Ex Brummie

Why would you want to box it in? Another cupboard on the cabin side would make a limited space claustrophobic.

When we returned in late July, we encountered low water in the Kidlington pound, and also the 2 pounds into Banbury. The boats moored at Twyford Wharf were all aground, but I don't think I've ever seen them afloat. The pound below Cropredy Lock was dire, and the lock after the Marinas had one paddle at each end, with horrendous leaks through both gates. We moored between the 2 locks below Claydon and did not ground, but in the morning C&RT were busy letting water down, presumably to lift up the pound below Cropredy. There were notices about illicit loosing of water between Claydon and Cropredy.

Air leaks can also operate in reverse. I had a swaged connection on the flexi into the lift pump which sucked air into the hose as it sucked fuel. As the connection was below the level of the agglomerator, this air gradually collected in the high point and killed the syphon. As there was little head, no fuel leak ever showed up. I only found it when I disconnected the hose and realised how loose the spigot was in the clamp. After replacing, I disassembled the joint, and the rubber hose was crazed with fine slits.

LoA 35 ft.

I had exactly the same problem when the lip seal failed on my new Qube. I had bought the toilet from a camping store and they were not particularly forthcoming and even said they could not get the part number from Thetford, blaming Covid or Brexit or some such. I finally got through to Thetford who did at least give me the part number but I still had to go back to the retailer. It failed again this yearand I visited a chandlery who had 2 similar in stock. He looked up the parts on the Midland Chandlers site to check which was required and was a bit put out that his part was priced at £8-99 on the sticker when the M.C price was £16.71. I did point out that he now had money for the bit of rubber that had sat on his shelf for several years, which softened him a little.

I had similar once, and knowing everything and checked all except the battery isolation switch, which was a last resort. It should have been the first. I'm with MtB on following a logical sequence for any fault finding.

That's great until your phone goes t*ts up on week 2 of a 7 week cruise. Even then, unless paying a fortune for designer phones, not all phones are compatible with contactless payment. I always recall with a wry smile when one of my boiler service customers had a Hive installed, and when I had to isolate the power to replace a valve, I asked him how to switch back on, standing right by the controller he had no signal. The big manual button still worked.

Having water in the canals for walkers, etc. is all very well, but if navigation cannot continue to keep it replenished, there will not be many walkers alongside the stagnant ponds, nor many fish in the decaying muck.

Day hirers or new boaters nearly always fall into the same trap about steering when they encounter another boat. Panic seems to set in and the practice of steering the opposite way goes out of the window. In a recent trip on the south Oxford, we encountered a day boat on a perfectly straight stretch of canal with one moored boat in a wide part of the canal. I had slowed for the boat and was 1/4 past it when the day boat speeded up and then pushed the tiller the wrong way. The result was their bow caught ours and winded our stern into the moored boat whilst also taking their own stern into the moored boat. Later, approaching Napton Marina, there was a long line of moored boats with another boat coming the other way. I was well to the right with a good 10ft between me and the moored craft. The oncoming steerer dashed from side to side of the stern and still managed to crash into our bow, and consequently into the moored boat. When I pointed out I had left plenty of room, I was told that the lady did not want to bash the moored boat. Again, the tiller was swung vigourously from side to side.

The sand 'converts' the boiler into a firebrick, so the heat is retained where it is most effective. Often done with vapourising cookers where replacing a boiler is not an economic option, but the heat is retained for the oven.

If you have found the leak, you will be better off using epoxy resin as a short term expedient. If you have a small pinhole, then you can bet that the surrounding area will be pox rotten.

Lots of people do despite the notice. The real objection is the damage inconsiderate boaters do when they ram the bows into the bank of the arm and destroy the sheeting, causing unnecessary expense and work.

The side arm is a private mooring wharf. The designated winding hole is below Dimmingsdale lock.