ChrisPy

with a distinct lack of personal data and a username like that why do you expect anyone to want to PM you?

yes. I used it exclusively for shore power connection and boat wiring, with loads at least as high as 1600W. That's only about 6.5A.

clamp the ring as best you can to a piece of wood and drill out to 8mm with very light pressure. take care because the soft copper will snatch and twist if you are clumsy.

for how much longer do I have to look at a bare-assed woman every time I open CWDF??

yes and yes. the proportion of air space is a factor of the shape of the stones only, not their size. there is logic in using BIG stones (say 20mm or even 40mm, single size), and it doesn't need to be pea shaped. Natural river bed gravel is much better (harder, better shaped) than the normally available crushed stone that is used in concrete.

just to be controversial, I suggest blacking .................... ............. coat

................ or even Michelangelo there is a school of thought that believes that a well coated electrode (steel hull) with a bare patch (e.g. scrape damage) will suffer from extensive pitting of the bare patch, whilst an uncoated hull will corrode more uniformly with less depth of local pitting.

it isn't if they are properly packed in to fill the spaces. it is if they are not restrained in any direction.

Stability is governed by a factor called the Metacentric Height, which is related to the difference in the level (height) of the Centre of Buoyancy of the hull (approx 1ft below the waterline) compared with the Centre of Gravity (centre of all the combined weights which is perhaps 6" above the waterline). The MH decreases and stability improves as the centre of gravity drops. Therefore stability is very much dependant on the position and weight of the ballast. The displacement of the boat is not fixed, if the boat is tender you can always increase the draft slightly by adding ballast which will have a dramatic effect.

proper clean gravel of hard stone, single sized (say 20mm) should not retain water for long. If it is contaminated with sand or dust then it is definitely unsuitable.

it can't shift fore and aft because of the bottom stiffeners. it can shift left and right, which may happen if for example you inadvertantly got stuck on a bank. unlikely to shift in a seaway unless the sea is so rough the boat is about to be sunk! I suggest that some baffle boards should be fixed between the bottom stiffeners to prevent side to side movement.

agree. Ideally the busbar is part of the breaker unit. My fuse panel has a common feed from the battery for all the circuits.

heat is lost immediately from steel to water, such that the steel temperature is effectively the same as the water. The transfer process is less efficient in air, especially still air, so there will be a small temperature differential between steel and air. However, in view that the steel is on the uninsulated outside, it will make little difference to the rate of heat loss. Imagine the inside of the boat is at 25C and the air or water is at 5C (actually the air temperature will vary around 5C while the water temperature will be relatively constant). The rate of heat loss is related to the temperature difference across the insulation, which is 20C in the case of water and maybe 18C in the case of air. Not a very significant difference.

Kipoint sell inverters from Taiwan which appear to be the same as Sterling. I assume Sterling put their own badge on the Kipoint inverters. The manual was identical. Mine was about half the price of the Sterling equivalent even after paying freight. Customs didn't charge duty. With due respect to Sterling, there was none of their model in stock anywhere in the UK at the time, and they couldn't give me a date when new supplies would arrive, so I looked elsewhere. The unit was a 1500W pure sine combi inverter/charger. You pay less by importing direct, but of course there is no effective warranty. Suited me fine.

in a super eco house, if you have no ventilation except heat exchange type air changes, no draughts, air lock doors and scandinavian triple glazing it is possible to have a zero energy house which relies on the heat generated as a bi-product by the occupants and appliances. Such a house must have thick insulation. But if, like in a boat, you lose significant heat through the floor and windows, there is no point in reducing the heat loss through the walls beyond a certain point. e.g. if you lose (say) 50 units of heat though uninsulated areas, there is no point in spending money and losing space to reduce the heat lost through the walls from 11 units (for 25mm insulation) to 1 unit (approx for 300mm insulation).

is the bow thruster battery separate from the engine and domestic batteries, and fitted at the bow? if you have plenty of volts (and available amp-hours) at the battery then your problem is likely to be the relay switch contacts (fitted under the grey cover) which can be cleaned (carefully - they are silver(?) plated) or replaced (speak to the nice people at Allbright International). I had a similar problem until I fitted a local battery. Low volts causes the contacts to chatter (not enough volts to hold them closed) which burns the contact faces.

the converse is that 1" lets 11% heat to escape, and 2" only lets 5% escape. As Mike has pointed out, the balance needs to be drawn with the amount lost through windows, vents, etc., where you may lose perhaps 15% of your heat. 1", if achieved consistently throughout the boat, including hidden corners, etc. is probably as much as anyone needs.

As far as I remember there are a few machine screws holding the motor into the drive gear. Undo them and lift the motor off. Simples! I sent my motor to an autoelectrical workshop that specialised in rebuilding starter motors. Presumably you sorted the brushes - what was the outcome? In my experience the motor shouldn't wear out (unless it does so through lack of use) in normal service (only a few seconds running each time you use the boat). The problem often lies with the contactor (in the grey box cover) which can be fixed by a phone call to Allbright International. DO NOT go to Vetus for electrical spares or service. Remember they only assemble available electrical parts onto their drive unit.

Dulux Weathershield can be mixed to any colour you want - there are hundreds/thousands of colour options. B&Q used to do it but they seem to be changing over to Valspar about which i know nothing.

please can you be more specific ... list a few examples perhaps? ................ Old Goat, any input please?