Sea Dog
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Posts posted by Sea Dog
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Our shower is done out in cushionfloor (fitted from new by a reputable builder). Looks very smart, lots of choice, pretty economical, completely waterproof, easy to seal. I'd certainly go for it again.
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You can stick both positive and negative in your mouth of 12v and come to no harm
Don't try this at home (or anywhere else). There's been quite a lot in the news just in the last few days about the very nasty burns inflicted in the mouths and throats of kids by those coin-sized lithium batteries and they're just 3v. It's current that does the damage (ie milliamps) not the voltage. 'Volts jolts; mils kills' as they say.
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Surely this will make it taste funny. Best to leave in in the salt cellar as normal I reckon, even in really frosty weather.
MtB
That made me laugh, that did!
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What I mean is once its plugged in how do you know it's doing its job?
Thanks.
Mine has a meter on the front which has green, amber and red sectors indicating the difference in potential between the onboard earth and the shore supply earth. If it rises beyond 1.4 volts, the pairs of diodes will conduct. They are designed to do this for the earth protection of the onboard systems, but below this value they effectively break connection to the shore to isolate the low voltages associated with galvanic corrosion. I think mine's a Aquafax product - give them a googling.
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I have cylindrical rubber fenders which do hang in the water. What's the issue with that exactly? I've never had a problem in the 10 years I've had the boat and never got hung up because it's a widebeam and I can't use narrow locks anyway. As I said, it's mainly a narrowboat thing.
I think you'll find it's not mainly a narrowboat thing, although sliding a 6ft 10in boat into a 7ft lock does rather encourage good fender discipline.
However, I know a lot of yachties and blue water motorboaters (a sector which hugely outnumbers narrowboats) who all frown on those who don't bring in their fenders when underway - sloppy practice in their eyes. They do tend to exercise their entitlement to fly undefaced blue ensigns though, so they'd get stick of their own from some quarters for that! Ho-hum.
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Yup, i found my re-licencing similarly efficient. Of course, it's only sensible to make sure that the bit that brings in the money is efficient, and I don't have enough experience of CRT to judge them, but it never hurts to give credit where credit is due.
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my only worry is the steering position is outside
Hi HS,
You do realise you're posting on a forum frequented (predominantly) by narrowboat owners/enthusiasts who mostly stand outside on the back end of their boats to steer them? We usually have somewhere warm, dry and cosy to go when we've had enough though, which it appears you don't.
Oh, and if that's your only worry, you're gonna be quite surprised by quite how much else you really should have been worried about!
That said, you are getting some good pointers which I hope will lead you to do a little more research than you did before you bought the boat. Please do make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you set sail because, however blindly you appear to have gone into boat ownership (which is why so many here are aghast and appear a wee bit negative), I wish you all the best for your adventure and hope you stay safe.
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Never put more than two keys on a cork ball key ring it will sink.
Never stand on the front deck looking backwards you never know what is going to hit you on the back of the head.
Never get between the boat when it is moving and a hard place.
Never leave a windlass attached to the paddle gear
I don't wish to be picky after you've taken a bit of a hit over Point 1 but, whilst Point 3 is good advice, don't get between your boat and a hard place when it isn't moving either..... it just might start moving and you ain't gonna be much of a fender.
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Well I can sure see why you were attracted to that big ol' beauty - she looks the business!
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I thought it was just me. Last Jan/Feb we travelled across the midlands from Crick to Droitwich and it was a case of planning 'be here by....' 'don't get there before....', etc, but it was doable with a bit of juggling and a few days wait here and there. This winter's cruise, (who cares where?!) seems to be a lot harder to work out. I was expecting, similar to the OP, that if I can't get through that way I can always take the long way round, but most of my ideas seem to be stymied by the alternatives also being subject to closures. I'm sure winter works are a planning nightmare and you can't please everyone all the time, but is this year more difficult than usual or was I just lucky last winter?
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And look to see who commisioned the survey, because sometimes the survey is done for none other than the 'broker' themselves, so they're not really a broker but the owner which is a different game. That's straying towards a different topic really, but my point is that researching brokers, etc, should probably be something you're doing before you sell the house and end up in a rush to buy the boat, which can never be a good thing! If the house offer is staying on the table, you have a golden opportunity to take a little time to find the right boat and get the right deal. Take your time and be sure all your bases are covered before to sign up. Good luck though, I hope it works out well for you.
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I went base over apex on frost as I stepped onto the pontoon one dark night last winter when taking the dog for her late night consitutional. She's a Labrador and swims like a fish but she's been nervous as hell on the pontoon since then. Reading above about someone drowning and thinking about how I went down like a sack of the proverbial, I'm realising that this is quite a serious subject!
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We have a Krupps Dolce Gusto machine which I used to use on batteries while keeping an eye on their state of charge. We happily go 3 days without going below 60% charge including coffee machine usage but I noticed that it makes quite a difference to engine revs when cruising. As someone mentioned, it's drawing well over a hundred amps on the 12v side of the inverter and clearly works the alternator quite hard. The inverter coped coped fine, but I decided not to give the battery bank that sort of heavy hit. We only use it when on shore supply or whilst steaming now, but it still more than earns its keep!
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watching it gives me my canal fix when i cant be there myself! Though i do cringe at Tim's abilities to tell us in one breath that Pru has difficulty remembering things and in the next breath complain that she hasnt "cast him off" Maybe he should do some work himself after all going up in a lock means he could help out more! That's my little gripe anyway!!
Yeah, that pretty much matches what I thought. Instead of expecting Pru to remember when exactly to cast off, he could help her by just saying 'cast off' when he's ready. Frankly, he really ought to do that whether or not she has short-term memory challenges - the most capable crew member really shouldn't be expected to (or attempt to) predict the skipper's intentions. Stuff happens - what if the skipper's not ready?
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FWIW, here's the scenario (for summer at least) I had in mind:
- Run the main diesel (with reasonably good silencing) most of the time when cruising, with fully-electric "silent running" in special cases
- A smaller very quiet diesel generator to charge the batteries as required when not cruising
- All-electric utilities (water heating, cooking, etc)
- I'd use solar panels to the extent they're cost-effective, but I don't see how they can provide 100% of the power requirements for a narrow boat, even in summer
My earlier question about using two smaller diesels rather than one large one was to see if I could perhaps use two main generators rather than one main and a complementary generator (assuming the diesels are only used as generators). Probably not, but it would be nice if it worked out - that way I'd have a 10 or 15 HP generator, and could run all my utilities at once plus some power tools
I don't think this would end up much more complicated than equivalent function with a diesel engine driving the propeller mechanically, with multiple on-board systems for everything else. This assumes I'd have a generator either way of course, but that's high on my wish list anyway. It might end up more expensive though, or impractical due to space (for example I doubt I could get two small diesels into the engine space of an existing trad/semi-trad/cruiser hull).
In terms of costs, it should save a little on diesel engine costs (smaller, and running at their optimum revs all the time) but probably not even enough to cover battery replacement. Quite a lot less hassle with water and boat heating though (no pipes and radiators), and power for electrically-powered tools, a winch, etc.
There are a number of reasons to go for Diesel-Electric drive in surface vessels (I have experience in RN ships using it) but I can't really see any that would apply in a narrowboat, and none worth pursuing once cost is factored in.
Perhaps the thought of silent running is the attraction but, if you can't get a good enough result from pretty mainstream gear, a cocooned diesel would surely get close enough at a fraction of the cost of Electric propulsion? Beta do those off the shelf too, and their disadvantages (chiefly access based) would be nothing compared to those arising from the complex systems in prospect.
I can''t see logic in running a main diesel for propulsion at a fraction of its capacity and then running another smaller quieter diesel once you've stopped so you can charge your batteries. Particularly as the 'special cases' I'd see for narrowboats to be silent are almost exclusively when they're moored up!
As for any fuel savings, you would have to do some galactic mileages before any fuel savings would pay for extra engines/generators/batteries/control systems. Let's face it, 1-1.5 ltr/hr isn't exactly gas guzzling as it is!
Interesting project perhaps, but I think I'd read about someone else's experimental exploits and spend my own money on what works. Fun subject to kick about though and some interesting responses too, so please don't think I'm having a go! I'd love to see it - I just wouldn't want to buy and run it.
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....... I'm sure it's a nasty, tedious, dirty task, but doing it oneself one gets to see what's what, and renting a covered dock for a week gives each of three coats 2 days each to dry.
Will be an experience, anyway.
We did ours last month and it was nothing like as bad as some would lead you to believe. The preparation was the hardest part as always, but it was not that bad with a couple of decent scrapers and regular blade changes. Putting the (room temperature) blacking on was neither that hard nor that messy. For info, we replaced 2 year old Intertuf 16 with 2 coats of Rylards Premium which is relatively thin so penetrates well, followed by a 3rd coat of Rytex which is relatively thick, and a 4th and final coat of Premium because it has some diesel resistance. I can't compare Rylards with other products as this was my first time, and I've yet to see how well it lasts, but it went so well that SWMBO, who was not looking forward to the job at all, is now perfectly happy that we do it again next time.
As you say, it will be an experience - in our case it was a surprisingly good one!
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http://samsonandlion.co.uk/ The best thing about the Stourbridge 16. Right alongside lock 5. Friendly people and a great pint. On Sunday lunchtimes we have found free bar snacks too. On our first visit it was a bowl of chips and bread'n'butter, just make your own chip butties. On our way back the following week it was slices of veal and ham pie. We call it Black Country tapas.
That's good info Pophops, cos it doesn't look like much from the canal. We kept going down the flight when we passed it earlier this year, but we'll more than likely pop in next time now. Cheers
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have a frost stat on my Eberspacher- left the boat but have been told by nearby boat residents that it is on for prolonged periods and when it has not been too cold. Upon checking see that it comes on at 5C or below and cannot be altered- surely that is set too high and it should only come on at say 2C or below. The cost of the diesel is also a factor. Turned off all the 12v circuits but still plugged into mains and it still comes on.
Question
1. is 5C too high for a winter setting
2. how do I isolate the heater
3. have an oil filled 700w radiator with frost guard that I intend to put in the boat over winter, will that suffice but I shall drain water
4. do I have to empty the waste tank for winter?
You may wish to look at how you use your diesel heater for reasons other than disturbing the neighbours, Below is a direct quote from Eberspacher's Technical Bulletin 281 dated 05/2012, which details the main reasons they found for the premature failure of diesel heaters on inland waterways boats:
Using the heater as a frost watch heater is not advisable. If it must be done, keep the radiators turned up so the
heater runs in its high heat mode, rather than starting up and running in low heat, i.e. ticking over.
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I use one of these to measure how much is in the tank. It measures the level by the pressure. The one I have is the liquid Crystal vertical one. Very easy to fit and if you don't have a handy electrical supply you could run it off a dry cell battery like 2 lantern batteries.
http://mcsboatproducts.co.uk/portfolio/fresh-water-gauge/
http://mcsboatproducts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fresh_water.png
I have one of those too. If you place it where mine is, up forward next to the fresh water pump, you'll have a ready source of 12v to the pump. Doesn't really matter if it doesn't work when the pump is electrically isolated at it's master switch, nor if the reading is affected when the pump runs when a tap is opened. With power to the pump and no demand, ie most of the time, the gauge will show your tank level. Easy to calibrate too - never been caught out yet. A similar gauge on the holding tank is a slightly less reliable beast.....!
ETA 'less' before reliable - it's an experience I was trying to forget!
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At the moment my wife and I switch the pump on and off while the other is in the shower.
Ah, then you're missing the delights of a shower whilst cruising, which also means your hot water is being replenished as you use it and you end your day with a full tank of hot water . As Nick says above, you're safe to leave a Gulper running whilst you soap up so, if your pump makes that gulping sound, enjoy your new found freedom!
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Great Canal Journeys conjures up something rather grander and more adventurous for me. No wish at all to knock the programme, which was pleasant enough, but I can't help thinking 'Nice Little Canal Trips' would have been a more appropriate title.
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Always remember an aquintance of mine who obviously always got off his boat the same way until one day after turning said boat around to do some work on it woke up early the next day to go to work, stepped off it the usual way straight into the cut. My only regret is I wasn't there to see it
Now that's just plain selfish!......
What about all the others who would've loved to have watched?!
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Never, and I'm so confident that I won't that my latest mobile phone is a Sony Xperia - waterproof to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes!
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Lots of choices, but I use Elsil Fresh Water Tank Clean as an annual treatment. The litre bottle does about a 200 litres iirc, but I doubt a bit either way is an issue. Based on peroxide I believe, so oxygen is the active ingredient hence non-toxic, no nasties, no taste issues, won't bother the fishes - Google it for the full details.
You can save some, maybe most, of the eight quid I splashed out last year by using bleach, milton fluid or something similar as someone will be along to say shortly.
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bathroom light RCD
in Boat Equipment
Posted
Chemical burns may well be an issue too, but the interview I heard on the radio seemed to be about electrical burns. A quick googling revealed this (although it's from the mail online so it could be bolleaux):
The danger is all the more worrying for parents because once caught in the throat, the batteries send an electrical current through the tissue, eventually burning a hole in the trachea or oesophagus – without children showing immediate signs of injury.