Chewbacka

Maybe better to have a normal bilge pump and a float alarm in case the pump can't cope or fails. But it is rare to hear of a looked after boat sinking, so maybe you are worrying too much.

I didn't use the angle grinder for wood work, but I did use it to cut some angle iron supports, to round off the hole for the wood burner flue - I did use a jig saw for the roof hole - and for cutting the flue pipe to length. I made some solar panel brackets from steel strip and used it on those as well. Handy things angle grinders. The biggest thing it is easy to under estimate is the amount of time required, though I guess that if I were to do another it would take half the time now I know what I am doing......

Draw a line and cut with a hand saw with the sheet on a couple of stands. Mind you cutting along an 8ft sheet is very hard work, and if doing it again I would hire a generator and use my circular saw. I sweat buckets doing it.

I fitted my boat out with not much more than a good selection of hand tools, a Dewalt battery drill, a 240v drill and an angle grinder and lots of sandpaper. I was moored up to a pontoon with no services. I had to get it valued for insurance as it was a self fit out, and he described it as 'professional' but I accept it is more functional than beautiful, but that is what I wanted.

I have a powerJack inverter that has a similar spec to this and it is fine at upto about 800W much above that it can not cope for more than about 10mins. I bought it for my boat fit out, and selected my power tools to be under 800w which work ok with it. It also runs my fridge when we are out, but I would not expect it to last if loaded up, so I don't. This one is also a fair bit lighter at only 3kg which would make me even more cautious. I do fancy a low frequency, pure sine inverter made by Studer Innotec but the VAT alone is more than my powerjack, so I shall dream on for a while.

Dirty or corroded contacts on the starter relay? What is the battery voltage at the starter and across the battery when cranking?

Open steps so you can reach through to your wine?

It never thought that a couple of quid was enough for someone to break a window for. I feel for you.

I wonder what the cost per litre is? Maybe good for a static houseboat, but I can not see how it is worth the cost on a narrowboat.

Not much, but it does reduces the chance of scrapping along the bolt that sticks out of the piling when mooring up :-)

The higher the voltage the more chance you have of getting something on a dull day, but this does require an MPPT controller. My set up is for 24v, and my two panels in series will give about 70v on a bright day. Higher panel voltage for a given power output does reduce the system losses a bit.

Considering that the normal advice if you fall in is to take a shower to get rid of the bio risk, rather than the sediment, then you will either need a very expensive filter, or other means of killing the nasties. Also things like heavy metals will not be removed by boiling and the effects can be accumulative, so you may think you have no ill effects, but it will only be after some time will you have problems. Out of interest, how will you know when the carbon filter is 'full'?

Fenders down on the Gloucester and Sharpness canal is not a problem as it is about 60 feet wide and maybe 30 feet at the bridges and no passing at the bridges and the river Severn is even wider :-)) But I agree on most canals it is fenders up when moving. Getting back on topic, mooring chains are better and more common on the G&S canal than piling hooks, and they don't make that nasty clanking noise either.

You are all wrong - my good wife assures me it is 'Grumpy' especially when held up by the person in the lock only opening a single paddle half way

Bobby-Joe - Exciting times for you, but if you go with a good builder then it should go well. One final suggestion, when it goes into the water make sure you have adequate mooring stuff - ropes etc - as no one else will

If they can do it within a month or two it means they are short of work, so they may be prepared to haggle and if you pay a deposit hold onto the boat until you are ready - so long as it's not too long. I would not screw them down to an unfair deal otherwise the relationship will not be good and little extras you later realise you want but did not specify at the start - such as a fuel take off for a diesel boiler that you may want one day suddenly become expensive. Shell builders also tend to have a preferred engine supplier which they know how to fit and also get a good price, so unless you have set your heart on a particular engine there may be another money saving opportunity for you - but you will have to haggle.

My MPPT display for soc also goes down very quickly. I think this is because it works by measuring the voltage and as it has no understanding of the load on the battery - inverter etc, it reads a lower voltage and shows low soc. So your batteries may not be as bad as you think.

I also have a colecraft sailaway and am most pleased with it. I would suggest you make a reasonably comprehensive spec, so things like how many windows and style/size - portholes or big windows. How many power outlets, dc and ac etc etc. the other thing that became apparant talking to various shell builders is that my idea of a couple of months is about 8 weeks, for boat builders it is somewhere between 6 and 16 weeks, so if delivery date is critical get it into the contract, or be ready to be flexible

But if the op was concerned about heat loss, then another vent will make the boat colder. Just bolt and bond a plate. Anybody object to fire rated foam to insulate the back of the plate?

Just a thought, before you make big changes, but there is a warning in the beta engine manual that if the engine mount stud is too far into the mount it can touch the bearer below. Have you checked for this?

Thinking about it, all you really need are - 1. Mooring chains & rope so you can moor up - through choice or breakdown 2. Tinned food and water - so you don't go hungry if middle of nowhere 3. Mobile phone with Internet, then if you do breakdown you can call for help. The rest of the tools will depend upon your own skill level.

Short answer - if that is Bimble's recommendation it should be fine. Long answer is that a heavier cable between the box and the batteries in theory would reduce your losses when at full power, but in the UK you will almost never see the full output, just not enough sun. So at the realistic charging levels you will get, then the cable will not make much difference. In case you are interested, the panels are measured at a sunshine level of 1000w per sq meter. This level of sunshine is the sun at mid day in Southern Europe, and with the panel pointing directly at it. Can't remember the last time we had a day like that. Out of interest are you fitting them or getting someone to do it for you?

Concerning your fuse question - Short answer is Yes, provided that the cable is suitable for 60A. Long answer A fuse is normally derated by 25% in other words you would use a 60A fuse to protect a circuit current of 45 Amps. 500W at 12V is 42Amps so your 60A fuse is fine but you MUST ensure the cable is safe at 60A. So 10mm2 is the minimum I would expect. For a 12v system to minimise power losses you would want a thicker cable, and that depends upon it's length, but from a safety viewpoint 10mm2 is ok. The voltage rating is to ensure that any arc formed when the fuse blows will be extinguished, so the fuse voltage must be the same or higher than the circuit it is protecting, as you are 12V and the fuse is 32V, you will be ok. Good point above - Is the controller ok for 500W of solar?

I have had a couple of disputes raised through paypal and find them to be very much on the side of the buyer, so if within time, I suggest you go for it - nothing to loose.

Assuming the 50p tax difference is correct, I think that at 60% propulsion split it is 60% of 50p which is 30p per litre. At the other way round ie 60% domestic it would be 20p per litre.