Jump to content

Peter R

Member
  • Posts

    238
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Peter R

  1. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  2. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  3. Don't know how long your boat is - In case it's of interest I just had my boat done at Union Canal Carriers at Braunston, cost £6 per foot, provided you don't want to pay be card! Peter
  4. In terms of getting the channels under my rear deck to work properly as drains, i've given up on account of the fact that the 'exit holes' at the end of the channels are so small that they don't have a hope of working - my solution was to get a stern cover so that when i'm not on the boat the water stays outside! When i'm on the boat, I accept that rain ends up in the bilge. Getting back to your real question, having got rid of all the loose rust, I treated them with 'fertan', and then followed up with a couple of coats of primer (from memory I think it was what is now badged as 'hammerite no 1') and then a couple of coats of bilge paint. That was about three years ago - there's some rust coming through now but it's managed quite well. Peter
  5. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  6. Most inverters i've come across seem to have pretty generous overload ratings, for example the mastervolt one that was on my boat when I bought it is rated at 400W, but will take 800W for a couple of hours and is supposedly capable of 1000W for short periods. Sounds to me that most likely there is surge protection built in to the inverter which doesn't like the laptop chargers start-up. Might be worth trying plugging the charger in before connecting to the laptop, see if that makes any difference? Another possibility could be the 12V wiring of the inverter - if the 12V wiring isn't up to the job, it is possible that the start-up surge combined with the TV load could cause a voltage dip on the 12V side which could upset the inverter. Bear in mind that 1500W at 12V is 125A, so it needs some pretty big cables! In terms of 12V power adaptors I think you're looking for these http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=223912 http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=44736 http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=223723 Peter
  7. I've always considered this to be a self-fulfilling superstition - if you think its unlucky but you do it anyway, then everything that goes wrong thereafter will be because you renamed the boat. Whereas if you don't think it's unlucky, then exactly the same set of misfortunes will probably occur, but you'll just accept them!
  8. I always thought that when taking a boat out of the water on a slipway, it should be done 'bow first' precisely so that the scenario of water entering the cockpit via the drains didn't happen.
  9. Not actually a breakdown, but my engine did once 'eat' it's air filter! When I got the boat inside the filter housing was a ring of foam sandwiched between two mesh disks. However, when I came to do the first service, I took the lid off to find the two mesh disks, but no foam - I can only assume it disintegrated and got sucked through the engine, doesn't seem to have done it any harm though! I've used paper element filters since.
  10. Assuming that it's the same arrangement as my 'Delta' you'll find it attached to the inside of the filler plug
  11. As i'm on my own most of time the choice is singlehand it or not go anywhere. I think it is really just a matter of experience, when I first got the boat it took a while to work up the courage to have a go at locks on my own, but once you've done a few you get to know what works for you and it's not a major problem, it just takes a bit longer (especially when the locks are set against you!) Personally, I tend to use the centreline to control the boat, rather than leave it in gear (although i'm sure i've heard of someone rigging a radio control up so they can drive the boat from the lockside!) and I always take a rope ashore with me to minimise the possibility of it going off on it's own. On wide locks, I just use one gate and one paddle -it takes it bit longer, but then if you're in a hurry on the canal you've picked the wrong mode of transport! I don't find tunnels an issue either - when the boat was based at Gayton I used to single-hand Blisworth tunnel on a regular basis. Not a problem, although you need to beware of the boggit sometimes. Peter
  12. By the sound of it 'kitchen rudder' would be the technical term for this arrangement then. I'm sure there is a device already on the market that can be fitted to the propshaft that is supposed to stop things getting wrapped around it by shredding them. I think it was developed for the yacht market, and I can't recall ever hearing of one fitted to a NB. I suspect that whilst it would probably cope with rope and seaweed, mattresses, shopping trolleys etc would be beyond it! Peter
  13. Well i've been even slower than Mick at downloading the few photos I took between lapworth and hatton, but i'll add them to the collection
  14. Thanks Paul, that's useful to know. It made a few more squeals when I started the engine this morning, but it survived back to crick so panic over for now, i've got plenty of time to find a new one before I venture out again. Must make sure I keep a spare the right size, as it seems to eat belts at regular intervals. I don't think i've put more than about 500 hours on the engine in the 5 years i've had it, and it's gone through two belts in that time! Most of the places I tried canalside stocked a wide variety of 'v' belts, but very few of the flat, ribbed ones - i guess the 'v' belts must be more popular on boats. Ah well, time to go back to reality - back to w**k on monday!
  15. Always good to 'spot' other forum members, even if only briefly! Musical terms seem quite popular - whilst out over the last two weeks I passed another 'andante' and an 'adagio' and where i used to moor there was also an 'adagio' and a 'cadenza' moored close to me. I'll see what photos I can dig out when I get home and let you know. Peter
  16. Afraid I didn't 'spot' it - should I have done? where was it? The one that's embedded in my brain is 4pk875, although ideally it could do with being slightly shorter as i'm right out on the end of the adjustment. There is another number, but i can't find the piece of paper I wrote it on, and i'm not going outside to look now! It's not a major issue, as i'm sure the local motor factors will produce one when I get home.
  17. Well, after the wonders of the 'lapworth banter' i've been pottering homewards at a somewhat more relaxed pace than the outward journey, although my choice of overnight stopping places has proved not to be very good at providing an internet connection, hence the delayed update. 6th june saw me moored opposite kate boats in warwick, after the epic run down hatton with much assistance from the canalworld lock-wheeling team. One reason for stopping there being that my alternator drive belt had started slipping on start-up and i'd then discovered that my spare was the wrong size, oops! 7th june - a leisurely day put me between fosse locks and wood lock. Kate boats hadn't been able to supply a drive belt, and only other place they knew near the canal was halfords. well, they probably did have one, if i'd known what the halfords part number was, as they professed to be incapable of converting the labeling on the old belt into their part numbers. Typical superstore - if you can find what you want we'll sell it to you, but don't bother to ask as we don't know! 8th june - Another leisurely, uneventful day saw me moored below itchington bottom lock. Nice location, but no internet signal. Still, the drive belt's holding so far! 9th June - Braunston tonight, so no internet signal by definition! Came up stockton locks with a couple on a hire boat who were doing the warwickshire ring in a week - the hire company had assured them they would do it easily, but they were finding it a bit busy! Called at Calcutt boats en-route for diesel, but they didn't have the right drive belt either. Oh well, should get one in braunston. Whilst travelling between Napton Junction and Braunston I passed another 'canalword' boat going the other way, looking tonight it looks like it was probably 'bullfrog'. Moored opposite 'the boathouse' and got some free 'entertainment' - they had the morris dancers in. Well, a tour of braunston this morning has revealed that midland don't sell drive belts and wharf house (suprise, suprise) didn't have the right one - i'm beginning to think no-one but me uses this size belt! It squealed a bit when the alternator came on-load at start up, but seemed to be ok after that. Had a good run up braunston locks - arrived just in front of another boat which had a crew of four, and there was a good flow of boats going down so we didn't have to re-set any locks. Moored up tonight just past norton junction on the leicester line - at last, a decent signal! Just watford to do tomorrow and i'll back to base (crick), so if the drive belt doesn't like the start-up load of the alternator in the morning I can always disconnect the charge feed to the domestic batts!
  18. Ah, I passed a boat called 'Rallentando' with a canalworld sticker between Napton and Braunston yesterday and was wondering who it was, I guess I know now! btw, would I be right in guessing that the boat is one of the 'leisure questors', built by eastern caravans, that were sold through ken yates at billing and that you got it around 5 years ago? If so, I was shown over your boat before you picked it up - if you'd like a copy of some photos I took, let me know. Peter
  19. And the problem with that is???? I know some people seem to frown on the practice, but it's always seemed sensible to me - where else am I supposed to put it? Thanks to all for a great banter, and especially for the assistance with Hatton locks - just over 2hrs is a darn sight quicker than i'd have managed on my own! Peter
  20. Well it's been a busy (and hot!) couple of days. Left Atherstone top about 7:30am on Thursday, and finally caught up with Alnwick at the top of curdstone locks at about 9:45 pm, having been slightly delayed just above curdstone locks by ferrying a firefighter over to the far bank of the canal to look at the remains of a boat that had been on fire. I had a couple of breaks along the way, but still clocked 11 hours on the engine - I think that probably makes it my longest ever days cruise! Yesterday, left curdworth in company with alnwick about 10:00 and had a fairly uneventful run through birmingham arriving at Catherine de Barnes about 6:30. The garrison and camp hill locks were slow going as several of the pounds were so low on water that we had to refill them before we could get through. The section of the GU from camp hill through to catherine de barnes was also a bit slow going due the amount of wood and other debris that littered the canal. It struck me as being a potentially beautiful stretch of canal, being mainly in a 'green corridor', but is somewhat spoiled by all the rubbish and graffiti. Next stop, lapworth.
  21. Left Newbold about 9:30 this morning, thinking I might catch up with Alnwick, but despite Graham having to do a battery change (it must be some sort of conspiracy all these batteries going at the same time) I didn't, although it appears that we're now 'just' separated by Atherstone locks - I gave up for the day at the top at about 7pm, and have since discovered that Alnwick's moored below the locks. Having been used to the leicester summit, it's been making a pleasant change to have enough water to make some reasonable progress - i've been consistently managing about 200-300 rpm more than I can ever get on the leicester line, the engine must be wondering what's happened, it hasn't done so much work in ages! I haven't had the gps on much to measure distance as it eats batteries too fast, but the book puts todays run at about 22miles, 1 lock and if my arithmetic's right it's taken 8.2hours running time. I was slightly amused earlier to see a sign for a boatyard which appeared to be advertising 'water diesel' and 'pumpout gas' - personally I don't think i want either I was also intrigued coming through hartshill to find a section of towpath marked 'no mooring, reserved for disabled angling'. Now i wouldn't want to stop a disabled person fishing if they wanted to (hope they've got good brakes in case they hook a big one though!), but are there really enough wheelchair-bound anglers in hartshill to require a section of towpath to be reserved just for them? Peter
  22. I haven't got a postcard handy, but if you read right to left it looks like it might be YMCA?
  23. If I find that enamel is too thick or is drying too fast I usually use owatrol oil, can't think why it shouldn't work with red oxide as well. Peter
  24. I guess it depends on the boat, Graham - i've not had any problems with it, in fact i've been making better progress than i'm used to (but then i am used to the leicester section summit!). I guess it could be the fact that I can get away with about a foot less water than you, or else i'm just getting the advantage of the channel you've dredged Peter
  25. Well I suppose it wasn't a full day earlier - I left about 4pm monday, alnwick 8am today
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.