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Standedge

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Posts posted by Standedge

  1. Southern GU - spot to leave the boat unattended for ~week

    in Moorings & Marinas

    Posted

    @blackrose good advice. Thank you.  Yes, indeed, leaving it with some 'company' would the be the prudent way to go, but... maybe, as other's suggested like @Machpoint005 and Tony & cheesegas, it might make  more sense to cough up for 5 days in a marina. The only 'downside' is that it will ruin the economics of " I can take a quick trip to see friends as the air fare is quite cheap"... but on the other hand, I don't want to be worrying too much whilst I'm away 🙃

  3. Southern GU - spot to leave the boat unattended for ~week

    in Moorings & Marinas

    Posted · Edited by Standedge

    Hello everyone,

     

    I am about to start a small, leisurely return cruise from Marsworth Junction to probably around the Denham area before turning and heading back to Aylesbury, taking my time over a few weeks.

     

    Halfway through the cruise I need to be elsewhere and leave the boat for 5 days.  As I have some flexibility with my cruising, I can probably arrange for the boat to be anywhere between Kings Langley/Watford/Rickmansworth/Denham.  Those places are all in the outer fringes of London and I have to confess, I don't know them very well. 

     

    Does anyone have any suggestions as to reasonable spots to leave the boat unattended  (on the canal towpath) for a shortish while in that area (or alternatively, places you would advise against).  I only finished the long fitout of my boat a few months ago, so I suppose I am a bit protective of leaving my new 'baby' at the moment 🙂 

     

    Appreciate any thoughts.

     

     

  4. Josephine- DIY replating and full fitout of a 70s Hancock and Lane narrowboat

    in Build Blogs

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, harrybsmith said:

     

    Thanks! Probably see you tomorrow then, day off, more progress on the way 

     

    I think I was quite lucky with how everything came together, it was one of those jobs that could easily have turned into a 3 week odyssey (Still might do yet, touch wood...) 

    I'll look out for you tomorrow then. 

     

    I've had quite a run of the opposite lately: "it'll only take a morning""....then two days later, still at it...  🙂

  7. Engine kill switches on narrowboats?

    in Boat Equipment

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, PeterF said:

    Well, when I had to jump onto a single handers boat to take the engine out of gear because he had got off to moor up with the middle rope while it was still in gear. If he had tried getting on he would have relaxed the rope and it would have moved further from the bank. Explains the need for a big reg light with the words, "do not disembark until neutral is selected" on it.

    Indeed - quite logical now you explain it - thanks!

  8. Engine kill switches on narrowboats?

    in Boat Equipment

    Posted

    42 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

    Far more useful (I think) is the neutral switch I have bought at ridiculous expense for my PRM150 gearbox which will tell me via a powerful indicator light when I should NOT as a single-hander get off the boat, once I have got around to installing it. I accept that it is not the same thing as a kill cord and doesn't fulfill the precisely same purpose but I am still waxing lyrical about its utility.

    And for the newbies amongst us, would you be able to briefly tell us why this is useful (genuine question, genuinely interested)?

     

    Thanks

  9. Engine kill switches on narrowboats?

    in Boat Equipment

    Posted · Edited by Standedge

    1 minute ago, The Happy Nomad said:

    In theory that would work but the other thing I can think of is the length of the lanyard. Quite often you actually want to move about the boat/gunwales or get off the thing. The engine would stop each time unless you unclipped it (rendering it useless). Yes you could easily lengthen the lanyard but then you are into setting up a whole new hazard of it catching on something as you move about, or even worse tripping and falling of the boat!

    This indeed is a good point. I had only thought about situations when you are standing steering.

     

    Although @Jacsprat's point about only using it when required is also a way of using it..

  11. Engine kill switches on narrowboats?

    in Boat Equipment

    Posted

    32 minutes ago, Jacsprat said:

    As a newbie single-hander using rivers and canals, I've had paranoid fantasies of tumbling off the back of my boat and watching it disappear into the horizon with my dog watching gleefully from the rear. Not to mention being minced by the prop if I get caught up. Has anyone fitted a corded engine kill switch? Is it even possible? I've done a search here on the topic, but zilch comes up.

    I was having exactly the same thoughts for the same reasons (minus the dog - even he wouldn't save me). As @Tracy D'arth said you would likely need to use something with with a positive switch to parallel the regular engine stop switch.  I wondered if something like this might work.

     

    https://www.asap-supplies.com/chromed-brass-ignition-cut-off-switch-744324

     

    I know it is a very unlikely occurrence to fall off, but on the other hand, if you browse through the threads, plenty of folks are pointing out the relative 'frequency' of freak accidents that end in disaster.

     

    • Greenie 1

  12. Does a new hull need shotblasting? And source of steel?

    in Boat Building & Maintenance

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

     

    Bear in mind that in general narrowboats will probably not be prepped in a purpose built blasting facility, they just aren’t built in enough volume to make that feasible for most - if not all - fabricators. The Tyler Wilson philosophy is presumably to do what they can do well rather than to do a theoretically better treatment badly. They then apply a coating that is compatible with what they can achieve. This works for much general steel fabrication. As stated previously I think the only thing to avoid is anyone who isn’t prepping in accordance with the requirements of the coating manufacturer but still passes off their higher tech coating as a selling point.

     

    I’ve written paint specs for large fabrications and been involved in maintenance painting of bridges - although I’m a generalist rather than a specialist on the subject - and I think to be insistent on blasting of hulls for narrowboats is a bit on the side of overkill, not least because even the best coatings will be short lived compared to many industrial applications. The reasons for doing it are probably more about piece of mind of the owner than they are about economics. There is no absolute right or wrong. It’s a personal choice. I think to a degree we’re all making a decision on something we don’t fully understand.

     

    JP

    Wise advice JP and puts things in context. Along the way of my career I have been involved with the development of floating offshore oil production vessels (FPSOs) where a hull coating needs to last for 20 years. Getting an FPSO into dry dock is somewhat more of a rigmarole than pulling a narrowboat out, so the rationale is different. Though if you could get away with 20 years on a 'domestic' boat, that would be pretty awesome...although your average narrowboat probably has more scrapes in service than an offshore FPSO...

     

  15. Does a new hull need shotblasting? And source of steel?

    in Boat Building & Maintenance

    Posted

    Hi there,

     

    Thanks for the information - which all makes sense.  Wanting to the have a good-quality 2-pack coating on the hull is one of the significant considerations that I am making when thinking about builders for a sailaway. I am aiming at [what on the forums seems to be considered] a 'mid-range' builder: Tyler Wilson or Colecraft are both high on my potential builder list. One of the attractions of these builders is that they can apply a 2-pack from the get-go, as well as the generally good reputation overall on these forums.

     

    So, I was a bit crestfallen to read rustrynewberry's experience with his Colecraft. Meanwhile, Tyler Wilson seem to say on their website  FAQs that their system of application, whilst admitting it is not quite as good as shotblasting, is plenty good enough. http://www.tylerwilsonboats.com/faqs 

     

    BTW, I am certainly not (on my first post) trying to disagree with the comments in this thread. Instead I was wondering if people had thoughts about whether I should be crossing them off my list if they can't offer a top-notch 1st painting? Or am I getting too fussy?

     

    Thanks for any advice, I have been lurking on here for a while  - an absolute goldmine of information whilst I leisurely plan out a fit out project. 

     

    Cheers,  Standedge

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