grahame r
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Posts posted by grahame r
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There was a nice thing on the radio about Balalaikas yesterday. They are even simpler - three strings, two nylon tuned to E and one steel tuned to A.
Richard
Communist.
Why do I think that brainwashing our kids into liking Ukuleles is a great idea but singing about a dairy product is spooky?
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Me being frugal Grahame!! Its only economical to have a tankful of hot water if its heated by a calorifier whilst cruising along. A gas intantaneous hot water heater does not need a tank and will supply hot water instantly on demand at the turn of a tap, for showering, filling a bath, filling the kettle ect, by far the quickest, most efficient, cheapest to buy and install, quietest, economical and sensible method of heating water whilst stationary.
Or whilst stationary and running an efficient engine driven generator for other purposes! CCrs don't have an umbilical chord attached to the mains, so generation of some sort is inevitable if entropy is to be combatted. If you have ANY electrical equipment, and EVERYONE on this forum does, then you will need a means to recharge your batteries, I agree that solar power is the quitest, cleanest and cheapest to operate, that's why we have a kilowatt of panels on our roof, but during winter this is limited. If you're going to run an engine then a proper generator is surely more efficient than a conventional alternator AND you're getting the hot water, as much as you like at full pressure, as a by-product.
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I know that a good definition of a gentleman is a person who CAN play the Ukulele and DOES'NT, but am I alone in my enthusiasm for this most practical of instruments? The obvious advantage over a guitar of course is size, my guitars have a habit of multiplying and even one takes up a lot of valuable space. There are other advantages, having less strings than the average person has fingers on one hand makes it easier for beginners to get a tune out of and, being tuned 5 exactly semitones higher than the top 4 strings of a guitar mean that guitar chord shapes still work albeit a "D guitar shape" becomes a "G Uke chord" etc which is a bit mindbending to start with but if you can play a guitar you'll able to play a uke immediately. They are not just a poor man's strumming guitar, they are just as challenging as other stringed instruments with complicated strumming patterns and of course fingerpicking offers endless possibilities. I think the naturally bright happy sound of a uke is particularly suited to the waterways whilst skilled players are also able to engender more soulful pieces.
During the winter we moored on the Lee at Stanstead Abbotts and I visited the Bishop Stortford Ukulele Society which is one of the many clubs springing up for people to get together and enjoy communal music making. There were often upwards of 30 players, they cater for all abilities, absolute beginners are always welcome and performances in public are organised at private parties, music festivals, open mike nights etc. This is a bit of fun and not to be taken too seriously, but playing with others will improve both your motivation and technique.
In the summer months we cruise The Thames, K&A, Grand Union and London's rivers and canals and I've been searching the net for suitable clubs to pay the occassional visit, I've found one in Reading and I'm sure there are other's dotted around.
If anyone else is like-minded and perhaps more technical than myself would it be possible to start a pinned thread listing details of clubs near the waterways? If on the other hand there is no interest, then I'll be a gentleman, at least in public.
Grahame
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WOW a supercharged narrow boat! Is it a Bentley?
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This is slightly off topic as you have specifically asked about electricity requirements, but heating by electricity, be it water or space, is incredibly inefficient and to be avoided. I don't think I'm being controversial in saying that a solid fuel stove for space heating is a must for year round liveaboards. Water heating is a bit more testicle, back boilers tend to be good at distributing heat via rads and can be connected to a calorifier water heating system but I've yet to see a really practical one and of course during the summer you still need hot water. Bizzard's enthusiasm for gas water heating is warranted if you intend to live a frugal lifestyle (and Bizzard is nothing if not frugal) but will get expensive if you need regular "tankfulls" of water. We've just had fitted a second hand Dometic/Electrolux Travel Pack, an engine driven 230 volt 3.5 kva alternator system that I'm hoping will solve the hot water and battery charging in winter conundrum. In conjunction with substantial solar power, I'm hoping that running the engine for an hour or so per day will provide hot water and battery boosting to allow us to continue consuming energy at an obscene rate. The only real reason we come into a marina for winter is for the electrical hook-up and if we can avoid the marina charges then the savings will be huge. The cost of such a system new is eye-watering and retro-fitting a second hand system, even if you can locate one, is not for the feint hearted, but if you could find a boat with such a system already fitted then I think it should be seriously considered.
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When we come across a mooring designated for priority for the disabled we put Sue's blue badge in the window. I'm sure it has no legal signifigance but at least people know that we have a disabled person on board. Should a more severely disabled person need it we would move or, more likely, suggest they moor alongside. We have window stickers inviting people to moor alongside. If these were more readily available from CaRT and the EA then I'm sure a lot of the congestion issues would be eased. Despite evidence to the contrary on this forum, a lot of boaters are actually quite shy and retiring!
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I don't think your boat is in any danger, there's an "effect" (someone will remember it's name) that stops lightning from harming metal tubes like boats and planes. Point a nice long metal pole skywards tho........
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AFAIK the landowner on that side has the responsibility to keep their trees from blocking the canal.
Surely it's the CaRT's responsibility to keep the navigation open?
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"Two elderly passengers on board" now who could they be? No, he's in hospital. Charles and Camilla? perhaps he was driving!
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If you give a good long toot as you enter Lock Number One, Southmill Lock on the Stort, just outside Bishop's Stortford, Bizzard may appear from behind the bushes and complain about the noise, or if he's in a good mood entertain you with an amusing wheeeeeeze!
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We passed this boat yesterday. It's a wonderful sight, something you don't see every day and our guests were thrilled to see and photograph it. It was heading east, we west, we pulled over to the left to allow them to pass unhindered and got a cheery thanks and a wave from crew and passengers. It's obviously not the easiest boat to handle and anything we can do to make it easier we will.
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We've just put a Kw on our roof, SOC 100% by 8am this time of year. It will be interesting to see what its like over the winter, we only come into a marina for the leccy, could save us a fortune.
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If the images are to be scanned at the size of the original, presumably mostly 35mm then £2.50 per image is not absurdly cheap bearing in mind there's 20,000 of them. Modern scanners do not require colour correction for very exact colour matching. Annotation and archiving are outside of my expertise.
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Yes, but please be aware that not all elsan points are suitable and a lot of people will post saying that its smelly and unsociable. We have a self pump out kit but only use it in emergency.
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If they do that then there'll be criticism that they are spending our licence fees on self publicity! I notice people are back out drumming up support for the "Friends of the CaRT" campaign, no doubt the whingers will be talking of chugging and money wasting again. My opinion is that the more people we can spread the cost of the waterways over, the better they will become. I've certainly noticed a better attitude since CaRT took over, we all need to spread the word.
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Name and shame!!!
We have a Francis Lamp that was made in 1965 and the chrome was just starting to show its age. I had the chrome removed to leave the more impressive (IMHO) Brass which I then laquered and it looks beautiful. The people who removed the chrome had to grind it off, took ages. We are liveaboards and burn fossil fuels but there's no problem with this attacking any metals other than the flue, which is stainless and has turned a nice shade of blue.
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We do now! Good piece of marketing.
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It seems to be largely a matter of the sellers expectations. Once they've convinced themselves that the boat is worth £30,000 they are reluctant to accept that the real figure should be £15,000 a couple of years trying to sell it can change their minds so try to find out how long it has been on the market and as Richard says if you see a bargain then get in quick BUT GET A SURVEY BEFORE COMMITTING TO BUY!!!!I
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Chris Pink is probably right about your battery, if you've just bought the boat then the old owner is unlikely to have renewed it recently. There are numerous threads on here about battery charging and battery capacity calculations. If you have halogen or other high energy lighting then changing them for LEDS should be high on your priority list.
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If you stay on The Thames then East Street, between Osney Bridge and Osney Lock are free for the first night, The Punter pub on the corner of East and South Streets is highly recommended for food. Continue down and Christchurch Meadow just below Folly Bridge is free and very scenic especially as students are finishing their exams and celebrating.
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Hi Grahame
I'm not really sure to be honest. I think that they batteries may have been the wrong way round as the one that is flat and was originally connected as the starter battery that is the dual purpose multicell SFL 110ah leisure battery ( thats what the sticker on the battery states) then the other battery which is now connected as the starter one, is a smaller battery, not sure exactly as its on the boat and I'm at home now. What is the difference between a starter battery and a leisure one and how do I know which is which - what size should they both be ?? we have a little 30ft springer, no inverter, and no major need for massive amounts of leisure use other than the lights in the evening as and when we are out ??
Did the engine not turn over or did the lights go dim?
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I don't quite understand, did your domestic battery/ies go flat or your starter battery? If it was your starter battery then either you have a charging/alternator problem or your battery needs replacing. If it was your domestic then you really need to look at how much power you intend to use and what size battery bank would be suitable and then how to charge it. I don't think a portble jump starter type device is a practical long term solution.
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I think the salient point is that, from experience, the galaxy S3 is hugely superior to a dongle. We cruise a lot and this year we have been able to stream live tv the length of the navigable Thames. We are now on the K&A with everything still working at Aldermaston. We've never been able to get any signal for TV, dongle or phone at Pewsey so time will tell just how good the Galaxy is. We'll be in a week or so.
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Tethering makes use of a phone sim and connects phone and device via wifi. Connecting via wifi using a dongle, router or mifi type device a data only sim is employed, which takes priority over a phone sim. A data only sim on 3G is generally better than a phone sim on 3G.
On the Galaxy tethering and wifi are separate options. So is my Galaxy ,in wifi mode, connecting in the same way as a data only device? it certainly appears to be better than the "ordinary" phone connection to the internet.
Electricity aboard, help with checklist?
in Living Afloat
Posted
But we aren't plugged into the mains Tony, all I'm saying is that the system I'm describing is an efficient use of resouces. If you were on the towpath, even with your frugal (it's that word again) power usage, you'd have to run your engine for hours to get your battery back to a decent state of charge. More noise, more pollution, more fuel and no hot water!