Mowjo

Gone Now!

Ancraophobia is fear of the wind........ I guess thats why I try and aviod Judi Frank,,,

Hey! thats pretty mild for me, anyway I can still run faster than her,, Frank,,,

We are going to try a nude night cruise to see how it works out, if it go's well then it will be full time nude cruise, not only will it save us money on clothing but I see several other advantages, I'll have a built in boat hook, Judi has a couple of spare fenders, we will have somewhere to park our bikes, I can draw strategic points in Judi's wrinkles so I have a map of the Broads, and I'll be a reminder to all the females out there not to forget to buy that Chicken for dinner,, Frank,,,,

Judi has decided she wants a new Fridge Freezer for the boat, so my old one is up for sale for £50.00 it's a 12 volt Engel fridge freezer in excelent condition, and perfect working order, I have no idea of the age but it looks pretty newish, the main reason for the change is because the fridge is right next to the bunks when the compressor kicks in it wakes Judi up so we are going for a quiter version, Specifications: Installation dimensions: W x H x D 419 x 544 x 500 mm, Voltage: 12 Vol, Capacity: 45 litres, Material: Foil-covered polyurethane hard-foam body, door frame sheet steel, door with magnetic lock, Frank,,,

Sorry! late reply but this time of year I'm rarely at home, Stumpy answered the mooring fees, but here's a bit more info on Broadsedge, the new toilets and shower block opens this monday and boy are they posh, best of all the showers are now free but you will need the entry code to get into them, but the old ones are still going so whoopee we have two toilet and shower blocks, shame you still have to pay for a shower in this one, the old one is being rebuilt in September I'm told, just no mention which September, David has several security cameras covering the marina and it's coded entry to the marinas, if you have kids or just like sitting around there is Grass and benches everywhere, I believe that now David has the new workshops they will be taking on everything from painting to mechanics, I don't know the new mechanic but I've heard he's very good, the best bit is I moor there and have been for years, you can always find me! just look for a boat with loads of wood/paint and anything boaty outside it, it's a very friendly place and we usualy help each other out if we can, like anywhere there are the odd Snotty's but you soon get to know and avoid them, oh! forgot they do pump outs or you have the porty potty manhole, or is that now a personhole now we are all PC, I wouldn't moor anywhere else, some say it's a bit far to the main river around 1 1/2 hours but it's a beautiful run, and different every time though Ludham can be like the M25 at times, race days on Barton can scare you if your not used to Yachts, and if you get a mooring in B/E you can join in our new game called Dodge the Doofers, we have an excess of Geese here this year, I've been having problems with my 3 internet there, strange thing it's only in the marina, it was fine before the trees got leaves on so i'm only online if i'm out and not working on the boat, hope that all helps as it really is great there,, Frank,,,

You don't mention if the leak is when you are under way or just on the boat, the reason I mention it, is I had a similar problem on my last boat and it turned out to be the Stern gland, it was dry as a bone while sitting in the marina but under way it leaked, it only looked like a drip but after around an hour it was enough to set the bilge pump off, I repacked it and never had a drop of water in the bilge after that,, Frank,,,

Well the neighbour couldn't find his pump but I managed to get a new one for £32.00 at the local auto factors, got to the boat early Thursday took the old fump and fuel lines out and replaced them with the blingy new bits, fired her up and nothing, connected my pellor pump up and tried to draw fuel through to the carb got it up there and also put a bit in the carb, fired her up, Whoopee! she started, 30 seconds later she stopped, so connected the pellor up again and because it was quite now I could hear what sounded like air being drawn in again, rechecked all my new work and it was fine, by now the air was blue, back to the drawing board and thought start at the fuel tank and work up to the carb, plenty of fuel and I could draw it up the the filter, took off the outlet side of the filter, plugged the pellor in got fuel but I also noticed air bubbles then I noticed a little wet fuel ring at the bottom of the filter, took it off to check it, and noticed the bottom sealing ring was half inch bigger than the bottom plate, took the top ring off and it was chewed up a bit, so took over to the workshop and asked David if it looked right to him, it was a new filter but the sealing rings were both the wrong ones, took the filter over to JCB's and the bottom plate where the guy there also told me it was the wrong filter as well, something to do with the centre hole in it, went back fitted the new filter and Yippeee Doooo! it fired up first time and now purrs like a kitten, since buying the boat in September I havn't started the engine but it ran fine when I picked it up, but I was also told that I was lucky because the boat could have gone up with a bang, all for the sake of a £3.49 filter that I never even nototiced was leaking fuel, so one pump repair kit, one new pump and new fuel lines, that cost me around £80.00 (none of it need replacing) countless headaches trying to work out what the problem was, it was a £3.49 filter, still at least I know it's all safe now and I have new shiney bits, including a bright yellow JCB filter,,, Frank,,,,

Viking! you can still get a repair kit for those models for just over £10, I just paid £16.00 for one thinking that would cure it, but as I said it seems to have a crack in it of something as it's drawing in air and I checked all the unions/gaskets or anything else that might be the cause, I'm a bit old school when it comes to cars or engines I like things simple, I have all sorts of gadgets on my car but the only things I use is the electric wing mirrors of the windows, at one time my motto was give me a half inch spanner and a packet of fag papers and I'll fix most things with a petrol engine, now the plug everything into the computer, Mmmm! Mini's, yup! been there, fairy washing up bottle shield for the coil, and never go anywhere without the full Mini toolkit, Yup! a can of WD40, I think my first mods were those wide plastic wheel arches, wider white wheels, and a racing exhaust, funny how with the Mini even 40mph felt like 90mph, it was even worse when I fitted the 1100 engine in mine, Frank,,,

Ok! great news a neighbour into classic cars has a new one he said I can have, I did try a few Motor Factors and they all can get them, the price for the same pump ranged from £27.00 to £60.00, and someone has kindly given me another lead, I did think about the electric pump but it would mean taking half the boat apart to run the new cable up to the ignition switch plus someone said I'd need to fit a cut out thing on the oil pressure outlet for safety reasons because the pump will run on as long as there is power to it, so as the mechanical one is free i'll do the cheap option and see how it go's Frank,,,,

Thanks folks! more leads to check on, Never thought of a Car part place, I have Euro parts right near me I'll give them a try, Diesel! I found that place a few days ago and that Pump, the thing is mine has the inlet and outlet on the sides of the pump, that one has one on top and one at the side, It would fit mine if I could put an elbow joint on the top, but it would mean cutting off the nipple things and using compression joints on them instead of the push on pipe, I need to replace the fuel lines so I don't think it would be a problem, I was just looking for a straight swap-over but after talking to Sheridan marine even with their replacement pump you need to cut the nipple things off and they are three times the price,, Frank,,,,

This may help,,,,http://faria-instruments.com/site_manuals/IS0004f.pdf Frank,,,,,

Thanks Dave!! Frank,,,,

Ok boys and girls my fuel pump is cream crackered! I think it has a crack in it as it's drawing in air, I checked all the hoses and unions and they are sound, but when I connect my pellor to the carb union I can actually hear it drawing air in at the pump, so it's time for a new one, the engine is a Ford Watermota SeaTiger 1600 cc crossflow and I believe it's based on the Kent Engine, here's the problem I can't seem to locate one, does anyone know anywhere local to Norfolk/Suffolk or anywhere else I could get one, or an exchange re-furbished one???? I did find one from Sheridan Marine but I need one that won't break the bank,, Frank,,,,,

People must love me then! as someone that often night cruises I've been know to leave or come into a mooring at 3/4am, though I do it as quitely as I can and try to drift the boat in where I can, my biggest gripe is when I do settle down for the evening, is the odd one or two that run the engine for two or three hours to heat the water up, or charge the batteries, I can understand the need when there's a boatload that want showers, but why can't they moor up earlier or do what I've trained my Grandkids and their friends to do! they take turns to shower while on the move, then by the time they moor up they still have a full tank of hot water for the night, in general I don't think people are being inconsiderate, I just think they don't realise how annoying an engine next to you running is even after a short time, Frank,,,

Now there's a thought Steve! I could hang Judi's knickers from the grabrails and turn myself into a saily! enter the 3RR and finish in record time, at the moment I'm seeing more cons to having the pullpit so the plan is leave it off, I have plenty of grabrails and the only time I really go on the foredeck is to chuck a mudweight out once in a blue moon, was going to fly my NBN flag from it, but now I'll just move it to the cabin roof on a short pole, thanks everyone for the input,,, Frank,,,

Alan! as soon as the boat is out I'll let you know, as you only want them for spares I'll hang onto a couple for my finger mooring to save the side of my boat,, Frank,,,

Maurice! all of those things bug me about this all round pullpit and every one I've ever had, I moor single handed as Judi can't swim so on all my boats I've run a rope from the bow along the deck and into the cockpit, allowing me to step off with both ropes, with this set up now, i'd have to run it along the outside of the pullpit meaning the rope would be hanging at the side of the boat with the risk of the weight dragging it out of the cockpit, it's to short to foul the prop but not ideal to only have the stern rope when I moor up, as the pullpit is past saving I did think about getting a shorter one, but on thinking about it in all these years I've never found a real use for one apart from they sort of look good but serve no purpose,, Frank,,,

Mmm! just you and me then Griff, I can understand the full length one on the Birchwood as I believe they are classed as an Estuary Cruiser, just as My Seamasters were but I've always wondered why Broads cruisers have them, it's not likely I'm going to be chucking out a mudweight or anchor in heavy weather,, Andy! they are each held on with triangular fixings with three bolts and the nuts were glassed in by the manufacturer, what I did was fill the holes with resin, then Dremmel some out and gelcoat over them, most are invisable/ish, matched the gelcoat but the new stuff is a little lighter than the old so you can see it if you look closely, one of each fixing is in the deck tread, at first after sanding them was getting flat spots, but after a bit of planning a being very carefull I found if I go lightly with the Dremmel and a diamond point I could hide the flat spots as it's a pretty random pattern, not perfect but you have to look hard to see the repair,, Frank,,,,

Jaws! if your in no rush I'm replacing all my fenders including two corner ones on my Birchwood 25, I think there are four or six largish white fenders and the two corner ones, they arn't in bad condition and should clean up well with one of those majic sponges and some Fairy Power Spray, you welcome to them if you don't mind waiting a few weeks, my boat is coming out for a polish and antifoul but it won't be until later this month,, Frank,,,

Iain! trust you to make a comment like that, but believe it or not I am actually a fully Ordained Minister thought I can only perform Marriages or Funerals with the permission of the minister of the Church where it's to be held, you would never believe it if you met me but it dates back to when I used to teach Spiritualism and being Ordained was part of the requirements for me to teach, but back the the boat pullpit! seems most are in favour, but I still can't find a good reason to replace mine, perhaps i'm trying to talk myself out of spending £3/400 on something I see no use for apart from in my case tripping over the thing when getting on and off the boat, I think what I may do, is remove the other half of it and finish all the repairs to the deck, then leave it a few months to see how the boat looks and what if any comments I get about no pullpit, if I come across a decent second hand one I may still fit one before, so thanks for the input Frank,,,,,,,

As many of you know I now own a Birchwood 25, one of the things I don't like about the boat is it has an all round pullpit! like the one in this picture, unfortunately mine tatty, leaks at all the deck fittings and the anodising has gone, plus the main thing for me is as the side decks are pretty narrow just working on the boat in the marina I've had a few near misses getting on and off the side of the boat, I've now removed one half of it and filled all the holes it left, but I'm now wondering whether to replace it with a smaller stainless one or not fit one at all! for some reason after all these years I can't see the point in them apart from they add a bit of bling, apart from the Hampton all my other boats had the and on every one I've had near misses where I've nearly gone in the water, What are your views Yes or No?? Frank,,,

Well I solved the water strainer issue! I mentioned in my resto thread that a previous owner had built a seat type box over the floor in the rear cockpit, meaning you couldn't remove the rear section of floor without taking the seating bit out! to get to the seacock you had to lift a front section of floor, lean in and reach through a nine inch hole in a bulkhead to turn the seacock off, I decided I didn't like this idea so I re-built the seat box and cut the floor just in front, meaningi could remove it easily to get to the seacock, grease the rudder and get to anything else lurking in there, what did I fing lurking in there fixed to the bulkhead, YES! a nice Vetus raw water strainer half full of cr*p, now I have no idea who made the seat box, but it looked like it had been there a while, so how did they check the filter?? it took me nearly half hour to remove the box and unscrew the floor that is normally loose fit, the previous owners must just have been lucky that the filter never got blocked or they waited until it was blocked and had to remove everything, I now have a nice new seat box, a removable section of floor and a nice little hatch where I can get to the seacock without arm extensions and can now see and check the filter, I've had boats for over thirty years now and I'm on boat No 7 now but it never ceases to amaze me what some people do and how they get away with it for so long, I thought my Freeman 25 was bad wired with with what looked like bell wire and a few bits of orange lawnmower cable and it hadn't gone up in flames, If I was a new boter and knew nothing about boats, with a simple thing like the weed filter I could end up with a blown engine, my new bit of advice to all new to boating now is! never take anything at face value, because you never know what a previous owner may have done, and always try and get someone that knows about boats to check things over with you, you have to remember that brokers are just that! they sell other peoples boats, and arn't liable for anything the owner has done to them, perhaps it's a good thing to have a survey done if you love and like a boat, at least if anything is wrong you have a bargaining point on the price,,,,, Frank,,,,

I had an Idea it was them! they have been a bit of a sore topic on most forums, I think the man in the BA van had a word with them while we were at the bin and feeding the ducks, unfortunately it's these type of liveaboards that get the rest of you a bad name, most of the ones I've met over the years have been nice people, some live aboard by choice others due to circumstances so I find it unfair that people judge them all by the few dodgy ones, Frank,,,,

Anyone looking for a good pole could try this place, I get all my stuff from them, the three piece pole is near the bottom of the page, nice and handy as you can store them away http://www.aerialsandtv.com/onlinepolesandbrackets.html I usually only have to use two sections but if the picture gets a bit iffy adding the third one usually cures it, I have the omni or what I call crown aerial and have no problems with mine, but my son in law did and couldn't get ITV, when I checked it I re-checked the cable conections, they all looked fine but I re-made them again and it cured the problem, I have found over the years that most problems are caused by bad conections at the plugs or using rubbish aerial cable, I now only ever use screened cable available from places like Maplins or the link above, Frank,,,