mbird

What on earth would Col do with a new Kitchen, Lou? The camera is much more fun

No, no, no. Buy it, then justify it. That way even if they can't be persuaded it is vital to your continued existence, the old "Well I can't take it back now though, can I?" trump card can be used. Well done, anyway Col. Just goes to show that shopping around can really pay off!

Thanks for the updates, Steve and Jason. I think you may be surprised, Jason. Obviously there is a limited "need" for WiFi from a leisure persepctive, though I personally do not understand that when afloat. The main need from my point of view though is to stay in touch with my clients. Being a self-employed one-man-band makes taking holidays very difficult, as clients can't reach you and whilst holidaying you are obviously not earning. However, with the increase in WiFi hotspots, it is now becoming a little more realistic to take the laptop and work on the boat, and still be able to check on the emails whenever WiFi is available. The more hotspots I can find, the more chance there is of me being able to spend some time with my family

I agree with Simon, Colin. Nowt wrong with them shots.

Exactly what I've just done Jimbo. Swapped the butane regulator for a propane one fixed on a bracket to the side of the locker, and two new pigtails. Had the lot checked by a Corgi fitter, and now were cooking with gas! I've noticed the Propane gives a much stronger flame on the cooker, and a bit of a roar noise to it too due to the increased pressure. One thing I was not aware of, is that the pigtails have the manufacturing date printed on them, and have a life span of 3 years. My butane ones were due for renewal in January and I had no idea!

Looks good Luke. (ps, I'm glad to see your desk is as tidy as mine )

Practically all hire craft use Butane during the main season, as you say Simon, but I'm lead to believe those that hire right through the winter do often swap over to Propane. I'm going to have a look having a propane auto changeover fitted tomorrow, so we'll see how we go.

Hi Colin No, there is only need to re-jet if you swap from natural gas to bottled or vice-versa, as they run at different pressures. Butane to propane requires no mods like that, just a change of regulator and bottle fittings.

Tell me about it . Our 'scope boasted 500x magnification, but as you say is completely unusable. The most we can use it at is about 100x, but even then the starts and planets seem to move so fast you can't stay focused on them, and the lens is too small to pick up enough light (what do you expect for £90 though?).

I am certainly glad I started this thread now, Ian! The heating on my boat is via 2x 2kw Propex's, so I would have been really miffed if it got cold and then the heating wouldn't work That settles it, Propane here I go!

Yes, we did too Poppy, Easter before last, and hence the query in the first place.. We were in the middle of renovating our boat, and took it out for the weekend, whereupon it got really cold and snowed. We had no heating intstalled in the boat, so that may have been a contributary factor, but the cooker would not light. I poured a couple of jugs of cold water over the gas bottle, which was just enough to get it going. I'm not sure if the location of the bottles is also a factor, as ours are in a locker at the stern, but the locker also has a few inches of water in it generally because the drain is not right at the bottom.

Thanks Poppy. I can only assume, then, the preference for Butane for most yards is a cost one, when dealing with hundreds of cylinders a season.

Another breath-taking picture Dave

Our boat is currently installed with 2x butane cylinders (each with different fittings though; one flogas and one calor), which feed a common regulator via two pigtails. In order to be able to boil the kettle through the winter months, I am considering converting the system to Propane. Obviously this will need a new regulator and pigtails etc, but I wondered if there were any disadvantages with running Propane all year around. I think it is slightly more expensive, but we only get through about one cylinder a year, so that's not really an issue. Given that Propane works even in sub-zero conditions, why do people actually bother with Butane?

I don't think that is particularly expensive, Luke, when you consider I had a custom made dashboard, with all new switches and dials, and a new morse control earlier this year (all fitted & wired up myself) which cost £500. Companies like this are well worth seeking out

Excellent, of toLathams I go With regard spinning, the Jack I caught was at Womack Water, but I would guess any where with not too many snags would be okay. Sorry I can't be any more helpful

Oh, I see what you mean Jonny

The advantage of the Jabsco pump handle type though, Jonny, is the toilet doesn't have to be mounted directly over the holding tank (neither of mine are), and you don't get the aromatic waft straight from the tank when you open the pedal. The disadvantages though, are that the flushing water that sits in the pipe from the underside of the boat tends to go stagnant after a week of non-use, so stinks like hell the first time you pump the flush handle. I've also had to replace both pump assemblies in the last 2 years to at £70 a pop . Mind you, it is quite gratifying when you win the battle with a stubborn Richard the Third and pump him away

Thanks for the info We've got a week alfoat coming up and I am intrigued by the pellet idea, so I think I'll have to get some to give a go. Are the 4-6mm hook pellets actually labelled as that in the shops, and what flavours were best? With regard to the piking, I've only ever had a small Jack that was caught spinning, never so much as a nibble with dead bait. I think the serious pikers tend to livebait on the Broads, but I just can't bring myself to shove hooks into a perfectly good live fish.....

And yet my boat passed the BSS 3 years ago with the glass bowl still fitted (which it still is). My BSS is due for renewal next June, so I will be intrigued to see if the examiner fails the glass bowl this time (I intend to use the same chap, despite Simon's misgivings about him, for that exact reason). However, in the period between tests, I have fitted shore power, battery charger, rewired, replumbed and fitted 2x Propex gas heaters (which have been tested by a Marine Corgi engineer).

As do a lot nowdays Rod, especially the ones with the domestic type porcelain bogs.

Thanks Simon, I certainly will pop down and have a look. I'm having a real job with SWMBO at the moment accepting the whole notion, so I reckon I'll have to trade her in too .

Thanks David. I thought the name rang a bell for some reason ..... I'll have a search for the thread. Meanwhile, I do like the look of those Princessed Simon found. I'm still not sure I can convinve SWMBO that we don't need to get under Ludham after all, as I love the look of that flybridge one I'm gonna get in soooo much trouble

Thanks for the input guys When it comes to accomodation, Simon, I think you might be thinking I'd expect the same as TB, which I don't (I am a realist), we won't be looking for 6 berths in three cabins and two head/shower compartments along with a 10' long galley . What I was trying to get my head around is whether there is an alternative to the ubiquitous "sports cruiser" as I'm afraid they simply don't do it for me. They look very good, but small confined spaces down below with tiny windows doesn't really suit a family containing people as big as me and my eldest boy (Sharon and Harry, however, do fit in cupboards quite nicely ). This brings me to the Princesses, which we have yet to see an example of in the 32 or 33 ft design. There is a 37' version at NYA in Horning but that is huge requiring a step ladder just to get onto the deck! Another possibility which would seem a bit more what we are looking for is the Storebro Baltic 31, which I put the link up to earlier. There are 3 of I have found so far, of about 1978 vintage (the same as TB) and seem to have accomodation a bit more akin to what we are looking for. It's going to mean a trip to Cambridgeshire to see if they fit the bill, but at about 8'6" they also seem to be okay height wise too. The only bit that worries me is the fuel consumption with twin 6 cylinder diesel engines to feed...... Gosh, it's all so darn complicated!