bill brown

PAYG unlimited is now £18.75 per month.

If you have an unlocked router you could try Smarty (google it) It's part of Three and offers a unlimited* pay as you go sim for £25 per month, just a few quid more than a 12/24 month contract. The sim works in phones and mobile routers and its easy to cancel if you find its not for you. * They say unlimited but it's actually a maximum of 1000GB per month. No throttling though and the speed is fine for the likes of Netflix etc. with a decent signal.

I use a waterproof Tracer that sits in the engine bay, seems very efficient and built like a tank. Available from Bimble: https://www.bimblesolar.com/offgrid/mppt/Waterproof-Tracer7810BP

My previous flexi panel was stuck down with Sikaflex which was a bugger to remove when I need to do some roof maintenance. My new panel is held on with magnets which have enough force to hold it down securely whilst still allowing easy removal and in addition leaving a small air gap to help prevent overheating which is one of the drawbacks of stuck down panels.

This does seem to happen every bank holiday. For boats less than 50ft it's fairly easy to turn around using the slipway

I'd be more worried if there was a couple of dozen reviews. I did have a 100w flexible solar from Photonic Universe until recently* and it was pretty good, although it did cost £180 From what it says here it seems they do have bypass diodes, just not the best command of English but then my Chinese ain't great. *I detached it from the roof to do some painting and it blew into the canal ?. Very light piece of kit ? just not light enough to float.

The Bimble flexible panels cost significantly more I think.

Is anyone using Dokio flexible solar panels. Amazon are currently selling 400w worth for £260 which sounds like a bargain. I'm wondering how reliable they are.

Thanks Tony. That's very helpful.

Just had the engine serviced by RCR and was advised there was some water contamination when he checked the gearbox, a Baysan M30. "Give it a flush and replace the ATF" he said, I nodded. It's only after he'd left that I'd wished I'd asked a few more questions*. For instance which engine flush? I visited my local Halfords today and there's a whole shelf of 'em. Secondly I know where to pour stuff in and drain stuff out but how long do I leave it in for and should I run the engine a bit first? Lastly (for now) should I be replacing it with a particular ATF or are they all much of a muchness. The Midland Chandlers site specifies Shell Donax TF which I believe Shell no longer make. I await some sagely advice *I did ask him a lot of questions btw during his 2 hours in the engine bay and he was extremely helpful and patient.

The website seems to be one of 36 domains registered by V V Thomas in Perumbavoor India https://domainbigdata.com/gmail.com/mj/3igqTwRVN8taL8EDI4XKew

Presumably he's read this http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/for-the-public/Fundraising-and-promotions/Advertising-and-promoting.aspx

Aqua Narrowboats have a sponsorship scheme https://www.aquanarrowboats.co.uk/sponsorship-faqs/

Very true in our case. This year we planned to do the Cheshire Ring, visit Chester and sail into Liverpool. Scuppered by the Marple lock fiasco, the Middlewich breach and the Waddicar culvert.

Levels very low at bridges E and F close to Stanley Dock this morning note the traffic cone giving a handy indication of depth.