Mat B

I used Stuart last year, very fair, happy to recommend him. Mat - somewhat higher than usual on the Nene.

Strictly speaking you will need permission from the EA. you will be asked to submit drawings and a £50 fee. They are mainly concerned with the possible obstruction of flood water and need everything to be firmly fixed; and not obstruct the bank where they might need to drive machinery. Probably easier to build the mooring first and then apply if they get onto you.

You can down load a manual here: http://www.techwebasto.com/thermosystems_marine.htm You need to remove the heater from the boat and dismantle it to get at the glow plug. You will need a gasket set and probably a good idea to replace the burner insert whilst you have it open. M@

I have seen this before in 'photos, my guess is that the effect is something to do with the UV content of the light, bet you didn't notice it when viewing the rainbow direct?

How about These?

It depends on the vessel and where you chose to keep it. Here is a summery of my costs for a 45 year old cruiser on EA water: Boat Licence 2007/8 (12 months) £ 260 Mooring (residential): £290 per year for on-line, non-towpath incl car parking, no other facilities. Boat Safety Certificate and associated work: £100 per 4 years Paint and structural repairs: £50 per year Engine servicing consumables £60 per year Diesel (Engine and heating) £80 per year Gas (Fridge, hot water and cooking) £270 per year M

Nene at Peterborough normal level at the moment - flow about 1m/h If the flow increases I would expect higher levels with the spring tides after the weekend. M

Florescents have an efficacy in the range 50 to 100 L/W, LEDs fall into the range 10 to 90 L/W – This is what I would call ball park. (Note: an efficacy (Lumens/Watt) of 683 equates to an efficiency (Power out/Power in) of 100%) Of course when you start considering things like lamp life and quality of light, the comparison becomes much more complicated and subjective. As noted elsewhere on this thread, LEDs, including the type fitted with integral voltage regulators, seem to be susceptible to the voltage spikes sometimes found on boat systems. I have also noted a tendency to flicker on and off even when fed with a steady voltage, presumably some sort of “relaxation oscillator” effect. Apart from a modern fluorescent tube with electronic ballast! This is true, fluorescent tubes, however, can be twice as efficient as compacts I agree that LEDs are certainly worth considering for low energy lighting, they are not quite as fantastic as some of the web sites claim. For low level lighting I am currently using Christmas-tree bulbs, I know they are very inefficient but I hapen to like the quality of light and they are only about 1W each. You can buy a string of 20 from the Pound Shop!

Page loaded in about 3 seconds through my '3' USB Modem with a 1-bar signal.

LEDs and fluorescents have an efficacy (lumens/watt) that is in the same ball park, LEDs are quite directional so a LED of the same power will appear brighter than a florescent if you look into the beam. Perhaps a good compromise is to use LEDs where you need a "spotlight" and fluorescents where area lighting is required.

I have thought about spraying river water onto the roof with a small pump, cooling by evaporation! Anybody tried it?

Did the trip twice in the 1980s (Manchester to Ellesmere Port) on hire boats from Middlewich. Although there was some red tape involved, once on the canal we found the lock keepers very pleased to see us. One one trip we passed Hume Lock on the afternoon before our passage and explored the Irwell Navigation, overnighting at the Mark Addy Pub where we experienced a level drop of about a foot overnight. I remember being woken up early in the morning in Castlefield by the rag-and-bone man setting off with his horse over the cobbles from underneath the arches! Would be interested to hear your experience.

Hi Does anybody know why the locks have been changed on the showers and toilets on The Embankment, Peterborough?

It depends which make of dongle you end up with - the software with the ZTE one does. You can also check by logging in to the My3 website at <https://my3.three.co.uk>

My Ormelite (Built 1964) has gauges for both fuel and fresh water. I amazes me that people sell boats for tens of thousands of pounds and than expect the user to check the fuel by poking a mop handle into the tank! Something to do with being traditional?

It may sound obvious, but get the boat pointing in the right direction before starting the reverse.

My experience, for what it's worth: I have a Webasto Air top 2000, as the main means of heating a 24 foot cruiser which I have lived on for 4 years. The heater normally runs 3 full days and 4 evenings per week in the winter, using red diesel. On purchasing the boat, the heater was not working and I took it to BK for servicing, they cleaned out the soot and replaced the burner unit. After working for about a month, the heater again failed due to clogging up with soot. Another trip to BK and they diagnosed a loose fan on the shaft and replaced the fan unit as well as another new burner unit. Since then the heater has required a new burner unit every 12 months or so, (1000 hours ish?) which I have replaced myself. (Note that these are cheaper if purchased through a HGV specialist rather than a marina, I use AB Butt in Leicester) I made two modifications in December 2006: Fitted a fuel filter - I was expecting the burner to need replacing about December 2007 as usual, but still going strong, so an improvement there. Removed one of the fuses - the installer had fitted 2 x 10A fuses in series for some reason. This was causing an unacceptable voltage drop on starting with a lowish battery, as mentioned in another post. I can now start the heater on a frosty morning without having to run my engine. In general I am happy with the heater now, but would be interested in other peoples experiences. M

On starting mine takes 10A, dropping to 7A in a couple of seconds. Maximum 2A when running. I had the morning starting problem, close examination showed that the previous owner had fitted 2 x 10A fuses in series (One on the fuse board, one supplied in the installation kit) Removing one of the fuses improved things tremendously! HTH

High flows around Peterborough occur 3/4 days after heavy rain in the midlands In Peterborough there is a quiet overnight mooring near the Boathouse Pub here: Streetmap You can tie up outside Asda for shopping (Just after the ML Railway bridges) but would not recommend it overnight. The embankment is generally OK if you want a town centre mooring, there are often professional drinkers on the benches but have never had any trouble with them. Don't forget that you need to give Stanground lock 24Hrs notice; once in the Middle level you are safe from flooding baring national disasters, although you might find moderate flows after heavy rain. Depth on the tidal section of the Great Ouse is not a problem after work done before the National Rally last summer, the lock keeper at Salter's Lode is very helpful with advice on crossing. Enjoy your trip