TeamElla

Hi Dan, I was just trying to post up a few last pics but I'm sure you'll have plenty when you get back. I should mention that the mozzies are just as much of a problem there and it can be so hot inside the boat mid season that I've seen pictures of people moving their beds onto the top of the boat for some respite. It fell on deaf ears when I suggested that they should think about providing some form of cooling as well as providing warm air heating on board - take a fan! , Steve

Actually, we found fallen trees just as handy:-

By the way Dan, Here's your first sight of a "natural mooring"

I think Dan should ask Erika (at Douelle base) for some freebies for all this advertising

Mike, It seems that you don't have the basic setup that I was describing (which used a 6RA Relay - only 4 connections comprising of the energising coil and a pair of contacts). That system did suffer from the problems as described, as it initially (you could say brutally) effectively connected 12 volts across the stationary field coil with the current mostly only limited by the coils DC resistance. I haven't come across the 16RA which apparently has 5 connections and I would be interested to see a circuit diagram if you have one. For interest only the basic setup is described here:- http://www.coolcatcorp.com/faqs/Lucasalternators2.html All the best, Steve

Mike, It's very dated now, but the standard setup for a Lucas 11AC alternator on many boats was just as you describe. The 4TR controller took it's power (and reference voltage) from the battery via the relay contacts (with the relay coil being energised by turning on the ignition switch). Therefore the standard setup was "battery sensed" (as opposed to machine sensed) and would compensate for volt drop across the split-charge diodes. I can't remember which battery feeds the regulator on Ella (I would guess that it's the starter battery). The biggest problem with this early setup is that if you leave the ignition switch on without the engine running the regulator will be calling for full charge from the alternator by delivering full voltage to the field coil (not something that you want to do too long to a stationary alternator). Similarly, the same would happen if your fan belt parted, but as this probably also drives the closed system water pump you will have other things on your mind then. All the best, Steve

Are you sure about that? You're likely to make him late. Remember that he has women with him (Potter Heigham = the "L" word) Steve

Dan will by now have discovered why the word "chart" is a very loose term for the the river plans in the onboard manual. Red blobs (when they are not depicting channel markers) are to be given a wide berth for an incident free passage. Since you will encounter your first "red blob" some 5 minutes motoring time after leaving Douelle base, the advice from the yard that you should have a 2nd person doing the navigating from the word go is well worth heeding. The scenery upstream from Douelle becomes increasingly rugged (and beautiful), whilst downstream (which has it's own charm) is much flatter and eventually bordered by vineyards. I really should get round to writing up our story of our trip through this beautiful valley, together with red blob syndrome and a new appreciation for the term "natural mooring." Knowing me, that will be sometime never. Steve

Can I add something to this debate. All the above relates to water already in the tank but we have found a need to control what's being introduced in the first place:- Like any other marina based boaters, we fill the fresh water tank at the berth before leaving the marina. We also buy 5 litre bottles of spring water just for drinking. It wasn't until I decided to fill an empty 5 litre bottle from the marina supply that I found just how much muck I was putting into the tank to start with. Our fresh water pipes are flexible for their entire run along the pontoons and they build up a deposit of "algae" on the pipe inside walls during the warm months which eventually breaks off and gets invisibly delivered into our tank. I noticed this when I filled a bottle from the marina tap and it was absolutely full of black particles up to 10 mm long. Last summer I had a full bottle of spring water and a full bottle of the clearest fresh water that I could obtain from the marina tap in the wheelhouse. They ended up staying there for a month, at the end of which the spring water was crystal clear and the other was decidedly green. There's not a lot that we can do about this other than to use a funnel with a fine mesh filter when filling the tank. It's quite an eye opener just how much "flotsome" would have been introduced otherwise (providing a build up of debris and possible breeding ground for some of the bugs that have been mentioned). Steve

Same boat on 1st May is £935. Admittedly, I hadn't checked mid season prices which is where they all hit the roof just as on the Broads - Same boat on 31st July is £1395. In comparison to the Broads, it appears to work out more mid season but less out of season. I have loads more pics, videos and copies of relevant pages (plus river chart) from the onboard manual if you want any of them. I use the term "chart" very loosely and it's all that stands between a safe passage and potential contact with a rocky bottom. Enjoy your hols Dan. I'm sure you will. Steve

Hi both, We paid £700 for a 6 berth boat in early October. They had special offers that week but our boat was NOT one of those discounted! However, being an older boat it was one of the cheapest on their books (but still not the cheapest). High season is a different matter but I'm now off to check what they are asking this year... , Steve p.s. same boat same week is £696 this year

Moi..? I'll be sticking to liquids in future

Hi Jonny, Most of their boats are more modern but theres nothing wrong with an older boat as long as it's in good nick (and the fridge space knocks spots off a Beneteau Antares 9) One thing that I didn't like was the hydraulic steering - very strange. Umpteen turns to the left will take you off to port and a slight flick to the right completely removes the port helm and if it's any more than a short flick you'll be going off to starboard. I much prefer my cable steering that I can position precisely before going under a bridge (and the wheel returns to the same position each time for rudder amidships). Steve

It was one of the cheapest boats that they offer for hire but adequate for the four of us

Hi Jonny, It was a "Merchant," built by Porter and Haylett (alias Connoisseur) in Wroxham no less!! All the best, Steve

A few more pictures taken along the Lot ....

Hi all, We saw very few other boats, which could have something to do with this being the end of the season. It's a nice time to be on the river with the trees starting to take on their autumn colours. At the end of the week on the lower stretches, the river was covered with their leaves. Some businesses were already closed for the winter but we had a nice meal at a riverside restaurant near Cahors. This was a convenient place to stop with a proper pontoon mooring and fresh water to top up the tank. There's also a swimming pool adjacent to the restaurant, but that's only open in the summer. Although the superb weather that we had cannot be guaranteed, a fair number of good days can be expected there in October (and that 27 degrees C reading was a genuine in the shade figure). We did have rain but only overnight on 2 nights at the beginning of our week. To my knowledge, there are only 2 hire bases on the Lot and they both seemed to have only a handful of boats out on hire (spread over the entire 75 kms of navigation). We hired from "LeBoat" (an amalgation of Connoisseur, Crown Blue Line and Emerald Star) with their base being Douelle. The other company is called "Lot Navigation" and operates from Bouzies further upriver. Both have websites:- www.leboat.co.uk/destination/france/lot www.lot-navigation.com/index-en.html , Steve

Ian, It's in the Midi Pyrenees, south east of Bordeaux, well south west of Lyon and a bit north of Toulouse. No cow's here (but we did see a few rather agile goats). Most of the land flat enough to farm supports an altogether more satisfying beverage (see pic)

OBSERVATIONS:- This is a holiday where you have to navigate from the word go. There are underwater obstructions of a very hard nature (including submerged disused weirs). They are all marked on the "chart" in the boat manual but not all physically marked on the river. The brochure states that previous experience is advisable and to my mind it's an understatement. There's also a pretty lax attitude to the use of lifejackets. We were told at the base that there were sufficient on board but that we wouldn't need to use them. I wouldn't like to keep putting on the things that they provide but we had our Crewsavers with us (and I was asked by a passenger boat crewlady what the vest thing was that I had on). What didn't I like:- Bearing in mind that you can swim in the Lot, they still use the boat toilets as "sea toilets" even though there are perfectly good holding tanks on board. The stated reason is that there are not yet enough pump out facilities along on the river.

Hi all. Dan, There are 17 locks going upriver from Douelle base and 1 lock going downriver from the base. They can be hard work, but unless a boat is going through with you there is no need to rush it. All but one are manual and there are no lock keepers. Just one lock is fully automatic (hydraulically operated and activated with a credit card sized card) , Steve

And now from the other side..

Closer view..

You just can't see these weirs from upstream and the river bottom is rock, so straying from the channel is a no no. There's a weir in this pic too..

Hi David, We had 2 full size fridges and just enough room alongside the Camembert, Rocquefort etc. etc. I've had my fill of locks for a while though! Here's a view over the top of one of the weirs that accompany every lock... , Steve

Too much of the same thing can be boring. It's sacrilege I know but we wanted a break from the Broads. So last Saturday we were sitting on top of the (hire) boat in 27 degrees C and brilliant sunshine, for a price that Broads companies would struggle to match. This is a recommendation for a change of scenery:- The River Lot in France