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MichaelG

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Everything posted by MichaelG

  1. Hi all, presuming you’ve all been good boys and girls what boaty or otherwise stuff do you hope Santa will be bringing for you?
  2. Thanks, I wasn’t sure if it was the same thing.
  3. Hi, my boat was built in 2006 and I bought it in 2018 from the guy who had it from new. The hull is stamped with a serial number described in the builders paperwork as a “Hin” and a “Cin” number. None of the paperwork mentions RCD but there is a document called a declaration of conformity. It’s signed and dated by the builder and lists a load of ISO and British Standards that the boat complies with.
  4. I feel so sorry for this poor young woman, I hope it works out for her. I guess the main hurdle will be proving that the boat was in this condition three years ago when the surveyor examined it. The problem with any kind of expert evidence in court is whatever one expert opinion says you can always find another to give a contrary view to fit your case.
  5. Thanks for the advice Tony. You could well be right as the calorifier is only about six feet from the bathroom sink and shower and about ten feet from the galley sink.
  6. Thanks for the advice. My calorifier, pump, accumulator and associated gubbins is all housed under the bed which has to be taken apart to get a clear view of everything. I'll have to have a good look to see if there's an expansion vessel hiding in there. Interestingly I don't get the burst of cold water before hot from the hot tap you mention but conversly when I have a tank of hot water my cold tap runs warm for a few seconds before coming through cold.
  7. Mmm interesting. I don't think my system has an expansion vessel fitted, just an accumulator, I think I would have seen it unless it's really tucked away. I shall have to have a good root around and follow the hot pipes to check. I wouldn't know if the PRV activates regularly as it is vented overboard rather than into the bilge.
  8. From what I understand your PRV appears to be doing what it should, releasing water pressure from your calorifier as the engine runs, heating the water causing its volume to expand. The problem is your vent pipe has been run into your bilge which I think is quite a common set up. I presume you rely on a bilge pump to pump it out? Mine is vented directly overboard via a skin fitting so the bilge stays dry.
  9. Hi good luck with your boat search. One big negative is the price of boats at the moment. I bought mine four years ago and at the time had a budget of 50k. Judging by the brokerage websites I think I would have had to add another 15k to that budget to get the same today. I think it’s a temporary blip and sooner or later prices will settle a little. Also remember to leave some of your budget for alterations, repairs and equipment replacement. Even if you buy well there will be things you need or want to replace or change. Everything with the word “boat” or “marine” on it will be twice the price you expect. That said if it’s something you are sure you want then go for it and best of luck.
  10. When I bought my boat it still had the original stove from new, so had been in place 13 years. I realised the surround tiles were fixed directly to the ply side lining and the back of a locker. The back of the ply in the locker got very hot but there was no evidence of charring. The stove was quite knackered so ordered a new Boatman stove and paid the guy who makes them to fit it and a new flue. I took the opportunity to refit the surround with fire board and an air gap. When I removed the old tiles quite surprisingly there was no sign of charring to the ply. The Boatman was physically smaller than the old stove so could incorporate a larger gap between stove and surround.
  11. My flue at the ceiling as it enters the collar passes through a square section of what looks like a hard asbestos type material , although I doubt it’s asbestos as the boat was built in 2007.
  12. Thanks all for sharing your experiences. Much appreciated.
  13. Hi all, I'm considering having my narrowboat hull zinc coated and two pack epoxied. I understand that you should get ten years out of it before it needs redoing. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has had it done as to whether it lasts as well as claimed or if ten years is a optimistic. My boat is 57 feet and 15 years old. I have her blacked biannually. The last time she was out for blacking a year ago I had a hull survey which was positive with just some minor pitting to 0.5mm. The baseplate has never had any protection applied. Looking at Debdale Wharfs prices I think I'd be looking at around 5k which isn,t too bad when offset against the cost of biannual blacking over a ten year period. I'd be interested in hearing anyones experiences, positive or otherwise. Many thanks.
  14. Yes, she does also have a website but not much information on there except a collection of photographs. I guess there will be a lot of work to do before she is up and running, not least of which will of course be preparing the boat and getting it all signed off as safe.
  15. Hi all Just seen this on Youtube, a new fuel boat service on it's way. Good luck to her.
  16. Thanks for the sensible advice Nicknorman, much appreciated.
  17. Hi, sorry just thought. I was aware that you must connect the controller to the batteries before the panel. What happens if the batteries aren’t connected, for example if the inline fuse between the batteries and controller blows.
  18. Thanks for the advice. I wasn’t sure if or why one would be required but had seen a couple of set ups that did have them so thought I’d check if they were required for safety reasons. I get the point about being able to disconnect the panels should I need to disconnect from the batteries but as that should be an infrequent requirement I’ll go without the breaker and just disconnect at the controller terminals if required. Thanks again for the advice.
  19. Hi all, I have bought a small solar kit from a supplier. It's a Victron 215w panel and a Victron 15a smartsolar controller which the paperwork suggests is good for panels upto 220w. The kit also comes with the wiring between the panel and controller and the controller to the batteries. The wiring from the controller to the batteries is fitted with a blade fuse type fuse holder. There is no breaker or fuse for installation between the panel and controller included in the kit. I'm wondering if it advisable to fit a breaker or fuse between the panel and controller or is that not required?
  20. Hi, we looked at a few quite expensive options but ended up buying a two seater from IKEA. Think it’s called the Ektorp or similar. It’s a generous size two seater, plenty of room for two plus the dog, plus it’s not too deep for a narrow boat width. Think it only cost about £200. It’s delivered in three pieces, the base and back plus the two arms and they bolt together, so easy to get onboard. You buy the colour cover in the colour you want that fits over it. For such a cheap sofa we found it to be really comfortable. Had it for about a year and still happy with it.
  21. Hi all, just in case anyone else has this problem with this Sterling inverter charger and finds this post on a search, I now have the pictured instruction sheet which shows how to program the settings including switching off the power save function.
  22. Hi all, I have the pictured Sterling inverter charger, probably about 15 years old as I think it was fitted to the boat from new. It has a power saving function which keeps the inverter in a standby mode until a demand is detected. The problem is it now seems to be having a problem detecting when there is demand, particularly from small draw devices. I believe that it is possible to deselect the power saving function? Just wondering if anyone has or has had this type and knows how to do it. I am currently working around the problem by switching on a 230v lamp which brings the inverter out of standby mode so that I can then use the device I actually want. Thanks in advance for any advice.
  23. Hi Rick, I have a C200 on my boat. The advantages are they are very simple to install and there is not much that can go wrong with them. The negatives are the frequent need to empty. With two of us onboard a cassette lasts about two days. I bought two extra cassettes, they are about £100 each, I think they call them "a freshen up kit" and come with a spare loo seat. I personally wouldn't go the second hand route as after a few years the seals on the openings and air vent can start to leak. You can buy a kit to replace the seals but not a nice job.
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