Retardedrocker

Hi Mike. Indeed I do. T.

Reporting back as promised. Yes, the combined wisdom of the forum was, as usual, spot on. The voltage was fine until there was a load, when it plummeted (at least at the fridge) to about 9.5 volts. The culprit was a bad earth connection, which was well hidden away. It's now a good earth connection and everything is working better than ever. Thanks for the input. You guys really are life savers, or money savers, which is even more important. Cheers, T.

Thanks for all the replies and (pretty unanimous) advice. I'll check it out and report back. Cheers, T.

Thanks to you both. The wiring is pretty inaccessible, but I'll give it a shot. One thing I didn't mention is that when the fridge door is opened the voltage drops to just over 12v. The Shoreline won't run at less than 10v

Greetings all. I have an electrickery issue which has baffled me (easy) and the guys at the marina (not so easy.) The fridge packed in: lights on but compressor not running. I've checked the batteries and they seem to be ok. They're about 2 1/2 years old and the voltage on float is 13.7v. The voltage at the fridge is the same give or take 0.1v. If I turn the inverter/charger off and then on again the batteries show a voltage of 14.9 and the charger runs on absorption (for 10 - 15 minutes) and the fridge starts running. The Eberspacher and everything else works fine, but the 12v lights are sometimes a bit dim. We have tried a new fridge and that was the same. I would appreciate any suggestions. Cheers, T.

I can manage a button, but drapes are a bit (a lot) beyond me. My various excursions to curtain shops left me with prices of between £500 and £650 just for the 3 pairs and it's not been sooooo long since I paid (on behalf of my better half) the best part of a grand for 2 pair for the flat we rented. That was from Next and they didn't even fit. I'm still happy. Cheers, T.

I've been looking for new curtains for my boat for ages, with very little success. The few quotes I've had seemed pretty damned expensive considering the size of the windows, but I found, by chance, Direct Linen, info&tablecloths.co.uk They arrived today and I'm very pleased with the curtains, the price and the service. Akeel, the guy I dealt with, couldn't have been more helpful. They supplied three pair, width 100cm x 79cm drop, a single curtain for the bow door 125cm x 150cm and six lined 'panels' with velcro across the top for portholes plus tablecloth and runner for the dinette all fully lined and made to measure for less than £500 inc vat. I have no connection with the company, I'm just a very satisfied customer. Cheers, T.

Only one thing sticks to blankets and we all know what that is. T.

Duck Tape is like The Force. It has a dark side, a light side and holds the universe together. T.

As promised, here's a bit of an update. I did a bit of cruising over the break and paid more attention than previously to what was actually happening: If I let go whilst turning, the boat pretty much self centres, so no problem there. there's a slight tendency to veer to the left, but I think that's just a reaction to the rotation of the prop. When I try to swing the stern to the left (in reverse) it changes direction quite readily, but it takes far longer (and more speed) to react swinging the stern to the right. In summary, I agree with the consensus that the problem is me, not the boat. Thanks for all the input. Cheers, T.

Best wishes for the New Year to us all. T.

I too have a tv that I only use for the odd DVD and the sound on mine is also crap so I play it through a Bose Sound Dock, which I bought for my I Pod. It works a treat. T.

Dunelm certainly stock 4' fitted sheets. I don't know about duvet covers as I use a standard double and don't find the extra width to be a problem. T.

Billy is a Liverpool boat, built 2005, which I believe is before Collingwood started. My filler and breather are on opposite sides of the fore deck. The water pump is under the front steps, so I guess access to the tank is there too, but I can't check until I get this damned tree off the boat in a couple of weeks, 'cos it lives on the bottom step. Bah humbug!!! Cheers, T.

Thanks for all the comment, it's much appreciated. Blizzard, I've never actually tried or looked specifically for any of those traits, but I'm going out for a couple of days over Christmas and will check them all out. I don't have a problem getting where I want to go, but I see boats, particularly manoeuvring around the marina, that can virtually turn on a sixpence going forward or backwards. I'll report back after the break. Maybe I just need another twenty years practice. Cheers, T.

I've rather neglected Billy for the two years I've been living aboard, just enjoying the life. However, that's going to change next year and I have a list as long as my arm of stuff I want (not need) to do. The hull needs to be blacked and, while out of the water, I would like to do a couple of mods to the rudder and tiller. I hope I have the terminology right. Firstly, the rudder: Billy is a Liverpool boat and steers reasonably well going forwards, but is a pig reversing. I have seen somewhere on the forum that handling can be improved by 'extending' the rudder. Does anyone have a little more information on where to extend and by how much? Secondly, the tiller: it's a one piece thing. The bar appears to be attached directly to the rudder, comes up through the top bearing and is then formed to the usual profile. This means that to change the bearing the whole assembly, including the rudder, has to come off. I've only seen a couple of other boats with this arrangement and it doesn't seem good. I would like to change it for a more convential design. Are there any drawings available? I can sort out the parts easily enough as I work for an engineering company that also has a couple of lasers. I know I will probably have to make it up as I go along, but any advice would be welcome. Cheers, T.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I have an issue with mine as well. It fires up fine and runs for ten minutes; always ten, on the nail, and then shuts down. I also have two radiators and a heated towel rail. I'm moored in a marina with an electric hook up, so I don't suppose voltage is an issue. Any thoughts? T.

How tall is your chimney? The one that came with my boat was only 12" and the draw wasn't great. This year I bought a 24" Smokey Joe chimney and it made a big difference. T.

Ditto, mine is a 58ft Liverpool boat and also has (reputedly) 150 gallon stainless tank. I top it up every Sunday morning (I'm a creature of habit; I have to be. If I don't follow a routine I forget.) Being in a marina, I don't really monitor how much I use. only run out once. About 10.30 at night, mid shower, hair full of shampoo. It was not fun! Cheers, T.

Just a bit of an update. I eventually decided to conduct a cheap and low tech experiment and bought a couple of inexpensive bath towels and a couple of lengths of dowel and a pack of brass cup hooks. I suppose you can see where this is going. I screwed a pair of cup hooks into the door frames fore and aft, sewed an open ended hem in the top of the curtains and shoved the dowels (cut to length) through the hems. Suspended the dowel/towel assemblies on the cup hooks and the draught are all gone. They make a huge difference and even on the couple of days the temperature fell to -2 it was toasty all through the boat. Having proved the principal, I'll sort something a bit more elegant, but it's a cheap solution at less than a fiver and the towels can always be used as.........well.........towels. Cheers, T.