Recent content by yerffoeg

We have always had a saloon carpet, which does add a degree of comfort. We usually get a kitchen carpet offcut. Think of the carpet as sacrificial - you will ned to replace it every 5 years or so because of soiling , wear etc etc. That should be easy - use the old one as a template to cut to...

As John Morris has said, getting a flexible prop shaft coupling is worth thinking about. it brought about a big reduction in engine noise levels in our boat.

In our home berth we have annoying hoops on the pontoons and not cleats. I made permanent lines terminating in eye splices and galvanised eyes shackled to the hoops. It has always worked well for us.

My start battery exploded a couple of years ago. It is handy to have the batteries in separate boxes because it isolates the mess!

Some time ago I fixed a JVC car stereo unit into our boat, with two speakers on either side of the saloon ceiling. There were two persistent problems: it was hard to get a consistent stereo sound, and when the volume was increased it would not do so gradually, but would sometimes make a large...

Recently we visited the upper reaches of the Colne River in our 27 foot bilge keel yacht (it draws 3 feet). Being of an adventurous nature, it was a trip I had been wanting to do for some time. Strange…whenever I mentioned it to the local sailing wiseacres it was met with expressions of...

All of Don Casey's books are worth looking at. I found them invaluable when restoring my boat.

This summer we were stopped and questioned by a French border force vessel, 2 miles out of Calais, bound for Ramsgate. We were not boarded, and they seemed content with our replies, but they came up on us at speed and were not to be trifled with..

Well said Barnac1e!

No-one should be buying rainforest teak these days. Use one of the excellent synthetic alternatives.

We picked some up near Tollesbury marina yesterday and fried them for lunch today - deliiiiiicious!

The run of the wire between the battery positive and the fuse is not protected against a short, so this is why it is recommended that the fuse is as near to the positive battery terminal as possible. The longer the distance from the battery positive to the fuse, the longer the run of unprotected...

We have used the Origo successfully over the last 15 years and are sorry to see that it is no longer being sold. However, following an article in Yachting World we recently bought a portable electric hob eg...

The Brewer's Arms does great Thai food on Fridays and Saturdays. The Raj is good, but such a shame that Kovalam has closed.

Thanks. We moored at Shipways yard a few days ago, so I cannot answer your question. I suspect the dredging was carried out for the benefit of the barges. Someone from the Barges Trust at Maldon may be be able to tell you more about the depths by the quayside. http://www.bargetrust.org/