seems! BTW... could you feel the smugness emanating from us as we chugged past?! We're bloody so chuffed with this bote....

Of course Kwacker - the penny drops now - the word I was missing from all my searches was MOTORCYCLE!!! Many thanks chap! Back in my day, the concept of a cigarette lighter socket for a bike would only be heard prefixed by "about as useful as"... On phone so can't do a "bangs head" emoticon!! I used to have a gas soldering iron for "in the middle of a field" work, but never really got on with it.. But as we've now made it to Trinity, I can isolate the 12v and use my 230v on the shoreline - so no probs... Just as a matter of interest, I once read in a marine electrics manual that connections should always be soldered when possible, due to vibration etc.. I'm a fan of crimp connections.. Any opinions?

Nearly at Trinity Marina; and of course neither of us want to go, we just want to keep cruising! But jobs demand - at least for the time being... Will try and post some pics soon... we've both just had the best time and are utterly in love with this bote!! The top end of the Ashby sho' is callin'!

we have 2x 230ahc 12v Haze gel maintence free batteries, and a NASA BM-1 battery/charging monitor (which i love!). Soon to be back in a marina and on 230v shore supply; i'm going to need a battery charger; but hopefully only temporarily as we're getting Solar panels put on soon.. At Great Haywood, some kind soul lent me a very basic 20a charger; and whilst i realise it should have been nearer 40a a ) the "real" capacity of both batteries is nearer 300ahc due to their age etc. b ) the basic 20a charger seemed to do a fine job. Question; 1) can i get away with a cheap 20a charger for now (i.e. until we get solar, and then for next winter considering it will be supplementing the little charge from the solar, October to March - ish?) 2) Does the charger have to be mounted to the bulkhead or secured? 3) Can anyone recommend a charger (i kind of understand "bulk" and "float" charging!)? Once again - many thanks for your shared knowledge! Jane xx

Well.. It wasn't so much the wind and the boats passing all sideways-like that put us off so much as the horizontal hail!! Arthritis hates horizontal hail... Sat in the warm with a cup of tea - it may improve about 3pm and we will re-assess then... OH gets to bury his head in spreadsheets so the time isn't wasted... ?

???(Green thing!)

Good point! 09.00 - 16.00 on a Saturday - and the pressure's off then! ?

I bluddy love you guys.. ❤️? I recon living in a boat might help me with this annoying tendency to OVERTHINK everyting...

Hi All! A question about weather - nowt to do with the chilli we'll be eating later... Well the odyssey continues.. Have to say, we're bluddy loving it so far! I'm finding that I'm abit of a natural at the steering thing, this lovely boat seems to do exactly as I ask her - 57 foot does seem long sometimes tho! Currently we're moored between Bradley Green Bridge (sani station) and Atherstone Bottom lock, with he idea of doing Atherstone locks and ending up at Springwood Haven tomorrow, for a nice chat with the lovely Onboard Energy chaps as recommended by Athy (thank u!) . We can get good phone/3g reception here so OH can get an afternoon's work done on the lappy. As I sit here watching him work (heh!) and noodling about on t'internet, it occurs to me that the wind is getting a lot windier... A quick gander at my weather apps shows 20-25mph winds tomorrow, with gusts up to 36mph! ? Now so far for the last two weeks, for this time of year, we have been utterly blessed with lovely weather, and no wind! We don't absolutely HAVE to move tomorrow, should we not bother? Voices of experience needed here.. Much gratitude in advance!

Cheap n cheerful - with a long mot if poss! We bought our Honda Jazz for £700 (maybe in part so cheeeeep 'cos it's pink with flowers on!) and it's done S London to Gt Haywood 6+ times now, and numerous other journeys. It owes us nowt and i don't stress about leaving it for a couple of weeks at a time....

Good advice as always Ange! OH off to London - poor thing.. I'm walking back to get the car this morning. I'll fire up the lappy later and do a proper new thread.. First night on my OWN on 't boat tonight! ?

Awww cheers mate.... TBH it feels for both of us like we've come home! Here's thems pics of my nackered 12v double socket. Really like to get a proper replacement - have seen nice rubbery ones somewhere? this is what was left - beer was NOT involved at the time! ETA would LIKE the replacement to NOT involve soldering - i do have and can use soldering iron but wouldn't be able to isolate batteries at the same time if you see wot i mean!

Thanks - it's awesome - think I've "welled up" at least once a day for the last week! We do (did) have a double 12v socket at the stern next to the battery monitor, but when I tried to plug into it it fell apart! It WAS very dodgy cheap and plastic... Will post a pic of what's left!

Righty ho chaps... Looks like we might be going for a Springwood haven visit on the way - I already heard they were good from a local.. Actually it was this morning on our short chug - I "thought" I was being clever.. As we were going along I had the inverter switched on and 2x phones 2x laptops, and a dyson "animal" Hoover.. Oh, and the fridge (7a) all plugged in.... 600w Nikkai inverter.. ? Scrabble by candlelight later then... (Mr Lampini suggested "strip scrabble" does such a thing exist??!) ? Thanks for all the advice btw - it's really appreciated! ?