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Over this break we had noticed that rain drips run down the outside of our multi fuel stove flue, originating from above the ceiling. Mike had taken a look from the outside but not worked out what was happening. As a result of new regulations, Morse have re-designed their kit and the way in which the flue is fixed to the roof etc. As a result it is rather different from what we have experienced hitherto. Directing a hosepipe at the base of the chimney also confirmed that this was the origin of the drips.

Yesterday we emailed Phil (Stem to Stern), our boat builder, in order to seek details of the assembly - this was not something we could find in the otherwise voluminous box of manufacturers' manuals that we were given at the outset. In particular, we needed to know just where to put any additional sealant.

Much to our surprise we had an email first thing today from Phil, who is based just up the motorway in Stafford, that he would like to pop down straightaway to take a look and see if he can fix it for us! Now we call that after sales support!

In fact, he arrived much quicker that he estimated and a quick inspection revealed that the seal had actually 'cracked' - not sure how best to describe it - although it was in a slightly different location from where we had imagined it to be. (It is on the outside of the upstand rather than, as before, on the inside) At least we now know if the problem occurs again.

Thinking about it, we suspect that the immediate cause was that we had left the chimney in place from when we arrived in the marina at the start of November. There have been some high winds, especially over the last few days, and this may well have created high strain levels at the base of the chimney, enough to cause the seal to fail. Of course, we were by now all packed up ready to set off back home so no time to allow the sealant to set properly and to give it a hosepipe test - that will have to wait until we next return but at least full marks to Phil for his assistance.

We were away around noon and the journey back home was remarkably uneventful. Given the strength of the wind when we left the marina we had wondered what we might encounter but we quickly passed out of the highest storm conditions - lorry traffic has still not picked up again after the Christmas and New Year break and there were no delays.