NB Willawaw

I've had a quick look at the preliminary sample for London. It seems very similar to the information that I currently get from Nicholsons. The water points are still shown approximately and I have to try to guess where they are from the map. In unfamiliar areas, when many boats are moving around at locks and many more are tied up on the banks, it is often difficult to see the water points from the boat as they are obscured and I have to drop crew off to locate them. Some form of better indication would be appreciated.

I agree with John. Presumerably you have an internal regulator in each alternator. The regulator on the alternator tells it what voltage to put out. With two in parallel the one set for the higher voltage will do most of the work. No current will be drawn from the lower set alternator until the battery voltage is below that set point. Under heavy load the alternator set for the higher voltage will run at maximum load continuously and the other one will only start to work when the first one can't keep up. This may be an acceptable situation but the first alternator better be a super good one. In saying this, some people do do this - not so much in boating, but in the off-roading fraternity, etc. They seem to do it without too many documented problems. Amplepower supply an additional device, called the Dual Alternator Controller, or DAC, which is provided to connect the regulator to alternators which are active. The DAC also has additional circuitry to reduce system noise, and protect against damaging transient voltages. In summary, possible but not conventional in boating and not recommended due to possible side effects. Furthermore, most modern alternators are so efficient, there is little gain. Its probably better to keep them isolated and charging separate battery banks. Best Regards Mark NB Willawaw Napton, Oxford Canal Southbound

What do you think about imported narrowboat hulls for the UK market. I note that some UK boatyards are now building their hulls in cheaper labour countries like Morocco and Poland. Is this a good thing because it gives the British buyer better value for money or is it the beginning of the end, with job losses to come and the loss of a small, but great British skill base ? I work with shipyards a lot in my job and we're talking 30 million for a bulk carrier. You should see the finish on cheap ships built in China compared to the more expensive, higher quality ships built in Northern Europe. On commercial ships, shipowners are only interested in a money earning vehicle and they nearly all buy cheap - even the Scottish fery operator Calmac are buying ships from Poland instead of from Scottish yards. British shipyards are closing one by one. On yachts, which are closer allied to the British narrowboat, the migration is slower but happening. Views ?

Fully agree Steve. I did the same thing - "if only I could have that bathroom with this galley, etc".

I went to the NEC and looked round the four of five boats on show. If I was in the market to buy another boat, I wouldn't have chosen any of them as they were. Its not that there was anything wrong with them as such, but they didn't meet my requirements e.g. bathroom too small, galley not the right shape, not enough storage space, etc. If you can live with one or two of these things, I guess thats fine. However, I find that if I'm not happy with these things from the beginning, time spent on the boat will only escalate these niggles. Boats aren't cheap. If you are going to part with £60k+ on a boat, do you really want to compromise that much ? If I had another boat, I think I would buy a decent sailaway hull and then fit it out myself to my own requirements. A lot of yards (not all, but many) can't afford to spend too much time on perfect workmanship and they won't take the time and care that you will. Furthermore, their drawings normally suck, so at least you will know your way around the boat if you have fitted her out. If you don't think you have the time to fit out, see how much time it takes to supervise a fitting-out yard to make sure you get what you want.

I've had enough standing out in the weather this morning. Thought I'd moor up and catch up with a bit of work, but have ended up on here again. My personal opinion (and believe me there will be many as this is one of those kind of open questions that has many answers) is that it largely depends on how deep your pockets are. Everybody (I think) dreams of having a custom built boat to their specification. However, when it comes to the practicality, standard production boats are cheaper and usually quicker delivery. The problem I had with off-the-shelf was that the yards I spoke to kept trying to off-load me with products that they wanted to use (because they were cheaper or they had cosy relationships with the manufacturers). Any attempt by me to change anything resulted in huge additional cost, which was way over the real cost. I guess this was a deterrent to make me give in. Many production yards will tell you that 95% of the people really want the same type of things anyway and I think many people end up compromising in the interests of economy. However, theres nothing as exciting as choosing the fit-out, layout and colours/materials, etc of your boat. If you are going to use the boat for a long time, spend a lot of time on her and you can afford it, custom is best (in my humble opinion anyway !). However, just switching sides for a moment, one advantage of production boats that many people don't consider, is that production designs tend to be proven beacuse they have been used on many boats. This means that most of the niggles and prototype problems have been eradicated. Having a one-off boat often means one-off problems. Best Regards Mark NB Willawaw Oxford Canal

Thats good to hear. I mostly use paper guides like the Nicholsons at present, but due to limitations in space on their map scales, it is not always exactly clear where the taps, etc are. Having often having to drift mid-cut and look for the taps on either bank, it would be useful if your guide could indicate where they are in a bit more detail. If not possible pictorially, it would be good if you could indicate whether it is the towpath side or not, whether it is a stand-alone or part of a sanitation bock, etc. I tend to fill up every other day and try to avoid boatyards, so rely a lot of on-line canal watering holes. Many thanks.

Does anybody know if there is an on-line list of BW watering points ? I have searched the BW and related site and can find no reference. I thought there used to be a list of all their water and sanitary stations ?? Best Regards Mark NB Willawaw

I like the Canal Shop at Braunston Top Lock. Always good for a browse !

I believe that Joseph Masons of Derby have closed down. Did anybody take the business over ? Best Regards Mark NB Willawaw - Blisworth (GU Northbound)

Most boats that I have seen with washing machines either use a generator supply or a Travel Power which will produce a sufficient 3.5KVA sine wave to drive it from a dedicated alternator on the main engine. Certainly my w.m won't run from my inverter and I have to run up the genny for wash days.

Stuart, Met a helpful guy from Isuzu today at the NEC. He is from their technical side and was most knowledgeable. If you have any further queries re your engine or alternator wiring, I suggest you give him a call. His full details are: Bob Cantwell HM Isuzu 5a Babdown Airfield Tetbury Gloucestershire GL8 8YL Tel. 01666-500843 Mob 07771-555479 bob@isuzuengines.co.uk By the way, did you get a free owners training session on maintenance ? I understand that this is offered by Isuzu to all new owners and might be useful.

Got a lift up to the NEC with some friends today and left the boat behind. I didn't expect too much inland-wise and I wasn't disappointed. On the positive side, the show didn't seem very busy to me and it was nice to be able to talk to a few familiar suppliers without having to elbow your way on to their stands. Suppliers like Isuzu, Mastervolt, Eberspacher, Caldwells, Marine Mart, IWA, Whale Pumps, Dometic, Maxview, Waeco, Webasto, etc are all there. There are four of five NB builders there i.e. Lees, Liverpool Boats, Severn, etc. I managed to get some new Nic books and a couple of fenders, I saw a nice 15m mooring rope with an eye spliced and was thinking of a new centre line until I saw the price tag (£63) !! I always like looking at accessory makers who aim at the larger caravan market but whose products have an application on narrowboats e.g. bathroom fittings, lights, etc. I did think there were a lot of touring and motor caravans and am amazed that all these competitors can stay in business. I was also surprised that a few leading names in the NB boat building business are now building hulls in Morocco and Poland. Wasn't impressed with the Moroccan hull; the sides were full of dints and waves.

The aerial booster is obviously completing a circuit somewhere. On the face of it, the connection with the relay being replaced is not obvious. This will be a hard one to sort out at distance and its probably something simple. Its really annoying to get an electrician onboard only to see him fix it in two minutes, especially if he charges you a call-out. Do you have a circuit diagram for the boat ? I would be tempted to try to trace the circuit round with a meter or a 12V bulb connected to two croc clips to try to see where the 12V disappears in the circuit. Echoing a previous reader, what does the relay do ? Is the boat wired as a negative earth ? i.e are you using the hull of the boat as a negative wire ?

I'm not an expert on washing machines, but if you turn the dial right down to about 30 Deg C (thats the lowest temp setting in my machine other than a cold cycle), then surely the machine will try to use the heater to top up the temperature of the incoming water from the calorifier to get to 30 Deg C. What I am trying to say (badly) is that the w.m heater may still cut in occasionally at the low settings if the water in your calorifier is not piping hot (no pun intended). If your calorifier is not big enough to cope with the hot water demands of a w.m cycle, the calorifier will fill itself up with cold water to replenish the hot used by the w.m, supply it to the w.m and that will then try to use the heating element to warm up the water to get up to the thermostat setting, resulting in your 1kW inverter tripping and leaving you with an interlocked machine full of washing and water. I'm not sure what the electrical load of just the water pump, clock and the drum motor is (without the heating element), but I would have thought 1kW is a bit borderline. You could ask the manufacturer, but I'm not sure they would be able (or willing) to tell you, but its worth a try.

How would you stop the washing machine trying to heat the water up to the temperature set on the dial ? Are you planning to disable the heating element in some way ?

I understand your point and I guess it depends on what the appliance is going to be. Certainly washing machines, mains fridges, etc will have an earth connection to their metalwork, but it is quite possible that modern TV's etc might only have live and neutral wired. A lot of equipment comes pre-wired with moulded leads and plugs these days and its not always easy to see. At 300W, the appliance is more likely to be a TV, etc. However, please remember that most houses, which these appliances are designed for, have RCBO's fitted in their consumer units these days. In summary, I would use an inverter with overcurrent protection and a 30mA RCD in the AC circuit and if there is provision for an earth on the inverter itself, I would use it and connect it back to the hull. Please bear in mind that RCD's measure an imbalance between live and neutral currents and can be nuisance triggered by some devices. Sudden changes in electrical load can cause a small, brief current flow to earth, especially in old appliances. RCDs are very sensitive and operate very quickly; they may well trip when the motor of an old freezer switches off. Some equipment is notoriously `leaky', that is, generate a small, constant current flow to earth. Some types of computer equipment, and large television sets, are widely reported to cause problems. Persistent nuisance tripping, or an RCD that won't switch on at all, are causes for concern. Either can indicate an intermittent or permanent live-earth fault somewhere in the circuit (e.g., a faulty appliance flex). Regards Mark NB Willawaw - Stoke Bruerne (GU Northbound)

I would use an earth wherever possible. If there is a short circuit inside the appliance being driven, due to overheating, worn cable, loose connection brought on by vibration, etc, the case or chassis of the appliance can become live without blowing a fuse or overloading the inverter. That is, until you touch it and then you will become its route to earth with electrifying results. If you connect an earth to the inverter and therefore the appliance though the earth wire in the mains power lead between the inverter 230V output and the appliance, the instant the live wire inside the appliance accidently connects with the chassis, it will short to earth through your earth connection using the hull/water as a ground path and your inverter should trip out. Before buying, check to see if the inverter has an earth connection on its AC side and make sure the model you buy has some form of overcurrent protection on its output side. Best Regards Mark NB Willawaw - Stoke Bruerne (GU Northbound)

Thanks for the info. The antenna is a SeaPhone Cellular Aerial from Communication Aerials. They make all kinds of marine aerials and are good quality. Its about a foot long and I have it mounted on an L-bracket at the front of the cratch.

I know a lot has been said on this in the past, but can we have an update pls. I am using a conventional mobile with external hi-gain aerial connected to my laptop below. The service is very slow, but I mainly use it for webmail and looking at this forum. I am thinking of upgrading to 3G as it the reviews on the forum seem quite promising. What is the typical speed of the fallback position i.e. GPRS and what is the coverage like for 3G on the Grand Union ? any experience ? Mark NB Willawaw - Stoke Bruerne (GU Northbound)

You could try John White in Liverpool 0151-427-7282, Lees NBs who bought Warble on 0161-367-9205, Stirling at Ellesmere Port 0151-355-5959, Colecraft at Rugby 01926-814081, Jonathan Wilson 01405-812500, Measham 01530-416098. Suggest you ring first as many might be at the NEC for the show. Mark NB Willawaw - Stoke Bruerne (GU Northbound)

If you want to be scientific about it, calculate the cross sectional area of the bottom plate and multiply by the required draught to get the final volume of the boat under the waterline (displacement). 1 cu ft of fresh water weighs 28.35Kg. If you multiply the displacement in cu ft by 28.35Kg, this will give you the boats approx final displacement tonnage in metric tonnes. If you then subtract the weight of the bare shell obtained from your shellbuilder, the weight of the engine, weights of full fuel and water tanks (1 gallon fuel = 4Kg, 1 gallon water = 4.5Kg) and the estimated weights of the lining boards and major fixtures and fittings used, this will leave you with the weight of the ballast needed to pull her down to her marks (i.e. required draught). Mark NB Willawaw - Stoke Bruerne (GU Northbound)

I think you mean piling hooks - try www.aquafax.co.uk Best Regards Mark NB Willawaw - Fenny Stratford (GU Northbound)

I've had minor incidents like drunks jumping on the roof at night, but then I did moor in a town centre underneath a bridge (and it was very close to a nightclub !) Mind you they ran when I sent the wife out to sort them out ! (joking). The most disturbing incident was on the Llangollen when a young teenage boater living with his girlfriend on a small GRP cruiser, starting threatening me for making wash. Now, I HAD briefly opened the throttle a little to keep steerage on an exposed, widish patch of canal on a windy day, but he was way over the top. I was very polite but he was threatening to kill me if I would care to step ashore. I deliberately said nothing to inflame him, but then his mother emerged from an old narrowboat moored astern of him and her language was enough to make a docker blush. I had my elderly in-laws onboard and they were visibly shaken by their language, threats and general intimidation. I reported them at the next lock, which was the beginning of a flight and manned. The BW guy told me that the boaters in question lived there and were well-known in the area for intimidating strangers and trying to get compensation from them for alleged wash damage. With a wry smile, he also said that he would have already known if I had been speeding or causing excess wash because there is a hire yard just by there and they normally ring ahead and complain if anybody rocks their hire fleet ! Best Regards Mark NB Willawaw - Fenny Stratford (GU Northbound)