rbateman

Hi all, Would anyone be able to recommend someone who'd be able to fit a kitchen on a widebeam based in London? I've just moved to a permanent mooring and decided to get someone in to take on the job (been getting it rebuilt over the last few years, taking on bits and pieces myself where I could). Ideally I'm hoping to get it done here on the mooring, before winter kicks off, though I may be being optimistic there. Anyway, any thoughts or recommendations warmly welcomed! cheers, Ryan

Hey all, In early January I bought an older widebeam (built in '74) that I'm currently in the midst of restoring. At the time, the boat was held in Shepley Bridge marina in Yorkshire, where (after the sale) the marina offered to black both the exterior and interior of hull (at a recommendation by the guy who undertook the safety survey.) Now, 6 months later, I've reached the point where I'm ripping up floorboards and rebuilding the interior, only to find that the the interior blacking they did consists of only as much as you can see when you lift the small hatches in the floor. Combined with pipes that water pipes that burst while the boat was in their care (the temperature caused them to burst - something I looked past at the time, as I wasn't sure whether it was firmly their responsibility to keep the boat warm during the sale), there are now various spots of rust throughout interior. This isn't a terrible problem - a big of grinding and painting - but I find it incredibly angering that something I paid for was, at best, half done. So, I was wondering whether anyone had any similar experience with them and whether they were known for doing this or whether it was something else. In every other respect, they seemed more than accommodating (going so far as to give me a hand moving the boat an hour or two upriver), so I'm not sure how far I should take this. Any thoughts or experience appreciated, Ryan The Dark Horse

Hi all, I'm just about to purchase two of these solar panels and was wondering whether anyone had any experience with mounting something similar on their roof and was able to recommend where best to get screw-down / secure mounts? I had a search through old posts and, while many discuss various options for securing solar panels or discuss building their own frames, no-one seems to have mentioned actually purchasing frames from a given site and how they found the experience of installing it (unless I missed a post somewhere). Thanks as ever for any thoughts or experience. Ryan

Dean, do you mind if I ask where you got your cabling and mounting frames? I'm hoping to order the exact same setup in the next day or so.

That looks about right. Thanks, guys - appreciate the personal experience and help.

Hi all, Had a search but couldn't seem to find a decent search term that yielded a result, so I was wondering: what's the best method for securing pictures frames? Some people have mentioned double-sided tape, but the links in results were dead and these frames are quite large(30cm x 20cm), so I was hoping for some live links and personal experience. Ideally the solution would be without having to drill into the frames, but that's possibly just wishful thinking on my part. Thanks in advance! Ryan

Thanks. They were £80 each. I don't have the dimensions to hand (but I can get them in a short while if necessary.)

I bought three 110AH Dual Purpose 12v batteries without thinking to ask what type of battery they are. They seem to be sealed (i.e. no place to top up water) and don't have any branding, though what labels they do have seem pretty similar to the Lucas brand of batteries. When setting up my charger and battery monitoring system, though, I need to know what kind they are - would it be safe to assume they're gel-based? Thanks!

I had been mixed up - it's a BMC 2.5. The good news is that I got it working in the end with a little help. It required a little priming and the diesel was a little low, but after all that it wasn't starting mostly just due to my inexperience. Tomorrow will be the first outing - moving it to where I can get it transported. Wish me luck!

Yeah, I've checked - I do have one and it seems to be down, so it should be working.

I noticed - I tend to shoot with "you guys" as a catch-all, just because it's the phrase I grew up with. I'll try to go with "you guys and gals" in future.

Ha. Fair point, though the marina owner seems like a nice enough bloke (already offered to run me through the locks for free to show me how it's done right.) If he starts mentioning cost, I'll back away and take Dave up on his offer (in exchange, of course, for a few pints.) You guys are the best.

Yep, it's this kind. I've left the key in that state for a good two minute before trying to crank it. It may just be a cold engine, but I worry that it's something like the diesel being off (which I don't know how to check) and that I'll do some damage to the engine. For the moment I don't need it - I can charge from the car-battery charger with land power - but I'm going to try finding the marina owner who's run it before and ask him to take a look.

As best as I can tell - there's a switch on the ignition board that's turned to On. I've given it a few minutes before I've tried to turn it over for the glowplugs to heat up, as I've been told that's necessary with the old BMCs.

From what I can tell it's a car-battery charger. Will have to look into getting a 3 stage. Yep, have a relatively good idea of how the alternator works. The engine doesn't want to seem to catch, though, but it turns over fine. I'm going to have to ask for some help with that from the marina owner I think.

New batteries are in! All three are 110AH and showing ±12.6v, which is good. Lights, water pump, and shower pump are back on (just in time for the extreme cold warning in Yorkshire). The shower pump works and seems to be pumping out fine. I'm not sure what my draw is, but I can't imagine it's a lot - only using the lights and water pump. Going to keep an eye on the voltage and not charge until it's 12.2, which I can't imagine would be anytime soon. I'm now terrified I'll run them down without noticing. How long would it take to charge them back to full from 12.2 using a 20amp Absaar charger? Haven't tried turning over the motor yet - that'll be next, I think. Thanks again, all. Going to go buy myself some real sheets and a duvet in celebration in preparation for the snow. Really couldn't have done any of this without all your help. I owe each and every one of you a pint.

Thanks, Dave - may well take you up on that. Looks as if new batteries are on their way so running around trying to make sure I get those today. Looks like the weather's taking a turn too - thankfully the stove's the one thing that's given me no grief.

Good morning Dean! No, sadly, after a night's charge the leisure batteries are only reading about 6v. I've given them up as dead. I'm going to go talk to someone at the marina office about local places to buy new ones today.

Thanks, Richard. I'd planned on replacing them after reading the survey but hadn't thought they'd be so shot as to not be able to get me a mile down the canal. A shame. I'll be buying on the recommendation of a friend, I think - I've furiously reading a Nigel Calder book on boating electrics but, as it's pretty clear, it's a lot to take in. Thanks again, all. You've really made me feel better.

Thanks, Richard. I'd planned on replacing them after reading the survey but hadn't thought they'd be so shot as to not be able to get me a mile down the canal. A shame. I'll be buying on the recommendation of a friend, I think - I've furiously reading a Nigel Calder book on boating electrics but, as it's pretty clear, it's a lot to take in. Thanks again, all. You've really made me feel better.

Thanks, Tim. Right now I need all the reassurance I can get. I really hope so. Thankfully I have a good fire and a small supply of whiskey, so I'm going to spend an hour or two checking on the battery charging process, then tuck in with a head-torch and a book. Thanks so much, everyone that responded. It's been a long, tiring weekend and you've made me feel a lot better..

I don't know what kind of tank it is - this wasn't noted in the survey originally. I've found the shower switch, but unfortunately the leisure batteries are too low to check it's working.

Yep, managed to find a landline connector. No-one around to ask, but have hooked it up. The charger is now working on the leisure batteries. I'm assuming it'll be fine to just leave to charge until morning? There's no chance they could overcharge?

Hi Paul. Yes, I've been checking intermittently with a multimeter. The leisure batteries are currently putting out a measly ±2V. I've charging them off the generator now. I'm guessing that'd take several hours to charge - would that be right? I might have to leave that till morning then. Yes, I had a survey done. They'd mentioned that I'd probably need new batteries though didn't mention that it was wired badly. It was also done prior to the pipes bursting.

Also, when we first turned the water on, a wonderful green slime poured out of the taps. This slowly cleared, but obviously I'm pretty sure that the water is be undrinkable. Would anyone be able to recommend a way to best clear the tank? Thanks, Matty. I had tried with all three batteries using the switch but with no luck. The charger says that all three are fully charged but I can't say I trust it. Would it register a battery as fully charged if it was supposed to be a 12V and was only putting out 8? (Even if that is just because it's knackered?) Ah, okay. I wasn't away there was a shower pump. Would that be manually activated or automatic?