MRBear

great, thanks guys, as usual, incredibly helpful

what if I go slightly over the top notch, is that disastrous or dangerous?

I know I'm being thick, so to clarify in my mind, of the 3 notches on the dipstick, I pretty much ignore the middle notch and aim for the 3rd?, the very top notch

wow, that was quick, thanks so much Tracy, x, what is the middle notch? is that optimum?

hi guys Yet again I am seeking to tap into your wealth of knowledge I have a canaline 42 and I am just about to do my 1st engine service (50hrs) and unsure about the engine oil dip stick, it has 2 semi circle cut outs , 1 just about the bottom of the stick, then another about 1.5 inches up, then it has a notch about another 1.5 inches above that. my question is, are all 3 markers on the dipstick oil level indicators? also, when filling or topping up the oil do I aim for the top notch or the 2nd semi circle?. I'm worried about over filling the oil

I use it when I'm hooked up to shore power. the investment of £2000 with the limits of the system and the limited time I can be aboard indicates that it would take about 10 years to pay for itself, so I may as well stay using shore power when in the marina and the engine when out

thanks guys, I have concluded that the £2000 for the solar system isn't going to be a good investment for me. as usual, I would like to express my thanks to all those who spared the time to respond

Hi guys I'm after some advice again. I am considering having a solar system installed, but cant decide if its worth the money, the system I'm thinking of is a 6 panel, 990w system. I originally thought it would cover a big percentage of my electricity needs, but I've been told that it wont provide enough power to run the immersion heater as well as the 12v systems. I have a vitron combi 3kw inverter. 5x 110ah leisure batteries, I am a leisure boater I understand its just a form of battery charger but I'm struggling to understand why I cant run a 1kw immersion or anything else with a power draw of only 1kw when I have such a big inverter. I look forward to getting your advice and comments

You guys never cease to amaze me, much better than any youtube guide or manual. the knowledge out there, or should I say, on here is amazing. my boat is still under warranty thankfully, so all these teething issues will hopefully be sorted out before I have to tackle them myself and it also gives me the chance to watch an learn from the guy who does the work. I'm relatively new to the narrowboat scene so I do sometimes panic, especially when water inside my boat is concerned, so please, everybody, accept my absolute gratitude for all the posts already and for all that come after this, I'm learning every day.

the immersion heater is left on permanently while we aboard, its not after the engine has been running and we do have an accumulator tank under the bed

I would strongly suggest you talk to citizens advice who will tell you exactly what to say and how to say it, they will also refer the case to trading standards on your behalf. I have a Collingwood boat and had an issue with it. citizens advice got me through this good luck

Hi Guys We're hoping to tap into the fountain of knowledge that is here. Our water pump keeps kicking in about every hour and runs for about 2-3 seconds each time, we've already had a leak fixed which stopped it for a day, however, this weekend it started again. We've looked everywhere we can get at for more leaks but cant find anything, but there is a fair amount of pipework that we cant get at, there's not sign of water in our bilge inspection hole, but there wasn't last time either when we had the leak. Can anyone throw any light on what the potential problem could be. Thanks

My advice to you would be to contact citizens advice, they walked me through every stage of the process and I eventually got success. a word of warning, your post on here will invariably get some replies that advise you to roll over, do it yourself or accept imperfection and second rate service, do not listen, you will find it tiring, daunting and depressing but you must persevere otherwise good people will continue to have their dreams ruined. you should expect to get what you paid for, nothing more, nothing less. good luck

during this thread a few advised me that I was bringing my expectations of service to the cut and that I was misguided as the cut is stuck in the 50's but, I hope this demonstrates, that unless the waterway users demand and expect better than they're used to from these people that make a good living from peoples dreams then the lack of proper customer service will continue and more importantly, unless we hold people to account when they break the consumer credit act of 2008 and use blatant false declarations of specifications on craft, then there will always be unhappy boaters who have allowed their dream to be stolen from beneath them for a few quid thankyou to all those who contributed to my issue, I appreciated ever word and found you all inspiring, the folk of our beautiful waterways are, and will continue to be, the very reason I have returned to the community thankyou once again

I thought I would update all those that were gracious enough to comment on my last post. On the final day of the notice period, the company in question agreed to a partial refund to cover the difference in the cost of the equipment from that advertised and what is actually fitted. Thankfully this issue is now resolved

guys, thanks for the interest, but lots are reading this wrong, we were happy to pay the price for the boat, it was our mistake regarding the 89,950, we simply read it wrong, our beef is this, the literature at the show and the literature we received stated the bow thruster to be 95kgf, with a price of 3120, but, we have a 55kgf bow thruster. I have researched a little and from what I can see there is a difference in price of the 55 and 95 of about £1000, so what we actually want is either, the bow thruster that was advertised at show and confirmed again via email to be 95kgf which is what we believe we have paid for or a monetary refund reflecting the difference in price for the actual units

I wouldn't have a problem with that, I just believe I've paid for 1 thing and got something different, basically, I simply want what I've paid for

the £3120 is the price on the advertising , it says, upgraded 95kgf bow thruster....£3120 this is the text 60’ Shearwater £89,950 Long cruiser with seats either side £1,200 42hp Engine upgrade £1,560 95 kgf Bow thruster £3,120 3 kva Victron combi inverter charger upgrade £1,800 Stern seat cushions £660 Off white interior cabin sides £960 Off white interior ceiling £720 Total £99,970 inc VAT

the revised/corrected price was the base plus all the installed upgrades as stated on the advertising at the show and which was later used to reinforce the actual price we had to pay, the total we paid is not the issue, the issue is that we paid for the declared already installed upgraded 95kgf bow thruster which they priced at £3120, we do not have a 95kgf bow thruster, we have a 55kgf bow thruster. my argument is that the literature both at the show and emailed to us declared the bow thruster to be an upgraded 95kgf.

hi the tent board did say from £89,950, this is why they corrected me via email, the already installed upgrades took the price to £99,970, sorry, I thought I had made that clear, 1 of these already installed upgrades was the 95kgf bow thruster priced at £3120

it was the demonstrator at the show, it was sold with all of the listed extras installed, with the "upgraded "95kgf bow thruster priced at £3120. when they corrected me on the price the base price plus the full list of the extras totalled the £99.970.

sadly we didn't buy it from the website, we bought it at the show, it was the show boat, all the other extras on the spec sheet are as they should be, but the bow thrusted is tucked away and it is very difficult to actually see the label on the unit, if it wasn't for the handover guy being so thorough and determined then we'd be non the wiser

it was exhibited by the dealer, but not narrowboats limited, the other company mentioned, our contract was with the dealer

the problem I have with it being a typo is that they have been in business for over 20 years, I just don't believe that they got to the show without anyone picking up on it if indeed it was a typo, but they then sent me the same spec sheet attached to an email when they corrected me on the price, I would say the company name, but I'm not sure if that would be legal at this point. my understanding of the word "upgrade" is that the item is a superior version, or in this case, more powerful version of something that was already included. it is indeed a Collingwood boat but we purchased it from the dealer who showed the boat at Crick, not directly with collingwood

hi guys, thanks for all your comments to clarify it was the show boat, the listed extras were supposedly already installed, I could attach the spec sheets of the listed upgrades but it has the boat company name on so not sure if that's ok. the other extras that they did were F.O.C