Ex- Member

If your hull hasn't suffered any ingress of water and had a decent coat of paint/bitumen prior to being ballasted and floored, you should have minimal rust. This was what ours looked like after 10 years. Fortunately no rust. We also laid our 2x2 ballast on plastic strip, so should there ever be any leakage in the bilges, water won't get trapped between ballast and hull and will flow to the stern. It will also dry out quickly as there's room for air to flow between. Definitely worth checking if you have an opportunity, any small leak could cause quite severe corrosion and you might not be aware of it, on many an older boat I've seen, the corrosion inside the hull is quite often far worse than corrosion externally.

I don't think that's possible Pete, the 3 panels we have now are 35v each totalling 740w, the outback is quite often is reading over 100v The 12v panels are around 19v so in series x 3 = 57v I'm not sure of the options or how to mix panels. I would like to keep the 3 100w panels close to the stern having only to move them from one side of the boat to the other when we turn the boat and face the other way. If the 100w panels are mixed with the larger panels that might be problematic.

Hi Pete The panels will be attached to the side of the boat South facing so will be almost square on to the low winter sun. They'll be attached with small 50mm pot magnets and be movable from one side of the boat to the other. We'll only deploy them from Oct ish to March. I can get 30a tracer from Bimble Solar for under £120 there 20 amp is £80, I suppose for the sake of £40 quid I just as well go for the 30a and have additional capacity for a couple more panels LOL

We only put 240v cable in conduit where it went through bulkheads. Behind linings and in stud walls isn't necessary, it just needs securing regularly.

Hi J Yeah just sorted this out. Believe it or not we've never changed the engine fuel filter, just the filter between tank and engine. It's been untouched for ten years, and the engine hasn't missed a beat. Still I've now ordered a new one for the engine. I also couldn't believe how cheap the filters are from Diperk. I've ordered 6 oil filters and 6 diesel filters and the engine diesel filter, the engine one though was expensive at £9.00, having said that, all 13 filters supplied and delivered for £33.20 The same standard fuel and diesel filters are on sale on flea bay for up to a tenner each. Anyway I'll now have a 3 year supply of filters ready to use. Thanks for the Diperk tip, they were incredibly helpful in determining the correct filters.

Waxoyl is brilliant and perfect in areas that are mostly hidden and don't require a painted finish, it will out perform bitumen and it's also self repairing, if you scratch it, the W/oil will refill the scratch over time. It's been used in ships bilges for yonks.

Thanks J Been in touch Another question is, does the fuel filter actually fitted to the engine need changing at the same time as the fuel filter coming from the diesel tank. I've never bothered to change the one on the engine, it's also painted in with the engine block colour.

Well that's what insurance is for surely. I'm sure there are many scenarios where a boat could be responsible for serious injury to a person especially if being mishandled. It appears as well that insurance is a legal requirement. From. https://www.gov.uk/owning-a-boat/insurance 4. Insurance You should check what kind of insurance you need - it depends on how and where you use your boat. If you’re using inland waterwaysYou’ll usually need to have ‘third party’ insurance for at least £1 million if you have a powered boat or a houseboat. You may also need insurance for some types of unpowered boat - check with the navigation authority that manages the waterway you want to use. You could be prosecuted or fined if you don’t have the right insurance - the kind of penalty depends on your navigation authority. The Canal and River Trust website has a list of insurance companies that provide boat insurance. https://www.gov.uk/owning-a-boat/insurance

I wonder then why C&RT seem to require any insurance details at all from boaters licencing a boat, seems a strange request if it's not a requirement. I'm more referring to any claims for serious injury or possibly death. If a boat is the cause of such and not insured and there's little chance of claiming from the boat owner, then the next port of call for a claim could well be C&RT Any smaller claim for damage/breakage can be done through normal litigation should there be no insurance and should the aggrieved wish to pursue.

When we went on the water last year they insisted on a copy of policy, we've just renewed and no such requirement only having to declare yes to having insurance. So we could easily not insure the boat next month and cruise the next year uninsured. Personally I reckon they should have a system similar to cars with an insurance data base to regularly check compliance and revoke any boat owners licence without a minimal 3rd party cover. I reckon C&RT are opening them selves to to the possibility that a 3rd party claimant unable to claim from an uninsured boater could then claim from C&RT on the basis they neglected to ensure craft on their waterways are properly covered with regard to 3rd party claims. I'm pretty sure in the case of an injury claim that would be highly likely.

Well we use The Boatyard on the W K&A they deliver direct to our boat, and diesel too, I think their diesel is now down to 78p as well which is a pretty decent price, certainly cheaper than any other outlet in this area. I would happily pay a couple of quid more for gas delivered, it's such a pain collecting the stuff.

LOL fair point LOL Well not in all cases, I do recall our 7.5T removal lorry costs £165 to tax, where my wee little Kangoo van costs £220 Total madness LOL

N/b's should pay more as they have more access to more canals than fat boats :-)

This was mentioned earlier in the thread with regard to adding solar panels and another controller. But didn't seem to get a difinitive answer. We already have an Outback FM60 with 740w of solar panels connected to it. We're planning on adding 200 to 300w of flexi panels for the winter period. These are 12v panels with Max Power Voltage (volts): 19 We'll clearly need another controller. I'm thinking of the Bimble Solar tracer model 20/30a OR could we get away without a controller as we're highly unlikely to glean anywhere near full SOC from them during winter? Would using another charger affect the Outback controller in any way. My common sense says no, it's simply another charge regime as is an alternator. However I do like to check these things out. Also bearing in mind that 300w of solar at 12v would require a 25amp controller, but if the panels are 19v would I get by with a 20amp controller. The additional panels are only to be deployed from mid Oct to mid March hence requiring flexible so they can be moved around easily and stored on the boat easily.

I was always under the impression the boat No. sticker or badge had to be of a reasonable enough size to be read from a reasonable distance, that being at least the width of a canal so wardens can visibly see boat numbers from the opposite tow path. I remember when we first came on the water I recall a warden stating this when he noticed one of our old metal ones had detached itself from the boat side panel that I needed to do the same size font at the old BW metal plate if I replaced it with vinyl stickers.

They probably do, but retailers can sell for what ever they like. The bottle price goes up and down depending on market price. I'm not surprised it can be got for £21-23 for 13k in Cannock from Roofing Supplies as they probably sell a lot of bottles to flat roofers so buy in larger quantities.

Western K&A £27.00 13k from The Boatyard

Why not offer a credible reason why? As I stated if you bothered to quote the full sentence. Why not offer a credible reason why? According to a WM engineer I know, it does no harm at all, the machine will operate according to the temp it senses within the machine regardless as to how the water got there.

I read lock 12 had some kind of problem. Someone posted this on FB Anyone know what happened at lock 12 on the K&A? CRT say: The Kennet and Avon Canal at Bath is closed from Lock 13 to Lock 11 due to a boat strike at Lock 12 - Pulteney Gardens Lock. There is damage to the gate, gate collar and gate anchor, leaving the lock unusable. This stretch of the canal is now closed for safety reasons and will need to be assessed and repaired before the lock can be reopened.

Us neither, I really can't see what difference it would make. The cold water is injected in to the machine via the soap drawer. We simply fill it in the same way prior to starting the wash cycle with warm water. We don't put soap in the tray either, Lynn uses stuff you add directly to the wash. If the water is too cold the element will begin to heat it, it the water is too hot the machine will simply add cold water until it reaches the required temperature or wait for the required temperature to be reached. We find that 4L at 45c works perfectly and doesn't require element heating as when we start the cycle It seems just a small amount of cold plumbed water seems to be injected for a couple of seconds. We've noticed no difference at with regard to quality of wash either. Different machines might have different initial fill levels, so it can be a bit of trial and error getting the amount right. We were told by a WM engineer I know that the usual fill capacity is between 3 and 6l depending on model.

Hi Br I think it's all in the spec below. Bear in mind that some figures are based on 4 wash loads per week such as energy and water usage. Max power I'm pretty sure is 2200w but due to the element, our 3kw inverter had no issues with it at all when we did heat the water via the machines element. The Beko WM5102W offers the latest A+ Energy rating with a slim depth for easy installation. With 11 programmes including Time Saver you can be sure of perfect results every time from the WM5102W Main features Beko WM5102W Washing Performance A Max load capacity kg (dry clothes) 5 Energy Efficiency Class A+ Spin Speed (rpm) 1000 Spin Performance C Number of Main Programmes 11 LED Programme Sequence Indicator Lights Yes Large Porthole Door (cm) 30 cm Indicator light on all function buttons Yes Time delay 3h,6h,9h Electronic Main Wash Programme Knob Yes Child Lock Feature Operated Electronically Yes Automatic Half Load Yes Cold Fill Yes Automatic Unbalanced Load Control Yes Fully Variable Spin Speed Selection Yes Fully Variable Temperature Selection Yes Programmes Rinse Yes Spin&Drain Yes Cottons Yes Cottons Eco Yes Synthetics Yes Woollens Yes Hand Wash Yes Time Saver Yes Baby&Toddler Clothing Yes Dark Care Yes Mixed Fabrics Yes Auxiliary Functions Pre-Wash Yes Rinse Hold Yes No spin Yes Quicker Wash Yes Other features Front Service Access Yes 3 Compartment detergent tray Yes Inner Drum Material Stainless Steel Electromechanical security door lock Yes Overflow protection Yes Can be installed under worktop Yes Start/stop Button Yes Door Opening Angle (°) 180 4 adjustable feet Yes Dimensions & Weights Product Height (cm) 85 Product width (cm) 60 Product depth (cm) 45 Carton height (cm) 89 Carton width (cm) 65 Carton depth (cm) 51,5 Net Weight (kg) 59 Gross Weight (kg) 60 Consumption Values & Other Technical Drum Capacity (litres) 44 Approved to BSEN60335 Yes Annual Energy Consumption - kWh/Year 158 Annual Water Consumption- l/year 7260 Noise Levels (Washing/Spinning) 59/72 Water consumption per cycle - l/cycle 33 Water Pressure 1-10 bar Total Power (W) 2200 Voltage/Frequency 230 V / 50 Hz Warranty 1 Year Beko Warranty

I think it's much better being over grown, certainly cuts down on speeding cyclists. We're only too happy to chop down some vegetation to moor, After dropping the plank there usually isn't much left to do anyway. This photo where we are now is actually quite open, just a short way up the cut the overgrowth is 8 f/t high in places. Bearing in mind we're 60f x 10/6 wide beam, we got in pretty well here. We're behind the n/b furthest away. look carefully you might just make us out LOL

Your low alternator output is probably due to poor pully ratio. I suspect you'r just at a 2 to1 ratio hence the low amps. I would surprised If you could sustain an 80% SOC especially through winter unless you're strictly 12v with no fridge. From what research we've done and what we've monitored over the past year is that a battery bank needs to be about 4 x your daily consumption. That is working extremely well for us, but of course might not for everyone. IMO though it's a good guide line.

Not the normal choice for boats, but I really liked the spec when looking for a machine specifically for the boat. And now we've realised we can avoid high energy use, It's the perfect solution. http://ao.com/product/WM5102W-Beko-Washing-Machine-White-26888.aspx?&WT.z_PT=MDA&WT.z_MT=Search&WT.z_RTM=PLA&WT.z_DT=c&WT.z_AT=washing%20machines&WT.z_BR=Beko&WT.z_FT=Free%20Standing&WT.z_PC=WM5102W_WH&WT.srch=1 Going through the spec really closely this model ticked all the boxes and low and behold it was one of the cheapest models out there. I recall ours was under £180 delivered from AO. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=cr&ei=f1qfUvLJHeHNywPct4CoDw#q=beko+wm5102w&tbm=shop&spd=3845056488200003497

I fall into category 2. too. Shudda dun a pol