Bob18

The oil spec is based on the climate not the running temperature.

One hundred and fifty feet for a fiver - that should keep Nora Batty going for a few years.....

Failing the installation of a cassette loo, or even a buckitandchuckit, Midland Swindlers do a range of caps of various sizes.

Robbo - that is a brilliant animation - have a greenie

It is my understanding that having a stove is part of the definition of being a "proper" narrowboat

I used to think watching paint dry was an acronym for being bored, but reading your blog has changed my view of things, I must find another acronym... Keep it up, I'm just awestruck

Most suppliers know the major paint manufacturers' colours so give them the paint code - RAL only works if it is a "proper" RAL colour - the same goes for Pantone and the other colour "standards".

If passing through Braunston it is well worth taking a stroll into Tradlines place. Being able to see, and handle, the ropes is far better than looking at any advert - and they are a really friendly bunch, full of helpful tips, and will make up a rope for you "while you wait" - when they say "It will only take a few minutes" they really mean that, and they don't rush. (Just a satisfied customer, no other connection)

I left them the beds, what more do they need?

Yes, but not in the pub car park (they get ***sy when you stop to grab the bedding from a boat that is in the lock queue)

Aluminium is not as conductive as copper so you will need a larger cross-section for a given voltage drop/current combination. Check with the supplier/manufacturer for the correct figures and that the cable is suitable for use on a narrowboat. All the comments about kinking, snapping and corrosion potential are true, so be careful.

Do you like Marmite? If not develop a taste for it during "midge season". Presumably works by making you smell less edible to the bugs. On the other hand remember that you are providing a meal to a sex starved female.... (On thing, serious, don't squash horse flies while they are eating - you end up with a very nasty, infected lump - I've got the scar to prove. You have to flick them off then splatter them with a copy of your favourite free canal reading matter)

Nantwich. Friendly staff, simple walk into a very nice small town, easy reach of that Welsh canal with toooo many "L" in its name. Not a gigantic caravan park, but a nice crowded basin, run by people who love canals.

You forgot the smoke and mirrors?

Spotted this one the other day:

It looks to have gone a bit picky on capitalisation of some names, but not all Guess nick is having "one of those days" fix one "feature" and two more crawl out of the woodwork

See blodger's post #35 - the only thing he didn't do was the sum, which I'll do for him: 12.5 x 12.5 x 3.314 = 490.9375 square mm If you go to a cable supplier and ask for "25mm cable" you will get something a lot smaller than what you want - it will be about 6mm in diameter (1/4 inch!) I haven't got the cable size conversion tables to hand, but in US parlance a "500sqmm" cable is probably about a "000" cable (I'm sure someone will correct me...), and in old Imperial sizes? (I've never had to use them...). Whatever its a "figging big" cable to have to handle and terminate without the proper equipment... WRONG - On a narrowboat you would have TWO cables between the battery and the alternator (one for the positive, and one for the negative) as you should/must never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever use the boat hull as the return, which is normally the negative (This is totally unlike cars...).

Ah, we are suffering the age old problem - cables aren't measured by their DIAMETER, but by their CROSS SECTIONAL AREA - a 25mm DIA cable is about 490sqmm cross section. See my my post #33 for comments about "solid" cables/bus-bars. (Even installing a 500sqmm stranded cable would be a struggle, as they aren't particularly flexible unless you spend an absolute fortune on some really fancy type of cable construction...)

No, we are not saying that, indeed we are saying two things, first that 25mm cable is very inadequate, and second, unless you are going to construct some "very clever" bus-bars then doing it in solid cable will be "next to impossible (setting aside the debate over solid cables being "permitted or not")

Not a lot to add to Chalky's comments in post #27, apart from you'd be in for a hernia or two just getting the sort of cable you need into the boat... While 25mm will carry the current, it will get "quite warm" doing so over any distance, and have a significant voltage drop between the alternator and the battery terminal. (under charge) will mean the batteries will suffer from under-charging, unless you have a "battery sensed" alternator, connected by the appropriate sized cable to the battery bank. Stick with "tradition" - there's a very good reason why the vast majority of boats have their battery banks very close to the engine....

Both these sepcialise in 12 stuuf, have boats, and are good to work with: Bedazzled Baddie the Pirate Others will say fleebay, but that can be a bit hit and miss on colour and quality, at least with these two there's a real human you can talk to in the event of problems.

Careful lads and lasses, anything you say around here may be abused in print Well done Star - must visit local Smuts to see what it actually reads like

Done a few shows there, and was glad to be able to commute in rather than stay over. Can't comment about the marina, but it tends to be tarred with the same brush...

Where's Star when you need her most? I know, we'll talk about her for a couple of minutes, then she'll pop up ;-)

Why? Keep It Simple and stay with 12v for lighting. Apart from lighting what are you going to be using that needs so much power?