petro

Just for the record, we were done by Finchy (confirmed by Police) in January this year at V Farm. He entered three boats then and stole cash and clothes. He nicked 4 cans of very old out of date beer from me but damaged the front doors quite badly. This time round he o rsomeone got in through the side hatch, nicked nothing and just busted the bolts. Various lessons learnt for the future! but in reality it must be virtually impossible to maintain security either there or at any marina in a remote location. That is the real reason that we and so many others prefer to moor in such a delightful location even now in winter.

Hi Again folks Apparently five boats broken into in phase 2 close to area by bottom lock. Nothing nicked; but nothing of real value left on board anyway. But whoever ?? busted in by forcing the side hatch. Fixed new bolts so all secure. Think I need to add a steel bar. Police do not want to know and are not visiting the marina as it is not classed as a burglary becuase no one was on board the boats affected. So it appears that it is perfectly ok to cause criminal damage. Wonderful huh So if it was Finchy, don't do me again mate go and pick on someone else !

Hi Folks Just heard that my boat has been broken into at Ventnor Farm; apparently 5 boats done yesterday evening/night. Is the famous FINCH back then ?? anyone seen him lately ? Does anybody know what he looks like ?? Be warned if you moor in the area. Will post more info as it becomes available

Thanks everybody for info Freedom at last ! Think I will wait awhile for the traffic to disappear Thanks again

Morning all Does anyone know if Calcutt locks really will reopen today ? Nothing showing on Waterscape and not worth phoning BW really as engineer is on leave at the moment. Thanks for any info

Just visited my boat at Ventnor farm and found that I have been 'Finched'. Seems it happened on the 20th Jan. Not really fussed about the food and drink he nicked but am very annoyed about my damaged front doors. The jemmy marks and split timber will take some careful repairing. Of three boats he burgled two were accessed by forcing the side hatches. So be warned ! Hopefully the 3 year old cans of Pedigree he also pinched has caused him some grief. Reading other posts, and asking around, he has caused thousands of pounds of damage over the years and the police have been involved on numerous occasions. Surely if this is the same bloke then he must be traceable even if living rough somewhere. The police are thoroughly sympathetic but I doubt will do very much more as he does not pinch anything of great value. But, it is nevertheless quite upsetting that more is not done to bring his activities to an end. Also how does he get around ? Bike, car, boat ? to lug a bag of groceries and booze taken from three boats from Ventnor Farm to the nearest convenient road is a long trek and if he is as old as suggested he is certainly organised. Oh well thats got that lot off my chest but I am sure Mr Finch's name will pop up again soon. Peter

Have a word with Peter Nicholls at Braunston. Not cheap but does some super work.

Hi all Saw a nice looking TV at Crick on the Roadpro stand; brand was DQT. Seemed a bit pricey but has anyone any views or comments before I raid the piggy bank ? Any info gratefully received. Cheers

Just seen this post and offer a comment or two. The ratchet version produced by Alex Alston doe not really work on any spindles apart from the Napton flight. Sell you mine for twenty quid ! The piece of kit developed by Mel certainly works and is cleverly designed. But it is a huge lump with some intricate engineering. I am sure that if he was able to supply these made at least in part from aluminium he would sell them like hot cakes. If you are interested they have them for sale at Ventnor farm marina. I guess the answer is simple really - get the wife to work the paddles. Ciao P

Have just seen artilce in Towpath Telegraph page 8 advising that latest directive from HM Rev quotes VAT rate for red is 5% and not 17.5(now 15%). Can anyone really clarify what we are supposed to be paying ? Have TT made an error ? Cannot see any other posts about this so maybe I have missed something. Petro

Hi all This topic seems to go on and on but just to tell you that I paid 74p at Calcutt yesterday and they appear to ber the cheapest in the Braunston area. Petro

just for info Kings Bromley, Wigrams Turn and Ventnor farm are all owned by the same company. Waiting to hear what my mooring fees will be under this new set up. Sounds like Saul junction is in this scheme as well. New owners are Castle marinas ?? Petro

Thought it might be useful to those running on fumes to post current diesel prices around the Braunston area. Best price at Calcutt - 63p over 100 litres, 66p below. Napton - 74p Braunston marina 80p I guess that calcutt are making a reasonable profit so the others must be really coining it in ! Petro

Bit worrying this news; I was reliably told that there are over 2000 marina berths in the Napton area. If these people have bought Wigrams and now Ventnor farm, then they must own best part of 1500 berths. Only leaves Calcutt and they are pricey. Seems like I had best be moving on !! Happy mooring Petro

Thanks Kamper I felt quite strongly about much of the invective being splashed around and wanted to put the records straight as far as possibel. I think your points have great validity and your last para is undoubtably true. Glad also to read that the issue of share ownership is being quickly clarified. Petro

Reading thro the posts on this subject I am amazed by the many misconceptions about the Challenger operation and suprised at many of the less favourable comments particularly the personal ones. I was one of the original owners of Warwick selling my share in 2005. The boat was beautifully built at Blue Haven and was exactly what Ed & Gill promised. As far as financial matters go, I cannot make any comment on the failure of the company beyond saying that they both worked extremely hard to make Challenger work and it did very succesfully. They are a slightly unusual couple (arn't we all )but you cannot criticise them for ther hard work, dedication, ideas and effort. The concept of a more upmarket range of boats was not wrong and allowed me and many others to leave behind hiring a variety of old tubs costing umpteen quids every year to finally enjoy at least 4 weeks good quality trad cruising in a boat that I could honestly say I part owned. The cost beyond the initial share purchase was sensible and to correct any misunderstandings, two cheques were sent to Challenger; one for management and one for all other costs which was banked in a Warwick account. Other owners were very amenable and whilst we did not have too much contact notes were left on the boat and info was exchanged. Also thinking back over the last 10-12 years, there was less urgency in emailing to stay in touch but on balance Ed & Gill could have encouraged this a bit more rather than refusing to respond. Shares in the early boats were wholly owned by the owners as the Rimmers sold these off once the fleet started to expand. I think they retained a share in Norfolk but this may also have been sold off later. AGMs were held every year and were conducted in a very business like manner with proper boat accounts prepared. Obviously there was always discussion and comment at these meetings but generally owners left happy with the arrangements made. How do you keep over 12 owners of 35 boats(400 families) happy all the time without there being some dissent and disagreement. I think overall they managed this side of the business pretty well. It is only now as a boat owner myself that I have realised that the route I took into narrowboating(now more than 25 years) was enhanced by being in the syndicate. For those who do not know, it is entirely different to timeshare with a totally different phylosophy and commitment. Hiring for about 10 years, syndicate for 12 years and owner for 3 years. The syndicate bit suited us well whilst my children were growing up but became less attactive once university/own homes came on the scene. If you do not have a huge extended family or friends for crew and want to do more boating, then owning your own is the best way forward. Challenger for me provided a boating opportunity for a certain amount of time and we all gained great satisfaction as owners of a super boat. There is clearly an ongoing market for this type of well run operation and hopefully a new management team can be set up quickly to keep things going.

Hi All I have been browsing but cannot see much about decent insurance co's and need to renew in July. WW this month have an advert for Basic Boat insurance and they have come up with a price of £62 inc IWA members discount. This is insured via Zurich. Seems very cheap, has anyone any experience of them ? as the premium is about a third of the price quoted me for renewal by euromarine. Any guidance gratefully received or alternative insurance suggestions welcomed. Thanks in advance

Thanks everybody for the info and I did not realise that the subject could get so emotive. I have a better idea of whats involved now and clearly a bit of testing equipment is essential. I rather suspect that because I have fitted the electric fridge in place of the old gas version that has helped bring about the problem and I need to rethink how to use the power that I have rather than expect the batteries to be always up to charge. Thanks again Petro

Thanks Charles I'll do some reading but first I have heard of alternator controllers ! I have space for a third battery and I think it would make sense to add one. When I ran the engine today at tickover 400rpm the blinking green light stayed off so I think I am getting somewhere now. Rgards Petro

Ernie I am sure you will get a brass ring to fit a 6.5" flue from High Line at Iver. They may have other sizes too. I think they are from the Boatmans Cabine range. Petro

I manged to get the back panel about 150mm from the side of the boat as I had a copper pipe to clear behind. Then used a combo of masterboard stuck to 12mm good quality ply then tiles on that. The stove is about 50mm in front of that. Any more and I would have had a very weird angle on the flue pipe. Looks good works well and proving the missus doen't stoke it like a loco keeps us very snug. By the way I bought my valor arden at B7Q for £250 in sale at Xmas. 15% discount plus extra 10% because of my over 60s card. I bet boat shop man cannot beat that. Regards petro

Thanks all for your advice. John, the details about ammeters I can understand; they are on sale at £49 ! cheaper than two new batteries. These are now fully charged and I am sticking them back in tomorrow. My rev coutner shows about 1400 when I am at normal 3-4 mph. so I am always aware that at 2000 I can easily make wash and disturb the ducks. Thanks again everybody, I'll keep you posted. Petro

I am sure this has been discussed before and have searched old threads without resolving problem. I would appreciate any guidance from you guys (and gals) out there. I started a thread about TWC voltage controllers a while ago and some kind gent gave me a contact which proved useful. However : The TWC man suggested that my two 110 amp hour batteries were so depleted that the controller and resulting green flashing indicator lamp were giving me a false reading. I therefore removed said batteries and trickle charged them for 7 days, stuck em back in and all seemed ok. Green light went off at 1000 revs etc. This lasted about a week. I have run the engine since for about 8 hours with two or three overnights on board using a shoreline fridge (new), telly and fluorescent lights during that time. I do not think usage has been heavy. Switched on telly to see news in morning and zilch, overnight the telly would not work. When I started up, the green light started flashing and would not extuinguish unless I revved up to 2000. Next step Removed batteries without charging up again and had them checked by an expert car/leisure battery agent who advises they are ok and were reading full 12v power. Have charged one for 24 hours and it is now fully charged and second one is following. So after all that, please what do I do next ? Could it be the voltage regulator gone wrong or do I suspect the alternator or are the batteries giving me false readings ? Should I switch off the fridge overnight and would this reduce power loss ? Any advice/solutions gratefully received. Thanks in advance Petro

We have a deck light on Kingfsher built in 1989 so they are not new. However it gives a nice amount of light and is very neat and tidy and waterproof. Helps me to tell if its light without having to get up ! Petro