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Showing content with the highest reputation on 17/09/20 in Posts

  1. Hi all My first post on this forum. I don't have a canal boat but enjoy walking along canals and sometimes chatting to boaters / helping them lock. On Monday night 14/9 I found a satellite dish in its case (open) on the towpath and want to try to reunite it with its owner. It's from Travel Sat and I called Martin the owner of this business via the mobile no shown, thinking he might be able to look up the person he sold it to via the serial no BUT these dishes don't have them and he's sold about 1000! Martin was very helpful in talking me through checking and assembling this thing via WhatsApp video and we have ascertained that it's all present and correct apart from a missing screw (1 of 4) on the mounting bracket and a minor broken lug on the bracket - neither of which stop it from working, just need to be more gentle when tightening the knurled wheel acc to Martin. If you think this might be yours, contact me to tell me where you lost it. There are also some accessories in the box with it which acc to Martin aren't standard but are extra. What are these? Mark
    5 points
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  3. In all fairness, that looks like my forward course.
    4 points
  4. Nah, if that was the case when you got a line of boats together they would just disappear! ??
    4 points
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  7. On a budget is not the same as dishonest. The people who take these things are just thieving scumbags , its not like stealing food because they are starving to death.
    3 points
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  11. remember if you pass a boat whilst reversing that strongly smells of Wizards Cabbage, don't forget to speak and shout greetings backwards too, that'll really freak 'em out
    2 points
  12. The higher end of the market maybe, but the type stolen in urban areas from boats usually end up on the canal bed a few yards away, especially if like Lady G's they can't even be ridden. I get pestered by scum trying to sell stolen bikes where I work in Sheffield, sometimes for as little as £10. I'll often see the bike left leaning on a wall somewhere nearby when they've got bored of wheeling it around with the sales pitch "do you want a mountain bike pal? It's 500 quids worth but you can have it for 20" One of the regular shits turned up with a set of triple aluminium ladders once which I could have for £25. There was probably some poor bugger stuck on a roof up the road!
    2 points
  13. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  14. The description of what happens during charge and discharge is pretty much on all fours with the description in a 1940's specialist textbook on accumulator charging. At thst time it was common practuce to recharge accummulators from DC mains via a lamp board, the number and wattage of the lamps determining the charging current. Charging would continue untill all cells in a battery were gassing freely, meaning that all cells were able to attain a fully charged state in which even the sulphate in the deepest layers of active material would get converted. It was considered safe to discharge down to 1.8V per cell: deeper discharge would result in the production of hard crystalline sulphate having a different crystal structure to the sulphate produced at higher discharge voltages, and it is the hard sulphate that is virtually impossible to convert back. The voltage drop at high current discharges is due to the sulphuric acid reacting with the plates by giving up its sulphur; the reaction generates water which dilutes the acid near the plates and hence affects the chemical reaction that generates the current. Allowing the battery to rest allows fresh concentrated acid to diffuse into the active material, thereby raising the voltage again. I don't think that sort of constant current charging is practiced much these days. Charging until the voltage reaches a value indicative of full charge is fine if all cells are balanced. However, the voltage of a weak cell can rise to a higher level than the other cells, thereby tricking the control circuitry into terminating the charge cycle before the other cells are fully charged. Installing a solar charger is a good move. In a recent post of another thread the poster reported that his boat was fitted with solar panels last year, and that after several months of non-use, his batteries, which his instruments had indicated had lost a significant amount of their original capacity before the perid of non-use, were now being indicated as in good condition. Possibly the enforced period of resting had allowed the conversion of the deeper regions of the active material to be regenerated as there would have been plenty of time for the electrolyte to diffuse into the deepest sulphate layers, allowing them to become converted. Trickle charging at a low current is known to be a good way of keeping a battery in good order, but is not practical in a canal boat whose battery is used every day. Rapid charging of really heavily discharged batteries is not recommended for ordinary batteries: the resulting high current density in the conductive regions of the plates between the higher resistance sulphated regions will give rise to differential thermal expansion between sulphated and non-sulphated regions, resulting in shedding of active plate material and loss of capacity. Trickle charging keeps the current density and temperature rise low, reducing the likelihood of shedding active material.
    2 points
  15. I was just gonna suggest using a cup brush. I don’t think you can do any damage with one.
    2 points
  16. Yeah, we have noticed! Sorry, couldn't resist.
    2 points
  17. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
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  19. My country has been stolen by a bunch of fascists
    2 points
  20. I tried to get rid of an old bike, left it on the roof for ages, went around the network etc.. Nope not got nicked, so I left it on the towpath for anyone to keep. Four days later someone returned the bike to me thinking I had lost it. Next time I will padlock it, with a chain, someone is bound to nick it then.
    2 points
  21. i have this send your email adress and ill send you a scanned copy
    2 points
  22. You are answering a point I have not raised, I don't blame you for this? I would hope that there are several level sensors so the system should have spotted a major event, and it presumably gave a consistent trend over two hours. Putting all this type of stuff on the internet is just daft, its not just the Russians, I expect a load of spotty schoolkids would love to play with this sort of infrastructure. A separate topic for debate if we ever manage to meet for a beer, was this software created by computer scientists or engineers? As an engineer I have always believed that if I ever do something recklessly negligent then I take the blame and professional insurance wont save me??? .............Dave
    1 point
  23. Looks like there's two dents in the stern, one each side - could those be from where it contacted the weir structure either side of the gate it got towed off? Would imagine it would have hit with quite a bit of force, plus force of water pushing it inwards could easily have made those dents I'd have thought?
    1 point
  24. I was in the shower moored on the Thames when someone nicked the bike off the roof about 4 pm. He dropped it when he realised not only was there no seat but the handlebars were 90 deg to the front wheel.
    1 point
  25. I agree with all but one thing. Although a surveyor can't say anything definitive about battery sulphation or even cell shorts if he knew his stuff he should be able to spot and report on indications of such faults (battery design allowing). Bowing case ends or lifting cell tops indicate a serious degree of sulphation while individual dry cells are fairly indicative of that cell gassing excessively so may well have internal shorts. having said that I bet few bother to look, mine certainly did not so its down to the potential owner if getting new may be an issue.
    1 point
  26. I just don't think he's clever enough for the programmes they give him, so key points of the discussion go over his head and he isn't capable of guiding the conversation. His brother is probably the sharper of the pair.
    1 point
  27. Pretty sure bunch isn’t the correct collective noun to describe fascists; though to be fair the most app one probably isn’t allowed in polite society
    1 point
  28. The highway code is littered with the phrases "should not" and "must not", "must not " being law and "should not" being advisory (ish). Ignoring a "should not" while not illegal in itself could still be used against you in court. More here - https://driversmocktest.com/uk-highway-code-wording-explained/ So for rule 46 These vehicles MUST NOT be used on motorways (see Rule 253). (This part is law) They should not be used on unrestricted dual carriageways where the speed limit exceeds 50 mph (80 km/h) (This part advice.) but if they are used on these dual carriageways, they MUST have a flashing amber beacon. (and law again) A flashing amber beacon should be used on all other dual carriageways (see Rule 220). (and back to advice)
    1 point
  29. Since I refuse to listen to his programme, because he loves to sensationalise everything, what was this all about?
    1 point
  30. Ta. Bit of filler and a lick of paint it will be better than new then. Preferable to a fire salvage though.
    1 point
  31. Thanks Derek. Much appreciated. Very kind of you to take the time to do this.
    1 point
  32. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  33. It confuses the volockies at Fradley when I reverse down junction lock. Last time the lady off the boat coming up looked very confused and asked if we were going down or up.
    1 point
  34. Also, a useful thing is for crew to be armed with a fender on a piece of string. They can drop it down the side to deflect any potential collision.
    1 point
  35. Looks like they have covered the problem of it turning up in the same place and going adrift again. "Any potential purchaser should have means and proof of being able to remove this boat to a suitable refurbishment centre within 2 weeks of the sale ending. Failure to provide such proof at the time of the close of the sale will result in the cancelation of the sale, loss of deposit & the craft will be instantly offered to the under bidder, Direct from Environment Agency, On Site " What a sensible clause to put in. Environment Agency playing hard ball for a change... About time.
    1 point
  36. I would think dragging a chain off the bow, would help keep the bow under control.
    1 point
  37. Some gearboxes don't like long periods in reverse. Others don't care. Check what you have. Also a risk of loosening the prop and even losing it entirely if the nut that holds it on isn't adequately staked. I once had to reverse 6 miles out of the Kyme Eau navigation when I found the winding hole at the current end of navigation was silted up. Took all day. Boats seem to vary in their ability to track in reverse. Some are better than others. Jen
    1 point
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  39. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  40. just to remind folks that you can buy sanding machines that look like angle grinders but rotate at 3,000 rpm. these are available in 9" and 5" versions. much safer and can be used for polishing and buffing if needed.
    1 point
  41. If it doesn’t have full RCD certification then the seller is committing an offence by selling it. That could be another reason why it’s cheap.
    1 point
  42. It doesn’t actually matter that much what the D.C. voltage is. You can get 12V adaptors that supply all sorts of voltages.
    1 point
  43. Of course, I knew I had seen it somewhere, kindergarten teacher was a Geomorphologist specialising in Solifunction forms of non permeable embankments. Fancy not remembering that! We discussed it regularly over our milk and biscuits. Fatuous.
    1 point
  44. He has, but doesn't really want to have to use it. On the Warwickshire Avon and the Severn, that's not unreasonable as there are some big nasty weirs out there, and also why we are not recommending a little "get-you-home" outboard. Trying to start an old seagull or similar while being swept towards a big weir is more exciting than I'd want to try in a narrowboat ...
    1 point
  45. Matty a fair reminder that it's a tricky market out there for all concerned. Apologies for putting all brokers in the same hat - there are undoubtedly good ones out there, doing a decent job.
    1 point
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