JDR

Very misleading headline.The most efficient panels commonly in use are HITs at around 19% efficiency (might be something a bit better but not by much). The word efficiency when used with solar to me means the percentage of sunlight converted into usable leccy. The headline is suggesting that nano technology will create a panel that is 19x100000000% efficient. Still I'm sure solar will transform energy use across a significant portion of the planet over the next few decades, can't wait to see it happen. Also battery technology is a big limiting factor at the moment, even a modest solar setup at the moment routinely generates more leccy than wet lead acid batteries can store.

Cost in materials for a 60ft boat from £3-500.You will get through a very large number of sanding discs.Decent paint £20-25 a tin.You can use Rustoleum as a primer/undercoat combined. Owatrol isn't cheap but makes paint far more manageable.Also surprising how much you end up spending on masking tape, white spirit, flap disks etc. If the paint is OK but tired and there is no sign of rust around the windows I agree with post above, use the existing paint as a base starting off with 120 discs then 240 for topcoat. Timewise you can flat off one side easily in a day, one day for roof if there are no nasty surprises and 24hrs to let each coat go off before prepping for the next.I'd say about a week if you had perfect conditions up to a month if you have to wait for breaks in the weather.Underneath large bridges is an obvious place if budget is tight. If you're going to all the effort of painting a boat I'd always go for a new colour. Avoid red as it is much more work, more affected by undercoat and fades in strong sunlight. For signwriting I'd go for vinyl if DIY or pay for a proper job if you want hand painted

A calorifier as stated above is just another name for a hot water tank, it may be horizontal or vertical, it might be under the bed or in the engine room.Most calorifiers have an immersion heater which is normally 1kw (1000w) or 2kw. An immersion heater in a house is normally 3kw. If you are plugged into a shoreline in a marina then the immersion will be drawing 1000/240=somewhere around 4amps. Try and power a 1000w device using 12 volt batteries and you are potentially asking your batteries to supply 80+ amps. This will kill your batteries very quickly as you have already found out. As a basic rule of thumb if you are not connected to a 240v shoreline don't use your 12v batteries to heat water.If you have a watercooled engine the heat from the cooling system should provide hot water via a copper coil inside the calorifier. Your backboiler on the Morso may be heating a number of radiators, it may or may not also be connected to the calorifier to provide hot water.There is no standard system,you will have to trace the pipework to confirm what system you have. If the Morso is connected to the calorifier you might need to shut down one or more of the radiators to get enough hot water to the shower.

I'd recommend dihydrogen monoxide as a miracle cure, mixed with antifreeze it's quite effective.I put this in the same category as people that pay for nitrogen in road tyres.There may be a racing application but on a lowly tuned diesel?

My gearbox with an oil cooler has a maximum recommended running temp of eighty degrees.Struggling to see the point, if your coolant is getting remotely close to 100 degrees you have a problem you need to address.

I always thought cannons were the reason for reinforcement rather than small arms which would only be used for boarding or sniping when ships were at very close quarters.

In six years I've spent £8k on a'91 60ft boat which was structurally sound but needed updating, That figure includes new stove, calorifier,solar,gearbox and prop,three crane outs for blacking new bathroom and kitchen, total exterior repaint and front cratch led lights, smartgauge and more I've forgotten.At the end of which if I'm lucky I might get 90% of the original value back.I think it's the best money I've ever spent. I'm sure with more experience I would have spent less and hopefully experience gained for the next one or for transferring the knowledge to an off grid setup on land.

I have yet to discover anywhere on the system where lock gear, gates and landings are all in perfect working order and I don't see that as a bad thing as it shows the infrastructure is in daily use and not a museum exhibit. Any trip on a boat involves a degree of problem solving, maybe the gates are leaking or unbalanced or there is nowhere obvious to moor.Seeing these challenges as part of the fun of boating and the satisfaction of having overcome such problems when safely moored up at the end of the day is imho an essential prerequisite to boating.

If you expect to moor on rings, or get both front and back of the boat close to the bank possibly due to having mobility issues or dogs onboard I could see people having issues but I don't recognise the description of a lack of wild moorings. A long gangplank and a bit of creativity is the order of the day but that is more a reflection of the lack of piling than the absence of moorings. Perfectly normal to have one end of the boat two or three feet away from the bank, no different to mooring on most rivers

Depending on the river it may be a fair distance between locks or moorings,just because you are in deep water don't feel compelled to run at high revs.As long as you are still making progress relative to the bank you will still cover distance. If you have a watercooled engine and a calorifier running the shower to dump some heat can help.

The point I was trying to make is that everybody has a choice when it comes to obeying laws, it is not as black and white as the quoted post suggests.I do agree that you should be very aware of the potential consequences.

Hypothetical situation: your partner or friend is suffering from a medical condition that can be significantly alleviated by the use of marijuana.To use it is to break the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.Do you obey the law or laugh at miscalculated legislation and help your partner/friend?

As an irrelevant aside I heard someone using the word bungalow to describe a widebeam narrowboat this week.New to me anyway which isn't saying much. Could it be a new entry into the boating vernacular alongside sewer tubes, hippy hutches and splitters?

Another vote for Jabsco. A newer Shurflo was dead after 18 months, a cheapo Dometic in 15 months, Jabsco very quiet just does the job.

But could you read a book while using a Porta Potti?

With a cassette you also have the option of carrying spare cassettes to double or treble time between emptying.

Having had both my vote goes to the Thetford style cassette bog.Better seal design, better design for emptying, less leaks in general just a very well thought out product.I never bothered connecting mine to 12v or water supply as I like stone agê simplicity but the options there if you want it.

Thanks that is greatly appreciated.

Thank you that's a very kind offer. Just got off the ferry tonight will be back there by Thursday myself so wouldn't want to inconvenience you for the sake of a day but will bear the offer in mind if I get stuck. Thanks

I have a small favour to ask if anybody is moored at Trinity Marina in Hinckley on the Ashby Canal could they PM me. No big drama just want to check my neighbour is OK as I can't get hold of him by phone ( not an unusual state of affairs) and my boat is still afloat in that order. Thanks in advance for any help offered. John