cuthound
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Posts posted by cuthound
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5 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:
^this
I usually spray some WD40 PTFE spray onto a rag and then wipe down all the brass runners, if the boat has been unused for a while it goes from almost impossible to move to something akin to a bobsleigh on ice
In the past i used to polish up the brass runners first, but these days i've learned to live with the tarnished look. Life's too short.
Likewise and it avoids any potential repainting issues with silicon causing "fish eyes" in new paint.
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4 minutes ago, Llamedos said:
Same principle then. What was the switchboard controlling?
DC generators (mains driven) for telecomms equipment and battery charging.
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31 minutes ago, Llamedos said:
That's right. Most of the better ones have a spring loaded mechanism to achieve that.
My first experience of DC isolators were sprung edge knife switches on DC switchboards like the one in the photo. The springs had to be periodically changed because when they lost tension some really spectacular arcs could be drawn, much to the detriment of the isolator switch!
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5 hours ago, nicknorman said:
The arcing on the DC only arises due to inductance in the circuit. The heater in the video has a lot of coiled wire inside which I guess gives it plenty of inductance. I don’t know what the inductance of a solar panel itself is, not much I’d have thought. And the wiring is in straightish lines so again very little inductance. So I think the video rather over-eggs the issue as applicable to solar panels.
Whilst of course it’s true that a switch rated for ac will have a different (much lower) current rating for dc, that is only an issue when interrupting a high current with significant inductance in the circuit. It has no bearing on the current rating whilst the switch is on. And if you only switch it off when the current is low (batteries fully charged, darkish etc) then again no problem.So yes of course the correct answer is to ensure that the dc rating of the switch is adequate, but in practice let’s not over scare-monger!
As well as a higher current rating, DC isolators should have a shorter "arc time" (the switch opens faster) to minimize the racing which continues on DC, whereas AC automatically goes down to zero every 50mS as it changes from the positive half cycle to the negative half cycle of the sine wave.
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45 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:
Bring back keel hauling.
But the canals are rarely deep enough for that these days...
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5 hours ago, Gybe Ho said:
In that case you should have been equally intrigued as to why after multiple days of blue sky weather a noticeable number of boats were running their engine while moored up between 4pm and 5pm as was @BoatingLifeUpNorth2 over smoking chimneys in the current heatwave.
In the politics section there is speculation about ULEZ type legislation being applied to boaters. Our case is not helped when members of the public can see narrowboats emitting CO2 in heatwave summer weather when no reasonably equipped boat should need to. Solar dump can be implemented via a human brain and index finger pressing an immersion heater button.
Of course, if you move the boat a reasonable distance every day, it will charge the batteries and heat the water without the need for any solar.
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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:
But not as bad as this ............................
That could be the result of testing the prototype "Float-A-Poo"...
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3 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:
I was forced to do this a few weeks ago, due to a blocked drain between my house and the septic tank down by the river. It took a fortnight to discover the site of the blockage (tree roots) dig it out and clear it, then replace a length of drain, during which time I couldn't use the WC at all.I therefore went and got a very cheap 'portable toilet' from Argos (basically a bucket with a seat) and used my huge supply of sawdust. The result went into one of my 'Dalek' composting bins together with other composting material.
Actually, I'm rather looking forward to finding what the result is next year, if that doesn't sound too weird.
Excrementate, excrementate...
Damn, I see @Russ T got there first.
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46 minutes ago, Tonka said:
Fill them in then there safe
Yes, but then you have to provide alternative drainage facilities where roads drain into canals.
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6 hours ago, Russ T said:
Usual rules apply. Hull, hull, hull. Engine, Engine, engine.
Whilst rockwool isn't as desirable as spray foam, if well done, it is certainly acceptable, and probably (imo) better than sheets of polystyrene.
When I was buying my boat the insulation was described as rockwool. My surveyor said it is OK provided measures have been taken to stop it reaching the baseplate, as it wicks any water there up, causing rust on the inside of the cabin sides. On hearing this I removed the trim boxing in the heating pipes in the bathroom, to find the insulation was 3M Thinsulate, glued to the cabin sides. It has turned out to be good, providing almost as much thermal insulation as sprayfoam but better noise insulation.
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15 hours ago, GUMPY said:
My 1993 boat had Sprayfoam insulation
Just look and it will be obvious what it is.
So did my first shareboat which was built in 1992. I agree, just take a look and the type of insulation will be obvious.
13 hours ago, MtB said:Its quite likely the broker is just quoting what the owner says it is, and it sounds to me as though he or she has no idea.
I'm not quite sure how Gumpy thinks you can tell by looking. All the insulation on my boats is fully concealed.
On my boat I just removed a section of trim hiding the pipework to the bathroom radiator and voila, the insulation was visible.
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11 hours ago, Lily Rose said:
No it isn't.
The most plausible explanation for a boat to be running their engine is to either be charging their batteries or heating water. Or both. The batteries don't need to be knackered.
The battery charging is more likely if they don't have solar (which is the case for a hefty proportion of boats) or the solar they have got, in the weather conditions for that day, is insufficient to cover the amount of leccy they have been using or will be using. Or they are moored in shade which can often be the case with overgrown hedges or lots of trees.
I'm not going to dispute your 10% to 15% figure, because I wasn't there, but in my 10 years of experience I don't think I've ever been moored up near that many boats running their engines apart from once*
I can only assume this must have been a long line of permanently moored boats that rarely move and without access to shorepower. If so they may well have an informal agreement to run engines or generators at a specific time in the late afternoon or early evening so that the rest of the time is peaceful. I have come across this locally where there was an agreement to do this between 6 and 7PM.
*The above was the only time I have come across such as you describe because I was moored nearby and knew one of them who told me about it. Again, it was nothing to do with knackered batteries.
Indeed, in 52 years boating I have only come across one boat that was definitely running his engine because of knackered batteries. I know this because he moored behind me, and knocked on my my boat to apologise for the fact that he would be running his engine to charge his knackered batteries so that he could watch the England football match that night.
Not wanting my evening ruined by him running his engine after 8:00 pm, I solved the problem by inviting him onto my boat to watch the football with me.
He provided the beer so win win.
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30 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:
No need to be confused. I can't speak for anyone else, only me.
I re-iterate that I have had my boat 10 years and never had to remove the weed hatch. And no, it's not because it's tied up permanently, it's cruised a lot. I've never been through big cities with it though but many times through places like Banbury, Rugby, Nuneaton, Hinckley, Oxford. I've probably just been lucky (so far) as well as careful at bridge holes. I once had to use the boat hook to remove a few reeds but I try to keep an eye out and avoid them. I've used reverse to shed leaves in Autumn many many times.
Re the anti-cavitation plate (or lack there-of), I've never had one and didn't even know I didn't have one until last September. I therefore have no before and after comparison. However, I have never noticed anything adverse that could be blamed on my boat lacking that apparently inessential little bit of steel.
I've had my boat 11 years now and only been down the weedhatch twice, despite covering some of the lesser used parts of the BCN. Once soon after I got the bost, when the prop fouling caused black smoke and loss of steerage and once when I got someone's cratch cover wrapped around the prop, which stalled the engine.
However I do have a "prop protector" blade fitted. In the first instance it cleared whatever was round the prop by the time I had stopped and removed the weedhatch, and in the second case it failed to clear the obstruction, which took me over two hours to cut off.
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7 hours ago, blackrose said:
I wouldn't even bother with screws. I know the traditionalists will hate it but I just stick those brass signs on with a bit of Stixall, or other PU adhesive. Wire brush all the rust off the steel and prime/paint it first of course.
The sign will never come off, unlike screws the joint will remain flexible and because you've got sealant between the two surfaces no water can get in and no rust can form.
To complete the traditional look you could saw the threaded part off two brass screws and attach them into the screw holes with a PU adhesive...
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5 hours ago, MtB said:
Absolutely it does, and a few tupperware boaters will display a significant degree of antipathy towards steel boaters. This shows up most starkly when sharing a Thames lock with one when they'll tend to do their best to keep as far away from your nasty steel boat as they can, for fear of having their lid popped off.
Extra points awarded for spotting fussy tupperware boaters in locks wearing white cotton gloves to save their softy skin having to actually touch their ropes. Also look out for boats with fenders encased in white 'fender socks' to save getting marks on the fenders when they do their job.
I wonder how often they change their socks?
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16 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:
One of the great myths that has cocked up most of British industry is that there is something called "managerial ability" which enables you to successfully run a business you know nothing about, have no interest in, and don't give a toss about your customers.
It's why most British industry is now owned by foreigners who know exactly what they are doing - ie asset stripping and selling on.
Bill Gates wasn't a manager, nor was James Dyson.
However, the core function of CRT has never been to be a navigation authority. That was BW. CRT runs a leisure park with a few boats on it. There again, this bloke doesn't know how to do that either.
It is probably because most "managers" in this country have zero managerial qualifications. These days companies prefer to poach staff rather than train their own.
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Glad you are back Tim.
Now that you have seen the Grim Reaper off for the time being, you can concentrate on getting better and posting on here in your own inimitable style.
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Just back from a towpath walk with Sam and can report that the swans and the single female duck still have their original compliment of chicks.
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57 minutes ago, Ray T said:
Not the cut but near to where I live is a large pool. We often get mallard ducklings and baby coots and moorhens. Unfortunately in recent years they don’t last too long as maurading black backed gulls make short work of them.
That is interesting Ray, in recent years we have seen a growing gull population and a diminishing moor hen population on the cut near us.
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2 hours ago, LadyG said:
Yes, navigation requires a boat to move but moving to and from the services within a pound does not use any water, it is not actively navigating the vessel.
That must be news to most of the ships crossing oceans... : )
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4 hours ago, Tonka said:
Also better programs when only 4 channels
It's called "the raspberry jam effect".
I first heard the term used during a telecomms conference during the late 70's by an American speaker.
He pointed out that quality programming is limited by the number of good screenwriters, producers, actors etc and thus quality programs are limited to x hours per week
With only 4 channels the quality programmes on each channel will be about x/4.
When the number of channels increase to say 100 the quality content will average x/100 per channel
Sadly the amount of dross has to increase to fill the remaining air time.
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2 hours ago, IanM said:
The internet suggests 10-20% survive to adulthood.
Yes the survival rate is very low compared to cygnets and moor hen chicks, where most seem to survive.
I once saw two ducklings out of a batch disappear vertically downwards never to be seen again. Presumably taken by a pike.
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Saw our first duck with ducklings this year. She had 8.
I wonder how many will survive?
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56 minutes ago, Jonny P said:
A question for those who know their beer and know more about brewing processes than I do.
I see beers described as IPAs on here that are quite weak in strength, there’s one at 3.8% above. To me an IPA is a heavily hopped strong brew and I always took it that the strength was to get balance with the heavy hopping that was necessary to preserve the stuff on its passage to India.
Hence I’m a bit sceptical of anything claiming to be an IPA that’s less than 5%.
What’s other folks thoughts?
I agree, IPA must be strong and heavily hopped.
My wife once bought me a bottle of "Peaky Blinders IPA". It was black, like a stout! Obviously the marketing men didn't understand what the "P" stands for in IPA...
Planned Site Maintenance - This weekend
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Posted · Edited by cuthound
Spillung
Mentioning "horizon" regarding software updates surely is not the best idea...