Nige123

I have shore power on my winter mooring so not an issue. I just like the fact I can save 13kg of LPG per month & not worry that the fridge freezer will go out when away on holiday etc...

So we are living on our wide beam on the Thames & I have an LPG 3kw Honda generator & this runs our washer/dryer fridge/freezer etc etc (Just) & we used to run it every other day for an hour or 3..... Then I fitted 10 100w semi flexible panels on the roof..... They are stuck on with double sided tape & I did this as the first time you go under a tree or make a balls up on a low bridge your ali' frame ones are going to be ripped off or made into scrap..... We now can run our washing machine 3 or 4 times a day & our battery bank is full by noon (4 200 amp hour & 3 135 amp hour batteries) Next question you may ask is what controller I have to handle 1kw of charge? well it's an 80amp one that costs under £100 & it works very well & can be used with wind or solar & has a dump load circuit.... After fitting the solar I have only run the generator a couple of times just to give it a go to see if it charged the bank & after a few minutes the bank is full... So 10 100w units may sound like over kill but in the winter I hope it keeps up with most of our use & I have had so many people asking about the set up I thought I would tell you all about it.... I can also help fit set ups to your boat call Nige on 07973 233 717

New & Used Boat Co have used a Craftsman Ram not the Vetus one that was fitted to the boat I was shown when they did the sales pitch..... Craftsman steering rams are sold in the uk by 1 outfit & they don't have a spare on the shelf so you should consider this if your in the market for a steering ram as if one can't be had from stock then you have a long wait to get a new one sent to you (if they are still in business when you need one) I have spent 3 days of my holiday in this spot waiting for N&UBC to fix the problem & all I can think is "I'm glad its not winter with the river following fast" I would be in real trouble....... My wife & I have now spent our 2 week holiday trying to get from Henley-on-Thames to Oxford in our new boat that cost around £140K & we have got as far as Shillingford Bridge. A trip that I have done in a day on my old narrow boat a few times... We set off with 3 boats Bournemouth built in the 1930's & a Liverpool boat from the early 2000's & the only boat that has been problems is our brand new Boat co....... I now sit & type & wait for a steering ram that has been taken from another boat that is for sale at N&UBC to be driven down to us & fitted... If your on the Thames & on your way to Oxford & see Doris tied to the bank give us a wave....(You will see the oil slick just follow it to us)

So now the ram has railed due to the heat of the welding....... I could just say "I told you so" but what good would that do? I have now been on a mooring waiting for a man to turn up with some new parts to fix the leaking ram as the seals have melted due to hours of welding with the ram in place.... I build hotrods for a hobby & if I paid a lot of cash for say a shock absorber I would maybe tack the mount in place then remove the shock & weld the plate in proper....... But on the up side I did get an apology from Alan McNorton of Colingwood & that was a start that I may have made weeks ago......

so photo of tack welds & of re-welded mounting what do you think? This is the mounting on another boat that looks like to was done by a boat builder not a child on acid...... Joke is both boats are Colingwood built boats? & the boats are both Euro Cruisers.....

I will take some more photo's of the welding job today & a boat next to it that is the same but different.... My boat now looks like a child has had a go at welding & the other boat has massive steel plates with real welding????? When you see the photo's you will understand my disappointment & the quality of N&UBC repairs.... Today I have made my mind up to take the legal road & list ALL defects with this "luxury boat" I have many pictures & will cut videos into 1 youtube clip & then post this link...... (& yes it can go on N&UBC facebook)

Well Colingwood sent out a welder & he snotted the mounting back in place...... Not a very professional job but I'm told it will hold.... I have a list of items from trims falling off to no header tank being fitted to the engine making the warranty void so anyone buying a new boat from The N&UBC should insist on holding back the final payment for 2 months as trust me you are going to have problems & they will be slow to fix any you may have this is not just my experience but that of others that I have spoken to.....

well we are at 1pm & no phone call from Colingwood boats so you can see how fast they fix problems with £140K worth of boat...... Remember this when you order a new boat won't you folks.... To answer so posts..... I have welded fuel tanks but I have filled them up with an inert gas first ie Argon or Co2 this displaces any oxygen & stops any chance of fire... I would in fact just weld 2 50mmx50mm lengths of angle iron to a 10mm plate & bolt it in place to the lip on top of the fuel tank & bolt it trough the hull this would be better then a weld & would not need to deck being cut out to get at it.... but again what do I know? ok maybe not 100's of tons but the best part of a tidy few I would say........

As to welding...... I have welded race car sumps & had the vapour ignite & burn inside an engine... it was a fright I can tell you & the only good thing was it took all the dents & dings out of the sump in front of my eyes but then blew the rocker cover gaskets out on a big block Chevy motor....... So I would remove the filler cap & fill the air gap with an inert gas such as Argon/Co2 to displace oxygen then it can't burn or catch fire... I have welded Petrol tanks with fuel inside in this way & got away with it.... As to welding a mounting that has a 65hp engine pushing on it with 30tons of boat to move I would think the force could be in the 100's of tons so seeing it tacked to the top of a 4mm thick fuel tank is not what I would think was a GOOD idea but what do I know? I would weld a 10mm plate to 2 50mmx50mm sections of angle iron & use 4 bolts trough the top lip of the fuel tank & 4 bolts through the rear hull.... No welding near fuel & a bolt in fix that would not need the deck cutting cut to get to it.... again what do I know right? Well I do build hot rods & work on boats, So when I fit front suspension systems to cars I do what I think is good enough & then do some more as I have seen front ends rip out of cars in the 1/4 mile with bad consequence to car & driver... Monday is the new day for a phone call and appointment with an engineer so update soon.....

Well I have a promise of a phone call tomorrow & an engineer to come out on Monday but we will see.... & to answer one question the tank is welded in to the hull before the deck is welded on top so now the deck will need to have a hole cut in it to get access to the bracket....

I have had a 60ft xNow this may get removed by moderators I don't know & it's not a post to slag off any boat builder or supplier but in my mind it is a dangerous defect that I feel other boaters may need to know about. 12ft widebeam Euro Cruiser boat built for me by Colinwood boats (Liverpool boats of Liverpool) & used The New & Used Boat Co to coordinate things. The boat is the best lay out we have seen for live-aboard use we feel & I know have seen all the flack about New & Used & Liverpool boats so went into this with eyes open...... Yes lots of small problems as we thought & the build quality of many items is like one would expect from a boat made in China.... But as I work on boats I can cope with most & fix them as they come up... Things like not fitting an expansion tank to the Vetus 65hp engine so the water leaks out into the bilge is hard to believe & after speaking to Vetus & being told this would void ALL WARRANTY on a £15k engine I was a little upset... But the bigger issue is the Steering ram mounting snapping off & this is welded to the top of the Diesel tank. Our boat is on the River Thames & as many of you may know you get some very expensive boats (some in excess of £2million) so ramming one in a lock could be interesting & the litigation after... The steering ram mounting on our boat was only tack welded in 4 corners & the heat of the MIG welder has not penetrated so while swinging the boat round on a mooring last weekend this mounting broke off..... Now in normal use this may hold but in fast water or full throttle emergency what happened to our boat could & I think would happen to your boat...... So I would recommended anyone with a Colinwood euro cruiser boat or other Colinwood boat with a steering wheel make checks to see if your ram mounting is welded properly as when it snaps off you will loose steering & you could also rip a hole in the fuel tank. Like I say this is a post that is to inform others of this very dangerous fault & as yet Colinwood have not come back to me with a plan to fix this problem, when they do I will post outcome, New & used has passed the buck to Colinwood as seems normal practice with this company. I am worried as Alan Mc Norton or is it mcNaughton from Colinwood boats will not answer my calls or phone me back? you would think it would be important to them to get to the bottom of this one.......

sorry playing catch up here but I found this interesting... http://www.narrowboatworld.com/index.php/news-flash/7556-cc-rules-shot-down-in-flames http://www.narrowboatworld.com/index.php/news-flash/6791-do-cc-rules-apply-to-all why not spend some of this cash on making more marinas for boats? all the fields that flood & farmers don't use could be dug out & made profitable again? more boats less moorings that is a fact but no one would complain about better services like more water points, pump outs, electric points, boat yards...... make it better not worse I would say why do we try to fix things by beating folks with a stick? I would say drag it to the courts until CRT have a massive hole in the budget then fire the lot of them & get some boaters to run the trust......

just to add my 2p worth....I am having a Canaline 60hp engine fitted to my new boat & it has a 50amp start alternator & 175amp domestic alternator.... This combo makes more sense to me as the 50amp takes less out of the motor power & th 175amp put plenty into the domestic set... You can get 200amp alternators from e-bay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHROME-ALTERNATOR-Fits-HIGH-200AMP-OMC-MARINE-2-5-3-0-3-8-4-3-5-0-5-7L-200AMP-/251157138664?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item3a7a21cce8 & in chrome finish no less & for under £200 that's a deal... you can get V belt or wide groovy ones.....

I made an ice cream motor bike & sidecar (Honda Dax Monkey bike) & I made a box from MDF & lined it with that black polystyrene stuff from B&Q & I was amazed that I could keep a block of ice (Old ice cream tub of tap water) in it for days.... You could make an Ice Box & just fill it with bags of ice from Tesco's etc & I would think a bag every 2 to 3 days in summer would be used... My home made ice cream bike would keep my ices frozen all day in the summer with no problem....

yes that is always possible but I will be using a washer/dryer on board so if I run a generator for an hour or so I can do a load, heat water with the 1kw immersion heater & use the 70amp charger to top up the battery bank... solar should keep up with the fridge freezer...... dude you need to lay off the drugs.......& put some cloths on!

? ok that makes sense as they are stuck to the roof with no air gap behind them & our roofs do get very warm in summer...... maybe I will go for the lower cost ridged ones.... thanks

Ok so just won a Honda Eu30is on ebay for £1250.00 (like new) that has an LPG conversion fitted, this is the LPG only type so it has the float bowl, float, main jet & emulsifier tube removed & a SPUD fitted so you can't run it on petrol EVER... this is the best set up for this type of generator so the experts say as the dual fuel set ups have problems on eco throttle models.... It runs very sweet very low noise not as much as my eu10 in fact ran a 2kw fan heater with only a slight upping of the revs.... So next on the list is some solar panels & I have seen some semi flexible ones of 100w each so may snag 6 or 8 of them....anyone have any thoughts on this type of panel? I will be fixing the the roof with double sided tape 3 or 4 each side...

so if you bought a radio did you get a free pack of condoms? or if you bought some condoms did you get a free radio? or did they just give away the radios to advertise condoms???? no don't tell me let it be a wonder to me.....

I would disagree with that as I still have & use the original Dyson DC01 & in the time I have owned it I have gone through a Vax, Hoover & Mitsubishi & just rebuilt the Dyson & it goes & goes..... The Hyundai does look good but I think I will just buy the new Honda eu30i (the smaller none electric start one) yes I can do that just my cable is blue....

yes petrol can be a danger but most modern generators can be converted to LPG this makes then run for longer, quieter & no sloshing fuel about... Also my new boat has seats around the back with space under for me to stash a generator with exhaust outlet, air vents & more sound deadening.....

don't Google this it's is not a DIY project... If you forget the boiler & it over heats it will make steam you will have a Boat Bomb on your hands.... This will burst plastic pipe work & melt skin off instantly just ask any plumber very dangerous if you get it just a wee bit wrong....

Ok as I thought.... So people What is your thoughts on Generators? I had an old Honda from the early 1980's & I used it on sites for many years & it never let me down & always started but it had the old shacking needle thing for Htz so was not the best thing to run electronics & put a pixel out on my tv so was time to flog it..... (£100.00 on ebay & it cost me £25 to buy) Next step was to buy a copy 2kw cheap ass one from ebay & that ran for about 60 seconds & broke so when back & got I an EU10 Honda & life has been fine back to always starting when needed.... Now I need to buy another bigger generator & I have seen a Hyundai 2kw with remote start how cool is that or is it just going to be the same old story of buying yet another boat anchor???? So has anyone got a Hyundai generator that is older then a year old & is it still running? My thinking is just buy a used Honda what say you?

So a question for live aboard folk.... What do you do to make power for your boat? I know about generators, soar, wind turbines, VAWT's even water wheels seem to work well but what do you use? I have found a fork lift truck company manager that has told me he can get thousands of big ass batteries if I need them for scrap costs so look out for a post about them at some point in the future.... I once made a VAWT from a steel barrel cut in 2 & welded to a shaft & connected to a car alternator & this was is Southern California a place not know for it's high winds & it would spin in very light winds & make power to keep a battery charged for an electric fence.... any mad ideas you have why not tell all we British are good at shed building great ideas like the bouncing bomb Dyson vacuum & the Bayliss wind up radio so lets see if we can find the Smith/Jones boat charger......

can use the land under the solar farm & sheep seem to be the ideal grass cutting machine...you can grow other crops but it's harder to harvest them I would say...

Yes seems a good idea you can have live stock under them keeping the grass cut & keeps them out of the rain so win win.... plus it moves the tech' on & makes them cost less... My 3 small ones on the roof have 3 controllers with 3 leds that glow when making free energy & it's a joy to watch all 3 glow bright on sunny day & still a joy to see 1 1/2 glowing on a dull day.... I moored in London under a street light & got 1 light going..... I have seen some semi-flexible panels on e-bay for my new boat & think 10 of them stuck on the roof with 3M double sided solar tape could do the job....