nb Innisfree

They wanted £16k minimum for a basic 60' narrowboat shell (2003) so I went elsewhere and got a good el cheapo for £11k with all the extras I wanted, a bit rougher but a no brainier really with my limited budget.

Or you could mount your chair on a pivot to coincide with your centre of gravity when sat down then you could easily rotate youself to place your feet on the ceiling for a while, best when the adverts come on as they are on for a long time, enough to warm your feet. A suitable lap strap would be needed of course, probably find one at an aircraft breakers. ETA: if you want to stay inverted for longer a TV mounted upside down at the other end of the saloon would do the job.

Tap connector is ok provided the end of the male stub is square and smooth for washer to seal which I doubt it is.

I was quite impressed when I visited in '02 but was put off when I saw a perfectly smooth one piece cabin side spoilt at the rear where the semi trad wings had been added on, stuck out like a sore thumb.

Be handy if it could be magnetised

Ok with a 45 footer but probably a bit of a struggle with a fully loaded 60+ foot, unless they use two forklifts of course.

Yes, I spoke to a welder who prefers slots rather than holes, claims to extend the weld over a larger area. If goo prevents bounce then it does have the advantage of preventing underfloor area from effects of heat plus it's easier to take off in the future?

Yes I see that but how did they lift the boat on, how did they prevent the lifting straps becoming trapped between plate and boat?

I suppose the 'goo' will provide suction to keep plate flat?

Assuming it was a one piece plate where did the lifting straps go?

Nylon ratchet straps instead maybe? Would need to put a few twists in to stop them vibrating in the wind.

The mains powered ones are best but need a large inverter to drive them, they do a 500w one and also a 350w, the former is a bit big for an inverter due to high start up load. DC ones are a bit weedy especially if P/O outlet is on the roof and requires a high lift.

Can't remember what it's called but instead of PTFE I use some sort of white string stuff, made by Loctite prob? Otherwise try the thinner PTFE tap and use more turns, I tend to have the same issues with the gas stuff. ETA: Loctite 55

They are either 3gb or 1 gb and last 3 months, 1gb is about £7 and 3gb about £12. You can top them up but it's cheaper to buy another sim. Or you can get 12gb for £60ish, lasts 12 months.

If we had any probs in this area I would get a fabricator to cut out a section of the fuel tank and weld in a channel as done on Black Prince shells, rudder post 'tube' would then be open and easily accessible for blacking and if required post can be removed in shallow water. While your at it tank could, if desired, be divided into two sections for propulsion and heating.

Providing you keep SP connected and don't interrupt it your Victron will keep batts on a reduced float charge of about 13.2v which, apparently, avoids positive plate corrosion associated with long term normal float voltages and will occasionally revert back to normal float charge for a while to boost things up a bit. It's the best maintenance charge you could hope for really as long as your battery connections are clean and tight.

PAYG sims are available on eBay, about £4 per gb.

We have had AGMS for 5 years now and after some initial incorrect charging managed to revive them and seem reasonable at the moment. They are supposed to take a higher charge rate, don't know if that is true but as they age they do tend to have a lower voltage than FLAs which maintain voltage to the end of their life. Gibbo reckons the lower voltage with AGMs is probably due to the fibreglass mat preventing some plate shedding from falling away. If I could them at a reasonable price I think I would go with AGMs again.

Instead couldn't you add sacks/people on one side only until 7 deg is reached then treble the number to get the same result?

[quote name='Chop!' timestamp='1346764737' post='933623'] I one of the canal comics, I read that using DIY store bitumen was not as effective as one bought at a chandlers as they contain additives to improve durability. [/quote] Some have additives, Intertuf doesn't as it can be used, unofficialy, for water tanks. Having said that it was a few years ago and it's possible that Intertuf has additives now though I would doubt it.