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sometimes what can come across as patronising on here is just other users trying to make you think carefully before you leap in. all too often we see a new user buying a boat with little / no experience and then... we get the posts of "why are my batteries flat... I charge them for 10 minutes each day" after about 7 months (usually in winter) the user vanishes (never to be seen again) and the boat appears for sale at a brokers / on ebay / on apolloduck. your post raises concerns since it sounds like you have never spent any time on a boat and are rushing into possibly spending 100k on something that you may not be able to stand being on for more than a few hours. on here the users vary from absolute beginners to people that have spent the majority of their lives in boats (I know a couple are over 40 years), in my own case I was raised on the boats from 3 days old until I was 10(ish) and then spent 30 years on dry land occasionally borrowing friends boats before buying my own boat 2 1/2 years ago. now as I mentioned before I am looking at buying a dutch barge and selling my current boat, house and land based businesses to live on the boat permanently. I don't intend to spend my time in a marina but as I understand it the waterways I want to be on have no concept of continuous cruising so the boat will have to have an official home mooring (even if it is never there). overall this will cost more than my land based living and will mean a drop in income from giving up the businesses but I do have an internet based income stream that it seems will cover the costs fairly easily (final yes / no will be in february after testing this income stream for 12 months) AND I have enough savings to cover my costs for 5 years if it all goes wrong and I suddenly end up with zero income. but (probably the most important bit) I know exactly what living on a boat entails, I still remember oil lamp lighting, the elsan "bucket & chuck it" toilets, water from a buckby can (or if you were on a posh boat a foot operated pump), and if you wanted hot water you boiled a pan / kettle. mains on boats didn't exist and 12v was limited (on posh boats) to a couple of 12v strip lights.

My perception having passed the site a few weeks back and picked up a totally unexplainable feeling there was a "FU and FO" attitude radiating from everyone there, I'm totally not surprised to see this video posted. Hopefully they will be stopped now from launching their money-grabbing fuc ugly space-grabbing widebeams which clog up our canals forthwith.

You may well be correct although that doesn't mean they won't be interested. A proportionate response might be to write to the company asking them to demonstrate they have undertaken a safe and sufficient risk assessment and are adhering to the controls that resulted from that assessment. It may also be appropriate to ask CRT how they assess the suitability of leased sites for the activities that take place on them (assuming that applies here). The operation pictured shows 30ish tonnes of steel being pushed over a precipice by a piece of plant not designed for such with no apparent means of restraint despite there being friction reducing equipment in use and there is no obviously controlled exclusion zone around the operation. All pretty basic stuff. It may not look risky but in the lead up to almost every industrial accident things look routine. JP

I have a husband for that shit In fact , in my experience its men that produce most of it.

It's ok, it soon passes in a widebeam. You get moored somewhere and the silt soon fills under the boat removing any motion.

It's so good to hear people are winterising their boats already with October nearly out and November just around the corner! This, of coarse, is welcomed by the proper boaters, I mean those who cruise all year round, who value the peace and solitude that comes when the warm weather boaters hang up their windlasses. Oh for the miles of boat free water and empty moorings, locks with no ques and kingfishers escorting you along the cut entertaining you with their speedy flight. No, you winterise your boats and moor em up tightly, for us that will be cruising, may not notice you as we glide on by. And at the end of the day, oh the welcome warmth as you kick your boots off and sup tea and cake! Roll on winter! Nipper

Thing is, you always fail to mention you have a Travelpower in your posturing polemics. Anyone know how much a brand new travelpower costs?

It's been mentioned loads of times in batt topics over recent years, but I see two two main problems: 1) Batt topics tend to ramble on and essential advice gets buried. 2) Most boaters aren't really interested apart from when they purchase batts or a monitor. If you skim the topics it's easy to just notice the cheerleading say for Trojans or Smartguage and miss the essentials. Believe me nothing loses peoples interest quicker than being told the latest shiny won't solve everything, and there's a modicum of real work involved. It might help if the above mantra was printed in big bold letters right at the front of the Smartguage manual with a clear explanation of WHY... The upshot of all this is that I'd say the more typical narrowboater, maybe 95%, would probably be best served by reasonable el cheapos. Now IF they can check them when new, baby them a little, then monitor them some, all the better.

I sailed off-shore for 40 years and the nearest I got to throwing up was whilst on the helm at 3am in the middle of the English Channel an 'indisposed' crew member appeared at the hatch with a washing up bowl and proceeded to throw the contents overboard but to windward. (think about it). Fortunatly my plea "tell me that was water" was met with a "yes". I knew it wasn't but convinced myself otherwise.

If you were happy with your batteries for 2.5 years of live aboard use, I can’t see any point in changing. For me, cheap leisure batteries only lasted 6 months of intermittent leisure use. Perhaps it is down to our different usages and expectations?

I did hear we had some cold weather was on the way so I wintered as well. 1. Take a couple of bags of coal off roof and put inside front cratch. 2. Move a summers detritus off the Epping.

However because you have changed your charging regime, by installing a Whispergen, you will not be making a like for like comparison.

My advice is never put any padlocks etc on show when securing your boat you are just SHOUTING OUT hey I am not home take your time and smash your way in. Best are simple key operated locks as with any other kind of door. As stated by others said scumbags will get in if they want to anyway and big locks just means more damage. The best security by a country mile is a big dog.

You are right of course. We all suffer inconvenience from time to time, from these boating businesses which bring life and employment to the waterways. Let's keep hounding them, reporting them to CRT and the HSE, and perhaps get them closed down. Then we can get lovely flats built on the sites, whose boating enthusiast residents love to see us mooring outside and beg us to light our fires to give their home an ambience. Sounds like win-win to me.

It would lengthen the amount of bar in the "staple" so giving even less sideways play. However your bar is of a finite length so probably not worth doing now.

The bar is solid stainless and it would probably be easier to bend the boat! The tolerance of the holes is quite tight and the lug containing the hole in the bar is at a slight angle, these minimise any side play. The choice of padlock further limits both movement and prevents access for bolt croppers. In the end it is stronger than the wooden back cabin that it is attached to.

Private Fraser in Dads army suffered something like this when on the shooting range, he was waving his rifle ''up and down, up and down'', to get on target. Mainwaring asked him why he was doing it, he replied, ''Its the motion of the sea'' Cap Mannering. He won the shooting match.

I have this arrangement on our back doors, very secure. You could use Enfield garage door locks, they are quite bulky but strong, secure and can be opened from both inside and out. This is useful as it doesn't announce the fact that you are not at home.

I'd recommend a robust security padlock that hides the bar and connect it to a robust hasp. If they want to get into your boat, they will. They more difficult you make it they more expensive damage they'll do. No boat is impossible to break into. Make it time consuming so they'll move off down to find easier prey. On my home mooring I don't actually lock my boat, also I leave nothing of value on board. When away from the boat on a trip I do lock it, and hang a sign that says due to numerous break ins the interior is booby trapped, it will hurt, you will bleed and I'll have a copy of your DNA. I'm not saying here how I booby trap it, and I know the sign is illegal because it is written in English. However I can not find an international sign for spring loaded razor wire. The best tip is do not lock anything inside the boat, once on they'll smash any cupboard they find as clearly you've hidden something in there.

It is exactly the other way round. EVERY leisure user of diesel fuel for propulsion not on a road (with no chance of the unit being easily used on a road) uses red diesel and always has done. A few years ago boats were singled out for special "treatment" and were forced to pay duty, or use white, for propulsion. No one else was so treated. The next time you see an ex army tank doing wheelies round a field belching out black smoke, just remember for some reason, he can use red. George

Quite so. For me, the main attraction of boating is to escape from all the petty restrictions and pointless bureaucratic interference that dominate modern life. It is that freedom that I value most highly in boating.

I have been thinking about this overnight and have come to the conclusion I and others have been mislead by self diagnosis and a lack of information. If we assume the think that was pushed 20 times was the lift pump priming lever (except I thought on Perkins it is pulled up) then as the thermostart/flame plug worked we know that the thermostat is working. From that it is reasonable to conclude the problem is something else. In my experience the Perkins 4-10x series were good starters for most of the year in the UK, certainly I would not expect it to require the thermostart working yesterday after about 10 am. This makes me suspect there is another problem that the thermostart has been covering up. Now two questions: - 1. is the starter spinning the engine fast enough? 2. if yes what are the compressions, this may be a worn engine. If both those questions return satisfactory answers its fair to conclude its a fuelling issue. IF the compressions are OK this is hinted at by the piece saying it cranked over but just made smoke, I would like to know how much. I think the OP said he has had the tank cleaned - why? I suspect bug or a lot of dirt. In either case the fuel pump valves may be jammed open by whatever it was, especially if the is no primary filter/water trap. Open valves would allow fuel to drain away from high points if there is the smallest air leak in the engine pipework and the boat has a low level tank. There is another possibility because I suspect this is an old engine. The lift pump arm, camshaft eccentric and the levers inside the lift pump can and do wear. When they do the priming system can usually supply far more fuel that when the camshaft is working the pump. If this is the problem the symptoms are likely to be exactly what has been described. If cranking for a few seconds before stopping to apply heat and then cranking again does not work then I think the lift pump needs to come off for investigation, especially if its one like Mross posted because it has no strainer on the inlet. Before taking it off I would disconnect an outlet pipe, direct it into a jar and crank the engine. You should get around a small eggcup full of fuel every two revolutions and rather more on each FULL stroke of the priming lever provided the camshaft is in the correct place. Very little on cranking and a bit more with the priming lever suggest a worn pump. A further point is that the engine uses a DPA injector pump so once running the internal transfer pump mat well assist in drawing fuel into the engine. As always a full history and description of ALL the symptoms helps a lot in solving problems.

I've had my 12v Trojan for a year now, the improvement over cheapos is startling. With the old ones I used to wake up in the morning, after a bit of telly and internet the previous evening with the battery at anything between 12.2 and 12.4. With the Trojan the lowest it's been is 12.6, it's usually 12.7.

My point is that CRT are sending this letter out as an initial query rather than making any rash assumptions based on their logging data. That's a good thing isn't it?

I will post a photo in a day or two. I secure the hatch with a padlock through a hole in the slide, and the door with a bar through the bottom of the floor that is connected to a removeable plate on the inside.

Another method would be to use a mortise lock with hooks in the hatch that bolts into the two doors. Something like...

Yes, but I think that most folks just want to get on wih their lives without interference or being "monitored", fair enough if one has signed up to the CC contract, but not otherwise. I assumed the OP was not contravening any rules, and all the C&RT have to do is to check the type of the licence then delete the "sightings" [thinking about the legalities of maintaining computer records which are not essential]

This is the correct answer. Nowt to do with the refrigerant - its the compressor that turns the gas into a liquid and is necessarily present at all times in the compressor. The problem is the compressor's oil that lubricates the motor. If this gets into the capillary (or TEV in some units) this will turn to wax shortly after beginning the cooling action, thus blocking said capillary tube, and preventing further refrigeration. If the refrigerator has been laid down, say for transport, it needs to stand for at least 12 hrs, to allow any oil to drain back down into the compressor. before switching on.

More likely Gilbert and Sullivan, "A policeman's lot". George

The problem is with the compressor lubrication rather than the refrigerant. A few hours will let this settle before use. You wouldn't turn your generator on its side and expect it to run trouble free.

Living aboard a boat and cruising extensively is great. I sometimes think that living aboard a static boat in a marina is the worse of both worlds, but lots of people do it, and it probably is still a bit better than a house. But, we have met so so many couples where husband wants to live on the boat and wife is very very unhappy and just doing it to please husband. These people usually don't stick it for long. Im lucky, my wife likes the boaty life just as much as me, if not more. Real boaters dont get sea sick, they get land sick. (really) ...............Dave

Well yes, duh. This is normal. Reading between the lines you seem to think a boat should be cheaper than a house to live on. A common misperception. A superior lifestyle usually costs more, not less, dunnit!

The K and A is like the V&A in London, full of static exhibits and luvvy hippies that move very slowly, if at all.

Utter nonsense of course, but I'm out. George

But they will be World Trade regs, agreed by all countries, not regs dictated by unelected bureaucrats.

You are well aware that the tentacles of the EU are so entwined into the UK that we will have to have the "Great Repeal Bill" or whatever it will be called to incorporate all EXISTING EU regs into UK law. We will then have years to unpick those bits of EU regs we do not want. Crucially, no more EU law will come our way after Brexit, including a requirement to use white diesel for heating if we don't have a separate tank, which is a minor matter compared to bank regulation, EU finance minister, compulsory use of the euro etc, which is in the EU pipeline. Before you say it, if we wish to export to the EU, exported goods will have to comply to EU requirements, just as goods we send to any other country in the world have to meet that country's requirements. We will no more be subservient to the EU than to any other country to which we export. George

I think that you will find that any leisure boat that turns up in EU ports with red diesel in their tanks are penalised EU Inconsistency: Specific Advice for Boaters visiting Netherlands:- The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in London, has confirmed that the new legislation (as detailed in the Customs October 2012 News Release), introduced in January 2013, applies to diesel purchased in the Netherlands but has no impact on visiting yachts that have red diesel in their main fuel tanks purchased legitimately outside the Netherlands. The official policy for the use of Red Diesel in the Netherlands remains as follows: "You can fill up your tanks with red diesel, but not take more fuel with you then the amount [capacity] of your tanks. You have to be able to show the receipt, which can’t be older than 1 year old. On the receipt should be written that “the difference in tax between white and red diesel is paid by [to] the UK Government (the 60/40 notice)”. According to the Dutch Customs this should be on the receipt automatically [we take this to mean it must be printed not hand written]. If you keep to these points and can show the above mentioned papers and notes the Dutch Customs can’t fine you. Specific Advice for Boaters visiting France:- The Customs Attaché of the French Embassy in London has confirmed that: 1. If the owner is a British resident and the vessel is in French waters on a temporary basis (holiday), the vessel may arrive in France with red diesel in its tank, refuel with correctly taxed diesel during its stay in France and return to Great Britain without a problem. 2. If the vessel is to remain in France for an extended stay, invoices for diesel purchases should be retained for three years to demonstrate that duty paid fuel has been purchased since the boat’s arrival in France. Your fuel invoices, should be kept on board to demonstrate you have acted in good faith, should your boat’s fuel be subject to inspection. You should however be aware that it is prohibited to purchase rebated diesel for recreational boating in France. Specific Advice for Boaters visiting Belgium:- On 26 September 2017 the RYA secured confirmation from the Belgian Ministry of Finance that controls in Belgium for red diesel remain suspended until further notice. It is unlawful in Belgium to use red diesel for propelling a private pleasure craft. Boating in Belgian waters with marked 'red' diesel in your fuel tanks put you at risk of receiving a fine (of €500 - €5000). This has been the case since the beginning of this decade. However the Belgian Government has now acknowledged that its approach is different to that of its near neighbours (France and the Netherlands). Belgian customs has therefore suspended all controls [for marked 'red' diesel in pleasure craft] until further notice. It should however be noted that this is not a change to the Belgian legislation. It is simply a statement that the law will not be enforced in the short term

I voted to leave but it was a difficult 49:51 type decision, but now seeing how the negotiations are going I am convinced we need to get out. So, last week we went over to Europe to buy a new boat, that will be £150,000 Euros they said, "but I haven't told you what I want yet" I said. "Its EU rules" they said, you agree to give us 150,000 then and only then we might give you a boat, but then again we might not. ...............Dave

NO! I specifically said they would NOT go down the road the EU is attempting to force. George

Give them time. There is a lot to do, but the EU has all the time in the world to extend its tentacles. George

That is exactly the point. The EU WANTS a system of taxes that IS the same in every country, which the EU will control. The EU also wants a single system of everything else, much of which it has already achieved. Again, all under the control of the EU. George Probably not, but at least they will not have to go down the EU road and force the use of white diesel for everything (unless you are one of the fortunate ones with twin tanks. Even then, sourcing two different types of diesel canalside will be impossible). George

Yep absobloomin lootely but of course we should have voted to stay so they could tell us what to do

Thankfully this is one area that the eu can be told to shove off soon, very soon.

The problem is it's not like a house roof where you can effectively seal the roof opening with flashing tucked underneath the slates/tiles, getting a waterproof joint which allows for expansion is the reason for the "bodge". When you think about it there isn't really another way to do it without a lot of technical complexity. A lot of marine fixes look quite crude when you think about it - what about the traditional stern gland/stuffing box? - just some rope and grease yet most folk still use it. On a boat it's often more important to have something simple that works even if it does appear to be from a bygone age.