Radiomariner
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Posts posted by Radiomariner
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Yo think those "ports" are to let some light in? No that's the gun decks!
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I use Orange Wireless broadband. This costs me only £5 per month (Because I also use Orange for my cellphone WAP). An extra phone is plugged direct into the modem (I use a wireless DECT phone) All calls to 01 or 02 numbers and most international calls are totally free at all times. On boat I use my Orange phone as a modem, internet connection there cost £5 per month extra for evening and weekend use, or if like me you are an infrequent user £1 per day, for all day if you use it. (No charge if you dont). The cellphone tariff is a bit steep though at £30 pm but comes with the usual block of 200 free minutes and 200 texts, neither of which I can use up.
Edited to add: The computer does not need to be running or even switched on to use the phone, just the wireless modem.
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If this is the boat I think it is, for years it was moored some way down that straight stretch below Cosgrove lock, South of the aqueduct. If it is (the same boat) it appears to have been recently moved to above the lock! I believe an old guy lived on board who seemed to collect and repair bycycles. The boat was covered in bycycles and tarpaulins, hence my uncertainity in identifying it.
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Maybe bad judgement is part of natural selection.
Perhaps.
Bad judgement usually precedes 'errors' (Good Judgement does not get the same level of publicity.)
For most events, such 'errors' form a valuable part of the 'learning experience' contributing beneficially to natural 'survival' rather than selection.
Tragic judgements like this one, may result in natural selection, but it also makes us more aware of our 'vulnerabilities' and therefore contribute somewhat to our 'survivability'
I am sympathetic to those that lost their lives, and their families.
However, labeling them as "idiots" or other names as done earlier in this thread does little harm and helps to "hammer home" a message to those that will not listen!
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My aim is to please.
Yu know Krl sumtims i agee wid u, sumtims strongy unagree, bot oftn u simpely irritate!
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I suggested to SWMBO tonight that perhaps a fairer auction system could be devised, such as making all the bids and results public, and that perhaps the auctioner should clearly state that, say only the fifth, highest bid would be accepted in order to counteract rediculious high bids. I had thought about this for some time. SWMBO answered in a second, she would make her bid and get her friends and family to make four higher ones!!! Idea aborted before it was born.
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And whilst you're watching for the piles of poo, don't forget dogs have a habit of weeing against most things sticking out of or resting on the ground - trees, bushes, bollards and even the odd human leg as well.
Don't forget to wash your hands after tying or untying your boat.
Dont pick any blackberries from low down on the briar either!
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Someone earlier in the thread mentioned supermarket trollies. It is the DIY centre trollies with fixed wheels at the front and castors at the back that handle most like a boat. Once you are alongside that row of shelves the only way out is to reverse. Perhaps this should be recommended training for would-be boaters!
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Why are you happy with "more or less" on a new boat Pav? Don't you want it to do the job every time without doubt? As you are having a new boat built, the money saved by buying an MSW unit from a less than satisfactory maker must be relatively very small so you should want only the best. ....
Unrelistic philosophy Steve. If a new build was to be constructed and fitted with "nothing but the best" in equipment and materials the cost will be foolishly astronimical considering that the end product will still be just another narrowboat.
Pav is right, he must cut his suit to according to his cloth.
I used italics for the word 'best'. Replace the word "best" with the expression "most suitable for purpose".
Take for example a pocket calculator; a £25 model or £2 model, which is best? The word best is meaningless.
If all you want is a few basic functions then the £2 model is the most suitable for purpose, the £25 model is probably too complex and definately unsuitably expensive.
Pav has sensibly demonstrated his desire to find the most suitable inverter for his requirements, simply by making enquiries. He has like most of us a budget to work to and he simply needs information so he may weigh the cost against functionality.
It is a pity enough that so much advice should be contradictive, but that is the nature of a forum. However I am sure he will be able to seperate the "information" from the "advice" and make a suitable descision.
Edited by radiomariner to remove possibly offensive content.
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Unlike a road vehicle the temperature never drops very low anyway, the canal water keeps it warm, -5 deg protection will be ample.. My coolant is the same stuff that I put in there 15 years ago.
A point worthy of note. If you take your boat out of the water in winter you do need to check the anti-freeze or drain the tanks
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Are you saying that cold wet clothes keep you warm? From what i have seen, only in documentaries, they say remove them to stave of hypothermia.
Yes. When you are in the water the clothing keeps you warm in much the same way as it does in air. The water warmed by the body gets trapped by the clothing and reduces loss of body heat. Removing the clothing in the water removes that barrier. Removing wet clothing is what you must do when out of the water. It is the chill factor that then can reduce the body surface temperature extremely rapidly.
I did say that removal of clothing was to reduce drag. Also I might add that for survival at sea they do not recommend much swimming, it reduces body heat far too rapidly, though it may be necessary at times. That is of course not an issue on (or should it be in) the canals.
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I think boats are like babies - everyone thinks their boat is the most beautiful.
Or partners. SWMBO was beautiful when I met her 43 years ago. Like a boat, I know all her good and bad points, the exterior is a bit worn, does not work quite as well as used to but to me, still as beautiful.
Eddited for a typo. One day I will enter a post without spelling errors or typos!
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I must add that buoyancy aids (Life vests etc.) main function is to ensure that the body floats the right way up, keeping nose and mouth clear even if the victim is unconcious. Be careful, some do the exact opposite. (Their main attraction being that they do not restrict body movement so much and are more comfortable when out of the water.)
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I often disagree with John Orentas although I respect him greatly: on the subject of sodden clothes, the first thing any lifesaving course teaches you is to get your clothes off if you end up in the water, and people do practise this in swimming pools (in special life saving sessions, obviously!).
No No. Why should anything be heavier in water than out of it? Like you, a long time ago at school I did lifesaving. Yes, one of the things we had to do was to learn to take off clothing in the water. But this was to reduce drag and make movement easier. One of the other things we had to do was swim a mile fully clothed. For the first few minutes it was a synch, air trapped in the clothing made one very bouyant indeed, as the trapped air escaped buoyancy returned to normal (How much have you got in your lungs!) the clothing then became a drag, literally, but did not affect buoyancyother than the normal weight of the clothing.
Shoes would make some difference, being relativly heavy would affect buoyancy and being at the body extremity would adversly affect the angle at which the body would float making swimming more difficult.
More recently, to get a Certificate of Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats (Every ships officer needs one of these nowadays) it was drummed into us that you should keep on as much cloths as possible to keep warm. Perhaps not so critical in the cut where rescue is only likely to take a few minutes and the water even in winter is relatively warm, but the point is "it is not necessary to remove clothing to float" (There are exceptions of course for instance if you are wearing a suit of armour!)
Wet clothing, and waterfilled wellies only become a significant problem when trying to lift a body out of the water.
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My fridge certainly does have an external flue, as all boats should.
I am sure that the pilot flame of a fridge is not so much of a problem especially if it has a flue (Somewhee below 100 watts). The Paloma presents a bigger problem (Somewhere around 11KW). Even having a flue, to vent the "nasties" (CO and various fumes) if the cabin ventilation is insufficient all of the nasties wont go up it! The flow in must equal the flow out else you are in trouble. Yes, it is usually only on for a short periods, but what if, for instance, after you have had a few drinks, you go to bed with the hot tap running, or a failure of the thermostat to cut-out.
If he is installing a non-sealed device that was not there before, he should do his calculations and if necessary, increase the ventilation.
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Yes but at the same time, you have to remember that the main objective of the BSS is to keep other users and the puplic safe (gas explotion, unearthed hull, oil/fuel spillage etc), rather than to to stop you doing something stupid and hurting/killing yourself (ie, suffercation).
Hence i dont think its too out of order, espcially as the calaculaions are as vauge as they are.
But yeah, the most common waterheater is a non-room sealed Paloma, now made by and branded as a Morco.
Daniel
Hi Daniel
I like the word suffercation, so much more descriptive than suffocation! (But its the family that suffers, I believe the death is quite painless!)
The calculations may be vague, but they do err on the side of safety.
The Non room-sealed device must be taken into account with the calculations
Moggy, go for a room-sealed device if you can, safer.
Edited for comment to Moggy
Rgds.
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These headphones do work very well, they cut the low frequency sounds so you can listen to the music at a lower volume. I can still hear people trying to communicate with me as most voices are a higher frequency which is less affected by the noise cancel device. Brilliant kit and sometimes maplin have them for 15 quid. Sony etc do them but they are much more expensive.These headphones do work very well, they cut the low frequency sounds so you can listen to the music at a lower volume. I can still hear people trying to communicate with me as most voices are a higher frequency which is less affected by the noise cancel device. Brilliant kit and sometimes maplin have them for 15 quid. Sony etc do them but they are much more expensive.
Thanks Mags, might get a pair for myself.
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Adequate ventilation is not a requirement for BSS compliance. It is advisory, not mandatory.
This one statement renders the Boat Safety Scheme a joke.
I very much agree. However, the BSS examiner has to check and and comment on the ventilation. It is on his check list to tick off!! An adverse comment would be on record and would be called upon for "finger pointing" after an accident. Insurance companies probably would not pay out.
Advise, require, whatever... adequate ventilation shoud be in place, but this certainly doesn't mean you've got to start putting extra holes & vents in the boat if it's already adequate according to the Essential Guide. (Do the math!)Anyway, Moggy might be RCD compliant and that could be a whole different kettle of johnnies.
I agree, do the math, it is quite simple. Insufficient ventilation can kill, a little bit too much ventilation errs on the safe side, but too much ventilation results on a draughty cabin in the cold weather. (Resulting in ventilators being blocked off creating a dangerious situation again.)
RCD compliance of course only applies at point of sale. Any retrofits after that need not comply unless RCD compliance is required for a further sale. The BSS is the regulatory authority
A bit dismissive, considering one of the biggest killers on the waterways doesn't even warrant mandatory minimum requirements to comply with what is laughingly called a 'safety certificate'.Again I agree with you Carlt. The ventilation issue used to be a requirement of the BSS. I remember having to reluctantly cut extra holes for a stroppy examiner who did not do the calculations correctly.
In many cases I welcomed the "relaxation" of the BSS, but I think this is one that should have been left as mandatory.
One of the niggles I have is about battery terminal connections. I had to change all my battery terminals to what I believe to be an inferior installation. The examiner should be checking that the terminals are safe and secure, not that they conform to a certain type. What happens, for instance, if a manufacturer produces a better system for terminating batteries?
Rgds.
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Well the washing machine isn't actually going when it trips. It's just plugging it in and/or switching the socket on that causes it. I can't get any other appliance to do the same thing and this is the second socket the washing machine is doing it on. It's a bit difficult to move the machine to try it with a different socket but I could try this with an extension lead to another socket. I'll have to let the machine finish the wash cycle first
Try changing the plug on the washing machine. If the plug has been plugged in while wet, arcing across the terminals can cause the insulation to break down. The insulation qualities do not always recover when dried. (looks good when measuring resistance to earth with an ohmmeter, but using a megger will show how the insulation breaks down with a voltage across it. Similarly this applies to the terminal block inside the washing machine. If you do use a megger to test the earth insulation be sure that the connections to the machine from its terminal blockare disconnected, else there is a possability that you will damage electronic circuitry in the machine.
Edited:-
I just re-read your post, you finish up saying "I'll have to let the machine finish the wash cycle first" this implies that the machine is working! Therefore my suggestion above is less likely (but still possible, the heat fro the initial arc dries out the insulation increasing its electrical resistance)
It is unlikely to be the motor on start up unless your machine is vary basic. The wash cycle normally requires the motor to switch off and on several times. The same applies to relays/solenoids. An out of sync timing circuit may cause this problem. Possibly at the end of a wash all has not reset correctly to the "off" position. If the timer is one of those that actually 'rotate' during the cycle indicating the washing phase, then before you plug in, give the knob a wiggle to ensure it is correctly positioned. (Couplings on this shaft often work loose)
Hope this post is of some help
Rgds
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I went for a standard non-roon sealed type, but as a self-fit out I'm only following the BSS regs which still allow non-room sealed appliances. If you are following Recreational Craft Directive guidelines in your fitout or your boat is fitted out professionally and already complies with the RCD then you'd probably want to fit a room-sealed heater (as long as you don't mind spending a bit more money of course).
Dont forget, a non room sealed heater requires extra cabin ventilation in order to comply with BSS.
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I was actually using active noise cancelling headphones that time which are wired to a small radio, not the wireless ones...
these ones: http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?Module...&doy=search
Machpoint005 (3.8mph?): Do these have any potential dangers?
edits
Do those actually work?
Seems to me that you might be in danger of not hearing a fisherman hollering at you before he hoiks a brick or can of maggots! (Fishing Line tangled in Magnet line)
I am surprised that some people can hear any noise at all above the bee buzzing in their bonnet!
I wander what would happen to a boater who went to the local farmer to complain about the noise his sheep make at night!
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What's best, plastic or steel rowlocks.
Discuss.
Cant pick up plastic rowlocks with a Magnet.
I'm pleased to beat Magnetman on that one!
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The actual spec should be BS4360 Grade 43A. These were weldable structural steels, now superceded by an EN spec. Grade 43A is a basic mild steel 28-33tsi tensile strength (430-510N/sq mm if you prefer modern units.) Impact strength is not specified but will not be low given the composition and (low) strength except at very low temperatures. Grades 43B to E also exist. These have specified impact properties including low temperature impact properties for grades D & E. Low temperature, in this, case means -20C or lower - not likely to be encountered by a canal boat in the UK.
Arthur
Now known I believe as BS EN 10025/S257
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BS43A - Mild Steel. Used on most narrow boats.
Not sure but might now be referred to as BS EN 43A
Oops been answered already
Costs are relative....
in General Boating
Posted
Already own old boat. Forced to retire at 60. Income reduced from £42K pa to £8K pa in a stroke, Ok for the first few years but now five years down the line, problems. Costs do not concern only those at "entry level"