Denis R

Now I've got the Sterling unit in and working, I thought I'd just to update you on the practical aspects of this installation.... 1) On my Beta Greenline 35 there is a permanant 12v feed to the domestic alternator. This is lost when the Sterling unit is installed, resulting in the charge warning light not illuminating when the ignition is switched on. In that configuration it's also necessary to 'blip' the engine to get the system to fire up. The answer's to run a fused 12v feed from the ACC terminal on the ignition switch to the IGN input on the Sterling unit. Sterling recommend using the starter solenoid circuit, but then the charge warning light only comes on momentarily when the starter is cranked. 2) The wiring diagram in the Beta manual is not the same as the 'as installed' layout from the factory.... 3) Does it work? Yes it works well and seems to do 'what it says on the tin'. 4) With the benefit of hindsight would I do it this way again? Probably not. I share the reservations of others in this discussion regarding the potential for taking down both alternators, but hey-ho, I've gone this route now.... 5) How would I do it next time? Bigger domestic alternator and a digital regulator on this circuit only. Keep the starting circuit separate.... (Didn't realise that alternators, batteries and charging was such a discussed topic, but then we learn something every day.)

As far as I'm concerned it is easy to install - just that my boat's still under warranty so the builder's doing it and also I couldn't be bothered to do it myself anyway. My understanding of the theory of charging lead acid batteries is not complete and I've no intention of opening a debate on it, but from what I've read, the 4-stage charging method is superior to the basic charge profile from an alternator, even the modern ones fitted to my Beta 35. I'm going for it so I don't have to run the engine whilst I'm stationary any longer than I have to. The 4-stage charging certainly seems to work with the Victron inverter I've got installed, so I thought I'd replicate it on the engine charging circuit. Mine's the 160 amp model.

Five domestic and one starting I believe.

I'm having a Sterling 4-Stage alternator to battery charger installed at the moment. Both alternators will feed into the unit and the switching between starting battery and domestic batteries is handled by the unit internally. According to the Sterling literature it kicks off by giving the starting battery a boost before switching over to the domestic batteries and then at regular intervals stops what it's doing and goes back to the starting battery and gives that another shot. Their literature describes it properly! My rationale is that I can add the output of my 70 amp and 40 amp alternators to give more 'oomph' to the domestic batteries' charging. The installer tells me that he's never had any come-back on these units before, but I'll keep you posted on how well it works....

From my perspective £100 per metre with those services doesn't sound a rip-off. I've seen similar spec moorings around London at a tad under £5,000 per annum (no length stipulation) and my mooring with no services works out at about £77 per metre....

Hi Richard, Sorry this seems to have sat for a long time and it's probably too late now, but the RBOA have a great sample mooring agreement and some accompanying information too.... All said and done, you're pretty much beholden to the 'Landlord' and I don't think there's much scope for maneouvre if there's something you're not too happy about. They do tend to take a 'like it or lump it' approach sometimes.... Good luck with your new boat!

Going back up the topic a bit, last Sunday's Observer had a fantastic give away wall chart of wild berries - absolutely brilliant for identifying what's on the towpath or scraping the side of your boat....

Very eloquently put Eugene. However, you can't go on like this forever. One day you'll have sold off your catalogue of desirable structures and plots and won't have the pool of assets any more. Are you absolutely sure that your "investment in other property interests that in turn produce long term income streams" will compensate for the gradual reduction in the current asset base? Like I said, you can only sell it off once....

'Fraid it's getting more common in my view - more canal users therefore a greater number of individuals likely to display that behaviour. Also due to the crowding - especially around the 'hot spots' - greater chance of irritation triggering the behaviour.... Ho hum, must go Bones, the viccy sponge needs checking and the croquet mallet needs some linseed oil!

What do I miss? ....spending two hours in the loft browsing through junk that was put there 'because one day it'll be valuable' or 'one day we'll need that'. What don't I miss? Going into the loft to search for something and then spending two hours.......etc.

I have to say I'm with William on this. The fundamentals of supply and demand will always push up the cost when the demand outstrips the supply, to the point where the two balance. OK the boatyard referred to got it wrong, either through greed or poor market intelligence. A commodity is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. In their case, not their original asking price. Price came down, moorings filled. Balance achieved. BW don't have a social remit and I can't see any scenario where means tested moorings or the marine equivalent of 'lo-cost' housing association moorings will become available. When I got involved in boating nobody said to me that there was a right to low cost, more along the lines of 'better understand what it's really going to cost you'..... So, I shrugged my shoulders and paid up.

But don't expect peace and quiet in the middle of summer. it gets very busy and expect traffic from dawn 'til dusk. Napton locks can be a bottleneck, especially around the water point at the bottom of the locks and in some of the short pounds up the flight. However, 11 mile pound is absolutley wonderful when it's quiet and there are numerous places you can moor up and enjoy the countryside. The beer in The Folly at Napton is good and food wise, they do a simple range of pies that are reasonably priced.

Where my kids are concerned - a dish cloth.

Just a thought, but is the engine stop solenoid working properly? I guess it's energise to run the engine if it's a VW car engine based unit. Unless they're replaced with an energise to stop system for marine use? If the stop valve is 'open' it'll crank forever and not fire, even if it appears 'wet' as there'll be no pressure in the injector rails.

Think I might be going the 3G route at this rate.... Or see if some land-lubber in the area's got an unprotected wi-fi node! I wouldn't be constantly re-aligning a dish as it'd be mainly for work use when moored up, but the costs seem a bit prohibitive.

I'm unconvinced about the outboard option. I'm not so sure it will work out as a cost effective alternative in the long run. Your engine spins over, therefore you can probably assume the 'core' is OK. I think it's worth persisting with this engine for a while. Get fresh diesel pumped through right down to the injectors. I have a vague recollection from the past that one of the tricks was to loosen the spill rail at the injectors as a means of bleeding the air/watery fuel through. (Guys, help me on this one). Also, what engine is it? If it's a commonplace lump, spares, if you need them in the end, may be cheaper than you think.

I'm going to be moving mooring soon and am looking at internet access options. Apart from the 3G systems I've heard about satellite broadband for canal boats, but haven't found where it comes from. Is anybody using it and if so, who does it? I suspect it's going to be hideously expensive.... Anybody know the damage? A search on the forum didn't turn up anything either, unless my search criteria was duff....

Bit of a glib answer, but it depends how long the water's been in there an in what concentration. If not long enough to get any internal corrosion going you can possibly get away with a complete flush through. But after a year or so, it's likely to need an injection system strip down. If the engine's cylinder bores are rusted too, it's probably terminal. If hte engine turns over as yours appears to, you should be OK, but I fear for the pump and injectors....

I too was interested in a Lister, but it was suggested to me by the builder that, compared to a Beta, a Lister would 'smoke more in locks'.... I went for a Beta 38 which seems to be fine - and doesn't 'smoke in locks'.... However, I go along with Charles. If I was to do my project again I'd go for a single alternator and a split charge system. The second alternator on the Beta sticks up so high above the engine that we had to re-design the engine hole area and make it 4 inches higher than we wanted, which has involved a number of compromises in that area that I didn't really want to make....

I've got an array of Hella LED lights in the boatman's cabin and my bedroom. Tend to irreverently refer to them as 'shag lights' as they are in essence a mood light and not very good for illuminating the room in order to find anything! I wouldn't recommend them for the general lighting and this business about 14.8 volts or whatever is news to me - mine work fine as they come....

Suspiciously all the aerials around here are well up on the houses and are long with many crossed elements and large reflectors.... Oh well.