Digipete

I would suggest doing what you have already set out to do. Remove the drive and get all of the files you need off of it. Then clean the dust out of the computer. At this point reinstall the operating system. that way you have a fresh start with no chance of malware. You might want to do a virus scan on the files that you pulled out of the laptop, just in case. I would then try running the computer for a few days before installing your backup files, just to see what happens.

I heard a story once of a fellow that had let a marina crew fill up his boat with petrol. He paid his bill and took off across the bay. On the way into his mooring spot he ran out of fuel. Luckily he was able to rope it in the rest of the way. Not being the mechanical type he figured he would let someone else look at it. It couldn't have been fuel, he just filled it!. This being a Sunday he knew that he couldn't get anyone to look at it till the next day. He set to work making a pot of coffee, started the faucet and promptly got a sink full of gasoline. Apparently the marina crew had filled his water tank instead of his fuel tank. He is lucky to be alive right now.

I can agree with this statement. I also disagree with trying to change to a different frequency right in the middle of things. I would personally suggest using channel 8 with no code for everything, lock coordination, passing, hazards in the canal and what not. That way everybody in range hears what is going on and can make plans accordingly. As soon as you add frequency jumps into the mix with untrained radio operators you are asking for trouble. If you want to simply chat with someone, I.E. talk about sports, the weather, or that strange growth on the back of your leg, you then move over to whatever frequency suits your fancy. this is what PMR446 is there for. Basically this is not a proffessional radio service, and the people that have the most to gain from using it are far from proffesionaly trained, therefore follow the KISS principal. Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Tinned Soups are always a good bet. You can buy a variety of them, usually less than 1 GBP per serving. I find one of those can fill me up quite nicely. Not to mention that if you have enough of them on board they can be used as extra ballast!

You can moor almost anywhere on the system. Although it is going to be tough to find mooring rings less then 20 feet apart. Also, I would try to avoid using a center rope If I were you, It might void the warranty on your car.

Living here in the States puts me at a disadvantage. I can however drink a large quantity of ale while surfing the CW forums, If anyone thinks that will help. I might even stare at a canal webcam every once in a while.

*Checks the "welcome" page of this website* Yeah, I think its been found. I think now you actually have to pay the owner of Holly a reward whenever you see it.

American comedian George Carlin said it best in his routine "Stuff";

Yeah, I probably should have thought of that. As of the 7000, I have only used one once. It is almost exactly the same as my trusty 706 but with a color screen and a few extra menu items that I probably would never use. My only gripe against the radio was that its audio did not seem as "clean" as my 706, which of course can probably be fixed with an external speaker. I can honestly say that if I was shopping for another "Do everything, but not everything well" style radio, I would definitely purchase the 7000.

I was wondering if someone was going to comment on that, I am using an american keyboard that doesn't have a "Pound" key, and am to lazy to look up the HTML for it. Good idea on bringing proof of purchase on the Icom.

It looks like what I will do is when I come over from the states on vacation is bring my Icom 706 amateur rig with me. This radio can cover (aside from H.F.) the 2 meter ham band and above to 148 MHZ, and also your 440 band + P.B.R. and P.M.R. If your wondering we have 144-148Mhz and 430-450 Mhz wide open for our ham bands. Therefore my radio covers them. This plus a 50 pound Marine VHF and I should be golden. Another thought is that they do make mobile antennas with springs on the bottom, perfect for trees and bridges.

Are you prepared to pay for a non-residential mooring or are you planning on continuous cruising?

Thats what I'll do. when I come over from the states on vacation, I will bring my Amateur 40 watt mobile 440 rig with me. That way the good people 12 locks away from me will know I am coming and leave the locks open for me Just kidding BTW. I would actually hook in a Motorola Commercial mobile unit running at 100 watts in my boat, therefore I can really get out and touch someone!

15 bags? This must be the number of bags you are admitting to hauling up. How many bags did you really haul up?

If I were to get some money up and purchase a boat, mine would have to be named "Beautiful Loser" Named after the song by Bob Seger. The first lines of the song match how I feel about the narrowboating culture to a tee. "He wants to dream like a young man With the wisdom of an old man. He wants his home and security, He wants to live like a sailor at sea. Beautiful loser, where you goona fall? When You realize you just cant have it all."

If you have a Garmin GPS there is a freeware map for canals HERE] If you have a laptop with a GPS that you can hook to it you can use Waterway although it is fairly pricey. If you have a mobile phone with GPS you can use Water Explorer Don't ask me how any of these actually work because I have never actually used them. (living in the states and never actually being on narrowboat kind of puts a damper on the "experience part!) I just know that the apps exist and figured I would help.

I just attempted to edit my original post but the Edit bar does not seem to be there anymore. Therefore if one of the mods is around please delete the section about Distinctive Charters. We really do not need to do anymore damage to their business. Thanks

Thank you, the description has been updated.

I did happen to notice that in the photos from the EBay listing, there is a stove in the lounge with NO flue pipe attached. In fact looking above it in the picture there is not even a hole in the ceiling above. This seems to me a very pertinent piece of information to be looking for. If the owners happen to pop in, could you verify that the boat still has no flue pipe? To me, that seemingly little piece of evidence would make the boat stick out like a sore thumb. If this question can be answered, Me or one of the mods can edit the boat description. Thanks Kindly!

Okay, I am over here in the states, But I feel the need to help out, maybe by compiling information; So here it is, Name: Que Sera Sera. Owner: Carole and Tony Make: Liverpool Boats Size: 58 or 60 foot Cruiser Stern Registration (or Index) #: 511284 Crime Number: XA-17173 2009 - Staffordshire Police - tel 0300 1234455 Initial call for help on forum: "HI ALL LAST MONDAY 2ND MARCH 2009 OUR NARROWBOAT WAS STOLEN FROM STREETHAY MARINA ITS A LIVERPOOL HULL, BLUE WITH CREAM COACH LINES AND THE NAME QUE SERA SERA ON IT ITS 60FT IN LENGTH IT HAS A MODERN BEACH INTERIOR WITH BLACK AND GREY THEME TROUGHOUT WHEN IT WAS TAKEN IT HAD A LARGE FROG ORNAMENT ON TOP IT HAS A CRATCH COVER ON THE FRONT IN BLUE ALSO PLEASE EMAIL floandcaz@hotmail.co.uk IF YOU THINK YOU CAN HELP US OR KNOW ANYONE THAT MAYBE ABLE TO HELP US" AND: IT WAS TAKEN MONDAY 2ND MARCH 2009 FROM STREETHAY MARINA AND WAS DUE TO RETURN FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 2009, SINCE THEN WE HAVE FOUND OUT THAT THE DETAILS LEFT WERE FRAUDULANT BY THE HIRERS. NO THEY CANNOT BE TRACED AND PERSONAL DETAILS WE HOLD FOR THEM SEEM TO BE FALSE ALSO Described as (from owner): Cruiser stern cream coach lines -Blue cratch cover and blue canopy round the cruiser stern -When taken it did have a large frog ornament on the top -Gunnel was undercoated dark grey with a blue edging -The tiller pin is a brass frog -It did have a metal yellow bucket on the front of the boat with coloured flowers in it. -Looking closer on the ignition control panel outside several of the maintenance light covers are missing about the size of a ten pence next to the key hole. -Back and front ropes are blue and the middle rope is a dull black -The interior is all fitted in maple wood -It had two bucket black chairs in -It has a wood burner were flute is at the front of the boat -Tiled around galley in dark grey small tiles -Grey quarry tiles in galley (floor) the rest of the boat is all solid wood. -It did have a black and white rug in the living area. -The dinette covers are all black -The dinette back panel moves across to face the tv to make a sofa when watching tv -There was a nest of pine small tables in the living area Further observations from members: -Light wood cratch with two windows, -Cratch cover has windows, -Side hatch halfway down port side, -Louvers at cruiser stern to vent engine,(looks like Lister Air cooling vents) -Port holes look as if the top part flip/flops, -4 x brass mushrooms, -Fixed TV aerial at the front, -Unusuallife ring, -Venitian blinds. -louvered rear deck drains -Flue pipe IS installed (pictures were taken before the fact) Collar is unpainted. The boat looks slightly unusual in having just one porthole either side. Most seem to have 2 or 3 either side now. Also notice the (added?) three metal hoops either side above gunnel for the tube fender ropes. Roof top pattern of smooth/rough sections might also be a help. Note there are 5 rough sections and 4 brass vents. it would seem that only a skirt has been fitted to the rear deck as I cannot see any fixings for a separate tonneau cover - and that is very unusual. The three bungee fixings in the the side of the skirt is not very common either as most have two (if any at all as many cover fitters prefer other fixings) In addition, the drain cut outs in the handrail at the stern of the roof look more generous than normal - they appear to be at least four inches wide (although that might just be a consequence of camera angle) Last Seen: Last sighted near junction with Ashby heading towards Coventry at around 13:30hrs 15/03/09. At 09:30hrs 15/03 was seen at Shakerstone. The first sighting was made by a live aboard boater who is reported to be a reliable witness and described the boat to a tee! The last sighting - a couple on the towpath spotted it - she remembered it because she started singing Que Sera Sera! they had seen it 30 mins before talking to the owners - They drove to The Anchor Inn (bridge 28) just beyond Hartshill and Tony waited there while their son ran all the way back to the canal junction - he did not see any moving boats in that time. This is why they feel the boat had turned around. The speculation: The owners covered as much of that area of canal as they could on Sunday and felt certain that as they had not spotted the boat and it was unlikely to have got very far ahead of them at that time it was possible it had turned somewhere and headed back - possibly back up the Ashby? Photo Links Canal World Post Ebay Listing, for vacation rental. Description of crime / Perpetrators: IT WAS A FEMALE AND MALE THAT HIRED THE BOAT AND TOOK IT ON MONDAY 2ND MARCH 2009 FROM STREET HAY MARINA. my dad went with them to Fradley to show them the ropes as you say and make sure they are equiped and ready. MALE - AGE LATE 20'S EARLY 30'S, AROUND 5FT 8IN goes by the name of Shaun (but this maybe false) Stocky build short mid brown hair - quite a good looking chap. last seen wearing a wolly beanie hat in a light beige colour, beige long sleeved wolly jumper and dark trousers, wearing trainers (only remember white) sorry no make. WOMEN - AGE APPROX LATE 20'S NO OLDER-SMOKES ALOT - AROUND 5FT 5IN - slim dark shoulder lenth hair straight - distinctive mouth when she smiles shows all her gums. last seen wearing black trosers high heels shoes dark sleeveless top not dressed for boating AT ALL. WHEN MY MOM AND DAD GOT TO FRADLEY THEY STAYED FOR A CUP OF TEA WHERE TWO ONLY MEN GOT ON THE BOAT AND THE HIRERS SAID IT WAS FRIENDS SHOWING THEM ROUND - WE HAVE HAD FURTHER INFORMATION TO SAY THEY LEFT WITH THEM - SO THREE MEN AND A WOMEN ON THE BOAT - BUT THE CAR AT THE MARINA WAS GONE TOO SO SOMEONE MUST BE OFF IT TO HAVE COLLECTED CAR BACK. DESCRIPTION OF OTHER UNKNOWN TWO MEN ARE BOTH MEN WERE ABOUT 5FT 10 IN MUSCULAR BUILD SHORT BROWN HAIR LAST SEEN WEARING JEANS AND TIGHT LIGHT COLURED T.SHIRTS THE KIND THAT SHOW MUSCLE (we were a distance from these so it was hard to id them) This was as much information as I could find in both threads. I apologize profusely for utilizing multiple quotes without giving credit but that would have taken to much time. Good Luck Carole and Tony!