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Well you certainly don't, given your reluctance to answer any difficult questions which challenge your opinions... 😞 Why not just admit that you hate Parry and want him out, even though you can't give any logical reason for this?

Not really, certainly not compared to all the kinks and wiggles and bends and narrow bits in the tunnel...

I find that hard to believe.

Or, as most of the installs I come across describe them, utterly reliable. Most of the time it’s let down by a bad installation. Yes it can be complex in an install with solar priority, grid feeding etc, but like anything complex it needs someone who knows what they’re doing. You can easily achieve things in software with Victron which require custom hardware and coding with other non-matching components. There’s an extensive official forum where they unofficially support home brew through making most of their protocols open source, and having lots of whitepapers on everything. No other manufacturer does this, which I why I like it.

9/5/24 Two large 'megaboats' at Chelsea Reach Harbour have been served an eviction notice after a West London council doubled down on its plans to get rid of them because they reportedly spoiled the view. Kensington and Chelsea council officers handed The Zephyr and The Pacifica the notice yesterday (Wednesday, May 8). Both have eight months to permanently move unless an appeal is lodged by June 19. The leaseholder, Chelsea Yacht and Boat Company, has been contacted for comment. It comes after councillors re-approved the eviction during a meeting Tuesday evening (May 7). They had been asked to review an earlier decision to boot the boats after one left voluntarily. Gerard Hargreaves, ward councillor for Chelsea Riverside, said he supported the move. He said: “Chelsea Riverside is a uniquely beautiful neighbourhood on London’s iconic riverside and enforcement notices have now been served against these mega-boats, which are no way in keeping with the landscape. "The community has felt very strongly that action should be taken – a position I have supported, along with my fellow ward councillors. I have admired the community’s resilience, dignity and perseverance throughout the process.” Labour’s candidate for Chelsea and Fulham Ben Coleman called the decision an 'important victory' for the community. He tweeted: “Enforcement action will now be taken against the predatory landlord and his horrendous megabarges. We fight on to save this iconic Chelsea River community.” In February, councillors unanimously agreed to evict three large apartment boats, which varied in size from one to three bedrooms. In doing so, councillors overruled their own officers who claimed there were no grounds for eviction. At the time, chair James Husband said the boats blocked views of the River Thames along Cheyne Walk and should be removed. He also said the megaboats gave a 'sense of enclosure' for neighbouring houseboats and would change the outlook of the River. The houseboats had been given nine months to leave but after one left officers returned to councillors asking if the enforcement action against the two remaining boats should be carried out. The boat was removed and taken to dry dock in December 2023 and has not yet returned. At the time, the owners said they would appeal the February decision. A spokesperson for the Chelsea Yacht and Boat Company said then that no planning breach had occurred. They said: “This decision, taken by a small group of councillors against the advice of RBKC’s [Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea] own officers, Leader and legal experts, puts taxpayer funds at serious risk because, as the Council Leader has warned, any enforcement action would leave the Council open to challenge at appeal, including a cost challenge. “We would question why this small group of councillors are proceeding with this dispute against the backdrop of wider financial pressures.” Three large boats - The Iris, The Pacifica and The Zephyr - were moored at Chelsea Reach between June and September 2023.

Also most professional installers will be rushing to get the job done because time is money and they're on the clock, so if you take your time you're bound to do a better job yourself. Nobody loves your boat like you do.

A bigger pulley can make a big difference, more wrap and more surface contact area, but the alternator will run slower so less amps and it might well run hotter (less amps but even less airflow). The best but very expensive solution is a fancy alternator controller that can limit the current.

Hi there, sounds quite a project for the summer, make sure you manage a bit of boating if at all possible. It might pay to find a marine qualified electrician with experience of steel boats to come and help with the design. There are decisions to be made before you buy anything. Do not ask an auto electrican, or a domestic electrician for advice that's a different ballgame. I have a 12v fridge which is 15ft from the batteries, and first bod who came along to replace the old fridge claimed to know what he doing, he even started rewiring, but failed the knowledge test.. I've had a new fridge installed with no problem, very little adjustment to existing system,

1. Record the numbers on the front of the plate, rub the font on some fine emery paper/wet and dry to remove any burs from the numbers and letters. Then simply reverse the plate. That should give you another 30 years. I can't see anything wrong with stainless steel if you are happy to pay for it. 2. I think there are various rubber compounds available depending upon the temperature they are bing used in, not necessarily neoprene, so check the impeller data sheets f the vendor does not tell you. 3. The "glycerine" is to lubricate the impeller before it manages to suck water in. If one came with the impeller, I would use it, otherwise I would give the inside of the housing and impeller a squirt of washing up liquid just before I tightened the cover. I would do this whenever I fitted an impeller into a dry pump body. 4. I think that pump may have a wear plate at the opposite end of the chamber to the front cover, and it may be as worn as the cover. These can be reversed, but I would put a smear of jointing compound in the old worn face before refitting. You have to remove the screw in the last photo to take the cam out and the hook the wear plate out. If no wear plate it will be the pump body that is worn, but if it is pumping adequately, why worry. I would put some jointing compound on the back of the cam when refitting. I am sure that you could use it for that, unless any stress in the bet impeller vanes moved the cam. That screw secures the cam in place, so I would not use it to inject the glycerine.

Agreed, black looks very smart of course, but I think it may fade and weather a bit more obviously. Green should still look fine for longer. Have a look at other boats for fabric choice, I like the canvas, anything that looks a bit shiny weathers unevenly. The fitter should advise, but best to keep it free of grease and grime with a soft brush and maybe wash up liquid every so often then a quick reproof.

You see each of these glues have different characteristics, I'm hoping I can dilute it,, or use very little, superglue is used for some parts, but the general " joining fluid" should be akin to pva, as I say, it's best to use what the other modellers use. I've got Bostic pva on order, a small bottle with nozzle so I can start soonest.

I have had one on my boat for about 8 years and it is brilliant! Easy to set-up and get going and uisng homefire ovals, will keep going for about 8 hours!! Easy to clean etc.

Oops! I meant Quedgeley not Dursley 🙂. I was referring to the towpath moorings just past Netheridge Swing Bridge.

I filled up at Anglo Welsh, Great Haywood 3 days ago and it was £1 a litre.

And below the painting of the event commissioned by BW(CaRT) at the time, painted by the well known Sheffield artist Joe Scarborough, who has sadly had to move off his Narrowboat after more than 25 years living at Victoria Quays.

typically ,speed controll would be by a VFD .........however ,back in the day ,you could get two speed AC motor and even four speed AC motors..............im not saying Id do it .....but that is what the OP is asking.

Fill the boots with grease or Vaseline and they will be very waterproof.

Ask the boaters on the K&A. they seem to have it sorted.

I mean, to be honest, this is pretty much nailed on what l will actually do. Possibly minus the glasses.

We had a survey and it was worth having done. However it's value depends on each individual, we like things to be safe and take our responsibilities seriously. Built in 2016 it has had at least 1 BSS inspection and passed but the survey highlighted several fails one of which was in relation to the electrics. These were reasonable criticisms and good to know. Others may prefer to take a chance and rely on their own judgement but as someone said, it is what you don't know that kills you!

The French are generally rather more laid back than other EU countries. Your Dutch passport means you have freedom of movement and you can take up residence in France, but you have to register for a carte de sèjour. What area will you be operating in? Do you have experience of French waterways? You don't say, but if the ship is French registered and you are a French resident, the authorities will expect your qualification to be French too. If you speak reasonable French you will find plenty of Bateaux Écoles where you can get an EGP. However there are a number of non-French owners who operate low level passenger vessels such as yours on the strength of an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) with Inland Endorsement. CEVNI is effectively the 'highway code' for boating in continental Europe - equivalent to the COLREGS at sea. There is no CEVNI certificate as such, but you need to prove knowledge to get the endorsement. It is also built in as part of certification such as the EGP (or vaarbewijs, if that is a possibility for you). If you hide your Dutch passport away you'd be eligible for an RYA ICC on the strength of the NZ one - though it does depend upon where you presently live.

An investigation has been launched over an oil leak into the river Calder in Wakefield. Some of the spillage has entered the adjoining Calder and Hebble Navigation where barge owners are based. Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood said he had been contacted by constituents who told him the spillage came from near to the Arriva bus depot, which is next to the river on Barnsley Road. The bus operator said it is working with Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency to find out how the incident happened on Friday (May 3). The polluted area is near to where locks allow boats to be moved from the river to avoid a weir at Chantry Bridge. Some of the oil slick was still visible on Wednesday. Mr Lightwood said he had made urgent calls for the waterway to be cleaned up. He said: “I am incredibly concerned to learn of this pollution into the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Many boaters make this area their home, as well as local wildlife. I have made urgent representations to Arriva, the Canal and River Trust, Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency and I will be seeking answers as to how this incident occurred.” Last year, the Labour MP demanded action in parliament to clean up the Calder after it was identified as the second most polluted river in the UK. Mr Lightwood added: “The condition of our local waterways is already appalling. Much more needs to be done to tackle the scourge of pollution in our rivers.” Jack Hemingway, Wakefield Council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for climate change and environment, said: “It is deeply concerning to hear of this oil spill into an already heavily polluted Calder. I urge the responsible agencies to quickly investigate and deal with this spill and to work with the council and MP to improve the health of our precious river ecosystems.” A spokesperson for Arriva Yorkshire said: “Arriva Yorkshire were alerted to an issue concerning pollution around the River Calder in Wakefield. We are urgently working with Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency to understand the source.” Sean McGinley, Yorkshire and North East director at the Canal and River Trust, said had written to Mr Lightwood over the incident. He said: “We really appreciate Mr Lightwood– and his constituents’ – concern for the waterway. The Environment Agency has been working with Arriva and Yorkshire Water to stop the pollutant entering the waterway but work still needs to be done to complete the clean-up. “Although most of the pollution most likely stayed in the river and went over the weir, some entered the canal. We need to wait for the river to be cleaned up before we can effectively tackle the pollution in the canal, which we will do as a priority so as soon as we are able.” An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We took immediate action following reports of oil pollution on the River Calder and in the Calder and Hebble Navigation on May 3 and 4. Our officers attended the site and, working with Yorkshire Water and the Canal and River Trust, we have identified the source. “The pollution has now been cleaned up at source. Yorkshire Water have removed any residues from their surface water drains, and contractors are in the process of removing residual contamination from the river and canal.”

The principal reason for not blacking the baseplate is convenience. Many yards simply cannot lift the boat high enough to do the work. It is also a really shitty job. It is hard to see where you have already painted and in many docks painting the bottom involves lying in a puddle. So yes, there is a great deal of post hoc justification for not painting the baseplate, and very little scientific or engineering evidence in favour of saving paint. N

Third party insurance can be purchased online without need for a survey. My little trailer sailers (similar size to the Skipper 17) are insured with Navigators and General (part of Zurich insurance) and cost about £75 each per year for inland and coastal sailing up to a max speed of 17 knots. Never had need to claim so can't comment on service. Other companies also offer similar policies