IanD

All modern PMAC motors/controllers (and certainly those in pods) have torque/temperature/rpm sensing, they can detect if a prop is blocked -- or even if there's something wrapped round it, depending on the programming -- and prevent any damage, either by limiting the torque or dropping it back to a low value.

I think this year is the worst on record worldwide for wildfires... 😞

We should definitely ban disposable barbecues then -- they not only kill people with CO, they start wildfires, big problem especially this year. And solid fuel stoves on boats, *much* more dangerous than generators going by the resulting fires and deaths... 😉

Wow, preferentially sterilising boaters just because they're overweight does seem a bit extreme even by the standards of the current government... 😉

I think you know from the context -- referring to *your* post talking about canal boats -- exactly what I meant... 😉

Yes carbon monoxide poisoning can kill people. How many of these deaths were caused by portable generators on the stern of a canal boat?

Indeed - solid fuel stoves seem to be responsible for most of the CO deaths on canal boats, but I don't see many people here or elsewhere saying they should therefore be banned as dangerous...

Maybe it's not curious, just that the risks of using portable generators have often been exaggerated? 😉 The density difference is small, all the references I can find says that CO just ends up mixing with the air in a room/boat not rising to the ceiling. EIther way, a generator outside on the stern -- presumably usually outside at least one closed door? -- must be *many* times less risky than a solid fuel stove or gas cooker inside the boat (or a generator inside with a bodeged exhaust), and this is borne out by the reported fatalities in this thread due to these causes, but AFAIK none due to a generator outside on the stern of a canal boat. Unless somebody knows better... 😉

In my experience, that kind of terrible service is not common with hire boat companies, at least not nowadays, but then I tend to choose the ones with good reputations and higher-quality boats who are not the cheapest -- and maybe some of the worst ones (see below) are no longer trading? The worst callout I had (failed AC power) was a boat with a battery problem, the yard sent an engineer with new batteries within about an hour of me reporting it. Oh, and one with a leaky stern gland that consumed a lot of grease every night to stop the drips. And one which made a noise like a bag of bolts in a tumble drier at low rpm, presumably a failing drive plate. All of which might be expected from not having enough time to do proper fixes in a few hours turnaround time, but none bad enough to spoil a holiday. I did have one similarly bad experience to the OP's many years ago with a boat from the now-defunct Gregory's Canal Cruisers in Wolverhampton; that was cheap, and broke down multiple times... 😞

If you think where the level of a sofa/seat is compared to the waterline, it should be obvious why this won't work... 😉

That's been suggested before. Unlike a caravan/motorhome they'd only be able to expand above water level, which is practically useless... 😞

1000h burn-in testing in volume production for every sample is rare -- except maybe in military/space/hi-rel applications where numbers are small and cost doesn't matter -- but HTOL (High Temperature Over Life) testing is common to prove that electronic components don't have an inbuilt design weakness that can reduce lifetime. This is typically done for (at least) 1000h but at higher than normal temperatures and voltages which accelerates aging (e.g. 20C hotter than normal and 20% higher voltage), and there are all sorts of rules about things like the number of samples you have to test in the burn-in oven (typically about 100), how long after burn-in is allowed for retest and so on -- we do this on all the ICs we design, and it's a major PITA to do, not least because it takes 6 weeks or so but if anything goes wrong or is changed you have to start over again. But it's better than the alternative which is seeing critical equipment starting to die after a year or so as devices fail, especially since one component can be used by multiple (or most...) equipment suppliers. There was a case I know of about 15 years ago where the internet backbone basically started to rot as chips from one company that everyone used began to fail due to poor design, lots of equipment had to be ripped out and replaced as a consequence, and the supplying company almost went bankrupt. Gave me nightmares for years afterwards since at one point (with the next generation of equipment) we were providing chips for about 85% of the worldwide market which carried all long-haul data... 😞 Of course cheap Chinese suppliers of consumer gear don't bother with any of this, they chuck stuff together as fast and cheap as possible and get it out of the door, so it's hardly surprising that it doesn't last as long as it should -- which of course is good business, because if it dies you have to buy a new one, kerching... 😉

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel Purpose The cartel lowered operational costs and worked to standardize the life expectancy of light bulbs at 1,000 hours[6] (down from 2,500 hours),[6] while raising prices without fear of competition. Some sources have asserted that this is an example of planned obsolescence,[7] but this has been disputed.[8] The cartel tested their bulbs and fined manufacturers for bulbs that lasted more than 1,000 hours. A 1929 table listed the amount of Swiss francs paid that depended on the exceeding hours of lifetime.[9] https://interestingengineering.com/science/everlasting-lightbulbs-exist-ed But this all changed around 1924 when lightbulb manufacturers held a secret meeting in Geneva 1924. The likes of Philips, International General Electric, OSRAM, and others, all decided to form a group called the "Pheobus Cartel". Pheobus, in case you are not aware, was the Greek god of light. The main objective of this cartel was to agree to control the supply of light bulbs. Each understood that if any one of them managed to develop a long-lasting light bulb, the need for replacement bulbs would likely dry up. Bulbs were lasting too long. Not ideal from their point of view. So, to combat this, all members of the cartel agreed to reduce the lifespan of bulbs on purpose. Initially, this was set to no more than 1,000 hours! To enforce this, and prevent any one of them from breaking the agreement, samples of bulbs needed to be sent to a central authority that would test them for longevity. The manufacturer of any bulbs that lasted longer than the set minimum would be fined.

I've got plenty of experience getting stuff off the prop -- weed, carpet, clothes, sacks, rope, fishing nets, plastic sacks, tie straps, fenders -- and was just hoping for some helpful feedback. Oh well, never mind, I thought it was a bit much to ask... 😞

I've used a folding pruning saw and heavy-duty wire cutters in the past, but this does mean delving into the water, and sometimes you just need to pull like mad to get stuff off the prop. The propmate looks like it might work well in this case, I was hoping for some actual experience from people who have used one -- is it good or a waste of space?

I was thinking of getting a Propmate too, it looks better suited to the job than other suggestions like patio weeders since you can get a much better grip on the handle to turn it and pull things off the prop as well as just pulling/cutting. Anyone else have feedback on them, positive or negative?

I don't think many car accidents are caused by them... 😉