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Bobbybass

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Everything posted by Bobbybass

  1. Hi..I came through there today...and we put my 60 foot boat...and 2x 45 footers in at once.... Bob
  2. As has been mentioned...I too used fire cement and it seems to have lasted well...although I am aware of the problem and I'm now more careful with the front 'bars' ..I buy my fire cement from Wlkinsons...as its only £2.50 a tub.I also bought fire bricks from there...£2.50 each and reduced the width of the fire inside....which worked for me an saved the official Morso insert that they sell at huge price.
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  4. You can put it over the top of a glass when catching spiders.
  5. I removed the cassette loo..and fitted a pump out 3 years ago. Despite people saying . I wouldn't give you house room for a pump out'..they don't look very happy when I see them lugging cassettes. The only problems I had were with the nasty white flexible hose...and I wouldn't recommend that. It gets smelly and that builds up. I replaced with solvent weld and shallow sweeping bends and it works really well. I use Harpic blue domestic cleaner every week down the bowl...very weak..and flush through after 10 minutes. Although there was all the scare stories about this...the only bits that could fail are the mascerator seal and the rubber non-return valve (BUT the felxible hose would fail if I hadn't gotten rid of that ) I had spares of these and soaked them in neat Harpic for a month..and there was no noticable change.Since then..I use it down the bowl SPARINGLY....and the non-return valve never clogs now and the mascerator blades stay clean. It is not advisable to mix any toilet cleaners in the tank...and I feel that has more to do with it. We wouldn't want nasty explosions in the poo tank !! No doubt....scare stories will follow after I post this....so...don't try what I have said for yourself. Bob
  6. There was a 'sweep'in the Burton area last month..caught 300... that also netted some boaters. They used a handheld unit for the towpath. I had a chat some months back with a very helpful guy at TV licensing who told me : You do not have to have a permanent address and can even license a PO box number. You just tell the customer services dept and they make a note that it is for a boat. I am not on the boat in winter ( I go to Spain and keep warm....what a whimp !!) He said : you set up a quarterly payment direct debit and then tell them before the next payment is taken and they will cancel it until I return. You will have to pay to the end of the nearest quarter though, but it saves a complete year. Hope this helps. Bob
  7. I moor at Barton and white diesel is about £1.14 down the road. I queried 60/40 with HMRC as I keep very comprehensive records. Their answer was that it is up to the buyer..but you often get 'blackmailed' into signing the 60/40 agreement when you fill up. I was told that you can 'adjust' the percentage when you fill up at a self declaration stop...for example claim maybe 80/20 or 90/10 providing you have the records to prove it. I then put it to them that they would query that 'agreed' a 60/40 split. In the end I presented my records and they sent me a refund cheque !!
  8. I get this problem especially after I have repacked or tightened the stern packing. I have a new prop shaft and it is all dead in line. It gradually goes away as the stern packing loosens..but when I start to get small leaks and tighten..it starts again. Bob
  9. I have a poetic license...... Bob
  10. I wasn't advocating going fast or slow through bridge holes...I was merely illustrating the suction and drag effect of varying canal depths and widths. This was in response to the original posters query about the speed difference between rivers and canals. I agree..tickover bridges are best for most. Bob
  11. I too...love the Whitchurch arm. There is also that great ...'all you can eat'Indian buffet in town....for £6.95 Was there recently...and noticed that they have put orange barrier around by the bridge and excavated the original limestone 'side slabs' Maybe they do this every year..?..or maybe its progress ? Bob
  12. I used to make wine and beer..years ago while in a house. I was pottering along today...as one does...noticed abundant elderberries about and thought about making wine. I do not winter on the boat..and leave it when winter kicks in...I also did not want the hassle of bottling up wine...and wondered about making it now and leaving it in the demijohn until I return in spring. (October end ?) Anyone make elderberry wine...?....is there s imple way in a demijohn with a trap....that once 'bubbled out' will stay put without decanting ? Thank you ! Yours boozily. Bob
  13. Providing the prop is clear..its a fact of life that there is a certain amount of 'suction' as you go along canals. In some very tight and shallow parts..you can almost bring yourself to a stop as the water rushes back in to fill where the boat was and causes a flow which self defeats. This can be seen under some narrow bridges where you look down and see a large flow on either side from the water displacement and the boat seems to come to a virtual stop. If you use a larger 'prop', it is unlikely to help and excess speed will cause a wash and damage the canal sides and upset wildlife. In some shallow parts your prop and rudder are dragging near the bottom...which is evident when you have the hull blacked and find the bottom plate worn smooth. Most boats have a maximum speed under certain conditions and increasing engine 'revs' will just burn fuel with little increase in speed. This is even the case for large ocean going ships/liners that have a design speed for different hull shapes and no amount of extra engine powere will make it go faster. I use my handheld satnav sometimes ( just before mooring so the wife can watch Corrie !!) and every day there is a different forward speed for the same engine revs. At 1500 revs ( on my Beta 43 / PRM 160 ) I can do 6 MPH on a river...(even with a light head-flow) but sometimes only 2.8 MPH on canals...but other times at tickover ( 800 RPM) I can do nearly 3 MPH. I love rivers as it gives you a chance to 'open up' the boat , but there is a terminal speed for canals which you have to accept. I would say...don't adjust the boat....adjust yourself... Happy cruising. Bob
  14. I had mine reconned at Cox's. A chum of mine used to work on generators/ Travelpowers...and I asked him about a circuit diagram. He said that is is considered too dangerous considering the voltages/ currents etc...to have people fiddling about inside. He also said that the control box and alternator are in very fine 'balance' (hence the reason that Cox's ask for both units) and replacing parts can lead to excessive output voltages etc., Replacment of parts...even brushes....means that the unit has done a few years service and should be stripped and recalibrated by someone who knows how to do that...otherwise you can end up with fried washing machines etc. This was backed up by Cox's who returned my unit completely rebuilt and supplied with a new cable as the old one was showing incorrect resistance readings. I compared the 2 cables on my meter and they are indeed different. Bob
  15. My calorifier tank is under the bed and although great in winter...it made it a little hot in summer. The tank is insulated with the green foamy stuff...but I decided to add extra. I bought some of the brown fluffy pipe insulation from Wickes.....its designed for your pipes to go through the middle..but I wound it around and secured with cable ties. I did this to every exposed part of the pipe under the bed....even the taps and fittings. I then used a home cylinder jacket over the top...this isn't a jacket...but is red insulated strips that I just laid over the whole thing.... There is more than enough to do this. Amazing result...loads more hot water and it stays scalding hot for over a day... Very good...and cost about £7 for a roll of fluffy stuff...and the same for the cylinder jacket.. I didn't think it would be so effective. Bob
  16. Clutching at straws.... On land based systems...there is a balance valve in the outlet flu... Worth checking that the outlet flu is clear .....and that the valve has no dust/crap in it.. Bob
  17. I have previously posted as I had a recent conversation with customer realtions...whe told me I don't need a home address for a license...I can just buy one by email and have it registered to a PO box or a friends house and they will make a note that is not the actual address. I told them that when I winter the boat...around October....I go to Spain until springtime...and asked if I need a licenses for just 'owning' receivers...which will be on the boat...and not used. THey said 'no'.....and I could pay for my license ( a one year one) on a quarterly plan by direct debit. They said that when I go to Spain... i can cancel this..although I have to pay to the end of the quarter...and do not then have to pay for a license while away . I can restart it upon my return. Dealt with by James Morgan...Customer realtions dept.....Bristol... 0300-790-6030 Very helpful. Bob
  18. I put this question by email to TV licensing...who responded by telephone. They were very helpful and he said all you do is use a PO box... a post office ...or a friends house..tell them by email that you have done this and they 'mark' that you are using it on a boat and actually have no 'abode' . Bob
  19. I fitted the needle type water guage and waste tank guage 2 years ago and have been very pleased. They are accurate once set. One hint I would give....on the water guage....you set it by removing the cover and then setting the full point...and then the empty point. I did this and then replaced the cover and rotated the sender unit 90 degrees as I had a top cover for the compartment...but I found that rotating the sender changes the reading....so I now rotate it to its final position and then adjust it for that....I guess the pressure reading changes ? I did 'blow' the chip in the sender once but found a new one on Ebay...(20p !) .. This was on the Thames where there was a very thick (maybe 1.5 inch hose) for water....it was a tight fit into my water filler and then when you turned it on it came out like a fire hose....the pressure was so huge it blew the sender... The sender has one small chip (which is actually a preamflifier) and I soldered a holder on so if it ever happened again I could just plug a new one in.....but I think now I understand that it can be overloaded it won't happen. I have the waste tank guage as we have a remote tank...and it works very well. Bob
  20. Yup..simples...and it the same model as the Midland Chandlers one that Innisfree links above. It was £12 including post. Good old Ebay...good old Chinese.... Bob
  21. When I cam back from the pub last night..I could swear the canal had a slope. Bob
  22. I bought an 'oog ahh ' horn from Ebay...was about £12 Its black plastic...and VERY loud.... Bob
  23. Having worked on cruise ships for many years....and using lifeboats..I can add 'whats missing from this picture ?' Aha......a rudder. Bob
  24. The Camos dome doesn't have looms etc. You just have one single normal satelite cable going to the dome and that does the 'lot'...no special wiring to the dome...no 12 volts.....no control lines...just one normal cable. You run a 12volt line to the control box in the lounge and take your signal from the control box to the Sky box/ tuner from that...so it is really easy to fit. I have a small LNB splitter box from the sky box and I run this into another box...so I can make use of the other satellites that the Camos will find...ie : Hispasat, Sirius, Hotbird....so I can use another satellite if Astra is behind a branch of a tree. Power usage is zero when the dish has lined up. You hit the switch when you moor up..it uses about 2 Ah for about a minute. Once lined up you switch it off and there is no power usage. Bob
  25. Self seeking systems are a huge amount... I invested in a Camos 'dome' in order to save my marriage....You should have seen the rows we had over the "yes..thats it...oops..no back a bit...oops no...the other way" There are other self seeking dish systems out there with most other than the Camos being an exposed motorised unit. I spoke to users before spending out...and there are problems with them taking in grit/ water/leaves etc. My Camos has been faultless over several years...and controls from a unit in the lounge that selects any one of 8 satellites. but...its expensive at about £1200 !!!! I love it though...providing there are no trees its straight on the satellite. Bob
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