dmr

Well done PM sent ..........Dave

Yes!, always stop under the bridge, get the lock ready, then just creep round the corner hugging the bank so the flow can't take the back end. Going upstream through county also has a little issue, after getting through the Oracle its easy to breathe a sigh of relief as you approach the lock landing... but watch out for a nasty little eddy that tries to pull you back out toward the weir, nothing too serious but it can make yer heart miss a beat! and whilst giving Kennet advice.. Going down through Fobney I would get the lock crew on down the lock ladder then go straight out of the lock leaving the gates open, it will upset some people but anyone coming up river will certainly thank you. I would do the same with Newbury town lock if the flow is on. ...........Dave

The traveller normally has the lever on the left hand side, so this must be a different bog altogether, or a very special custom version of the traveller made for a boater with only one leg. Seriously, if its a traveller then spare parts re readily available ..........Dave

Yes I did mean the main line. I am always surprised at just how many boaters appear to dislike locks. Just look at the adverts for some marinas..they boast "xx miles of lock free cruising". We have certainly met boaters on the K&A who have never been to the "other half" of the canal because they won't do Devizes flight!!!! So, we turn some sections of the cut into on-line mooring and build a M6 style toll canal as a bypass. Boaters who don't like passing moored boats then pay a little toll to use the bypass, and as a reward are allowed to go at 6 miles per hour.! Mr Bizzard would be proud of me! ..........Dave

Didn't they do something along those lines a while ago in Birmingham???? I doesn't have any locks but there are certainly no moored boats on it! .........Dave

I agree, to some extent, though I would rather go slowly past a moored widebeam than meet one when its moving, especially if the owner is more interested in living on a boat than learning how to handle it. Its a bit off topic but it has occurred to me quite often that what is needed is more moorings that capture something of the character of living on the cut. Living in a marina does not meet the needs of many boaters; they are often more "caravan park" than boaty and the view out of the window is most often another boat 2 feet away. (And this of course is why residential boaters don't want to move into mobile homes!). I think small marinas built as "arms" would be quite nice, and ultimately a "layby loop" would be great, especially if the odd passing boater was encouraged to detour to simulate real life on the cut. This would happen naturally if they sold diesel etc. Sadly this would all work out much more expensive than digging the standard big square marina hole. ...........Dave

I think there is a change going on that is perhaps not always appreciated when we discuss not compliant CCing; an increasing number of people who really want to live in a boat on the canal, and have enough money to do this in style. They do NOT want to cruise extensively (in a few cases not at all), they just want to live on a boat! I suspect in some cases they want to do this so badly that they are prepared to have a bit of selective blindness to the CC guidelines. Its not really surprising they don't worry too much about the guidelines, anyone who wants to spend a fortune on a residential widebeam, probably with zero boating experience, is already pretty reckless (in my opinion) so the CC rules are not a big issue. I suspect as long as they move a bit and keep off the VM's then CaRT, and many boaters, are actually not too concerned. .............Dave

I don't think its quite as clear cut as that. Many, probably most, boaters will interpret the rules as how they see others behaving rather than exactly as CaRT write them down. I confess I do; if all the boats around me are spending three weeks on the 24 hour moorings (in winter I add), then I am not going to worry if I spend 3 days there! Many people have moved onto the K&A because they have seen others doing it successfully for years, so if they do read the guidance for continuous cruisers then they might interpret this as some sort of obscure technicality. I certainly feel that CaRT must take much of the blame here. I have heard from several (though maybe unreliable) sources that if you were to approach BW and say "I am having a £120,000 widebeam built and plan to cruise between Hungerford and Devizes, is this ok?" then BW would certainly not give a clear No. Its been said so many times, CaRT just need to enforce the existing rules fairly and consistently. I think what has changed recently is that CaRT now fully realise that many people are living aboard and breaking the rules because BW let them, and so its not fair to suddenly wreck their way of life. This is really good because at last there is a possibly realistic way forward! ..........Dave

As Rik says Woolhampton is rather more tricky than Newbury! Once you are below Newbury you are mostly on the river and there are a few potentially difficult bits. I think Reading is really the one to watch out for. Woolhampton is difficult but even if you get it wrong you will most likely get through with just a bump or two, in Reading there is the possibility of hitting High bridge with the front or side of your cabin and doing significant damage. Whoever chose the name "High bridge" had a funny sense of humour! ........Dave

I believe that Jaguar deliberately take away the V8 sound because its "too American". This is done by merging the two exhausts, though they then separate again to give twin tailpipes to meet customer expectations! So with bit of cutting and welding you could restore the V8 sound, though I expect someone already makes a suitable after-market exhaust????. ..........Dave

I had thought of that, I did say it but maybe rather indirectly: An inverter scheme overcomes the travelpower issue of limited power at low revs. For me this would be the main advantage of an alternator system...none of that going into locks too fast because if you take the engine revs off the breadmaker makes a wet brick!!!! However all the time the batteries are taking the slack, and when the inverter is stealing charging current, you are effectively increasing engine running hours (assuming you're not cruising of course). The advantage of TravelPower is that it makes 240v without compromising battery charging. However this is a bit pedantic because the cost of the TravelPower would buy enough diesel to charge batteries for quite some time!!!! ...........Dave

Beta JD3 !!!!!!!!! More modern than a 2Lw and a whole lot cheaper...but I confess does not sound nearly as good! ...........Dave

Yes! Its a standard (Bosch?) alternator but rewound so that it produces 230volts (or thereabouts) directly, rather than 12. This is much more efficient: more volts=less amps=less heat loss in the windings. This allows a standard size alternator to produce 3500 watts without melting. (the box then rectifies this AC to DC, and converts this to the 230v AC at 50Hz.) ..........Dave

You are correct but I think a neater way to think about this is to use Watts; with mains equipment most things are specified by Watts rather than amps (think light bulbs, soldering irons, vacuum cleaners etc etc). The Watts is the same whether they are at 12v or 240v, So a 2.5kW device is going to take 2500/12 = 208 amps at 12volts. Also need to factor in that inverter systems are only 80 or 90 efficient, so a good rule of thumb (From Gibbo amongst others) is to divide by 10 rather than 12 2.5kW 2500/10 = 250 amps from the batteries! ............Dave

Are you sure that its 3hp? I thought Seagull never quoted a power output but rather quaintly said "adequate power", or is this a myth?. Also remember to talk quietly as if I recall correctly the handbook points out that as you have to shout so load to be heard over the noise of the engine that every boater within a mile will hear your every word! Sadly I gave my collection away when we moved onto the boat. Say hello as you go past and I have a good toolkit should it be needed. ...............Dave

Thats interesting and does make an inverter system look more attractive. Can it manage 175amps continuously or does this fall off significantly as the alternator gets hotter? My biggest concern is having huge current going into the batteries when no mains is needed and trading this against enough to maintain a decent charge even if an immersion heater or other big load is on. It would not be too difficult to make a controller if there was a market for it. Alternator 1 most charges batteries, Alternator provides power for the inverter when needed but is controlled to limit maximum current into batteries. I think I would also want an alarm if the rate of current draw from the batteries was high for an extended period? ..........Dave

I have thought quite a bit bout about TravelPower vs Inverter. On paper big alternators and a big inverter looks very attractive, and avoids the possible travelpower issue of reduced voltage at very low revs. However when you start going into all the detail the TravelPower starts to looks more attractive. Maybe we don't need 3.5kWatt but with start up surges etc lets say we need at least 2kW:..... A 175 amp alternator, when hot and running at low engine speed, will get nowhere near 175 amps, maybe only half that. (Travelpower is much more efficient and suffers less from heat) So for 2KW peak we probably need getting on for 400amp of alternator!!!!!! This is a big lump, and will need some thick wires plus all the connections maintained in perfect condition. With a discharged battery and cold alternator, and a few engine revs, this huge current will all go into batteries which they might not like. It will also take a lot of power off the engine! If you ever accidentally leave the immersion heater on without running the engine the batteries will be flat in no time, but if you work the inverter at full power the current available for battery charging will be minimal. I think the TravelPower wins because it is a totally separate system, it is optimised to do just one thing and it does that really quite well. I reckon a system with two big alternators, a big inverter, and a clever control system might just work. This controller would need to control both alternators and monitor battery current etc. I don't think such a thing exists yet??? Of course this whole scheme looks a lot better if you go for 24volts. .............Dave

Story is that the site is now owned by some sort of leisure/caravan type company. They have just re-submitted plans for a simple marina without the houses/hotels/shops/workshops etc etc and are ready to start at once if they get approval. I have mixed feelings as its a nice quiet bit of the canal and too many boats will be sad. However if they were to start selling diesel at a sensible price I would be happy! .......Dave

As always GSer speaks good sense. You certainly won't be the biggest boat on the K&A, but your length will make it quite a lot harder to find a mooring. If you are willing to be out in the sticks, keep away from the Western end hot spots, and make some attempt to move about, then you can get away as a CC'er. However word on the cut is certainly that CaRT are clamping down on this. One of the CaRT moorings at Bedwyn would be ideal but you might be bidding against one or two other 70 footers! It might be worth talking to the new Caan Hill marina, but that is rapidly filling up, I think there is maybe only one 70 foot slot left and this is probably Narrow. Devizes marina sometimes has official residential moorings but they do cost! The new marina at Hungerford is just about to happen but after years of objections I imagine un-official residential use will be impossible. Maybe they will want a caretaker?????? .........Dave

I did wonder if it was off a classic. I've just paid over £100 for a new smokebox for our Epping. It hasn't arrived yet but I am not expecting a nice brass door! I reckon a coal box with a second higher removal step is the answer, then you can take it away when you don't want the dog to do a runner. (Sophie still goes for it if she sees half a chance to get a free walk) ...........Dave

A little off topic question... Is that brass "door" on the Epping smokebox standard or have you got the smokebox from a different stove? Ours, and all the others that I have seen, just have a cast iron door. .........Dave

Yes, that is a big step for a heavy dog. We have a similar arrangement but not quite as severe. Dog is a 2 year old lurcher with long legs so its no problem for her. Its us that struggle, especially as we get older. I am thinking about a "stepped" coal box; ours is deep enough to add a second step at the back. The only problem is that this will make it harder to get to the stern greaser and the back bilge. ..........Dave

I really would switch to 3!! Our (ex) vodafone was about £15 for 3GByte (though you actually only get about 2.5 as they cheat on the compression) 3 give you 15GByte for a similar price. 3 have much better 3G coverage, Vodafone have more masts but most are only 2G. You are a bit out in the sticks down there. We had a couple of nights in CaanHill over Christmas and 3 did work but the signal was low. Some drop out and reconnection is common if the signal is weak. I have heard that the signal strength goes up and down to reflect usage, so if the cell is busy they turn it down. Don't know if this is true but on a weak signal we certainly get more diconnections at certain times of the day. 3 works on almost all of the K&A though is marginal in places. If you are mostly static a directional aerial could well help. .........Dave

You will have no major problems but take care if you have to pull into the "passing places" at the top of the Llangollen just in case the prop hits a rocky bit. If you like to moor in the rough then you will sometimes need to leave the back a few feet out (I assume you are significantly deeper at the back). Dragging along the bottom a bit now and again is just part of life. Main problem is the attitude of a minority of other boaters who just don't understand the concept of a deep boat. Most often they think you're rude if you stay too close to the centre of the cut. At Braunston (of all places) a boater accused Gillie of incompetent mooring because the back was a few feet out. You'd think they'd know about deep boate there. Best ever was a hirer who told us we were obviously sinking and should turn the bilge pump on!!!!!!!! ..........Dave

You can of course take a 70 footer right into Liverpool, don't let anyone, including the good people at CaRT, tell you otherwise! And if you fancy a cruise you can go all the way down to Bristol (as long as you don't get one of those fat things). ............Dave