Ratkatcher
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Posts posted by Ratkatcher
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Now on the way back to the Shroppie and on the Coventry having just done the 11 locks on Atherstone flight and stopped for the day now (it was only going to be for lunch but the boat moving just when I was climbing onto the bow to tie up meant that I was able to check the depth of the canal quite effectively - not having spare shoes was certainly a serious omission! )
"So how goes the new skin tank?" I hear you ask...
Firstly, let me say that Martin has done a lovely job and my poor old Thorneycroft 90 (BMC 1500) has warmed up to mid-70's and stuck there no matter what engine speed - a massive difference to previous outings when one eye on the canal and the other on the temperature guage.
Secondly, a massive 'Thank You!' to the Kate Boat technicians who connected the new cooling system and replaced all of the cooling and Calorifier feed pipes - having a few issues thrown at them on the way as old fittings either snapped or were rusted to the point of uselessness, they were both friendly and very profesional and I'd have no hesitation in recommending them!
The calorifier took a couple of days to get rid of all of the air in the heating coil making some 'interesting' gurgling noises in the process.
We now have an engine being cooled properly, oil pressure remaining stable (because the coolant temperature is correct I presume) and plenty of nice hot water too.
Previously the coolant temperature was not stable and would randomly rise to over 100c and stay there until the engine was stopped for a couple of minutes, this appears to have been eradicated, temperatures rose briefly while the air came out of the calorifier and dropped once the gurgling ceased.
The new cooling system appears to place no appreciable load on the water pump over the original keel cooling but certainly inspires more confidence than previously.
When we called in to refill the Diesel tank (just in case) I enjoyed a good conversation with the proprieter about overplating / skin tanks (he does the same engineering himself) who asked who did the work, then commented that the surveyor who had done the hull survey after Martin had finished my boat had called in Wednesday to do a survey there - he had commented about the excellent work on the boat he had just surveyed in the last week - it just happened to be mine...
What more can be said?
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A couple of months back Norbury were the same price as Wheaton Aston (about .2p difference).
Sorry I can't be more up to date but we're away from the mooring currently.
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We'll be taking Tichitoro back to her mooring early next week, a pleasant 10 day cruise
I'll let you all know how the new cooling system behaves. I would have thought that as the norm for the engine is in a pressurised coolant system, and that it certainly pumps through the calorifier efficiently that adding a little labyrinth for coolant that replaces a hefty keel cooling system would be likely to present a similar load to the pump.
ETA: As the engine is a marinised BMC, its original home would have been in a Leyland van etc. with a radiator cooling system.
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Gin Palaces... Ahh the good old days! Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for tuppence
Then the governments introduced progressively heavy taxing on alcohol in an attempt to reduce the number of working days lost to drunkenness.
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I'll ask one of the moderators to correct my spelling on Martin's name...
@blackrose I took a look at the Beta link, curious, I'd have thought the further the coolant is forced to travel the more efficient the cooling (you should see the baffling on my CPU cooler! ) but as it is another of those 'black arts' who really knows?
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I know - I edited it to remove a duplicate photo then couldn't edit again! The spelling mistakes will live on, shaming me for eons to come
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When my boat had its pre-purchase survey it was pointed out that the base plate had 'a rash of pitting' and the sacrificial chines had been eroded to such an extent that the only economically sensible option was to overplate the base. (surveyor's recommendation), the other sensible option was to walk away and let it be someone elses problem - but I really liked the boat...
I'd read on here (thanks everyone) recommendations for Kedian Engineering so approached Martin for a quote. Followed an enjoyable conversation and an exact description of the work that would be done (another company had quoted me also but were so vague in the work schedule that I walked away), how long it would take and when he would be able to do the work. Oh, and a price too...
On the way to Kedian from my home mooring coolant temperature got a bit too high on several occasions - not quite to overheating properly but worrying nonetheless - so a phone call to Martin asking if a skin tank could be fitted while he was overplating. "No problem!" from his end.
Martin had posted a couple of pictures in the last overplating thread so I thought I'd add a couple more from the work-in-progress collection.
As can be seen, he has done a great job, explained exactly what he has done and finished off with new blacking (3 coats) not just over his work but the whole hull. He also added a 'step up' on each side of the hull at the rear - obviously thinking of the inevitable time when someone on the boat decided to take a dip in the canal - to make it easier to climb back on board, or for the Herons / Cranes to have somewhere comfy to stand...
Now looking forward to the trip back to the home moorings without 'worn welds' preying on my mind
Thanks to those here that mentioned Martin in high regard for pointing me in that direction (even though at that time I wasn't posting, just haunting here) and permitting me to add an equally enthusiastic recommendation for his work.
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In the film 'If' the single record Mr. McDowell constantly played was 'Sanctus' by 'Les Troubadours Du Roi Baudouin', which was released in 1958, sung by a Congolese choir. I always considered a Latin mass song to be an odd choice, perhaps it was the 'heavy' drums that made it so...
ETA: brilliant film though, may have to dig it up from the archives and watch it once more.
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12 Volt Planet do a fairly comprehensive range of cables, although they are not as competitive as sellers on ebay...
http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/plain-copper-battery-cable.html
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On 22/09/2017 at 21:02, KEDIAN said:
That boat looks awfully familiar.... At least you chose a great angle to show her, Martin
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13 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:
For running laptop computers a 12V car power supply is probably the best option but some computer makers fix things so their computers will not run on generic 12V power supplies. Some Apple, Dell & HP come to mind.
True - I have an HP (had a Dell until recently) that refuses to charge on a generic 12v adaptor, the Dell had the same attitude - unable to comment on Apple. Both the HP and Dell are able to 'detect' the power supply attached and complain bitterly if they don't 'see' the genuine article.
True comment on the RING - budget item, although I am not certain if it is MSW (suspect it is) but runs my equipment without any ill effect, this may just be good luck though!
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2 hours ago, Alethea Price said:
Thanks for the input to clarify there is no transformer currently on the boat. From my inexperienced research i was looking into how to have my iMac and chargers on the boat and I read a number of feeds suggesting that you can purchase a small transformer for such appliances which goes between the electrics and the plug cable for that appliance in order to convert from 12v to 230v. If however I have misunderstood a general description of a transformer would be much appreciated.
For laptop / TV/ DAB Radio (that I always forget to turn off properly so it eats batteries) I have a small RING 120W cigar lighter inverter (it is quite old...) that is not terribly inefficient. It will run both TV & laptop charging (not happy to power both switched on, but my laptop draws 90 watts-ish if being used for graphics intensive applications) through an extension lead quite happily.
We have a small inverter for the twin tub but no other mains appliances on board otherwise.
I don't know if the little RING inverter is what you were thinking of, but I would happily give it a 'thumbs uo' for convenience.
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Oops! I was looking at the NASA marine monitor after reading about Smartguage here - my bad!
I'll just slink away back to the rathole...
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1 minute ago, dmr said:
Yes, an amps and volt display is great at confirming alternator operation and indicating when the batteries are fully charged, but not so good at telling the state of the batteries as they discharge, on the other hand the Smartgage...........etc etc etc etc
.............Dave
A valid point, Dave, I was in no way demeaning the Smartguage. In truth I'll likely get the Bluetooth version in the near future anyway and bin the Chinese one.
I do have a laminated printout of this chart on the boat - it helps a little
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I nearly bought a Smartguage until reading lots of posts on here about them
Instead I spent £25 on a Chinese 'battely state meta' that tells me both battery voltage and current (charge & discharge) simultaneously (it runs through a big shunt on the domestic bank negative).
Ths little cheapie instrument aided in determining that my alternator was not very good (lots of assistance in that original posting from lots of you good people) and since replacing it (the alternator) has provided the same aid in seeing charge current drop off (and voltage rise) as the batteries approached full. The rest of the functions of this meter make no sense to me so are ignored, but I consider the money well spent just for the reassurance that the alternator was duff.
Just my tuppence worth...
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There is an arada AX multifuel stove in our boat, there was a learning curve to climb in getting it to light (PITA) but once burning (Taybrite or Excel) it puts out plenty of heat and stays in for a very long time (overnight is no problem) only requiring a riddle to get the ash off the coals and opening the airflow up to get a new burn going with the top-up fuel.
It is very good, really, but I don't think I would be brave enough to recommend one to someone I might run into again after...
That said, having had both Villager and Cottager stoves in my house I'd say it was no worse to light than them - never had the pleasure of a Morso so cannot make a comparison.
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On my boat the shower 'tray' is a removable bit of flooring on plastic feet, there is a gap around it and water drains into the bilge to be pumped out. As this is original fitting it was obviously designed to work reasonably efficiently, perhaps you could mimic the principle and have the full height of your bathroom available.
Good luck in achieving your ideal shower.
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Just now, IanM said:
I'm running Windows 10 on an iMac
Ah, the joys of Bootcamp
I did once run OS X on my PC (in VirtualBox) which was quite fun!
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Thinking Windows 10, I downloaded the anniversary updated ISO from Microsoft when I needed to reinstall 10 to replace the Windows 7 installation on my laptop (it was originally W10 so I spent some time creating an ISO with usb3 support (W7) and found that with this perfectly working and stable installation (it was!) that with the laptop shut down the battery was being flattened - It's a HP and appears to be a common issue) and was unable to activate the restore partition.
The updated 10 installed without any problems and has now 'fixed' the restore partition with the new image with the assistance of HP's management software.
I didn't really want to have 10 on the laptop, OpenSuse (my favourite Linux distro) didn't like the hybrid graphics much so was ditched - although a newer version has appeared recently...
10 is probably the best version yet, but that is a bit like saying 'the best Lada yet', it is intrusive and leaves the consumer open to the prospect of being charged by Microsoft for their 'Operating System as a Service' should they decide thus.
This laptop, in common with many other commercial PC's being sold with Windows installed, makes it difficult to move away from Microsoft as the BIOS setup and options are being tailored to dissuade (or even make impossible) a move away from the pre-installation O/S. (of course Apple have been doing the same for many years without their users making any noise about it!)
I enjoyed the OP's rant and sympathised with him, and only a little bit green over his being able to install Mint...
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I use Waternav on my phone & tablet, but only to know where I am... (on the Android versions you cannot route plan - but can measure) and to look ahead for moorings / shops / facilities etc. Free to members of RCR or a fiver each if you download them before joining (like I did!).
The PC version apparently lets you plan too, so may be on the to buy list.
Waternav also keeps North to the top of the screen.
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I'll echo Peter's sentiments, he was a great help and very good company - even if I talked on a bit late for him on occasion I think
- the journey was very enjoyable and it was lovely to cruise on new canals.
Both wife and the dogs (left behind on the outward trip) are joining me on the return trip as this will not have a deadline to arrive and saves all 3 missing me!
Now about a 4 week wait to get Tich back - hopefully without a random heating up issue!
Thanks a million, Peter, great to have you along.
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My first 'fill up' was only 30 litres, but then I didn't know how much (actually little) my engine used when running so was surprised so little when use had been around 40 hours of gentle cruising.
The kind lady in the chandlers, recognising a complete newby, explained that the declared split between cruising and domestic should be what I anticipated the delivered fuel use to be, allowing me to choose a sensible split for early April. If I had cruised less than anticipated the 'loss' in tax for me was my fault - likewise a 'benefit' otherwise.
Having just cruised from the Shroppie (along with the very helpful PeterX - a million thanks!) to the GU I'm quite glad that my tank should be good for the return trip also, there is quite a diference in the base price hereabouts!
The boat is waiting for the tender ministations of Martin Kedion - when done I look forward to doing the return trip and watching the diesel prices drop as we get closer to the home mooring
Apparently we passed by Mrsmelly's place on the way down, maybe we'll pop in on the return trip to say hello.
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I read the Floater article with some amusement I'm afraid - I could see the point the Marina owner was making (with poor choice of words) but amused more by the remainder of the content of the article. This prompted me to spend an hour or so reading more from the site that only made me chuckle more, apart from an odd bit of editorial of general interest the site seems to have a bias toward any action that lessens the 'freedom' of some boaters to do as they please and slagging the C&RT in general, fascinating!
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Tesla made some quite 'interesting' claims about broadcast power, demonstrating the principle using RF energy over short distances to 'recover' energy. Perhaps this is what had came to mind.
It was curious that he never lived to create his free power network and that his research material 'disappeared' after his death, oddly coinciding with the growth of the energy industry in the USA...
Just another 'contacted by aliens' conspiracy theory,but fun nonetheless
Overplating & Skin Tank - the Kedian way :)
in Boat Building & Maintenance
Posted
Lovely to meet Matty40s and getting a helping hand too!
We took a detour up toward Brum as the navigator thought the instructions said turn at Fazely Junction
Now moored outside the Tame Otter for the night.
Temperature so stable (even when working the engine quite hard) that it seems the guages have got stuck!
Sorry Cuthound, my mobile was in the Saloon providing Trudi internet access so didn't get to read posts until we pulled over - hope we waved....
Trent & Mersey tomorrow.