Clodi

I want to re-jig the fuel filter position in my engine bay in the next few days. This means I need new fixing points & without the option of welding I was wondering is there a 'stickafix' type or adhesive solution that will work well this time of year that anyone can recommend that will attach ply to steel and is permanent. I have a Fuelguard with the fuel polishing kit & I want to slightly re-position it to enable my to fit a hospital silencer. (Obviously drilling is out of the question as it is below the waterline) Thanks guys & happy New Year.

We're from West Wales & actually know quite a few DVLA employees, lot'sof kids from my boys schools actually went to work there as it'sone of the majour employersin the area. I fully symphaise with everyone who has suffered from covid But don't beleive everthing the BBC say also the union on strike for 'Unsafe working conditions' cannot really make a case when NHS frontine staff, nurses, portere, cleaners can manage to go to work. (It's a pity the GP's can't though)

It's so true about not being able to contact any civil servant anymore. they'r all too busy wtching netflix working from home. I guess I'll just use the boatmail address. When I firt took out my account with boatmail I checked with the DVLA regarding our driving licence and, this was pre covid, the nice young lady said whilst its ok for our driving licence wehave to provide an up to date home address for the log book. So who knows?

A question for liveabord CCers who don't have a permanant UK address. We have a residential property in the EU but here in the UK we use Boatmail. Whilst we are on our moorings we are registered withthe local Doctors and on the electorial roll. However I do not know what to do regardinf my Vans 'log book'. Our kids are all in short term student let's so it's not much good using them as a c/o address as they'll be on the move themselves in the nextfew months. The DVLA are ok with us using the mail-forwarding address for our uk driving licence as is our insurance company but I don't know what to do with the V5 log-book. Has anyone been in a similar situation & what did you do? Thanks

We went yesterday & it was a pale reflection of the show I last went to 5 odd years ago. Bugger all there to be honest. Still I picked up an undermattress mat which I actually wanted & some light fittings fro bedazzelled but other than that a waste of time. We got there at 10 and left at 12.30.

I also would like to fit either a nonreturn or tap perhaps using 22mm plastic or copper pipe if I can fit it in. I have brass fittings to enable fitting 22mm copper pipe to the largest skin fitting.

I am fitting a domestic sink using 40 mm waste fitting and need to find a satisfactory method of connecting to the skin fitting which I want as 'high' as possible but just relying on gravity, no gulper pump involved. The waste I have has a rather good flexi-pipe which ends in a 40mm female. I have a few brass skin fittings & the largest being 45mm which has a 30mm push on fitting if required. . Has anyone done anything similar? Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. I intend to fit the outlet directly under the chine

We compost our waste have done for the last 30+ years on our smallholdings, moorings & our cottage in the west of Ireland.Our boats have either sea-toilets (on EA waters& of course the sea). We successfully compost on our narrowboat along with many other boaters who do things correctly. This current problem of binning the waste has arisen alongside the, (mainly London) problem, overcrowding on the towpath which leads to boaters being reluctant to move to seek pump-out which of course cost money & difficulty in finding another mooring spot.. Quite a few of these boats are rented and even sub-let and the 'landlords' promote the binning of the crap as an acceptable practice. I see Wu Wu composting toilets recently put out a newsletter referring to a pilot composting waste collection service which may be the way forward in some areas. One simple solution may be a charge for binning human waste around the same as the cost of a pump-out. It won't bother us who have been composting for years but it would put off the quick-fix brigade. Rather than argue constantly from an uninformed point of view I would suggest people read the many interesting posts on the Facebook group 'Compost Toilets for boats and off grid living ' read the book Humanmanure or visit the CAT in Wales. All of which greatly predate the current 'scandal of lazy sods chucking their shit into the bins.

I have just walked past a towpath mooring where it is obvious the boater has simply dumped his/her cassette into the cut and also on the side of the bank. It's deffo a cassette as there's 'Blue' liquid puddled on the towpath. Disgusting! I didn't have my phone with me or I would have taken a photo

It is possible to successfully compost ones poop whilst CC'ing, even easier if using a 'Hot composting' system. There are a couple Facebook Groups covering this in some detail. The whole point of Composting Toilets is to Compost ones waste. No-one using compost toilets should be dumping their contents in the bins or the Elsan points!

Funny but I was actually told that I could use 'any old hose' this weekend in conversation with a boatowner who has a Rayburn installed on his boat! I meant to say copper not brass pipe in my question, the heat is getting to me. The actual connections to the stove will be carried out by the engineer who commissions the Uno I'm just getting everything into place. One further question on fuel lines. My engine has a mix of copper and rubber fuel line. It passed the BSS test last year no problems. Also I have the Fuel-Guard filter system fitted with a glass bowl and that didn't raise an eyebrow either!

I have a dedicated heater fuel tank to supply our Heritage Uno but not sure of the BSS requirement for running the fuel pipe internally. I've been told by one chandlers that 6mm rubber is OK, another says 8mm rubber is fine, my initial thought was I had to use brass but obviously rubber is much easier to install with brass an the ends. Can any knowledgeable BSS requirment people please advise? I'll be having the stove professionally commissioned when I finally get the installing done. I must say the installation instructions for fitting into narrowboats are really thorough but it's the BSS side of things I'm unsure about.

I'm after recommendations for a replacement engine starter battery size for my Bukh DV36. Unfortunately it will have to be one I can purchase from a store as we don't have an address or family nearby to take deliveries. We are just outside of Nantwich on the Middlewich branch of the Shroppie. Basically I just want a large heavy duty battery but with all these stop/go type offerings on the Halfords website I'm not sure what amps, cranking power etc. Charging will be taken care of by the single 80 amp alternator, complemented by solar and a 12v 100amp Centaur when using the genny or shore power. Physical size is not a problem as I shall be constructing a new battery-box.

Come to the west of Ireland, we often get 4 seasons in one day!

It's not very warm here on the Wild Atlantic Way in West Ireland. We're hoping it'll be warmer next week when we finally get 'home' to the boat on the Shroppie.

Thanks for all the helpful comments. I haven't been able to actually visit my boat for nearly a year being stuck outside the UK due to lockdown but thankfully we're back next week & looking forward to continuing a total fit out. I'm installing a brand new Heritage Uno cooker/hot water & central heating system, hence my question. I have a 230v pump which I was going to install but have now decided I want to avoid relying on an inverter wherever possible.

Hi everyone, I need a pump for the radiators for my central-heating on my 57' narrowboat & I'm trying to find a 12volt one rather than use a 230v through the inverter. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks

We used to burn ours in the Rayburn on the smallholding but it had a tall chimney and no near neighbours so I can't tell you how its smoke smelt

Thank you everyone for your comments. On the boat I already have an external aerial for the 'mi-fi' ( incidentally the Vodafone mi-fi works a treat in Ireland) so it's no bother adding an external FM/DAB aerial on the boat. It's really hard to find a portable radio with an aerial socket. Ocean FM is the local station in Ireland& it's great for keeping abreast of relevant information . It has to be portable so it can be used in the workshop, polytunnel etc. The cottage is pretty much 'off-grid' definitely no TV so the radio is pretty important.

I'm looking to buy a portable radio (DAB) for use on my boat but also on the west coast of Ireland. Mobile phone signal is patchy so use of the mobile is not really an option. I used to rate Roberts radios but looking at the reviews of the current offering it looks as if their quality has gone the ay of most things and is rather hit and miss. Has anyone got any recent experience of purchasing a portable radio without spending a fortune?

Mike, with the greatest of genuine respect I would suggest that once this really terrible situation subsides, then will be the time for the inquests and hopefully lessons will learned. I really hope that this can be the shove that we in the western world need to make us all realise that the awful inequalities and undervaluing of all key jobs (including food preparation) are taken into account and hopefully a fairer more considerate society will emerge Sorry for your loss

I think everyone understands the logistical problems BUT I have personally been involved in pandemic planning and I regret to say that in my opinion our government has been forced by irresponsible reporting verging on scaremongering.

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-03-22/coronavirus-outbreak-nobel-laureate There's an awful lot of reading out there Mike https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/23/grandmother-95-becomes-oldest-person-italy-recover-coronavirus/?WT.mc_id=e_DM1223974&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_FPM_New_ES&utmsource=email&utm_medium=Edi_FPM_New_ES20200323&utm_campaign=DM1223974

I think all virus are dangerous BUT this current virus shouldn't mean the end of the world as we know it.