Martinb

Any ideas how i can do that?

Afternoon. We have a 12v shoreline fridge freezer model RR47ACC. The freezer box seal has split and i am to source a replacement. Have tried shorelines website but the parts are limited. Any ideas?

Morning all. We are in the process of assessing our options and looking to whether now is a good time to change our Narrowboat for something newer and more future proof to our needs. We had her valued last year and with the work we have done and the current climate we are looking at a higher price than what we bought her at. Our current narrowboat was our first and we have had her for 5 years. She was built in 1973 therefore more on the older side of boats. She is in very good condition however and has had work done inside and painted outside. She was partially overplated prior to us getting her but this was done well so no issues were identified on the last survey. One of the aspects we are considering is that our insurance is up for renewal in April this year and we are currently with Craftinsure. They wavered the need for a survey last year but will require one this year. If we are looking to change our boat it would seem sensible that the survey is paid and arranged by anyone wishing to purchase the boat and therefore are there any insurers that would insure without a survey or at least would not need one only 5 years down the line. I am aware that 5-7 years seems to be the norm with older boats and surveys but it would be helpful to understand if there is any wriggle room in this to allow us time to explore all our options. Thanks in advance

thanks for all the comments, more food for thought.

Thanks, worth a thought. I was suggested AGMs as they are better at discharging and general maintenance? Thanks will take a read through

Appx 3 years max. Sadly we were incorrectly advised on charger settings and they have slowly been ruined over the last few years.

Happy New Year All! We are in the process of looking to replace 3 leisure batteries and are considering AGM batteries. We currently have 120AH leisure's which are no longer holding their charge. We have shoreline when not out and about but also in addition run solar 200w in total. As always the standard google searches provide a wealth (or not) of suggestions and the more you look the more confusing it becomes. I am therefore looking for suggestions as to a good AGM battery to meet our needs that doesn't cost the earth. (ideally) Thanks in advance Martin

Hi bizzard, ok looks like we have around a 6-7"pulley. How easy is it to change the pulley? The shaft that the pulley sits on goes through the back of the engine behind the boxes steps. Is this simply pulled out of the engine and another pulley put on or do we need to be moving the engine forward to put a new pulley over the end? Sorry we are not experienced mechanics so the terminology may not be 100%. I assume then we need to increase the belt size to the alternator?

Hi Tony, we are on the wey, due to be back sunday then on and off over the next week

I do recall this being mentioned before so will check,

We never see it go.above around 63% We normally start between 55 and 60%

The smartguage is showing 61% charged and the volt shows 12.8 with engine running I think we perhaps need someone with electrical knowledge to take a good look and see if there is anything that doesnt look right or isnt working as it should. We have limited knowledge of these things so are a little blind to all this.

Yes we have a meter like this. It never drops throughtout a journey. The engine has been running now for a couple of hours and its around 13 at the moment, not the greatest dial to get a accurate reading. They only time we ever see it any lower is when we have gone from our marina on hook up and then out with fully charged batteries. Normally for a odd weekend we dont notice it but we are out on the thames currently and have seen a difference in what power we have despite 5+hours cruising a day.

Pass sorry my technical knowledge is limited

True, friends on another boat can run there boat for 2 days with no charge and have all manner of electrial items on board, microwave, large tv coffee machine. We can only dream of such luxuries ?

Sorry my limited knowledge, the smart guage shows between 12.8 and 13volts when the engine is running, the amp meter on the control panel is showing around 15amps. Does it sound by what I have said our alternator is not up for the job, it was a replacement from RCR when our old one went. Sadly this was soob after we bought the boat so cant comment if the old one was any better. There is a QR code on the alternator so will see if i can get the specs for it once the rain dies off a little

The amp meter shows about 15, the smartguage shows voltage at 13 but will drop when the engine is off

The 12.6 is seen after switching the engine off and on our smartguage. Our amp meter on the panel seems to be showing around 15, its an analogue dial. Sorry boater sam the 12.6 is not the charging but the charge voltage after the engine switches off.

Hi all. We have a air cooled SR 3 with one starter and 3 new 130ah leisure. We are noticing that despite cruising for 5-6 hours we are not getting above 12.6 at most. We are running a 2000w inverter and 240v fridge. We have a single alternator charging the batteries. Even if we turn off the inverter when cruising it doesnt get any higher. Any ideas why we are not getting a full charge as we are finding we can barely last 24hours with not alot running.

Thanks Tony, really helpful. We have never done full speed from stationary. We are based on the Wey so river based cruising is all we tend to do. Will give your suggestion a go though and see what we get. In fact we find she tends to prefer being pushed a bit rather than chugging along. The engine has always started well and ticks over nicely with no banging or clanking. Its 19HP so not a fast engine by any means but does what she needs to do. Reverse has never been great but perhaps thats down to HP? She does tend to take a few seconds to pull the boat into reverse compared to other NB with younger and more powerful engines. Promising to hear I dont have to dig deep for any major repairs.

Thanks Tony, not sure what you mean by OP but anyway. Taking on board your comments I would have thought this would have been seen all the time (the blueish smoke) but this does disappear once the engine has warmed up. The blackish smoke only appears if thrown into reverse quickly and to extreme so the explanation of excess fueling feels plausible. If it was a prop issue wouldn't this be seen in forward and reverse? She was recently taken out for blacking at the prop was not damaged in any way. I am not expert by any means so always interested to seek views and opinions on what is "normal" for this type of engine.

Thanks Cuthound. So the blue and black is normal if seen in the circumstances mentioned?

Dear forum....we have a Lister SR3 air cooled engine in our NB and I notice when first starting and until warm there is blueish smoke from the exhaust. This tends to disappear after a while. However when I place the boat in reverse I normally get darker smoke from the exhaust. I recall reading listers are not really built to run in reverse however I am wondering if there is anything that I need to be doing etc or is this the norm with this type of engine. Thanks in advance

Wow that's interesting. If u had any pictures it would be great to see them.

Quick update on our stalling. We increased the idle and this seem to do the trick. Great feedback though and thanks to everyone who commented....nice to know there is plenty of help out there.