grahame r

Welcome to the forum. It depends where in London you'll be working and how much you can afford to spend. For the City/East London then I'm sure Roydon isn't yet full and there's a nearby station. If you are going to be working in West London then Engineers Wharf always seems to have space, I think its quite expensive. Probably best to get something that is workable and then take your time to find the ideal. The last thing you want is the hassle of continuous cruising/mooring whilst also having the stress of a new job.

Perhaps their reporter is moonlighting from their main job on Newsnight.

Have you set the shoreline limiter to the maximum? This is the circular dial that sets the amount of power that can be delivered via the shoreline cable before the inverte kicks in to assist if more power is required. If you have this set to the minimum then you will only be able to draw the output of the inverter (2.5Kw) if it's set to the max (16 amps) then you should get about 4Kw from the shoreline and then a further 2.5Kw from the inverter, 6.5Kw in total. Have you thought of getting a gas kettle?

There's a thread running currently "Mobile Phone/3G Coverage" in General Boating that tells you how to get unlimited data for about £18.50

Wise words, it only takes a slight move to the right to let the oncoming boater know that you are aware of them. Unlike the lady a few weeks ago near Pewsey who steadfastly refused to give any indication that she was even aware of my presence, I don't normally make uncharitable comments to other boaters but did to her, her reaction, still in the centre of the canal was "well I've moved over now", meanwhile I now have scratches to the lovely new perspex widow I recently bought for the starboard hatch and even more battle scars to the paintwork. The canals are no longer solely used by professional hauliers and you can have no idea whether the boat approaching is being steered by complete novice or an experienced boater so don't play chicken.

This will sound odd but the Paddington Arm of The Grand Union and The Regents Canal through central London offer a lot of what you're after. London is made up of numerous villages many still retaining their uniqueness and the canal certainly does bring the countryside into the town so its surprisingly rural in many parts. There's lots of industrial heritage and the Canal Museum near St Pancras is well worth a visit. If you're feeling adventurous you could always do a circular route taking in the Tidal Thames. Who knows, if the CaRT find a solution to the mooring problem you may even get a spot on a visitors mooring. I'm not sure if any hire companies are in the vicinity or if they would let you out on the Thames but its an idea.

If you're happy with the brightness of your present bulbs then replace them like for like, most sales descriptions will give you an equivalent brightness ie a 3 watt LED may be equivqlent to a 20 watt Halogen. I know you like bright white but the original LEDs were a very blue white which is quite difficult to live with, most people prefer a warm white. I also know they are expensive but they last far longer (about x 6 I think) than incandescents and you really will notice the difference in power usage.

I bought it as an extension to my present non food grade hose which is on a reel and used all of the time. My thinking was that for £6.00 I could extend my hose from 30 to 80m which may be useful in certain circumstances. If I need to use it I'll rinse it through and taste the water before putting it into the tank. If you're able to taste slight impurities then obviously don't do this, I've never noticed any problem with my non food grade hose so I have.

I think this has been covered before, it was generally accepted that everyone uses "normal" hose and have survived.

I don't know if this has already been posted but Wilkinsons are offering 50 metres of hose for £5.00. Also their hose connectors etc are half price, so under 50p for a straight connector or tap fitting.

I'd be amazed if "the requirement to do so" (have insulation between flu and collar) is not stipulated in the BSS requirements. I'm not an expert in these but no doubt someone who is can advise us.

I'd have to disagree. When first starting the fire the flu is cold and the fire will be reluctant to draw, as the flu heats up the draw will increase and continue to raise the temperature of the chimney until you stop it by restricting the air flow, so the temperature of the flu will be at it's highest when the fire is properly established. As to the exact temperature, the fact that you need to insulate the flu from the collar and thence the combustible material on the roof/ceiling would indicate that it will be pretty high.

This is a really difficult one. When I bought my boat I recieved a call from a (then) complete stranger asking if I'd bought the boat and telling me that he had done the same! I can't begin to describe the panic as it dawned on me that it is quite possible for a seller to sell the same boat to as many people as they can find, do the deals on the same day and disappear to let those who have been conned try to sort something out. It turned out that the seller (an estate agent by trade) had actualy taken deposits from two of us. The other "buyer" had not only paid a deposit thinking that he had secured the boat but also had a survey carried out. The seller turned out not to be a complete conwoman and eventually returned the deposit to the other buyer and when he bought another boat he ended up mooring next to us. I'm sure there is a moral to this tale but I don't know how you can be absolutely sure the stranger you are buying from is the owner or if they are selling to more than one person.

I use 'em all the time they're great. Joke, should there be a link?

I fixed two for the centre ropes on the roof of my 57x10ft. I do a lot of cruising and have quite a lot of stuff on the roof and they have certainly helped in keeping the centre line clear.

Don't bother with a stove, a Webasto will keep you perfectly cosy even in the deepest winter months. Only joking, of course get a stove.

The real problem is knowing exactly what you want and this is something you have to decide for yourself from experience. What is perfect for one person msy be totally unacceptable for another, there is no right and wrong. A good second hand boat will give you the opportunity to gain the experience to specify exactly what you want a couple of years down the line without throwing away loads of dosh. A unanimous piece of advice I think, very rare here, I'd consider it very carefully.

It was £2.00 when we were there about 2 weeks ago. Bossoms Boatyard just before Port Meadows in Oxford (on The Thames) are the biggest rip-off merchants I've come across, £6.00. Imagine what they'd charge you if you had an emergency breakdown!! Best AVOIDED I think.

"Out and about" is a big place. If you narrow it down a bit it may jog someone's memory.