tosher

This seems like a good idea to me but will it have any implications with the BSS like needing a second Pressure test with the new access hole plate in position ???????

Mnnn. Sorry but don't know the answer to that. Mine was bought about a year ago and is milky

I second that, really good stuff.

I sent an email complete with a photo and details of the green house type heaters I would be using to my insurers and they confirmed they are safe to use would not invalidate my policy.

Thanks chaps for all your informative comments, much appreciated. When my boat was lifted just over two years ago I was surprised and disappointed by the amount of galvanic activity on the hull, I replaced the anodes and re blacked it myself doing a thorough job with three coats of Rylards Rytex. I mentioned this to the staff when I returned to my marina and they carried out a check of the shore side wiring and said everything was ok. When my boat was lifted again last month I found the hull was showing the same signs of galvanic activity as before. I do have a galvanic isolator fitted as do the other boats on adjacent pontoons. I have previously left the boat plugged in to the marina supply over winter so this winter I want to try something different hence my OP. The heaters I want to use are earthed and I sent details and a photo of them to my insurance company and they said it's fine to leave them switched on with the boat unattended over winter as long as they are firmly secured (as suggested in post 6). Thanks again for your advice.

Hi all. I want to leave 2 x 120 watt tubular heaters (green house type) on my boat over winter but to avoid any possibility of galvanic corrosion I don't want to connect the boat to the marina shore power in the normal way. So I am thinking of plugging a lead into the shore power bollard and taking it direct into the boat, fitting two 13amp sockets on the end of it and plugging the heaters into these sockets. This will keep the boat electrics completely isolated from the marina system. This sounds ok but are there any down sides to doing this??? The boat will not be occupied over winter. Any advice much appreciated. Many thanks.

Mine have been bolted on for 13 years, no problems at all. Easy to replace with no labour costs. Work just as well as welded on ones.

If anyone is interested --- I have two engine driven alternators 110A & 75A charging my 3 x Elecsol 270AH batteries via a Sterling Alternator-to-Battery charger. All fitted when the boat was built 12 years ago. We are out in the boat for about 4 or 5 months throughout the year and normally cruise for about 3 or 4 hours per day moving most days with the occasional day off. The batteries usually fall to about to 90% after an overnight stop and maybe down to 80% after a day without running the engine. These values have reduced considerably in recent months and the volts drop under load as the batteries die. Most days when cruising the batteries are recharged to 100%. When we are not cruising the boat is left unattended in a marina with all electrics switched off. In the summer months I leave the shore power lead unplugged to prevent any chance of galvanic corrosion but in the winter months I plug in the shore power and leave a battery charger on. I have a Smart Gauge which I think is the main reason for my batteries lasting so long as it gives a very good indication of the state of charge of the batteries. I always try to keep them as near to 100% charged as possible but other than that I just keep them clean, well watered with the odd bit of maintenance. At present the engine running hours are approaching 5000hrs. Sorry if I have bored you!!!! +

Thanks for all your replies and the answer to my question, I feel more comfortable about the Varta batteries now and will probably go down that route. Thanks again.

Hi all. I am looking to replace my dying 12 year old services batteries with 3 new Varta LFD 230AH sealed lead acid batteries. The spec for these seems ok but shows the max number of cycles down to 50% state of discharge as 200 which seems a little low. My question is ------ In our normal cruising mode the batteries never fall below 75% so does that mean that the number of cycles would increase to 400? My reason for choosing the Varta ones is that they are a direct replacement size wise for my old Elecsols so no alterations to wiring or fittings will be required. Many thanks.

I was moored in Salt House Dock that day and watched it all unfold. The video doesn't really get across the seriousness of it, There were many non swimmers and young children on board the Duck and hearing their screams for help will live with me forever. The narrow boat crews were absolute heroes and saved many lives that day. Look at the timings on the video and see how long it is before other help arrived, a fire engine & ambulance and it was about 20 minutes before the first rescue craft arrived. If it wasn't for the narrow boats they would have been recovering bodies.

We have a Leesan manual pump out kit as a standby, not used it many times but the manual pump works well & emptied the tank with no bother. The pump out connection is on our cabin roof so lifting about 7 or 8 feet with no trouble.

I have an Isuzu 42 and the oil filter number I use is --- Isuzu 5-87610008-0. Not cheap but the genuine article.

Bought it on Ebay as cuthound posted, no problem at all.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have gone down the route of wire brushing/scraping the rust off, then Vactan on the area and finally blacking. Looks a nice waterproof job. Thanks again.

Advice please.-------- I want to paint the inside of my combined Gas/bow locker. The floor is very rusty due to the constant inflow of water through the gas vent holes at each side of the locker at it's lowest point. These holes are quite close to the water line and whenever the boat is moving a small amount of water is always present on the locker floor. The gas bottles stand on rubber mats clear of the floor. What is the best paint to use for this job please? I wondered about using blacking?

The clicking noise is much more rapid then on mine, probably about 2 or 3 times quicker. Mine is the original pump that came new with the engine and although it looks similar to yours something about it looks different so I suspect yours may not be original.

Yes my Isuzu 42 fuel pump click click clicks all the time whenever the ignition is switched on. You can't hear it of coarse once the engine is running.

What about the use of mobile speed bumps???? CART could issue a pair of such things to every licenced boat along with a couple of warning signs. The mobile bumps to be installed across the tow path at the bow & stern of your boat and secured in place with a mooring pin at either end and the signs to warn cyclists and walkers alike. They could have luminous strips on them that glow in the dark. Just a thought

Well said mayalld I agree entirely. I always slow down for fishermen and try to engage with them but sadly most just totally blank me. If they do not acknowledge me (just a nod would be nice) by the time I am level with them then it's full throttle and up yours I'm afraid.

Yes indeed. These things draw around 350 amps so anything less than a fully charged healthy battery will cause problems.

You should be able to put your hand on the motor coupling, it should turn quite easily in both directions. This is a good indication the prop is not fouled.

Thanks Mike & WotEver. Mine stabilse at about 12 amps. They were 810a/h when new but I recon they are down to about 400a/h now so the tail current is in the right ball park.

A quick question please --- Am I right in thinking that the tail current of a fully charged battery should be approx 1 to 2 percent of the current capacity of the battery and not the capacity of the battery when new??