whammy

If you do not have a clear line of sight between your dish and the satellite you will not get a good signal or no signal at all. What size dish is the maxview and where on the boat are you mounting it and what method are you using to locate the satellite e.g. sat finder.

We had exactly the same problem with boy racers at Eckington Wharf when we moored there in the spring. Perhaps it depends on which day of the week you moor there - Derek had the problem on a Saturday and we were there on a Friday. Maybe it is quieter on other days of the week.

I can also reccomend the item Blue String has mentioned. Very versatile mount - I picked mine up from a local Wilkinsons for about the same price as the one on ebay - thus saving the postage costs.

You are not alone with the fan problem, mine is about two and a half years old and the fan has a mind of its own, switches on and off as it pleases. Really annoying, I have taken to switching the charger side off over night by using the settings switches on the top left (when the front cover is removed). When the unit finally gives up the ghost I will be fitting seperate charger - inverter units instead of the combi unit. I have spoken to Victron about it but they say it is normal - but how can it be normal when the fan starts up when the unit is stone cold and has been switched off. I also have a problem that my unit will not go from Bulk to Absorption to float no matter how long the unit is charging for-----IT BEATS ME

ERNIE, We did the Avon in May, just before you go into the basin at Stratford there are some moorings on the right, moor there and it is a short walk to the tourist information office next to the basin you can get a licence there. Watch your speed as you go under the bridge into the basin as it is a bit of a tight turn if boats are moored directly ahead of the bridge. Moorings are confined mostly to around the lock areas on the Avon and are limited. Don't moor at Eckington Wharf on the lower Avon - it is right next to a car park and is plagued by boy racers. The moorings at Pershore are excellent and handy fo the shops. Have a good trip

I think you missed my point - I accept that due to what ever reasons collisions will take place - it is the casual way some people think they can damage other peoples property and not even say sorry or acknowledge what they have done.

I can confirm that the software that comes with the 3 mobile usb dongle lets you know exactly how much time you have been on and how much you have downloaded. unless you want to download lots of films and music the 3gb allowance for £15 a month would suit most browsers.

We are moored on the visitor moorings at Tardebigge at the moment and to those who are not familiar with the location it is a long straight section of canal just prior to Tardebigge top lock, since mooring here we have been hit by 2 hire boats and one private, just glancing blows which have taken paint off, the weather is a bit blowy which I suspect is the problem. What really annoys me is that none of the boaters has stopped or given any indication of offering any apology. I don't know what Hire companies advise hirers to do if they hit anyone ? Does anyone know if there is any legislation covering failing to stop after a collision, after all if you did the same thing in a car you would be guilty of an offence if you hit someone elses car and failed to stop or report it. Most boats are worth more than cars.

We swapped from T mobile to 3 several months ago as we were getting poor reception with the data card we were using, went with the usb dongle and reception was much better, have been out cruising since end of march, mostly in the midlands area, have had no problem with reception except one mooring where we had to stick the dongle out of the mushroom vent to get a good signal. Mostly 3g reception but have HSDPA nearer any towns we have been past. Not bad at £15 a month.

The Kerstan dishes are excellent dishes - a bit more expensive at just over £120 but well worth it. You also can't go wrong with the Technomate boxes and with one of those you will not need a sat finder gizmo as the technomate has a satellite set up on screen menu which lists all the available satellites and is superb for setting things up - done in 2 mins max. The best website for any info re satellite tv is www.alsat.co.uk - they have seperate technomate section as well as a plethora of good information.

I can confirm that the canal has a major leak, we were moored between Hanbury and Astwood yesterday when we noticed that the water level was dropping - I rang BW and they were aware of it, we just managed to get out as the level dropped more and managed to get above Astwood bottom lock, there is now a closeure sign on Astwood bottom lock and chain round the gates. The trouble and strife had a gongoozle down at Hanbury wharf this morning and there are boats sitting in the mud. Appears a sluice has gone belly up in the Tibberton area.

We are cruising dow the midlands River Avon at the moment and I was reading the Nicholsons guide and it mentioned a free pump out on the river just downstream of Evesham, now my Nicholsons guide is a bit out of date so I thought this will have stopped by now. But NO, sure enough there is a purpose built landing stage next to a sewage works run by the E.A. Free pump out, water and rubbish disposal. Well I could not believe it, something for nothing in this day and age. Took full advantage and gave my tank a good swill out whilst I was at it. Saved myself a good £15 which clawed back a bit of money spent on the £50 licence we had to pay for the Upper and Lower Avon trusts. It got me thinking - is this the only free pump out on the system ????. We have crusied a fair bit of the system now and this is the first one we have come accross.

I would certainly pay an optional £50 on my licence to fish any BW water, It really gets my goat when I see numerous clubs have signs up saying NO DAY TICKETS, as has been mentioned already we pay a fair old chunk for our use of the waters so why not allow passing boats to fish, can't see what harm we would do and the difference between fishing off the back or front is a real brain teaser ????????. Crusing down the midlands River Avon a the moment, water looks great, fish jumping etc. etc. pity its close season on the Rivers at the moment. Tight lines chaps.

Stratford upon Avon canal - Anglo Welsh Hire spot, 80p a litre - a few days ago - we are all doomed

We have 3 x 125ah agm batteries sold to us by Multicell of Leicester, we have been on our summer cruise for about 5 weeks now with these batteries and they seem to be performing well, we found multicell staff very friendly and helpfull.

Hi Larkshall, You do not say how much space you have which is a consideration, we have a shoreline 12v fridge freezer combi, the freezer is only the small type at the top of the unit but you can get quite a bit in it, we run it 24/7 and are very happy with the electricity consumption.

Hi Jill, We have lived aboard for over two years now so have some experience in how much juice you need to run x y and z. Your proposed domestic battery bank is huge compared to ours - currently we have 3 x 125ah agm on the domestic side and have just had a Sterling Alternator to Battery charger fitted to help speed up the battery charging. We have a Candy washing machine and run all the usual non essentials (according to some folk on this forum) such as tv, sat box, computer etc etc. We have cont. cruised for two years with this set up, we have a Victron combined inverter/charger - 2500/12v to supply the 240v when out and about, this runs the washing machine no problem. My only thought would be to have a seperate charger and inverter rather than a combined unit. We have a Shoreline 12v fridge which is run 24/7, I would steer away from 240v fridges run from the inverter - we used to have a 240v fridge but we have found 12v much more frugal. So to sum up - you have plenty of juice in your proposed battery bank, get a pure sine wave inverter 2500 or up, seperate charger, 12v fridge and if you like a Sterling Alternator to battery charger or other alternator regulator gizmo. As for a generator - we have never felt the need for one. regards - whammy

Just to update - Simon has been and sorted me out, if ever you require a Boat Sparks he is the man, can recommend him. Punctual and did a very good job at a good price CHEERS

Cheers Dominic, will give him a ring - THANKS

Can anyone recommend a good boat electrician in the Braunston area, have got a quick (hopefully) wiring job I need doing and will be passing through Branston next week Cheers

Good and bad. The producers seem to have ran out of things to feature, maybe they should read this forum to get a few ideas of what real boaters get up to and are interested in. They concentrated on the Welsh waters far too much as well, mind you given BW obsession with spending our hard earned on that part of the world it is not so strange.

The visitor moorings in Garstang would fit the bill re transport and car parking but I can't remember if they are 14 day moorings or possibly less. Garstang is a great little town with excellent pubs and the moorings are quiet considering its proximity to the town. If you type Garstang visitor moorings into google it will come up with some good sites re the Lancaster canal. hope this helps.