Detling

I use XBMC on the boat on a seperate box (acer revo) which is also the boats computer for maps web surfing etc. I now run Kodi at home and I take a usb drive with all the TV and Films I want to watch, I copy those after having saved the XBMC/Kodi database info in the folders as seperate files. This means that the computer doesn't have to download all the series info and artwork when the usb drive is plugged in, otherwise it will spend ages downloading all that stuff plus it is several Kbytes per program and if you are taking a few hundred it adds up. The best bit is that it ticks the watched box when we have seen it so we don't have to remember where we are in a series and it looks pretty. This was all set up in 2012, would I use the same today probably not, maybe a small android box for Kodi or just the TV's own system. I would definitively NOT get a smart TV as the one I have is constantly chatting online even when watching live TV or a DVD. not a problem on unlimited package at home. You can use VLC to play pretty much any file on windows and android and you can connect most android devices to a TV via HDMI. ADDED I do not stream on the boat to b****y expensive.

"All of the circuits appear at the fuse cupboard to have the same size wiring and the same 8A fuse. I suspect that a bit less thought than one might hope for went into the design. ". Fuses are there to protect the wire on a boat not the device on the end, unlike the 240 volt fuse in your domestic appliance although there are only 3 common ratings 3, 5 and 13 amp and a multitude of appliance wattages

CRT is more like a highways authority in that it's remit is to provide a navigation/transport system, being able to moor on the towpath side is similar to parking on the road outside your terraced house. There is no housing obligation in CRT's remit just as a highway authority does not have to allow caravans to be parked and lived in, and indeed most prevent it. Then there is the cash strapped local authority which runs planning, which also has elected representatives who are only to happy to put their oar in.

I went up the Stockton flight this year strapped to my friends boat, we had 3 ashore and one driving both boats. Worked very well and saved me some fuel.

No real problems with charging just this time of year. Couple hours extra lights, even though LED. tending to stop at 3:30-4:00 and not 5:00pm no real solar charging any way and that has given up by 4:00 not even enough to power the lights etc... the only thing that could be less is the fridge freezer but only if I don't use the solid fuel stove so the living area stays warm, The fridge stays on as the freezer is combined and full, I could keep milk in cratch but no point. Point taken tho fatter cables are cheaper and as the calculator suggests currently about 0.5 volt drop, using 10mm will reduce that to 0.1 volt.

Currently my Webasto heater is wired via the original (webasto labeled)harness to the domestic bank on the other side of the boat, the wire looks to be about 2.5mm(squared) and is some 6 metres total. This sometimes causes problems in the morning as the volt drop + a 50% charged battery bank is insufficient to start the Webasto (12.2ish volts on the battery terminals 10-12 amp current according to ammeter). I would like to put a new extra battery dedicated to the webaso near the heater so the cable run will be a lot shorter, and the battery volts should be higher in the morning. This battery will be charged via a split charge relay with the domestic bank. My question is as the battery is only supplying the Webasto and that is allowed to be connected directly to a battery, do I need an isolator switch? or must the split charge relay go via an isolator switch, or can I feed the relay directly from the domestic bank.

A big plastic box, as used for garden tools, across stern it can hold lots of bags, then transfer to small plastic toy box with lid to keep inside and use as required. Toy box holds about 10kg so needs topping up every other day on average.

TV's suppliers are dependent on what the screen manufacturers produce, and they are driven by the big boys who sell screens in millions, they set the size and resolution and as you say 19 and 22 inch screens are available at 1080 and are recent designs (largely for computer screens) then there is a gap to 32 as a modern screen and then 42 upwards, it seems the public don't buy enough 24,28 and 36 sets to make it worth updating the screens to new technology, so they just continue to churn out 5-10 year old screens (design age) as it's cheap. Unfortunately these are the sizes we minority boaters want.

1 The main reason my alternator and solar are wired direct via a fuse is to protect all the 12 volt systems on the boat. If you have the alternator isolated from the battery via the switch and start the engine the alternator will send power to all the boats systems but with no regulation, ie, it could easily put 30 volts on to the 12 volt line as there is no battery to regulate and smooth it. Similarly the solar controller needs connecting to the battery before the panels to ensure it knows it is a 12 volt system and not a 24 volt one.

I noticed today that a boat in our marina has coiled his mains lead round his steel taff rail, this will basically cause an induced current/voltage in his boat as he has created a transformer. Is is possible the OP did something similar and could this lead to his problems, my knowledge of electrics tells me that coiling a Mains lead is bad and then providing a steel core to concentrate the magnetic field can only make things worse.

It seems to cost a lot more than crimp connectors

I have had ones that plug into sockets which interfere with the radio and ones that don't, The one that I have built into a socket from e-bay like the one above for a few pounds works well. It seems that are not all equal and price is no guide. They will all be built in China and some better than others but factory gate prices are probably only a few pennies different from the cheapest to the best, what the retailer sell it for is not related to quality. There is one advantage to the plug in type in that you can unplug it when not in use the wired in type will consume a few milliamps even with nothing connected, not really worth worrying about if you cruise or have solar.

which suggests they should be place far away from the exit at strategic points on evacuation routes.

I am thinking of fitting one of these and have 2 questions 1: It comes with a 200 amp shunt, I have a 3000 watt victron inverter which at full chat will exceed 200A on it's own. What happens, if SWMBO uses hairdryer and microwave at same time, not to mention the 12volt loads? 2: the BM1 looks the same but must have different software as it reads 100 A from the 50mV from the shunt whereas 50mV from the BM2 shunt is shown as 200A, other than that there doesn't seem to be any difference but the BM2 is a lot more beer tokens. any ideas?

Yep I hadn't noticed the 1000 watt bit I was thinking of a 2000 - 3000 watt inverter.

Since it was just one of three boats that came loose that suggests that the loose boats mooring practice could be improved on. (blue boat loose boat filming boat)

You are correct about the distribution of rings never being right! but you do not need your own rings, you can share them. In a busy spot pass your bow rope through the ring the guy in front has his stern line on, leaving a 10 foot gap between you, if you use your own ring you may well have a 30 foot gap as the rings are 20 feet apart. Four boats all 30 ft apart are occupying the space 5 could fit in etc

You can't have a flat tenner a night in London as it only adds up to 3650 pounds per year, very cheap for a London mooring, you need a sliding scale tenner for 2-4 nights, 20 for next 4 nights 40 for next and so on, this must be rigorously enforced and legally watertight, otherwise some tinpot lawyer is going to get rich at our expense. If you just do a tenner a night visitors will still be looking for a space.

As the Inverter is almost certainly capable of being the largest load on your batteries (into the hundreds of amps possible) the wires to the inverter should be the fattest wires from your batteries! even 25mm squared is not big enough with a kilowatt inverter more than a few inches away from the batteries.

As said brilliant for reversing you steer by nudging the bow one way or t'other with the bow thruster so much easier than using the tiller. I also find it useful when sharing a lock as it can be used to ensure the bow doesn't swing across when the other boat is coming in, also you can basically move the boat sideways across a lock using the engine and bow thruster, very useful when the poor person coming in second mis-judges the by-wash or is hit by a gust of wind and now needs to come in where you are.

The ones I have been aboard (2) are well fitted out and all worked fine. Just because something is cheaper doesn't mean it's crap just not an over inflated price. There are no fancy step carvings or fancy scroll work in the steelwork but they look reasonably well built. the engine is a bit under-powered on some of them and the wetroom bathroom floor not to everyones taste. The biggest problem I can see is the square cabin not being friendly to narrow tunnels, but would be no problem on the GU or Leeds Liverpool etc. The two I have been on were both liveaboard in marina and were liked by the owner.

I have 3 panels in series and have a mains voltage rated switch (240v 10A) on the input to the controller as well as an isolator on the controller out and a fuse by the battery bank

I used to be a Tattenhall marina same group as Saul and my Bollard kept tripping every time I plugged in many tests later I plugged in to the next door bollard all worked fine. Another guy tried the 1st bollard same result it tripped again no trouble on another bollard. So Tattenhall has a duff bollard they agreed but did not fix it in the year before I left. So it could be the bollard at Saul definitely try another preferably one that someone else has used so you know it works. Another other possibility is your batteries are low and the charger is pulling a lot of amps so switching the immersion on overloads the supply.

Now't to worry about. My Smartgauge takes a day or two to get back into the rhythm of life when I leave the marina, I recon day after day of no loads, no cycle of voltage seems to put it to sleep. Usually day one it under estimates the status (reads low) next day it reads high and by day 4 is on the button all the time. I have never checked the voltages though as I have never seen the need to bother. Morning one will state 75%, morning two 85% and morning three 80% same useage overnight, stopping each day at 100% and I certainly am not concerned at 75% as it is way over the 50% level. Only when stopping for a few days will I see below 60% readings. I have never seen the water pump or shower pump drop the voltage on the smartgauge or the voltmeter I have connected to the domestic batteries both are connected to the batteries by their own leads and do not share a lead with any load, it sounds as though maybe someone has connected the smartgauge to a convenient point near to it which just happens to also connect the water pump and is several feet from the battery bank, and not directly to the battery terminals via it's own fuse as stated in the manual

If you have several panels in series you could easily have over 100 volts DC on the panel connections, touching this would definitely hurt and being DC may be hard to let go, probably not fatal though.