PCSB

I'm not totally convinced by wind power on a narrow boat, but this company gives some idea of costs etc LE-v150 vertical axis wind turbine providing off-grid remote power (leadingedgepower.com) Note that the linked turbine produces a max of 200w (not 600 as per the Chinese one above). ALso note that it cuts in at 11mph which if I've understood correctly is when it starts to generate 'leccy. It also only gens 24w at 17.8mph so to get to 200w it probably has to be blowing a hooley.

The biggest problem would be in summer on those rare days when we get lots of sunshine. They can easily overheat. The fluctuations aren't an overly big deal iom, as long as they aren't rapid ones. Draughts don't do them any favours either.

Good call, used to use a fridge for my snakes that brumated, a decent stat and heat mat kept the temp safe. A decent poly box may work too.

Hermann's are a Mediterranean species iirc so need daytime temps of around 30c and nightime between 16 and 18c. They will hibernate (I think, again from memory) but need temps below 10c and this needs to be maintained so possibly not achievable on a boat. Most folk I knew who kept them indoors kept them active all year round. 100w of uvb seems a lot, certainly whilst its smaller a 55w tube and reflector will provide an awful lot of UV (Arcadia do a 12% D3+ tube which is likely the one to go for). Like a lot of reps they use white light to find basking spots so a light would need to be on constant 10hrs so 100w is probably about right. If the boat will be heated using a stove that could help with daytime temps, you could use a blacklight heat source or a reptile radiator on a thermastat sited next to the white light (which could be LED btw) to maintain a basking temp. Temp gradient in the viv needs tobe there too, so it will need a cool end (low 20s iirc). I used reptile rads to maintain nightime ambients ona stat set just above the minimum required, but I'd expect the latent heat fromthe stove will suffice. Insulation could help, but its important that there is a good airflow otherwise the tort may well get a respiratory problem. Anyway you could add additional batteries and maybe get a small genny - another can of worms but ... Difficult choices Andrew.

Which species of tortoise is it Andrew? Most indoor enclosures I've seen have been massive (8ft x 4ft and above) - they do need a bit of room. I'm not an expert on torts but did keep a variety of other reptiles.

Talking with another boater who uses this stretch quite often and he has also recommended the Dog and Doublet. Thanks.

Thanks Brian.

Time is against us to go into Brum this trip. It is something we want to do at some point though. We are hoping we can get into Coventry if time permits. Thanks, useful to know

Thanks both.

Looking for advice re safe moorings going through Birmingham tomorrow. Travelling from Catherine de Barnes on the GU. Initial thinking is Star City, but could do with a few alternatives please. We are doing the Warwickshire ring and will be turning right at Salford Junction. TIA Paul.

When we had our allotment a group of us on a working party were doing a walkaround to see what needed doing. One of the ladies remarked "look at that grass snake, isn't it lovely" - I didn't want to tell them it was in fact an adder and probably a female one (the zig zag on the back was brown, - it is around 75% to 90% accurate). Beatiful creatures, I'm jealous of the OP

Yep the domestic alternator is 175 Amp so pretty pokey

We've been washing at 30C for a while as it saves money and the clothes seem just as clean. I'll certainly look at a thermostatic valve. I suspect most times the washer will be going is whilst we are cruising so I'm pretty certain I'd forget to switch it back!!

Thanks both, will do a bit of digging

Will do as that will be the biggest draw especially when it heats water! A monitor like the one Jen linked to will help with that as I'm struggling to find the info (it shows it as 193KWH per year of typical usage, that is no use to man nor beast).