Eastern
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Posts posted by Eastern
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Neither is curtain twitching.
Is it half term already? This was the level of debate I used to have in the playground at primary school.
Well, my Dad is bigger than yours and I'm taking my ball back and not playing anymore.
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So if the government tells you to kill your children in the name of population control you'll be complying then?
But that isn't a rule - nor is it likely to become one.
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What a great topic! Here's my two penneth....
If you are a member of society, then you must morally abide by the rules of that society.
If you have a boat on BW waters then you need a licence and possibly a BSS.
On the roads I assume no one is defending not having a licensed, insured and MOT'd car. What is the difference?
The option does not exist to pick which rules you obey and which you do not.
As to the point that the boater is too poor to buy a licence...Well, if you see them give them a knock and offer them the money for one (I think cash would be prefered), and wait to see how long it takes them to display the licence.
The canals are not a freeloaders paradise, and I for one will report any boats I see without a licence.
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I have a Drizabone, which I love with a passion. However, it wasn't fully waterproof until it received it's second accidental coating of engine oil. As for water wicking up the inside of the sleeve I reckon that a lifetime in Gor-Tex has softened you lot up! I should also point out that they weigh half ton at least when soaked and takes about three days to dry out in front of the Squirrel. Still adore it though .........
What I wanted to convey in my earlier post is that the style of the drovers coat is great. It's just as a practical piece of wet weather gear that it falls down.
I would have thought that preventing water being wicked up the sleeve was a basic requirement, which has been solved on my Daks waxed jacket by using a inner storm cuff. I would buy a pair of cuffs and sew them in to the Drizabone, if I knew where you buy them.
Drizabone could easily solve the problem by increasing the size of the turn up on the cuff.
I find mine is great for taking the dog for a walk etc, but useless as when steering a narrowboat in medium and heavy rain. Better to get a wax jacket on offer at Lidl next week - £29.99 IIRC!
East
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If anyone is interested in Drizabone coats, they are available on special offer at the moment on this website http://www.everythingaustralian.com.au/sho...0&cat_id=26. The service is fantastic, I ordered one on 11th September and it arrived this morning.
Mike
I hope that you are pleased with coat, but I must tell you that I bought one and I am very dissapointed with it. The construction of the sleeves is such that the turn up where the lining is attached is very small. Water runs down the sleeve and wicks up the lining giving you a damp arms. I have tried waxing the lining for a couple of inches up from the bottom of the sleeve, but it still happens.
I also bought a sou'wester type hat. This is even worse. It leaks where the 'Drizabone' label is sewn in and the lining of the hat rubs on the shoulders of the coat, thus wicking the water up and onto my head. Again waxing the lining reduces this, but does not eliminate it.
I'm afraid it is another brand that has 'style over substance'
East
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Hi Mark
I'm sure that there's an easy way within this site and that somebody will point it out, however I found it by doing a search on Google (uk pages) for Candy 1000t washing machine technical data.
Yes, to search this forum, you go to the top of the page and select 'Search'
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Canals should be used to move boats around. Not to be permanently moored on.
If, as a private boater, you move around the canals from November this year you will paying double the amount for your (diesel) fuel.
The exchequer will have gained a 'windfall' from this increase in taxation, so it seems reasonable that BW should ask for a share of this extra revenue, and use it to off set any additional licence fee.
Anyway, boaters are not the only users of canals.
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I have to go along with others and say that if money was no object then I would have my dream boat built by Norton Canes Boatbuilders.
But if money was a problem.....then I'd still have a boat from NC.
Hang on! I've just remembered....NC start my new boat next year...Phew, thats a relief!
East
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An RCD is a secondary safety device to be use in conjunction with a basic earth protective system and should not be relied on as the sole means of protection, they cannot be guaranteed to work without an earth or at all and can leave the vessel live with a fault, especially in fresh water. Whilst it might still trip if someone comes in contact, it will still give them a nasty shock first and much worse in water. An earth will prevent that unless they touch a live conductor.
The tendancy for people to think that an RCD is the answer to everything and earths don't matter is very dangerous. Useful as they are in quickly protecting against direct contact shock, they are no substitute for a system complete with earth that is designed to deal with earth faults and overloads and will still work when an RCD fails.
That'll be why most domestic electrical equipment is double insulated and does not have an earth connection?
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the quoted 18% loss is for the piston type pump which is the more expensive option over the vane type which has a bigger power loss.
Quite correct Gary, but to be fair the piston pump type including a Beta 50hp engine was £3700.00 and the vane motor was £3550.00. Not a big difference, I'm sure you will agree!
The BW workboats are rare sight on the system, broken down or otherwise. I wouldn't have thought that hydraulic systems were inherently unreliable, as I see plenty of JCBs etc working away at digging holes and such like. I'm afraid I'm old enough to remember when the earth moving machine all worked on steel cables being wound on and off a drum! But don't lets go there
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Hi Duztee,
I visited the Hercules Hydrulics stand at the IWA exhibition at Wolverhampton yesterday. They claim that a conventional drive has loses of 10% from the flywheel to prop and that their hydraulic drive has an additional 8% on top, making an 18% loss.
Their costs seem on a parr with conventional drive as a gearbox and flexible couplings are not required. The time and engineering expertise reqired to install a conventional drive is much greater (they claim) and there are savings to be made there.
Their web address is
www.herculeshydraulics.co.uk
They seem keen to offer full support to boaters.
With regards to your idea of using an hydraulic generator, I would suggest that you investigate the tax implications, because you would want all the fuel used for electrical generation to be taxed at red diesel rate.
Regards
East
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Sweeping statement!
I purchased my Tayberg launch shell in grey primer in 1998 and painted the hull in Johnstone's coloured gloss with bitumastic paint below the waterline. It had no special preparation and yet I've never noticed any millscale or had trouble with paint coming off, inside or out, above or below the waterline.
Steve
Ah yes Steve,
My grandad smoked 90 woodbines a day from the age of 12, and he lived to 103. There's alway and exception to the rule!
I think you may find that every boat that has had problems with millscale has not been rusted and gritblasted.
Over to the forum
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According to Radio 4 yesterday the average yearly household gas and electric spend including heating is £1300.
I know you are just trying to stop one more boat but it is a touch disingenuous to say that you cannot make living on a boat cheaper than living in house.
Chris,
How can you second guess my motives for posting a reply? If you read my post I did not say that you could not make living on a boat cheaper than living in a house.
My motives are to help people who wish to live on a boat to have realistic expectations of what is entailed and what the costs are. If you take like for like lifestyle choices, the appreciation of propery value against depreciation of boat values (for we must compare buying with buying, not buying with renting) and the maintenance costs I would be very surprised if it was cheaper.
May I also point out that we have entered the 'silly season', so you may expect stories like the average wage etc to appear in the media.
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Hi Rob,
I would agree with Dave. Make sure your expectations are reasonable. Many people seem to think that living on a boat is a cheap option compared with housing on land. This is not the case.
You may be surprised to hear that you are not the first person to post on this topic, and I would recommend you search the archives.
Regards
East
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I've been looking around quite a few builders now, and there's very big differences between the shells. I'm deciding between a cheap and basic shell from ABC or a more expensive more quality shell from Paul Widdowson (used to work for R&D in the past). The difference in price is £14500 inc VAT for the ABC shell or £21150 inc VAT for the PW shell. Now I can see to an extent where the money has gone, the PW shell had better detailing, upsweep on the rear deck, arrow motifs on the rubbing strakes and hatch hinges, double skinned over hangs on the cabins with built in grab handles, recessed deck hatch on the foredeck, brass runners on the sliding hatch etc, etc. The ABC shell is much more basic with none of those features and only flat panel doors. However on the day I visited ABC there was a nearly finished shell, so I could have a good look at the quality of the workmanship and I have to say it was pretty good. The welding was good, all the welds were to be ground down before painting, the structure was 10/6/4mm, including 10mm counter, rubbing strakes were fully welded top and bottom, steel was certified 43A, the workshop was fairly tidy. The superstructure was fully reinforced internally and the boat appeared perfectly straight and true without ripples. Overall much better than another "budget" builder I looked at (although that one actually charged more than ABC!).
It seems to me that the ABC boat would be perfectly solid and suitable, just without all the nice touches of the more expensive shell. If it was just me I'd be inclined to save the £6650 and instead spend it on better fixtures and fittings and bits of kit inside the boat. But if I come to sell the boat in the future will the better shell get me the six and a half grand back in better resale price? Also does anyone have any personal experiences of either of the two I've mentioned here?
The other issue for me is distance. I plan to fit out the boat (at least the initial fit out) at the boat-builders yard. ABC is about an hour and half's drive, so I'd have to do full weekends and camp over. PW is only half an hour away, so I could go for evenings and odd days. Decisions decisions.
The advice from them who know, is do not skimp on the shell. A great fit out in a mediocre shell will never have a decent second hand value, but a good shell with an indifferent fit out can be re-fitted.
If I were you, and in your price range, I would look at the Polish production boats. Amber Boats and Aqualine are really well produced boats and well fitted out.
You really need to do some hard thinking if you wish to live on a boat away from a mains hook up. Either change to a low energy lifestyle or get an onboard generator, would be my advice.
And remember, like a car and unlike property over the medium and longer term, you are buying a depreciating asset.
Pip Pip
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I've read this topic with interest. IMHO the answer to the problem is to have the shell built by a 'proper' boatbuilder such as Norton Canes Boatbuilders (web site of the same name). Here the shell is built, left outside to rust for 3 months and then gritblasted back to bare metal, before being painted.
Sorry, but anything else is a botch. I'm afraid that you only get what you pay for in this life.
That's my quota of wise words used up for today
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I totally agree with you Arnot.
I think some (most?) people don't understand that the 2v cell is the building block for all lead acid batteries. So a 12v battery has 6 x 2v cells connected internally. When one cell fails you have to throw all 6 away!
The other point that is not generally understood is that you can only use about 40% of the batterys' capacity, so a 100Ah battery will only give you 40Ah.
Of course, if you are a weekend user then a set of cheap lesuire batteries will suffice, but for extended cruising and liveaboard use then seperate 2v cells are the ones to go for.
The purchase price of a bank of 2v cells is high, but when you work out the total cost of ownership, they do work out cheaper.
I shall be having them on my boat because of their electrical capacity and their long life expectancy.
East
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Thinking about it further..... If the exhaust pipes were of sufficient lenghth (whatever that might be) then the exhaust gasses would have to compress the gas in the pipe before they could enter any cylinder of an engine. Isn't this unlikely when there is a lower pressure path via the silencer?
East
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Thanks for all the replies.
So if we are agreed that it is a good idea to fit a valve, I think that an automatic one like a flap valve would be best (less chance of a cock up!). Are these available commercially, and where can I get one - or indeed two?
East
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Has anyone any experience with sharing a silencer between the propulsion engine & a genset?
I want to use a hospital silencer for both, but as I don't want to run both engines at the same time, I reckon it must be possible to share the silencer - thus saving space and cost.
Both engines would be diesel engines with dry exhausts. Could I just connect the exhausts together with a 'Y' piece. or perhaps a simple flap valve to seperate them?
All help appreciated!
East
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Although they don't sell sofa beds, they do sell chairs, sofas, tables etc. They will fit anywhere.
East
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You can't have the word 'Sky' and 'free' in the same sentence.
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This will have a knock on effect to every single boater out there at some time in the future and a canal without a boat will be as much use as ........................... You decide.
In no way do I want to see a canal with no boats. But we must remember that naturalists, walkers, cyclists and fishermen/women will still use and value the canals.
Our plans are unchanged at becoming a livaboard in 2010/11 on a brand new British boat - well, English really. We will be retaining some property in the UK housing market to give us a choice of where to live when our health fails, as we not expecting the value of the boat to be more than 50% of what we will be paying for it.
Many years ago I lived as an ex-pat in Germany. When I arrived the people already there were complaining about how the value of the pound had fallen whilst they had been there etc. As a newcomer I thought it was great. The same may be happening to boatowners on the canals.
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OK people, id like a Hudini hatch fitted during the summer but some have said "STOP"!!
Do they drip and can it be stopped, oh and can you get double glazed units?
ChannelGlaze do double glazed Houdini hatches. IIRC they are about £500.00 each, plus VAT!
What do you do with your ash?
in Living Afloat
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Words almost fail me. Why would anyone think that it is acceptable to dump their rubbish in the canal, on the towpath, or in a hedgerow?
I assumed that forum members were canal enthusiasts!