Boating Tips
Lighting the fire
Before lighting the fire for the first time, remove the plate from across the chimney hole (inside the fire) and stow it away to be replaced when you have finished your holiday. If the chimney is not already in place, retrieve it from the front locker and place it over the chimney port, removing the cap and stowing the cap if necessary. Make sure that there is nothing touching the fire or tucked behind the fire (except for the 'Tippy Tin', which is fine if stored behind the fire). Make sure that the vents (in the bottom door of the fire are open).
Place some firelighters at the front of the fire, in such a way that you are able to light them through the gaps in the grill (but don't light them yet). Next put a layer of wood over the firelighters and across the bottom of the fire grate. Then put your coal on top of the wood. (I prefer to use the 'Homefire Ovals', but use whatever you prefer). Light your firelighters (a long nosed gas barbeque lighter comes in handy here) and close the main door. I find it best to open the bottom door of the fire for a few minutes, until the wood is well alight, and then close it (but make sure that the vents in the bottom door are open). The fire should now take off and heat the boat. If it gets too hot, open the windows and/or doors!
Don't place anything on the top of the fire when it is lit, especially mugs or the teapot.
Changing the Gas Bottle
Turn of the gas tap on the bottle before changing the gas bottle. Then undo the gas connection. Note: the gas connection is a left hand thread, so you have to turn it the opposite way to that of a 'normal' thread (i.e. clockwise to undo it, anti-clockwise to tighten it up). Lift the empty bottle out. Slide the full bottle across and reattach the gas connection.Then lift the empty bottle into place alongside it. Don't forget to ask the boatyard to replenish the empty bottle when you you get back.
The Heating System
The instructions for lighting the boiler are on the cupboard door that houses the boiler, so I wont repeat them here. One snippet of information that you might find useful. There is a hidden control that can be used to switch the heating system to give hot water only, radiators only, or both.
The Inverter
If 12 volts isn't enough for you, then you can always turn on the inverter. Note that the 'off' position for the inverter is when the rocker switch is in the centre position. When the inverter is turned on a green light illuminates on the control panel. This is marked "Power Available". The inverter is silent in operation, except for a fan, which might cut in if the inverter is under heavy load. Remember to switch it off after use to conserve the domestic battery power.
Spares
Spare light bulbs and the old diaries are kept underneath the bottom drawer, opposite the fire. Remove the draw to find these items. If a bulb is used from this stock, please replace it. There is also a spare throttle cable and fan belt stored under here.
Gauging the Diesel
Thanks to Stuart Rogers, who provided a dipstick for guaging the diesel, it is possible to measure how much fuel is on board, and estimate how long it should last. To quote Stuart - "A full tank is 23 inches
1 inch of diesel = 10 litres = 7 hours running time.
This works well as far as we went, ie, down to 15 inches of diesel!".
Leaves on the prop
If the boat suddenly doesn't appear to steer right, this could be due to leaves on the propeller. This is a common problem in the Autumn when the leaves have a nasty habit of commiting suicide and leaping into the canal, where they lie in wait for a passing boat and then superglue themselves to the propeller. It is quite easy to detach the leaves by putting the engine into reverse for a second or two. If there are a lot of leaves on the canal, then you may have to do this every few minutes.
It is also possible to deduce that there is an obstruction to the prop by observing the wake. Normally, when cruising with the rudder straight, the wake should come out in a directed stream behind you. If it appears to come out in a fan instead, then this indicates that there is something obstructing the prop, with leaves being the number one culprit in the autumn.
Cleaning out the fire is easy, especially if you used the 'Homefire Ovals' mentioned earlier, as they burn down to ash, leaving very little, if any, solid bits behind. Once the fire has cooled, use the fire door tool or poker to poke the ash down into the 'ash tray', and then empty the tray into the 'Tippy Tin' and dispose of it sensibly and safely.
If the lever is placed at 90 degrees to the pipe, then no heat goes to the radiators, and all heat goes to heat the hot water. If the lever is placed in line with the pipe, then all the heat goes to the radiators, with none going to heat the hot water. To heat both the hot water and the radiators, put the lever in the 11 o'clock position (as shown in the picture).
This lever only affects the heating system, and not the engine heating. the waste heat from the engine is used to heat the hot water, but does not affect the radiators. It takes 3-4 hours cruising to heat a tankful of hot water.
Front Lockers
The lock handles, mooring pins, mallets, armco hooks, etc are stored in the small centre front locker and are tagged with yellow tape. There is a laminated sheet in the locker listing all the tools. The tools should be stored in here at the end of your holiday, but feel free to store them where-ever you like during your cruise.
The right hand front locker may have some coal and wood for the fire. There is no formal agreement to keep a store of coal and wood on the boat, but there is usually some left behind in this locker. You will usually find the water hose in the front left hand locker, or the centre locker (with the mooring pins). In the left hand locker there should also be a bucket, scrubbing brush and an old bowl which can be used for cleaning the boat.
While on the subject of the front lockers, the drains on the front well-deck (which can be found on either side of the boat where the well deck meets the cabin) have no visible outlet, so I assume that they must drain into the bilge. They have a fine metal mesh over them to prevent leaves and other debris from going into the drain. Please don't be tempted to pull the mesh up to allow the water to drain away quicker, it is there for a reason.
Rear Hatchway
If you find that the rear hatchway is difficult to open, try putting a bit of oil on the runners. It is less messy to apply it using a piece of kitchen towel. There is some oil in the toolbox, which you should find in the rear loo.
Loos
If you are out with a small crew, you may get away with only using one loo, which saves on the pump-out costs. If so, then be advised that the centre loo has a larger holding tank than the rear loo.Do not put bleach or any other domestic toilet product into the toilet, only Blu Loo should be used, otherwise the toilet is likely to smell for up to 6 months.