frangar

Just to clarify the situation about Adverc and modding alternator regs.......If you tell them make/model of unit they will send VERY detailed instructions about how to mod the reg and indeed if you need a pos or neg unit whereas Sterling just let you get on with it!! I have found Adverc's after sale service to be spot on at all times giving good impartial advice and cant reccomed them enough....No I dont work for them but I have fitted a number of their units to various boats including mine over the last 12 years all with no problems including times where others said it couldnt be done but a quick calll to Adverc sovled the problem and as far as I know all the units are still working! The Adverc may not have all the flashing lights that the Sterling has but it does the job intended....As a word of warning the Sterling claims to charge your batteries faster than other units however this means that it just charges the batteries harder resulting in more water usage (as stated in Sterling instructions) and whilst "Leisure" Batteries can for a short while put up with this a Traction (eg 2V Cells linked) set cannot! Just my 2 penneth based on 15 years of boat electrics......this now means someone will offer hard proof of why Sterlings are the best!! PS Adverc do a great Batt Monitor that can measure 4 banks with volts/amps mointoring on all banks...adjustable low volt alarm etc agin have had one fitted on my boat for last 12 years with no problelms....would advise fitting any unit that claims to measure capacity or Amp hours as they always need syncing to batteries at least once a month! Just use a Voltage scale to tell state of charge....much more reliable! PPS I could make more money fitting Sterlings due to trade discount etc. but prefer to fit units that wont have the customer on the phone every 5 mins! Gareth

The easiest way to control an Alde is to use a Randall/Danfoss TP5. This is the same as the Alde unit but you can get it from Plumb Center's and electrical wholsalers for about £35-£40. It runs from 2 AA Batts and Is volt free on the contacts so it can switch 12v DC with no problems. It is digital but is V easy to set and you can overide it easily as well as set it to just be a frost stat. Gareth

We had the same problem on our boat in that the windows were sealed with silicone and the fit out held up with the window screws......It took some force to remove the windows using a wallpaper scraper and a hammer....luckily we were fitting new windows so it didnt matter that we bent a few..... We managed to do one side at a time with no major problems...as suggested I fixed the battening back with a few countersunk screws to make it easier next time. We used the mastic on a roll as supplied by channelglaze...it sticks really well as you find out when have to take out one of your newly installed windows......dont ask!! Gareth

I use Morris Supreme 20 all year round in my JP2...makes it esy to start by hand and I get 18psi oil pressure when hot even in the heat of this summer..I used to use Rotella 20/20 but Shell had stopped making it the last time i checked....I prefer Morris's anyhow cos they seem to make every oil you need for older engines and they have good technical help.

Have just finished blacking my boat over this very wet weekend which has proved rather fun (!!) I had the hull grit blasted when I got the boat 14 years ago and have blacked it every two years including the baseplate using either Comastic or Coflex VT. This has worked really well with no pitting since, so for those of you who are not sure about blacking baseplates I wouldnt hesitate! This time I have found that the tins of Comastic varied in consistency from the usual slighly runny to something that would be better applied with a trowel than a roller! Luckily I had enough thinners to enable it to be used! The paint all had the same batch number and about 3 tins were thicker. Has anybody else had this trouble lately before I get in contact with Spencer Coatings to question their quality control!

To get back to the topic.......I had my boat grit blasted and the baseplate painted with Comastic as the hull which was bulit in 1982 is 6/6/4 on the advice of the surveyor and the base had some pitting......That was in 1991 and I have docked the boat every 2 years since and made sure it is dock where I can get to the base plate and on a full hull survey last year no further pitting or corroision had occured. My boat draws 2 foot 6 inches and I only lose some paint right on the skeg with a few front to back scratches where we have gone over something so for the slight cost of the paint plus finding a good dock or crane out its well worth it esp. if you have a hull made of thinner plate than is used now

If you wind the both paddles up fast with my boat in the lock I shall have no option but to whack you round the head with a windlass!! We are 50' long with a vintage engine and gearbox that cannot change direction quickly!!! unless we are hard on the cill life gets very interesting!! Once had both paddles pulled and the bottom gate slammed shut just as we cleared it at Slapton Lock on the oxford...we went down the chamber like a rifle bullet..I wont repeat what we told the Private boater who thought they we "helping" lets just say if i meet them again they may be getting wet! I now stop anyboady pulling a paddle for me unless me or the other half are on the bank......having a gate paddle opened on you in wide lock is also fun and proves the usefulness of a cratch board......So the message is "Be ready to help but dont do anything unless asked!!"

I disagree about a boat not having equipment that is frequency sensitive. My battery charger can only tolerate +-3 hertz but can accept a wide voltage. Microwaves can also be intolerant of frequency variation. I agree that voltage is important as well......back to my orginal question....how good is the output from these small generators??? PS you can get mains alternators that are rated for 1500 rpm that could be driven from a engine of about 2 litres but they are best fitted to a dedicated engine with a suitable governor.

I have a vintage lister but for what its worth I wouldnt bother with a Beta.....I have had to work on them from time to time and when you get in touch with Beta giving full details (Serial Number/Build No etc) they dont have a clue about what is fitted to the engine and in one case they kept trying to tell me it couldnt have that type of alternator fitted even tho the engine was brand new and I had the unit infront of me! I would go for a Nanni, they are based on the same engine (Kubota) and seem to be better made and the suppliers seem to be better informed. Can anybody verify this??? Gareth

Whilst some (usually top end) builders fit inspection hatches the norm is that they are not fitted...whilst I agree it is good practice to fit them its not the norm hence the need for products such as Fuel Set and a good water trap and filter system. Gareth

Does anybody have experience of these cheap inverter type generators as oppsoed to the type made by Honda etc which are loads more money?? would be intresting to compare build quality/waveform output even voltage out?? some of these units can be quite interesting if you need to plug them into something sensitive!! but do you get what you pay for?? Gareth

So it looks like there will be a lot of scrap narrowboats who wont have room for a grey water tanks and we will all be forced to go boating in square boxes that look like god knows what....otherwise known as a widebeam narrowboat!!(Sorry for this rant to anybody on here who has one and a know a few of you do but why?? get a proper widebeam like a tjalk for instance!) Me thinks its about time we all made a stand and treated what the EU says as most other countries that belong seem to.......with a pinch of salt.....oh and they might ban that too! RANT OVER!!

we have a manual self pump out.....it gives me some exercise!! you can fit a 12/24v pump on the boat using a Y valve so that you have one fitting when using a shore based vacum system and another for the self pump out....however I prefer to keep it simple....less to go wrong when miles from anywhere apart from an expensive boat yard.....(so thats most of them!!) You can use them on any BW sanitary station unless there is a notice that says otherwise...however some are better than others for putting a pipe down. It would be lovley if BW fitted a "hole" speciallly for us cheapskates...we can live in hope! If we all had to collect Grey Water then life would become fun!! Perhaps to prevent this we should all take care what we use on our baots and go easy on the mod cons such as dishwashers! Forgot to say we also have Grotti Potti for when we are iced in........

Pump outs cost from £6.50 for a self operated pump out from a BW machine that are fitted at some (very few!!) sanitary stations to £15+ at posh marinas! It usally doesnt matter what size of tank you have, the cost is the same....hence my love of our self pump out kit!! We dont have a washing machine on the boat even tho we live aboad...yes it is possible to do this using the sink and laundrette's but still use Ecover washing up liquid and their other products such as cream cleaner etc. They do a liquid for washing machines and hand washing as well. You also have the choice of using "Loo Blue" or not......which has been discussed loads on here!! Just for the record we dont and we dont have any smells....however we never have since we fitted a new tank.

Pump out tanks contain just toilet waste..(Black Water) All other waste water, showers, basins,sinks and washing machines dishwashers etc (Grey Water) goes over the side via skin fittings into the cut/river.....this can always change in the future esp regarding washing machines.....We always use Ecover or similar for cleaning to lessen the effect of the detergent....We only have a small 35 gallon tank for the pumpout but with careful use this can last 2 of us at least 3 weeks of living aboard...use Tescos fine faclities when you go shopping etc!! A lot depends on the type of toilet fitted...some use a lot more water than others to flush..we have a Travelller which is a Dump Thro type ie sits on top of tank which uses less than a "remote" toilet. We also have a self pump out kit which has paid for itself many times over.....as for how far you are prepared to travel it depends on how much time you have and if it costs how much you want to spend! Lee Sanitation are the best IMHO for advice esp with regard to pumping into a household sewer. hope this helps Gareth

I was also not sure about how effective FuelSet was but all i can say is that it has stopped my JP2 smoking and come service time there is less carbon to clear from the exhuast so it must do something!! Just remember to "double dose" the 1st time you use it Gareth

I have used Mike Carter http://www.mcarter.co.uk Very good and sensible with what passes and fails!! He uses common sense which seems to be in short supply with some examiners. I heard such good things about him being a fair surveyor that I got him down to the Midlands to re test my boat and do a hull survey. Very impressed and worth the mileage charge.

I had a similar thing recently on a friends boat....when the batteries were low the voltage was within range eg 14.4v (adverc was fitted) however when the batteries reached full charge the voltage went up to 14.9+. I changed the regulator and all was returned to normal, this was easy cos it was on a lucas A127 Frame, depending on Alternator it might be more difficult. I think the reg's suffer on most boat installs due to poor airflow around the unit which are mostly designed to be fitted to a car/truck with a forced airflow from when the vehicle is moving, on a boat they have to rely on the alternator fan. I always tell people to use at least 1200rpm to ensure a airflow. If it was me I would check the reg before anything else. Hope this helps Gareth

Try t-mobile....we have a web n walk pro package added to our pay monthly phone contract....it costs £10/month for unlimited use (they suggest 2gb as the fair use limit) the only drawback is you cant use skype(voip) or msn messenger etc. we have Nokia N70's and connect to a mac and a pc via bluetooth with no problems. It uses 3g where available and gprs the rest of the time......works well...am typing this with just one bar on the signal strength at the moment although its quicker with more bars! T-mobile also do a data card for £19/month on a 18 month contract. Cheers Gareth PS and you get a good service in Braunston!!! PPS The phone add on package we have is not mentioned on the t-mobile website...you need to talk to a good dealer or t-mobile direct

If you do buy it and do change the blackstone box for a prm let me know as I might be interested in the blackstone box!! Cheers Gareth

We have just had a Warden at our Marina checking Licence's etc. Just for everybodys info she was wearing a Blue BW polo shirt!! She said she had 65 miles of canal to patrol as well!! Think I would get a bike if it was me!!

I use a Mac Powerbook to connect to the internet via a new T-mobile plan called Web n Walk Pro. This uses a handset that is gprs/3g compatible linked to the Mac via Bluetooth. I use a Nokia N70...You may need to check to see if your Macs have bluetooth as standard...It was only fitted as standard on later iBooks and Mini's but you can get a Mac compatible Bluetooth dongle for less than £20. You have a 2gb download limit for £10/month in addition to your normal talk plan. The version that uses a handset is not mentioned on the T-mobile website but Customer Services know about it! I have found canalside coverage to be fairly good although 3g is only available in places like the centre of brum. gprs seems to be slightly less than dial-up speed when in use but 3g is just like broadband. You may need to get some modem scripts etc from the web. Try www.taniwha.org.uk is a good place to start or get in touch! Good luck. Ps this was sent from my back cabin moored on a remote part of the Leics. summit!