Bimbly1

Thinking constructively, if the offending exhaust exits on one side of their boat, they might be willing to turn their boat around so the noise you hear would be reduced. Or perhaps turning yours around may help?

Harriet Ann belong to Bern & Marie. I last saw them this June on the South Oxford, heading south. I will PM you with their mobile number when I can find it.

Oops. My mind must be going, don't think that I have gone yellow/green colourblind. Oops. Must be loosing my mind, can't be going green/yellow colourblind.

Thanks Pete. I had seen the post but not Battery FAQ. Asked the distributor, who confirms that they are supplied pre-filled to the correct level. I had topped them to a similar level as the start battery Won't do that again! Regards, Bob.

I bandage the lagging on with two round turns to anchor and the about a 50% overlap. Bends require a bigger allowance. At the other end I leave sufficient length to enable me to cut the lagging down the centre for several inches, tie a knot at the closed end of the cut and then wrap the two parts in opposite directions around the pipe and tie off. On mine, If IRMR I found that about two feet of ?4" lagging covered about nine inches. But it was a couple of years ago, I didn't measure it to closely 'cos I didn't know I was going to be asked.

This year in early August, we went anti-clockwise and found that most of the traffic was coming towards us, which made for some very easy locking!! Two weeks makes it reasonably easy and you may have a bit of time to explore but we found that to do it justice, the Caldon needed best part of a week alone.

When I hired, we used to push on, (Four Counties in six days, whatever the weather), and can say from experience that getting to a pub just after they finished serving dinner is not the best way to end a long day. It is better done in a couple of weeks and if you find yourself ahead of time, there are several areas to explore, e.g. the Caldon Canal. Other good ones include the Black Country Ring; the East Midlands Ring and Avon Ring I won't go on but there are several. I never get worked up about the schedule. If I ain't half way round by halfway through the week/fortnight/whatever, then I turn the tub around and rock"n roll back. Whatever you do, enjoy your trip!

Nine hours a day can be taxing whatever the weather and remember, the days will be shorter earlier in the year. I used to do long days, (Four Counties in six days), and can say from experience that getting to a pub just after they finished serving dinner is not the best way to end a long day, especially if it has been raining! I agree with other respondents and suggest you hire closer to Oxford where there may still be a variety of routes to try. Whatever you do, when the time comes, enjoy!!

Round here AW are known as "Yellow Perils" and afforded as much space as possible, (somewhat unfairly I suspect). In fairness, such loutish behaviour remains fairly uncommon, which makes it all so much more remarkable when it does happen.

I am based in the Midlands and paid £150:00p in February this year. This included a revisit if necessary, (it wasn't). Prior to the inspection, I downloaded the BSS guidelines (CLICKY THING) and ensured that there were no glaring problems. It also gives a bit of leverage if the inspector tries to enforce something which is not covered, or is covered but open to more than one interpretation.

I have flexible plastic conduit protecting the wiring to my horn & headlight. It is held in place by "P" clips and runs from the forward bulkhead under the cratch plank. See My link.

Thanks for all responses. I found an electrician who listened, understood about balancing the battery bank and completed the job in half a day. The cause may have been over enthusiastic topping up, which meant that the cell compartments had been overtopped. One battery u/s & replaced, the others are ok. Am keeping an eye on the charger though, as well as the batteries. Thanks again folks.

Thanks for all your replies. I have looked at the wiring diagrams on Smartgauge and looked again at some of Tony's course notes. Now I understand a little bit more, (but am still in the twilight zone). All connections come from the same end of the battery bank. I have booked a boat electrician to come and check the charger and wiring over and will ask him to rewire the batt connections whilst he is about it. Is there anything else that the electrician should look for? I have attempted to recharge the three remaining batteries, using an appropriately rated charger. This indicated that the batteries will not take a further charge and are therefore just about finished. Looks like I will have to replace all four batteries.

Thank-you Gentlemen. It may be easier if I respond to all in one go. Batts were topped up with fresh de-ionised water; there is no sign of leakage, bulge, cracking or distress; I usually run the engine for a couple of hours/day if not moving but have once not done so and knew I had to recharge when the fridge low power alarm bleeped. Forgive my ignorance but I do not understand the term used by Tony, "How are your connections to the bank? Is it correctly balanced with all connections coming from opposite ends of the bank?" I can upload a photo of the setup, without batteries, later tomorrow as that is probably the clearest way to illustrate it. I should add that in the past three weeks or so the battery charger cooling fan has been cutting in more frequently, which may have some meaning but I don't know what. Many thanks, Bob.

I have four batteries in my domestic bank, charged via a land line or a Travel Power 3.5Kv generator in addition to twin alternators, (for engine & domestic). The built in voltmeter has always indicated 13.8-14.6v when on charge, dropping to 12.8v or so when charging is complete. This gives sufficient electricity for about 24 hours, with lights, fridge, freezer TV etc. My previous domestics (110Ah) started to deteriorate after four years and in April this year I replaced them with four x 135Ah of a reputable make and source. On checking them prior to installation, the electrolyte, although covering the plates, was below the level needed for the hydrometer so I topped them up. This was the case with all the batteries. I do not recall the readings then but they must have been ok as I proceeded to fit them. A couple of weeks later it became evident that there had been a release of acid in the engine room, (hole in trouser knees, damaged paintwork and chrome eaten off mooring chains etc). I could not see any sign of leakage, boiling etc and put it down to my spilling something acidic at a later time. Three days ago, I took them off land line charge and removed the batteries to tidy the damage. None showed any sign of leakage or overflow. On checking electrolyte I find the following: Starter battery - SG 1275 in all cells, charged. Domestic Bank: Batt One- SG 1200 in all cells, discharged; Batt Two - SG 1200 in all cells, discharged; Batt Three - DRY in all cells, with evidence of plate disintegration; Batt Four - SG 1260 in four cells, charged; & 1235 in two cells, part charged. I have returned the dry one to the supplier for replacement but wonder if the remaining three are showing signs of failure. Does this suggest that the entire bank of 6 month old batteries has been damaged by the dry one? I am not sure if the problem is with the batteries or the charging system. Should I have stuck with 110Ah batteries? The comments of anyone with some experience of these things would be appreciated.

Thanks for that gents, I will try replacing the finder cable and see what happens. Bob.

Yup, I know there's nothing wrong with a radio, been using it a lot recently. For two years I had no problems getting a signal using a Sky freeview box and small dish. Then suddenly my sat finder would not light up and the audible warning buzzer stopped working. So a couple of mates lent me first their finders, which didn't light up either so then we tried their dishes, then another Sky freeview box, then a different dish to receiver cable. No joy. I tried it without using the connection in the forward bulkhead (in case there was a continuity break - checked and there wasn't). Not a flicker! Took all my stuff home, set it up and it worked ok. Put it all together on the boat and presto - got a signal and it worked ok all that bank holiday. Then it stopped and I could not get a signal. Then I got a signal the other day but in taking the satellite finder out of the circuit, lost the signal and could not get a flicker out of the finder again. Have replaced the finder but all that happens when it is plugged in is that a light flashes three or four times every twelve seconds. I have tried it on shore power and through the inverter. The only electrical change during this time is the installation of a galvanic isolator. Sky helpdesk doesn't/can't help/understand, Roadpro have not heard of this problem before and I haven't found anyone in the trade locally who can help. Any ideas? Bob.

Our shell was made by M&D in 2005 (through Severn Valley Boat Centre RIP) I watched every stage of the fabrication and was with the results. I am still with the results. The boat sits well in the water, handles well and has remained watertight above & below the line since completion in March 2006.

M&D used to build only for Severn Valley Boat Centres. They fabricated our 60 footer two years ago and we remain very pleased with it. It sits well in the water, handles well and the build quality is good, (all welds ground flat, no ripples etc). They stopped supply to SVBC last year, and just as well, with SVBC going bump last week, could have taken them too. Well worth a closer look.