When we took Marley, our Buladore dog, from the kennels, he came with a report stating he was ‘giddy’. You wouldn’t think it when you meet him aboard Happidaze. He’s docile, friendly and very cuddly. He’s a clever little chap and always wants to get involved, which is an endearing quality. Out and about, however, he’s a bit more rambunctious. He sees most other dogs as a threat, and his recall isn’t great. As such, we have been chatting to a behavioural therapist, who has given us a few basic exercises to follow. As a rescue, there are two years of history we know nothing about, so we have to be sensitive to his moods and establish a regime that takes his little foibles into account. One thing the therapist suggested was the YellowDog Project, a scheme that lets you order bright yellow garb for your pet to wear while out in public. This notifies others to be cautious around him. On the whole, he loves meeting people, but sometimes — just sometimes — we don’t know how he’ll behave, which gives everyone a little peace of mind.
Webasto Diesel Heater
Meanwhile, we’ve had to wait for a spare part for our Webasto diesel heater. This is an excellent piece of fuel-efficient kit that provides hot water and central heating for the boat. It runs at around 10 amps, consumes very little diesel, and is quite effective. However, it stopped working when the fan shredded its bearings. We picked up a new fan for around £150 off eBay and got Gary, our electrician, to sit down with Jamie and work through the process of replacing it. This involves dismantling the unit from the wall in the engine bay, which means isolating the water, fuel and electricity supplies. It’s not complicated, just fiddly, so we appreciate Gary showing Jamie how the job is done so he can do it himself in future.
Broken Bolt On The Generator
The one remaining ‘big’ project that prevents us leaving to become constant cruisers is decommissioning that generator. We’ve talked about this in the past but haven’t gone into much detail about the issue. It involves a very annoying broken bolt in an awkward position on the generator, which is mounted in such a way that it’s difficult to access. We go into a little more detail in this week’s video, below.
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