Big Steve

You folks who have made wet rooms, how did you organise access to the drain pump? I've tried a search but can find nowt.

You might have the answer there, Nibble. In the commotion (panic) the battery lead was rapidly removed. The + of the leisure battery could well have been in contact with the starter +ve. The leisure ccts. were not isolated, because there was no leisure battery. This would explain it. In the panic to remove the lead, what was lying where was not noted. Mike, you're right , the power obviously wasn't isolated. I hope it was caused by the above scenario, but will be wielding the meter soon (too cold and blowy today, must be getting old) Whatever it was, the whole lot's coming out and being replaced, so it should never happen again. Steve

Found a video of a swallow "singing", sounded more like a noise to me, but I see what you mean. I've never studied swallow crap, but assumed it would be white. My local duck has only 3 chicks, but they have at least all grown to a good size so far. They seem to have gone from fluffy ducklets to adult size in a week.

Thanks for taking an interest chaps, it's got me baffled. Can't get over to the boat for a day or two, when I intend to do more checks. To answer the questions. Only the starter battery is fitted, it is earthed to the engine. It was isolated at the time. (but not the earth) There's no bow thruster. I've since spotted a thin red wire connecting the starter battery directly to the coil of a small relay, haven't found out what this does yet, but it appears to head towards some engine bay extractor fans, via various "devices" which appear to have been tacked on over time. (hence the rewire), one of the fans is suspiciously close to where the short took place, but I can't see any damage to any wires, or any exposed terminals. I'll let you know if I find anything, but any ideas would be useful. Steve

Had a frightening experience today, Boat is being rewired, starter battery is connected but only feeds starter. Separate alternators for start and leisure batteries. Installing a flame out device to the oil stove, suddenly the capillary is red hot, then melts. (runs from stove amidships to engine bay) There is no leisure battery on board. The only connection is from the starter battery to the solenoid, battery is isolated. The capillary is on the opposite side of the engine to the starter. There is no live wire anywhere in the engine bay or on the boat. The boat is not connected to shore power. The capillary is melted through. There is no damage to any of the wiring in the engine bay. My hands are burnt. (I was holding the capillary when this happened) Was this an act of God, a haunting, a lightning strike, spontaneous human combustion or what?

You've confused me now, swallows and swifts only eat insects , so don't go crapping red stuff, that's starlings & blackbirds after being at the fruit, but there isn't much fruit about at the moment. They don't sing much either. Heard a cuckoo yesterday, that's the latest I've ever heard one.

He wasn't shouting, he'd just got the caps lock on by accident, you can tell by the first letters of some sentences starting with a lower case, when he hit the shift key to type a capital letter. Still don't know what he's on about though!

Wickes Professional wood finish, clear satin is the stuff, don't use the standard as it's water based and I've no faith in it (but it might be fine) Just needs a rub down with a bit of wire wool every year and recoat. I put on the first coat thinned with white spirit so it gets deep into the pores. Still good and mellow after five years on my front door, south facing.

I have a 1976 Norsman, 54' , no patches and still very sound. It's a bugger to reverse though, but perhaps that's just my incompetence showing.

Get some made by a horse box window maker, 1/2 the price of boat windows, same quality, bigger opening area.

Is there some etiquette for following other boats through lift bridges when you are single handed? I've got dodgy knees and can't nip about like I used to. I dare not go out single handed because A) the traffic delays I would cause B)Being seen to be taking advantage of others by sneaking through when someone else has opened the bridge I'm the same with locks too.

A pleasant shock, my EOG fee is down £136 on last year. How come? (I'm not complaining. ) Could this be the result of the bidding system?

Yes it is exterior filler, and mine is a steel boat. I'd been using the stuff to repair some old domestic window frames, I'm sure it's basically the same as standard body filler but with a lighter filler component, and possibly the polyester component modified to make it more flexible? Just guessing really. Any way, I tested it on some flexible sheet, it stuck like the proverbial and took severe bending without cracking, also, it specifically states on the tin that it is not hydroscopic. I used it to make good some welding after changing my boat windows from square top to round top. I'll post some pictures of this interesting operation when I find the card.

Two beers eh! That's a good wheeze!

I've recently used 2 pack timber filler, it's not hydroscopic, it's easily sanded, and it's very flexible ( it's designed to replace wood) Might turn out to be a mistake, but seems like a good idea.

I'm no purist, but that is an abortion.

Don't know, but I'd be interested to see an answer.

My boat is moored on the S&K at Stainforth, being slowly updated, and there as been quite a bit of traffic in the last few days. Everybody waves, except some miserable bugger on Friday, didn't catch the name, but stood out in their ignorance. You know who you are.

I've got a tractor seat to put on mine, still trying to work out how to do it. Where can I buy those Roses and Castles transfers? I fancy some stick on rivets too. I'm saving up for a bow thruster, you traditionalists can all bol&*@$"^.

If you look at the downloadable copy from Waterscape it's not bound, and doesn't have a cover. So the item being sold is better than the download. By the time you'd have printed , bound and covered the download yourself, it will have cost you a £1 at least so I think the seller is offering a reasonable service.

That's all there is to it.

Ah, but "devices" only cost pennies, take a couple of minutes to fit, and it saves shining up the chimney to tweak the aerial.

My favourite bit of graffiti "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy" It might be old, but I hope it makes someone smile.