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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/04/17 in all areas

  1. Over the passed few days we have spoken with a lady bored with boating who is selling her boat. A lady who complained her water smells odd since hubby blacked the water tank. A chap complained it was to hot to wash his boat. Several boaters moaned that it was to busy on the cut. Too many hire boats out... This morning I log into canalworld for the first time in a few days and lots of you are at it too...please, please cheer up and stop moaning. It's brilliant out on the canals! Really it is! Have fun, Ian.
    5 points
  2. A gross oversimplification of collregs that is actually misleading! 1) There is a general rule that a powered vessel must give way to a SAILING vessel. Unless your canoe is fitted with a sail, it is NOT a sailing vessel, and does not have right of way. 2) All concepts of right of way are not applicable in a "narrow channel" 3) To the extent that rights of way do apply, the top of the tree, even over sailing vessels are "vessels constrained by their draught" - that covers most narrowboats 4) In a narrow channel, small vessels must not impede larger vessels constrained by their draught. So, my simplification of the rules is that canoes must give way to narrowboats, both from a legal point of view, and from a point of view of who comes off worse. This is a story of Johnny O'Day Who died preserving his right of way He was right, dead right, as he sailed along But he's just as dead as if he were wrong Oh, and to answer the question as to etiquette; The steerer of any narrowboat which collides with and sinks a canoe must raise his hat and make a suitably stiff-upper-lip remark to the sinking vessel such as "Oh, jolly bad luck old sport", or "looks a tad bracing in there today".
    4 points
  3. I'm going to take the horse boat out that day.
    4 points
  4. I once had a survey (18+ boats and 30+ years ago) it cost me well over £20,000 to get it 'sea-worthy' after the surveyor gave it 100% 'clean bill of health'. After employing a marine solicitor I was told that I had no hope of winning in court as the surveyors small print made sure anything they missed was not covered in the survey, so, the survey was absolutely worthless. Having looked at a number of surveyors T&Cs there is no come back on any of them - they do not even have to have any qualification to call themselves a surveyor and can even join one of the 'Professional Bodies' without experience. Survey ? No-Thanks. I'll save the £1000 and put it towards any faults I find.
    2 points
  5. At the risk of sounding a shade argumentative i would ask if you have , during your four search , considered the possibility that your " wants " are a bit on the optomistic side ? BOAT - saloon , dinette ( maybe ) , kitchen , bog , shower / bath , bed , engine . 99.9 % of boats will contain the above . Consequently your perfect boat is the remaining 0.1 % . An idea - why not alter needs . Or buy a boat and alter it instead because your wants are in all honesty unlikely to pop up that often . Bearing in mind how long its taken you might want to reconsider that boat youve just had surveyed cos it may be yonks before another similar boat comes along . WTF is a music room anyway ? i have visions of people sitting on chairs playing the cello - ive genuinely no idea . My music room is my saloon . My office is my dinette . Either stop being picky , buy a boat the right length and convert it or buy this one just surveyed . Otherwise buy a different house / caravan / mobile home . Personally i think youre wishlist is unrealistic , but i wish u luck - i hope find what youre looking for
    2 points
  6. The race is from Devizes to Westminster. There is no race anywhere else on the K&A or Thames over easter. Speaking as an experienced canoe racer and a narrowboater the most important advice I would give to a narrowboater is... just carry on doing exactly what you always do, do nothing unusual, travel a steady path at your normal speed. That way the extremely agile and fast canoes will be able to predict what you are doing and zoom past you with no conflicts. The only exception would be as you come into lock landings. The canoes are portaging here and that is a very fast and skilful manoeuvre. If you arrive at a lock alongside a racing canoe let them go ahead, it will take them somewhere between one and five seconds to be clear and out of your way. And as you tie up at a lock landing try to leave spaces at either end for the canoeists to leap out. The Devizes to Westminster is a major international canoe race. In the canoe world it would have a standing alongside events like the London Marathon or the Tour de France. But unlike those events there is no desire to close the roads off to other users during the event. So enjoy your grandstand seat to watch some of the finest canoe racers in the world!
    2 points
  7. The big freeze at that time was the the deal breaker boats were tied up for several weeks the customers had to arrange alternate supplies, so a number of contracts were cancelled. I loaded coal at Pooley Hall for the "Jam ole" ,& got as far as "Suttons" (Hawksbury) before coming to a crunching halt, there were 7 or 8 other pairs there but I was the only boats with coal when we finally got under way & delivered my load I was some near 3 tons less than what I loaded but at least the families on the other pairs were kept warm but if that was not the end of BW's carrying fleet it was most certainly the beginning of the end.
    2 points
  8. I've come to the conclusion that there isn't enough expertise out there among "marine surveyors" to unconditionally recommend a professional survey, even to a new buyer. My view on boat surveyors now mirrors my long held view on building surveyors and I have always regarded their opinion as worthless. If you want to buy a particular house and you are concerned about the state of the roof, get a roofer to look at it. If you think the windows need replacing get a joiner in and so on. Those of us with a bit of mileage on the clock probably feel competent enough to make our own assessment anyway, but a new buyer would be better off getting a welder/fabricator to look at the hull, if that was the only/main concern. Now some of you are going to say what about the comeback should their assessment prove to be erroneous, but as we have witnessed many times on this forum, surveyors are very clever at wriggling out of any liability post -survey so it's a poor argument for using a surveyor instead of a real expert. Our current boat came with three previous survey documents which didn't even agree on the size of the prop.
    1 point
  9. I am on my 8th liveaboard boat, the first I bought at the side of the coventry canal in 1989 for 10k in 20 pound notes, I had no idea what I was buying but was dead LUCKY in that it was later found to be a very sound hull. I sold it and bought my second boat a double diagnal teak built one 4 years later without survey, it was beautiful and I sold it a few months later from Gloucester docks in 24 hours for profit to another guy who didnt have a survey. My next six boats I have bought without survey and on selling them only one has ever had a survey done on it by the purchaser and it was fine. My boats have been between 10 and 65k over this period. I have gained much experience on what to look for............I am not advising anyone else to do it but some of us take risks and some of us do not in life in all differing events. I am a risk taker. My last boat ( a widebeam ) I sold within two weeks again to a cash purchaser without survey. Amongst these boats has been a brand new one with self fitout a secondhand Hudson bought at 4 years old from the original purchaser, 2 colecrafts a Pinder a harborough a Swanline and a Horsley Quenet. IN MY OPINION and thats all it is life is way too short to worry and 8 surveys would have cost me about ?? After buying my present boat I was sent paperwork including a pre purchase survey some other bod from Spain had done but didnt complete the purchase, I hadnt a clue re the survey existing but it backed me up in my purchase as surveyer found it to be a good boat, I actualy found more faults in my twenty minute look at the boat than he had done during his full survey. He is a well known surveyer.
    1 point
  10. It will be cheaper and less hassle long term to trade the wife in and get one who is lower maintainance. I used to have a high maintainance one but traded her in for the present one who doesnt even own a hair dryer. Much better option.
    1 point
  11. This hobby boater is going to have a moan because she is stuck in the office on what would be a lovely boating day Still only a couple of days to go and then we can have a 5 day break with the masses.
    1 point
  12. 1 point
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  14. I have found that you will not be getting 100% out of your solar panels even under the 'best conditions', passing clouds, angle of the sun, angle of the panels etc all make them less than 100% effective. Personally (others experience may vary) I 'work on' 50% (maybe 75% on a perfect Summers day) With my 'method' your panels will effectively be about 400w. Your 1kw immersion heater will draw approximately 100 amps, your solar will be replacing approximately 32 amps given you a discharge of 68 amps whilst the immersion heater is operating. The length of operation of the immersion heater will depend on water temperature (start & finish) and volume of water to be heated. Starting from 'cold' our 1Kw heater takes almost 3 hours to heat to 85 degrees. If yours is similar, then you will need to replace around 200Ah with your solar. Ie - you need to ensure that the solar is producing for approximately 3x the duration of the immersion heater being powered.
    1 point
  15. Isn't that what we have rain for? Not sure I've ever washed mine! I scrubbed the roof once after mooring too near the cement works near Enslow...
    1 point
  16. There's so much of that last post that I could just take away reference to age and relate to myself right now, though to be fair on myself, I've not led an uninteresting life so far, only got into the property lark in my 30's, and that was at the prompting of my late partner rather than me desiring it, and I've done (and continue to do) my moral duties to loved ones. Absolutely, both as a teenager and right now. Even remember writing it down in one of the legion bedsits of youth. I'm not blind to how vulnerable we are at old age, I'm looking after a dying 80 year old in a rented bungalow! He's also a great role model of trying to find your dreams and risking all to do so. Both he and my late mum grew up in slums, didn't have shoes, proper poverty. They scraped and ground their way into a lovely suburban house, huge garden, remember it well. Still, at the age of 40, to escape the late 70's steel crash of Sheffield and the city life forever they sold for a pittance to a relative, moved into a caravan on the coast, endured some really rough and poor years, and never, *ever* looked back without saying 'Best thing we ever did'. Of course, could all have gone tits up, but they were strong, good people with a dream. That's not something so easy to destroy. Even though we're way OT, I'm glad this thread provoked such interesting responses.
    1 point
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  18. Are you sure your batteries are fully charged by 8:30 on a sunny day? How are you measuring the state of charge? I have a Victron battery monitor and one of its settings is a threshold voltage above which itassumes the batteries are fully charged and jumps the display to 100%. My mppt was slightly exceeding this voltage on sunny mornings and misleading me on the state of the batteries. Get up at 6, batteries at 80%. Come 8:30 the display says 100%, but nowhere near the number of amp hours have gone in for that to be real. If yours is all Victron you might be experiencing something similar. What sort of current are your panels producing early in the morning? Is it realistic to fuly charge your batteries from their overnight use? I increased the fully charged threshold on the bmv501 by 0.2V to solve this. I have a lot less solar capacity than your boat though. Jenny
    1 point
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  20. You have every right to take your boat out unless the waterway is officially closed. I have, unintentionally, cruised through a canoe race, I kept a steady course slightly right of centre allowing the canoes sufficient room to pass. The general rule, although there are exceptions is that "the most manuoverable boat" should give way.
    1 point
  21. Good thread this one . Me - no making up for " mistakes " here Sir . Making up for other things , making up for shortfalls here and there but making up for mistakes ? No way . Abandoning the normal routine & seeing the world was and always will be the best thing i have ever done with myself . As a teenager i knew there was no way i would ever get on with the normal way of doing things . I tried it and then i ditched it . I do occasionally find it hard to accept that the best i ll ever do with my three score & ten are behind me . At least temporarily . I knew all along that i d pay the price later on in life . These thoughts were not at the front of my mind tho as i cycled and camped my way around easter island , or as i journeyed thru the Swat valley or whilst snorkelling with whale sharks in The Phillipines for the princely sum of 20 USD . But i knew tough times were ahead . They aren t ahead anymore - theyre right here right now . Ho hum . Rather than whinge im trying to do something about it . It might work it might not . If i fail i can accept that as i know ive pushed myself as hard as i can in whatever ive tried to do . I admire those who " got on " in life . But i weren t cut out for it and trying to shoehorn myself into the normal routines of life would probably have mullered me . My biggest fear as a youngster was the idea of laying in my death bed - facing my mortality & thinking " F*** Me - that was a waste of time wasn t it ?" . It still is . But when that day comes i know the answer to question cheers
    1 point
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  23. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  24. If I were a cyclist I would cycle on roads these are designed for vehicles of which a bicycle is. If I were an angler I would fish on the many rivers and lakes that abound. If I were a runner I would attend a running track. If I were a swimmer I would go to a swimming pool as the name suggests. I am a boater in a boat designed for use on a canal which is were I am so why does every one of the above feel the need to grab my space?
    1 point
  25. Indeed. Something I do remind them when they are moaning. If the don't wish to be disturbed by boats I suggest they find a lake. Don't get me started on the rubbish left behind by the Sunday hunters either!!
    1 point
  26. Quite why the NFA (National Federation of Anglers) and the CRT don't appear to talk to each other I really don't know. Boaters and Anglers are the two groups which care most about our canals, and good communications, clear guidance and a joined up approach would benefit both groups enormously. Even the closing or restricting of public roads for sporting events various can be managed without outbreaks of ill will, so surely CRT could link with other bodies to advise of, deconflict and/or mutually manage fishing and boating events. We have much in common but instead of sharing the canal, we are often left not understanding each other which leads to an inevitable conflict of interests between Anglers and Boaters. Other groups who adversely impact upon both of our interests, and who may seek to undermine our influence in order to use the shared space in an incompatible way to our mutual disadvantage, don't need to divide and conquer - we do it for them.
    1 point
  27. Fenders are for mooring. Here endeth the lesson.
    1 point
  28. The threaded part left in the manifold should be a stanadrd size like 1/4" BSP which would have an o/d of 13.1 mm. Can you measure it and post a photo of it ? In the short term a cork will be OK - just keep an eye on it. The pressure should be low.
    1 point
  29. I think it's a shame that a previously reliable and unique product is becoming useless due to what appears to be poor QC. I'm finding myself reluctant to recommend it these days where in the past I would have had no such reservations. +1
    1 point
  30. Yeabut that's for the engine battery! Anyway, the domestic isolator is to isolate a source of near-unlimited current (the batteries) from everything else, so that that source of current can be turned off should there be a major short circuit or should maintenance /repairs/wiring be being carried out in order to eliminate the risk of a worker-induced short circuit. It is also convenient way to make sure everything is turned off when one leaves the boat, but that is not its primary purpose. There is nothing wrong with, in fact it is standard practice, to have the charger connected directly to the batteries (via a fuse) such that the batteries get charged when the isolator is off. This also means that when the isolator is open, the boat's services are completely unpowered and not still potentially powered by the charger. This is the batter way of doing it IMO, although connecting the charger to the services-side of the isolator is allowed. Our Combi is connected directly to the batteries (via a fuse). There are arguments for and against fitting an additional isolator just for the Combi, I choose not to since it is just another source of voltage drop for a device that can pull 200A or more.
    1 point
  31. Two or three weeks off grid once in a while and the rest of the time on shore power, yet you knacker them in four years? Your batteries should be lasting ten years. You NEED a Smartgauge lol!
    1 point
  32. I think this correct and fair . Your boat is a leisure boat and very well used one which you clearly love . But it spends its winters on the hard and isnt lived on . When its used it looks like its used hard - the batts will be well looked after therefore . MtBs point about " just get more solar " is correct - it isnt a sensible approach to battery health . Yes its phenominally ( ive no english degree either so that may be spewlt wrong ) good in summer and will provide all summer long as it has for me today . But a chain is as strong as its weakest link - its how ones monitoring / charging routine operates during the winter that matters . Its all very well having fully charged batts in summer but if ur unable to assess thier " health " through the winter in order to look after them theyll be down on capacity by the following summer . Therefore the ability to check via whichever gauge used is important because i dont want to change batts every year even if i could get batteries for a tenner a shot . Changing them is a chore . In winter i use less power . In summer i use as much as i want . I m mindful of my batteries " wellbeing "but not obsessively so . I never run my engine unless its to move the boat - not in the last 3 years since being off grid . I dont own a generator . All my charging when stationary comes from 400w of solar . I am able to do this because i use a monitor to tell me how much power i have available and then use it in a way that will not take my SOC below 50 . 3 years with no engine running ( except when moving ) . Just solar - there is no way i would be able to do this without that smartgauge - to me its worth its weight in gold ETA: Same batteries - 4 years old . 4x110ah
    1 point
  33. 2-3 weeks cruising off shore power is using the boat leisurely. Your batteries hardly get used! Spend a few winters off shore power living full time aboard and then you'll see why we monitor and get better batteries. Battery lifetime isn't the pain, it's the time charging that is.
    1 point
  34. Its all very well all this " oh just bin it , its a lovely sunny day , have another beer , throw another shrimp on the barbie , boat off into the sunset blah blah blah " but i would ask how many of those making such comments live on thier boat off grid without shoreline connection ? The reason ask is because unless you do so or have done then its quite easy to overlook the importance of battery monitors . No doubt from time to time there will be the odd dodgy one & there can be debates as to which is best & which is easiest to interpret etc but to me such devices are an absolute boon . If i got a new boat tomorrow the first thing buy for it is solar equipment and a smartgauge . Im off grid and liveaboard . My batteries are important cos i dont have a nice shoreline to plug in . I need to be mindful of the state of my batteries so i can use them without damaging them . Batteries are a disposable item but that dont mean i ll be adhering to the principle of " sod it ... just abuse em and bin em " . What a very 21st century modern British mentallity . Shameful in my opinion . When my batteries give up then ill spend on new ones but of course but i will try to look after them as i rely on them to service my boat ... my home & because if i spend my hard earnt on something i like to try to look after it . If you liveaboard i suspect changing the batteries very regularly will become an expensive chore . Removing , transferring to car , buying , transferring to boat , refitting - why go thru that process more often than necessary ? All this " care " or " diligence " over ones batteries becomes more relevant in winter when solar input is less reliable and so trustworthy gauges are even more worthwhile . So for those on a shoreline who have a " boating season " - you carry on up the cut into the sunset - with your beer in one hand and your barbecue tongs in the other because if you don t live - on then you re ignorant of why someone would would want to try to understand the relative health of thier batteries .
    1 point
  35. You hit your dog? Your rescue dog?
    1 point
  36. A good dose of reverse is often what causes more problems when the bow then swings across the canal.
    1 point
  37. Hmm, I'd have to add a health warning to the above Daz, lest some reading it take the advice too far. Firstly because, although a little extra power can be a good thing occasionally, we see more folk get themselves into trouble by using too much throttle than by taking things steadily. Usually a little finesse whilst accounting for what mother nature is going to do to your boat will do the job with least fuss - and any cock up would then lead to a kiss rather than a crunch. Secondly because, whilst being able to execute an emergency stop can be a good thing, "a good dose of reverse" will loose you your steering just when you need it most. So whilst large doses of ahead or astern power can be useful tools to have in your bag, they're sledgehammers to be used occasionally and only when appropriate.
    1 point
  38. For me, this thread confirms that the cut that I have known for most of my life has changed....or rather those that now use them. I have every sympathy for those who have suffered real damage at the hands of others, though such instances are mercifully rare. In the main, steel sided canal boats are robust things and most collisions result in little more than loss of blacking or perhaps a minor score in the steelwork. I've been surprised at the number of suggestions to collect evidence for possible future legal action, sad that the " sue your arse off" mentality has now arrived on the waterways. I'm not sure that I want to venture out in such circumstances....I'm sanguine about the occasional accidental bump, usually occasioned by someone else panicking and responding poorly, such as the hire boat that swung broadside across the cut in front of me. I stopped within inches of their cabin side. No harm done, I took no notice and carried on once they had sorted themselves out. Should I have logged a near miss or informed the hire company? Disappointed Dave
    1 point
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