Shazza

Very useful, I found, but much easier if you have two people "operating" it as the flexible end tends not to stay put in the bucket or whatever so could do with one person holding it in place while the other does the pumping. I have one for nasty oily stuff in the engine room and am going to get one for cleaner water that shouldn't be where it is ...! Thanks for the link as it might save me a trip to my local chandlers!

I live on my boat and have shoreline power for electrics but use the domestic batteries for the overhead lights as well as 2 water pumps (one drawing the water from the tank into the taps and one that pumps out the bath). Recently my Victron Energy Centaur battery charger went poof and stopped working. I've just had it looked at and it seems that some sort of cooling fan inside has failed and my options are: 1. Get the old unit sent away (to Holland!) to have it looked it, in the hope that it might be fixable. Obviously there's a cost for this, plus whatever postage/packing charges apply, before any work is done to mend it (if it can be mended). 2. Get a new battery charger fitted - the one being suggested is apparently not quite as powerful as the current one but should be plenty enough for my needs. My heart is sinking at the thought of spending a few hundred pounds on a new charger that itself might pack up in another 5 years' time (I've had the old one for around 5 years). I just want to make sure that I've considered any other options before blithely spending any money, and wonder if anyone can see a trick I might be missing. Running the engine regularly to keep the batteries charged isn't a longterm solution because of proximity to other liveaboards. I like the idea of solar/wind power but don't know the first thing about it except that it's unlikely to be reliable as the *only* source of power. If the costs of solar/wind power were going to be more than a battery charger BUT more reliable for longer then I'd consider this. If anyone has any helpful suggestions, I'd be grateful!

Smelly, The sequence of events seems to be: Tap is turned on Tap dribbles Dribble disappears Pump grumbles Whereas, when working normally, the pump would kick in whilst the water was still flowing. Now it's as if it takes the pump a wee while to realise that it's being asked to do something. RobinJ, There is no sign of water leaking around the pump itself. If there's leakage from any of the pipes between the pump and the taps then it's someplace that I won't be able to get to easily! There is a plasticky tap in the vicinity of the tank and pump, which I will investigate in more detail!

I have been having a problem with my pump that sounds similar to that of the OP's. My question is: could the severe frost/ice of a couple of weeks ago have caused such a problem? When the water in the canal froze over, I had no running water on board for a couple of days before it thawed completely. I thought at first that it was simply that the pipes had frozen and that water would start flowing again normally once the coldest of the cold had passed. However, the pump has NOT recovered since then. Not being technically-minded, I am a bit clueless and am considering getting either a new diaphram or a whole new pump ... but if neither part solves the problem then I'll be back to square one! Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Hi, My dad is having a problem that sounds similar to that above ... he's signed up and the screen shows him as being logged in, but he's blocked from being able to post anything. Can anyone offer suggestions?? Many thanks.

Is it always the case that boats are female, even if they're called William or some other chap's name?!

I do, and wouldn't choose to live anywhere else

http://www.vcmarine.co.uk/fswb.htm http://barges.apolloduck.com/ For starters ... Good luck!

I have with my dual-fuel fridge what sounds like a similar problem to yours. When the boat's previous occupants moved off, they very kindly switched off the fridge and gave everything a good clean. Which was nice, BUT ... I have never been able to get the gas to light, meaning that it's been running on electricity ever since. I'd like to be able to have use of the fridge whilst I'm on the move, rather than having to eat its entire contents (though I'll give that my best shot, of course!!) before I go anywhere. Apparently the problem may be due to a build-up of some sort of residue from the pilot light, but how to get at it in order to clean it?! I can see the little "window" (inside the fridge) where the pilot light should be visible (have even seen it spark on a couple of occasions, but not the past coupla times I've tried to light it) but there's no obvious place to access it. Is this the same problem that the OP refers to? Is servicing the only way to solve it??

Reading all the comments about pump-out toilets leaking / going wrong has worried me! (my boat has a pump-out toilet) Does that happen often???

Hi Krissy, and good luck with your venture! My advice would be not to fall for the idea of having a brand new shiny boat made, as you will find it difficult to find someplace to moor it. Assuming that you do want a permanent mooring, look for nice boats that are already on residential moorings that will be transferable to you by the moorings owner. Check this with whoever owns the moorings - don't just take the vendor's word for it. I know that some people must be able to get residential moorings once they already have a boat, but in my experience this is far more difficult to do. If you use a broker, John Currer of VCM was always very helpful to me and I was sorry that his firm wasn't selling the boat that I eventually bought! If possible, steer clear of a certain brokerage in north Buckinghamshire, as they made life very difficult for both the vendor and me, in my case ... !

Many thanks for all your answers, which helped me to formulate a reply to my mate. He's just emailed back to say that he's seperated them in different combinations and that two of them that he thought wouldn't get on are in fact getting on OK, so the urgency of the situation has rather subsided ... BUT thank you once again ... it's certainly given me something to think about should I ever consider getting a wee pal!

I would be very grateful to hear from anyone who has a guinea pig* (or more than one) living with them on their boat. I have the possibility of adopting one from a pal who has three guinea pigs who are fighting amongst themselves and need to be seperated as soon as poss. I have kept guinea pigs before, so I know what I'm doing on that side of it, but I've never kept them on a boat before, and I have some concerns: Safety - ie, the pig getting OUT of the hutch and predators getting IN to the hutch. The pig in question currently lives outside, so I would propose to have it in a hutch in the bows of the boat. For my own peace of mind, I think that I would get a padlock for the door, as I would worry about the guinea pig somehow making his escape and getting overboard. A padlock would also minimise the danger of any predator (fox? cat?) being able to get into the hutch (I don't know how real this worry is - would such predators be determined/brave/clever enough to board a boat, if they could smell the guinea pig?). Temperature - always a tricky one, wherever you keep 'em. I'm not so worried about the winters because as long as the hutch is well insulated and there is plenty of bedding then the pig should be well catered for ... it is more the idea that in the summer, the hutch would get hot as the steel shell of the boat heats up and retains the heat. I've not been on my boat over a summer yet, so I don't have experience of just how hot it gets, but I have heard several views on the subject! In this case, would my problem be how to keep the pig cool in the summer rather than warm in the winter? Fumes - I'm in a basin, so there is the potential for a lot of diesel fumes and smoke from fires to be hanging in the air around my boat. Would this be an obviously hazardous environment in which to keep a potentially vulnerable little creature (bearing in mind that he'd be living outside all the time), or wouldn't this really be a major consideration to most people in my situation? Cruising - guinea pigs have the potential to be highly strung and sensitive, and I wonder if being in a lock, with the noise of the water pouring in around, and the movement of the boat, would be very stressful. If there are any guinea pigs* owners reading this who can offer advice and experience then I would be very pleased read what you have to say - I'm sure that some people will think this too frivolous a subject to spend any time and energy on, but I just want to be sure that I could do the very best for this little chap if I do agree to adopt him! Many thanks. * Or other similar hutch-dwelling creature/s!

Please ask this chap: Irburgoyne@aol.com <Irburgoyne@aol.com> He did my survey in Dec 2006 and charged a little less than £500 - he was (to my admittedly untrained eye!) very thorough and informative, talking me through certain parts of what he was doing so that I could recognise what he was referring to when the written report arrived. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him. I think he comes from Oxford - I mention this because I don't think you said where your potential boat is. In my case, the cranage was an extra charge on top of the surveyor's fee. All the best.

Great Gatsby is a plush-looking shiny widebeam that was advertised for sale on V C Marine's website for aaaaggggges. I looked longingly at the pictures many times when I was looking for a boat to buy, but the mooring's residential status was too flimsy for me to consider (plus the boat cost an awful lotta pennies ...) Anyway, I have noticed that when boats come under offer then the website usually shows their status as being "under offer" for a while until, presumably, the deal is done. I noticed recently that Gatsby had just disappeared from the website, and I was wondering, very nosily!, if anyone happens to know if it has been sold, if it has been moved, if someone has taken the chance of living on it full time, if it has found its ideal owner who is living on it on a part-time basis ... I am just interested to know Gatsby's destiny! Ah, I've just found the thread where this boat was discussed a while ago! http://www.canalworld.net/forums/lofiversi....php/t5710.html I was surprised when reading that thread about the amount of negative comments, considering the impressive appearance of the boat, but can see now that such a vessel may have its drawbacks. I imagine that it's either in the hands of someone who really does know what they're doing with something of those proportions, or with someone who doesn't have a clue but just liked the look of it!