[Newbie...Trojan t105]

I'd recommend disconnecting each battery in turn and checking it's voltage at rest to see if there is one particular battery or cell dragging the overall capacity down. Have you checked all of of the electrolyte levels?

 

When you reconnect all the batteries check all the terminals are tight and make a solid connection. I had a similar problem a while back and it was down to poor battery connections.

 

If you are just using TV and a few LED lights, you may wish to consider dropping down to just 2 batteries. The advantage is that it will take less time to charge them to full capacity (and less to go wrong!).

[Warning light]

 

Most fitters would observe the corresponding lower voltage output and recommend a new alternator.

 

I bought one recently on eBay for less that £50 for 75A lookalike, such I wasn't going to start investigating my problems any further although brushes are just a few ££.

 

If Roxylass confirms that the output at the alternator sits at 13.6V when running, whilst all else looks good then it does point to a diode. By the time an expert dismantles it and changed the diode pack it would cost more than a new alternator.

I agree too. A new alternator could be much cheaper than the damage caused by someone fiddling about.

[Warning light]

 

 

I agree that it should but in probably the majority of cases I doubt it will. I don't think I can recall a test bench with an oscilloscope sat next to it. Most just seem to check the current and voltage. I know engine testing scopes will measure the ripples but they are usually in a different part of the workshop - if they have one.

I'm eluding to a dodgy rectifier. You'd see that on a scope or as excessive AC. Either way a good engineer will be able to find the real fault.

[Warning light]

Once I start the engine I switch the exciter off.

And yes it stays off.

 

 

With the boat sitting out the water just now on blocks

I am not going to be giving it full throttle

What I think you have is a work around for a problem which is still there and could get worse. So in answer to your original question, no, I don't think it is ideal.

 

I suggest you get all of the wiring checked out by a good engineer and have the alternator tested. As mentioned, it should give you over 14 volts if it's working properly and testing will show whether the DC output is smooth and correctly rectified.

 

Also as mentioned, a bigger pulley on the crankcase end would help but I assume everything was fine up until the fault.

 

Once the fault has been rectified (so to speak) it might be best to remove the work around to simplify the circuit and prevent that causing a future problem. I hope you get it sorted.

[Warning light]

Or the feed cable left off when the starter was fitted.

Which feed cable do you mean? The emgine starts so presumably you don't mean the starter.

[Engine Rooms..]

My engine room houses the water pump which would be noisy if it was in the cabin.

 

It's a bit like my garden shed so things like my old bike, tools, rain wear, oil cans, anchor, life aids etc are stored in there. There is also a fixed work bench.

 

The other nice thing is that it's somewhere you can take muddy boots off before walking into the living space.

 

Lots of things then. The only regret is that my engine room isn't quite big enough for a bed and small stove (boatman's cabin).

[Warning light]

As an initial check, I'd see if the batteries are being charged up with the engine running. Check the voltage is at least above 13 volts (higher than when engine is not running). Just wondering if alternator is playing up or a connection was disturbed when the belt was changed

[What to ask for in fitout?]

 

Consequently the hardest thing I find about single handing is when other people turn up and insist on 'helping'.

There's an easy way to fix that.

[Ice on GU/Oxford?]

 

 

Not something I've noticed happening. As Nick says, people get banned for breaching the forum rules, not for holding an opinion which diverges from mine or anyone else's.

 

In addition it is people who get banned, not usernames, so I understand. Registering a fresh username (as bassplayer did with biggles47, and probably RobertBrooks) in order to continue posting here tends to get uncovered eventually so when RobertBrooks gets banned, it won't be for disagreeing with me despite what you think. It will be for registering a doppel.

Looks like you are wrong.

[Ice on GU/Oxford?]

 

 

 

Actually here at Weedon on the GU it has iced over again overnight, which I had not expected given forecast temperatures.

 

That said someone has just boated past and broken it, with no great crescendo of noise, so it must be quite thin.

That's more like it.

 

There is ice lower down towards Cow Roast. You'll probably find it's still in places where the sun don't shine!

[Ice on GU/Oxford?]

Putting my moderator hat on here- no, certainly not. People get sanctions (unofficial, official warnings, suspensions, bans) for breaching the forum rules and guidelines. "No Arguing" isn't one of them.

 

You may have seen people "disagreeing strongly" with certain individuals, but they were certainly not banned for disagreeing.

What's this I read about a list being drawn up a while ago then?

[Ice on GU/Oxford?]

 

 

Well any boater with a mooring would give it up in winter to get the free one wouldn't they?

 

Paying for a mooring would be stupid when there are free ones on offer wouldn't it?

 

Your inability to construct a coherent argument reminds me of bassplayer!

 

Remember him? Oh no, you wouldn't. He was banned (along with his doppel) just before you before you turned up.

From what I've read here and on the Thunderboat forum, I get the impression members get banned from here if they disagree strongly with certain individuals like yourself. I think that's very sad. It's one of the reasons I haven't posted much on here.

 

When I started reading this forum many years ago, threads like this contained very useful up to date information for boaters. Now it seems to have become a pulpit for a few ego's. It's a real shame.

[After 4 Years Of Fighting - C&RT Settle Out Of Court]

Did you have fenders deployed Rod.

Many people have asked you this.....

GOT IT????

Obviously it must have been something far more complex.

[After 4 Years Of Fighting - C&RT Settle Out Of Court]

I see this in the same terms as an aircraft accident. This was a very close call and thank god it was "only" the boat that was lost. However, I am sure that a complete understanding of what happened would be of use to many members of our community. Whilst we may all agree that the cause of the was the protrusion in the stonework of the lock wall, and the circumstances have been described by the owner, I think it would be useful to understand the dynamics and detail of the sequence of events. This could potentially highlight a design issue or improve understanding. For example, are the freeboard requirements sound? And of course, I will be a boat owner again before too long. I don't think its ghoulish, and definitely no blame or slight in any way to the owner - just a desire to understand.

I believe the natural curiosity as to the cause of the accident is healthy and not necessarily sinister. We all want to learn lessons so as to prevent it happening to any one of us.

 

That's why I keep askibg whether fenders were deployed by either boat in the lock? Hundereds of boats have probably paired up without mishap in that lock. What other factors were involved other than a protrusion in the lock wall?

 

Have CRT released a report about the incident which can be accessed by the public?

[After 4 Years Of Fighting - C&RT Settle Out Of Court]

Quote Alan Ficher "So it's not important to answer the question "if the level was only down by a few inches by the time all paddles were already down, how come the level in the lock then seems to have continued to go down by a couple of feet to the point that a boat sank?"

 

An important question and I trust my reply will suffice. After the boat sinking, near drowning of my wife and the child AND four years agony from CRT I want the nightmares to go away.

 

The bottom paddles were CLOSED.

 

The lock water level only went down a few inches and remained at that level throughout the sinking of my boat. ie the lock water level did not go down further than the few inches.

 

The boats stern went down beyond the 16" freeboard (waterline to the top of the cant ) thus enabling lock water to flood over the cant nd into the boat.

 

Remember the CRT recovery staff quote "With the bows hung-up a 1" loss of lock water level at the bows is 10" at the stern. You did not stand a chance."

 

ie Our 59ft Nboat, angled downwards front to back, was drawing normal water level Forward AND submerged Aft by a multiple of 1 : 10.

Rod, did your boat or the one next to yours have fenders deployed?

[After 4 Years Of Fighting - C&RT Settle Out Of Court]

"The flood water was pouring through the legs of the owner of the SECOND BOAT in the lock who was calling support to my wife inside the boat."

 

Does anyone know whether fenders were deployed on the boats? I've seen several boats get jammed in locks due to deployment of fenders over the years. A protrusion in the lock wall would just increase the risk.