Sea Dog

Quercus was the first Narrowboat we ever experienced in 1987. She was a lovely little thing back then, resplendent in a rather unusual pea soup green, beautifully sign written and with a well appointed back cabin plus a forward saloon which we hardly bothered with. Two of us, a 4 year old, a 3 month old baby and a labrador all had a fantastic week which culminated in our own boat these many years later. The BCN was a tad less shiny back then, definitely more dead dogs and mattresses than any trip since, but it was brilliant! Good old Quercus. Edited to add that she was then running from Sherborne Street Wharf under the Brummagem Boats banner. (It's Brummagem right, as opposed to gen?)

I may be a wee bit ott possibly, but this is precisely why I photograph my Sainsbury bagged pins. It's no hardship to do so I when there's a convenient camera phone in yer pocket and who knows when a time and date stamped photo of "appropriate precautions" may be handy protection against idiots or criminals?

And once all their competitors have gone to the wall...?

That's my experience too, also with blue leds permanently glowing. I also bought some switches to be able to isolate them, but the draw is so small that my BM shows zero discharge so I haven't bothered fitting them. Months later and all is well.

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a rip off - but I've already got those Nicholson's!

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a rip off - but I've already got those Nicholson's!

Elsan fresh water tank cleaner. 8 quid so more than bleach or Milton, but once a year it ain't gonna break the bank. As it's peroxide based and cleanses the tank using oxygen, there's no nasty stuff to rinse out or attack seals, etc, and no aftertaste. If you're not sure of your tank, there's also an Elsan fresh water treatment you add a little of now and again through the year too. Edited to add that we drink water directly from our tank cleaned annually with this stuff.

Now that's probably the thing I was asking about, but I've spotted the 49 quid flaw

Ah, well I've got some of those, but the jury's out on whether they're better than Nicholson's. I was always happiest with Nicholson's when the book did a third of the country or whatever, but mine are 80 versions and a wee bit dated even in terms of some canals, let alone pubs and chip shops! I wad thinking e-copy anyway, but thanks for chipping in TC.

Could you expand on that please? Which maps are you using to achieve excellent results, as so far I've not seen any package without limitations that put me off. I'm not having problems navigating by Nicholson's, but if there's something better out there...

Ah, then you need to drive to where you're gonna moor tomorrow - then you'll be where you left your boat today!

No doubt the advice you have received is entirely correct. However, you can't quantify it or know even roughly how much you need to supplement your solar with engine/generator running without a battery monitor. Insufficient charging will goose your batteries, too much will waste fuel (and bother your neighbours). Either way, you'll recoup the BM's cost over time as well as gain a warm and fluffy feeling.

Sorry you didn't get any advice about the new unit Tim, maybe noone here has one yet and you're breaking new ground? To be honest,although I'm scared I may be tempting fate, my Eberspacher 4 is now 7 years old and going strong. I think the installation is very important, so if your install isn't good you may have similar issues with the new unit - I hope not! Also Ebers, but probably all these units, need to be worked hard and it's the short cycling that kills them off. So, don't fit a 5kW unit where a 4kW would do and make sure it goes off once you have hot water and a warm boat. I use mine for 1 hour at a time and listen for it dropping off load. After that, the stove is back up to speed and the day ahead stays toasty whilst the Eber sleeps it off! Good luck with your update!

Is it me, or do we have a thread here that turns a rather good news "no increase in licence fee" announcement into a "Conspiracy! CRT Bar Stewards" rant?

Only a suggestion Ricco, but have you thought about leather patches for the high wear corners, etc? Perhaps a sandwich of fabric outside, leather inside, but sewn right through with sailmakers' thread rather than glued.

Are you aware that a fully featured TomTom for Android can be tried for free on your phone? I know you've tried phone nav, but this will let you discover whether you like TomTom (stand alone or otherwise). You get 50 miles for free and you can dip in and out of it so it gives you chance to try it in a host of situations. If you like it you can either buy a stand alone or subscribe on your phone for 15 quid (iirc).

You got 5 posts with people doing their best to help you within 24 hours. I would have thought that quite a good response from a minority interest forum, particularly if you're asking a technical question on a specific engine. One of the responses led you to ring Beta who were helpful. You now know exactly what's wrong and how to solve it with the correct part, again inside 24 hours. If this was the AA, which you would have had to pay to join, you may have had a beef; as it stands, you've got free advice quite quickly from folks with nothing but helpfulness as their motivation and you look a wee bit ungrateful from where I sit. Edited to add: I read this post (for the first time just now) because I saw Beta 43 in the title and wondered if I might be able to help.

Now how did you find that out?

Although you may find it needs more revs to achieve cruising speed than a more powerful unit. You may therefore find it noisier or buzzy. You'd need a test drive to judge.

Might be useful for those who use their boats over window and have uninsulated gas bottles to report any problems they've had using propane in low temperatures. Then you'll be able to see if you're trying to cure a genuine problem. To start you off, I haven't had any such issues.

Some of the content of that other recent thread with such references, it would seem that, if not exactly carrying on to your destination, you ought to be able to create enough steerage to get to a place of safety. It might be an idea to practice if you have the mudweight anyway, although I'm not going there's not still a case for an anchor. Give it a try whilst the river's quiet OP - it would be interesting to hear your results.

Perhaps Nissan are using battery leasing as a risk mitigation measure here in order to offset customer fears about uncertain battery life, unknown replacement costs, etc, during the introductory phase.