A Civilized Idea

We recently returned from a trip to the UK; while there we saw a bathroom fixture which was ubiquitous there but virtually unknown in the USA:  the heated towel rack. Do you have any idea how wonderful it is to wrap yourself in a warm towel after a shower? Probably not, sadly. Oh, and the towels dry off much sooner hanging on a heated rack too.  It's a very civilized idea.

Adam and Adrian recently installed one of these on nb Briar Rose. Theirs is hot water heated - a very common solution in the UK, where forced air heating systems are virtually unknown. If you have hot water heat in your boat, this would work for you too. (Electrically heated models are also available and only draw 75 watts or so).

I have to work all weekend, but Adrian went up to the boat today -- taking much much longer than usual because of all the bank holiday traffic.  While Briar Rose has been at Calcutt, the leaking radiator in the shower room has been changed for a heated towel rail.

Ecofan Refurbishment

With many live-aboard boats being heated with diesel or solid fuel heaters that have no provision for warm air circulation, the Ecofan has been a big hit. It moves a surprising amount of warm air and requires no electrical power at all, being powered by the temperature difference between its baseplate (which must be sitting on a hot surface) and the cooling fins on the top.

Like most things however, they don't last forever. I was unaware that they could be refurbished... In another instance of excellent customer service, Adam on nb Briar Rose shows us that they can:

Last week I cut down a cardboard box to about the right size, found some padding material, and posted our Ecofan off to Calfire for some checks.  This past winter it's taken longer and longer to start spinning, and less and less time to stop again.  The deal is that they take a look, email back with information on what's wrong and a price, and then you decide whether you want them to fix it or not.

I think it was Thursday that I got it in the post, second class, for just under a fiver.  On Monday, while I was sleeping between night shifts, an email arrived saying there was something wrong with the motor, and it would cost just over £23 to fix, including return postage.  Yesterday, I phoned and paid.

And today, the fan arrived back, in much more professional packing than I'd managed.

Apparently it's been tested and works -- starting to spin in 1'45", and spinning well in 4'.  I'm hoping it'll be several months before we get the opportunity to test it ourselves.  Assuming it really is fixed, that's what I call good service.

Tilley hats

Real customer service seems to be a rarity these days.  When it is found, I like to highlight it.

Please welcome new contributor Adam, aboard nb Briar Rose!* Adam sings the praises of a company which I suspect has many customers among the readers of this blog:

My Tilley hat has become something of a trademark -- and I often get people saying they recognised me because of it.  But lately it's been looking a bit worse for wear, and when it came out of the wash a week or so ago,the front was full of little holes.  It's maybe not surprising, given how much I wear it, that it gets regularly soaked (as I like to have it on under the hood of my waterproof when it's raining), operates as a sun hat, and once had to be rescued from the canal when the wind took it (they're designed to float).

So I emailed Tilley in Cornwall, who said the hat was covered under their lifetime guarantee never to wear out.  After a few checks, they've sent a replacement.  All I had to pay was a fiver for postage.  It's only when you see the old and the new next to each other that you realise how battered and faded the old one is.  Anyway, well done Tilley; a guarantee that really does mean something.

* For those of you to whom it may be unfamiliar, the abbreviation "nb" stands for "narrow boat", a class of boats plying the canal network in England.  The boats are constrained in size by the canals and locks they navigate,  up to 70' LOA with a maximum beam of 7'.