g0akc

Going away elsewhere this winter - could not find a suitable boat or yard to hire instead. We may hire on the Broads in Spring or later, most probably with Richardsons who were very friendly and helpful when we moored up in their yard whilst visiting Stalham and the museum. One of their guys let me use their hose to get water, even though he was using it himself - he stopped what he was doing preparing some boats so we could fill up, free of charge. A simple thing but both he and the office staff showed how good they are. We also like the look of Barnes Brincraft's Topliner and had decent service from them previously. Also like booking through Hoseasons as they have ABTA protection, more so now having had a load of stress about getting our money back.

Good news is that we have got all our money back today. Wife went into our bank this morning and gave them and Anglia Boats hell. The latest excuse was around my bank writing to their bank, a form being filled in and sent back, but no money moving anywhere. It now appears to be back in our account with Anglia Boats have done a BACS transfer. Two months is too long to wait for a refund on a holiday they cancelled and they had my deposit since June.

It's been nearly a month but having contacted Anglia Boats several times by both phone and email I'm still waiting to get my money back. To make matters worse my bank sent the scheduled payment for the balance, despite me cancelling it. It's like trying to get blood out of a stone. I've been told that it's due to people being off sick, though promised payment days have been and gone. Very distressing. I'm always straight with money and pay promptly. Saddens me that others cannot be the same....... Wish I'd paid by credit card - there would have been a % fee but it would have been worth it in this case. This is on top of our holiday being cancelled.

We had Fine Time booked for January from DRL, and paid a deposit in June, but have just been advised that the boat is no longer available as it has been removed from their fleet for 2013. We have been offerred Dream Time instead, but as a couple that boat is too big for us, and it doesn't have the 'romantic' feel of Fine Time - in terms of berthing, bathroom and radiator heating - so I don't believe that will work. Does anyone know of similiar boats to Fine Time available in January. Most yards seem to shut down until spring. Otherwise it looks like our holiday is going to bite the dust, though we may just stay in a hotel. Can't say I'm pleased with DRL (now calling themselves Anglia Boats). They have not even replied to my email today. To make matters worse we only got the letter advising us when we got home from a trip away, having landed at Norwich airport and dicussed our next drive up the A140 on the way home.

Apologies for replying to an old post. I've tried GHD hair straighteners on a couple of 500W inverters powered from my Land Rover's battery. GHD MkIV and MkV (4 & 5) models worked OK, but you need a GOOD connection to the battery, with the engine running. As mentioned, the voltage drop on the DC wiring can be considerable as the current will be around 25 or 30A during the warm up period. A cigar lighter socket is unlikely to be suitable. I've got a hire cruiser booked for an upcoming trip and I'm wondering if I will be able to gain convenient access to the boat's battery to connect my inverter with short leads/croc clips. Older GHD Mk3.1 straighteners would not work - presumably they did not like the waveform.

Some GHD straighteners will work on an inverter and some won't. I have been experimenting recently ahead of an upcoming trip to the Broads. I'm an electrical engineer. I've found the older GHD Mk3 (or Mk3.1) models will not work on an inverter (unless it is a very expensive one). This is likely because most inverters do not produce a true sine wave as found on the mains. GHD MKIV or MKV (mark 4 or 5) models will (can) work, or at least they did on the two leisure inverters that I have tried. These models will also work properly on different mains voltage (i.e. in the USA and UK). The inverter will need to be rated at least 300W (preferably more) and have a GOOD connection to the 12V battery. It's best to have the engine running so the alternator provides power. A connection via a cigar lighter socket is unlikely to be good enough and the fuse may blow. The DC current is around 30A, particularly during the warm up phase. There are a number of variables involved here so there is no assurance that any particular combination of inverter, boat, wiring or straightener will work.