Big COL
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Posts posted by Big COL
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Surely that makes sense in terms of how a better weight distribution reduces pressure on the road surface? However its not what we are looking at on the canals is it? We are talking about CC's arent we? How does this weight distribution philosophy equate with this discussion on CC's?
Hi Fender
It equates by showing as an example, another fair and just method of taxation. In my reply to Richard on the subject of CC I had stated that the cost of the license is according to length, a question was asked is this fair? This was then compared to car road fund licenses and the like. Things do tend to wander off topic, but are still related to the main theme. I assume Archimedes was the first CC.
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Hi fender
Not true with commercial vehicles. The number of wheels in contact with the road applies with commercials. A six wheeled unit with a tri axled trailer capable of carrying 44 tonne gross, is cheaper than a four wheeled (2 axled) vehicle with a gross weight of 18 tonne. It's all about weight distribution per axle which equates
to the wear and tear to the road surface.
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Big Col
I still have the same opinion of charging for what is used but if you read the previous posts and conversation with Maffi i did retract a lot of what i said.
I never had a problem with CCers or bridge hoppers only that they should pay extra, but on reflection if they did there would be no one paying the standard amount as everyone would fall into ether a CCer or moorer. so would be paying different amounts and no one paying the basic rate.
I still think there is a unbalance but can see no way of addressing it, so as maffi says, it work's ok as it is.
Richard
You have missed your vocation you should have been an MP you have answered my question and left me totally confused, I'm beginning to think I have got this all wrong.
Can we look at this from a different angle? Imagine there are no marinas,or any moorings anywhere on the system. You license your boat according to Length (as it's done today,(which is fair and just). Off you go on to the system abiding by the short stay rules, and you continue to do this for some time, then you decide I have had enough of this I want to cruise when I want to cruise not keep moving on all the time I want the privilege of doing what I want to do and I am prepared to pay extra, so I can escape from being on the move all the time.
So you kick up a stink and BW say OK if this is what you want and you are prepared to pay for this privilege then we will create space for private moorings and you will pay for this space (mooring fees) So now you are happy you have paid to escape continuous cruising. Surprise, surprise - you have created the system that operates today, only some of the boaters want the same privilege as you, but don't want to PAY as you have done, to enjoy this privilege. Now we have created something else, let's call them overstayers, bridge hoppers, plus the ones that haven't bothered to license their boat at all, but they are fine by you, you're not bothered that they are enjoying the same privilege that you have paid extra for. You want to charge the ones that are still operating under status quo extra fees to continue to do, what you have paid extra for, to escape from. WHY, where is the logic in this. Surely you can see that it's the bridge hoppers and co that are ripping YOU off BIG TIME.
Perhaps not, then it will only enhance what I said at the beginning You would make an excellent MP somewhere, NIMBY. There may only be a very small number of genuine CC's but even if it was only one boat it still has the right and should have the respect from the rest of us to do so, correct definition is all that's required, genuine CC's as few or as many as there are are not and should not be classed with any of the non rule abiders.
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Fender
Quote......I agree with Maffi's response (posted below) - raising the license fee will probably price those on quite low incomes (who dont have wages but are able to manage to get by) off the canal. As I have pointed out before - those who are part of the anti-CC crusade have never thought through the issues properly - they just want to impose a status q.
Would it not be fair to say that these people of whom you refer to as CCers if they are in the position you say eg no job low income etc will not be moving about and therefore not CCers... in the true sense of the word.
This does not mean i want to get rid of anyone, just get things into prospective.
Richard
Have you secretly discovered The Holy Grail, shall we now have to call you Richard The Lion Heart defender of the faith. When did this change of HEART take place? Three weeks ago you were advocating charging continuous cruisers extra fees for their usage of the system, arguing with Maffi and myself over this very point. I am confused, as to which wedding you are dancing at, would the real Richard stand up and clarify as to which side of the fence he is on. Friend or foe?
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Just fitted a Webasto 90 heating boiler in the boot of my widebeam
Works superb and very pleased except one problem.
The unit comes with a separate Ali box which houses the fuel pump
and filter. I have installed this on the steel bulkhead between the boot and cabin.
This unit is secured via 4 rubber bobbins
Now the problem ,the noise of this pump can only discribed as water torture!!
This weekend sat this unit on a rubber thick matting-no different really! The
loud click seems to be transmitted thru the hull. Next i took the box apart. The pump is secured to the Ali box via a P clip-I removed this putting the pump in pipe insulation and the torture improved by 50% but still not acceptable!!!
The problem is I have no where else in the boot to put the dam thing
Any ideas how to shut this pump up???
Glenn
Dam Ive Posted in Wrong Topic and Dont know how To Move It !
Glenn
I assume that the fuel pipe to and from the pump is in copper. If so could you not use a flexible fuel pipe befor and after the pump, this will act as a break point for any resonance being transmitted through the copper pipe and the hull.
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David
Driving instructors and emergency stops, this sums up the problem. To drive a car you have training to take you to a point where you have to demonstrate your capability of controlling the vehicle to an examiner. This doesn't happen with boats, the majority of people are self taught, and a lot of the safety aspects go by the board. Learning by mistakes can be a costly learning curve, and can endanger others.
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I have a Board of Trade Boat Masters Licence for all catagory three UK Waterways which, as far as I am aware, is the only Qualification which authorises a person to take command of a passenger carrying vessel on the British Canal system (excluding Ship Canals). When undertaking the initial training, far from being told not to walk along the gunwhales we were taught how to use the gunwhales safely, I can understand why the RYA might discourage gunwhale walking on a fast moving sailing vessel but on the canals???
David
A Board of Trade Boat Masters Licence is a higher qualification than the RYA helmsman's cert. As a master of a passenger carrying vessel would you let your passengers walk the gunnels? There is a stark difference in being instructed on how to do this safely and correctly to that of the hire boater that thinks this is normal practise, this is probably why the RYA discourage it, along with roof walking, how many times have you seen children running up and down the roof when the boat is locking, I can only imagine that the parents can't like their children that much, as it's a no contest if they go down between a lock wall and a 20 ton narrow boat. You would be amazed the number of times that I have pointed this out to people only to be told I've been doing this for years, which is another way of saying mind your own business.
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The Mitsubushi and Kubota engines are marinised industrial engines original designed to drive pumps, generators, etc, designed to run all day at low to mid range revs. Therefore ideal for use as a narrow boat engine.
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I am shortly to replace the hoses etc. on the engine of my boat and with it the exisitng coolant which I suspect has been there from the year dot.
When I replace the coolant what temperature do I need to dilute the coolant for. I think for -24oC its 50 -50 and -18oC 33-66. If it is extremely unlikley that -24oC will ever be encountered I would prefer to us 33-66 as I need to buy less coolant.
As a side issue I was thinking of fitting stop valves and a drain valve on the top and bottom inltes and outlets of the skin tank so that If I need to change a hose in the future I will not need to drain the tank. Does anyone know if this should not be done ?
Onve again your help is much appreciated.
Simon Billis
nb Bulrush
Hi Simon
Simon I use enough anti freeze to give protection down to-18c. Regarding fitting valves to the skin tank this should not be necessary as you should renew the coolant and anti freeze every two years. At this point you have a chance to inspect all the hoses and replace any that look worn. A tip for you, when you have finished changing all the hoses and coolant, run the engine up to temperature and run for 1 hour, let the engine cool down again and then re tighten all the hose clips. The reason for this is that the heat stretches the new hose clips and when the engine cools they can become looser, the anti freeze will then find any weak spots and leak.
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Don't know why people think they need to walk down the gunnels to pick up the breast line, better to lay it along the roof in such a way that you can step off the back, taking the line with you. The length of the breast or centre line should be of a length that it will not quite foul the propeller it it falls in the water.
John
Not many, well none actually, of these gunnel runners would pass The Helmsman Certificate. One of the first subjects is safety on the boat and passage from either end of the boat, is through the boat. Gunnel walking is a NO, NO.
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I believe that is standard fire training in all situations.
- Raise the alarm
- Get everybody out
- If it is safe to do so, return and fight the fire.
But for a small fire you would want to fight it, not run away. And if your boat is moored next to some others you have a duty of care to them as well.
So fire extinguishers do have a place, just don't risk your life trying to use them. As in all things, do a risk analysis before taking action.
Chris
I think the risk is less on your own boat as you know the locations of the extinguishers and exits. Hirers first night on board an entirely different scenario.
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There is a school of thought among senior fire officers that fire extinguishers have no place on a narrow boat. Trying to locate and operate an extinguisher in such a confined space, possibly in the dark, could mean the difference of you getting, or not getting out of the boat.
Fire officers maintain that you should evacuate the boat and let it burn, this is based on the fact that wood,paint,and steel can be replaced, flesh and bones are far more difficult to repair. What are your thoughts on this?
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Anyone going on sunday?
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Hi Chris
Python have just introduced a short flexible drive 246mm overall.
web Address - www.albatross-marine.com
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thanks for that. I was resigned to running the sink and basin down to my grey water tank. OK for BSS?
John O, why don't you like brass skin fittings? I had already specified steel outlet pipes. Trouble is somebody fixed them in the wrong place (12" too far aft) so now they are inaccessible. I was going to block them off and cut in and fit brass thingys (as recommended by LB in the first place). Now you've got me thinking again.
Chris
Brass skin fittings are fine, It's just a two man job to fit them. you need to make a tool to go inside the skin fitting from the outside a flat piece of 1/4'' steel will do. Inside the tube of the skin fitting are two raised edges, locate the plate either side of these and hold with an adjustable spanner. On the inside you will need a box spanner or long sockets to tighten the nut on the fitting. I have always used a black roofing mastic to seal skin fittings, orrid stuff, but makes one hell of a seal. They do not protrude beyond the scrape bars so shouldn't be any problem.
You can get skin fittings that also have a hose tail as well as the BSP thread which gives you a choice as to what pipe you want to use flexible or solid, if you decide to connect up in solid pipe then just cut the hose tail part off. As John as said the best way is to weld in couplings but you need to have exact positions, as you have already discovered. I used brass fittings on my boat as I wanted to fit the equipment first, and have the optimum run of pipe, and I was using solid pipe, you don't have to be out of position by much trying to pipe to a fixed point and you can end up with a right pigs ear.
The way I fit a skin fitting is as follows when I have the position I drill a 1/4'' hole right through from the inside out. CHECK FIRST that you are clear of any scrape bars, then on the inside I cut a two and a half inch hole through the lining and the spray foam clean out this hole right back to the steel and remove all the foam off the steel, then cut through the steel with the right size hole saw for the fitting. When the fitting is in place and the pipe connected you can if you wish fill in with expanding foam. I don't as the joint on the fitting is usually within the thickness of the lining and the foam, I like to leave these joints visible so that they can be checked at a later date for any leaks, but thats only my preference. I hope this is of some help.( not trying to teach my Gran to suck eggs)
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Chris.
A word about skin fittings. The book says they should ideally be 10 inches above the water line, in practise I have found this is not realistic, 4 - 6 inches is usually as low as you can get.
Don't use the brass screw on types they're ok for plastic boats, get proper steel fittings welded into the hull.
The 10'' rule is normally interpreted as the opening inside the boat be 10'' above the water line and connected to the skin fitting by leak free joints, the push o ring seal type waste pipes are not normally allowed. This allows you to have the skin fitting closer to the water line. On some of the low hulled tugs, I have seen waste fittings on the water line.
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Richard, an explanation please. I have been wracking my brain cell for the last six hours trying to imagine a technology that uses water to dry clothes.
Alan
All condenser dryers use water The water is used to condense the steam generated in the drying process back to water, the water is collected and stored next to the heating element and evaporates away after use. A condensing dryer does not need a 3'' pipe and hole to duct the steam / heat away.
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Dor,
I might seem to be a little thick now but make sure i'm understanding you correctly.
Is the water passing through the PRV on the heating side of the circuit (secondary circuit used for heating radiators) and not the domestic water supply?
A little note for everyone,
if the secondary circuit is passing water, when the system cools the circuit will call for water. When reheated the fresh water will kettle causing fresh oxygen bubbles to form in the circuit which can result in re-rusting of the steel radiators and minor pinholes. Obvisously this depends on the age of the system, quality of the radiators and how often the system is top up.
Hi Steveh
The PRV is off the top of the domestic storage tank, and dumps overboard when expansion takes place. It's the safety valve for the domestic hot water only. On the central heating side, it is an open system and expansion just pushes back up to the header tank.
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But the expansion must be accomodated somehow - without an accumulator it has got to be through letting some water out.
Hi Dor
My PRV dribbles from time to time even with an accumulator fitted, as you say it's only expansion, and the pump just makes up short fall, My PRV is piped to a skin fitting.
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Ahh but although I disagree with most of what is said on the subject here (although I'm a conventional computer programmer with a mooring and a licence I feel like some kind of wild hippy when reading the posts on this site!) I try to avoid commenting on this issue. And although I went over the top (although to reiterate where i have been I haven't seen a problem) it was actually reading the document which seems to formalise the idea that constant cruisers are "getting away" with something and should have to pay 2.5 * the standard license fee which got me going! Like I say I haven't seen one rational argument yet.
Gringogordo
Could you please post the documentation that suggests that CC should pay 2.5 over the normal fee. We seem to be on a very confused common ground, and I think we are all defending the CC from different angles.
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(Just like trouble on the cut, I think there is a lot worry about an assumed problem here as well.)
BW do not consider this to be an assumed problem. They are addressing it but very slowly.
(I don't suppose too many liveaboards had found a mooring for the winter (although I accept a few will have gone to BW winter moorings), especially not the 'type' that provoke fear and loathing in most of you.)
Fear and loathing where did this come from?
( So I think it may be time to accept that the waterways are just plain busy. In Spring to Automn lots of people come out onto the cut to enjoy their hobby.)
Legally! thats OK
(There aren't millions of pounds of unpaid license fees.)
This is your opinion, could you please back this up with some proven facts.
( Theres just a few people winding themselves up every couple of weeks overblowing a perceived problem.)
Have a cruise up the GU from London to Braunston, check the licences
(It reminds me more of the tabloids hounding the minority of the moment than a well informed attack on a genuine problem.)
This is the genuine problem, why are you defending people that cruise/ moor illegally? unless you are one of them.
Any more jokes like that.
Electrical safety
in Boat Building & Maintenance
Posted · Edited by Big COL
Richard
As I understood the principle of a Faraday's cage, The simplest form is that no electro field being present with in it, after that the size of the hole in the mesh that forms the cage, sets the parameter of the size of wave that can pass through said hole in mesh. 40 years ago at college was the last time I did anything concerned with Faraday cages, a lot to expect from a now addled brain. How do aircraft at 30,000 feet, dissipate said energy to ground (the water surrounding you) ?.