grahame r

I stand to be corrected here, but if you connect 2 x 225Ah 6v batteries in series don't you get 1 x 225Ah 12v battery? and connecting 3 of these in parallel would give you 675Ah. I only mention it because if you buy a monitor that counts amps it will require the total capacity to be defined.

There's another argument that says if you deploy your anchor from the rear you are likely to pull the back of the boat under water if the anchor actually works as it should. Never having had to use my anchor I don't know which argument is sounder, perhaps some more experienced members may be able to tell us if this has ever actually happened?

Oink Oink!!

If it's a boat your talking about I don't think you'd actually be using anything like half power. I think I remember a figure of 3 - 5 HP to keep the average boat moving at a legal pace on still water.

I'd also recommend 230v, although I'm not sure if they are available in the very small sizes you want. We have a Zanussi side by side under-counter fridge/freezer which is on 24/7 365 days. They were discontinued some years ago and we live in fear of it breaking down. They seem to bring about £200.00 second hand on ebay so there's clearly a market for this format but I can't find anyone manufacturing them now.

Probably a build up of crud in your pressure release valve. You should be able to open and close it by turning the cap to clear it. It could be a problem with the pump but check the pressure release on the calorifier first.

Yes, you won't go far wrong with Aquila.

If you have a facebook account have a look at "Learn Ukulele Free" there's lots of info and vids for people at all levels. Of course if 4 strings are too intelectually challenging you could always try a one string Diddley Bo, must be dead easy to sound like this! (Hope the link works) www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fKbP1YK62w‎

Yes, chicago tuning on a tenor banjo (steel strung) is exatly as the top 4 strings on a guitar ie DGBE, whereas a soprano or concert Uke is tuned GCEA which is exactly 5 semitones above DGBE, albeit the G in Ukulele tuning is an octave higher. This means that guitar chords that don't rely on the 2 bass strings will also work on the Ukulele but will be 5 semitones higher ie a D becomes a G and a G becomes a C. So if you can play guitar, playing a Ukulele is easy. Having less strings than the average person has on one hand makes it an easier proposition than a guitar as a first instrument. Ukes have many other good points, especially for boaters.This is the cue for people to post vids of Jake Sambucca (I know) to show what's possible.

They do come in different sizes, I'd recommend a concert as it's tuned with a high G where the bass string would be on the guitar and then ascending C E and A which gives the Uke it's bright sound. Baritone and sometimes tenor ukes are normally tuned (and hence played) exactly like the top 4 strings of a guitar. Please don't get bogged down with defining the Uke, it will only end up with people telling you that George Formby didn't play one, just get one that says "my dog has fleas" when it's in tune and have a go, preferably with friends.

If you can play the guitar, you'll find the Uke easy, the guitar chord shapes (using the top 4 strings) work on the uke but are 5 semitones higher ie a D guitar shape played on a uke makes a G chord, you'll be playing in no time. There are clubs springing up all over the place where you can go and play and sing with other non-musical types.

She was quite famous in her own right as a clog dancer before becoming George's manager/wife. You couldn't make it up.

You're damned if you do and damned if you don't, on the one hand you're advised to fill your tank over winter to avoid condensation (which leads to diesel bug) then you're advised to drain it to avoid diesel bug caused by storing large amounts! I did look into starting a business offering diesel polishing but couldn't honestly convince myself that I wouldn't be selling snake oil. I use no additives, put about a thousand hours a year on the engine, mainly during April to October, fill up completely for the winter and have had no problems, yet.

Formby certainly used tunings other than the standard, but whilst not a great player was more than competent. His career was very carefully managed by his formidable wife Beryl who ensured that his reputation on and off the screen remained that of a loveable idiot. He was always in character and never discussed money or business matters for fear of showing how shrewd he really was. If he didn't want to mix with certain people he'd say he'd love to go out for a drink with them but "Beryl only gives me five bob a week pocketmoney". Claiming only to know 2 or 3 chords is typical of this self efacing strategy. Despite being hard nosed Beryl new right from wrong and after being thrown out of South Africa for entertaining black audiences and even embracing a black child who gave her a bouquet, she told the leader of the then National Party "Why don't you piss off you horrible little man" That was in 1946, Good on Yer Beryl.

Wasn't the sinking of a boat in The Thames recently caused by excessive overplating? I believe the increase in weight made it sit lower in the water to the extent that when it tried to cross The Tidal Thames at Limehouse, on its maiden voyage, the build up of water on the upstream side was such that it flooded the engine room. I guess the boat looked OK in still water so if you know its been overplated then its something to look out for.

One lock in the Caen Hill Flight has a notice saying it's too narrow to take 2 narrow boats and boats should go through singly. We were held up for the best part of a day by a pair getting stuck at Seend Bottom Lock last week. So if you're thinking of taking something wider than 14 feet please warn us so we can be somewhere else.

Unfortunately not. A more realistic target may be a recogniseable rendition of "Me Little Stick of Blackpool Rock" late at night after copious amounts of achohol have been consumed by performer and audience. Unless of course you have perfect pitch, which is when you throw a Ukulele and it lands on a piano accordion.

I'm so glad Bob Dylan, Morrissey, Johnny Cash et.al didn't bump into Bizzard in their formative years. Like Lawrie Booth, I remember a teacher walking around the choir and telling kids of 9 or 10 to mime. Yes, I was one of them and am still bitter.

A couple of steel jubilee clips on an alloy windlass will allow you retrieve it and shouldn't affect it's performance too much if your racing

Moonraker boats of Bath have widebeams on the Kennet and Avon. I don't know of anyone other than Sancerre on the Thames. If you've not already done so look at "Canal Junction" website who advertise most hire companies and also give a lot of general information..

They empty the locks at night so if you're going up, try to be first so all locks will be in your favour they open at 8am. Lots of tourists there so you can pretend to be experts, we do.

I bought some really cheap hose from Wilkinsons and even posted here saying what wonderful value it was. Despite running water through it initially for a quarter of an hour the water tasted "rubbery" and the hose kinked and refused to recoil from the first using. I've binned it and bought a good quality garden hose, the grey with yellow stripe, as replacement and have no bother with it.

I didn't mean to be insulting, re-reading my post I shouldn't have used the word arrogance and apologise and will try to edit to remove it. However, telling beginners that what they have is not a Ukulele is not helpful as they will deduce, wrongly, that Ukulele tuition is not applicable to their instrument. Yes I am passionate about as many people as possible having a go at making music.

See my post 22.

Your views on George Formby are irrelevant to this argument. What is indisputable is that George Formby was hugely successful in promoting the instrument he called a Ukulele, to the extent that even after nearly 70 years his name and that instrument are considered synonomous by millions. The main purpose of language is to convey information, someone (it could have been George Formby but probably wasn't) once said "if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck". So, to get to back to the main point of the OP. If you have an instrument about 23 inches long, with 4 nylon strings, which, if in tune, seem to be saying "my dog has fleas" when plucked uppermost first, irrespective of the resonator shape, you have a UKULELE. If you want to learn how to play it then get a book or watch a vid called something like "How to play the UKULELE". If you want to meet other people and play along then go to a club which will be called something like "The Local UKULELE Club" and if you want a good laugh and see lots of stringed instruments played well then go and see The UKULELE Orchestra of Great Britain. Happy struming.