Sea Dog
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Posts posted by Sea Dog
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12 hours ago, David Schweizer said:
Which you would not need to do with a good quality spirit based Varnish, unless you seriously mis-treated the varnished item.
You may well be right, but the serious mistreatment amounted to it being exterior woodwork exposed to UV and foul weather. Of course, you could say I should've revarnished it more regularly, but then my 'ease of application' bit kicks in.
8 hours ago, blackrose said:But that's a stain not a varnish. David said "Water based varnishes raise the grain, swell the timber, and don't last." If that's not your experience that's probably because you're talking about a different product, not varnish.
This may well be it, although it doesn't seem to stain per se, perhaps because I used the very pale light oak. However, the Ronseal does the job required which is to weatherproof the exterior woodwork with a nice aesthetic finish. Worked nicely on the internal woodwork around my rear slide too.
2 hours ago, Bargebuilder said:Yachties with lots of gleaming brightwork, many of whom use extremely good quality varnish, often overcoat every single year. The price of not doing so and allowing localised degradation to set in is often the need to remove the lot, back to bare wood and start again with thinned priming coats, then at least 4 to 6 additional coats. Localised repair to traditional varnish is difficult and to the perfectionist, probably not acceptable.
However, you wouldn't catch them using Ronseal, even though it is very easy to apply, and overcoat, and to freshen up after 3-5 years.
In a nutshell, traditional varnish looks better (much better), but Ronseal type wood stains are much easier and quicker to apply and maintain.
This sums up perfectly the direction I've taken. I'm not sure about varnish looking 'much' better, but if an expert was doing my woodwork for me for a similar outlay, I'd happily let them use it! They could even use the Le Tonkinoise I bought for the job before I realised I'd rather use the additional time to be out boating!
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28 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:
Water based Varnishes raise the grain, swell the timber, and don't last.
Not my experience with Ronseal's 10 year Woodstain Stain. I'd agree that the 10 year bit is somewhat fanciful, but it's so much easier to get a decent finish with the recommended 3 coats, and so much easier to 'refresh' than yacht varnish or similar, that it's not an issue to revisit every 3-5. Certainly seen no evidence of raising the grain when I took my formerly solvent varnished cratch boards back to the wood.
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12 minutes ago, David Mack said:
You wouldn't want to mix up your Elsan fluids though!
Always read the label.
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19 hours ago, Gybe Ho said:
To anyone thinking of responding, first believe in fairies
I'd add a 2 foot space for the fairies to live in. Now I'm still stuck with the same useable boat space on the inside, but it's 2 feet longer on the outside! If I could have another wish, I'd wish I hadn't been persuaded to believe in fairies...
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Elsan do "fresh water tank cleaner". With such a name, it's almost like its made for the job! About tenner for a bottle, which nominally does a 250 litre tank iirc.
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On 25/07/2024 at 15:42, David Mack said:
Not 70 ft!
I reckon whoever specifies ring spacing thinks everyone has a 55-60 ft long boat.
You definitely wouldn't be saying that if you had a 55-60 ft boat!
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Moored in Castlefield Basin for 2 nights a month ago. Stuck our nose in expecting there to be no room and It to still be an unpleasant mooring. It doesn't look much different in itself, but the transformation as a decent place to moor was huge. Perhaps it's the proliferation of new apartment buildings around it, but key I think was that the once public car park is now private and has barriers, so it's not a magnet at night. No anti-social behaviour, just a relatively peaceful place with plenty of foot traffic to stop it being the dimly lit dodgy backwater it was a couple of years ago. I'd happily moor there again, which i didn't expect to be something I'd say.
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15 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:
I would have said so, and in the unlikely event that you are short, you just get another tin. It's not like you have to worry about colour match is it?
This. I think you'll have change from 2 5 litre cans per coat. Either buy on a sale or return basis, or black it somewhere you can buy as you go along. Don't delay booking it in somewhere though - it seems to be harder to find a suitable slot every time.
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19 hours ago, Graham Davis said:
Looking at the photos I don't think that is a slipway, more just an arm off the main line.
It says it has a slipway in the description. (But then, of course, an estate agent wrote that!)
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On 08/07/2024 at 20:57, Mike Tee said:
Hope the sun roof was closed or it will never work.
You'd be hard pressed to find a car with it's sunroof open this "summer"!
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8 hours ago, Midnight said:
How hard is it to type '510766' ?
517066? Really easy!
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7 minutes ago, Sue68 said:
I used cooking oil on our interior wood. Cheap and always available.
Sue
On purpose or are you reaping the benefits of being a messy cook?
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5 hours ago, Lady M said:
If you use varnish, please make sure it is NOT water based. You should be able to tell this from the brush cleaning instructions. DAMHIK
Interested to hear what happened to you as I stopped using yacht varnish on my exterior wood several years ago and changed to Ronseal 10 year woodstain. Its water based, but performs as well if not better in this application, although I'd give it 5 years rather than 10. Its much easier to use and... wash brushes in water.
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2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:
If you look back at the wake of most first time boaters its quite zigzagged
Perhaps they're worried about being torpedoed?
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1 hour ago, blackrose said:
It's just as professional as using P-clips below the terminals which you yourself suggested.
Just for accuracy I actually said....
On 28/06/2024 at 10:27, Sea Dog said:By way of suggestion, since it may be helpful, fitting a raised batten to the bulkhead to support the clips might be one solution, whilst routing the cables at a reasonable bend radius back to the bulkhead for clipping might be another.
And I also said...
20 hours ago, Sea Dog said:I think we could agree that Victron could have possibly implemented improved cable connections
And I also said...
20 hours ago, Sea Dog said:not do I wish to give the OP hard times
Which should have started "nor", not "not"! I still don't.
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10 hours ago, MtB said:
Like the Anchor at High Offley?
I've been there many times and always tried to like it, but finally concluded I just don't.
Funny you should say that... Thanks, you've helped.
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42 minutes ago, Puffling said:
From what I've seen of the OP's other handiwork, he's more than capable
I take your general point about the cable clamps requiring the fitter/purchaser providing their own solution to ensuring the cables are properly, although it's not an insurmountable issue.
On 26/06/2024 at 11:12, blackrose said:heatsink.
Edited
However, the installation here doesn't look highly professional, does it. The OP has provided another photo above where he's later used a patress to clamp the two heavy output cables, but the two lighter input cables and the ground here were much easier to bend gently and clip neatly to the bulkhead yet were also left trailing. Plus, he's mounted the unit further from the bulkhead than Victron's design made provision for as a "just in case" measure which exacerbated the cable securing issue.
I think we could agree that Victron could have possibly implemented improved cable connections, but to run their products down when, to my engineer's eye
at least, it's more the fitting that leaves something to be desired is a wee bit unfair on them.
Anyway, I don't have shares in Victron, nor do I expect to everyone to meet the highest professional standards in self installations, not do I wish to give the OP hard times, so I'll leave it at that.
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I'm sure you did think of it, but you haven't come up with a solution other than blaming Victron for poor design, which is not something I've seen in the Victron products I have fitted.
That being the case, your cables remain at risk (which I can see you don't want) but there's more than one way to skin the unsupported cables cat. Treating them like flex into a plug top with just a cable clamp in the terminal isn't one of them though as it doesn't stop them flapping about and is probably why Victron don't offer it.
By way of suggestion, since it may be helpful, fitting a raised batten to the bulkhead to support the clips might be one solution, whilst routing the cables at a reasonable bend radius back to the bulkhead for clipping might be another. The latter is how I've supported the Victron MPPT cables it in own boat.
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On 26/06/2024 at 13:23, blackrose said:
I have PV cables carrying potentially lethal voltages just hanging from the terminals of my MPPT. If I accidentally knocked them and they came away it could be very dangerous. I'll have to do something about that.
Yep, cable clips. I can't imagine why, given you obviously realise there's an issue, you didn't do that immediately.
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Nice to hear that - I'll put it back on the list!
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3 hours ago, matty40s said:
...which is what happens if you use it to moor up and turn the engine off.
Although if you use it to push you alongside, now you're sucking silt and debris from the edge through your thruster. Best not to do that for obvious reasons, and then you'll also leave your battery fully charged after you you moor up.
If you use it a lot or insist on mooring with it, then follow @matty40s sound advice above.
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I think we should also consider the security aspect here. What if everyone is used to seeing any Tom, Dick and Harry wandering on and off boats, starting engines, moving them, etc? If it's almost always the usual guy, the brass necked burglar or boat thief stands out to the staff or other moorers and quick check with the office will answer any suspicions.
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3 hours ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:
Yes I’d forgot they’d gone bust.
I understand what you’re saying but we don’t have to like it and can object.
I don't disagree with you, just answering your question. I think it would be rather lovely to preserve these stables (and the rest of salvageable Gas Street) as an oasis amongst the new development. One can often act as a counterpoint to the other and they end up enhancing one other.
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9 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:
I can’t see why the existing buildings can’t be smartened up and repurposed.
Because there's no money in it and the council is bankrupt so investors for that approach will be thin on the ground. Birmingham's changing landscape is being driven by business and private investment.
Locks on the River Severn
in General Boating
Posted
All as above, but note that the opening times and days are restricted in the winter months when the same lock keeper will travel to see you through multiple locks. Ring Gloucester Lock for bookings and info.