Keeping Up

For those who haven't the will to watch a 45 minute video, here is my written account from 2013 of the Gota Canal (with lots of photos and a few short optional videos)

We have two thermostatic mixers. There is one near the calorifier output, which is pre-set (ie not adjustable) at 65 degrees, and there is also an adjustable one for the hot tap on the wash basin in the bathroom. This latter is set to the hottest temperature at which you can comfortably hold your hand, making hand-washing much easier.

When I decided to add a similar opposite-side socket in my kitchen, I found that the easiest way was via the roof. Needing to keep the wire away from the existing polystyrene insulation actually gave me a good solution, I pushed a length of garden-hose up from an existing socket to the corner of the roof, then another straight across to the other side (easy because it went alongside a support), and a third length up from the new socket to the roof. The hosepipe proved remarkably easy to push, as it didn't kink or bend sharply, and then acted as an excellent conduit into which to push the wire itself.

On our trip across Sweden by Gota Canal, they used the technique on one tricky corner which I reported as "This is a tricky feat of navigation; first the ship must turn upstream into a flowing river section using some impressive "proper boating" techniques. As the ship passed close to the shore, the "jump-ashore Johnny" (in this case a particularly athletic crew-member whose nickname was Tarzan) leapt to the bank and ran ahead. A crew-member on the bows threw him a line with a loop on the end, which he dropped over a substantial strapping post which turned the ship part-way upstream. As the ship continued without slowing down, he lifted the line and transferred it to another post further ahead to turn a little further, and then repeated the exercise on a third post to complete the turn into the river before taking a flying leap back on board. It was wonderful to see this traditional technique being employed here to such good effect, even if most of the other passengers did not appreciate or understand it."

It wasn't just terminology, the film made a big issue about the fact that this track was always playing at full volume whenever she was driving (the volume knob was missing), and it played on the soundtrack every time.

I watched a film last week where one character had a 1970's car in which - she said - the cassette player had "got stuck one track" so it always played that track, starting from the beginning, as soon as she switched on the ignition. I thought to myself, I guess nobody in the film studio was around in the 70s.

My examiner tried to fail my BSS because the locker contained a wooden bracket whose sole purpose was to restrain the bottle and prevent it from moving or striking the changeover valve. The cure was simple - I got a new examiner.

Yes 0.2mm is above average but even if it were maintained then you would only lose 4mm in the next 20 years and would then still have a perfectly good (usable, saleable and insurable) boat. And if you are lucky, a change of location would halt the corrosion anyway. So I would say ignore it, if you like the boat just buy it enjoy it and stop worrying about it. And I speak as someone whose boat had 23 years without corrosion followed by a year of incredible but unexplained pitting and now several years without any corrosion at all.

One problem with having no trap, is that on windy days you get a cold draught blowing into the boat through the pipe.

Do you own a horse?

I once tested my steering ability on the straight Witham by putting up the Sky TV satellite dish while we were moored in Boston, then travelling up to Anton's Gowt while the crew watched the TV. Never once did the picture drop out!

Yes I had that confusion at first.

Yes, me too. I think it can be safely ignored.

If only our old Ellis boiler could achieve the same level of gas efficiency. In the depths of winter it can consume a 13kg bottle in less than 3 days. Even with the coal stove keeping the living area warm and the thermostats turned down low for background heating only, it is difficult to make a bottle last for a week. Gas availability becomes a big problem if we are frozen in!

How about curtain rings? These for example are about the right size but they have a range of others too https://www.thecurtainpolecompany.co.uk/6-satin-brushed-silver-effect-curtain-pole-rings-with-s-hooks-65mm-suit-35mm---40mm-curtain-pole-10902-p.asp

I thought the printing on the paper said "In the interests of economy, please use both sides"

We let him move as soon as the boat had been lifted enough that the hole was clear of the water. By then we had about a foot of water in the bilges.

On the Norfolk Broads in 1971 we seriously holed the hull of our hired sailing boat below the water line. We took the person whose fault it was and forced him to sit with his backside in the hole while we sailed as quickly as we could to the nearest boatyard which was about a quarter of a mile away. The yard immediately winched the boat up by a couple of feet and nailed an offcut of plywood over the hole while we had a beer in the nearby pub; here's a photo of him doing the repair. Within an hour we were on our way again and it didn't leak a drop for the rest of our fortnight's holiday.

Actually that was just one of several mistakes. They have promised (in writing) to put them all right, and by agreement I paid a part of the bill and will pay the rest when they have done so.

We had some paintwork done last year; one of the items to be painted was the control column, upon which as well as the gear lever there were the horn button and a multi-way microphone plug. One of the workers unscrewed and removed these latter items (despite being asked not to), then another worker noticed before starting the painting that there were two round holes in the column so he fitted a steel plate over that area and then painted over it. So I now have no horn and cannot speak on the VHF radio.

Yes that's always been my experience. Both CRT and EA say it's the other organisation's responsibility, repeatedly, until it goes away.