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oldgregg

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Posts posted by oldgregg

    Boat Fire

    in Broads Chat

    Posted

    Wasn’t it the split charger that failed on Belmore?

    Just thinking there are quite a few things which can fail in such a way.

    Of course there is gas, too. A small and very slow gas leak is likely to eventually be ignited by something.

    We don’t know what caused this fire.

    Boat Fire

    in Broads Chat

    Posted

    I’ve seen some electrical horrors on used boats and I’d expect anything which has been out of hire for a decent amount of time to have a variety of DIY ‘treats’ in store for a potential owner.

    A rewire is probably not that high on most people’s list of priorities but it’s very important.

    With regards to insurance, it’s always important to look very carefully at the list of policy exclusions. The best price will usually buy you the worst policy and insurers will happily find reasons not to pay. I have worked for two major names in the insurance industry plus a repairer in the sector and it does change one’s perception.

    • Like 2

    Boat Fire

    in Broads Chat

    Posted

    A shame to lose one of these.

    I won’t name the vessel until all has been confirmed but I think it’s obvious to most people which of the Pearls that was.

    If she was unoccupied then I think the possible causes are fairly minimal. As Andrew says, they’re fairly rare these days.

    We don’t know what the cause is yet so I won’t speculate.

    It’s probably a good warning for all that gas bottles should be off when a boat is unoccupied and that electrical systems should be off and / or isolated when not needed and that those which are needed (ie battery charging etc) should be well maintained.

    Automatic fire supression systems are also not a bad idea around the engine bay.

     

    • Like 5

    Springer’s Retreat On The Rivers

    in Holiday Tales & Blogs

    Posted

    I don't think anyone is having a particularly good season.

    The weather has been fairly rubbish so short-notice boating holidays to soak up the rays will not have been much of a thing, but I think with many people not having been abroad for quite a while then they're choosing that option.

    With hire prices having been ramped up to the levels they have over the last two to three years, I can't say I'm shocked. There are lots of offers out there for late notice bookings but seasoned boaters mostly don't want to play that game. I expect there will be some price adjustments to come.

    • Like 2

    An Adventure Of Mystique

    in Holiday Tales & Blogs

    Posted

    I'll be interested to see how you get on with this boat, Simon. It looks like it'd be a good option for myself and Mrs OG.

    I think the Ricko's handover thing is a new procedure to show that they're taking onboard recommendations off the back of the spate of accidents that took place in the insanely busy seasons of 20/21.

    When I turned up at Stalham last, we were told much the same and that everyone must go for a river trial etc and we would need to wait until someone is available. Once we were aboard the boat they quickly established that I knew more about the boat than them and we were off without a trial.

    • Like 3

    Waveney River Centre

    in Broads Chat

    Posted

    48 minutes ago, dnks34 said:

    No disrespect intended to a previous WRC owner but I personally felt a disservice was done to the place when the Waveney Inn was poshed up and the Tenants of that time departed.  They used to put a lot on for campers, boaters and other visitors during the busy periods and it all fitted with the general ambience of the site.

    To be fair the campsite did often look a bit of a mess but I did enjoy seeing other people come and go while enjoying their family holidays.

    I think you're right. The change did take the pub a bit more upmarket in terms of its appearance, but really the soul of the place also went with it.

    • Like 2

    My Day

    in The Broadscot Lounge

    Posted

    Yeah those Symfonisk speakers are supposed to be quite decent.

    The limitation with classic Sonos devices is they're really intended to be used on a network with a number of other Sonos speakers.

    The model is very much that your phone is a 'controller' whereas what most people want in the sort of environment that you describe is a bluetooth speaker where the speaker is simply outputting the audio from the mobile device.

    Sonos have released the Move and Roam more recently (the Move is great, the Roam less so) and those can be used in bluetooth mode. The latest 'Era' models also allow you to connect with them via bluetooth or wifi without having to manually switch the mode like you do on the Move. 

    We have a Move and it's great in the garden and also handy to take boating because no other bluetooth capable speaker sounds that good. It also has Google / Alexa and Sonos' own voice assistant (which is less good).

    • Like 1

    My Day

    in The Broadscot Lounge

    Posted

    19 hours ago, Mouldy said:

    The speakers are better than the source at the moment.  I’m currently using a Denon DM41 DAB, which for the money is hard to fault, but when my wallet recovers from recent expenditure, I hope to upgrade to separates.

    I’ll have to make a good job of the decorating and then sweet talk the wife!

    I've got the DM38 in the loft, they are indeed great for the money (and nice and compact).

    These days I've gone for convenience and mostly use Sonos, which again sound quite good for their size but there's an element of what us techies call 'vendor lock-in' with that system. Anything which has people buying into an 'ecosystem' is generally not great for the consumer.

    And my old Tannoy Mercurys with the DM38 sounded richer...

    • Like 1

    Wifi Signal

    in Broads Chat

    Posted

    18 hours ago, ZimbiIV said:

    If there are several repeater stations, you could try deleting the current one and retuning to see if you pick up another station.

    If it's a proper install then they'll all use the same SSID (network name) and your devices will be switched to the access point with the strongest signal.

    But certainly a WiFi repeater is worth looking into.

    New To Boating!!

    in Broads Chat

    Posted

    Some syndicates also specifically have 'school holiday shares' available, and for someone dependent on specific weeks then those have to be a really good option.

    You will of course pay more for those shares, but they are very flexible. And they're not just school holiday shares, they're basically a 'pick your own weeks' share.

    Hire Fleet Changes 2023

    in Hire Boat Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, PaulN said:

    In my opinion the build quality of these two companies is a long way apart.

    It's night and day I'd say.

    The Haines Bure 36 is pretty much the ultimate 'Alpha' bathtub whereas what Viking were producing was very 'old school hirefleet' in terms of quality. Not a terrible fitout but just nowhere near what comes out of Catfield.

    It must be good because I've somehow convinced Mrs OG to book Kris' Bure 36 on the Thames next year... That separate shower cubicle very much helped the decision.

    • Like 1

    Domestic Boiler Problem - Solution

    in The Broadscot Lounge

    Posted

    You still see houses come up for sale with the old floor-standing boilers. They're not always amazingly efficient but they're insanely reliable and designed to be repaired rather than replaced.

    And yeah, same here I guess. My dad is a qualified mechanical engineer so we were forever taking stuff apart when I was younger. Times were a bit hard in the early 90's (as you've alluded to) and I learnt to do all manner of jobs on cars and plumbing, electrics etc to save money and it was a bit of a faff at the time but it's incredibly useful nowadays.

    • Like 4

    Domestic Boiler Problem - Solution

    in The Broadscot Lounge

    Posted

    1 hour ago, chrisdobson45 said:

    I salute you, I haven't the courage to attempt to repair the boiler when it stops working. 

    Those older boilers are simpler, that's the main thing.

    We used to have a 90's Ideal Classic with cast iron heat exchanger and it was a good old-fashioned 'heat only' boiler in that its job was purely to heat water. The only controls on it were a power switch and a temperature knob. 

    Everything else was separate; expansion vessel, diverter valve for heating / hot water, programmer, pressure gauge, the lot.

    The programmer literally applied power to the boiler and it'd fire up and heat the water on which ever circuit was selected. No data communication at all between the two, simply put 240V up it and let it do it's thing.

    Spectacularly simple, I replaced the fan assembly on it myself when it failed and I was never really very worried that it would let us down as parts were available. 

    Now we have a Worcester Bosch combi (part of a kitchen refit) and the instant hot water is convenient but that thing is massively more complex inside and so densely packaged to fit inside the housing that I can't see it lasting the 20 years the old one did at the point we decommissioned it.

    • Like 1
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