Sea Dog

I think it's fair to say you've given this some thought, MP!

Whoa, hang on! The boat was in there already? If they dug it up, surely that's a different matter entirely!

To add to David's good idea...... plus, you then won't end up with a little used tank of stale water at those times when you're not using a lot.

Absolutely marvellous effort! It's not just the quantity of work they've achieved, but the quality. Impressive.

Well, whatever the backstory, it looks like a very professional job done with care and skill. Although I can't see them, I'm sure there are some big advantages to keeping a boat in an area of water not much larger than itself. Perhaps he's being very considerate because other boats now don't need to slow down when they pass?

I don't find it that much of an issue really. Stick one of those car window mounts in a window when you need a better net signal for tethering or when watching TV over an MHL cable.

Nice job on that panel LC!

Just to pull us back on track in case Rusty (who is new to his boat) is confused, he was asking what to do after cruising, as opposed to how to winterise - he's going back on Wednesday! If he winterised every time he stopped, he might just be overdoing things! Rusty, you'll be gathering there are different things to do depending on your boat and it's systems, where you're moored and whether you have shore electric, how long you're leaving it and whether there might be a freeze while you're away from it for a period. It's all easy enough, but winterising is a separate subject within itself that a search here will enlighten you on.

That's interesting - so is Bumblehole still navigable? It didn't appear to be to me (even in my boat!) in 2014 due to mud and vegetation, but it was very obviously so in the Brumtug in '87. I was expecting it to be improved if anything, although I was told "they don't really want anyone going down there" by someone last year. Who "they" were wasn't really made clear.

I remember going right down the Bumblehole Arm donkey's years ago in a little Brumtug, but stuck my nose in there summer before last and thought better of it. I'm 57' and draw 2'.

Yeah, that's the one! Good, innit? I have it bookmarked and still couldn't find it! Glad someone was able to help you!

Last time we moored in Oozle SL Loop there were bears! And a saltwater crocodile! Don't go there!! (except for Friday and Saturday nights when it's perfectly safe and you'll hardly notice the loud music)

Don't leave the fridge door open if you're on shore supply and you've left it on, or your beer will get warm. The serious point being, it's a different routine if you're on shore supply, leaving on your charger, maybe some anti - frost heating in winter, etc. than if you're completely shutting down electrically.

Probably the nicest display on the NASA. I went for Victron for the bigger shunt mainly, otherwise the NASA may have been a good buy, particularly at the price. Edited to remove double post

Edited to add.... Well, everything, cos my ramblings disappeared! We went on the opening day (accidentally) but didn't find it up to much. The only member of staff who appeared to know what he was doing was a student who had never worked in a pub before! Overcharged, but it seemed that was somehow our fault. No dogs, except for those few over there who belonged to friends of the owner apparently. So if you don't like dogs in pubs you get them anyway and if you have one you can't take it. We gave it a second chance this summer and caught some good live music, but they still appear to think they're doing you a favour allowing you to buy their quite expensive drinks. So I don't think you were there at an odd time Mrs T - I think it's a bit of an odd place. I wouldn't say I wouldn't ever go again, but it was so promising - a canalside pub in a boating facility - and yet it just didn't deliver. Twice. Oh, and we were cast off about 11pm whilst moored just up from there - a first for us.

Well, to be fair, the cheap diesel is supposed to attract folk down there. If it works, that's a good thing for the Trust. And what a lovely little trust it is too! Eta a missing 'is'.

I went swimming in there this February - lovely! Short walk to The Vine - possibly the best beer in the whole world and they do really good cobs which they almost pay you to eat! Best value, best tasting lunch you can find anywhere. Someone will be along in a mo to correct me if I don't call it the Bull and Bladder, but you either know that or it won't help you find it! Walking distance from Merry Hill too if you'd prefer that mooring to Delph, as some might. I really enjoy that stretch.... maybe the Batham's has a bit of an undue influence though

Well, except for where they've tarmac'd it to a brickwork edge as a cycle route so there's nothing to moor up to and no earth to bang pins into. A disappointing development imho.

It'll look a lot nicer once it's completely covered over and the grass has grown over the hump.

I know it's wrong, but I have real difficulty getting past the Smartgauge looking like a 1970s calculator! That's not to decry it's functionality - at a fundamental level pretty much the same thing happens with our batteries now as it did in the 70s, even if we do have more kit hanging off them now. A modern display may be all it really needs, so it seems odd to me that the company taking it over haven't done something as simple as that. They must've inherited a big stock cos I'm sure an LCD would be easier and cheaper to source. All that said, I tend to agree with Nick that for the OP's requirements and his stated level of knowledge, the Smartgauge might be the right choice. Personally, I'm as interested in the charge/discharge current as anything else, and a shunt doesn't scare me, so I went for the Victron. Mastervolt and Smartgauge sounds rather cool though (maybe with a cover over the Smartgauge)

On the other hand, it could be an end to all his problems!

I too have had an issue (twice now) with that multi-plug. It'll be wearing a cable tie very soon! Good tip.

I got pretty close to Bakewell on the North Stratford, but I suppose it was really just an Almond Tart.

If you're gonna go to the trouble of fitting an Ammeter, why not fit one that can measure everything in and out of your batteries? One with a sufficient scale (and shunt) to cope with all the amps engine alternator, shore charger, solar, wind turbine, etc, can muster? You'll also be able to see what your fridge is drawing, etc, in fact all you need for a decent real-life power audit. Edited to change real-time back into real-life after the auto correct changed it for me!

Well, this should stop all those posts by folk looking for good boat painters! This all happened because "Gobby" was on a shiny boat, clearly, and if he'd been on anything else he'd have ceased to be a git, I suppose? Good tale of how a clever dick got his comeuppance - didn't really need the divisive shiny boat "us and them" bit though. My boat is kinda middling btw, so I have no particular paintwork axe to grind, but I'd rather not see the wonderful work of some great canal paintwork craftsmen being associated with 'Gobby' and his ilk. It wasn't his paintwork that made him a git - he was probably one before he even got a boat.