nickelodeus

Hiya.. We fitted a new kitchen recently and were going to put in a full size s/s zanussi oven and re-jet it for propane - however due to space constraints we couldn't get it to fit. I had a really good look at the options available (of which the choice was pretty limited). We have quite a modern looking kitchen so wanted something that looks new-ish design wise. We ended up going for a Spinflo midi-prima which is what they fit to modern motorhomes and caravans. The other make that looked quite decent was "stoves". Go to the midland chandlery website for the best range. Nick

Hi Folks, I'm trying to get hold of some hardwood trim with a "D" profile. You can get the perfect stuff as a softwood moulding in B&Q. By D-section I mean like if you look at the end of a skirting board, but where both edges are rounded off or radiused. Can anyone recommend a place to get this sort of thing? I'm using it to trim up painted ply panels througout the boat so will need quite a bit. Many Thanks Nick

Hi Chris, Thanks for this. Yep I forgot to mention, I have 25-30mm depth behinnd the lining before hitting sprayfoam. Can you get fittings this shallow? Nic

Hi Guys! I realise there have been a lot of LED light related posts recently and I've searched and read most of them on here. So apologies in advance for spawning another. I want to put recessed downlighters throughout the whole boat and really want to go for LEDs otherwise heat, wire thickness and power consumption will become problematic (its a 70ft NB). The way I see it, I have two options. I either buy complete LED units or get the downlighters and replace the bulbs with LED inserts from a company like ultraleds or bedazzled. I've been on B&Q and screwfix looking at downlighter fittings and all I have to say is that there is a baffling, seemingly endless array of units available and thats just from those two sites! Long story short - I am utterly and completely confused and sick of looking at light fittings, not knowing what the hell I am doing! I want to go for the best downlighters and LED inserts that I can get my grubby mitts on (within reason). Does anyone have any recommendations?? HELP! Thanks Nick

Hi Guys, Haven't logged in for a while but I'm glad (and equally disappointed) that others have had err "interesting" experiences with Mr Sterling. When I first got the boat, with it's Sterling alternator controller - I was trying to trace a charging fault and thought the unit may be playing up. So I rang for a quick chat and some advice and was told in no uncertain terms that the unit wasn't faulty and that I should learn something about alternators before calling again!!! Needless to say I won't be calling up again.... Incidentally, when my boaty electrician friend (who works on 12v systems for a living) was over, he was telling me that he once rang up Sterling with a technical query whilst working on a boat and got the same treatment - he was equally stunned. Nic

Thanks Paul! Your advice is very much appreciated; I did read your reply about the boiler too - many thanks! I bought a sensormax today and hope to connect it up sometime this evening. Nick

Hi guys, Just wondering if anyone knew whether my Morco d61b would work with something like a jabsco sensormax variable speed pump? I've been onto Morco today and after managing to convince them to talk to me (they initially said they wouldn't because I want a registered gas fitter!), they came back with the near genius response along the lines of.... Morco: "ooh that sounds complicated, we recommend you speak to a boat builder.." ME: "err ok, but you designed and manufacture it right?" Morco: "yes.." ME: "great, thanks for your time" Anyways, long story short. I know the d61b uses a diaphragm pressure system to light the burner and a flow restrictor to ensure that the water is heated correctly to the desired temperature. Just trying to get my head round whether a variable speed pump would cause problems. Any thoughts, experiences would be much appreciated. Nic

We just got a memory foam matress - verrrry comfy. Ours needed to be made to measure, in two sections with a hinge to allow the bed to be partially folded away. Quite a few companies we approached via google either didn't get what we wanted or didnt get back to us. Another boaty friends of ours recommended a firm called Raskelf in Yorkshire. They understood exactly what we wanted and were happy to deal with any last minute measurement adjustments. We got our bespoke folding memory foam mattress in a couple of weeks or so and are very impressed with it. Nic

Hiya Paul, Thanks for that - very interesting. I'm definitely toying with th idea of fitting a domestic combi/condensing system - this is what your Vokera is right? You say you get through a fair bit of gas - how much during winter and what other gas appliances do you run? I'm trying to work out: 1) Whether to go gas or oil fired - well it'd be red diesel from my main tank (this would work just fine wouldn't it?) 2) Where I'd site the boiler. Gas supply up the front and diesel supply down the back of the boat (70ft!) 3) How much hassle it'd be to fit - ie what holes to drill and pipework to run Some more questions. Do they have fans? If so is there any significant current draw from this? What's balanced flue mean in practical terms? What made you go for the Vokera? I think thats about it - sorry for the onslaught! Thanks Nic

Hi Folks! On board Navigator, we have a solid fuel stove (squirrel) with backboiler + circ pump and a webasto plumbed into the system heating the rads as well. This is quite an effective setup but I've started to think recently about what it'd be like when we decide to have a baby or two..... As I said, the system works pretty well the only thing is that it tends to either be roasting hot, especially when we run the webasto to heat the rads, or a bit chilly (before we run the webasto and before we light the stove!). When the stove is lit, its obviously very hot in the vicinity of the stove but rads only tend to get warm-ish unless we have a monster of a blaze going! I'm thinking about how I could upgrade the heating sysem so that we could maintain a more constant ambient temperature, like a thermostat controlled system in a house. I'd like to know if anyone has this sort of system and how well it works. I know there are various diesel fired options but I can't remember what's good and what not. We also don't have a seperate diesel tank although our main tank seems pretty big. Any thoughts and insights would be much appreciated Nic

Hi, Thanks for that...I'm after durability of finish rather than perfect mirror finish,..ie, I don;t want to have to do it again!! nic

Hiya - thanks for your reply. Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by scotch and tack rag?? Nic

Hey Folks! Hope you're all well. The sun is out and my thoughts turn to painting the outside of the boat again - I got a view of it from a lock bridge the other day and it looks shocking! Ok, I know very little about painting and I have searched the forums and gleaned a bit of info. I still have some questions though and would be grateful of some knowledgable feedback.. 1) In some areas I will need to go back to bare metal....the whole roof certainly and a few other small areas. The topcoat will be blakes. One of the ladies at Uxbridge boat centre recommended Blakes primer/undercoat. I've used this on my hatch repairs and seems fine. Would it be better though for me to coat the bare metal in Vactan or even bonda rust primer first to get a harder/longer wearing finish? 2) What sort of sandpaper should I be using to flat off between coats? Many Thanks Nick

Hi Guys, Thanks for your replies. Ok let's say that I abandon the adhesive route here and screw the plastic in place instead. I want to maintain a percectly flat, flush surface so I would probably have to counter sink? - only thing is that my plastic runners are only 3mm thick. Could I still do this? Perhaps there's a far simpler way of doing this that I'm missing here....let me know if you come up with anything! Thanks again Nic

Hey Peeps, I need to stick a couple of 3mm polyethylene strips to the inside of my hatch - which is lined with ply. I've been using a non-solvent gap filling adhesive for other bits, but I know that you can't use it on polyethylene or polyurethane. I've had a look round on the web and I know that there are adhesives recommended for this purpose (3m scotch spay stuff) - but its expensive and I can only see myself using it once (ie just for this job). Is there anything more common and cheaper that would be suitable for doing this job - perhaps wood glue or pva? I'd like to make a decent job of it so it doesn;t have to be done again. Thanks! Nick