Jocave

Thanks for that Griff ,if my boat was born in the sixties then a bit of tree with some sort of preservative to slow down the rotting process would work but as mine is made of that new fangled stuff then I'm looking for a more modern repair technique, ( only joking by the way BA did look fantastic when it passed me earlier on in the year)

They have been replaced now with more slimline ones held on with floating stretchy braided rope, hopefully that will keep them attached

Oh and all the products I looked at were white and my boat appears to be an off white almost magnolia colour ..

A few months back I had a bit of a slow speed collision, didn't notice any damage apart from losing a fender but just been up to the boat to winterize it and noticed the gel coat has cracked and has an area of crazing on it, only noticed it since the boat has gone a bit green and mouldy, its been given a good clean but I can now see the damage, what is the best way to treat this??, its pretty localised to a small area and as the boat is unpainted I would like to keep it this way, I have looked at the various gel coat repair products but unsure exactly what I need, bit of a rubbish pic but its the area just below the cleat and above the ball fender

Now that's a statement I like, wish everyone including me took that outlook..

Congratulations, exciting times ahead for you, had to laugh at some of the replies you received on the other forum, "crazy,mad and stupid" were a few things posted ,forget all the negatives you go for it Robin and enjoy the experience ,I'm sure there will be ups and downs along the way but good for you for doing such a big life changing journey, can't wait for the updates and possible blogs, it does look an impressive vessel ,bit of a step up from Brinks Belmore

Sorry for bringing an old thread up again but after reading numerous issues with these freezing up and mentioning this to the marina owner where my boat is moored they said don't bother draining it down as it doesn't drain all the water out of if ,instead just remove it and take it home, as its only two water pipes a gas connection and two screws holding it to the wall, seems like a sensible idea to me and this is what I am planning to do next week, are there any concerns doing this apart from obviously when reinstalling to ensure there are no gas or water leaks, I will only be needing the eberspacher over the winter so wanted to drain down the complete water system..

Robin ,not sure if this has been mentioned in the thread , is Sheila a part of this plan?? Obviously a big life change on the cards so just wanted to ask , wish you well whatever the plans you have ,hope you have the cameras and equipment ready to document this journey from day one , pretty sure there will be plenty of people eagerly awaiting updates following you're experiences, I know I have been missing the blogs, hope its not too long before we have a new series of blogs to watch , wish you well in whatever you decide to do , , just make sure you film it ...

Thanks Alan the trip over was a waste of time ,not really as described and the height of the freeboard is an issue ,we are now looking at some of the newer Viking models in particular the ones with the rear door to make things easier, budget has gone out of the window but it will be worth it long term..

Not really ,off to Norwich to look at one tomorrow, thanks for the help..

After owning our viking 23 for six months or so we have realised we could really do with something a bit bigger, there are a couple of DC 10's for sale that we are interested in ,both need a certain amount of upgrades but nothing major, just wondering if anyone owns one or has owned one in the past that can offer any pointers, we hopefully will be viewing both this week if all goes to plan..

No it doesn't, rather shower twice a day and pay for pump outs, being on a boating holiday doesn't mean you have to slum it, ok you might have to be carefull with water consumption but personal hygiene doesn't need to take a dive...

Ah that explains it then ,good for the rivers I suppose ,not so good for the pocket

The shower on Golden Emblem went straight outside, the shower pump on my Viking pumps outside too, maybe its an eco thing on the newer boats

How many pump outs did you need in eleven nights?? One other thing don't most people shower daily whatever time of year, must have a very small tank fitted ..

Update from the engineer doing the work , apparently to get the gas locker to comply it needs raising up and fibre glassing in place to get the drain above water level, diesel tank has been purchased but its not see through so no idea how I am going to check how much fuel is in it, eberspacher aparantly needs a vent going outside and an extra vent in the locker where its fitted to draw cold air in, it was only fitted last year so how come this wasn't considered when it was installed..

Totally agree ,I have no idea what does and what does not comply with the bss as this is my first boat, since it failed my wife has refused to set foot onboard, just want it all put right now so there are no concerns at all, wouldn't allow anyone onboard until everything was put right..

Bit of an update ,turns out most of the issues were caused by whoever fitted the eberspacher, the gas locker was relocated but it was just dropped in place ,not fixed down and with no drain vent, the fuel tank was moved to accommodate this , everything is getting put back to how it was and the eberspacher is being relocated, only slight problem is the diesel tank for this, it needs to be a fixed install with a deck filler and I'm having problems trying to locate the necessary parts to do this, seems a bit daft as up until now I could remove the tank and fill it up ashore but with the new rules I will have to reach over the side of the boat and fill it externally, far more chance of spilling diesel into the water now which of course I will do my best to avoid but still a possibility

I'm meeting with the engineer and the bss guy on Saturday at the boat yard to discuss what needs doing, not bothered how much it costs to put right as I just want it sorted now, wife won't set foot on it now because she thinks its not safe.

The eberspacher was only fitted last year, the issues with the gas locker were raised on the last bss which I have only just been sent, don't know how it passed unless they have changed the rules as it was only a recommendation

The current one is just a plastic 25ltr jerry can type thing, it needs one that is fixed in place with a deck filler ( more chance of me spilling diesel into the water that way )

Apart from that seems in pretty good condition

1. Insecure gas pipe behind oven 2.gas pipes contain soldered joints(need to be compression fittings to resist vibration) 3.Gas locker not fixed down 4.Gas locker needs low level drain to exterior 5. Diesel tank incorrect type 6. Diesel tank insecure 7. Needs fixed diesel tank with through deck filling point 8. Gas hose from cylinder in poor condition 9. Petrol tank needs securing 10. Petrol tank locker needs drain to exterior 11. Eberspacher needs fresh air vent fitting to cockpit area

No fridge currently fitted, the cooker is the one that was fitted from new and I was told that it was no problem having no flame failure as it was fitted before 1990, as for the other issues I will find out this weekend as I am up there trying to sort everything out so we can have a few more weeks cruising before the winter

Only thing that has changed was an eberspacher was installed a year ago