LadyG
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Posts posted by LadyG
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Oh well, it's Volvic then....
Pellegrino is more readily available than Badoit..., Its very sparkling, suspiciously so....
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On 14/04/2025 at 14:18, dmr said:
Right then LadyG, I assume you are still stuck in Tod. Tomoro is Tuesday which is cheap beer day at the Golden Lion. Myself and a friend, another long time boater, will be there from about 4 doing a bit of semi-serious beer drinking. You are welcome to come and find us, most likely sat on the stage.
Oops missed that invite, sorry
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In a former life I inspected various water sources, and treatment centres and have come to the conclusion that I do not wish to drink UK tap water straight. I dont like the taste of it for a start. I remember once taking a sip of London Tap, never again.
I drink a litre a day at this time of year, it's usually Evian.
I try to avoid drinking water from untested sources like the CRT taps, worse still, it is then put in a tank, which is quite warm, never a good idea.
I am aware that carrying water by lorry from France to Todmorden is not environmentally friendly, but neither is buying oranges and lemons from Turkey.
I try to buy organic when I can, I'm saving the planet that way, and keeping myself healthy at the same time.
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3 hours ago, Jerra said:
I must be being thick today,what is the difference between navigation and moving?
CRT refer to continuous cruising as actively navigating the system surely that means moving.
Yes, navigation requires a boat to move but moving to and from the services within a pound does not use any water, it is not actively navigating the vessel.
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Had to phone CRT today,
simple Q.
Im on the Rochdale. No services ahead of me.
I took the opportunity to use the Guillotine lock behind me , (it was being surveyed by CRT), so being emptied,, to transit in reverse back to Tod Services.
So, this movement was no doubt observed by Mr Officious.
I stayed on the waterpoint. Then did 180 and passed Mr O who told me i was not allowed to move.
Im not convinced there is is a no movement notice. Just a no navigation .
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On 24/04/2025 at 19:07, LadyG said:
Always run tap for two minutes.
Use your own hose.
Flush tank with Puritabs.
Drink bottled water.
I had a water problem this week, tasted foul and ran brown. I returned to the waterpoint, added some hypochlorite, rather too much, as ive been flushing all day. (boat needed a good wash anyway).
It is six years since I flushed the tank, overdue, I think the reason it was a problem was that the water pressure on the services was so high it disturbed the sediment, and with the canal being warm, some nasties started to multiply.
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50 minutes ago, David Mack said:
Dry blasting creates much more dust, which is hazardous to the operator.
Not if they are wearing a good mask and coverslls
44 minutes ago, LadyG said:Not if they are wearing a good mask and coverslls
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Yep, I've only had one " Slow Down" , it was the last boat in a line, and I think he was responsible for writing the large notice pinned to his boat!
I did have one guy stick his head out, entirely justified, as I was proceeding so slowly I lost steerage, and had to quicly open the throttle to go round the bend.
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I think that as the years go on there will be a significant shortage of BSS examiners, its just not worth their while, and the costs will become prohibitive. Complaints will be voiced, making the job even less attractive, so perhaps my suggestion of a one off Cert may be adopte, though it was just thrown in as a discussion point.
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If I meet a Hire boat and they are obviously nervous I tuck myself in to the right hand side and stop, they must then keep moving forward or the situation will be ridiculous.
It's nor a common problem locally, there has been one boat movement this week!
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2 minutes ago, Ronaldo47 said:
I did read that the optimum speed on a canal is the speed of a wave, as this establishes a sort of resonance where your boat gets carried along on its bow wave, a technique that I understand used to be used by high speed oassenger-carrying boats ("fly boats") in the days of horse power when the canals were better maintained. I am not sure how much truth in this there is, but unless there is some other pressing reason, I usually adjust my speed to match the wave caused by my boat that can be seen travelling along the side of the towpath.
Go slowly to avoid a wave along soft sides or grassy bank, this is where some birds are nesting,
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10 minutes ago, Quite Ignorant said:
Thanks for all that! So the Cill, is that the gate's threshold? Sorry, that is not a term I know!
Like a window cill, the doors sit on a Cill. This can be quite massive, the cill sticks out from the doors behind you as the water level is dropping.in the lock.
At each lock, on top of the stonework you should see someone has painted a white line indicating the amount the cill sticks out into the lock.
If the water is going down and you are caught on the cill you are in trouble. Keep just forward of the Cill.
Read the Boaters Handbook, and get someone to demonstrate locking a boat.
2 hours ago, Sailbadthesinner said:Trying to work out what that thing on the left is. A multi-storey nsrrow boat perhaps?
I assume its a derelict railway abutment, rail's removed, or a bridge.
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9 minutes ago, Momac said:
I think this is usual for a fitted gas cooker/hob but I guess a freestanding cooker has a hose eg just like a freestanding domestic cooker in a house
You may guess all you like but i am not convinced the BSS has two standards on cookers: fixed / free standing. I suspect it comes down to interpretation. As armoured hose cant be inspected for condition its a bit of a moot point.
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10 hours ago, Tam & Di said:
I disagree with that one. Yes, you do pass port to port, but simply move over just sufficient to do that when you're a few boat lengths away from the other vessel and then return to the middle. Trying to always drive on the right just makes it difficult for yourself as the channel (what there is of it) will generally be fairly central. The channel did used to be towards the outside of a bend, but shallow drafted boats with amateur steerers have largely chewed the channel up.
Yes, i know, the boat itself will tend to seek the middle ,that is why I used inverted commas.
I put that in because i followed a boat which was driving on the left and was approaching a left bend. I signaled to him his error and he moved across, fortunately there was no oncoming boat.
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1 hour ago, Momac said:
I see.
I don't think my boat doesn't has any rubber hose other than the orange hose in the gas locker . I thought this was normal with the possible exception of a flexible hose to the cooker on some yachts where the cooker may be gimbal mounted .
Is it not a recommendation that the hose length should be minimised and the hose not more then 1 metre in length ? So if your boat with full system in flexible hose is a good example of an installation that does not match industry recommendations but is acceptable to the BSS.
Recommendations and requirements are not the same thing .
My BSS Examiner changed the cooker armoured hose to a coil of copper tubing.
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Im actually concerned about my 20mile range this year, lets hope it rains before September. . ....
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I must admit to having sped past moored boats, once or twice, just daydreaming, but I rarely steer without looking around a bit, checking this and that, so it wasnt me!
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I would say that my back boiler is just great, at this a.m. I have lit the stove, (it's about 7C insde and out), with kindling and a few logs are just warming things up, the BB runs by gravity to the bathroom radiator. So after an hour, there will be enough warm water to shower, dry the towel, wash the breakfast dishes, and generally raise the internal temp significantly.
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Essentially, "drive on the right', pass port to port.
Pass moored boats at tickover.
I usually give one long blast if I'm approaching a bridge on a bend, or coming out at a T junction, that is probably the only sound signal anyone will understand.
Going Up in locks is generally easy, But your crew should be standing by the paddles at all times and the helm should avoid being distracted by people wanting to talk to him. Going down the main danger is getting the boat caught on The Cill.
There are possibly other hazards which the boat could catch on the way down
Keep boat Forward of The Cill. Ensure your crew stands by their paddle and does not get distracted by passers-by.
Remove the windlass handle when not actually operating the paddle gear to prevent it flying off and hitting a random passer-by!
I tend to keep one hand on the throttle if the canal is shallow, if I am slowed down suddenly I don't persist, I back off.
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8 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:
Maybe the one you had fitted, but they also come with a compression fitting at each end, so two cut ends. Now, if yours is as you say, then that dead end of pipe has to be connected to the main gas pipe run in some way, that will probably involve some kind of T joint. I make that three cut ends, plus the screw. Gas test points are also included on some gas equipment like boilers and possibly some cookers, so no extra cut ends with those.
I stand corrected, two joints, but the idea of a large bubble tester in the gas locker where I am unlikely to testroutinely, , I feel it could get knocked and break.
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1 hour ago, Slim said:
Years ago I knew someone who lived on 23' GRP cruiser in a Marina. Even with access to 230v mains, water and Elson disposal life was dismal. Cold, condensation everywhere and any number of other issues, not least, space. Managed to pour a kettle of boiling water over himself and ended up in hospital for several weeks. Strangely he gave the life up after one winter.
Living onboard all year round is going to be tough at times.
Yes a cruiser will be cheaper, but they we generally designed as day cruisers, with a fèw summer weekends.
The lack of insulation means that condensation is very likely. Condensation from breath, from cooking and from from the air on a wet day. Best thing is to open up as much ventilation as possible and buy a four season sleeping bag, though you may not be able to dry it.
There will be a few boats available that have already been made habitable, with heating!
The days are very short in winter, you will notice this if living aboard. It might be a good idea to stay in a marina for three or four months, having a shorepower connection is going to make things much more comfortable.
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9 hours ago, MtB said:
Errrr.... same number of joints added then!!
I think you will find that a bubble tester has two cut ends. The gas test point is at the dead end off the pipe.
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12 hours ago, T_i_m said:
Right, that was sort of what I was saying Alan, 'of course' if a length of hose has markings on it somewhere than the rest of the hose will comply but you are saying once I cut it in half and so end up with an unmarked bit, it (the unmarked bit) can't be used?
I see there is the possibility of a declaration from a 'Manufacturer or supplier ...' that should cover it so I might ask if they can supply such and put it in the boat manual I'm building for him.
AFAIK, none of the existing short rubber couplings have any markings and it's been though several BSS's like that?
From my days in manufacture/supply, if a Certificate of Compliance was required, this would be charged. I think we issued a Certificate to China Air on their first sales transaction, for a tyre gauge, but I don't remember any other. It was not generally offered as an option and none of our hose had printing on it.
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3 minutes ago, MtB said:
It was about getting you off their books as a claimant and into training of some sort (doesn't matter what), so some sort of target can be met by the Labour Exchange office. Obviously.
P.S. you have a degree?! What in?
Well, at the time it was in Dairying, but I've topped it up since.
Water Tank Issues
in Boat Building & Maintenance
Posted · Edited by LadyG
Your domestic mains water should come in to the kitchen tap direct from the mains, at least this is the case in Scotland, the galvanised tank takes in mains water and then distributes it to the bathroom etc, so your Granny made her tea direct from the mains cold water kitchen tap and lived to a ripe old age.... , no interaction with pigeons unless she showered.
I would expect @MtB to know all about domestic supply.
I've pretty much sterilised all my boat system, but there is still some residual chlorine in the hot water system.
I can't smell any in the cold water direct from the tank and hoping it is purged, I could try again with the high pressure services hose to see if there is still some crud in the tank.
There is good reason to filter the water from the boat tank, it is never going to be as good as domestic mains.