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Radiomariner

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Everything posted by Radiomariner

  1. To keep the English out? Bluddy good idea!
  2. In my earlier post, I was also referring to the shore post power out socket. Inserting a wet plug as can happen in circumstances, can cause arcing and subsequent tracking inside the shore output socket causing it to malfunction even when nothing is plugged in. Tracking to earth may cause the RCD to trip (or trip at the wrong earth current setting, and tracking between L and N will cause the MCB to trip. This was something I had to deal with frequently in my seafaring days. Tracking across insulators often can only be seen by using a magnifying glass, but most times are clearly obvious when the socket is dismantled.
  3. Using a magnet to attach an anode could be counter productive due to dissimilar materials in the circuit.
  4. I go along with the water ingress idea. Even as mentioned in a previous post the water does not need to touch the conducting components. The problem very often is the condensation from that water over the insulating materials. When this happens, arcing occurs first over the surface of the insulation, but it can cause 'tracking' across the insulators. This 'tracking' of carbonised insulating material can be conductive even after all has been dried out.
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  8. Dipstick moment. Fitting newly repaired gauge glass complete with valves to ship's boiler (70 bar), hung bucket over the gauge glass stub to hold spanners. When job complete bucket still there! Eventually had to hacksaw through the bucket handle as it became a hazard in heavy weather.
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  12. You had it right. Complete drivel.. .. I have now corrected it to say what I mean. I was intending talking about bows against the top gate (going up) and also bows against the bottom gate (going down) Neither a good idea. I was frequently interrupted, (about 15 times, I have building contractors in the house) and abandoned the post unsent to correct later. When I came back to it some hours (drinks) later I forgot that it needed correction and posted. Then again without reading I put in the final edit Simple really. However, I would have thought that had you guys looked at the time of my post you may have figured it out The crossed names was intentional you both seemed to be saying the same thing. Edited to add: I have just re-read my earlier post once again and decided, yes, I deserve a complete slagging from you all! I do stand by the latter half of my post. I would not trust anybody at the bottom gate to tell me that my stern gear was clear of the cill, he can't see the stern fender, let alone the stern gear and would be guessing. If he takes responsibility for opening the bottom paddles then he should first take a little walk to the top gate to make sure.
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  14. What Tony/ Vagabond does not seem to understand is that many boaters do not wish to bump their boats stem against the top gates all the way down. It can be damaging to the gate as well as the boat. There is a chance of bow fender catching on the gate resulting in breaking fender stays or more disastrous results. They may not wish to Flood the well deck by water spouting from leaky gates or paddles or, as often happens when water levels are high, over the top. Most boats do not need the full length of the lock and may stop in the middle of the lock for a number of reasons. The best person to tell me that the bow is clear of the gate is the guy at the bottom gate I would not trust any "know it all" to open a paddle because he thinks he can tell where my stern is in relation to the cill. I HAVE stuck on the cill once on a 46ft boat. The guy owning the tupperware boat in the lock ahead of me did not understand why I was asking him to move his boat forward and ordered his wife and son to fully open both paddles! Their response to my shout "drop the paddles" was to shout back "Why"!!! Edited to add: - Congratulations Tony. Your pointless sarcastic 'PS' (Post 157) was, as you intended, offensive.
  15. On the contrary. I find that it is top gates that usually swing open. leakage at the other would cause them to slam shut. Disagree completely. The person best suited to tell when the boat is clear of the cill is the steer'er, or somebody near the top gate. who should signal to the person at the bottom gate that it is clear to wind up the paddles. A person at the bottom holding on to a windlass "ready to go" will not have a clue where the arse-end of the boat is in relation to the cill.
  16. That is exactly what I do. Sometimes "Hanging Around" takes over three hours extra. It is cheaper for me than a return visit. I charge a fixed fee. Do not charge for travel at all within a range of 45 miles from my base (90 mile round trip) and I do not charge for a return visit to boats within my very local area (Bedford and Milton Keynes) If a third visit is necessary I discuss the cost with the boat owner. It usually works out 45p per mile (that is 22.5p counting the return journey) or £20 whichever is the higher. I do consider pleas of hardship from some owners. Not mentioned yet are things I do not quote for are discounts. I do discounts for boats where I find the owner has been particularly helpful, boats that are easy to examine (No appliances for instance) I do quote a £10 discount for boats fitted with bubble testers or have no LPG installation. I also do special rates for hire companies who make block bookings and some traders that use my services frequently. I should add that for travel outside 45 miles I charge 45p per mile over the 45. ie were the distance 46 miles total extra would be 45p. However I would probably waive such a small amount. One thing I have gathered from this thread is that I am grossly undercharging. What the hell, I enjoy boats and the company of boaters
  17. I am not going to apologise again. I understood exactly what you said after re-reading. When making my first response to your post, (Which I misunderstood) for some reason my mind was solely thinking of locking down. After reading your remark (I think it was "why not") I re-read accepted your post and even apologised. I did not think further remarks were necessary. However, would like to add: Because SWMBO feels claustrophobic and hates steering in locks, yours truly does the steering and normally remains on board during such procedures. I do occasionally nip ashore to help SWMBO to crack open a paddle either because it is too stiff or save her from having to cross over a gate more than necessary, but always with a line ashore (Ready to grab not tied up) and I always return back to the boat. Yes I for one always look behind mainly to see if paddles and gates are shut properly without leaking due to blocked paddles etc. (They always leak to some degree) Also, SWMBO does get sent back on rare occasions to close a paddle she has forgotten or to close a gate that has swung open again.
  18. Nah! Your LED's would have been in one of the less heavy containers undamaged at the bottom of the stack. The top ones containing expensive heavy machinery probably would be damaged!
  19. Think about it. How can you check if the bottom gate is leaking when you have left it open!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Edited to add: - My apologies Tony. I have just re-read your post and realised that I did not read it properly. You were talking about the top gate leaking, I wrongly made the assumption you were on about checking the bottom gate. Stupid really because to do so a boater would have to wait until the lock has filled again. Nobody would do that.
  20. Slightly . Unusual experience to be avoided. If C&RT (BW) tell you not to use the locks don't use them! Happened about 28 years ago. I was moored near the top of Hatton flight about 8am preparing to unmoor and go on down. A number of boats behind us were also preparing to go down. A BW man approached us and told us to wait until he gave us the OK. He told all the other boats also. The reason was that someone had left paddles open overnight and a pound had completely drained. The BW man and his cronies then proceeded down the flight slightly opening both top and bottom paddles all the way down the flight. After about 20 minutes a boat full of beer guzzling youngsters (yes at that time of the day) Passed us towards the locks. I told them not to go and why. They decided to ignore me. It took them ages to fill the lock because a bottom paddle was open, but they eventually sussed it out. About an hour later we passed them in one of the pounds near the bottom. They were all out on the roof with their case of beer. They had sunk. BW man told me that the pound had drained with them in it. The boat had settled on the soft mud. As the pound level came up the boat remained fast in the mud until down flooding sunk it properly. A rare occurrence indeed but worth remembering if your boat ever sits on the bottom. I cant help but wonder how many cases of beer they had stowed on board!
  21. Those that believe in always leaving the bottom gate open certainly would not!
  22. Slightly disagree. Drop lower paddles immediately, yes, but pause a short while to assess the situation before carefully opening the top paddles. Experience and vigilance do not always come together. I would also consider adding "diligence" to the equation, lack of which happens to many of us when on holiday. I hope James at Wyvern keeps photo's to show to hirers as a warning as to what can happen.
  23. Next door neighbour used his car waste 0il thinned with kerosene to paint/preserve the garden fence. It seemed to do an excellent job until the day of the fire!
  24. Same lock about three years ago. Boat going up got bow fender caught under beam and lifted gate out of pintel. Hold up was only for about two hours
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