Lucky

Just another quick idea ..... Would it be possible to have a couple of dedicated photographers - I know there are a few on here !!! It would be great to get a small collection of fine photos of our craft in action !

Don't forget me !!

After reading all this, I have come to the conclusion that I need a bigger boat..... 1) To put all this equipment on 2) So that the bigger boats can see me !!

There's a couple for sale on eBay Mark:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Raymarine-Autohelm-ST50-Depth-Display-Z089_W0QQitemZ370323046131QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM?hash=item5638f93ef3 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Autohelm-ST50-Echo-Sounder-Display_W0QQitemZ320476158837QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM?hash=item4a9dde1b75 And, I would suggest giving these people a ring as their prices don't seem to bad for used equipment:- http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~marvelec/clearance.html Not sure what the retail price is for a new one, but worth giving them a call ? Luke

Yes Mark, the £65 is for both lifts, not each.

Hi Ian I'm not sure on all the in's and out's of boat lifting - I've only ever had one took out before... Best to give him a call directly and he can answer all questions first hand rather than me guessing !! Luke.

Yep, exactly Adam - right opposite the yacht station !! It has the little cottage on the grounds right by the river, with a huge lock up behind it and offices to the left if looking from the water side. There is also a fully time mechanic/fixer there - Stephen - lovely chap, very helpful and knows his stuff ! Diesel on site too ! James bought the place last year, and there are no plans to turn it into flats, although I can fully understand where the rumors came from especially due to the family that bought it !! lol !! - but no, there are no plans whatsoever to change it from what it currently is - in fact, James is spending quite a few quid to improve the place. I'm not sure if James has any permanent moorings currently available there - if anyone is looking, best give him a call to find out.... I for one would certainly moor mine there if the need arose ! Just out of interest, I take it that £65 to lift a boat out and put it back in is very good value - I'd appreciate anyones comments on this, and also the £3 per ft per month hard standing..... Always good to give a friend feedback !!

Now, I don't know if I am treading on anyone's toes by posting this up, so if I am please feel free to delete it. I have just been speaking to a very (very) good friend of mine that owns Derby Quay in Beccles, formerly Aston Boats. He has said that anyone who needs their boat lifted out for work to be done on it then he can charge the following prices:- £65 boat lift out AND lift back in when required. £3 per foot per month hardstanding. Taking a quick look round I think these prices are quite impressive and will be useful for forum members. I am pretty sure that the price for 'over winter' hardstanding is different - we only talked about lifting for work to be done, but if anyone is interested then please give him a call. We only talked about the above due to Mark putting his post up about lifting his boat possibly to fix a couple of problems. Anyway, if you want to talk to him, his name is James and he is available on 07884 478141 - PLEASE mention my name when you talk to him to make sure you are 'well' looked after !! Hope this can help someone.... Luke PS He can currently lift out up to 32ft boats.

Mark I am just about to put up a new post about boat lifting - it will probably be up by the time you read this, but make sure you see it !! Luke

I've had a couple of petrol engined boats Wayne and not had to wait ten minutes. Out of respect for the engine, I usually waited a minute or two in netural but thats it...

What setting do you guys and girls actually set your frost thermostat at ?

Hi Mark The temp stat that Wayne has noted above is exactly the same one as I have just ordered !! Out of interest, I have ordered a 135 watt 3ft energy saving tubular heater for the engine bay as I presumed that would be more than enough - also from TLC, order code HETH453 - BUT you say you have TWO 4ft ones - could this be overkill, or am I wishing too much from one x 135 watt ? Assuming my very very limited knowledge of electricity and presuming that your 4ft ones are 185 watt then: 185w x 2 x 24hours = 8.8kw / day x £0.125/kw = £1.10 on my home electricity meter - so I guess £2 would be right in a marina !! - Yep - get the stat !!

LOL !! If she wasn't snuggled up on the sofa with Giraffe Flu then she would be my first point of accusation !!!

Hi Wayne We always run just one engine on the Broads - only ever turn the other one on if mooring is going to be a little difficult. We have to use the starboard engine as this makes the steering lighter. If we use the port engine its really difficult to turn. I guess the 'power steering' is connected to the starboard. I'll leave the clever ones to help diagnose the engine problem !!..

No glow plugs, its just twist and start, just like our diesel van - Duratec or something similiar. I was thinking the same as you Paul. It looks like its going to be cold again tomorrow, possibly snow, and almost definetly snow on Thursday according to the BBC weather, so I might just try it. The more I think about it the more I am getting concerned. If its nothing to do with the extra water shorting the solenoid then its something that could be possibly hard to trace. Obviously I won't leave the isolators in the on postion in future, but it is worrying that my boat could just start whenever it feels like it !! lol !! I keep coming back to the idea that it is something to do with the cold - the engine starts for a while once a certain temp is hit - but surely that just can't be right.... it would be turning itself on nearly every night for the next three months or so ??!!?? Of course, the other thing that crossed my mind was that someone was winding me up - but I have the ONLY key to the boat, and no-one can get down the garden without everybody inside the house being alerted either. This, I have determined, is not a possibility.

Thats was my other initial thought Jonathon - but I have never head of a peice of equipment that starts the engine automaticly before. From memory the port engine charges the port battery which is only used for starting of the engine. The starboard engine charges the other two batteries which run all the appliances on the boat - if it was something to do with heat then I would of thought the starboard engine would start, not the port one. The boat is connected constantly to shore power, and the hot water heaters are turned off. If they are on while connected, the current is taken from the shore power and not the batteries - At least that is how I understand it. There is a switch on the 240v panel to turn on the water heaters. HOWEVER, this does make sense !! If the temp around the boat fell below 0, then one of the engines would start, warming up the compartment..... BUT, if someone has gone to this trouble, then why not just fit a frost stat connected to a small heater, thus not relying on the diesel for the engine... ? Perhaps no shore power available ? hmmm, getting complicated now and I'm starting to second guess myself.. So, say there is a frost stat connected to the engine - surely it would turn the engine on for virtually half the winter ?? And also, if the boat was in a marina then surely someone could just nick the boat after seeing it running for a long period with no-one on board.. I think I need someone down here who knows what they are doing !! HELP !!!

You can actually take the keys out without turning her off - its a volvo !! lol !! But, the last time we started her was about a month ago - been away etc, Claire also checked on the boat on Friday too so its not the case that we left her running. I wish it was that simple to be honest ! lol !! No-one has access to the boat from the landside without us knowing (driveway and garden alarmed) - they could get here by boat but as I say we have been here all the time. Just to be safe, I have now removed ALL keys from the boat, turned off the fuel switches etc etc, so hopefully there will not be a repeat until we find the problem. Although I am presuming that the problem is this solinoid thing, I would of thought that I would of heard of someone somewhere having this problem, but a search on Google has revealed absolutely nothing.

Thats does make sense, but to get to the engine you have to remove two seats, lift a very heavy table and find a place to put all three items, then open the engine compartment, do what needs doing, replace engine compartment, seating and table THEN do a runner...... I think if that was the case then the person wouldn't of replaced everything prior to doing a 'runner'... Just doesn't seem practicable really, especially as the boat is only about 50 metres away from the house and we are working in the kitchen at the moment which is facing the boat too... Our lounge also faces the boat. Think I will leave the floodlights on for the night though, just in case !!

LOL !!! Well, my father in law was here last weekend and I'm sure he is about 400 !! lol !! I think that must be what has happened Ian. I'll have to find out where the starter solinoid is - if its near the bottom then that makes perfect sense !! The port engine wasn't that hot (it was warm) which suggests that it hadn't been running for too long - lucky I checked today !

That's what I thought. I started the engine again to see if it would start ok, ie, the starter motor was ok and it was. The boat is in view of the house so an attempted theft would be highly unlikely, especially during the day. Also, there was no evidence of anyone touching the control panel, and to get to the engines you have to remove the table (very heavy) and two of the seats. Although possible, this isn't the case here (thank God !) In my limited knowledge of engines, I agree with you, the only answer I can think of is that the solenoid was shorted in the water, started the engine, (which only appeared to have been running for a short time) then the excess water dropped below the solenoid, thus not inflicting damage to the starter..... well, at least I hope this is the case anyway...

Just went down to the boat to do the normal checks etc. As I was walking down I thought I heard one of my engines running - its strange how you can tell yours from others, but put it down to probably another boat just behind mine fishing perhaps. As I got closer, it was in fact my port engine ticking away !! It had started all on its own !! The keys were not on the boat !! It hadn't used much if any diesel !! There is only two solutions that I can think of:- 1) Someone has fitted some kind of electrical gadgetry to start the engine for 'some reason' if needed. No idea what 'reason' would need the engine running. Or:- 2) There is an electrical fault. Judging by the lack of used diesel, I would presume that the engine had only just started itself. The last time I checked on the boat was Friday - all ok. When I put the keys in the ignition and turned them to the left the engine stopped as normal. I have now turned off the battery isolators so in theory in can't happen again, but has anyone any ideas why this could of happened ? There was an excess of water below the port engine (about 1 1/2 inches) which I am presuming the pump has been blocked somehow. Could this water short some terminals causing the engine to start ? (water now cleared and will look into the pump for problems later) BUT, when I put the key in the ignition and turned left, the engine stopped straight away (this was before I removed the excess water) so surely the 'short' would of still been there ? and the engine continued to run ? If I can't sort this problem myself, can anyone recommend a suitable person to take a look - I'm in the Oulton Broad area...

Mark I'm not sure if the same rule applies, but the last time we (friends) bought a boat from NYA they were allowed to open her up to see what she could do. NYA put "trade boards" on the front, made sure there wern't any other boaters about and opened the engines.... As I say, this was a little while ago - and not sure if they are still allowed to do it, but if they do it will answer the question of how fast it can go... Luke

Definetly, definetly up for this - BUT, this Saturday is not possible for us as I have my son every other weekend, and obviously he comes first.... However, put me and Claire down for ANY trips that are planned !! Totally agree about not making it formal - far too complicated for obvious reasons - just a boaty get together !

No, but thanks for thinking tho !! and I even checked that the little rubber plug was in its correct hole for draining into the integral tank too !! Unusual for me to read the manual first, but I did this time !! Strangely I kept the box that it was delivered in - preminition perhaps ? - a practice we don't normally do.

Ok, tried the bath idea, and still nothing..... Email sent to XM Yachting (manufacturers) to see what they have to say..