mjt

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm actually now in contact with someone suggested by Jonathan Greenway although I don't have any testimonials for his work. Now I've started the conversation I feel I ought to let him have first dibs but I'll definitely keep Daniel in mind in case this chap proves unreliable.

No, unfortunately. Jonathan is a boatbuilder not an engineer. If it came to it I would have to get it put back in and drive it to Peachments or someone else if there is anyone. However the same engineer who's let me down over the shaft has also done so over investigating a leak from the domestic gas system which is currently preventing me from getting a new BSS certificate and therefore from renewing my toll.

I agree, the polished area clearly shows the amount of movement. The work was done by Jones' at St. Ives and I'm pretty sure they investigated possible alternatives. I haven't spoken to anyone in the Broads area.

Thanks for your replies everyone and sorry for the delay in getting back to you but I omitted to enable Follow Topic so haven't had any notifications. I think a bit of background is indicated: Over winter 2018/2019 the shaft and prop were replaced. The shaft had worn in two places, one at the stern gland and the other where it had been running in contact with the stern tube. This misalignment was found to be caused by a broken engine mount so these were all replaced. At the same time I had the stern gland replaced with a dripless type manufactured by PSS. Ideally the coupling should have been replaced but the original design (see photo) is no longer available and no suitable alternative could be found. I'd originally put the boat in for investigation of a heavy vibration felt in the aft cabin. Although the new shaft and engine mounts improved things a bit there was still a lot of vibration. The boatyard thought this might be shaft whip owing to the lack of support from the new gland compared with the old rope compression type so they fitted an additional cutlass bearing in the stern tube behind the gland. This obviously meant the shaft had to come out again. Fast-forward to August 2022 and after a run I noticed the bilge pump was activating every few minutes. I found that the stern gland was leaking badly. I managed to make an emergency adjustment to stop the leak but had to get an engineer in the do a proper repair. I thought the leak was caused by the shaft moving but he thought it was just the gland collar slipping on the shaft so, having adjusted it he dimpled the shaft for the grub screws to stop it happening again. It was when the boat was lifted last October that someone noticed the prop hard against the P bracket, as can be seen in the second photo, so it now looks as if it was shaft movement after all. The most likely explanation seems to be that it just hadn't been clamped up tightly enough the last time it was refitted.

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this topic. If not please feel free to move it. I need someone to undertake some repair work on our boat's propshaft. The engineer I'd asked to look at it, who I've used before, has just told me he's unable to help due to pressure of work so I'd be grateful for any recommendations. The problem with the shaft is it seems to have moved forward so the prop is sitting hard against the P bracket. The boat's currently lifted out at Greenway Marine, Loddon. Thanks in anticipation.

That'll be the 'T' word no doubt. We moved from the Gt. Ouse 2 years ago and reading about what's going on there now with SSAs, lock breakdowns and antisocial behaviour I think we made the right call.

I can believe that. After a month on the berth the log wasn't working until I reached a section of river where I could go above 4mph so I wouldn't be at all surprised if the paddlewheel was clagged up and not rotating freely.

I finally got the chance to try out the Ascend Apps Speedometer Plus and must say I'm really pleased with it. It does exactly what I wanted and has useful features that I don't specifically need but which are quite handy such as elapsed time and distance travelled. I installed it on my 7-year-old Samsung S5 and it works fine and leaves my current phone free. As I have a NASA Clipper log it was interesting to get a feel for the speed of the current. The difference between speed over ground and speed through water got close to 2mph occasionally and was frequently around 1.5mph. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions.

I've been using an old TomTom but it only shows integer mph so I could be going at 4.9mph and it only shows 4 (assuming it doesn't change at the 0.5 point). In certain locations it seems to lose satellites and stops updating, hence the need for something better and more accurate. Surprisingly it does seem to know I'm driving down the river but inevitably jumps to the nearest road where there is one. As I said earlier the speed problem with Aweigh is the reason I decided against it.

Well, that's reinvigorated this thread and no mistake. I've opted for the AscendApps one suggested by Gallipoli but it wasn't free. Still, at least a paid app is free of ads. I'll see how I get on with it and report back. I probably won't be out on the boat again for around a month but will try it out in the car or even just on foot. The reason for wanting it is that being new to the Southern rivers I was very surprised to find how fast the currents can run. I was on the Yare going towards Norwich on a rising tide and my Nasa log was showing 5.5mph but the trip took considerably less time than I'd estimated, so I wanted something to give me speed over the ground. It'll be interesting to compare the two which will give an idication of the speed of the current. A fellow boater showed me Aweigh and it looked extremely useful but my wife found a number of negative reviews of it, including significant inaccuracies in tide calculations and it sometimes failing to show speed so I decided against it.

My apologies for resurrecting a six-year-old thread but this is the only one that seemed relevant among the results of a search on here for discussions about a speedometer app suitable for boating. @lakesailordid you end up with any of the ones suggested or found anything better? Like you I'm looking for one that will display decimal fractions of speed rather than just integer values. I've searched fairly extensively on the web but the Ascend Apps one recommended by Gallipoli is the only one that seems to fit the bill as not having a lot of unnecessary functions and having a display with decimal fractions. There might have been others in the ones I've looked at but none of them explicitly show it. If anyone else has found anything better I'd be glad to have their suggestions.

I made my own switch panel when I rewired the bilge pumps (the original wiring was a real Heath Robinson horror story). I fitted it in the side of the helm console and made up a windowed hinged cover to protect the switches from being knocked. One pump is fed from the engine battery, the other from the domestic. As they both bypass the isolators the OFF position of the switches is useful for maintenance and saves pulling the fuses. In my wiring the main pump is fed from the domestic battery on the basis that if it were the engine battery and ran it flat I wouldn't be able to start the engine to recharge and keep the pump running.

Well, since moorings on The Broads are limited to 24 hours the engine is likely to be run every day. Yes the compressor does make a noise but on our old boat I slept in the cabin near the fridge and didn't find it obtrusive (and my hearing was a lot better in those days ). I've found that I can get an 85-Litre fridge in the space but annoyingly everyone seems to be out of stock of that size.

I can put your mind at rest on that one. When I have succeeded in getting it to light it is a perfect blue flame - no yellow or other colours present - and as I stated in my initial post it does cool with the pilot alight. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were spider webs in the flue. They seem to get everywhere else. My instinct is to do as Smoggy says - bin it and get a Gas-Safe fitter to seal off the end of the supply pipe. I'm certainly not throwing any more money at trying to get it going. Thanks to everyone who replied.

I can't agree there. A compressor fridge is far more efficient than a gas one. The 12V heater for the 3-way Electrolux is about 100 Watts and consumes 8 Amps. A compressor motor takes about 2 Amps and the average current when taking the cycling into account is more like 0.8 Amp. Plus, as you've admitted, it's far safer especially if someone is sleeping in that cabin (I have installed new CO monitors in both cabins by the way). I do understand that the spark needs to be in the gas flow although as the gas builds up in the pilot assembly I would still expect to get some ignition, even if it's the kind that blows the flame out. I also fully understand the principle of a thermocouple as a flame safety device. I think the Electrolux is quite fussy when it comes to the positioning of the spark and the cleanliness of the jet. I've been pondering why it worked with the pilot assembly detached but not with it in place and the only logical explanation seems to be that either the gas flow from the jet is being influenced by the presence of the chimney or the spark is going via a different path.

Hi John, thanks for your reply. The spark is definitely passing between the electrode and thermocouple tip when the assembly is dropped down. When it's in place it's not easy to see whether it's moved. I'd have thought if the gas is building up to the extent we can smell it it should catch. Next time I'm over I'll try to get a small bottle brush up the chimney and check the jet. Again, though, once it's lit it seems to have a good flame pattern so I'd be surprised if it's obstructed. We're now wondering if it's time to bite the bullet and replace with a compressor fridge. I installed an Isotherm in our last boat and it was brilliant. The only deterrent to spending the money is that realistically we may be giving up after another couple of seasons due to age and health issues.

Hi everyone, it's been a long time since I visited the site but will probably look in more often as we're moving our boat to The Broads. Apologies for what will be a long and rambling post but I need to cover everything that I've been doing to fix a problem. After not being used for at least a couple of years due to you-know-what our Electrolux RM4200 fridge now refuses to work on gas. I just can't get it to light up. When I pulled it out of it's housing to begin the investigation I noticed the piezo igniter was sparking inside instead of at the pilot. I decided to try closing up the gap between the igniter electrode and the thermocouple a little to reduce the voltage required and initially this seemed to work. I got the pilot lit and after an hour or so found the freezer compartment getting cold. On the next visit the fridge wouldn't light again so I tried closing up the gap a little more and once again got it to light. This time I tried it again just before we left the boat and again it refused to light. At this point I decided to take a punt on a new piezo igniter. Fitted that and it still wouldn't light. Gas was getting through, we could smell it. I wondered if I'd got too weak a spark with the reduced gap so increased it a little and succeeded in getting a stronger one without any sparking inside the new unit, but it still wouldn't light. Now comes the really weird bit. I tried lighting it while the pilot assembly was still dropped down an inch from the bottom of the chimney and lo and behold it worked - reliably, time after time - but as soon as I pushed the assembly back in position in the chimney it stopped working. I could still see a spark and smell gas but it wouldn't light. I'm now completely stumped so if anyone has any insights I'd be extremely grateful.

MM, I'm sure you're well aware that there is a significant difference between "intentional" ventilation and the gaps in canopies that direct an icy blast onto the back of ones neck.

That's what we found all those years ago with San Valentino. The first few days were cold, wet & blustery and the sliding canopy was very draughty. My daughter, in particular was very cold and miserable & we were stuffing the gaps with anything we could find. The canopy even came off its track on one occasion. Luckily I was able to lever it back without having to call Rickos out.

Hi Jonzo & David, Thanks for the links to those boats. Some look quite promising. I don't think those with a double in the bow would work for us. I suspect those with twin bow bunks are likely to offer a bit more length and as I now visit the heads a number of times in the night I wouldn't disturb SWMBO. Headroom in the heads might be an issue when getting washed although I might manage the way I did in our own boat, previous to the one we have now, by sitting on the loo to get washed (with the lid down, so don't laugh). Hi Mouldy, Thanks for the offer. That's very good of you. My only concern with waiting that long is that we want to book for next May and I'm a bit worried we might lose out if we don't get in quickly. We're going to be in Sheringham 1st to 3rd of September for the NNR gala so we might try to find time to call in and see Sue. I wouldn't call 5'8" vertically challenged. That's a nice average height and I really envy people of your height as throughout my life my height has caused problems, from finding clothes to finding suitable beds (has to be king size), getting into the driving seat of cars - and particularly commercial vans (campervan conversions) - and now to boats. It even extends to little things you probably wouldn't think of like the height of mirrors in public loos. Anyway, I digress. If I haven't resolved this by the end of September I'll be most grateful for your help.

Hi Ben, as already stated I have contacted them but in spite of two attempts they still haven't got back to me. I don't feel I should have to pester them for the information. If they want the business you'd think they'd be eager to supply it. I am aware of the differences between the two boats though I didn't know one was originally built privately .

Hi Ray, thanks for responding. I know Summercraft have received very good reviews and favourable comments on the forums but I have to report that I haven't been able to get any information from them, which is why I posted here. They offered to measure up and let me know after a changeover day but, despite my reminding them after waiting for a few days, they've failed to get back to me. Hi Jean, wow - 6'4" - you clearly have an even worse problem than me. In the course of our research we have noticed that many 'island' beds actually have the headboard at the 'free' end with feet tucked under the deck. It's at least 10 years since we hired on the Broads. On that occasion it was San Valentino from Richardsons (I see it's still going). We used the bow bunks but I can't remember after all this time how much length and standing room we had. In any case I was a lot more flexible then. Grande Girl looks very similar so I was hoping it might suit us but without that information I'm hesitant to commit to a booking.

Can anyone tell me what the bed lengths & standing heights are like in Grande Girl 1 & 2? We're thinking of hiring next year but I'm 6'2" and at my age, 73, constant stooping is not ideal, nor is a cramped sleeping position. Any info will be gratefully received.

Hi all, Our forecabin has a couple of reading lamps with 12V 21W double-contact bayonet bulbs (BA15d) and these are the only sources of light. I'd like to replace the incandescent bulbs with LED ones but they would need to be at least 21W equivalent. Has anyone any suggestions where I might find something suitable?

Thanks for the offer Dave but I think if there isn't a simple bolt-on conversion I'll stick with what I've got. I've sent a query to HW and will see whether I get any information from them.