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Julynian I am sorry if I offended you and I do realise your post has light hearted, but I stand by what I said. It is of course highly likely that these boats are adopting a creative interpretation of the 14 day rule. There are many boats continuously cruising the KaA in a low profile way and moving not quite as much as they might (and who knows what that distance is). We also know that CaRT read this forum and also feel that CaRT sometime go for the soft and easy targets! I guess I am guilty of applying my own morals here... By all means please do publish photos of those who live on a lock landing and pile their discarded fit-out on the towpath, but be more cautious about exposing those who are just bending the rules a little! (good grief it could have me, we overstayed a couple of times this winter but I don't want CaRT seeing a picture of this!). I think the same applies to what WrigglyFingers says, we all know that there are many "high usage" boats in Caan Hill (we had a week or two in there over Christmas) but its maybe not too wise to make this public. If the marina is happy its probably fine to live there as long as you have a month or two cruising away each year...but would the council agree? It is of course a bit sad that we can't talk freely on our forum just in case and bad people are listening in, but that life! ..............Dave

Not sure I fully understand what you are trying to do here, though I confess I have not watched your video as broadband speed is limited right now. My understanding is that Alternator Sharing only works when charging in Bulk mode, which means the voltage is lower than the regulator voltage ("held down" by the batteries), and so both alternators are going flat out and so the regulators are just fully turned on. Hence the regulator voltage does not matter. In absorption mode the regulators ARE controlling the voltage but as the current is low it can usually be supplied by just one alternator. It would be good practice to un-parallel the alternators at this stage. Now just at the transition things do become uncertain, especially if you have a strong alternator and a weak alternator and are changing engine speed. I think I have seen cases were the weaker alternator shuts down the stronger one which is not ideal, though I don't fully understand how this happens. This transition should not usually last long so is probably not worth worrying about. I think trying to adjust alternator voltages so that they share the load during absorption is a hiding to nowhere! .............Dave

I think its a bit naughty to post pictures of peoples boats and infer that they are overstaying when it sounds like you don't really have evidence to back this up. I recognise one of the boats, the narrow dutch barge, and although I think it "lives" on the K&A I have seen it in lots of places so I doubt if it is a true continuous moorer. Its also in a rather out of the way and uninspiring spot (though within walking distance of the wonderful "Devizes Steel" shop) so its not like its hogging a prime visitor mooring in Bath. And it is Winter when the mooring rules are not enforced too enthusiastically! And I don't think there are that many spots left in Caan Hill marina now, and its very likely that liveaboards are not officially allowed! ...................Dave

I would expect to see quite a lot of condensation in the winter but none in the summer. Quite a lot means a good covering of drips running down the metal. We have some bare steel at the back and it produces a lot of condensation in winter. Strange thing is it stops sometime in March every year. Even though its a cold spell now there is no more condensation. Must relate to water temperature but I would not have thought the water has got warm yet. ...........Dave

Yes, I hope we have made a good investment going for shot blast and epoxy, hopefully won't know for years yet. I have never heard of bacterial rust before, but now you mention it we had a few bright orange bits when we got the boat (7 years ago) but none since. I have also seen it on other boats. Is it location specific??? Is it worse if you don't move much? And do you keep and use your boat in a bad location??. A suggestion, (not based on any first hand experience).... Shot blasting is expensive so whilst out of the water how about doing the water line with a very course disc in an angle grinder, and maybe hiring a needle gun for any pitted bits that you can't get into with the grinder, then a couple of coats of epoxy. I have not yet used Jotun myself but note that it is available in smallish tins that don't break the bank. Our boat was done in an International epoxy that only comes in big £400 pots so I am buggered if I need to repair any scrapes! ..........Dave k

But if you did take the time and effort to learn this stuff it would eventually make sense. Now if we started talking about signature solutions, leverage, and flexible platforms then you would be in trouble because no amount of study will ever reveal what they mean! ...........Dave

Weve got a big one running on a taperlock on our JD3, 330mm or thereabouts. I think this is the standard Beta installation. Its been on and off a few times and I have had no problems with it not running true. Only rev to about 1200rpm. Used to use some very big ones at work too. What is the issue with taperlock....is there anything I should be keeping an eye on???? .........Dave

Going just slightly off topic.. I think this is possibly one of the strengths of epoxy blacking. Although people have mixed opinions about epoxy just about everybody agrees that it stops the pitting dead! We are 70 foot and have some pitting in the middle of the boat, maybe because its a long way from the anodes, or maybe just a co-incidence/bad bit of steel, but hopefully epoxy is the way to control this.

Yes, thats the one. I know most pubs are having a really hard time of late, but there are still a few free houses selling a range of good beers at reasonable prices, not doing food, and appearing to be doing ok! Hopefully popping in for a drink some time in July! Just had some very nice beer in the newly re-opened John'o Gaunt in Hungerford, posh and expensive, but selling proper beer! ............Dave

Most 3 chargers will go into float mode much too soon, especially when used on a liveaboard boat where the batteries are always on the threshold of sulphation, and turning them off and back on will not always help! Hopefully someone on this forum can recommend something that works well?????? ..........Dave

Sorry, I forgot to tell you that there is a really good pub between the T&M and the Macc, just where the Macc branches off but well hidden. Proper job, no food just lots of beer. I will have to drink your share of the beer when we are up later this year (to get myself "ready for hearbreak hill"). Currently snowing in Hungerford so dread to think what is like up there. ................Dave

Exactly the same logic here as with fixing old cars, but even truer........ Have you approached a couple of welders to find out just how ludicrously cheap some of them are????? By the time you have purchased the resin, cleaned up the rusted metal, spent ages doing a nasty smelly (and temporary) repair, and cleaned up afterwards... it would be quicker and cheaper to do it properly, cut the old stuff out, weld some new bits in. You don't need an expensive boatyard with expensive premises...there are several mobile and boat based welders who will be happy to help. ..........Dave

Hello Dean When running the boat engine at lowish speed/fast tickover (not idle!) to charge the batteries one thing to watch is the temperture. I know you are not a fan of instrumentation but a temp guage is another essential. Running cold is one thing that does hurt engines. Modern diesels are just so efficient that its just possible that yours won't get up to temperature when running slow to charge batteries. If its not hot then run it a bit faster. Some people say its good to increase the speed for a few minutes every hour or so. I dunno if this is an urban myth or not, but it can't hurt! ............Dave

Not talking about proper built in gennies here. My observation (and this is the K&A) is that most generators are air cooled things with a tiny exhaust, on the back deck, making a horrid noise, whilst boat engines are usually water cooled, inboard so shielded by the boat structure, and with a functional exhaust system. Most small generators are also higher revving. The little suitcase generators are much quieter but when outside can still be very irritating. Why do they always "hunt" ? ............Dave

Engine vs generator for battery charging is a bit like pump-out vs cassette on this forum so let me put the opposite argument to Julynian. Storing and using petrol on a boat is madness! Running a generator outdoors or on the towpath is anti-social! Running a generator in a cratch or half in the back door is madness! So it really comes down to engine vs a diesel generator. Once an engine is up to temperature there is very little extra wear from running it for longer (maybe alternator bearings but almost none on the engine itself) If you have a big battery bank and alternator then you will need really quite a big generator to get a similar charge, so the saving in fuel use will be minimal. You could start with the main engine then swap to a little generator when the charge current has fallen. This is probably the worse of both worlds rather than the best! Ideally you should have a nice big calorifier so that you are using the engine to make hot water whilst charging batteries. A Travelpower would be good too as you can then run a washing machine and immersion heater and put some more load on the engine. Why buy and maintain another diesel engine when you already have one! The arguments might be different if you have a precious vintage engine And if it does all go wrong (which it almost certainly won't) a like for like engine swap is not a big deal! .........Dave

I don't think he's actually tried yet, too put off by all the warnings that he will get horribly stuck! His main concern was the Seend flight. I know the bottom gates will not open fully/are narrow on one of them, we got spectacularly jammed with a hireboat a few years ago (another story for another day but it came very close to someone getting murdered!) It sounds like the Devizes lock (38???) might be fixed, it certainly wasn't last November (sounds like we make a habit of getting stuck in dodgy locks). I guess Guyer's would be a problem too if they wanted to explore the Eastern end! ...........Dave

A very slight diversion... What if a boat is only able to navigate over a much reduced range due to poor maintenance of the waterway??? I am aware of two examples on the K&A. One boat claims he is unable to navigate due to lack of dredging. He may or may not be "trying hard enough" but after years of hassle from BW and CRT is now moving to the land. Just how hard is reasonable???? I personally confirm the long pound is very shallow in places. In the other case a boat was purchased in good faith for use on the K&A, but at 13 foot 6 wide is not able to get through some locks as they are not maintained to 14 foot. This is a particularly sad case as the boat was built specifically for the K&A by the previous owner. ...........Dave

There is a document on the DW website that gives a very detailed statistical analysis of results against weather conditions. Both low temperatures and wind make things much harder, which is not surprising, so looks like both a high flow and warmer weather are needed to break records. Its good to see a lot of civilian crews doing so well. Also interesting to note the dominance of clubs from southern England...where are all those tough northerners? .............Dave

"Flat" means that all frequencies are equally loud; a cheap system will make some louder than others. Chris actually means modes rather than nodes. At frequencies when a wavelength in some way corresponds to the width or length or height of the room then these frequencies are strongly emphasised. Just because a boat is long and narrow does not actually make it any worse than a house, but most boats have a lot of hard wooden walls and ceilings etc whilst many houses maybe have more curtains and soft furnishings. Hard surfaces will reflect sound rather more. The moral here is that unless you want to turn your boat into an optimum "listening room" then its never going to justify the expense of a top notch HiFi system. My own view is that cheap stuff sounds crap, there is some good stuff that is not too expensive, and beyond that its diminishing returns. Even worse most of us are the wrong side of 50 so our ears are already pretty much fu... (worn out). Anyway who needs HiFi to listen to the Archers? ...........Dave

Dean As you are a high electricity user, and obviously a switched on bloke, I think some instrumentation really would help you to optimise your lecky usage. I suggest both a Smartgage and something that measures current. You've got a big alternator and you like to cruise almost everyday so with a biggish battery bank you really can make it all work and let the kids have decent PC useage. Are you sure that a high spec laptop would not do the job (if you can afford one) ?. Have you got modern monitors with LED backlights and can the kids work at minimum brightness etc. Do not let them do music playing stuff or video watching as this can keep the cpu running at top speed/power consumption. If you could measure current you could investigate this sort of stuff, and it would tell you how fast you need to run the engine to get decent charge! Instrumentation would also help the kids to see clearly whats going on rather that just getting "arbitrary" restrictions from you! .........Dave

Pretty sure it was for driving a boat whilst drunk! I think he was stopped by police at the next bridge and breathalysed Bit silly really as the boat name and other signwriting on the boat did rather suggest that the owner liked a drink!. It was reported in the local press but I can no longer find the article with Google. .............Dave

There was in incident on the K&A a couple of years back when a boat was hit by another boat who's owner was obviously drunk. This was not a hire boater but the offender did display a similar rude attitude towards the boater he had hit. Police were called, man was arrested and prosecuted, so it can be done! Maybe with the increasing number of hires to stag and hen parties this is something that boaters will have to do more often, though I hope only as a very last resort. However with hire companies "muttering" to CaRT about CC'ers using the visitor moorings it would be rather poetic if CC'ers started "muttering" to the police about drunk hire boaters!!!! ...........Dave

Because going upstream getting on to the lock landing is a bit tricky, especially with a longer boat, and the option to go straight into the lock and then go up the ladder can be a welcome PlanB if PlanA goes wrong! Also picking up crew when leaving the lock going downsream is not easy so leaving the bottom gates open is easier all round. Same applies at Newbury town lock, though its easier than Fobney (there was briefly a shopping trolley off the lock landing that made it very hard for a deeper boat, and heading downstream the bolts sticking out on the right when going down made collecting the lock crew tricky). However if you go out of Newbury downstream going down and meet a widebeam coming up then the state of bottom gates is the least of your problems! ............Dave

Yes we are ! Dave and Gillie are on the 'A' cruise, and so is Goliath who posts here quite a bit! Currently on the K&A so it depends on the Thames settling down, but should be ok.

another opinion is that the condensation has to go somewhere and wiping it off the windows (if you are not lucky enough to have portholes) is a lot easier than getting it out of the bilge!||| ...........Dave