Theo

Just the job, thanks. Except that the site is not working for the moment. It freezes up when you try to continue after entering your details

Not really wise but here goes... Get it serviced by a proper corgi man/woman

I can't understand the chemistry of this. I would have thought (from a position of no training only general science) that the amount of charge available would be directly proportional to the mass of the chemicals (lead oxide or whatever) available and that would not depend on the rate of discharge. Why is it that you would not be able to rest the batteries for a while before resuming discharge and then get the remainder of the charge out of them? Nick 1/100th of an ohm is 10kilohms not 10megohms. N

Sorry to be picky but you should say "The square of the distance" that makes the maths right! Nick

Went to see Theodora yesterday. Chimley missing. I will have to have a search around with a magnet. It can't be far away from the boat. Nick

Best not to have more than about 3m of USB cable.

Just realised that I never told the kind people who gave advice what the outcome was. The problem was the power feed from fuse board. Just a loose connection and nothing to do with the Mikuni at all. All the best Nick

I feel that I could do with holding a spare glowplug in reserve but I can't track one down. I did manage to make a temporary cure this afternoon, though. The glowplug problem was due to the disintegration of the two insulating washers that fit on the glowplug terminals to keep them separate. I am hoping that I will be able to get spare washers so if anyone knows of a supplier... Nick

In the end I decided on the Sterling (£302 with all the delivery etc). With all the talk about NB fires I decided that a well known make with plenty of protection would serve me well. Nick

The descriptions of wind forces are: Force 0: calm Force 1: Light air (Just sufficient to give steerage way) Force 2: Light breeze (That in which a well conditioned man-of-war, will all sail set and a clean hull, would go in smooth water from 1 - 2 knots) Force 3: Gentle breeze (That in which... from 3-4 knots) Force 4: Moderate breeze (That... from 5 - 6 kt) Force 5: Fresh breeze (That which she could just carry in chase, full and by: royals etc. and top gallants) Force 6: Strong breeze (That which... : Topsails, jib etc, reefed upper topsails and courses, lower topsails and courses) Force 7: Moderate gale (Ditto) Force 8: Fresh gale (Ditto) Force 9: Strong Gale (ditto) Force 10: Whole gale (That which she could scarcely bear lower main topsail and reefed foresail) Force 11: Storm (That which would reduce her to storm stay-sails.) Force 12: Hurricane (That which no canvas could withstand) I just thought that you would like to know. There is a list for coastal conditions relating to what fishing smacks do. It is al in the Admiralty Manuial of Navigation Volume 1 (1928) What they were doing in 1928 defining wind forces in terms of the behaviour of a square rigged ship I don't know. The state of the sea is a much better guide. All the best Nick

When I have bits to get rid of I use Freecycle. Google it and you will find out all about it. I got rid of no end of computer stuff that seemed too good to skip. Nick

The time has come when I need to get the new inverter. I have trawled through the web and have come up with these three as possibilities: http://www.cybermarket.co.uk/ishop/923/shopscr3412.html Sterling 1800W: £295.95 http://www.mdsbattery.co.uk/shop/productpr...epartmentID=113 2500W £184.99 http://www.caravantechnology.com/ProductDe...px?productID=16 2000W £199 I lean towards te cheapest one, particularly as it is the most powerful. Does anyone have any experience of the mdsbattery one? It's £111 cheaper than the Sterling. BTW I found it very difficult to find prices of Victron inverters. Nick

Tee Hee Best pun I've read in ages! Nick

Ah! That was the purpose of the screw. I will now have to find it again! Thanks, Bottle Nick

I went out and bought the Waxoyl from Halfords. I bought a 5 litre can for £18 and a 2.5 litre pressure can full of Waxoyl and complete with spray gun. It came in a free toolbox. That is all very fine and large but I am having difficulties with the spray gun. The gun and pump is OK to assemble but there is a translucent white extension hose a little thicker than a ballpoint pen refill which I cannot get to fit. It has a black screw fitting on one end which screws nicely on to the gun to replace the normal nozzle. The other end is just a plain cut end with no nozzle at all and I can't see how this is going to function. If I try to use it as it is I would imagine that the Waxoyl will just dribble out of the end or, if it comes out fast enough, emerge as a fairly thick jet which is not at all what is required. Has anyone else got one of these? Am I missing a part? Nick

No1 son's father in law knows everyone and among the everyone he knows is an electronics buff who likes to repair things. He had a look at my poor inverter and found virtually every component on the board had blown. I will now buy another and site it in a place where I am not likely to pour water over it. There are lots to choose from on the internet. Am I safe getting a low priced one? What do I get if I pay a higher price for the same quoted power? Nick

Coo! Grew up on! I am more than a little jealous. Did you appreciate how lucky you were or am I romanticising. There must have been a number of disadvantages. Nick

It's sounding better and better! I am all fired up to get on with it now. 1st job find where the water in the cabin biliges is coming from 2nd sort it out 3rd allow to dry 4th set to with the Waxoyl NIck

If you ahve a farmer friend you might think of getting it craned aout and transported to a v cheap (free?) hard standing. I don't know the cost of craneage or of transport, though. Nick

Thanks for all the replies. It looks as is I am going to have to do it, then! Nick

Now I prefere t see them laden. the smaller freebaord looks so much more graceful. Nick

And, following on from my one comment in this thread, thank you for asking. I have learned a bit more about solar panels from all the helpful replies. Nick

dring the weeks that I was waiting to get theodora up to Raynsway in Thurmaston I paid nothing even though I had booked my mooring. It made me quite twitchy really because I feel that until I have paid money I don't feel that I know if the mooring will be mine. Dave's a trustworthy chap, though, and all was well when I arrived. Nick

Theodora's Mikuni has been a source of innocent entertainment and speculation since we got her. At first it would not start at all. Then we got the alternator going and gave the poor little boiler a reasonable voltage and it worked. Then it needed about 2 switch ons before it would fire, then 4 and now it won't go at all. When I first switch it on, the little green light on the on/off switch flashes slowly and various whines come from the boiler along with clicks from the fuel pump. Cold air and a smell of unburned diesel come from the exhaust. Then there is a loud whine from the boiler and it settles down cold with the green light on the on/off switch flashing at a rather higher frequency and no sounds at all. It remains in this state until I switch it off for a minute or so and then switch it on again. It then has another try. Does it require a) a complete service, a new glow plug. (The emoticon replaced my b bracket!) c) both. As a reasonably handy owner can I do the service myself? I know that the glow plug is easy to get at because I took it out myself a couple of weeks ago and gave it a bit of a scrape to remove some of the carbon. I look forward to your comments Nick

We choes a narrowboat because it did not occur to us that anything else would be acceptable. We like the shape and the fact that it is rugged. We like the fact that she reminds us of what things were liek when the canals were first cut. The narrowness we are willing to put up with because we want to cruise extensively. Nick