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I have no interest in these except being a satsified buyer These lifejackets are around £270-£300 new, and this chappie is selling them for £40 inc 48hr delivery. Vaccum packed and unopened. I have had some from him in previous years and they are excellent lifejackets. (ordered another one from this batch) Designed for 'offshore' use for people in heavy Winter clothing they have almost twice the buoyancy of 'standard lifejackets' and exceed the MCA requirements for 'turning you face up' Have a chin support to keep your mouth out of the water (and a hood to stop waves going in your mouth or up your nose) Have crutch straps so they don't slip over your head. Twin chambers each having enough buoyancy to keep you afloat. The offshore industry 'cycles' its stock even before the expiry dates - they have 2 years left (typically 4/23) before they are due for commercial re-certification, and will last for years in leisure use. It is probably cheaper to keep them for 3 years and get some from a future batch than it is to have a lifejacket serviced. Ideal for wearing when 'Winter locking' on icy surfaces. I'd recommend them even for 'muddy ditch' usage. https://www.findafishingboat.com/lifejackets-crewsaver-275n-twin-chamber-new-unused/ad-114225 https://www.crew-safe.co.uk/acatalog/Crewsaver-Seacrewsader-SOLAS-275N-Twin-Chamber-Lifejacket.html The Seacrewsader 275N Twin is designed to SOLAS 2010 regulations, and outperforms the new requirements to provide increased performance in the most demanding environments. Improved body angle, mouth freeboard and face plane angles make the Seacrewsader even safer at sea. Together with the improved rotating times each chamber is fitted with two 60 g CO2 cylinders, activated by UML MK5i standard automatic inflation mechanisms* - and a 3.5 psi relief valve to ensure full buoyancy during single or double chamber inflation. The Seacrewsader 275N Twin is designed for extreme working environments and is also suitable for abandonment purposes. The high buoyancy level provides added protection when heavy work gear and clothing is worn. The new, more compact cover is a robust fabric to withstand the most arduous conditions without damage to the lifejacket and internal bladders. Crotch straps come fitted as standard.

I'd say the coal vs wood thing is a red herring. Somehow, somewhere combusted gases are escaping your stove into the cabin. If this was my stove I would stop using it IMMEDIATELY. CO is extremely dangerous and I can tell a story about a relative semi paralysed by it dragging his unconscious family outside (they fortunately survived) if that will encourage you. Once I had stopped using ANY fuel in the stove the next thing I'd do is work out where the leaks are emanating. I keep smoke bombs for this purpose (available from chandleries). Any one of the rope seals could be the issue - the fact that smoke escapes the door suggests that that's the problem - I'd have replaced these on the strength of your newspaper test! Depending on the stove there might be seals in the actual body of the stove. It is expensive but necessary to recondition your stove and replace all of these seals eventually. I personally would blank off the mushroom vent that is near the chimney. Another possibly cheap/easy fix to improve the draw and get the exhaust further from the cabin is a longer chimney. I'm not as experienced as the other posters who have replied and perhaps I'm more paranoid than they are, but I would not mess about with a stove. Test for leaks, replace all the ropes, block off any ventilation near the chimney, use a longer chimney, and yes clean the flue out regularly.

So your few months of living on the cut makes you an expert to add to your vast list of professions? You condemn those living in a "cheapo" marina as having a "bad track record" Your attitude madam is some of the very worst kind of prejudiced and hypocritical I have ever come across!

I dont know what the processor on my rasp pi is doing any of the time.?

I met one of the trip boats out of Birmingham (something 4 awhile) in a tunnel with two big lights on it, as we got closer he turned them both off, I wondered where he had gone to.

Finally got around to sitting in front of my computer and writing some code for the home made BMS which I’ve attached to the CALB cells. Well, just one set of cells ie 200Ah which is plenty for the moment. Firstly, pleased to see that the voltages of the 4 cells are within 2mV of each other as supplied from China. Secondly, wow the internal resistance is so low! Adding my power supply to charge at 5A (which ok is not much in the context of 200Ah) only increases the cell voltage by about 3mV. Amazing! I will have to be careful to ensure clean contacts etc for the interconnects, otherwise there is a good chance that the interconnect resistance will be more than the cell resistance! And also wrote the code to operate the Tyco BDS-A battery disconnect relay, which as we know needs a pulse of around 75mS to operate. It takes about 3A and having a longer pulse or worse, somehow leaving the 12v applied, will no doubt melt the coil in short order. So it’s important to have a robust pulse generator. I know that MP created some dedicated hardware for it but for me it was just 7 lines of code. And 4 of them were to turn off low and high priority interrupts (to ensure the processor wasn’t distracted doing something else) and turn them on again afterwards. Then just 3 lines of code, 1) turn on the MOSFET, 2) wait 75 mS, 3) turn off the MOSFET. Easy Peasy! Does demonstrate the advantages of using relatively low tech like a PIC or Arduino whereby being in total control of the processor, vs say a Raspberry Pi with a huge linux operating system whereby you don’t really know what the processor is doing half the time.

Confusion with the boat's chimney?

Just found this thread, and joined canalworld! I worked on the Soar job at its inception, and continued for most of the long hot summer. The biggest problem was the mechanical unloading... Despite having an absolutely superb 360 driver, (Alan???), the shuts were in a terrible state pretty quickly. This led to gravel getting packed solidly into the bilges, and on more than one occasion, a sharp corner puncturing the hull. A time of my life I wouldn't have missed for anything, despite the relentless work and less than ideal conditions. "Shirley" was steered by a wonderful bloke called Ralph (Mould/Moulds???), who had worked pairs for a fair proportion of his life, and who lived on a houseboat down the backwater at Thurmaston Lock. "Whitby" was steered by a hilarious character, Barry from Brum, who's humour and friendship were much appreciated. I often stop in the area if delivering nearby, and walk down Mill Lane for a reminiscing session on the lock bridge. Ive got a painting somewhere of WYE in Thurmaston lock, which John West did for me a couple of years later... I'll post it if I dig it out with the xmas deccies!

This ^^^^ tells me that it's been neglected badly, because if the owner can't be bothered to do the blindingly obvious when they're trying to sell the thing, or maybe hasn't the knowledge or skills to do so, you can't possibly believe it's been otherwise well maintained. Find yourself a boat someone has loved and cared for.

Very apt for today

I now use central heating inhibitor with antifreeze included in my Eberspacher - most central heating inhibitors don't have the antifreeze, so choose carefully. Previously I'd used pink 5 year vehicle antifreeze, which was fine but, whilst the antifreeze stays good, the inhibitor gets used up over those 5 years so it then must be changed. You could add more inhibitor, but the difficulty is ensuring it's compatible. With the central heating stuff, you know exactly which central heating inhibitor is compatible, so you can top it up as needed. Be aware that antifreeze doesn't carry heat well, so don't over do the strength. It also layers in a heating system which can hinder the flow, so pre-mix it before adding it to your system. Oh, and I use deionised water too (as I do in all my vehicle cooling systems) - some may think this an unnecessary precaution but it's cheap enough.

Pistons and valves jumping up and down, camshafts and chains whizzing round, multiple gears whirring, water pumps pumping, clutches and torque converters slipping and sliding, belts driving alternators, complex pipes channeling hot gases, complex fuel injection, spark plugs, oil and filters, etc etc etc. All held together with bolts and gaskets Is this the near future? I doubt it somehow.

'Electric Eric' McDowell was husband of Beryl mentioned at post 45 Tam

My experience, together with conversation with other boaters with BD3s, was that boatbuilders tried to get away with a 20 x 20 prop when, in reality a 22 x 22 should have been specified (or at the very least 22 x 20). I found that with the original 20 x 20 prop the only time when the engine sounded to be under load was when the washing machine (drawing 2 Kva) was operating whilst we were cruising. Having sat behind the engine in its Ford 3000 tractor guise, for many a happy hours on a Cornish farm, I had a very good idea what it sounded like throughout its entire duty cycle!! In the interests of best performance, taking account of the clearance between propellor tip and Uxter plate (which if I remember correctly needs to be greater than 10% of the prop diameter) Crowthers specified one of their 'High Performance' props but weren't keen to elaborate much further. It of course did the business and, bless 'em, they let quietly me trade in my almost new prop (a detail that I can now share as they have indeed ceased trading). A fantastic company to deal with and I've had cause to use their services since. A sad loss to the waterways in general ........... and BTW I know at least one trawler owner was ranked amongst their customers.

2hp, in fact. Kilowatts are quite a bit bigger than horsepower (1hp = 0.75kW. more or less)

I find no problem using my 55w halogen tunnel lamp for night time cruising and I’ve done quite a bit with just a head torch. The tunnel lamp just needs adjusting so it picks up the canal in front of the boat rather than the tunnel profile. You don’t need to see that much to cruise and in urban areas a light isn’t necessary in many instances. However if that isn’t sufficient for personal tastes get a stronger light. It really isn’t a big deal.

Ivan, don't ever change! Well, curb a few of your whacky ideas maybe, but certainly not your enthusiasm or your adventurous spirit! i really don't like the idea of night cruising (or tunnel transits) with powerful lighting is all but, whilst I will give you my opinion or offer advice for what it's worth, I'm certainly not here to beat you into submission. There's plenty of folk doing stuff without considering others or seeking advice where they could use it, but you're not one of them. i don't know about the orthodox solution, but I'd offer that night time is a bit like the weather when it comes to cruising: wonderful on a beautiful moonlit night; rather less so when it's as black as your father's hat. Do it when conditions are favourable, sit by a cosy fire when they're not. How's that grab you?

I use the Nest Protect system, alerts me on the phone and shouts very loudly inside the boat?

A difficult one, as a) it was 45 years ago, and b) the area has changed so much! Looking on GE, I estimate it to be where Watermead swings round. If you project Watermead east, there is a track on the East bank which I'm sure used to cross a brick built bridge, and the unloading point was on the East bank, just North of this bridge. An old Nicholsons or similar would pinpoint the bridge more accurately. The unloading point was just a low piled wharf, and a 360 was used with a grab. Initially, we used to wind about 2-300 yards before the bridge and reverse down, through the bridge, but it was a complete PITA, and the 360 was utilised to dig out a winding hole just North of the wharf. GE shows no trace of this now, but it is incidentally where the 2 "oversized" boats were. They must have been there when I was, but I can't honestly say for certain. I know they were there in 1973 when I took "Chertsey" up there on a holiday trip. Next time I take a tacho break in the area, I will try and nip down for a look!

The ones in the next village to me were making money before the cables were even laid to them to connect them to the grid. In the early days when I worked Offshore we were paid for gas even if it wasn't needed. We were contracted for a given amount of gas for the year and different rates through out the year. If the weather was warm then not all that gas was required, but we were paid because we had to have it available if required, on the other foot we were penalised if for some reason we couldn't supply what was required up to that contractual level. It all changed in later years when we supplied more than British Gas

For which we are thankful!

Your halogen tunnel light, typically 55w, will draw something like 5 amps. If your alternator can't cope with that, you really ought not be cruising in the daylight, let alone the dark! They won't be visible behind your proposed LED headlights but, even if they were, Navigation Lights allow sailors to judge the course of other vessels: the only thing you're doing on a canal when making way is coming towards or going away. The blinding loss of their night vision and the pain their retinas will tell other boaters of the former and an overwhelming feeling of relief will tell them you're going away. If there are going to be occasions in your cruising when COLREGS apply, fit some, but not for the purposes above and not mixed with powerful LED headlights. Unless you have a battery powered boat, there is no energy saving justification for LED headlights lights when cruising, either in a tunnel or in the dark. If it's high power illumination you want, there may be a selfish case to make, but it's one which will find little sympathy among competent, considerate boaters, I'd have thought. You asked for recommendations for bright LED headlights, so here's mine: do something else with the money.

For years I was annoyed that marina entrances were so narrow and I couldn't understand why. Until the penny finally dropped that they need to be so they can deploy stop planks to keep their water in case of a breach or a CRT planned drainage of the canal.

Well I noticed that you had dressed down to meet me but lots of people do, I hadn't noticed that you were a different person altogether!?

I just thought I'd add this collage of our 8 dogs from the past 44 years.

So what? cars are also 12 volt and a halogen headlight can dazzle you as much as an LED. The voltage is as irrelevant as the fact that an LED is being singled out. ALL lights, inappropriately powered can equally dazzle you.

I have lived in many houses and now lived on a boat for over ten years as a continuous cruiser, this thing appears to successfully combine the disadvantages of both options. ................Dave