whis_tan09

I had the same problem with my vodaphone dongle and windows 7, spent ages on the phone with vodaphone in the end I took the new laptop with windows 7 back to the shop and bought a new one with XP. With vodaphone the software wouldnt down load automatically from the dongle as it does with vista/xp so you need to download it from web. I then still couldnt get it to work- one of the may problems with Windows 7. Suggest giving 3 a call and asking what they can do or taking it into a store.

Thanks very much guys. Tania

For heating we have a stove - villager puffin, which we have on most of the time at the moment and we also have central heating but we havent needed it yet. and insulations pink loft like insulation - glass fibre prehaps not sure what it is called. Dont fancy changing the insulation - large expensive job? Is it likely to be casuing any damage?

We recently bought a 6 yr old narrow boat, we are living aboard, she is well heated and ventilated. However, the boat wasnt well ventilated prior to purchase, our surveyor noticed drip marks on the internal walls of the boat, and put this down to poor ventilation. We have today noticed that we have some water dripping down the internal walls from the gunnels, it seems as if it is coming from the insulation. We have had very cold weather over the last few days - snow and ice on the canal, not sure if this is effecting it? But as I said previously we are very careful to keep ventilation maintained. Does anyone know what could be causing this, what we could do to prevent/ fix it? Many thanks Tania

Fab thanks Chris, I will look out for her next time we are your way :-) Can I ask how long it too you to get there from Berko?

Hello everyone, I wonder whether anyone can help. We bought a 6 year old narrow boat recently, and we are moored on the Grand Union near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. She is in desperate need of a new paint job top and bottom. We have been told that it is best to wait for the spring when the weather is better as the damp can affect the quality of the job, which is fine. However, we are keen to find a painter and get her booked in for next year, I expect the really good painters get booked up pretty quickly? We want a really professional job and wondered whether anyone could recommend a company near to Hertfordshire or at least not too far away? Any recommendations slightly further a field also welcomed. Many thanks for any help offer in advance Tania

Thanks Andy, I will give them a call tomorrow and see whether they can do this for us too, but the big problem at the moment for Villager seems to be getting hold of the parts, they just dont seem to be making them thus the long wait. Though would love not to be without a door for a week!

We have inherited a Villager Puffin stove on the boat we have just bought and the bolts which hold the glass in the door have sheared off. I have contact Villager and it is weeks before we could get any spare parts for the stove. We originally though of getting a replacement door but have been advised that these are custom made for each stove so a replacement may not be efficient and thus not worth the cost (third of the cost of a new stove) We then though of getting new glass clips/bolts but a) there are none available till potentially February and we need to attach them. Therefore, as a last resort I think we need to fashion replacement bolts to the stove door, so my question is does anyone have any experience of soldering on bolts to a stove door, does it work, how do you go about it? Would really appreciate the help we are very cold aboard! Also, does anyone know if you can use normal unleaded diesel instead of red diesel in a beta marine B38 engine? Thank you

There is about an inch of water left in the engine, but it was dripping on to the wires. We think the bilge pump might be blocked as water is pumped out quickly when it first comes on and then stops even though the pump still runs. We found the float switch its a Rule-mate but it is really hard to reach.

My mistake I did mean the hinged lid on the back deck rather than the actual weed hatch lid. Yes there is a channel where the water is collected, we have just looked and it is very blocked, so thank you very much. We now have a problem with the bilge pump, we have started it running and it won't stop, we have switched off the batteries and all the electronics but it is still going - any ideas? Thanks

Hello, We have just bought a 57ft, 6 year old Cauldon narrowboat and have been living aboard for the last month or so with no major problems. However, we now have a problem with water in the engine room. Rainwater seems to be coming from the weed hatch lid (crack where you open the lid) and dripping into the engine room. There are a lot of electrical wires which have got wet in the process and now the lights in the back of the boat aren’t working. We are in the process of getting rid of the water and drying it out, but does anyone have any ideas as to how we could seal the weed hatch lid so this doesn't keep happening? Many thanks, Tania