simonp

Hi all, coming back to this, here are some photos of the water components I can see. It also appears we have a pumptron box as well which I think is the pressure switch. It appears that the red pressure vessel may not be in use at all. I can feel water in the pipe to the pressure switch when the pump operates but none in the blue hose underneath the pressure vessel. Does this make sense to anyone?

Does anyone want to spend?! Don't fancy ripping it all out, especially if it's an easy fix and considering we've only just had a new water pump fitted. Out of interest are variable pumps any good, reliable etc?

Thanks John, that's pretty much what I thought re the pressure vessel. All I have to do is find it! And Vaughan, thanks for your further input, I'll find some manuals for the pump and do a bit more reading up to see how far I can stretch my understanding. Agree with your point about the marina although I'm keen to learn, I really should know a bit more about it! As the marina fitted the new water pump, should we have expected them to make sure everything was correctly set up and running properly?

Good plan, thanks. I did wonder if it could be something as simple as a blockage somewhere, so I'll plan to investigate. If nothing else I might start to figure out what and where all the relevant bits and pieces are!

Thanks both for the replies. @OldBerkshireBoy it doesn't sort itself out at all, remains the same as long as you're trying to run taps/showers. @Vaughan fantastic guidance, thank you. I believe a pressure vessel is the same as an accumulator tank, and I don't know if we have one. When we're on board I'll dig around and take a load of photos. Assuming I can find the right bits I'll follow your advice (or ask our marina to investigate beforehand) and see how it goes. I take it there's a valve or something on the pressure vessel to check the pressure etc. Just to make sure I understand (!) - water pump off and taps open. Set the pressure vessel to 1 BAR (is that right, about 14 psi??). Set water pump cut OUT pressure about 12 psi. Turn the pump on, run the shower. Adjust cut IN pressure until consistent flow at the shower. I believe there's a pressure adjustment screw on the top of the pump. Is that about right?

Hi all, looking to gain a bit of knowledge and advice on water pressure. Long story short, the domestic water pressure on our boat is useless, it starts out weak, the pump eventually kicks in, you get a good blast for nearly a minute and it then slows to a trickle over the next minute or two. Really irritating for washing up, and pretty unpleasant when showering as it goes from boiling hot high pressure to a freezing cold drip shortly after! We had a new parmax 4 water pump fitted but there's no difference, arguably it's a little worse. Previously, running the cold tap in the bathroom gave the shower some consistency but that doesn't work with the new pump! I'm afraid I don't know if we have an accumulator, in fact I know very little about the domestic water system 🤔 Can anyone give any thoughts on where we should start in trying to solve the issue?

Thanks CeePee - that's good to know. I may consider EE as well as or instead of Smarty (3). My mobile is BT, which uses the EE network so I may see if I can take that out of the phone and put it in the Mifi device. My phone as a hotspot is next to useless. Thanks also Grendel - if you do remember that would be so useful! I'd also be really interested to see how 3 and O2 compare and what you find out, although I have no intention of making it a habit to work from the boat! We're away in about 4 weeks so I don't have to decide right now but if I can make my mobile sim work in a mifi, and get a Smarty one as well, in theory at least that should keep me covered.

Hi everyone, back with another silly question about mifi and mobile signals... As it happens I didn't have to work on board earlier this month, but in late October I will need to work for a day from the boat. I'm going to get a smarty sim and a mifi device. I'd like to moor at Potter, either the quiet moorings, the BA moorings or herbert woods if they'll let me, so the wife and 3 year old can go for walks and buy loads of tat from latham's! Does anyone happen to know what the signal is like on 3 at Potter? Their coverage map says no 4g but I'm not sure I believe that... Thanks!

Thanks both of you so much. We found the playground using what3words and little one had a lovely time, it looked like it had been recently refurbished. It was about 10 minutes walk from the moorings. Thanks again!

Hi all, we're currently en route to rockland, having heard the odd mention of a kids playground near the new inn... Looked at Google maps and couldn't see anything obvious, can anyone tell us how to find it please? The 3 year old demands it!

Now that's what I call resourceful!

Wow, thanks so much everyone! Such great responses 👍 Smarty sounds like the way to go, and I'll find a Huawei mini unit, thank you David for the link. Sounds like we should have a reasonable chance of being connected almost everywhere, except the home marina of course (Horning)! I think if I worked in the library at Wroxham having to take work calls I'd quickly start irritating people...

Hi all, Next time we're afloat (early September) I'll need to work a couple of days from the boat . I've done a bit of research but am still none the wiser in how to be connected, much as I'd prefer not to be. I can use my BT mobile phone (EE network) as a mobile hotspot but it's not very good and online calls (through the laptop) can be a little temperamental. I have however identified a couple of locations where I should be able to get a decent enough signal to be connected. Can anyone give any advice on what kit I'll need? I believe Three has good coverage and I'll need a mifi, dongle, and/or something else? So the plan is to purchase a 3 data sim that I can put into whatever device I need. Can I also put in my normal mobile sim if the Three signal's not good in a particular spot? And what device is it I need?! Any and all recommendations welcome, thank you!

Same here - up until a few years ago we always used to hire this type of boat. We would get under a couple of times each year in boats such as Grenada Girl, Moon Quest, Crown Gem and the like. It's a great shame that this style of boat has almost disappeared completely from the hire fleets - the Potter pilot never failed to take us through on a Crown Gem (even with just under 6ft showing on the gauge at the bridge), but Richardsons sold them all a couple of years back. They were 6ft 3 according to the helm panel, or 5ft 11 according to the pilot, and only 10ft 6 wide I seem to recall. We know how lucky we were to have experienced the other side of that bridge so many times - the only way we will again will be in a canoe!

I saw this last time we were afloat - normally I'm not a big fan of modern boats but I actually quite like this. Something between a barge and a narrow boat and an aft cockpit cruiser...

Good on you for taking action, and for taking the time to report it. Let's hope something is actually done about it. If it happens to be free when we next go past, I shall stay for a week and build a small residence...

There's just no excuse for this to be allowed by the BA. We saw him a couple of months ago with his semi-permanent "camp" in the reeds near to Sutton Staithe. Where he is now is arguably one of the most popular spots on the whole network - any time we pass if it happens to be free (which is a rarity) we dive in to enjoy it. There's great walking from there, we were planning to stop there when we're up in a couple of weeks - our two year old loves the walk from there. Unless something is done urgently that's us (and hundreds of others I'd guess) that will have to miss out. In fact is his shed not on a public footpath? I wonder if the BA were able to take possession of assets in order to pay court fees and fines this might help to solve this kind of problem. No toll = no boat.

+1 for this - great play park in a large field, plenty of room for kids to let off steam. There's also a good park at Oulton Broad.

Great additions everyone, thank you. Love the wealth of information across this forum - I'll try to be a more active participant!

Thanks Alan and John - maybe I'm just tight, or alternatively maybe I should just get used to everything costing twice as much as soon as you add the word "boat"...

Thank you sgbatyork, I'll try Rob - much appreciated. Oldgregg - we'll see if BCBM would sub out their cleaner! We're part of the Blue Mist syndicate - thankfully we haven't had any awkward issues amongst members to resolve - long may that continue!

Thanks YnysMon - that's a more reasonable cost. I wonder if BCBM might let us borrow their cleaner, or give us their contact details? I think I'll drop them a line. We may not need them but it's good to have options. I love interior cleaning when the wife does it... I clean the outside but I find that strangely pleasurable!

Hi everyone - I'm a regular reader of the forum but very rarely post...! Sorry about that! Anyway, as part of a syndicate we've been looking at solutions for cleaning between member changeovers. The members always have a good clean through before leaving the boat, but we've struggled to find the right answer to having it done by someone else. We have an option of approx. £60 per (internal) clean, but not all members (us included) think that's particularly good value. I've not found any suitable alternatives through a quick bit of google searching, so was wondering if other NBN members had any thoughts on what our options might be? We're not looking for full valeting services or anything, just ways that the boat could be cleaned between members, at a reasonable price. Run the hoover round, wipe stuff down, bit of polish etc. - so probably only a couple of hours each time. Any ideas? Or is every option going to be expensive simply because it's a boat...!?!

Thanks John, God advice. I'll use the tactic of dropping the mud weight earlier, then back in and tie up the stern with some slack. I tend to bring the ropes back on board and give them a couple of turns on the cleats anyway. I've never seen anywhere on the south where I thought it would definitely by suitable for a wild mooring, you never know what's beneath the surface or if the levels could go higher than the bank. I'll not do it if I'm not certain, better safe than sorry!