Denis R

If you're desperate and have what I imagine would need to be a very deep pocket: Industrial Cranks

'Fraid I have to confess to being a bit of a 'Flemish Coil Fanatic' in the past.... Have now given it up for the reasons stated by RLWP.... I guess the original purpose of the Flemish coil was to neatly stow a line only whilst the vessel was berthed?

I've noticed that my son throws lines and lassos mooring bollards with the eye off the dolly. Having tried it myself, it makes getting direction on the throw a lot better, but I don't have anything like his accuracy....

Well, I took a look at the blog and dear me, there is an awful lot of invective flying about. I was somewhat surprised, as when I had an issue with my Webasto BK were very polite and helpful and from what I recall conversations with them were lighthearted and friendly; and they replaced my burner under warranty without quibble, putting me in contact with Foxton Boat Services, Sam doing the job the same day on their behalf.... Touch wood, it's been running fine ever since.... A different engineer who services Webasto did tell me that whenever he gets a Webasto in for a 'de-coke' he alters the fan speed profile away from the original factory settings to make it more 'red' tolerant. If somebody is implying that BK Webastos are Chinese clones, I'd be mildly surprised, unless the cloning goes as far as technical data, bar code stickers and other bits 'n' pieces written in German.

My teenage son does a casual job on a coal delivery boat and he's been taught to always remove the stern rope and coil it on the roof next to the hatch. He appears to be able to coil it in such a way that the ends are free and no matter how he picks it up it doesn't bunch or knot and the eye is always just in the right place to slip easily over the dolly. Being significantly older than him, my efforts are much less impressive but I'm still learning.... I work on the principle that if it's the perceived wisdom on a 70 footer carrying 18 tons or so, it'll do for my 48ft toy.

My neighbour has a Kipor and the boat opposite a Honda. The Kipor isn't obtrusive but it is louder than the Honda. However my Briggs & Stratton is a real teeth rattler and snows up my neighbour's TV when it's running.... Bought with more enthusiasm than forethought it's a cheap(ish) pile of s*** really and will eventually be replaced with a Honda. Listening to the local 'six o'clock symphony', I'd go for a Honda.

I concur Gary. It seemed to have reached epidemic proportions at a number of hot-spots around here and then along came BW and shooed them all off. The effect was like a 'bird scarer' and for a short while there was a steady to-ing and fro-ing before a new roost was taken up. A bit like musical chairs, roosts would appear to have been exchanged and I guess it'll remain like that until the 'gas gun' goes off again and everyone repeats the cycle.... The local enforcement officer showed me his 'pooter with inbuilt GPS, which he assured was being used to build up a log of movements and he implied that BW would be using the data come licence renewal. Maybe the desire to enforce the guidelines does exist? Although when 'push comes to shove' I wonder if anything will actually happen? Edited to add: Carl, is that the case? Can BW not just say " we don't believe you're CCing, we're not renewing your licence. Show us that you are (CCing)"?

I'm having difficulty understanding what the fuss is about - it looks pretty tidy to me all things considered.

We fancy a weekend expedition down to Northampton to do the West Bridge Arm and the 'B&Q Arm'. I did a partial recce by bike last night and whilst there appears to be plenty of water in the 'B&Q Arm' (does it have a name?) the West Bridge Arm looked awfully shallow with plenty of vegetation growing. Is the West Bridge Arm really do-able with a 48ft, 1ft 10in draft boat at the moment? I couldn't see the full way along by the gasworks site from the cycleway bridge - where exactly is the winding hole? Is it after the road bridge? Ref. the 'B&Q Arm' - a couple of press-on types there assured me I could navigate under the road bridge with confidence as 'there are moorings the other side, but mind the hidden piles from an old railway bridge further up' but from the somewhat overgrown Nene Valley Way I couldn't see any evidence of moorings or anything that gave me confidence it might be navigable.... Any advice welcome, as getting stuck anywhere up either of those backwaters might not actually be a lot of fun....

I guess you discovered this problem after the issue with the exhaust.... Sounds like an engine out job to me. Although I've seen fairly badly seized engines freed up before now, yours does sound like a pretty bad case and I'm not certain that a dunking in paraffin and diesel will help much. Are the other two pistons seized? If so and you can get at the other two rods and detach them you might be able to gain access to the crank by taking the cylinders off? It sounds like it's going to be expensive whatever and a replacement engine might be the better route.....

There will be a small plastic bag containing a pressure reducing orifice that fits in the water feed line if needed. Don't lose this or throw it away before you've commissioned the system. If your feed pressure is on the high side you get a free bidet when you hit the blue button....

Another attempt to bring the thread back on topic. Had a wander through the Goindustry site and I was surprised at the seemingly good condition of a fair proportion of the Section 8's sold and thought that the prices they fetched were not outrageous considering. A couple of them looked like they'd been someone's pride and joy until very recently and felt that there might be one or two sad stories behind them.

Cool. And I thought it was only me...... I managed to get stemmed up attempting a similar winding manoeuvre on the Nene by Billing Aquadrome, in full view of a large crowd of p****d up sun revellers one Sunday afternoon. Joy.

I think Dave's referring to two separate incidents.... Having rounded up three different boats in the last week on the same stretch and re-secured them after their mooring pins were ripped out (one of which was a BW dredger), I do have some sympathy.

Mike, sounds like a genuine fault - the slow fan speed intrigues, I wasn't aware of a built-in variable speed. Perhaps I've never listened closely? Whammy, I don't know for certain, but I think the fan might also trigger by current draw on the unit, not just temperature(?) Mine kicks off instantly even if stone cold if I suddenly switch on something 'spiky'. The only time my unit has ever failed to cycle properly between the modes was when I had knackered batteries....

Mike, Mine runs for much much longer than I would have imagined necessary and always has. Switching off the inverter and switching back on has the same effect as you describe. Does your's switch off by itself eventually?

That sounds like pure unadulterated masochism to me. Option #1 Traipse to the garage, pay £1.30+ per litre for DERV (or traipse even further to find a garage that sells red) and hernia yourself humping the cans about. Option #2 Whistle up the coal/diesel delivery boat or leisurely cruise to the local boatyard. Say to either "Fill her up, mate".

A framework of girders is taking shape on the 'hard' by the Turn at the moment, which I assume is Lucy's supporting cradle coming together?

I've not done this trip myself yet and don't consider the advice given by those that have in this thread 'doom mongering'. I consider it wise counsel from those that know more than me and a firm basis for approaching a possible trip with the right level of respect and preparation.

"The EA declined to comment". I bet they did! Like my tag line, I guess some bright spark thought it was a good idea at the time....

I see the necromancer's back....