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Grace and Favour

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Posts posted by Grace and Favour

  1. Another thing about threads is that they sometimes end up being about something quite different from the original question eg I was looking for advice on how best to moor, but just found a whole lot of people making fun of someone who had moored badly. Who has the patience to scroll through all that stuff just to find out nothing of use?

    Those whom have learned that there are often grains of knowledge amongst the chaff

  2. Thank you to the angels of the cut - in particular this time, on the Oxford Canal. A big thank you to whoever re-moored my boat some time in the past 48 hours. I can see that both bow and stern pins had dragged out so she must have been drifting badly.

     

    I'm sure you were cursing the incompetent moorer - that was me. blush.png Honest! I've tried everything but she still sometimes drags. I haul her up as tight as I can, I moor with a spring at the stern. I wallop those pins in as hard as I can into the hardest ground I can find (short of solid rock).

     

    So - once again - thank you to all the people up and down the country who have re-moored for me over the past three years. I don't know who you are, but I will try to do better in future.

    clapping.gif

    I found that getting some longer pins has avoided that problem for us.

     

    (Ours are 1.1Metre long)

  3. It's a long shot, to be honest.

     

    There are companies that rent out narrowboats, long term and legally...

     

    But they are few and far between. ETRR (Escape The Rat Race) is the one that springs to mind - they are not cheap - but are a good operation by reputation (maybe worth speaking to them )

     

    I would caution against using individuals who may hire out boats "without disclosing them as proper businesses/on the fly" - for the implications regarding boat safety & insurers invalidating policies can be unpleasant.

     

    I know of folks that do hire such boats though.

    Also be aware that you will need to find a proper mooring for a year - - and that may well set you back an extra £3/4000 for a year

     

     

    The other route you may wish to consider is approaching a pukka hireboat (aka holiday co.) and asking if they will rent one out for a year..again, it may not be cheap - but at least it will have proper maintenance, and you know that it'll be in servicable condition from the outset. And they may well provide you with mooring options too.

  4. Welllllll......

     

    I guess the final sorted list of options will boil down to whereabouts in London you are looking to moor! - (and how far you are prepared to travel by land to commute/etc) In some parts of London moorings are like hen's teeth (I understand) - and others marginally less so.

     

    Alan has raised a valuable point about continuity of moorings, IF you buy a boat for its mooring, you must check and be absolutely certain that you are able to take on the mooring - (do not just accept the word of the boat seller, unless they own the land, and you are purchasing it from them (and you'll be talking serious money I guess).

     

    Also be aware that most moorings are let on an annual basis, (some for longer in annual increments)...but basically they offer no security of tenure.

     

    There are many more boats for sale across the UK than there are moorings in London.

     

    So buy the boat separately - buy one that you really like - - get the mooring when it's available - and, if possible, get the mooring first.

  5. If I build another shower I will use the PVC wall cladding sheets as used in food factories

    (Example)

     

    There are many different thicknesses available - but it's lovely stuff to work with, easy to cut and shape - - I'd glue it to cabin walls made of marine ply (preferably)

     

    It comes in full size sheets, so joints will be few, and a good silicone sealant adheres to it well.

  6. I know you are right but on my Tracer it says disconnecting from the batteries without first disconnecting the panels will damage the controller! So in the event that the fuse blows the controller will be scrap as well sick.gif

     

    Peter

    I fitted an isolator switch between my controller and the panels, as well as an isolator (and then a fuse, of course) betwen the controller and the batteries.

     

    It works well for me.

  7. Is it easy to move across, assume the flooring just unscrews?

    Dependent upon what the builder used as ballast - - yes, it's probably easy to move.

     

    The most common ballast options are bricks, paving slabs, steel plate, pig iron ingots, or, if you're lucky - lead!

     

    Less common ballast (thankfully) would be something like gravel - - which is much messier to move around.

  8. I'm afraid moderation does come into it:

     

    I am frequently dismayed at the inter-member disputes and abuse. I understand that the keyboard allows for more animated discussion, (that the folks may shy away from when face to face) but the frequency of name-calling and abusive language is wholly uneccesary and unproductive.

     

    There are many examples of behaviour fit only for an infant's classroom, and that folks lower themselves to this level is disappointing to say the least.

     

    That the exponents can then let the situation dissolve into an "he said--she said" arguement should be shameful -

    though I assume they have no shame.

  9. OP, after two years, I wouldn't risk messing about and running the risk of using the wrong solution, (the stuff in there may possibly be much older than two years old anyway (?)

     

    Replace it.

     

    Work on a 50% Anti-freeze/water mix. Buy sufficient for your engine and skin tank system.

     

    If you drain it now, measure how much you get out. Then flush it (because you're not sure what type is in there at the moment)

    : - Fill it with plain water - run the engine for a little while. Let it cool, drain it again and then fill with your preferred mix.

     

    (Blue will need replacing every two years, Pink will require replacing every five years.

    Pink is dearer initially - but works out cheaper over the period.

  10. We have our Kitchen Chef - - and keep it in the galley on the work surface.

    There's no problem using it to knead bread, (or mix batter)

    However, I tend to always make extra loaves when baking (to give to friends), and as it's sourdough, I tend to spend one day a week with four bowls of dough slowly proving, (normally over 6 - 8 hours)

     

    Now that tends to impinge on where we can sit during the day!! ;)

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