RD1

It's the have a go diy ( destroy it yourself ) home bodger that worries me. In our previous house, probably a diy'er, had wired in a spur socket in the utility room, you can tell it was a bodge job, no green / yellow sleeving on the earth, and he had crossed over the live and neutral. How I found out, I was replacing the water input solenoid, in a washing machine, I was doing some voltage checks, and it was still live with the socket turned off. Before starting to touch wires, I always disconnect the plug, and not rely on a switch, that particular day proved a life saving policy. After sorting the crossed wiring and fixing the washing machine, I spent the rest of the day checking all the sockets. The house did not have an earth leakage trip, as it was built in the late 60's early 70's, Tip: I have one of those three neon light plug in testers, in fact I have one on the boat too, to do a quick check when connecting to shore power, it simply tests for crossed Live Neutral, and wrongly connected earth wiring. If all is well, then all three neons are lit to the same brightness. I guess maybe not totally fool proof, as it may not pick up high resistance connections due to the small current taken, but a good starting point. the next test I do, is to test trip the rcd on the supply post, then the rcd on board, if all work ok, we can then use the power, and sleep tight. So far in 8 years of having electric hook up, I have never found a faulty supply. I have however, come across seversl posts that have had the socket ripped out of the post, after a skipper has set off with the shore power lead still attached.

I hope you never take any advice from then. I would be interesting to know what they did, for you to make that conclusion.

In my opinion, as an Electronic Engineer, if someone working with mains electricity, or even 12 volts, has to ask a question on how to wire a basic switch, then they shouldn't be messing with any form of wiring. Who is to say that the contact rating, both voltage and current is suitable? Then there is contact clearances when the contacts are open. When ebay is mentioned, I sometimes think of some far eastern manufactured cloned items, that often have a CE mark, because to sell in Europe it is a requirement, but some CE marking has no formal certificate of conformity, backed up by tests to certain Euronorm legislation. It might come across a bit harsh, but imagine if some one says.. I am fitting a new gas cooker, should I use PTFE tape or thread sealant on the connections ? We would all cringe at that one. Richard

So could you lol...

I thought the Eastern Europeans would be pole fishing lol. A few weeks ago I was talking to an angler on the Thames, I asked about the fishing, he said not as good as it used to be, he reckoned that some "Eastern Europeans have the taste for fresh water fish, and catch and take them. In fact at a local market he saw a huge mirror carp on ice, the vendor said that will be sold soon, it makes an ideal Christmas lunch for our European folk. I still question if this is legal. Eating fish dragged out of the Thames does not inspire me after more than a century of waste and chemical dumping. In the USA I have dined on fresh water fish, a species similar to our pike, but can't remember the name, but not zander. I will say, I prefer cod lol. Well we are quite happy to eat trout or salmon, caught from fast flowing clear streams, but not from the Thames lol Mind you, I have heard that they have returned to the Thames in the last 15-20 years I guess. So some might end up on the dinner table.

I never heard of those, so a quick look on ebay, complete kit, £50 ish, just add fish lol. I just looked at the rod weight, approx 250 grams, I have a pencil in my workshop that nearly weighs that lol... Well big question... How often do you catch anything, is it your daily rod now, or do you use it when the main rod is waiting for a bite? According to ebay, the max line length is 2 rod lengths, I guess this is to allow you to bring the fish in to a standard landing net, since there is no reel to winch the fish in. I like the idea of this. Also gives you some exercise, helps to strengthen your right wrist lol assuming you are right handed.

I know the topic is about fly fishing on canals, and generally you can fish on still waters, like canals, in England, all year round, unless there are local bylaws. Then I went to the .Gov site.. "Game fishing during the coarse fish close season You can fish for salmon, trout and other game fish during the coarse fish close season. You have to use certain types of lures and baits in some areas however. Midlands, Yorkshire, and the north-east and north-west of England You can only use natural or artificial fly, minnow, worm, shrimp, prawn, sand eel or artificial lures during close season. South-east of England You can only use artificial fly. In the Thames area, you can apply for permission from the Environment Agency to also use minnow caught in a minnow trap if used on the same waters." So this got me thinking... if you fish for say trout on the river using the appropriate equipment during the closed season 15th March to 15th June, then what happens if you catch either a perch, pike or roach that may take flies, then are you not coarse fishing out of season? I know putting coarse fish out of season into a keepnet would be a no no, but the pleasure of fishing is about landing the biggest fish of a certain species, or catching any fish at all in challenging circumstances. When I have fished, I have always used catch and release, I don't believe that the released fish will advise his buddies about a particular bait on the end of a hook lol.

I stand corrected, thank you. I hope no harm came to any gorillas when they developed Gorilla tape. lol I have tried the liquid Gorilla glue, now this does stick to blankets, and I guess gorillas too. This works where other glues fail, for example, trainers, when the sole starts to break away from the upper. apply with caution, dampen one surface, apply glue to other, and I found clamping works well, but the glue expands, and can extrude like the foam fillers, I found it's impossible to remove the excess glue without damaging the material surface. After a year of diy and gardening, the soles are still attached. This has become our favourite glue, in fact "our sole" glue, well if they can have adhesives like "Sticks like sh*t"... I tried an experiment with this glue, to be fair the glue is far superior to how it's name was derived, and easier on the nose when dried. lol. I do get the cr*p jobs lol

We all know this, but the original tape was called duct tape, and was used to seal air ducts for warm and air conditioning. I think the duck part was seen as a clever marketing ploy, still good stuff though, and really sticks well to tarps, so if you want to raise a narrow boat, a few cheap tarps, and some duck tape, sorted lol. Not sure how well it sticks under water, but it sealed a leak on a window over winter.

"Alcantara" ? so will the price be under £10 per running metre? There are plenty of vinyls that are suitable for cockpit cushions, easy to clean, etc, so they might be suitable for cabin cushions. My father's boat and our earlier Norman Conquest both had vinyl cushions in the cabin, and they worked well. Sweat can accumulate on the surface but not as bad as soaking through fabric. Wayne, I am very pleased to contribute to your quest to refurbish your boat, Last night I found your thread for the renovation, and I was captured by your enthusiasm and energy, so much so, I read the whole thread, well to be fair, mostly your contribution with the pictures. Well done. Richard

Had to look it up myself lol Coy Carp pub, Vintage inns at Uxbridge. It's the "plaice" to be.

You are so wrong... We haven't got a dog lol... We have loads of fish in the pond, and obviously for security reasons we decided not to name any of them, how coy is that lol? Richard.

I don't do internet banking either, even my PayPal account is linked to a seperate account not the main account.At least when there is a breach, and there have been a few over the last few years, of internet banking security by hackers, I don't need to panic or worry about my account. Being an electronic engineer I know how secure bank accounts are, and they are only secure until the next hacker breaks into them, and they are attacking them all the time, mostly with automatic programmes that work 24/7 from computers all over the world. There is always the "Ken Dodd" approach to accountancy, keep it under the mattress lol. That can have it's dangers too... It raises the mattress, and you could fall off the bed. lol

This can be the problem with social media, too much talk and too much information put into the public domain, some right, some rumoured, when the insurance company sees these blogs they might make their own decision as to whether to pay out or not. They can afford to do the research too, if they can save paying out £50k for a total loss, it's worth a day or so trawling the social media.Lets say a boat sank on the Trent and Mersey in November 2016, it wouldn't take much googling of key words to pick up a few blogs, then all the links to faceache, or similar. A bit like going for an interview for a job, the potential employer might search faceache or similar, they might read a blog.... Like... I got bladdered on Saturday night, feel awful I'll take a sickie Monday, Tuesday, as I lost my weekend... Words I just made up to demonstrate a possible situation, if I was his/her potential employer... he/she wouldn't get the job. So be aware, that often references taken up, might just be what you have written in the public domain, and any critism of your current employer could kill the chances of getting your dream job. A lot of people easily give information away, security information, holidays, how long away, addresses linked to birthday parties, oh ... date of birth given away there, Uncles that stand a 50/50 chance of having your mother's maiden name. Name of pets, which could be a password.. Am I being paranoid? No, just being careful and protecting my identity. Yes we have a shreader, and no personal information gets thrown into the recycling either.

If you could get a huge tarp, you could place it under the hull, after partial pump out, ie boat no longer on the bottom, then tie it up like a huge set of waders, continue pumping and the tarp will eventually tighten around the hull like cling film, but will need some reinforcement around the sticky out bits, like rudder and prop. Result, no further water can get in below the waterline, and the boat could be towed with care. The cause could be a failed sea cock... or a failed weld or heavy corrosion. Could be other things of course, but something catastrophic.

Well sort of overcharging, but to one specific cell. A faulty cell will pass the full charging current of the battery, cells in series pass the same current. A faulty cell will probably loose more water through gassing and also lose Hydrogen sulphide, it is complicated further as the poor cell is loosing electrolyte and a smaller area of the battery plates is now passing the full battery current, so it gasses more, smaller area of wetted plates... it goes on until all electrolyte is removed, but complicated further as battery plate residue falls to the bottom of the battery, some can short out the cell, this often shows as a battery terminal voltage of 10.5 volts as one of the cells has been shorted out. So a good battery connected in parallel with this faulty battery has 12.5 volts, and the battery in parallel 10.5 volts, then the good battery will try and overcharge the faulty battery, with possibly high currents, limited only by the internal resistance of the battery. So a lot of heat can be generated, plus a lot of gassing. If you rearrange ohms law, V= I x R and substitute in Watts = V x I then you get Watts = I^2 x R ( I squared x R ) Take the charging current, square it, multiply it by the internal resistance of the battery, then you can see where a lot of watts, in the form of heat come from. Some of the energy will go into the disassociation of the electrolyte into gases etc.

Did you work testing matches is a match manufacturing business? Yes that one works.... so does that... lol ...

Hydrogen doesn't smell of anything, the rotten egg smell is Hydrogen Sulphide, H2S The Sulphuric Acid H2SO4 has lost oxygen and what is left is Hydrogen Sulphide H2S I would say the battery has come to the end of it's life, and if connected in parallel with any other battery can cause other serious issues with the connected batteries. I would suggest that the offending battery is removed from the circuit, but this is not without it's hazards. There could be discharge currents from the good batteries to the bad one, and a disconnect could cause a spark, and with hydrogen, oxygen and H2S could cause a very nasty explosion. So complete ventilation is required and wear protective equipment, face coverage, gloves and a fresh water shower or a canal to jump into should the acid contact your skin, and hold your breath, the H2S as a gas could react with the oxygen in your throat and lungs to return the H2S back to concentrated sulphuric acid. Worst case scenario not wishing to frighten anyone, but you need to be aware of the hazzards and possible consequences.

It may not always clear when you inherit a lifejacket whether it is a manual inflator or an auto, so when servicing, it is important to know the difference in components, or rather the lack of components in the manual version. Some people might not know that manual versions exist. So not a bad diversion from the main topic, in my opinion. What I don't know... if you remove the salt cell from an Auto lifejacket, can the life jacket still serve as a manually operated version only? I think it might, but I wouldn't like to bet my life on it.

Glad that was mentioned, be aware if you use an industrial air compressor... just because you have access to one, be aware that some emit a small mist of oil, depending on the design, and the oil might affect the bladder. Note, when buying a replacement recharge kit, the supplier might try to palm you off with old stock, with a short replace by date, so challenge them. I did this with a chandler... and he said I think we have some new stock, how right he was, a 12 month difference in the dates.