lucyboatgirl

hey thanks dmr, I have a few years boating experience but only on the canal and a little experience of the thames (mostly downstream). But you reckon that the mooring spots in bristol are hard to find? I am aware the canal doesnt go into bristol and am happy to moor up out of town and cycle in. Some folk told me it was possible but do you think i will struggle to find a few spots to hop around over the winter? Thanks for your advice dmr you have been very helpful x

hi cereal tiller, Yes it is!!!! The fuel tank is on the roof! Is this bad? in my boat safety certificate the inspector wasnt happy with the fuel tank being inside in an enclosed space. Could this be the problem? thanks

Hey you lot. I just checked my petrol tank for my yamaha outboard and it had had like 10litres of petrol in it and it somehow empty. I looked at the line to the engine and it didnt look loose or anything but under the engine was filled with spilled petrol. I can only imagine that the line is leaking petrol? could this happen do you think if the cable wasn't plugged in correctly and was dripping out petrol? Or is there any other obvious and common thing that this might be with a n outboard fuel line? Dont worry of course I know you lot cant see it but just thought there might be something obvious you could advise or a good way of finding the leak? Thanks for any help you can give me. I guess I'm probably going to have to find someone to have a look at it but just incase its easy solved. Thanks for any help you can give me. thank you thank you x x x x x

hey thanks you lot. loads of very helpful and conflicting advice! Thanks for really valuable info davidsscheizer! Mega helpful but then a bit contradicted in terms of the strength of the flow by blackrose and dmr. Dmr i think you might have actually talked me out of it completely by talking about how strong the current can be. And yes i did totally get the stoppages wrong ha ha! just using internet in the pub and trying to type too quickly and get all my internet done before i had to leave. I would really love to do this trip but i think i might have just left it too late before the stoppages and then if i hit any problems i would be stranded for months. I think i'm changing my mind. Thank you so much to you all for taking the time to answer this question you are so helpful and truly appreciated. I do find it a bit weird that because I have not been on line for a few days that there became such a chat about my profile and calling my character into question. I use this website very sincerely and if my question comes across as ignorant then maybe that's because it is, thus why I am seeking out some information and knowledge about the subject. I took so long to reply because I was researching all the info given to me and looking at maps as it is not a part of the world i know anything about. I am sorry if you felt like you had taken the time to answer my question and that I was being unappreciative. This is totally not the case and I genuinely am thankful for you taking the time to answer and I think you are all helping folks out and sharing your knowledge and i think it is brilliant. Stay positive and strong together out there my boating brothers and sisters x x x x x x

Hi lovely boaters, I am planning on trying to get to Bristol from London leaving next week in my beautiful little 20ft cruiser. But I dont know anything about the kennot and avon and have been warned about being caught in floods and that it happens every season. When does it tend to happen? and where along the stretch tends to get affected? I have already checked the stoppages and the first are on Jan 6th which would give me three weeks to get London to Bristol before they begin which is totally possible. The only thing that concerns me is that it is upstream. Is there a current on the Kennot ad Avon? Is it strong? Is it upstream all the way. I sort of can't figure out if its a river or a canal and there seems to be people saying it carries a current. I only have a 25HP engine on my little boat and i dont really like the idea of fighting my way up the current all the way to Bristol. I have gone upstream on the non tidal thames and it was ALOT slower than downstream. It is making me concerned that I wouldnt make it bristol in time and get stranded somewhere along the way. Which would also be exciting too ha ha. Any help or advice any of you can give me would be really greatly appreciated. Anyone that lives on the KandA that could give some idea what it is like to cruise it. Thank you you beautiful boaters. I love you all x x x x x x

Thanks you guys. really helpful. and WotEver thank you for the suggestion of 2 in parallel and 1 backup! That is such a perfect idea! I was even struggling to find a way to construct a battery box to hold all three so im gonna keep one in another place spare for engine not starting problems! Thanks for your advice. im gonna try it myself and look up some how to crimping videos online and teach myself how to do it. Thanks again!!! you guys are the best x

Hi you lot, looking for a help with batteries and I'm pretty much a rookie so any help would be really appreciated. I have three batteries at different stages in their lives. I have been swapping them around as starter battery and leisure battery and taking them out to charge with my solar panel at different time so they are at different stages of life. I was looking to build a battery box and put all three in there wired together to stop all this faffing around. so that I could just have my solar panel constantly charging all three at the same time. I have a couple questions about it. 1) Is this a bad idea to wire together three different batteries old and new together? 2) How do I wire them? Do i put them together in parallel to keep the voltage at 12v? does this increase the amp hours? (this is how i have understood it but I am not sure i have it right) 3) Is this a simple enough job that i could do or do i need to get an electric minded friend in? Is there a gauge of wire that i need to use when wiring the batteries together?? Any other help or warnings or advice you could give me would be appreciated. Thanks for your help everyone. x x x x x

Thanks murf and W+T, totally answered my questions. Thanks to everyone. This forum is such a great way to share knowledge and let people like me who dont know what they are doing learn and actually do things themselves. We need more of this in this world. Keep helping folks out you guys you have no idea how helpful it is to people like me who have the enthusiasm to learn but just need some guidance!!! thank you thank you thank you!!!! x x x x x

Hi everyone, I am fixing the superstructure of my little grp boat and there are a few holes i want to fill. what would you recommend? They are all drill holes so all fairly small but would like block them up good and proper before painting her. Also some of the holes are from turbuttons that have been ripped out somehow and i would like to fill them with something that i can then get a screw into to hold properly. Not to take any great deal of weight but something that wont fall out if someone accidentally tugs on the canopy or whatever. I dealy looking for some sort of fibreglass filler that i can just inject into the holes and smooth out and leave to dry. Is there a product you know of like this that you would recommend? I cant seem to find the right thing. Thank you for all your help! x x x x

Thanks for so much help everyone. so i have got panel wipe and hempel multicoat which i think will be fine without a primer from reading about it as long as i make sure to abrade the surface before painting. but how do you recommend i do that? Going to sand it down with 100grit then what should i use to abrade it? a higher grit paper? how heavy do i want to go on it? any advice greatly appreciated! I'm feeling quite confident about it now thanks to all your help. thank you x x x xx

thanks tony- you did say that i missed it. dont know what panel wipe is? just looking it up now. is there much of a difference between panel wipe and sugar soap???? thanks tony youve been mega helpful x

thank you for all your help everyone. so happy we have a community who help each other out and share the knowledge to people who want to learn. so thank you everyone. So looking to sand down the surface/abrade it for painting with a electric sander. then paint with hempel multicoat which i found here: http://www.mbfg.co.uk/single-pack-topcoats/4112.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItYau44Ws1QIV7b_tCh0nZAfnEAQYASABEgLe1vD_BwE But another question would be what would you clean down the sanded surface with before painting to remove grease and debris? Would just water do it or would you recommend something else? Thanks for all your help x

Thanks so much for your help. Especially Murflynn!!! I have already sort of figured that the gel coat is never coming back to a good finish. the boat is thirty years old and has already had more than one coat of paint on it. Thank you so much for your advise on sanding her and what paint to use. Exactly the information i was hoping for! But one more question, when sanding the old paint off am i in danger of doing any damage to the gel coat? What do i need to be worried about. Thank you so much for your help you are super helpful and kind thank you thank you thank you x

Hi lovely boaters I am wanting to repaint my little 20foot grp boat. the last owner done a terrible job and the paint and the paint has half peeled off all over the place. The boat is not worth enough to buy specialist marine paint or anything so I'm thinking just sand her down a little and paint her. I have never done this before and would be extremely grateful for any help or pointers. I am thinking to sand her down medium grit then fine grit, then paint her with just weathershield paint or whatever from B and Q. Do you think this will stick? is there anything else you would recommend me using? What other advice would you give me in the prep? thank you thank you thank you x