Bargebuilder
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Posts posted by Bargebuilder
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1 hour ago, Naughty Cal said:
None of the Broads boats we have hired have ever had a weed hatch.
All shaft drive narrowboats have weed hatches: the OP wants to use his boat on the cut.
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19 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:
If the prop can't be reached from the cockpit, I have seen an old photo of the skipper lying on the bank probing under the transom.
Not advice that would have helped the chap we found drifting sideways with the current on the Nene. His cruiser didn't have a weed hatch and neither bank could be reached because of dense vegetation. We helped him from our boat, but what he really needed was a weed hatch.
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15 minutes ago, Quattrodave said:
Crikey! How much gas does the thing use?!
Well, it outputs 19kw to deliver 11litres of hot water per minute, so quite a lot.
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32 minutes ago, BWM said:
Can anyone help me with the gas pipe dimension for a Morco Eco plus water heater? The rest of the system will be run in 3/8", and would be useful to know if I'll need a different size pipe/adapter for the above.
Not sure about the output of your Morco, but my F11e had to have a 15mm pipe dedicated to it from within the gas locker where it had its own gas cock. The supply pipe was 3 metres long with no joins apart from within the gas locker and of course at the water heater. The challenge was to get all the pipe bends in exactly the correct places and to exactly the correct angles so both ends of the 3m pipe ended up in precisely the right place.
You have to get really good with a 15mm pipe bender.
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I've been on waterways where I've needed to use the weed hatch several times a day.
If it's a GRP boat, then adding a weed hatch wouldn't be that difficult for a competent DIYer.
Epoxy resin and biaxial cloth is simplicity itself to use. The first experience I had using it was installing a bow thruster, and I'd happily undertake building weed hatch.
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4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Well then, change to the 3.9kg whilst you can and buy a pigtail and you can refill to your hearts content - saving (proably) 60% in refill costs.
A 3.9 propane 'refill' costs around £20 - call it £5.00 / kg
A 47 kg propane 'refill' costs around £90 - call it £1.90 / Kg
A 13kg Butane doner cylinder is much easier to manage and store and still makes for a cheap refill of a 4.5kg bottle.
I can live aboard full time for two months and not get through a 4.5kg bottle, and most yachties only sail for a few weekends each year with perhaps the occasional week as well: 47kg would outlive some of my friends!
34 minutes ago, magnetman said:apparently
L.P.G. has a high calorific value (Propane 95 MJ/m3 Butane 121 MJ/m3 ) compared with natural gas.
That is quite a big difference!
I see where the confusion lies:
Butane is 13.64 kWh/kg
which is lower than
Propane at 13.99 kWh/kg
You buy both gasses by weight of liquid, so these figures are of more use when comparing prices.
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Just now, rusty69 said:
Not any more it ain't.
Actually, I think enough of them are re-filling for themselves and for their friends who ask nicely.
Some will turn to Flogas, but they seem to use a number of different bottle dimensions.
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9 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
But who uses Butane for out door use ?
Me and all my yachtie friends use butane on their boats and the 4.5kg is the most widely used amongst them.
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3 minutes ago, magnetman said:
Yes. also I believe butane has a slightly higher calorific value so it is marginally more cost effective.
My trawler was built to take the small calor bottles but luckily the holders are external and the next size up are the same diameter. The boat was built for residential use and had a pair of 3.9 propane bottles when I bought it. I now use the 6kg propane although it doesn't look as tidy.
Or possibly the other way around?
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3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Calor have confirmed to me that the 'link' hoses have no one-way valves in them.
Why would they need to when there is a valve at both bottles?
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4 minutes ago, magnetman said:
Yes I think it was Alan de E who pointed out that Calor sell a POL to POL hose the only use for which is to connect two bottles together for transfer between.
But to fill a 4.5kg calor bottle you need a 21.8mm reverse thread hose connector, not a POL connector.
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Just now, rusty69 said:
Nobody does that, surely.
The parts being sold on eBay would suggest they do.
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Someone so inclined and prepared to break the rules and accept the risk, will get a shiny new 4.5kg bottle while they still can and keep refilling it themselves.
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5 hours ago, Higgs said:
How do possessors of Calor-owned cans being decommissioned get their deposits back?
If you can't get your deposit back, sell it on eBay empty, where some enterprising person will re-fill it and sell it privately to someone who can't accommodate a larger bottle and are struggling to buy a legitimate one from a Calor retailer.
Then it's caveat emptor!
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2 minutes ago, W+T said:
Engines i would rather an outdrive than shaft. saves space and easier when prop fouled.
Stern drives might allow the engine to be positioned further aft, but do they save any space?
You can access a stern drive prop fairly easily, but it's very easy to clear a shaft drive propeller from a weed hatch.
Stern drives stick out and can therefore be vulnerable to collision. They are made of an aluminium alloy that is vulnerable to corrosion.
They are often accused of being very expensive to repair or re-condition.
Stern drives are said to wear and or fail more readily than shaft drives.
Before you decide which is best for you, ask people who own both, lots of questions about servicing and reliability.
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6 minutes ago, Deep said:
Our home mooring is in Gloucester and have found that if the light remains red when we are getting close to it, a couple of short blasts on the horn tends to get their attention. This was suggested by one of the permanent bridge keepers and it always seem to work with no adverse reaction from the bridge keepers, who I have always found to be very cheerful.
It might wake them if they are dozing, but I always think the horn is a bit discourteous; perhaps not.
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Given the lack of space behind the panels, maybe a multifoil material such as 'Superquilt' could be used, so long as each piece is sealed to the last and around the edges.
Double glazing the windows would be difficult, because whatever material you use, you will need a 3/4" air gap to get a good degree of insulation. I had factory made double glazed sealed units on my barge, but the air gap was only 6mm and it didn't help much at all; still cold and with lots of condensation.
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1 minute ago, john6767 said:
There are only 3 of the bridges that have VHF. The rule is even for the ones that an NB can pass under you have to wait for a green.
At least with a direct contact they would have to acknowledge your presence, rather than being free to ignore you.
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A friend of mine bought one for his daughter to live in down south. Her issue with it was, it was difficult and costly to keep warm. They struggled to fit sufficient insulation behind the panels and the windows were huge and single glazed and haemorrhaged heat.
It wasn't comfortable to live in, because the poor insulation meant that at head level it was hot and stuffy, but you couldn't sit and relax without your legs and feet feeling cold. She didn't keep the boat for very long and now lives in a flat.
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9 minutes ago, M_JG said:
I hope those that got shouted at gave back as good as they got.
Officious pillocks shouldn't be in these sorts of roles.
If one passes the light with good reason they need to be told to wind their neck in.
My experience was, an approach where I could be seen from many minutes away, I crept along, expecting to see a change of the traffic light; nothing. I continued to creep closer; still nothing. I stopped in the water; still nothing. I started to drift out of control so U turned away from the light; still no change. I headed back, in and out of gear and eased passed the light not knowing what to do. The chap then appeared and curtly told me to go back behind the light before he would operate the bridge. I did wonder if he had something against pleasure craft and enjoyed making their life difficult.
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2 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:
I had that on one of the G&S bridges. No lights at all and got shouted at.
Perhaps he just enjoys shouting!
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1 hour ago, Theo said:
he bridge now fully open so I proceeded and got told off for not waiting for the green light.
Don't worry, he shouted at us as well for creeping ever so slowly past the light to avoid being blown sideways: we only did it once!
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1 hour ago, Tony1 said:
My steed of choice would be the Viking 32cc or similar, with a very small SF stove and some kind of extra water capacity (I think the standard tank is about 25 gallons). Again, only an issue if you want to live aboard for longer periods and stay out in the sticks for longer periods.
We have a 500l water capacity in a built-in grp tank plus two flexible bladder tanks; easily enough for two weeks, even with quick showers every 2 or 3 days.
We have 460Ah of battery capacity that carries us through 4 days of dull wet weather (not much solar) if the engine isn't run.
We cruise continuously for two months each summer with no problems.
We regularly anchor on rivers where it is permitted, to get the prettiest spots where solar is plentiful; very useful on rivers such as the Nene where moorings are scarce and the Thames where they are expensive!
1 hour ago, rusty69 said:Agreed, beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. I quite like the look of the heavenly twin catamaran, which is quite quirky, but incredibly roomy for a boat of only 26 foot
I like the traditional look too. If you are tall, the headroom might be an issue and if you have to use a marina they often charge 50% more for cats, but a very nice, stable platform compared to a monohull.
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1 hour ago, Tony1 said:
The other cons that I've seen mentioned are the lack of efficient electricity generation from the engine (if it has an outboard), and the lack of roof space for solar panels - obviously issues if you want to live aboard, not so much if you only do a few weeks cruising.
We have 200w of solar panels on our cabin roof with room for another hundred if we needed it. Last year, closures on the K&A kept us from moving at all for a week and our PV kept the fridge, TV, laptop and phone charger going for all of that time with no problems. The alternator on the diesel when we motor really tops up the batteries.
Clearly, the PV would be insufficient during the winter, but it's not a boat I'd want to live on during the winter.
Considering wat liveaboard to go for...Broads cruiser i reckon ?
in General Boating
Posted
I accept that, but how many current narrowboat fabricators build NBs without weed hatches? I assume they do this because of a need, a demand, convenience, to avoid having to enter the water when that is the only other option.
Of course, you do the best you can if you don't have a weed hatch, but they haven't become so popular for no reason.
The very first week after we took delivery of our new barge, we picked up a men's puffer jacket on our prop and it stalled the engine. Even with a weed hatch and direct access, it was a devil to get the thing off.
Imagine that happening in a tunnel: you may have half a mile of legging or punting to do if no other boats came along.
I for one wouldn't be without a weed hatch on the inland waterways.