RickS

Would not have attempted any tunnel with my engine in that condition. I agree it would seem to be irresponsible to do so. I had already come through Crick tunnel before the problem made itself known however - yes, I was coming from Weltonfield Thank you Richard. I got in touch with RCR in the end, but I will certainly make a note of suggestions and keep them for future reference. Thanks David. I appreciate it does seem odd, but the first two responses mentioned RCR and I grabbed that and got in touch with them. After that, as I say, I seemed to pass through a black hole of no signal until I got here at Welford.

Certainly would have responded had I had any usable signal with which to respond - perhaps not that polite to point that out. Thank you everyone for your replies. I don't have the confidence or capability probably to attempt half the technical suggestions made here, but I am grateful for them regardless. I ended up calling upon RCR as part of my insurance - thanks Tonka for the reminder, I had completely forgotten about that. The solution was quite straightforward apparently. The jubilee clip on the hose from the thermostat had come loose so there was leakage from there. The temperature sender was loose and the ptfe tape was sparse, so that was reseated and the tape renewed. The oil pressure sender was weak so that will be replaced by the marina or RCR. Relieved that it was not a serious problem with the engine. Stopped twice (oil alarm came on again the next day - then was diagnosed as being faulty - or at least not operating at its best). Absolutely no signal where stopped so have not posted until today, when I arrived at Welford. Thanks again everyone, really good to know there is a wealth of knowledge and advice out there. Planning on joining after this experience - got me out of trouble quickly and very friendly. Thanks Tony. It has an external skin tank, but as I have posted, the problem was a leaky hose and temperature sender. Not sure if I would have managed to bleed the skin tank but I see the point and I am grateful for it.

Hello I have had to pull over near the village of Yelvertoft. My engine is overheating and I am losing coolant from somewhere. i have had a look but can't see anything obvious. Could someone recommend a good engineer who may be willing to come out to take a look please? I am only a few miles from my destination - Welford marina - and my original plan was to run it for about an hour and the temperature started to climb, and then shut down and let it cool off before doing it all again. Now I'm not so sure that is such a good idea - hence the need for an engineer to come and take a look. Thanks for any suggestions

Thanks everyone for the answers. Maybe I shouldn't have rushed to get the book, but have it now so will have to live with it. I agree that it's not rocket science from the fusebox (?) into the cabin. I was thinking more at the engine end, specifically the split-charge relay and all the other gubbins in my engine room, most of which I think is redundant but can't be sure. Thank you Tony for the link to your training resources. Very generous of you, and at a first look, very helpful, although a lot of it may well be over my pay grade. Thanks again all

The more I work on my boat, the more I realise how little I really understand how the 12 volt system is put together. I have been on a 2 day course but it covered such a lot of ground that, although it makes sense at the time, it doesn't seem to square up with what is actually on my boat. To that end I have bought a book called the 12 volt Bible, as recommended by a friend, and I wondered if this is a good book to get the basics and more from. Thinking about it, I should perhaps have asked this question on here before rushing out to buy this book, but lead with both feet seems to be by m.o. at the moment. Thanks

Thanks everyone. Just to clarify, I am not concerned about price in a tight-fisted sort of way, but at the same time can't see the point in paying more for exactly the same fridge, if everything is equal, hence the question. I certainly have heard of Dometic. I have an old Waeco in the boat at the moment. It is falling apart, leaks like a sieve and is quite small, which explains why I'm in the market for a new one. Maybe I'm biased because mine is old and knackered - I accept that they may be a better build quality, but I have not had a happy experience with mine, and, yes, they are eye-wateringly expensive. I have accepted paying around the £600 mark, which is why I asked about the Inlander.

I hope I am not opening up an old can of worms, but here goes. In a well-known chandlers, there are two 12v fridges, more or less identical spec, but the Inlander is the best part of £100 cheaper. Is this a bargain or are Inlander fridges not as good as Shoreline? Bit simplistic I know. I was going to buy the Shoreline but I wanted to ask on here first. Thanks

Thanks all. I used a screwdriver in the end to get a better angle and gently pried off the stubborn ones. Good tip about Vaseline, ta

Is there a knack to opening lift the dot fasteners please? Trying to unfasten the front of my cratch cover and some are coming off and some aren't. Don't want to get medieval and get a screwdriver/claw hammer behind them so thought I'd ask Ta

I was previously using a Huawei rechargeable MiFi unit without aerials and, to be fair, in the right window and at certain times of day it wasn't that bad. My SIM is from Smarty, which several people have commented may be part of the problem as they say it only gets a small fraction of the Three network (?). Recently, the internet where I am (just shy of Norton Junction on the GU) has been atrocious, barely being able to get email sometimes. I therefore changed to a Huawei B535 with a Poynting 4G external aerial which gave me a reasonable signal for what I need most of the time (still slow though <5Mbps). I may have to fiddle with the aerial but I am also told that where I am has a very poor signal generally. The idea of the ethernet was to see if that would give me a faster, more reliable signal, which I now feel that it won't as others have pointed out. I suspect, if using a cable won't improve things hugely, then a change of SIM and/or location are the only other variables.

Thank you to all who gave advice about this issue. A lot to think about but the general impression I am getting is that using an ethernet cable in the hope that this will be faster than the wifi from the router is probably pointless. Fine, that at least saves me the bother of wiring it all up, thank you. It has also answered where the bottleneck is likely to be, which seems to be the mobile signal, which is ok too as it isn't a brilliant area for signal where I am at present. Gybe Ho, I am not sure that your metaphor of the chap with the pills applies to my situation. I thought I had made it clear (possibly not) that I was now happier with my previously rubbish wifi speeds, having bought new router and aerial, but just wondered whether ethernet would make any difference. Maybe I'm mis-reading it. Anyway, thanks for your input into this thread, very useful

That much I know 😄 At the moment the router is behind the TV, on a shelf just below the gunwale. Would it be better off away from the TV and higher up ? The laptop in question is in the dinette about 10 feet further down the boat

OK, thanks Paul, that makes sense, albeit not what I wanted to hear! What would be the best way to maximise the WiFi signal inside the boat, ie location, height etc please?

That's disappointing. So the signal distributed wirelessly inside the boat is going to be stronger (not sure that is the appropriate word) than the signal coming into the boat via the external aerial? I don't think I've expressed that well either but hopefully you understand what I'm going on about.

That was what I suspected but wasn't sure about, although I don't actually know if they require power. So, option 2 it is then

Evening. Finally sorted out an internet connection that is faster than a limping snail - which is what I had before. That said, I would like to connect up the laptop via ethernet for times when I need as fast a connection as possible. My questions is twofold: 1 should / could I use the snazzy connectors that connect through the 240V wiring (what happens to that when I'm not connected to shore?) and 2 if ethernet cabling is better, what kit do I need please? ideally i should like some sort of connector box near both the router and the laptop so would need short connecting cables between these boxes and the router / laptop. Forgive my simplistic explanation but I'm struggling to get to grips with this so find it difficult enough to frame the question. It would be simple if I just connected an ethernet cable between the two but I want to be able to disconnect the laptop without having loads of cable lying about, hence these boxes I'm going on about. Any/all help gratefully received

It does feel like it's getting quite complicated, but I suppose it would if I have no real experience of this. The idea of the Sikaflex was as a sealant more than an adhesive - although that's a bonus - as I plan to tap into the roof for the triangular panel brackets. Took me a while to be mostly happy with that idea. I don't want water and gunge getting underneath it all and rusting the roof. Similarly with the bracket onto the wooden cratch, more for a sealant so the wood doesn't rot. Plan to screw the bracket on.

Thank you everyone. Lots of good advice and plenty for me to think about, particularly in the preparation which I know I don't do as thoroughly as I should.

There seems to be a bewildering variety of Sikaflex product numbers so thought I'd ask. The jobs i want it for are: I am screwing a metal bracket to the wooden cratch board and need adhesive/sealant underneath Also fixing solar panel brackets and cable gland to the roof so need good seal there too. I have been told Sikaflex 291i will be suitable for all these jobs but wanted to be sure, hence the post Thanks for all/any advice

There was an awful lot of advice and digressions I agree, but good that people are happy to help and the diversions were . . . well, diverting. Maybe a thermic lance for next time - or a light sabre ?

Again, thanks for all the advice and wit - appreciated and enjoyed in equal measure. In the end, I bought some 14" bolt cutters and they came off easily enough - a couple at considerable speed! Thanks again

Thanks all for the usual helpful advice. It would seem that physical removal is the way forward rather than trying to chemically ease the rust, which is extensive. Bit cold today so didn't give any a try (I know!) but will give the dremmel and boltcutters a go. Not averse to using the angle grinder it's just that it's difficult to balance and use both hands to control the grinder. Thanks again

Thanks all. No plan to put them back on, I will be replacing them with stainless steel. It's getting them off without using an angle grinder (ideally) that is the issue. I suspect they are too big to break with mole grips but I'm having a go at that in the morning!

I am trying to remove the front and rear fenders and they are held on with D shackles which are just solid rust and the screw-in bit isn't shifting. I don't really want to get he angle grinder out so wondering if there is any wonder chemical that will shift the rust enough to be able to get the shackle off. I know vinegar is supposed to work (?) but leaving it on is a problem. Thanks

As a postscript to this thread, I took this picture of the outside of my windows. I assume this is a cover for the drainage holes (2 per window). In which case, it does seem daft to block them on the inside with foam - not sure why that was put in. Easy though when it is pointed out. I like the idea of the cable tie as a flexible cleaner, thanks PeterF Thanks all