Sea Dog

As quoted above in various places: Jonathan Ludford (CRT press office) "............ Regarding who is in charge, as above, the (VLK) role is advisory. So the boater is in charge of their lock and the VLK should check with them that are ready for paddles to be opened etc." I would have thought that pretty much resolves any confusion.

In duplicate, with a footnote amendment - you really are a lawyer!

Floating corkscrew and a multi-tool in the place you used to keep the large magnet. Don't forget to transfer the lanyard to the multi-tool!

A fair few chandlers carry switches of the size and type you're looking for. I can personally recall seeing them in Midland Chandlers and at Lyons.

I can see why you might be pleased with that!

Not sure how it works out as a percentage, but I thought the recommended clearance was a mattress plus half an inch.

Tempting fate, I know, but I'd be unpleasantly surprised if my bilge wasn't 100% dry! The Volvo water lubricated stern seal was not on my list of requirements when I bought my boat, but it has been a very welcome bonus. Now I've posted that, I await the horror stories and hope I haven't hexxed myself!

Hi dpaws, I'm skeptical about your idea, mainly because I think it's based on some flawed assumptions, but I like the idea that you're having the idea and sharing it here. I don't think you deserve grief for that, although some robust answers are inevitable, so I hope that you weather the storm. There's been a bunch of similar ideas challenging the conventional wisdom in narrowboat propulsion, none of which (in my opinion) come close to challenging it in reality usually because (again in my opinion) the implementation costs hugely outweigh the benefits. Nevertheless, I love the ideas. There are some actually out on the water, and 'NB Ampere' springs to mind as one. Not as unconventional as your idea, just a recent generation (sorry) of electric propulsion, but still unconventional at present. It's a beautiful boat to my own eyes and the systems are elegant from what I've read, but I'd be surprised if anyone would suggest it's really serious challenge as a mainstream power plant - yet. Possibly it's a folly, possibly it's a step in the right direction, but either way it's a welcome step in my view. Lest we forget, horses were the conventional power plant until someone came up with an idea to challenge that conventional wisdom. I don't think your idea will frighten the horses, but please don't let that put you off either thinking about it or sharing it with us! Best wishes

Fair enough. If you're really on a budget, I also have one of these I used for presentations on a laptop. You'd be amazed by the sound! You can also join two together for stereo and even more volume as suggested above. Other similar units are available - the thing is, you can charge them when you're running so power consumption isn't an issue. There's bound to be something similar within your budget that gives you these advantages without resorting to something designed for home use where power budget isn't a key concern. I'd recommend exploring the concept, even if you go back to your first thoughts in the end. Best wishes.

Crikey, we're having a bit of a run on alternative propulsion at the moment, aren't we. Healthy debate, I'm sure, but I'm not sure why so many folk seem intent to find ways to spend a fortune to implement an alternative to something as cheap to buy, economical to run safe and reliable as the well-established diesel engine. Having said that, does anyone see why a few 12v computer fans fitted to holes in the baseplate (with precious metal non-return valves to prevent water ingress, obviously) can't be used to provide lift, either to give a hover capability or just to reduce the displacement and hence improve fuel economy?

I use a Cambridge Go. It's rechargeable, so uses nothing whilst you're moored up - 10 hours per charge iirc. It plugs into the telly with a simple audio lead ( 3.5mm jack type) which I leave connected permanently. It will also bluetooth to your mobile phone (or any other source) for music or radio without having to disconnect the physical lead to the tv. Sound quality is very good for such a unit, and it's more than powerful enough to meet my needs in the narrowboat. Can't recommend it highly enough. This bunch have them at £119 http://www.richersounds.com/search/cambridge%20go

Does anyone else find it strange that a gas which is cited as the highest contributor to global warming can be used commercially in this way?

I have one of these and a couple which also have cigar lighter sockets too. What's handy is that the USB outputs are 1.0 and 2.1 amps, so they'll charge a range of stuff. They're very good, but even the dual type weren't that expensive so shop around.

Perhaps a bit more like how the Navy do it then?

Yes, there is. There was a guy at Crick show who made and fitted these and also did custom fitted blinds that fit front door glazing, etc. You're probably wanting details now, and I haven't a clue, but maybe this will jog the memory of someone who does?

And that's a bad thing? They are quite a large and respected organisation, their business is hugely data intensive and their output relies on the product of a great deal of process-intensive computer modeling - I can't really see that investing in computing is anything but essential to their business.

One of the things that the Met Office and BBC have had friction over in the past has been the Met Office taking issue with the BBC "dumbing down" their weather output. With that in the backdrop and the possibility that other nations national forecasters may be in with a shout, it would seem unlikely that the Met Office's loss isn't also going to be ours.

I wish you every success with your quest. As an engineer I enjoy such exploration and pushing established boundaries is essential to progress. However, if you're doing it to avoid spending long hours deglazing the bores of a more conventional power plant, you may be somewhat overestimating the scale of the issue! I think you've already spent more time on this idea than you'll ever spend deglazing bores, but don't let that stop you if you're having fun.

A railwaymen's picnic?

I'm pretty sure the 3000 bit refers to its output in watts as it is on my Mastervolt unit, so there's hope there should be enough available to run your washer. I could tell you the dip switch settings for mains support on my MV, so someone with a Victron will be able to do the same, I'm sure.

Four months out, only one bunch of boaters were grumpy with you and you know they were wrong. Result! You would probably have had more stick if you'd spent the time visiting nunneries! I'd take that as a sign you were being very nice and had a lovely time

I just paid the best part of ₤800, and a great proportion of posters here will do similarly every year. Do I still need to add my ten pennyworth?

Not sure you should realise that dream at Standedge - at 3 odd miles that would either be a nightmare or one of those dreams you don't wake up from!

Congratulations! I hope you're very happy together. (Now change your name before the OP catches on )