Heth

Hi guys, Sorry I'm late to the party here, discovered this thread in a search! Maybe it was naive to leave glasses in a cupboard, but they were packed in tight behind other things. All cupboards / doors etc were taped shut as they should be & anything loose was bubble wrapped & packed in boxes. What I didn't show on the blog was the photo of the 3 door wardrobe across the bed, I was too upset to post it at the time. The wardrobe was screwed to the wall... In hindsight we think the damage occurred as they were lifting the boat out of the water, the crane company we'd booked (& paid a flippin fortune for) was MARSDENS, one of the best. (Ha!) What they sent was a contractor, not even a Marsden crane. A 5 guy team were supposed to be there on site, only 3 turned up. Dave (hubby) ended up steadying one of the guy ropes. But we trusted their judgement till (even with balancing beams) they started lifting her out with the front strap too close to the middle of the boat & she lurched forward. This tally's with which door opened (the only one) & which way the wardrobe fell - fortunately across the bed & cushioned by the quilt. When they got ithe lift all wrong I honestly thought the strap was going to slip back even further. I was screaming at them to put her back in the water, quite a few of us were! But they couldn't hear us & were a bit slow to realise just what a bad angle she was on. They did eventually notice & plonked her back in the water while they moved the strap forward & tried again. I was fuming. Dave couldn't see how bad it was because he was doing a job we'd paid someone else to do.. The lorry firm was supposed to be reputable, but even the driver wasn't happy with the back end of the boat sticking out. Hang on - extendable lorry & they knew the dimensions of the boat?? Then when we got here at Mercia, friends told us TT had been here overnight & the crane (without balancing beams) arrived early. Hence they were lifting her off the wagon just as we arrived. We were alarmed to see this but - "too late now" as they say. Fortunately they managed to drop her in without incident, although she did swing round & almost hit the side of a building in mid air. Said building being the dry dock boat shed.. We've seen several widebeams go in here since & every one has had the balancing beams. Yep, we felt like we'd been ripped off at the time, but, damage sorted we got over it.. However I did say on the blog that anyone doing this should try & get a "package" from the same contractor. We tried, but the distance from point A to B was quote "too far for the crane to travel". (?) The other advice I gave was to take photos inside of before being lifted out, after being lifted out (sat on the wagon before it sets off anywhere). When it gets to the other end after the journey & again after it's been put back in the water. Why? Because with a date & timestamp you have evidence as to who / when / where any damage occurred - you're on THEIR insurance during the process. Sod elf & safety climbing up a ladder onto the lorry for a photoshoot. THEY can flout the rules.. And remember without photographic evidence, each company blames the other. None takes responsibility. Onto a good deal there aren't they? Shifting blame when it suits... If we hadn't been on such a time sensitive "schedule" we would have asked questions, but alas you put your trust in these people & the service isn't always as promised.. However good the reputation is. We were advised by 2 marina managers about who's best to use - we didn't just jump in & Google it. We trusted their judgement & got let down - literally. I think the best people to listen to with regards to advice as to which firm's are to be trusted & which to avoid are other boaters who have experience. This? Well this is about a lesson learned the hard way, what to look out for & who to source info from.. Heth Widebeam Takey Tezey

Due to the unfortunate weather conditions & being well & truly iced in, one can comfort oneself in the knowledge that at least we won't lose power living aboard a boat. But, we'd have run out of water by now if it weren't for Tesco GIANT gallon plastic water bottles & the ability to fill them from the one tap working in the service area. As for the pumpout tank - well that's slowly losing the ability to err, provide a service to queen & country... So there ya go, anybody got similar probs, or (god forbid) good news under the circumstances...?

Hi folks, Yesterday I heard a noise that sounded like a boat engine revving in the distance, then I realised it was coming from our boat. Specifically the battery charger, when I looked at it the needle was on nought, so we switched it off, waited a few secs for the noise to stop & then switched it back on, & it was ok - till today when it did the exact same thing again. That's twice in 24 hours & we've done nothing different with the boat tech wise, no changes at all. The charger isn't even a year old, I'm really hoping someone knows something about this type of prob cos it's more than a bit worrying. PS: The batteries remain fully charged - no change there, but with the needle on nought on the charger itself & the strange noise I suspect if we left it the batteries would take over till they ran out. We daren't test this - yet... Usually the needle hovers around 5 or less. Any further info needed please let me know... Thanks in advance Heather

Hi folks, Yesterday I heard a noise that sounded like a boat engine revving in the distance, then I realised it was coming from our boat. Specifically the battery charger, when I looked at it the needle was on nought, so we switched it off, waited a few secs for the noise to stop & then switched it back on, & it was ok - till today when it did the exact same thing again. That's twice in 24 hours & we've done nothing different with the boat tech wise, no changes at all. The charger isn't even a year old, I'm really hoping someone knows something about this type of prob cos it's more than a bit worrying. PS: The batteries remain fully charged - no change there, but with the needle on nought & the strange noise I suspect if we left it the batteries would take over till they ran out. We daren't test this - yet... Usually the needle hovers around 5. Any further info needed please let me know... Thanks in advance Heather

Hi guys, Well I wrote my own little article on this, clicky here http://takeytezey.blogspot.com/2009/02/can...ion-street.html Guaranteed to give you a laugh...

Thanks Roger, I meant to also ask if anyone knows anything about the history of the boat itself, ie: Is it "borrowed" from someone temporarily or is it a hire boat? Maybe we're all left guessing on that one. Either way I gather the name is a transfer slapped on the side...!

Did anyone catch the name on the side of the boat on Monday? I did but forgot (typical) I know it's probably a fake but I'd like to know more about the boat itself! (Googled it - nothing)

Hi Floater, Only just found your thread, I was doing a search for other widebeam blogs, erm there aren't many of us at all, there's only one comes up in google & it sorta stopped dead in 2007! Your story would've made a great blog, we too have a widebeam (Dutch Barge) style boat, we recently became liveaboard(ers) & love it! Oh & I created my blog last year before the boat was ours & it's still going strong, (as is the boat lol). I find there's always something humurous to report on, even during winter. Hope you get this Heather PS: Blog address below (I think) Nope, looks like I took it off my signature - not been on here for a while, http://takeytezey.blogspot.com/

Thanks Carl, I'll ask Liam if he can do this, then change my password, I'm really glad of the help here, & such quick responses too, you guys have put my mind at rest & I appreciate your support. I should've swallowed my pride & stated the full story from the start! When I read back how I started this thread I sounded like a right twerp. I think I panicked really, that our boat, myself & my blog could be associated with such a posting. Then there's the question of who would do this - somebody with a grudge going incognito thru my own carelessness, but I won't dwell on that. Heather

Hi guys, Thanks for your advice (now the truth is out!) I'd thought about just changing my password, but the company this "person" was bad mouthing is none other than BK Marine, I've heard about these guys & wouldn't want to be identified as being a stirer by them, this is why I am so worried about it, in case they printed the post off (with my ID) before I deleted it, could they still use this to cause trouble for me personally? Does anyone know about what sort of "defence" I'd have here?

Hi guys, ok, well here's the highly embarrasing truth of the matter, I wrote my username & password down on a peice of paper with Canalworld Forum next to it (can't believe I did that) & lost it when we went out on the boat for a few days. Since then the last 2 posts previous to this thread have been created by someone else, I've deleted them both because they were aimed at one of the marine suppliers, I know nothing of their story, nor do I want to. As soon as I deleted the posts I tried to get rid of my compromised account but couldn't! It must be a sad person to take someone else's ID & use it to mouth off. I can't believe this has happened to me & I don't want to get a bad name. There, that's it

Hi there, Unfortunately someone has identified me personally, & I'm not happy about it. I'd like to know how to unsubscribe from Canal World Discussion Forums, I may take on another ID at some stage. Please help.. Also if my ID goes will all my posts go too - that's what I want to happen

Hi there, We have a problem with our Sterling 1800W (Continuous) inverter, we first noticed it when we moored up overnight (after running the engine all day). we got 2 hours use - only running the fridge - & the warning noise went off. We ran the engine again for half an our but it still didn't come back on. We checked the batteries & all was ok (still is). On another occasion whilst the engine was actually running (had been for 2 hours) the warning noise sounded! We switched it off & kept trying to switch it on whilst continuing our journey with the same outcome - nothing. This confirmed our suspicion of a failing inverter. A friend of ours who "knows his stuff" told us that Sterling inverters - altho very popular are classed as "cheap & cheerful" he also said that a Sterling inverter would do well to last longer than 3 years, so they are usually used as an interim measure. We don't know if this is correct, but as you can imagine we aren't keen to get another Sterling. Ours has lasted just 2 years, after performing quite well till recently (without any other changes). Can anyone recommend a better quality range? We'd still want 1800W or even 2000W, yes we know it will cost more but hopefully will be worth it. Thanks

Hi guys, will check all this out with my hubby Dave, he's at work at the mo, so will post back with answers, meanwhile: "daveandheather" - you're not gonna believe this but we're another "Dave & Heather" !! What a co-incidence!

Alex, we think the fan shouldn't constantly run too, when you say it must be working at low voltage - do you mean 12V, cos my hubby reckons it's eating 240V - which would mean its taking most of the charge! The only other thing 240V is the fridge/freezer & we turned that right down. The heater (boiler?) is Webasto 9KW. but that's not working at the mo either, it's switched off, so it wouldn't be taking any power. We're in a right old mess here & the so-called "Webasto certified engineer" has sorted nothing since Feb & charged us £550 for the privilidge - which we're not paying cos having "fixed" the boiler some weeks ago now we got 8 hours running time, then black smoke pouring out the exhaust. Since then he's told us it's a faulty heat sensor, (waited 8 weeks for the part which he never replaced) then last week for some strange reason he went back & took another look at it, this time he tells us the whole thing (his own handywork) is trashed, & we'll need to pay £1000 for the 5KW boiler. But bear in mind we haven't touched it since we were told it was just a faulty sensor. So why didn't he pick up the full extent of the damage the first time he looked, we can't believe a word this guy says... Sorry for changing the subject, I'm just trying to explain the whole sorry mess. Tosher, it's just over 2 years old & is out of warranty but that's not a problem, it's the frustration of what's NOT happening that's the real killer. Anyway, back on the subject of the inverter, we have a Centaur 30W Smart battery charger & it's only when we're out on the canal we're experiencing this inverter prob. We think maybe the fan on the inverter is taking more power from the batteries than the fridge/freezer...