dmr

The eBay collection click and collect system still leaves a bit to be desired. Have just looked at WWW and see that BondaPrimer is part of the Rustins range, I am almost certain this is a new development, maybe it will be available in some hardware shops now. ...............Dave

Its a lot harder to get these days, used to be common in car accessory shops but other brands that handle a range of paints now have more marketing muscle. I use eBay, and yes, there is a big price variation. I get a 1 or even 2.5 litre pot every year or two (better value). I use it quite a bit. Our gunnels and front and back decks are done in Raddle but I put a final coat of Bondaprimer on top as its less slippy in the wet. It does fade a bit in the sun but I quite like that, and its very quick to put a new coat on. If you get a big tin then do note its really volatile (quick drying is a big bonus) and its losing solvent all the time the tin is open so getting more and more stodgy. When you get the new tin stir well then decant into a few jamjars and use these one at a time. Brushes clean with Acetone, not white spirit. ...............Dave

An ecofan bolted directly to the alternator is obviously the answer, not only does it go faster the hotter it gets but its Peltier module actually sucks heat out of the alternator to drive its motor 😀 I have tried cooling my alternator with a good (Caframo) fan and did not achieve much. Ducting in cold air to the alternators own fans might achieve more, a few installations do do this. Compared to the fans in the alternator the extra flow from a computer fan is likely almost negligible. ................Dave

I was told NEVER to publish an equation without defining each term. k some sort of constant A amplitude of a sine wave Ea Environment agency RT Canal and River trust when they get rid of the canals? ...........Dave

You sound like an electronic engineer 😀, there's a lot of us on this forum. Does that law apply primarily to semiconductors where temperature is a big and understood factor? I am not sure it would apply to winding varnish but do confess that I know nothing at all about this. ..............Dave

It was a while ago now but I think an alternator manufacture told me that the maximum intermittent winding temperature was 120 degrees. In many thing engineering the life expectancy is closely and inversely related to temperature, My 100 amp alternators have run very hot when worked hard, a big bank of well discharged Trojans is much the same as a lithium bank as far as the alternator is concerned. So far the slips rings have given out before the windings or diodes have melted (touching wood is easy in a narrowboat). ................Dave

Your question has been asked and answered many times before, I have answered it several times in the last two years, you could have found the advice using the(not very good) search facility. I fully appreciate that talking to real people is so much nicer than talking to a forum robot, but the downside of that is that we need a bit of fun to alleviate the boredom of answering repetitive questions. Boaters are like this, if you want focused straight answers then get a caravan 😀. ...............Dave

I also investigated butyl rubber strip on some brass portholes. It worked ok...it was water tight!!, but was a bit messy and tedious when I had to take one out again. Also its so sticky that it pulled some paint off. And It does not set so I found that I needed to tighten the bolts after a few months, would be a bugger if you've used pop rivets 😀 I have now tried making gaskets out of neoprene sheet and this has also worked well though I did need to get the bolts good and tight to compress it enough to seal. Should be a whole lot easier to get apart in future. .............Dave

Right, so we are talking about rust on the inside! Often much less severe You will have to take the window out to do a proper job. It does not look too bad, have a go with some emery paper and you just might get back to bare metal relatively easily. If you don't take the window out then your repair will not last forever as the old rust will still propagate under any paint that you apply, This is why its sometimes known as "tin worm". .............Dave

How deep is the rust and is there significant pitting? Rust converters are a last resort compromise, the ideal is to get right back to bare metal and just use a good primer, I particularly like Bondaprimer. If you wanted to be really flash you could even use a surface tolerant epoxy primer but they tend to come in big tins. Use an angle grinder, probably with a course sanding disc, to get back to bare metal, taking care to not mess up any steel that will be visible. A few small pits can be "dug out" with a grinding stone in a Dremmel. If you get to bare metal then don't use a rust converter "just in case" because thats daft. If you have just a tiny bit of rust at the bottom of pits you can ignore it, it will be fine, but dab on a bit of converter if you wish. If you can not get to bare metal then use a rust converter, but you are likely slowing down the rust rather than stopping it. ..............Dave

Many years ago I almost had ISO9000 forced upon me, and did wonder if I could achieve it by guaranteeing to be consistently inconsistent. 😀 ...............Dave

I swear it gets lower every year...or maybe I just don't bend as well. I find that quoted 7'7" a bit optimistic, I am 5'7" and the counter is about 21" above the waterline and I certainly have to duck to get through the low bit. .............Dave

I can't help, we are almost 71 foot so won't fit, but...... The new Ribble link locks were built full length because HNBC (historic boat club) reckoned that with a bit of work on the cills and gates a full length boat might get down there one day. Going diagonal is no problem, the Rufford arm is a lonely place, you are unlikely to meet any CRT people to tell you that you can't do it. I suspect you will be fine as long as you are happy with tight locks, but hopefully somebody who really knows more will give an answer. I have asked about the maximum length in the past so a forum search might turn up something. ...........Dave

Very sad, we just got some old waterways world magazines from the local market and I noted that Claymore were advertising hire boats in 1979 so they are a long established company. Also the first two hire boats of the season went past us this morning so at least Shire Cruisers are up and running. ................Dave

He is partly correct, I think many people would regard the Rochdale as a narrow Pennine crossing and the Eastern end as a wide cul de sac. A widebeam would require support from CRT and I have been told that one did go through a couple of years ago and the CRT people involved hope they are never asked to do it again 😀. ..............Dave