kremmen

I must admit I thought about taking a fence but did realise I was probably over reacting. No sweat. I hope someone can learn from my mistakes.

Wow. 1st replies are assuming things that I do know and practice. I just thought I would send out a saftey reminder. Maybe I need to adjust the way I read the replies and see them as helpful additional information. There. Adjustment made. Thanks. Paul

Well. After a series of mishaps I was faced with a broken glass on my Squirrel and a firelighter and wood burning away on my wool mat ( covering my nylon carpet tiles ) with flames licking up the wall. When I couldn't put out the flames with the coal shovel I reached over and used my 1kg powder extinguisher to put those flames out as well as the fire so I could replace the glass with a spare and restart the fire. The front of the boat is covered with blueish powder but apart from that and a singed mat all is ok. I can report that 1kg is enough to extinguish a Squirrel ( enough to dispose of contents of the fire in the ash bin) Can I suggest you check that your extinguisher is near to hand by the fire? Paul

Thanks for the update

Shared from Facebook

One of the best purchases I made since buying the boat is a water tank guage. I no longer start panicking about water after a few days. Now I start panicking when I get to 1/4 of a tank instead. Water lasts easily a couple of weeks on my own which includes washing machine etc all. Paul

According to the documents that came with my 58' Liverpool my tank is 150 gallons approx ( 681 litres) Paul

Thanks all for the advice. I have taken it all on board except I must say I don't really do Christmas so if I had an angel or angle grinder I would happily trim Angels. Fire bricking turkey sounds like a reasonable alternative to Turkey in some people's books , maybe a bit gamey. Paul

Hi, I am managing with one cracked first brick on my Squirrel but am looking for a replacement and wondered if a standard fire brick goes in as I have a back Boiler? Quite honestly I don't remember from the last time I replaced them. Thanks Paul

I had various family problems to deal with and Marcus ( Marcus Marine) came round whilst I was out and sorted it out. As soon as I get a bill I will advise. Paul

Thanks all, I will be investigating tomorrow. Paul

Is that replaceable if it is?

Water usage would be enormous with a bath. I have a hip bath and have filled it once in 4 years. When moored are a mooring with water overnight. Paul

Can anyone advise if I need to replace my pump or just a part. I have seen water coming out of the blue side clip on the outlet side of the water pump ( currently switched off due to obvious reasons) I was able to stop flow by pushing it in firmly but it seems loose and I am not confident the problem is fixed. Any experience? Thanks Paul Update. Still leaking if turned on

I used the "twist it " method which worked for me . Also I searched through eBay and bought a second hand door ( with glass included ) which served well as an emergency replacement when the glass last cracked and the stove was hot. Paul

Clifton shouldn't take that long. Culham on the other hand.......

Also remember that if you get a choice always go to the side the lock keeper is on as he can help with ropes . Also stay away from the head gates if possible as the lock is less "bouncy" near the back. Paul Edited to say that when the instructions say press and release button then do so as pressing it more times or keeping finger on the button to "speed" it up is often leads to the system cutting out and doing the locks manually is a pain as they are geared for hydraulic system not people.

Don't tell the owner of the Bull that he hasn't got a pub ?

I am sorry monkeyhanger but they made me laugh. Paul

I saw the couple down at Sonning today with a cygnet. They were heading up river. Hopefully this on will survive. Paul

I am off on holiday to Spain. I will try and check when I get back. Sorry. Paul

I thought about doing the oil / filter change myself despite my lack of oily bits expertise. I am glad I didn't. I would have missed the two loose engine mountings, loose alternator belt , wrong grease in stern gland ( not silicone) airlock in the skin tanks and obviously my Tachometer would still not be working. Sorted. Thanks Marcus Marine Paul

Current flow at Reading . Just over 20 currently cubic meters per second. A few narrowboat owners commenting on the flow but no one reporting problems especially going up stream. Paul

Thanks for this useful post. The reason for asking is to get people with different experience to myself to advise me. It initially is a look thing but I didn't know if I was missing any reason to keep it. Honestly as I have never been without a cratch cover I wasn't aware that in winter it would stop draughts..... logical really but as I never suffered from draughts I would not have thought of it. At the moment I will be going commando ( cover wise ) in summer and cover up in winter now that I have my repair. Thanks for all the input. Paul