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Mission accomplished! Top half painted (that's the blue, light blue, and white). Leaving the bottom half to see what's under the flaking paint. Hopefully some nice gelcoat. Even cleaned the fenders and put new ropes on them!

The whole idea of using Lifepo4's is to limit the time taken charging. Instead, you seem to have made a real hash of this and need to charge 5 times longer! You really need to rethink your charging system and if you are not capable of doing that, you should go back to lead acids. There are loads of peeps on here who can help you get your LifePo4 charging better. What lithium battery do you have? Is it a drop in 12V type? Does it have its own BMS? I think you have been given some duff info if you have to charge for 9 hours a day to charge lithiums. What is the charge controller designed for lead acids? First step might be to buy a decent charger with a Lifepo4 setting...ie the victron IP22 30A charger. Do you have a BMV battery monitor? If not can you monitor Amps out? How do you monitor voltage. If not you are at serious risk of knackering your battery.

For those who may not be familiar with the Welland Canal here is a short (10m) time lapse film of a trip through the canal from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. I'm not sure where the collision occurred, but maybe a chance for an interesting discussion !? Howard

Sad news indeed, but something that those who knew Bob knew some day was coming. When I tied MARQUIS on my many visits to Cambrian Wharf, Bob would appear from his eyrie in Galton Tower and come down for one of those wonderful witty and sardonic chats, about boats and canals, and Birmingham, and Birmingham boats and canals and everything else; and fast cars. Always a real joy. Never to be forgotten was his talk to the HNBC at Braunston Village Hall, finishing with photos of GOVERNOR out of the water and adding that that hull shape would hit a submerged pram on the Old Main Line and roll it into a small ball ! A few years ago he told me that he'd been diagnosed with dementia and then said "Not sure about that. I've remembered to tell you!" Last year I didn't see him and this year I haven't yet been back to Birmingham, a city we both love, and I came to realise that I'd never enjoy his wonderful and amusing company again. In his photographs, now safe as the Bob May Collection with the BCNS, he leaves a legacy of post war changing Birmingham, and of its canals and canal life of such value. A lasting legacy that few will equal. We'll all miss him so much. And laugh a little less. James

What I don’t quite understand is that either a hair dryer or a toaster will use a lot more power than a washing machine on a cold wash, and yet it seems these didn’t give you a problem. Presumably you have checked that all the interconnects are tight / not getting warm under load? There is a fundamental problem with using only low voltage to disconnect as you have discovered. There is nothing wrong with taking a Li cell to a fairly low voltage under heavy load. What is to be avoided is over-discharge, and voltage without regard for discharge current is not a good guide to over-discharge. Which is why my BMS will allow for discharge current x internal resistance before deciding to operate the isolation relay. We would want our Li to be able to run 2kw for a few minutes without breaking into a sweat even if not at a high SoC.

100% not going as far as Leicester for obvious reasons! Is the BW (water mate) key not the same as the 2 keys you get from CRT? Where would you get one of those? Thank you so much. Your guidance is incredibly helpful! ps. I’ve seen about Ivinghoe - Thanks for the tip off!

Just back from a week going down to Stratford and back, two days on the river and back up to Hatton today. No problems at all apart from a low pound at the fourth lock up from Bancroft, due to a paddle left up. Heard a lot of talk about low water, and that was it, just talk. The boat is unmanned due to u know wot- all licenses done online.

Screwfix 1239d £0.99. And save your strip connector as a spare

Screwfix 8423F would be better as it's a straight through connection - which is what the OP has cabled (and presumably cut to length) Theres a shortage of good quality inexpensive mains cable boxes around. If you look at videos from installers (before you fall asleep), you can see some of the horrors around - before and after, some of which is due to the rubbish connectors / boxes that are available nowadays...

Edit: talking bx.

I wouldn't It needs a proper enclosed connector.

Google Wago connectors and buy a decent junction box enclosure to do the job. Screwfix 7355F would be OK. It includes cable strain relief. £ 1.70 N

Well I'd be happy to use it in our house, probably just about OK in the shed but I'd at least cover it and secure it with clips or clamps either side of the connecter block on the boat.

Don't worry about the BSS, the 230v stuff is 'advisory only' (Not a lot of people realise that !) 3.8.3 Are all shore‐power, battery charging, and other a.c. power source leads and good condition? A Shore‐power, battery charging, and other a.c. power source lead cables must be free of: • signs of damage or deterioration; • repairs. Shore‐power, battery charging, and other a.c. power source lead connectors must be complete, secured onto the cable with no inner conductors visible, and be free of: • signs of damage or deterioration; • repairs. NOTE – do not disconnect shore‐power, battery charging You could have the two ends twisted together with no insulting-tape and you could not be 'failed'

Not a swim then?

On our way back from Liverpool, I went to operate Maghull swing bridge ( which had just been closed in our face but that's another story) and for the first time ever, I caught a car ! The road was quite busy and I waited till the traffic had cleared in both directions before pressing the "OPEN" button. As the barriers came down a car shot past under the barrier and onto the bridge. Fortunately, the brakes were good enough to stop the car before it hit the barrier on the other side . I continued to open the bridge which swung with the car on top. And yes, it was a lady driver I was very relieved when the bridge went back into place and the wedges went in Haggis

I don't mind having a bit of bass in my music. My time and choice and I keep it to myself with headphones. Any boat that moors near me and starts booming out bass gets a sharp knock on the window and polite request to turn it down.

That's the first sensible comment I have seen so far. It is interesting how nearly everyone is eager to voice theories - a few with the backing of some knowledge but others relying on pure guesswork. Please, let's wait and see a more comprehensive report and then we can comment with a little more certainty. Howard

From that very short you tube clip it is absolutely impossible to deduce anything whatsoever as to what happened, other than they collided.

That's down to personal taste. A quietish genny doesn't bother me at all whereas even a quiet diesel boat engine running 50 yards away drives me nuts. I think it's the low pitch that gets to me. The very worst thing is music when you can only hear the bass. Boom boom boom boom booom (3 second break) then the pattern repeated endlessly. If I were required to be tortured this would have me spitting out everything I knew within minutes. Please don't tell the authorities this.

You've seen the inside of your tank. That is what the inside of your pick-up tube is going to be like but probably to a lesser degree because of the constant flow of water. Your 'Lakeland' will be fine on soap and hair (if I read that right) but the crud up your pipe will be in a different league. Be prepared to be a bit more brutal. [IIRC LBG video is more about the problem than about the solution]. A few regular Boat Tubers have posted about the process of doing a tank - worth a look just for their solutions/problems/experiences/timings. Good luck?.

What a lovely post, and so well written. He obviously meant a lot to you, James. I didn't know Mr May, but I felt moved reading your words.

and.............if you do find anything - don't talk about it on here!??

And that's just the waterside aspect of it. Twice I have looked at available non towpath land. Both had approved or a history of continuous use as moorings. One had a wooden cabin, the other (previously mentioned in this thread) had the remains of a caravan. Both had all services laid on. I'm not going into long boring details, both had a myriad of non acceptable conditions and issues. None of which had anything to do with Waterways, moorings or residential status. The first was managed by a trust, your investment bought you the cabin and use of the land rent free. However, if you broke any of the myriad of conditions which were varied and petty they could make it damn near impossible for you to access your cabin. The only way to escape the situation was sell your cabin. You could only do that through the Trust. Incidentally like caravan sites they could also condemn your cabin's condition and insist you replace with new. They weren't remotely bothered about moorings or what you tied up to the bank, that was Waterways issue and much simpler to handle. The second was a parcel of land amongst others on a straight piece of canal. You bought it freehold and most of the neighbours have a large shed or caravan/camper van, but everyone lives on their boat with approval and all above board. The unacceptable issues for me in this case was that access was over somebody else's land, which could be withdrawn at any time and without cause. That may no longer be the case due to other developments within that area. However the other niggle was that all of the domestic services were laid across his land as well. So not only did you pay the rate he had set your meters to, but he also controlled the availability of the services. The third opportunity I learnt of but didn't even bother visiting was a freehold strip of field waterside Grand Union. The farmer concerned had shortened his field leaving a wide'ish strip along the water edge. He put a gate in the new separating fence and allowed crossing of his field to get to the original gate out onto the road. My issues here were it was down to the new owner to obtain Waterways permission to create moorings. I knew there was an embarkment in that pound without any form of narrows, which could cause objections. Ignoring the need to dredge it extensively. The main problem was the reliance upon the farmer and his successors to continue to allow grace and favour access. So my experience is Waterways may not be cut and dry and have their hoops you need to jump through. There are distinct and non negotiable reasons for them refusing moorings. Safety, navigation obstruction, pollution etc. and local authorities all have different concerns the least of which not being road access and planning. Even taking those into account I wouldn't be comfortable leaving my day to day living needs in the hands of a third party or their successor who could withdraw permission to park my car, get it close to my home, switch off my power or water etc.

Useful Rule of the Road messages: "Green to green and Red to red, perfect safety, go ahead." OR "If two lights you see in front, Full Ahead and ram the ***t" N

Craftinsure were OK with my sailaway. I increased the value a couple of times as I added stuff. Took me a lot longer than 9-12 months - more like 9-12 years!

Charging for 9 hours a day is just crazy. No wonder you were asked to turn it off. I dont think I have ever heard of anyone running a genny that much. Why on earth have you only 100Ahrs of Lithiums. If you can afford a lithium then you could afford 4 or 5 110Ahr lead acids and a victron 30A charger that would would all be far cheaper - and that would only need 2-3 hours a day in running. Probably pay back itself in less than 12 months in petrol savings. Sort out your batteries and charging strategies. If you are not moving then solar is the only way to go for 2/3rds of the year.

I like my music loud. That is why I listen to it on earphones when it might upset others, such as when on the boat or late at night when at home. My pet hate is people who listen to loud music whilst travelling on the boat. Why,?They cant hear their music properly and they annoy everyone else.

It’s interesting to be able to observe the field current. Maximum field current being limited by the resistance of the rotor, is about 4.2A on my alternator when it’s cool. I was playing with things yesterday with hot engine bay (fast cruising on the Severn) and with the tumble drier on (2kw) with the Travelpower turned off, so the 2kw was being supplied from the alternator via inverter. Very quickly I noticed that although the duty cycle was 100% (ie rotor effectively connected across the supply) the rotor current was now only about 3.5A. Presumably due to the temperature coefficient of the resistance of the windings. So that seems to be a “self regulation” mechanism whereby the alternator output is naturally reduced as it heats up, due to increased rotor resistance.

Get a decent battery bank, solar and a better charging regime. Someone running a genny for 9 hours a day in the countryside would pi$$ most people within earshot off.

i don't see what all the fuss is, we are tied to school weeks due to having a 14yr old daughter and can't say we've ever been really bothered by it. Just plan to hit bottlenecks at off-peak times of the day if possible, or get in the queue and help others if wanted and have a nice chat.

I think many of us would agree that may easily be the case (or maybe a million pound marketing campaign). As IanD suggested moaning won't help it's the solution we need to be debating. Please send ideas on the back of a fag packet (used to work for me)

I have to say, this whole discussion fills me with despair ? Simply suggesting that since CaRT needs more money for maintenance (anybody disagree?) maybe it would be a good idea if those boaters who can afford it (and have been paying what looks like a very low fee for what they're getting) should pay more towards the cost of the canals -- and that people who can't afford it shouldn't pay more, or even pay less -- has triggered all sorts of spurious objections, many pretending to be worried about other people when the real truth seems to be that people don't want to pay more themselves for what they've been getting too cheaply for years, even though this is partly to blame for the state of the canals. If the end result is a better maintained system which is more attractive to people -- rich or poor -- who want to live on or holiday on it, why are so many people so against this idea? Be honest... ?

I always looked around for a small thin livaboard to hire.

When running water through locks, fir5zt make sure all gates are closed, even if you found them open. Thst way you won't wash silt and debris onto the cill which could stop the gates closing properly. Also there"s then no chance of a gate slamming shut if flowing water gets behind it.

There would be no point in taking water out of a pound above if it left that pound so shallow that a V bottomed boat could heel over! Anyway, has it ever happened in the entire history of the canals? I don’t think so, and pounds drain for other reasons than someone filling a lower pound. I would always do it myself. The only time we’ve phoned CRT was when the lower pounds on the Northampton flight were empty. Difficult to run water down from anywhere other than the top, and that is a lot of locks to run water through. Otherwise, what is the point in waiting for someone to come along and do something that one could easily do oneself. The only issue is to avoid creating too much flow, ie use just one paddle or 2 half paddles, to avoid washing too much silt into the lock / behind the gates etc.

The corner at Whittlesey is fun.

The tidal locks on the River Trent have in theory always required booking 24hrs in advance. However this has been quite relaxed and in practice not required at all at Torksey and Cromwell in recent years. On passing through Cromwell today the full time lock keeper advised the locks will not be manned if no boats are expected. You can of course just turn up........but don't be surprised if no lock keeper is on duty. If the pre booked boats had passed through the lock keeper may , and probably will, go off duty. In addition the lock keeping hours are 8am to 4pm at present and this is regardless of tide times . reduced service The non tidal lock keepers are finishing at 3pm while 5pm is usual in the summer. No booking required for non tidal locks but even so the early finish may catch out some people. I am sure this is only one aspect of the ways C&RT are not making any friends among boat owners by reducing the service offered while charging license holders ever increasing fees. It does seem C&RT would prefer if there were no boats . .