FredW

One handy thing for absorbing water after a leak are Towpath Talks. They’re like blotting paper. Just lay them unopened on top of the wet spot for a day or two

Used Polytrol on our boat a couple of years ago. Did as you’ve done & wiped off with a cloth, only about a third of one side though. Not the best result I agree so continued the rest without wiping, that worked ok. Read the instructions thoroughly & came to the conclusion that the wiping off is only for plastic surfaces not paint. Did it again this year & it improved the last attempt as well as the rest of the cabin sides. It does restore the colour but only the finish slightly. Painted it on until it stopped running & left it alone as long as possible, ie days. Fred.

Hi K-Rod If you’re keen on doing the Llangollen can I suggest ?http://www.bettisfieldboats.com/ A really friendly & helpful hire company who go the extra mile to make your holiday special. I’ve used them & they stand out from many others. Good luck.

Good Morning, Just an update to this query. Now the warmer weather is here the charging voltages have gone down to what was advised,another lesson learned. No glimmer from the Warning Lamp Tony so all seems ok. Thank you to those who replied,much appreciated. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, Regards, Fred.

Will do,thanks again. Fred

Thank you Tony. I’m out for the rest of the day so can’t check but will do so when I get back. Fred

Good Morning, I wonder if any of you good people could help with a problem I think I've just discovered? We've lived aboard our boat as CC'ers since October 2012.She is fitted with a Beta 38 with twin alternators,the Domestic one is a 100amp Iskra.The battery bank is 6 x100Ah Numax sealed batteries that were fitted in June 2012.We have 400w of solar with a Victron Blue Solar 40amp controller.I have a Smartgauge and a cheap Chinese monitor that I use to keep my eye on things.The Chinese one I only use to tell me the what Amps and Volts are going into or out of the batteries,not the SoC,that I leave to the Smartgauge.Both gauges give similar voltage readings at any given time.Having read as many posts that I can find about the SG on the Forums,I think I understand the limitations of the SG,though I could be wrong of course.We have a Victron 1600w Inverter which only powers a 230v fridge,which is off in winter,a Candy 3kg Washer,very occasionally,any charging we don't have 12v adapters for and all lights are LED.I dont think I've ever seen our battery bank SoC go below 75%,and that only rarely.It's usually in the high 80,s or above when we go to bed,after a couple or three hours of watching the 12v telly. If I check in the night with everything off the voltage is usually 12.6 or above. My problem first came to my notice yesterday evening when I ran the engine for some hot water.We'd had some charge from the solar all day and the battery monitor was showing a tail current of one to two amps after a short while,maybe ten minutes, but the charge voltage though was at 14.9 which I think was high and the SG flashed up E3 which I believe is overcharging.This morning,with the SG showing 88%, I started the engine and the voltage was again above 14.7 and the charge current started at around 45amp,dropping quickly to about 12.Could this indicate that the Domestic alternator is on the way out?Where we are at the moment would require a couple of days or so to get a new one & SWMBO doesn't think too much of the idea of ordering one just in case.Sorry to go on a bit but I'm trying to give as much info as possible. Thanks in advance, Fred.

Hi, And how many times in a day or a week are said family going to want to go through the lift bridge? Fred.

Hi, We have half a dozen strings of lights on our roof all the time & I'll add another one or two for Christmas. They are all solar & as has been said, you don't get a lot out of them at this time of year. B&M stores have a good reasonably priced selection as do Poundstretchers on occasion. Fred

And me. Fred. The email, that is.

Hi, Sorry to bring this topic back to the top of the pile but I have received some more info. OldGoldy of this Parish sent me a link & from it I have been able to work out that the "Factory Tunnel" was built sometime between July 1937 & February 1939.Prior to then the factory only expanded alongside the canal & it was indeed,BIRLEC. Fred. The link is below if your interested. http://www.britainfr...h?search=birlec

Hi, According to a post on the link that Speedwheel posted earlier the person on the boat isn't the owner. Fred.

You pays your money,you makes your choice, but I suggest you sweep the chimney first. Fred.

Hi, I understand the proposed development includes a towpath which Icknield Port Loop doesn't have at present. Fred

Hi jelunga, Don't recall seeing a Lord Nelson,but the pub opposite the basin was called The Admiral Codrington ( got to look him up ). It's now been turned into apartments called The Canal View or something like. The only other pub near was The Stag, now also closed. That's the other side of the Ringroad though. Fred.

Hi, We've got the ecanalmapp apps & find them easier than Nicholsons,though the information is largely the same. There's a problem with them at the mo',on the new iOS 7,though this is being sorted. I like them particularly as you can view a map that is wider than the narrow Nicholsons corridor & you can see facilities farther afield. Fred. ETA,I use it in conjunction with Nicholsons & have my iPhone on a lanyard round my neck. Know too many who have lost phones in the canal. Fred.

Hi, OK we're out of Coventry now. How was it? Well,all who said it would be fine were right,it was good. The canal into Coventry was as good as any urban canal can be in my opinion. Yes there's some rubbish but most of that could have been wind blown as the towpaths were largely litter free. Not a lot of graffiti & everyone spoke as we passed,fishermen & cyclists as well. The basin had plenty of moorings throughout the time we were there. It was clean,graffiti & litter free with CCTV & it was lit up like daytime through the night. You could probably read a book outside. We saw no children & there was only a steady stream of pedestrians during the day. It was as quiet as an urban mooring can be 'cos there's no pubs nearby and little passing traffic. Coventry itself was well worth the visit,particularly the Motor Museum,the simulated Thrust SSC was awesome. We walked a bit out of town as well,we walked to the retail park where Maplins is,via the roads & not the towpath, & also to Currys/ B&Q about half a mile from the basin. The streets we're clean & tidy,not at all rundown. We spoke to people who seemed to be proud of Coventry & the canal & it's basin. The local authority & the local people have done a lot of work on the canal over the years & though some of it is now a little care worn it still deserves to be used by us who claim to care about our canals & want to see them looked after. Thanks to RayT of CWDF fame,who met us when we arrived at the basin & gave us the map of the town to help us find our way around. Thanks again to all who gave positive feedback,we will return to Coventry & highly recommend it. Sorry to go on a bit, Fred.

Hi, I use one of the old type of Loo brushes. The one with the stiff bristles & long wooden handle. I then tie it to my boat pole & work it up & down the flue. Works a treat & only cost a couple of quid. Fred

Hi Richard, Yes we're ok. I'm waiting till we leave the basin & get to Hawkesbury before I give an update. So far though,everything is fine. Can't access Smileys on my phone so :-)). Fred.

Hi again, We are now moored at Hawkesbury with the intention of cruising down to the basin tomorrow morning.Wish us luck and we will report our experiences if we can get a mooring. Fred.

Hi, The reason I asked in the first place was because of negative comments from others. I wanted to ask a wider cross section of boaters to see what their opinion would be. I understand that some will have had a bad experience but we can't just stop going to places like Coventry 'cos then the scroats have won. Thanks again to all of you who have replied to my post. We are going to Coventry, hopefully next week now, but our plans keep changing almost daily at the mo'. Fred.

Athy Today, 12:53 PM I have a customer who lives in Chyandour Terrace, Penzance, that's how I guessed the Cornish connection! Hi again, Just discovered one or two other references to the name that I wasn't aware of. Fred.

Hi Athy, Yes we were at Shackerstone & had a great time. We're on the Ashby waiting for the arrival of a new Grandaughter.We were going to Coventry when we met some friends so we winded & are heading back to Snarestone. Moored at MB at the mo',want to go to the market tomorrow. Fred. PS. Yes the name is Cornish,Lisa is from Bude. Roughly translated,it means,Home on the Water. &yes,there is another boat with that name. We've met her crew.

Having read up quite a bit now on batteries I would say solar panel charging is probably the savior of many a boat leisure battery where batteries don't have the luxury of a 240v supply. If you manage your batteries well with a decent amount of solar connected I reckon leisure batteries will last significantly longer than they have in the past being charged by boat engines & generators. Hi Julynian, I'm hoping that what you say will be the case as cruising for 8 hours,or running my engine for 8 hours continuously,every week isn't going to happen. It seems that no one can accurately predict the outcome of having continuous solar charging on batteries that are continually being discharged. Is it good or is it bad? We can only wait &see.

Hi, I spoke to one of the contractors working on site this morning. They hope to open in April next year with 150 berths. Currently they are digging out the clay to line the bottom then they can landscape the site. It's difficult to visualise because the field is about 8ft below the line of the canal so a lot of what has been done will be underwater. Fred.