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I have been using 3 mobile dongle/mifi for sometime on a PAYG basis and it all works fine - I can send and receive e-mails for a yahoo and own private domain. We have now been sold and am going to send it back an EE mobile broadband mifi on which we have only managed to receive e-mails - we cannot send them and I cannot get anyone at EE to tell me what definitions I should be using. They don't appear to have any SMTP technical support. On 3 mobile (and my home broadband) for yahoo I use inbound:pop.mail.yahoo.com, port 995, with SSL outbound: smtp.mail.yahoo.com, port 465 with SSL and user authentication On 3 mobile for my own private domain email addresses I use inbound pop.tiscali.co.uk, port 110 outbound: smtp-mbb.three.co.uk, port 25 On EE, for yahoo I get asked for the userid and password again (and again...) and for my own private domain fails in other ways - I am sorry but I am not on EE to at the moment so I can't copy the error message. Does anybody have a this setup working on EE mobile broadband and if so what are your definitions please. Richard

Thank you for bringing this closure of the Northampton Arm to my notice - I must have missed this in all the other restrictions in the area. This could completely **** my whole plan which I have been creating for the last 6 months. Richard

I am planning on cruising the Nene, MiddleLevels, Great Ouse and its tributaries. The draught of my narrow boat is 2ft 1. Will I be able to if the drought continues? 2. Has navigation been closed on these rivers due to lack of water? If so when? 3. I subscrbe to BW stoppages information - does the EA provide a similar service? Richard

Bob, Thank you for your reply, I was hoping to find out what would be the minimum wattage which would keep the batteries in good condition while I am away from the boat during the winter. Any boost during the Summer cruising would be a bonus. Richard

I have a domestic battery bank of approxiamaely 400 Ah. I wish to keep them in good condition over winter without running the engine. ( I can take to starter battery home to top up). What rating in Watts for a Solar panel would I need to keep the domestic batteries topped up when the temperature will drop below freezing and winter sun is weak? Richard

I think you will find that you can wind 58ft immediately above and below many of the locks on the GU between Napton Junction and the top of Knowle. Certainly there has been room to spare when I have winded my 55ft boat at several of these locks. Richard

If the chock box is too thick, would it help to cut it in half so that they can be layed on their sides separately within the space available? Richard

Timothy West CBE will be at the next meeting of the Warwickshire branch of the IWA and will be speaking on his experiences under the title of 'Floating between Engagements' Venue: The Alan Higgs Centre, Allard Way, Coventry, CV3 1HW Time and Date: 7:30 pm on Wednesday 9th September (bar open at 7:00 pm) Entry is by ticket only which may be obtained from: Greta Russell 256 Longfellow Road, Coventry, CV2 5HJ Please include a SAE plus a cheque for £5 per person made payable to 'IWA Warwickshire Branch' Tickets may also be obtained at the IWA National Festival and Boat Show at Red Hill between Friday 28th August and Monday 31st August. Please ring 07831 - 438 576 or enquire at Campsite pitch B1. Please leave your name, phone number and, if resident, your campsite or mooring number.

We have a duel use aluminium dip stick - diesel one side and WC on the other Richard

But although the boat now weighs more and the centre of gravity is lower, the lowest part of the boat will have been raised. So in my example the stern which is the deepest part of the boat in the water would rise slightly less than the bow sinks but more than the centre of gravity sinks and so the overall effect is to need less depth of water to float in - a bit of a paradox - unless someone proves me wrong! That said, I would want to dump most of the extra ballast as it will only get in the way while cruising. If I have a bag or two of coal on board then I could benfit from moving these forward for the tunnel passage as has been suggested.

Thank you for all the replies: Apologies to Martin for keying Marston instead of Marsden I have checked that the plastic boxes maintain their shape when full of water and intend to 'rest' the second tier on wooden planks resting on the cratch steel lockers/seats. I may need to offset these slightly to counter balance the effect of a full effluent tank which is asymetrical across the boat - but which would also help to lower the bow slightly. I've done some calculations based on the movement of the Centre of Gravity If I assume the 55 foot narrowboat is a 15x2 metre rectangular based box and I measure the depth of the hull in water opposite the ends of the cabin, I can calculate the weight based on the displacement - 17 tonnes I can also calculate the position of the cg from the stern using the trapezoid shape of the hull below the water level. This gives about 7 metres from the stern. Filling the tank by 450 kilograms of water will lower the cg by 1.5 cms and recalculating the cg from the stern will increase it by 20 cms to 7.18 metres Using the new cg and new trapezoid area/volume I can calculate the new depths of the hull bottom at either end of the hull. This increases the bow depth by 4.5 cms If I double the amount of water this doubles the effect. So lets hope that theory and practice match up! Richard

My boat is probably just outside the profile - it is bow high - when I refill the bow fresh water tanks after the winter it will probably be just under - from the 'tide' mark and calculations I suspect that the bow will sink by nearly 2 inches. This will still be very close and not give much margin for error. I am considering adding temporary ballast when we reach Marston. The boat specs say the tank is 450 litres (100 gallons) or roughly half a ton or tonne when full. I shall be a long way from base, so I am considering using a number of 60 litre plastic boxes, filled with water, with the lid taped on and stored in the cratch area during the tunnel transit. The advantage is that I can stack these for the rest of the trip and so saving space. So I have a number of questions which you might feel like commenting on: How conservative is the BW profile - if the boat just fits, what is the 'safety' margin and are the tight bits most of the way or just in the odd spot? How suitable is water as a ballast and my method of storage? or any alternatives? The cabin roof front corners will be most at risk, so I would like to protect these from collision damage if I can. Any suggestions? Richard

I have puchased a pair of "Pond Gloves" which are water proof and cover above the elbow and almost to the armpit where they are held up by elastic Initially I bought these for weed hatch work in winter time or in "unheathy" water. However, I have also found them useful for really wet weather crusing. Richard

My original vertical calorifier had a single coil and I wanted to add a second coil so as to use the Aldi to provide a secondary means of heating water. I contacted the original boat builders (JDBS) who told me the calorifier was custom built. They also gave me the name of the suppliers: Gledhill Water Supplies (roughly Stourbridge) Tel No 01384 262255 Gledhills were reluctant to deal with me directly, but added a second coil with JDBS doing the removal and refitting. So you may be Gledhillls can supply you with a suitable calorifier.

We too intend to cruise the new bit before going to onto the Lancaster. An Easter opening would suit us - any later and we would probably switch to the Lancaster first - bookings permitting etc. So we would attend an opening if the timing is right, but my main concern is that it will be open by the time we get to it. Richard