blackrose

When I bought my sailaway in 2005 things were obviously much simpler. My boat came with a RCD Annexe 3 Declaration of Conformity which covered me for a year, but knowing I would be keeping my boat for more than 5 years I decided to fit it out in compliance with the BSS and ignore the RCD which was permitted at the time. Is that what changed in 2017? Are self-builders no longer allowed to do that? Not if it's being inspected to RCD standards surely?

No I wasn't saying that. Most people use the term round turn & two half hitches generically whether they're using a half turn or a full turn. I am one of those less pedantic people. Also I don't have the same fender hooks as the OP so I don't have to pass my rope through his fender hook eye! 😉 My fender hooks are also made pf plastic but given the choice I'd have ply as they're stronger. I know they only have to take the weight of a fender but occasionally the fender gets trapped between the boat and concrete and doesn't lift, then as the boat moves it can put strain on the rope. I've had one of my plastic fender hooks snap before.

Yes I wouldn't want it a fixed length. Better to have it height adjustable. I just use a round turn and two half hitches on mine but there's probably a better knot that's easier to undo.

If you have access to a mains water supply you could test the doorframe by spraying it with a hose. Hold the end of the hose up so that the water arcs up and comes down like rain rather than spraying it directly. Or you could use a garden watering can.

Utter claptrap. I don't know about No Corrode as I don't know about it and hadn't mentioned it, but Vasaline will insulate terminals . Vaseline is mostly petroleum jelly (petrolatum) mixed with some minerals, micro-crystalline wax, and possibly a fragrance - all of which are also non-conductive. Pure petrolatum is an excellent electrical insulator. And, Vaseline (petrolatum with other “impurities”) is a very good insulator. So it's pretty obvious that even a small amount will increase electrical resistance. By the same token that doesn't make you correct either Tony. I've never dressed terminals and never had a problem. I simply make sure they're clean. Anyway tell me, what exactly is the advantage of dressing the terminals before assembly as you recommend, over dressing the assembled joint as I described? If the assembled joint is properly dressed nothing will get between the mating faces. Your method can only be disadvantageous as far as I can see

Vaseline non-conductive and a good electrical insulator. If you apply it to the terminal surfaces and then refit, most of the vasaline will be squeezed out but there will still be a thin film between the surfaces increasing resistance, which kind of defeats the object of cleaning them in the first place. If you clean the terminals, refit and then apply the vaseline to the assembly to prevent long term corrosion that's better, but if you take it apart again you must make sure that you thoroughly clean all the vasaline off before refitting because the stuff gets everywhere. Personally I don't bother dressing battery terminals because I think it's more trouble than it's worth.

I didn't bother. The porthole frames have a set of grooves on the back of the flange. You can't squeeze it all out. But I wouldn't let it go off before tightening the screws anyway because once you crack the sealant the screws may not be sealed.

Yes I guess I could have used self adhesive neoprene but that still doesn't get around the issue of the seal width. With only 6mm I'd rather use sealant. The original neoprene tape failed, probably a couple of years ago but I just didn't realise and put it down to condensation. While it lasted 15 years, the stuff I removed was flat as a pancake and I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did. Also what do people who use neoprene use to seal the screws? Mastic? I'm happy with the sealant anyway so that's what I'm doing.

Yes polyester wool made from recycled PET bottles. It doesn't have quite as good insulation properties as glass rockwool but it's much easier to use, non-itchy, etc, and there was nothing there before. No I don't want to use tape. As I said, there's really not enough seal width to use neoprene tape. At the top it was only about 6mm wide. I think trying to keep it in place while fitting the window would be much more hassle. I know someone's going to suggest sticking the tape on first with mastic, but if I'm using mastic I'm using mastic. Thanks. Yes I think they look better too.

Yes, I'll just drill some 12mm holes about 15mm deep. The old screw holes are in the wood to use as guides for positioning.

A side hatch is more likely to have steps below compared to side doors without a top hopper.

Hardwood. Whether solid oak is decent or not I don't know. Anyway after nearly 20 years it was rotting where the condensation and then water leak had got to it. __________________ I've got the first window back in using stainless A4 screws, flange nuts and a few washers where the holes in the cabin side were right on the edge of the window aperture and not a full hole. Sealed with Bostik Simson MSR adhesive/sealant. I didn't realise until I took the window out that it was originally sealed with neoprene tape, which had obviously failed. I also stuffed some PET insulation into the square around the porthole because there was nothing there before. Because the aperture was cut slightly oversized and there's not a lot of width to the seal I think the sealant is the best method for me. I was able to screw it up tight by myself from the inside with a small socket on a straight handle and an Allen key on the outside with one arm out the top hopper (which I'd removed). The main challenge was cleaning up the sealant afterwards. It's messy stuff! https://www.thegluepeople.co.uk/mspolymers-hybrids-c-6_11/bostik-msr-construction-adhesive-290ml-p-389.html Just got to put the wooden trim back in and then 13 more to do! 🫤

I'm always there - occasionally I learn something. Last year I paid £170 so I'm going to try to get maximum value out of it. My most recent examiner was happy for me to follow him around. I do my best not to ask too many questions or get in the way, but if an examiner found my presence a distraction that's his problem - it's my boat and my home he's inspecting and I'm paying his wages. Also, last time the inspector told me that the flexible fuel line feeding the Webasto I'd installed wasn't compliant, but I assured him it was and I found the ISO number on the back of the hose which I read out to him. (Yes I should have installed it with the number facing forward so it could be easily seen). He then changed his mind and said he'd never seen a proper fuel hose that thin. So sometimes it is worth being there so you can show an inspector a new installation or show a new inspector how to access something.

Isn't it called freedom of expression? If CRT didn't allow them to have a stand someone else would be complaining about censorship, so CRT can't really win. Anyway why does it bother you so much? If NBTA can publish a coherent leaflet which makes a sound argument then they might gain some support, but if as you obviously believe their aims are nonsense, then people will be able to see that and dismiss them as an organisation. So having a stand and publicising their aims could just as easily work against them if those aims really are unreasonable.

They don't wear out but sometimes people leave them outside and they get nicked or roll off a deck into the water.

Yes I'm assuming tiller tube means the brass tube extending from the wooden tiller handle, not the rudder stock tube.

Depending on how you're charging the batteries, another thing to consider might be whether you should match your domestic & start "battery types". For example, if your domestic batteries are sealed maintenance-free and your start battery is open/flooded and you were charging both banks from a single battery charger on shore power, then you may well be overcharging or undercharging one or other bank during the absorption phase depending on what "battery type" you'd set on the charger. Although many battery chargers have multiple outputs for different battery banks, many chargers only have one "battery type" setting. The same may be true for other charging sources such as solar controllers which charge a single bank but where a VSR has been used to connect a second bank.

As part of your calculations did you factor in that the average house tends to shelter more people than the average narrowboat? I'm not sure why this important point is often missed. In absolute terms a house may well have a greater environmental impact than a boat because it's a larger structure that uses more energy to support more people, but if per capita data is used as it should be, then the average house will generally have a much lower environmental impact.

I think that's the idea, it's much tougher than car body filler. For cabin sides car body filler is ok I suppose but I've seen it applied on the top plank of a narrow boat (the area above the top rubbing strake and gunwale), and it just got scraped off as soon as anything touched it. No, but the paint of a car is generally professionally applied and will keep any filler beneath better protected than a DIY paint job that most narrow boat owners do, which ends up scratched and flaking after a few years. If the paint applied over marine filler gets scratched and flakes it doesn't really matter. The marine filler is also much tougher and in normal use cars don't tend to get bashed around in quite the same was as canal boats have the potential to be. It just depends on what you want to put on your boat. Personally I'd use the proper stuff, but I'm not trying to save money when I buy stuff for the boat.

Corrected that for you. The porosity of car body filler is exactly why it's not suitable for marine use. If you want to do it properly you need a marine grade filler. I've used International Watertite before and it's completely different from Plastic Padding, P38, etc, and is not porous. It's also more expensive of course, but you get what you pay for. Buy Boat Fillers (marinesuperstore.com)

Boat owners say their traditional way of life could be wiped out leaving them homeless if the Canal and River Trust presses ahead with plans to increasing prices to live off the grid by up to 75%. That's the bit that always get's me. Most of them have only been living on boats for a couple of years but somehow it's their "traditional way of life". 🤣

And it's not exactly brain surgery either...

Have you looked at Jotamastic tankguard DW ? The only downside is it's only available in 15 litre units, but perhaps you could split it with someone else who's doing the same job? https://www.smlmarinepaints.co.uk/products/tankguard_DW?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2uiwBhCXARIsACMvIU27KqaXNaGWAfDB-6xW9wYNSf7-d7B-lSBrjnDzknBtDiX6oOKVc2UaAn0aEALw_wcB Which epoxy did they use? They may claim there's no problem but who knows what they may be ingesting. I wonder why didn't they just use the correct product for the job? What's the advantage of using the wrong product? With bitumen backing that's correct because there's no difference between the stuff you slap on the hull and the stuff tested and marketed as suitable for water tanks. However when it comes to epoxies there's a clear difference between the chemical solvents used in "regular" epoxy paints and "solvent-free" water potable epoxy.