theguitardoctor

Not mine that time...but this was...

Obviously this will be my opinion....and likely but "all men are created equal" stands for me, as at time of birth we are all the same with regards to our possible contribution to society...many a great person rose from an unprivileged background. However, social advantages such as country of birth, parents and their wealth etc, all serve to offer us greater stepping stones to achieving our full potential. I admit that my opinion is one of those speculative, "it could happen" type of approaches and that has ruffled a lot of feathers as many have seen this as crazy talk...but then they said that about George Orwell's novel 1984, regarding big brother scenario's of society, and these days we each appear on CCTV many, many times a day. I think I read it was an average of 200 per person, but I can't substantiate that exact figure as it was an old report - however, it is still a lot..we all know how many CCTV cameras and ANPR/Gatso's there are. However, the premise is still there, even when it was seen as total fiction not that long ago. My job in some ways is design based and a lot of what seems impossible to many, I strive to make possible....a guitar made from a washing machine drum...? No problem, I'll certainly try and make it happen. I guess this leaves me to have an open mind, albeit a suspicious one of authority whether that be commercial, political or otherwise. I have never gelled well with authority which is why I have worked for myself since I was 18 as it was a constant clash until that point. I accept that certain opinions are driven by knowledge, but equally, and certainly in modern society, I think opinions are driven by media, perception, image and popularity, so in effect we're both correct (again my opinion). Politics obviously forms 2 or more opinions, by it's very existence as people rarely agree about everything. Waterways politics seem to have the same split opinions and this causes tensions, especially when someone has a different opinion to the usual ones....but that's also how the "side" parties in politics pick up a number of votes. Being in the minority leaves you open to the majority attacking your ideas or perception of the future..... Anyway, that's my tuppence worth and as a minority view, I am used to being cajoled and attacked.

But alas, all men are created equal, thus all opinions are created equal also. Only those who choose between opinions give weight to them. This however is no guarantee that it is indeed correct, only more favoured. And regarding the double breasted boats. Surely if you ask the owner of the boat you wish to moor against if it is ok to cross his vessel, then respect his decision, regardless of your then formed new opinion, it would solve most issue. In his absence, common sense should prevail. Again....you may disagree below....

Just to add to Mayalld's argument...how many would be happy with someone climbing over their wife to get to the TV remote...I doubt I'd be happy with my best friend doing that. Or walking through your nicely mowed garden to get to their house as a short cut, to save 5 minutes... It's not about law or words of law, but about respect. Every single argument old and new comes down to that one word, but I have already seen it's absence here. I own the boat, I paid good money for it and the paintwork...keep your muddy boots off and wait 5 minutes until the pump is clear...simple as. Insert disagreement/insult/argument/anything you like as your opinion is more valid here........................

Thanks for the pointers...maybe it should be a pinned topic...!!!! What surprises me is those that stand up for the rights of the "We don't want that family on the canals" as if it's a breach of their prospective Human Rights as future canal dwellers, are some of the worst anti-me protesters. Inevitably they are doing just the opposite through this forum to a newcomer. If indeed I had moored within the reaches of some of the worst purveyors of "thou shalt shut up and sit there in silence until I deem thee worthy of an opinion", then I expect I would have been driven out by group force merely because I had a difference of opinion with them day to day. I'm sure that they are very proud of themselves.... Tolerance is in excess when they think it is politically correct to have it, yet in very limited supply when put to the test.

If anyone is in need of a surveyor, I can highly recommend Alan Dixon of Middlewich, Cheshire.... http://www.leisurecraftmarineservices.co.uk/ He spent a day and a half on the boat we're in the process of buying, and was incredibly detailed in his findings. He even picked up that the 2 gas pipe clips either side of the shut off valve were spaced too far apart... There were even 2 of them working together for the first day...(Alan + 1...not gas clips working together, before this gets misinterpreted... ) Not the cheapest out there, but very thorough and highly recommended.

Can someone possibly clarify the size of the cooling tank for an Isuzu 38...? I've tried the guy that bought up the Marinised Isuzu spares, but I can't get through to him. I believe that it should be 10sq ft to the canalside, but it's been measured at 5sq ft approximately. Obviously, I understand the implications of a shortfall in terms of overheating etc, but can anyone confirm the actual specifications from Isuzu.....?? Cheers....!

If all goes well next week, I shall be taking ownership of our prospective narrowboat... In the event of no major survey problems, the remedial work that needs doing is some patching to the paint (for now) and blacking. I would like a bit of advice as to the best course of action.... The boat needs blacking. I would like to go for the epoxy system ideally but it looks like the Boat company based at the marina do not have grit blasting facilities. I work 7 days through December, so my options are... 1. put her back in the water even though she is desperate for blacking, then around Feb/March haul her out and do the tercoo disc treatment or grit blast if I can find somewhere local...then Epoxy it myself...risking the extra damage that the winter will do to the part exposed hull. Will it do anything in that time...? 2. Have the bottom blacked with Coflex (one pack Coal tar system) if compatible with what's already on there...(cost about £650). I'm not sure if the boatyard realise that Coflex won't go over regular bitumen blacking...(as far as I know). 3.Have the bottom blacked with Intertuf, which is what they have said they get good results with as they apply 3 coats over a week..(cost about £550) and hope it doesn't drop off in a short space of time..... Not sure what the best option is.... Rich Apologies again if this goes over old ground. I know the differences with the coatings though, and that's not what I'm asking..!!

Yes, 60 cyclic hum is USA...as are most of the guitars and pickups (aftermarket) in them although the UK is making a good show now. I get so used to reading about 60 cyclic hum that it's second nature...although UK is classed as 50-60Hz on all musical products anyway and 230-240V so I don't even think about it as it's always referred to as 60 cyclic hum in my industry..!! My reply was simplistic (on purpose) and I've re-read my answer and you're right, it was not explained in the best way as it can be interpreted in several ways... So here goes..... A Faraday cage is an enclosure designed to exclude electromagnetic fields. It is an application of Gauss's law, one of Maxwell's equations. Gauss's law describes the distribution of electrical charge on a conducting form, such as a sphere, a plane, a torus, etc. Intuitively, since like charges repel each other, charge will "migrate" to the surface of the conducting form. The application is named after physicist Michael Faraday, who built the first Faraday cage in 1836, to demonstrate his finding. It's very likely you woke up this morning in a Faraday cage, made your breakfast in another Faraday cage, and drove a Faraday cage to work. Depending on your particular job, you may have spent much of your day in front of yet another Faraday cage. The concept of a Faraday cage is logically attributed to Michael Faraday, an 18th Century pioneer in the field of electromagnetic energy. Faraday studied the work of earlier scientists such as Benjamin Franklin and theorized that electromagnetic waves naturally flowed around the surface of conductive materials, not through them. For example, if a metal box containing a mouse were placed directly in the path of an electrical current, the electricity would flow over the box but not into the compartment with the mouse. The mouse would not be electrocuted. Such a box would be considered a Faraday cage. The important concept to remember is that a Faraday cage acts as a shield against the effects of electromagnetic energy. When a car is struck by lightning, the metal frame becomes a Faraday cage and draws the electricity away from the passengers inside. A microwave oven's door has a screen which prevents electromagnetic energy from escaping into the room. Electronic parts which generate radio frequencies are often protected by Faraday cages called RF shields. Even a concrete building reinforced with lead or rebar can be considered a Faraday cage. Few consumers of electronic products would ever ask the for a Faraday cage, but designers and engineers understand the importance of electromagnetic shielding very well. Whenever sensitive electronic parts are used in machinery, some form of shielding is generally in place, whether it be the machine's metal shell, a capsule or a grounding wire. If the electronic parts generate electromagnetic energy of their own, a Faraday cage must be used to shield users from excessive exposure. This is why mobile phone use is often discouraged in hospitals or other public places with electronic equipment. Unshielded equipment may be exposed to the microwave energy created by cell phones or other radio transmitters. I'll be a lot more specific in future, I avoided it as it's a boating forum..!!

It will be Tuesday, but thanks...apparently the survey will take a day and a half....?? I'm not arguing as I'm presuming the surveyor is obviously very thorough... If all is well blacking will commence.... Must remember to pack a rag and white spirit to check what it's coated with already....

Boat is coming out of the water in preparation for Monday's survey....I really hope it flies through with nothing major as we've held off looking for boats until we get the report... If it's bad news, we're back to square one, although I expect that means a postponement until January as the 7 days a week working schedule kicks in on Dec 1st....doh..!!

Yes I have had a look at it thanks, although with guitar electrics as a side of my own work, I start over-thinking things, hence why I wondered if you can pick up stray current from unguarded/unprotected neighbouring boats. I understand how the Isolation Transformer works over the GI and for the extra £200 I think its a worthwhile investment, especially when the GI's need testing at intervals to ensure they're still working....

Thanks for the info....to answer your query also... A faraday cage is usually created (aftermarket mod...Fender deem it character when Strat's buzz and rattle..!!) within a Stratocaster as it has single coil pickups (basically a microphone for all intents and purposes, that "pick up" the string vibrations). Single coils are wound in a singular direction and thus have no hum cancelling ability therefore are affected by signals within a resistance or oscillation/cycling circuit...i.e TV's & Computer Screens (less so since we left the old CRT types), dimmer switches, fluorescent tubes, track lights etc. Boat electrics may well do it, I have yet to try this theory.... This plays havoc with recordings etc. One answer is to run humbuckers, so named as they are hum cancelling having 2 coils side by side run in opposite magnetic polarity directions. The other option is a Faraday cage...basically shield all cavities with copper tape, soldering across each join to basically enclose the controls of the pickups within said cage. This contains the magnetic field and shields it from 60 cycle hum and interference. I've seen Faraday cages within humbucker loaded guitars but generally they do very little or nothing....it really is the perception of the user there as I think it's an unnecessary mod on double humbucker guitars.... Some pickups are just plain noisy at the end of the day though, so in extreme cases, they need changing..... Fair enough, I misinterpreted it from its shortness of reply....my apologies.

Thanks for the replies, I understand a little more now. I apologise if it's bugging one or two people, but if you asked me what effect scale length has on the feel of a guitar or what the advantages of a compound radius are or even why guitar necks are radiused, why it's feasible to make a Faraday Cage on a Stratocaster but not a Les Paul, then I could tell you....and I do, often many, many times to many different people. New hobbyists are always moving towards guitars...I see it as good for business despite going over old ground.... As Blackrose said...we all started somewhere, and what you take for granted as common knowledge is new ground for me. Current travelling through guitars (it actually doesn't, even in an electric guitar, unless of course it's Active circuitry) I understand, current through water and its consequences on metal...I'm getting there.....

Hi all.... Sorry if this subject is a bit flogged to death, but I am confused after all the searching through threads and the like... What I think I understand from various posts: 1. A Galvanic Isolator is good for helping protect against Galvanic Corrosion, but an Isolation Transformer such as the Airlink version is way better. 2. The anodes, if kept in good order should also help in the fight against corrosion. 3. Anodes only protect an area within a few feet of the spot they're welded to, but any more and they get knocked off in locks. 4. Comastic (Epoxy coating?) or Coflex (Single coat Vinyl?) is way better than 3 coats of Intertuf Bitumen type coatings at protecting against galvanic corrosion. What I am confused by: 1. If I have a GI or Isolation Transformer (IT), what happens if my shoreline connected neighbours do not have either...will they attract corrosion to my boat...?? 2. Can anodes be fitted on the baseplate near to the edges..? Would this add extra protection at the chance of a bottom scrape if unlucky...? 3. Some owners paint their hull with red oxide under the blacking...does this help against corrosion Galvanic or otherwise..? I am confused and I don't know what is true, what is urban myth and what is possible/impossible....

With the same preparation then surely even normal blacking would stop galvanic corrosion if it properly sealed and formed a barrier to the water....? With that in mind, I have seen several boat owners paint their hulls with red oxide primer, or similar, and black over this...good or bad idea..?

I'm not saying anyone is wrong, but I can find as many boat owners that say the same thing about epoxy in that it falls off in sheets as water gets behind it in which case it needs stripping, whereas it's possible to patch in or touch up more common blacking finishes. Who's right, who's wrong...? The person who has found what works for them. If you ask me, its all about the preparation...both finishes are probably fine if applied correctly at the correct intervals..... The question is...does epoxy protect you from galvanic corrosion then...??

Eels... Genius.... If I could stay out of the marina, I would, but with working 6 days a week, it's not so easy...hence the need for a solution before the problem starts..!

The downfall seems to be that if you have one, it helps, but really your neighbour needs one also or it's only a matter of time before the corrosion takes hold...

Well I'm not going to get into the whole 2 pack epoxy vs bitumen based as that seems to bring up arguments both for and against as it is. I've seen as many people knock the virtues of Comastic as I have Intertuf bitumen for example....but I do agree with the science of the Galvanic transformer over the isolator....it's finding one that's suitable.

Recommended procedure would be....?? I'd love to know the correct way, as it seems to be just black it every 2-3 years and it's protected... I'd sooner pay £400 now for it to be properly protected than £000,s later due to the need for overplating..!! If indeed a Galvanic Transformer protects it fully regardless of other neighbouring boats stay current...

Wow, I am confused now...!! It seems that if you spend most of your time in a marina, connected to a shoreline 240V feed, then effectively you are dissolving your hull at a rapid rate, even with a Galvanic Isolator...?? Even if you only connect for one day a week, then inevitably your boat will corrode before your eyes....!! I don't hold much hope for my prospective boat as I can only cruise at weekends due to work committments, and in December I work 7 days a week, so even that is compromised..... Seriously...what can you possibly do to evade this corrosion? I thought regular blacking, anodes and a GI would do the job....

That's slightly worrying...what circumstances would cause that...something the neighbouring boat was running...? Was that boat also cursed with Galvanic Corrosion..?