tosher

Just spoken to "CATFLAP" who was in that area today but the key's don't belong to them. They said thanks anyway. tosher

I echo all the previous posts David, glad you are on the road to recovery. tosher.

Go for it Phil while you are able, life is not a dress rehersal and you never know what is around the corner. I opted out early some years ago, it was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but I have never looked back or regretted it for one moment. Sure you may not make as much money as staying in harness but you will be infinately richer in many other ways.

I agree entirely and suspect that an awful lot of the readers of this forum hold similar views but are put off from posting exactly as you describe above.

I have had the Mr S "no-nonsense" telephone manner several times in the last few years but spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and he was quite the opposite. Very friendly, polite and very helpful, wonder if he'se been on a training course???

Agree with this, it sometimes happens on our boat. I put it down to the volume of water in the calorifier contracting as the reverse happens when we first heat the water. As the calorifier warms up we get a couple of short spurts of water overboard from the calorifier relief valve as the water expands. tosher

Well said that man, untill the above happens the current situation will remain no matter how long and hard we "discuss it" on this forum. The pump out brigade will be unhappy that they can't dispose of their effluent, which they pay to do in their liecence fee, and the cassette brigade will be unhappy that they cannot dispose of their effluent, which they pay to do in their liecence fee, because the the sani-stations are all being filled up by the pump out brigade. Somewhere, sometime common sence must prevail!!!!! tosher

Sorry to hear of your problems, for what it's worth my Isuzu operators hand book states the following as the warranty period for pleasure boats in private use:- "The earlier of either - 30 months from the date of despatch from HMI's factory or 24 months or 1500 hrs from engine installation" It might be worth a check on the date of despatch from the factory in 2007. tosher

Is this true ?????? Manure : In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before the invention of commercial fertilizers, so large shipments of manure were quite common. It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, not only did it become heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas of course. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM! Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the instruction ' Stow high in transit ' on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane. Thus evolved the term ' S.H.I.T ' , (Stow High In Transit) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day. You probably did not know the true history of this word. Neither did I. I had always thought it was a golf term.

Would be very interested in how this works out if you go ahead. Could you post results & pics if poss. Thanks

Strange that, I went to the HM Plant factory in 2007 when it was at the airfield in Gloustershire and watched the engines being marinised in their workshops, what they didn't know about Isuzu marine engines wasn't worth knowing. Perhaps things have changed since they moved up t'north.

Exactly my experience.

Yes warm as toast, 57ft boat, usual layout, 3 rads + towel rail + calorifier. Rads are almost too hot to keep your hand on.

My Webasto does exactly the same and has made the noise since almost new (about 2 years), works fine but sounds a bit rough when firing up. I mentioned this to a Webastow engineer who happened to be working on the boat next to mine and he said nothing to worry about but gave no explanation as to it's cause. I intended giving it a good service and clean during last summer but never got round to it. It's still working fine so will do it next summer. Incidently I have heard other boats making the same noise as well.

I have a Stockton 4 on my 57 ft boat that I did have a problem with when trying to burn wood (coal was ok), there was very little control over the rate of burn and the glass was blackened almost immediately after lighting. After 18 months and many phone calls & e-mails to the manufacturers I finally got it sorted, it had been assembled incorrectly in the factory and no secondary air was being admitted when in the wood burning mode. It took three visits to my boat to find and correct the fault (no charge) and it now works very well, it was a bit of a struggle but we got there in the end and are pleased with it. tosher.

I spent three years cruising the french canals, mainly south & west, in a 47 foot GRP ocean going sailboat drawing 1.8 mtrs. Ran aground constantly! Removing non sea going equipment including the mast made very little difference to the draft. Finally removed the 9 ton cast iron keel and substituted it with a fabricated steel 1 ton long shallow keel and reduced the depth of the rudder by a corresponding amount. This lifted her about 12 to 15inches above her marks and reduced her draft to 1 mtr. In this configuration she remained very stable and we were able to make a few short passages to sea in calm weather. But my greatest fear by far was puncturing the under water bilges on the rocky bolders which seem to line most of the canals, this seems to be the favoured method the french use to protect the banks from erosion. My advice would be to buy steel for the canals and the closer to 1 mtr draft you can get the better. Hope that helps.

Good idea Phil, I would be very interested in paintwork maintenance and repair. Every boat accumulates scuffs, scratches, chips and the odd bit of rust and mill scale during it's life and a short course teaching owners how to deal with these to extend the life of their paint work would be very worth while. Regarding numbers I would prefer 3 or 4 people per course rather than 1-1. tosher.

I have Sterling 3KW inverter (combi unit) about a year old, the fans do run quite often, for short periods, but only when the inverter/battery charger is working quite hard. When just floating the batteries on shore power the fans never run. This inverter was a replacement for my original one that kept tripping out, the fans on that one never ran at all so maybe that caused the fault. It was replaced by Sterling after 2 years free of charge. tosher.

Just noticed that on the back of my licence holder it states "YOU MUST DISPLAY YOUR LICENCE - IT IS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT". I'm sure some people would argue that it does not say "Current" licence but most people fully understand what it means and do comply.

Call Shureflo LTD. Tel 01293 424000 Get it straight from the horses mouth. tosher

Just carry a small shovel, cr@p on the canal bank and then throw it in the canal with the shovel. Just like hundreds of dog owners do with their dog cr@p !!!!!! Only joking!