Phoenix_V

we found For bespoke mouldings Harveys mentioned above were superb and much cheaper than local joinery firms. They also delivered to Hertfordshire. For standard mouldings and sections Southgate Timber import cheap meranti mouldings we used 9x45mm par strips and routed the sides to give a similar effect to D section. Their quality varies a bit though so it may be better to collect than have delivered and not sure how far they deliver anyway. Prices are on their website. For the small fiddly mouldings such as 1" d section the only people who seem to make these are Richard Burbidge, their catalogue and prices are on their website and Homebase, Band Q and the others stock a limited selection, otherwise Harveys will have them or order them in. e

Slightly off topic but a friend is looking to do a vhf course, does anyone know of any in the East Herts, West Essex area in the near future

ask at the next lock up they may have some to spare

Which washing machine do you use, I understand the latest model of the small candy for example needs a 3000 watt invertor due to issues in the electronic control circuit as the motor starts up.

Just an aside, but am currently installing a 2 tank system and have also been told to plumb the tanks in series, why not in parrallel, surely that would give less resistance for the pump?

May just be a coincidence but dont Polar make a rival machine to the Harris, strange therefore that they start selling their competitors model then announce that they are stopping as it is so unreliable.

Well Buddy got Back to me on Saturday, but with bad news (for us) he has taken on another job and no longer wants to do our welding, so does anyone know of a welder willing to travel to Willowbridge? Please

I have been trying to arrange some welding work at Willowbridge with Buddy Scott but have lost his phone No, does anyone have curent contact details, or can recommend another welder in the area

I expect the rats would find a cat flap handy too

Gas cock grease http://www.bes.co.uk/products/027.asp No idea how easy this cooker would be probably depends if any screws have seized up but not very expensive to have a go

This stuff is supposed to be ok for up to 1200 deg I believe it was discussed on another thread but cant find now http://www.oilstoves.co.uk/shopdetail.php?77-01-996

levels on the Stort can rise very quickly if it rains then you will be unable to pass under the low bridges and need to be attentive to mooring lines etc, it last flooded properly about 10 years ago. the Lee is more stable protected by flood relief channels as mentioned, there can be strong currents on a few sections, particularly below Tottenham locks, but many sections are canalised and do not rise at all. do come and visit, at worst you may need to tie up for a couple of days.

I believe that Sagar boats fit wooden frames made in house to their barges, not sure if they are double glazed, may be worth trying to take a look at one, also some of the early Chinese made narrowboats had wooden windows but the one I saw was being removed as it had started to rot so protection of the wood especially the joints is important

Our group boat is out of water at Willowbridge (Milton keynes) and we need some plating done, The yard do not have their own welder and are happy to let contractors come in and i know that there are a number of welders who will do work here but can anyone provide recommendations (avoids) pm if need be, many thanks

I would question whether it is that much cheaper. I believe the garage price is about 45p per litre but a litre of propane is only half a kilo so the price per kilo is about 90pence. I am currently buying bottled gas at about £13 per 11 litre bottle about 30 pence more per kilo delivered to the door.

I have now obtained a copy of the Yachting Monthly tests. The report was mainly intended to compare the performance of very expensive folding propellors as used by sailing types against a standard 3 blade prop, but they included the Axiom out of interest On reversing the Axiom achieved181kg bollard pull (173 for the standard) so not much difference there, but when testing the stopping time the axiom managed 7.7 seconds against 9.3 so a measurable improvement there. On prop walk the axiom was 9.3% against 13.9% so a definite win for the Axiom here. In fact all other things being equal these 2 benefits could have swayed me towards the Axiom. however it was not so clear cut, at full speed ahead the Axiom could only manage a bollard pull result of 213kg against 264kg from the standard and a top speed of 7.1 knots against 7.5 knots so seemingly considerably less efficient. I did wonder if they were tending to over prop the Axiom used for these tests as that would explain the higher intermediate speeds found in the Waterways World tests and other reports on here, but the lower top speed as the engine would never reach full revs. There was no comment on these aspects in the report but on the Axiom Website it states that the prop only reached 2900 revs on the bollard pull test but on the speed test reached the engine's rated 3500 rpm so in theory perfectly matched at least in this part of the test. So I dont know - it does look as if it may be less efficient in forward than a standard prop and therefore use more fuel which is certainly undesirable though for a canal boat the other advantages may be worth a sacrifice here? Unfortunately mine is a barge and may venture to sea so I am reluctant to loose any power as well as suffer worse fuel consumption. I am writing to Axiom to ask for their thoughts and will let you know any reply.

On a lot of broad locks (but not all) opening the side paddle next to the boat will direct he water flow so as to pin the boat to that side, with the opposite effect if the offside paddle is open.

I am looking for a small multifuel stove to install in my new build project. The Acorn 4 or less well specified but cheaper Valor Willow appeared suitable and available at a reasonable price - BUT - I am mindful of the fact that a new British standard for installing stoves in boats is due out and am concerned that neither appear to be CE marked, the appropriate CE apparently being BS EN 13240 or 12815 this may create some difficulties in the installation, Does anyone know why Acorn Valor and many others are not so marked, (I thought everything had to be these days) and whether it is likely to create subsequent problems with the installation and RCD. I see on ebay that there is a supplier of stoves of unknown make (presumably chinese) at half the price and all said to be tested and CE certificated by an "independant european laboratory" so perhaps i should go for one of these or are there any British Stoves that comply?

Following this topic and related ones with interest (apart from the auto gearbox diversion that is) as I shall be propping my new boat soon. Gibbo have you fitted an axiom yet, if not are you still going to, has anyone got a scan of the ym article they could send me

I've been getting quotes for plastic water tanks, bespoke size to fit V bottom of my hull. Best one is from Holt steel and plastic fabrications, has any one on the forum used them and if so how please or otherwise were you (by pm if appropriate of course) thanks in anticipation.

We live in Hertfordshire, who was this please

We looked at hiring a DB about 3 years ago, couldnt find any in the UK but there are 2 companies on the Shannon Erne in Ireland we went with Corraquill, friendly people boats all different check the maker of the one you are hiring, Riversdale have more types which are currently available a small sagar some bransons and some home built ones Corraquill Cruising Drumetta, Aghalane, Derrylin, Co Fermanagh. , Email: ed.weeks@ntlworld.com Web: www.corraquill.co.uk Riversdale Barge Holidays Ballinamore, Co Leitrim info@riversdalebargeholidays.com Web: www.riversdalebargeholidays.com