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Showing content with the highest reputation on 20/03/19 in all areas

  1. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
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  7. It's being identifiable and having to buy a licence that upsets most of the stealth boats ...
    3 points
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  9. It is indeed Bob May’s boat and you are correct, his health has declined and is the reason for the sale, sadly. A cracking boat, I did some work in the back cabin a couple of years ago. More than worth a look for anyone who appreciates quality craft. Bob was a professional photographer, one of his on display in the saloon featured a cat asleep on the rear fenders....cat on the tip cats, you might say.
    3 points
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  11. How deep is the rust and is there significant pitting? Rust converters are a last resort compromise, the ideal is to get right back to bare metal and just use a good primer, I particularly like Bondaprimer. If you wanted to be really flash you could even use a surface tolerant epoxy primer but they tend to come in big tins. Use an angle grinder, probably with a course sanding disc, to get back to bare metal, taking care to not mess up any steel that will be visible. A few small pits can be "dug out" with a grinding stone in a Dremmel. If you get to bare metal then don't use a rust converter "just in case" because thats daft. If you have just a tiny bit of rust at the bottom of pits you can ignore it, it will be fine, but dab on a bit of converter if you wish. If you can not get to bare metal then use a rust converter, but you are likely slowing down the rust rather than stopping it. ..............Dave
    2 points
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  13. I was off work today as i had to go to the hospital so as it was a nice day fro once i grabbed the chance to start the canopy patterns. What pain in the arse that was, just the two rear hardtop corners to get a nice curve to the canvas.The Material i got for the patterns is spot on ( Fibretex ) flexible and no stretch at all. This is the corners that proved difficult o get it how i wanted. All sorted now though. image: https://i.postimg.cc/yN38h78H/20190320-114414.jpg image: https://i.postimg.cc/HndWC54Y/20190320-114418.jpg image: https://i.postimg.cc/qv57CN0w/20190320-114411.jpg So then it was mark it all up time for the top section. image: https://i.postimg.cc/bJXN34Z2/20190320-134512.jpg Then i made a full rear section although this will done in smaller sections. So the top trim to go all around the top section dropping down by 6 inch. Rear section will have a rear window which can be rolled up or removed all together leaving corner upstands about 6 inch down the sides and rear. to leave all open i we want. image: https://i.postimg.cc/cHN0QYzR/20190320-155948.jpg image: https://i.postimg.cc/LsPmYvx4/20190320-152628.jpg I have gone with Lift the Dot fittings all around and the rest will be Zips fro material to material for detachable sides and rear. I lowered a bit more the hoop to hope to get a better run off. If not i have aspring loaded bar that can slot in the canopy top when not on board to give a more support. Looking again at these pics it doesnt look to taught but its better than the pics, i cant remember if i took these be for i give it fettle more. Saying that if it works i will be amazed lol Captain Faffer
    2 points
  14. Do you think that the responde from CRT to ignoring their rules may be to say that those who do so are depriving CRT of income which is used to stock the waterways to allow anglers to enjoy their pastime? Crt get little enough from fishermen as it is without some anglers evading payment. Howard
    2 points
  15. Are you any relation to Sparkz ?
    2 points
  16. Many years ago I almost had ISO9000 forced upon me, and did wonder if I could achieve it by guaranteeing to be consistently inconsistent. ? ...............Dave
    2 points
  17. An update from here on progress after being out a few days and why setting up a system is not that straightforward. Once commissioned then yes, simple. These batteries are outstanding. Sucking up every bit of power thrown at them. None of this watching tail current decaying slowly from 80% full. In normal use, these batteries are going to be simpler to look after than LA's. We use 100Ahrs overnight (typical) and the last few days the solar has put an additional 50Ahrs back in per day. With 300 useable Ahrs in the 480Ahr bank (maybe more), that means you can go 5 days without running the engine. In the summer with a bit more sun then we will never need to run the engine. No need to fully charge. Once you get into a cruising routine, then maybe once every 6-8 weeks think about taking them up to 100% to synchronise the amp hour counter......and not think about them otherwise. This fits in well with Peter's....it is simple. It really is..... BUT. Initially, there is the 'not so simple' construction of a system to prevent overcharging and over -voltage. The 3 peeps on here have all got slightly different DIY systems and mine is different again. Anyone thinking about going the LiFePo4 route needs to pay attention to the differences. The snag I am coming up against is that I had hoped to terminate charging from the various charging devices by voltage alone. Peter does his by voltage but he is ONLY using Solar so easy to control that source. T&B charge normally via the alternator and that backs off when it reaches a voltage and tail current (via an Arduino device) and MP has an Arduino device that disconnects all his charge devices based on voltage AND tail current. In practice, the voltage target to get to 85% SoC increases with increasing charge current, so I would need to terminate charge at say 14.0V if charging with our alternator on a 45A setting, at say 13.8V for charging via an IP22 at 30A and maybe 13.6-13.7V if the solar is only putting out 10-20A. MP has been trying to tell me this for weeks. Its only now the message has been understood having played with it for 2 weeks. I have found that tail current drops rapidly over 30 mins or so once SoC gets over 95%. Up to 95% the charge current is rock solid. No reduction at all. If you have a controller that can measure and use the current measurement, then termination is easy. Problem is that you need some sort of 'brain' (ie an Arduino) to monitor voltage and current. Unfortunately the BMV 712 measures tail current but current is not one of the options you can set off alarms or the relay. The Arduino seems a very good solution. I will try and see if I can find a compromise based on voltage with maybe choosing 13.8V as the terminating voltage and accepting that if charging over 50A I will only get to 70% SoC (but that is fine anyway). The only issue I see then is if I have a day of 4-5hours motoring and getting up 90% (so it doesnt terminate) and then getting lots of solar late in the afternoon. I am not sure if the backstop of the cell monitoring BMS box that disconnects at 3.8V would ever be triggered. With the Sterling AtoB attached to the alternator I have 4 battery type settings that vary not only the absorption voltage but the current. The two gel settings give me 45A and 55A so I have a number of various permutations. I need a few days of good sunshine to test the high voltage disconnect. One other problem I found was my two solar controllers fighting with each other. Sorted that by just using the 30A mppt for all the panels (total 500W). Peter's 'solar only' is a very simple system with no dramas at all. Once I understand the top end disconnection, mine will be very simple as well.
    2 points
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  20. That is the origin of the "London Whiteout" look - paint everything with white paint so it looks like a flat on a property development programme. I detest the look, but do understand why people go for it. I use magnolia ...
    2 points
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  22. I think this chap has touched up his bottom with Zinger (or similar). .
    1 point
  23. I have to say that on the occasions that I have a car with satnav I always turn off the voice. On the dashboard I invariably have a speedometer, fuel gauge, a variety of warning lights and tend to regard the satnav as just something else that I can visually check at a time of my choosing when there isn't anything going on ahead of me that requires additional attention. Likewise, I will converse with passengers if there isn't anything going on ahead that requires additional attention but then I will immediately drop out of any conversations should something occur. The problem with leaving the voice on is that it may be trying to pass information when my concentration is required elsewhere so I either don't hear it, or only hear part of it whereas by just glancing at the satnav screen when necessary I get the information required without being distracted any more than I am when I look at the speedometer or check for warning lights.
    1 point
  24. Are you assuming the berth owner is accurately reporting the situation ? Could be the boat owner is not at fault. Similarly, the berth owner should sort the issue out and should not be charging you if you cant use the berth.
    1 point
  25. I think the time and research involved in the design stage is worth it in the end. I certainly spent a long time reading up and researching the different options before deciding the route I went down. Pleased I did as now they're installed they just sit there and work! Occasionally glance at the BMV to see if I need to charge or not. Definitely less monitoring and much easier to look after than lead acid. Getting very good results from solar at the moment, much better than expected based on last years performance. Might need to keep eye on charging and voltages as solar input increases to check I've got the optimum settings for the solar controller. Once set up they really are fit and forget though. As I mentioned previously, we charge to 100% to synchronise the BMV every 4-6 weeks or so, generally to coincide with a cruise to pump out. We find generally the BMV remains fairly accurate now we've tweaked the settings though. It's interesting to see the data from other installs, particularly how much the charge rate affects SOC as various voltage points are reached during charging. One of our alternators has developed a fault and consequently the batteries are now at much higher SOC by the time 14.0v is reached, although it is obviously taking a lot longer. Max charge at present is 65-70a compared to 100a with both alternators working well. We tend to leave everything switched on when leaving the boat now, it doesn't matter if they sit for a week or more at partial SOC. I figure the low voltage cut out on the fridge will stop the batteries getting excessively drained, and solar (even in winter) will keep up with minor power usage (WiFi router etc). I notice peterboat and me just enjoy using the batteries now they've been installed for a while, enjoying their benefits and superiority over lead acid, and basically ignore them! Hopefully MP and Dr Bob will have the same benefits when their installs settle in and any teething problems are sorted out. It's been interesting reading the different routes that have people have taken to hopefully get the same end result. I think the 4 installs on this thread have taken 4 quite different routes, so will be interesting to follow how these different methods compare and hold up over time.
    1 point
  26. I was responsible for getting ISO9001 accreditation for our BT department. The Sales team (about 50 people) were extremely sceptical of the documentation requirements until at a meeting I was challenged to write their "Quality Manual" and I answered that it need be only one line long; "By any means that is legal and in line with BT policies, get all customers or potential customers to spend as much money as possible". The BSI assessors were perfectly happy with it.
    1 point
  27. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  28. hi just a big thank you again .for all the input on this ..all is up and running .the fellow from lockgate came and put all what i had done wrong right, he also showed me where i was going wrong . he serviced and tinkered with it .and was here a couple of hours .worth every penny .and such a nice guy also and would recommend .anytime ..
    1 point
  29. Vactan, fertan, jenolite are all rust treatment products.
    1 point
  30. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  31. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  32. As live-aboards, my wife & I would totally disagree. In winter we find the extra covered space invaluable. It's a useful store, and when returning to the boat from the pub or whatever, it's easy to nip under cover in bad weather while you find door keys & unlock the door. In summer the cover is easily rolled up out of the way in seconds.
    1 point
  33. I know you new to lifePo4s are enjoying yourselves but why? I have solar, every day it charges, at the end of the day my state of charge says 13.3 volts next morning they charge again until they are full or the sun stops shining? It really is that simples! These batteries work and work well, far better than LAs and the only things that will kill them is over or under voltage's so stop worrying and stop scaring the general boater
    1 point
  34. Now that could start a new trend, oilskin miniskirts. ?
    1 point
  35. 1 point
  36. Thoughts from 'life' and not necessarily directly related to boats - "No foot, No Horse" I still have several pairs of shoes bought from Trickers of St. James St. London - some thirty years ago... My point is that the hull is the foundation of a boat. If that is deficient in design and execution it can and WILL cause problems later and there's a strong possibility that repairing poor welds and bad layout, execution of hidden structural members may be impractical to fix. A boat's hull in not merely a tin box into which folks add their extras. I bought my shoes and my hull from craftsmen - not from a production line.
    1 point
  37. If I wanted a widebeam I would look seriously at the various dutch barges that come up from time to time, I've taken my 11` beam shallow draughted roundish bottomed dutch boat up the GU and K&A and Wey and its quite hard work. It would be much harder in a square sectioned deeper draughted English fat boat.
    1 point
  38. 1 point
  39. Get your sailaway from Colecraft. I did. Great boats and great people.
    1 point
  40. Exactly. Luckily I am not human, so not a problem.
    1 point
  41. Why? I really like it. A neat and simple solution to the problem of bots signing up and posting their spam, properly implemented and tested!
    1 point
  42. There is every reason not to display a name or number. For a start, CRT don't hassle you to get a mooring or buy a licence.
    1 point
  43. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  44. i just dont why folk are so awkward when it come to this, God sake display the details, no reason not to at all.
    1 point
  45. Wouldn't you end up with every passing boat getting glued to the other side?
    1 point
  46. Can't find it. Rather than getting involved in the bother and hassle with it,can you just move it along a few yards and tie it up with mooring pins?
    1 point
  47. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  48. A deep draughted boat usually stops in the bridges, the flow is always high to feed Hurleston reservoir for Crewe and Nantwich. Wait till you try to stop going back down!
    1 point
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