Peter R

I don't think this was particularly stupid, although you're free to disagree, but thought might be of interest. A few weeks back I was moving the boat (singlehanded), and was going up watford locks. As usual when locking on my own I had my long (15m) centreline on. Whilst waiting for a chamber to fill, I looked down from the top gates and noticed that the line had snagged under the edge of a mushroom vent, so without giving it much thought I gave the line a flick to un-snag it. This achieved the object and although a 'loop' of rope swung down and hit the far side of the cabin I didn't think anything of it...... Until I went into the cabin a few minutes later to find glass all over the floor! It appears that the rope that went over the cabin side had hit the glass of one of the top hopper windows, and reduced it to fragments Fortunately it was only the hopper part of the window so I only had to get a bit of glass cut to the right size and drop it in, but I would never have previously thought that it was possible to break a window with a rope! Peter

That's what image editors are for! Looks like a good evening - sorry I couldn't make it, but given the current temperatures fixing my parents central heating system had to take priority! Peter

I've got a pair of these that do come in useful at times. From memory I think they are by binatone (although I can't be sure as I am at home and they are on the boat). Looking at the binatone website, I think they are the EK1000. I've got a feeling that they were only about £20 new, but they may have been on special offer at the time. Peter

LED's themselves shouldn't cause any interference, but if they've got some kind of electronic voltage stabiliser built in then I guess the electronics could be producing something. Do either of your radios have the ability to run on batteries? If so you could try that to see if the interference is being transmitted via the 12V supply or if it is affecting the radio signal itself. Peter

As events also transpired to keep me from attending Thrupp today, it would be nice to come along, but realistically it is probably unlikely as it is kind of a long way from Suffolk! Peter

I know this is a bit late, but as those who are probably bantering at this moment will have discovered by now (unless they haven't noticed of course), whilst I was hoping to be there, i'm not, as i'm here instead (if you see what I mean!). Without getting too complicated, unfortunately events transpired that I needed to be in suffolk tomorrow morning, which was not compatible with being in thrupp tonight. Hope all goes well, will have to try and make the next one. Peter

I'm probably not going to be sure until just before, but I might be able to make it. Pick a date and i'll let you know nearer the time.

I had a full repaint done on my 45' done just over 2 years ago by Alvechurch at Gayton. Cost £3300, plus another £150 for the signwriting.

I'm another one who can only dream of keeping the bilges dry! The boat is cruiser stern, and the drain channels under the deck boards is about the only bad bit of design on the whole boat. they are too small to deal with any volume of water, they have very little 'slope' to encourage flow, and there are only two drain holes, both so small that the slightest bit of debris blocks them. The result is that every time it rains they overflow into the bilge. As I don't fancy trying to change the deck drains, I just put up with it when i'm on the boat, and got a stern cover to keep the rain outside the boat when i'm not there! Peter

I know that feeling - fortunately it's one problem I managed to solve

I also use a '3' 3G dongle when on the boat, but reception is variable. I recently did a trip from Northampton to Market Harborough - reception was fine up to Crick, but I was mostly on GPRS beyond there. As far as which network is concerned, I think they all have 'holes', just in different places! There have been several threads on this topic so you might like to try doing a few searches for some more info. Peter

The problem with your requirements is most likely the Stove - in my experience most hire companies tend to go more for gas central heating! There may be others but the only hire boats I know of that come with stove's are the three run by 'saisons' at Whilton Locks on the GU. http://www.saisons.co.uk/ Peter

For what it's worth, I also use the 'retainer' option with RCR as insurance against running into a problem I can't sort myself. I've only had to call on them once, and was very happy with the service I got. Peter

If the inverter stayed on but the laptop didn't charge, then I think that would suggest that the charger doesn't like the inverter output. However, since the inverter drops out it does suggest to me that the inverter can't supply enough power. Laptops power requirements vary a lot, the power pack for my current one says 65W, it's predecessor was 135W. Therefore, the first check is what is the rated power of the laptop power supply (should be on the label somewhere!) However, another thought also occurs - how is the inverter connected to the 12V supply? 150W at 12V equates to 12.5Amps, if the 12V wiring isn't up to carrying this power it could be that the load of the laptop is creating sufficient voltage drop on the 12V wiring for the inverter to give up on 'under-voltage' even though the load may be within it's rating. If it is hard-wired I would hope the wiring was adequate, but if the inverter is of the type that plugs into a 'cigarette lighter' type socket (which it could be at 150W), the wiring to the socket might not be up to the job. Peter

Since i've had ny boat i've replaced the batteries and all the wiring between the alternator, batteries and main fuse board, plus installed new cables for the fridge. Based on my experiences I would guess that to install a shoreline, charger, inverter and 230V wiring would probably take 2-3 days. Multiply that by a professional labour charge (say £30 per hour?) and add the cost of the equipment, cables etc and you'll have a rough idea, but the only way to find out is to ask an electrician, but before you do that you need to be sure what you need done! As others have mentioned, I would query what you need 800W of 230V power for? Also consider that to run an 800W inverter at full power for an hour will use 66.6 Amp-hours. Given that you can never discharge batteries entirely you are probably looking at needing something like one 100Ah battery per hour, and then you need to think how you are going to recharge them. I've had a boat for just over 4 years, using it for weekends and holidays, and I don't think i've ever used more than about 100W Peter

6 foot Square!!! You must have one heck of a stove!

Yes, but then my boat is cruiser stern, and the gas locker is at the back. If there is ever any amount of water in the gas locker, then I think it would mean the boat had sunk! peter