Northernboy

Thanks again to all the replies. One further question.....the cable itself. Have been looking around and although I know the cable should not be solid core. Does the cable have to be tinned or tri rated as this all adds onto the cable price but not sure if necessary. And where would you recommend to buy the cable, I have seen a lot of stuff on the net but worry slightly about inferior quality cable. Ok.....I know, that was two questions.

Point taken about strip lights....think i got figure from one i had but now see their are diiferrnt types so will look again at lower consumption options.

Wotever reply....Take your point about the switches but not sure how often you need to isolate circuits. The block comes with a purpose built cover and I will double check the 6mm suitability. The blocks themselves are rated 30amp per fuse and 100amps per bank. Thanks for your input and any further input on cable calculations is much appreciated. Nicknorman reply....thanks for the webasto comment, these are the things that I cannot find out without help and yes you are correct about a lot of wiring but as it is all a bit new to me I was just trying to keep things separate as it is easier for me to understand and if I spend an extra few quid on cable it's not such a problem but I might look at it again. Alan de enfield reply....these lights are concealed strip lights and they are 13m long and are around 170 watts each at max brightness. The outside ones will not be used much and the inside lounge one will be used but on a very low brightness setting.

My first question is do I need a fancy panel as I enter the boat with isolation switches for everything. I am looking at 12way fuse blocks feeding straight out to circuits. I have attached a picture. Then comes the question of cable sizing. I found a formula on the fit out pontoon site and have applied it to the circuits I will have. Again I have attached a drawing and just wanted to know I was on the right track. The ??m refers to the distance in meters there and back. Please be gentle with the replies. Help, advice and constructive criticism greatly accepted.

I have look at various maps and read lots of articles about what size boat I can get up as far as Ripon Marina. The maps say 57ft but I have also read articles that say you will struggle with 57ft X 10ft. Has anyone done it. Remember widebeam not narrow.

Wow....still can't believe that an organization has come up with a strict set of rules and regulations that I must adhere to but they won't tell me what they are!.....unless I pay them to tell me. It's like the government bringing out a new Highway Code for our roads then charging everyone £1000 to see it.

Again thanks for all the input from everyone. I have looked online for RCD documents so I can look at the specification and what they want but everything takes me to a website RCDWEB.COM and all the documents are locked. How can I look at all the docs for the RCD.

Thanks for all the comments and I am in discussions with Keith who is being very helpful. It is still very early days and I am invetigating what is involved with being RCD compliant and if it's something I need. It will all come down to what extra work and costs are involved as I have no plans to sell the boat.

I am having a 57x10 widebeam shell built and later in the year I will start to fit it out. I am looking for a company or individual who I can pay to provide detailed drawings for all the electrical systems and cabling on the boat. I think as part of the eventual certification I will need to provide drawings so it is far easier to follow drawings that adhere to all the rules and regulations than make it up as I go then have to go back and get drawings. I guess this is quite a specialist field and are struggling to find someone.

Thanks for the replies and will investigate all. Was really excited about Debdale but they have told me that although they take boats on hard standings they do not have facilities to put then in the water so I am guessing I am looking at another 7/800 for crane, transport and crane to a suitable place to put her in the canal.

Will investigate Debdale but on the website I cannot see any mention of widebeam. They just talk about narrow boats and my boat will be 57x10.

Slight change of tack....I had previously asked about a suitable Marina for my widebeam sailaway which will be ready in September. I am now thinking it might be easier to find a boatyard or Marina which has hard standing facilities for 6 months for me to complete the fit out. The sailaway is being built in the Nottingham area and Idealy will be craned, transported and craned onto a hard standing and then simply craned into the canal without need for the additional transport. Once completed the boat will be used in the northern canals all north of Liecester. Maybe if anyone has any experience of doing this they might give me some idea of charges and locations of suitable sites.

Thanks Alan and I will take a spare day or two to read the original thread about Pillings.

What a difference a day makes....I thought I genuinely asked a straight forward question and find it hard to believe that I am now accused of being a wind up merchant and a fraud and it seems that even a member of the moderator staff thinks this is acceptable. I had just seen some nice glossy adverts and being green as grass on the whole canal boat scene I thought I would try and get some upto date info. Again, thanks for the genuinely helpful replies, having now seen the thread on Pillings lock I can see they have had massive problems but would like to know the situation now and how the future looks.

Thanks to all for the suggestions...has anyone had any experience of Pillings Lock Marina?