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Bargebuilder

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Everything posted by Bargebuilder

  1. All good points. GRPs are a lot tougher than you might think: we have been hit in the side by a big NB, but at fairly low speed and no damage was done. So long as you are not sandwiched against an immovable object such as the canal side, GRPs are so light that they just move sideways in a collision. You do learn to choose your mooring position carefully and avoid bends where NBs with inexperienced skippers might lose control. A professional skipper towing a dumb barge once lost control of his tow at Foxton Locks, which then hit us head on, but we just bounced off. We prefer to travel through two way long tunnels late in the day when they are quiet out of preference, but we've done most of them now without any problems. We always share wide locks with NBs where possible as they hold us nicely in place! I've never seen a GRP that appears to have been damaged by a collision, but there is a tiny chance that it could happen.
  2. She looks prettier than a NB from the front, but then, even widebeam owners think their boats look nice. Beauty is in the eye...... and all that. The aft cabin, although not pretty, makes extremely good use of space and having a centre cockpit gives a real feeling of safety in heavy seas because you are very well protected with much less chance of losing your footing and tumbling off the back.
  3. But yours was an appliance installed before any change of regulations and as such would be exempt. Will the BSS pass a piece of equipment that it's own manufacturer recommends should not be used on a boat? My last BSS inspector refused to pass my boat because it's carbon monoxide detector didn't have a yacht symbol embossed on the back: he insisted that only CO detectors specifically recommended for use on boats were acceptable. I argued that the detector didn't know where it was and CO was the same wherever it was detected, but he refused to issue my certificate until I sent him a photo of a new detector with the symbol visible on it. I thought he might be wrong, but complied with his request.
  4. I understand Classic to be the brand. I have seen one other like mine but a handful of aft cockpit versions that are 26 feet long. Mine is a 1984, so I assume that they are all of a similar vintage. Alas, the manufacturer has disappeared and I don't know any more about them. Mine has a Vetus 20hp which is a Mitsubishi, but that is much younger than the boat. It's the weed hatch which sets them apart from the majority of GRP cruisers, but it's certainly handy. They are tough little things. The picture is of us doing a short coastal hop. Any self respecting narrowboat wouldn't contemplate such conditions, but a GRP cruiser, with a brave skipper just might!
  5. The angle of the fridge is important to its operation, but I suspect it's the gas aspect that the BSS are concerned about. Did the old fridges have flame failure devices? If not, an extinguished pilot light could allow quite an accumulation of gas in a bilge. The BSS inspector would fail a gas system thats bubble detector bubbled the equivalent of the gas consumed by a fridge flame.
  6. Yes, as I said, one of the techniques for retaining full control is to keep way when it's windy. It's not difficult; try it. It handled very competently last summer when we cruised from Sharpness to Portishead under the Severn Bridge in 12mph head winds.
  7. I am not aware of changing my opinion at all: with an understanding of the characteristics of one's cruiser and a little practice, GRPs are easy to handle in all conditions, that I've experienced anyway. If you have a genuine interest rather than just trying to goad a response, my cruiser is a 'Classic 30' centre cockpit. Similar to a 'Viking' but with an inboard engine. I hope you have changed your opinion and perhaps one day try cruising in one.
  8. Since you wrote this about GRP cruisers earlier in this thread, I don't think I'll bother humoring you: "Price. Nothing else, if you are canal cruising. Bloody cold in winter, hard to fit good heating into."
  9. My mains fridge, when I first turn it on, drops from 21-23⁰C to it's working 4⁰C in about 15 minutes. I have a digital thermostat to control it so I can watch the temperature drop as I sit drinking tea. Is it possible that your unit needs re-gassing?
  10. I have never come even close to losing control of my GRP cruiser, in any conditions. I have however seen many steel NBs get into a terrible mess. It's much more to do with the skipper than the vessel.
  11. Is the reason not because of the little gas flame? Boats do allow the accumulation of butane in the bilge, whereas it can escape from motor homes quite easily.
  12. To make a slightly fairer comparison, I was only refering to GRPs with a beam of 6'10", hence the 2 tonne figure; possibly almost 3t for ones with an inboard diesel. Moored boats surge backwards and forwards because passing boats move a volume of water out of the way as they pass. A GRP cruiser will move up to 3 cubic metres of water, a NB up to 18m³ and a broad-beam maybe 25m³ or more. Those narrowboaters who accuse GRP cruisers of passing slightly faster than a narrowboat might at tick-over, should first look at their own moored boat to see if it is actually moving any more than it would if a slower NB went past; it probably isn't. GRP cruisers often travel at the full 4mph allowed, because they can without being a nuisance; they do so without causing a wash damaging to the bank and they certainly shouldn't move a properly moored 18 tonne narrowboat. Of course they would if they passed at 6mph! One thing is for certain, an 18 tonne narrowboat passing a moored GRP cruiser at 3mph will cause more surging movement than would a 3 tonne GRP cruiser passing an 18 tonne NB at 4mph. It is much safer for all parties if a GRP cruiser doesn't slow down too much in windy conditions, because that's how they retain control.
  13. It's certainly true to say that a grp only displaces 2 tonnes of water as it passes moored boats, whereas a large steel NB may displace 18 tonnes of water. It is therefore true that one can pass a moored boat in a grp cruiser faster than can a heavy NB without causing any surging, forwards and backwards of that moored boat. Yet another reason why grp cruisers are not only better in many ways for their owners, but also potentially for other boat owners.
  14. As you continue on down the Nene it isn't much better in places. The problem there is blanket weed/algae streaming out in 20 foot long cords that are impossible to avoid and wrap around the propeller tightly, eventually covering it entirely and resulting in zero thrust. A burst of astern has no effect whatsoever, so regular visits to the weed hatch are unavoidable. That was mid June, so they may have cleared it, or it might be even worse now.
  15. Just buy a 230v fridge and an 800w quasi inverter dedicated to it, plus a 12v thermostat and relay. The combined cost will be a fraction of the cost of a Shoreline 12v fridge, will be, in my experience more reliable and long lasting, and will also consume fewer Ahs over a 24hr period. Yes, I have done both and couldn't have been more disappointed with the Shoreline product.
  16. I agree, but if every Ah is critical, such as over a period of gloomy midwinter days where you are reliant on PV, just wire up a dedicated inverter to only come on when the fridge calls for cooling. Doing it that way, there is no quiescent current loss to worry about. You may have a big inverter to power other boat items and if it's quiescent demands are tolerable, then just use that as previously suggested. If Amp hours are in very short supply and you are only using 'mains' for a TV and a phone charger, then just use a tiny inverter for those items to minimise the quiescence current loss and have a dedicated inverter for the fridge. I did this in order to avoid using a generator, preferring instead to rely 100% on solar power.
  17. I bought from Bimble 4 such used panels and they were in immaculate condition and have worked faultlessly and to specification for the last 9 years. I also bought from them the charge controller, but bought the cable, MC4s, isolators etc from eBay. It's a simple diy electrical job, but worth the few pounds to buy the correct MC4 cable crimpers.
  18. I'd check that this is possible before buying a grp without a hatch: with an aft cabin, there is no safe way to hang over the side anywhere near to the propeller to give a suitable angle of attack with a boat hook or similar. The only option for using a boat hook would be to use it from ashore and we have travelled many a river where shore access is impossible. In the Nene this year we went through a stretch that was covered in thick blanket weed. After a few hundred yards the propeller had been turned into a green blanket weed football, with only the very tips of the blades visible. Even with a weed hatch and a very sharp serrated knife, it was a real struggle to clear the prop.
  19. Will they prioritise cargo carriers over cruise ships, some of which just enter through the initial locks, turn round and leave again through the same locks just to give passengers an interesting holiday?
  20. Other advantages associated with owning a narrow beam grp cruiser: Having a 'v' profile hull shape, one can moor closer to shallow bank sides than you can with flat bottomed narrow boats. They also tend to draw less water, so getting stuck in shallow canals has never been a problem for us. Grp cruisers are cheaper to buy: they waste no internal space on a forward 'well deck', this space being fully occupied by a huge double bed that any narrowboat would be jealous of. Our bed is more than 6 feet wide and more comfortable than any narrowboat 'double' bed that I have ever tried. In addition, the longer grp cruisers have centre cockpits and aft cabins, so there is no wasted space at the stern as there is with narrowboats. For this reason, in order to have the volume of internal space that you might find in a given size of grp cruiser, you would need to buy a considerably larger narrowboat. Just look inside a 30ft example of both if you doubt what I say. Narrowboaters often stand for hours, sometimes in the lashing rain, when cruising. With a grp cruiser, you can choose to sit all day in a comfortable, padded helm seat and shelter from inclement weather under your cockpit canopy. Such canopies lower easily when approaching low bridges. Remember too, that a shorter boat is cheaper to licence and cheaper to moor and can often fit into that last available gap in a prime canalside location. Also, grp boats do not need to be hauled out and 'blacked' every 2-3 years, giving a huge maintenance saving as well. In the last seven years, annual maintenance for us has been engine oil and filters, fuel filter and antifreeze. I check the impeller annually but have only replaced it twice and I slapped some new paint on the deck last year. Average annual cost, far less than £100. I should also dispell the myth that grp boats should winter ashore; this is just not true. They are absolutely strong enough to survive severe winters afloat and their hulls certainly don't need to 'dry out'. If you do overwinter ashore, the cost of craning out and back is offset by only needing to licence the boat for half the year. The steel hulls of narrowboats are prone to rusting, unless you use the best coatings and never scrape or scratch it off, eventually resulting in the need for patching or complete over-plating: a very expensive operation that is alien to owners of plastic boats. The other serious problem with steel craft is that of electrolytic and cathodic erosion; the sometimes severe pitting that can dangerously compromise the integrity of metal hulls; steel, iron and even worse aluminium. Grp hulls suffer no such problems, although a small, inexpensive shaft anode will be need to protect their propeller which is likely to be made of bronze. An outboard will have an anode of it's own. Osmosis is a minor condition that can occasionally affect grp hulls, but it is just a surface bubbling of the outer gel coat, does not make a boat leak, is not structural and has never caused any vessel to sink... unlike the rusting of steel hulls! Osmosis is liked by buyers of grp boats because it offers the opportunity to get a price reduction, but having bought the boat they rarely do anything about it! Grp cruisers also seem much roomier than steel narrow boats. This is partly because cruisers tend to have much larger windows, giving much better views from the saloon. Also, with centre cockpit cruisers, you aren't walking through one cabin to get to the next, so it doesn't feel like you are living in a corridor. Should you want some day to cross The Wash or navigate the tidal Severn, the higher freeboard of grp cruisers and their ability to ride over waves rather than crash through them, taking water into the well deck, make them much more competent boats in lumpy waters than are NBs. Having said all that, there are some features that are desirable in a grp cruiser. If you intend to cruise any distance, you really want a diesel inboard engine: only diesel fuel is readily available at the canal side and you may have to walk miles to find a roadside petrol station if you have an outboard motor. Also, it would be dangerous and not permitted to carry large amounts of petrol on board. Diesel engines are extremely fuel efficient: my 20hp Vetus diesel uses 0.5l per hour at canal cruising speeds in my 30ft cruiser, that's about a month's cheap cruising from my built-in tank. A NB might use double, triple or even more diesel than that. If you buy a shaft drive diesel, then you MUST have a weed hatch above the propeller, as you will occasionally pick up rope or plastic or weed that will halt your progress, and without one you are stuck; unless you can swim! For summer use, we wouldn't swap out grp cruiser for a steel narrowboat. It saved us a fortune to buy and continues to save us money every year to run, but I wouldn't live all year on it!
  21. GRPs are certainly not best for winter cruising due to their often wonderfully large windows and lack of insulation, but it's inaccurate to say that they are difficult to heat, because usually the cabin volume is small and low output heaters cope very well indeed. I have a Taylors diesel heater with a 2kw output and zero 12v requirement, plus a Chinese Eberspacher knock-off that can almost instantly produce 2-5kw, and we are never cold. Dare I suggest that you don't regularly cruise in a grp cruiser. We have covered nearly 600 miles this summer alone, including on days with high winds, when we've hardly seen steel narrowboats moving at all. Yes, they are light weight, but they also usually have a 'v' shaped hull profile and a shallow full length keel, which actually grips the water surprisingly well. There is, as with all boat types, a technique for close quarters boat handling, but it's easy to pick up and losing control in windy conditions has never been a problem for us; ever! In addition, the power to weight ratio is usually much higher than with a steel NB and a GRP is much nimbler and able to change orientation and speed quickly in order to avoid a collision that would be impossible to avoid in a 70' long 18 tonne NB.
  22. Bimble solar are reliable and good value.
  23. Let's hope they don't insist on an elm replacement!
  24. I would look very seriously at Chemco RS 500P before you make your decision. https://www.chemcoint.com/products/epo-chem-rs-500p/
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