Tim Doran

Wow, I love simple fixes

Does anyone have a 23 inch shower tray? It sounds small but would be space efficient.

A plug like this?

I am not a proper boater coz I have only dunked one foot in. I was wearing my rigger boots and it filled it nicely. I had managed almost 2 years before this happened.

When I started out I jumped in at the deepend. It was a baptism of ice not fire, as it was mid winter. The best place to start is on this forum, try searching for the things you wish to know about, and then start new posts with your own questions. Re. Fish, I am afraid that the amount of juice the heater would consume would become a durge on your life. You would have to keep your batteries topped up frequently and know that there was always enough power for you to leave the boat for a few days. WIth a fridge if you run out of battery juice then your beers get warm, with living fish well... There are lots of compromises that have to be made when living on a boat, probably the first hurdle is electricty usage. Tim

The best value coal on the K&A near Bath was from Spencers Boat Yard in Hilperton. I think it was £8.50 a bag when bought in lots of ten. Taybright is the best stuff I have found, even in various packaging the results were the same. Last year I bought coal from the coal boat and it was terrible. It was sodden through, I had to dry it out on the top of the stove before I could burn it, and it was so dusty. I am sure that it was a duff lot from the supplier. Tim

sounds yummy

I was going to suggest holding the prop. I like your idea much more.

One brand of sign writing paint is called One Shot. It is quite expensive as it comes in relatively small tins. You might find that silkkens or other basic enamels are less for more paint. However the sign writing stuff is susposed to cover in just 'one shot'. Tim

That does sound strange. I hope it did not damage the boat too much. As a white water kayaker I can vouch for the lack of boyancy I have in aerated water. It is a bit like landing in foam. Tim

I single hand and frequently tow single handed as well. The most important thing is to take it easy, it all takes more time to untie, push off, do locks. There are lots of posts about locking single handed. In summary take the center rope up the ladder with you. Open one gate and feel happy, then open the other. Keep the rope laid out close by with no kinks. Tim

Very impressed, I like how sharp the top and bottom of the letters are. I have to turn the boat around before I can have the other side painted, however a hanging board would solve the problem. Tim

After 3 years of explaining that the name of the boat is on a bit of paper in the window I now have this The sign writer has only done one side so far but I am really chuffed. Anyone else care to share their signwritten names, logos. I guess that stickers count too, so long as you say what medium it is.

How about a pump out? ... Ducks and hides from volley of abuse. Acutally I have a cassette and find it a bit wiffy, I just get on with it. I gave up using chems in it as they seemed in effective after a couple of days. All those chemicals have to be removed or left to enter the environment. Tim

Having almost finished painting my boat, I have taken to looking at other paint jobs. For what it is worth here are my unoriginal observations; 1. It all depends on the prep and application quality. there is a new boat near me that has been sprayed. It is very shiney and bright but behind the gloss you can see an orange peel effect. 2. I got on best with a brush only, I found that the roller brush combo involved too many hands. I was taught by a professional how to do it with a brush. I think either is ok

I have a real tyre on a wheel. It does the job very well. Cost, free. Tim

Having looked at the pictures on the website they all look very amateur. No pipe clips, cheap hose, with no re-inforcing. I can imagine that they might also do gadgets for TV shows like Doctor Who.

+1 for post #6 this is what I used in conjunction with a u bend thingy. I would definantly get one, becuase I have not got one on the bath and it is sometimes a little drainy smelling. Also for when you drop something small but very useful down the drain... small screws etc . Tim

I am sure that there should be a bit about; beware the person who rates a knot based on the numeber of loops or turns. Tim edit to corrrect wrong smiley

I have not installed Wife yet, and I am finding that with girlfriend I am getting nonsensical error messages. I have tired searching on user forums for the error code but I am not having any luck. I am worried that I might have got a bootleg copy as finding support for my version is difficult. You say that wife suffers core temperature exceedences, I on the other hand find that girlfriend runs from very cool on a good day to cold or frosty on others. There does not seem to be any control file where I could change the default settings. I have heard that there might be a beta version of wife 1.01 out soon. It is bound to be full of uncoded error traps, but I might give it a go.

The other day at the lock in Braford On Avon there was a boat with a laminated sign saying British Waterways Security Boat. There was also the BW logo. I was woundering what the sign was about but unfortunatly my lunch arrived before I could ask the chap. The boat did not look like a bw boat, it was a old but rather nice long dark blue springer. Was this sign official, if so what does it mean? Tim

But hopfully some it is more revealing than the clothes I wear

Yes it is amazing what you can get in a dreadlock