frahkn

I think that I would press for direct contact with the owner in such a case. Certainly if I were selling I would not want a potential sale to fall through because the broker could not be bothered to organise a test drive.

I "just know" that both of the two highlighted phrases cannot be correct. If either is right then the other is wrong (both, of course, may be wrong). I "just know" that I'm right here.

Several posters seem aware of the £9.50 charge. It's not mentioned on the sign, how is a passing (potentially mooring) boater meant to know about the charge and how do they go about paying it? I ask because these signs are new since I last was on the Thames 2 years ago.

"Why does one of my battery warning lights stay on .... when the ignition key is off?" is an interesting question but its surprisingly difficult to answer, it seems. I thought my ignorance of battery management was a weakness, now I'm not sure that I really miss it.

I would be very wary of any floor that is difficult to get up in a later emergency. The previous owner installed a quarry tile floor throughout my boat and it has proved to be a pain in the neck. Sooner or later some of it will have to come up but to date I have not been able to find matching tiles so may have to take it all up in the end.

The 10% figure was in our original contract but the broker was happy content to amend this (in writing) before we signed. He did not consult with the seller before doing this, indeed we were discouraged from contacting the seller at all.

That's OK, I already have a boat, don't really want a second.

Our boat (which is emphatically not for sale) has all of the above plus a full size bath, six side doors and a front deck which could take a pool table. But I set out to buy a 57' boat, wanted to avoid a trad stern (I have some mobility issues) and anything with potential resale difficulties. I am genuinely not an idiot but nonetheless I ended up with an Orion tug which is a 70' trad with the engine cocooned in the bathroom. I was at a broker (Rugby boat sales) looking at another boat when I saw it, wouldn't have dreamed of traveling to see it. So those who say "the boat will pick you" are sometimes correct if you give it the opportunity.

Many brokers use a version of the standard British Marine Federation (BMF) contract. The only copy which I have is my own from when I purchased my boat. While I'm happy to let you have a redacted copy, it will take me a while (I am currently on the boat) I'm sure that someone else can let you have one more quickly.

Sorry, I don't understand. The fins (indeed every part of the fan) eventually get hot and transfer heat to the room. But so does the metal weight. Admittedly the fan will always be hotter at the base than at the top, it must be to work. But so will the metal weight. I don't see why both fan and weight cannot be treated as just 'masses of metal'.

Of course but the fan and the weight are the same in that respect - masses of metal which heat up, radiate part of that heat, reach the same temperature as the stove top then stop getting any warmer as they are radiating as much energy as they receive. The only thing different is that the fan has a secondary 'outlet' for energy which it receives. As I said in my edit, I am surprised this is sufficient to affect the kettle but we can't ignore the reported experimental evidence that it does. I am not on the boat at the moment so cannot try to repeat the experiment and anyway I don't think my stove top is big enough for the fan and a kettle. Perhaps it would be useful to see if the presence of the kettle (while it is still heating) slows down the fan.

Assuming Jim meant "why does the fan have a continuing effect on the kettle whereas the weight would affect it only while heating up"; the answer is in the law of conservation of energy. Whether put to any useful purpose or not, the mechanical energy of turning the blades comes from a loss of heat from the stove, the stove will continue to be cooler while the fan turns. I am surprised that the effect is strong enough to prevent the kettle boiling but if it is, then it is.

I was a very experienced hirer and had followed that with 11 years of shared ownership. I started my search with "pretty firm ideas of what I was looking for" but that did not prevent me ending up with something outside my original comfort zone. I had heard such stories and more or less dismissed them as involving people who were unable to make their minds up in the first place - I was amazed even as I handed my money over! Why not spend a week over here (a decent budget hotel will not cost 1% of the price of a boat), go to some large brokerages, see lots of boats (particularly those outside your box). I'm not suggesting that you buy from there but that you start your search where there are a lot of boats.

I bought a 4 bladed fan and later was given a 3 bladed one. I find the 4 bladed version is quieter and more effective. Neither of them will move warm air down the length (70') of my boat but they do prevent the heat 'layering' by the roof. Without one I can be comfortable sitting down but when I rise from my chair, I find a layer of very hot air in the top third of the cabin. If this is evenly distributed by a fan, I can turn the fire down.

Do quarks have good and bad attributes? Apart from their silly name of course but that's just Murray Gell-Mann's strange humour.

My Refleks is from 2003 and needs a service, it burns a little yellow but stays lit and provides lots of heat. The following always gets it lit - you might as well try it. Make quite sure your flue is not blocked. Take the cage out. Turn the diesel on about quarter way. Wait till the 'floor' of the stove is about 50% covered with diesel. Turn the diesel off. Pour in a generous slosh of meths. Put the cage back and carefully drop a match in to light the meths. When the meths is lit very slowly close the top. Wait 60 seconds and turn the diesel back to a quarter. Watch the stove for 15 minutes (don't open the top), the main risk is that it will get too hot, if so turn it down by slight increments only. Obviously if it needs servicing you will have to have it done but so does mine - nevertheless this always lights it.

Steve Hand (and his son) surveyed my boat and I would recommend him without hesitation. But I've only had one boat surveyed so I do not have anyone to compare with - but I was completely satisfied with his common sense, willingness to talk and ability to spot little oddnesses.

Yes, had to stop in a bridge hole to get an angler, close on the other side, to move his roach pole; he was amazed to see us.

Our Beta 43 is cocooned and has a hospital silencer. From anywhere outside the boat it is virtually silent but you can certainly hear it when you are inside. Not so bad that you can't listen to the radio or have a conversation but not silent either.

The Zerostat was utterly and profoundly useless but there was an anti-static turntable mat which you could get for the Sondek, which was better. Can't recall the name, too much malt under the bridge since then!

I think forum etiquette is to assist others as they try to assist you. Often if you supply the answers to questions this allows others, perhaps with issues only tangentially similar to yours, to a better understanding of their problem. This has assisted me in the past.

I thought that MtB was not saying he did not understand it, rather he did understand but could not explain it to a third party. Admittedly I'm not very confident of this interpretation.

I don't think so. The red cruiser in the photographs passed me in Polesworth yesterday lunchtime. It was heading towards Alvecote and was reported (on here) to be heading towards Glascote later yesterday.

Not to worry, I am grateful for any advice. It's more that it has been a long time. For instance I have done the Thames ring several times in shorter hire boats with no problem but 2 years ago I encountered significant difficulty finding moorings for my current 70' boat.

In one way you are quite right, it is expensive. But it's worth, once in a while, considering what you would do faced with two little blocks of metal and asked to produce the ball and spring. I occasionally do this and find myself amazed at how cheap everyday items are. Sorry to be philosophical before 11am, might be a hangover.