Colin Smith

KwaZulu Natal or 'KZN' or 'Natal' as my South African friends call it = 1 West Yorkshire = 3. I don't read newspapers or the Daily Mail. Riots in Greece, yes as in many other places. It is my personal choice to leave these shores and one which at the moment, I am free to make unlike many other presonal choices that I am not free to make in this country any more. Anyone who wishes to stay or leave, that's up to them. Many are voting with their feet and suitcases. A lot don't have the option. Many do nothing. Don't forget to turn the lights off when we've all gone.

There are many depending on how far you want to go. I've looked closely at some European destinations (Greece and France) also South Africa (very corrupt system but there were fewer murders in Natal when I was there for 3 months than in West Yorkshire!) I'll be taking the barge to France for a year or so then off to Greece for another couple of years. I don't intend staying in one place unless I want/need to. If you want to start looking at possibilities, have a look at this - it's for Americans but the info is good: http://www.escapeartist.com/ Colin

Brown has done more to damage our own economy than any other Western bean counter since Dennis Healy. We already had a gaping black hole in our finances before the "world recession" - that's one of the reasons why he sold off a chunk of our gold reserve. What has happened around the world has revealed the utter b*lls -up he's been making over the last 10 years. Usual Labour thing of spend spend spend tax tax tax. And no, I'm not a Tory voter. I just wish people would wake up to the reality of what has and is going on before sheepishly following the Labour spin. The fact is we are the most taxed nation in Europe if not the world, have a government that has removed many of our rights whilst giving in to pressure from the EU (and others) to give more and more room to all and sundry trekking their way here to take advantage of our health service, benefits and space. We have a police force that is now an almost exclusive government agency - used for tax gathering and to 'promote' policy. A CPS that always looks for the easiest option and will walk away from anything but the easiest cases to prosecute. Councils who think they can dictate any whim or fancy and fine you if you don't agree or object. This country has become a mess and every government since the war has failed the people it suposedly represents. It is the very fools who supported Blair/Brown who still seem oblivious to the reality of the state of this country and are always the first to do exactly what they have always done - blame the 'world recession' 'previous government' etc etc. I apologise for the rant but I'm just sick and tired of my countrymen and women 'sleep-walking' into this mess and what has become a tin-pot dictatorship. And yes, I tried to do something about it locally but hey-ho becuause I wouldn't join a political party, because I couldn't come up with the 'right' cv and cash, I was blocked at every turn. So in 12 months I'm off for good to a place where there is democracy, where there are fair tax laws and I can live out the rest of my days without the fear of being mugged by yobs, the police or the government! I shall now replace my spleen and return to my usual self!

When I started looking for a widebeam, most of the new builds were around £85-£125k for a ‘completed’ boat. Second-hand ones were £65-£100k (my requirement was for 57ft x 10 or 11ft). I opted for an ‘advanced’ sail-away with most of the hard work done – ie painted, windows in, insulated, lined out, wiring loom etc. To date I’ve spent less than the cost of a reasonable second-hand boat. The difficulty was finding something within my limited budget that wasn’t an ‘off-the-shelf’ design. More specifically, a builder who would build what I wanted. I found most builders wanted to sell me a standard production shell and once I went outside of the norm, the price rocketed. One well-known builder quoted me £1000 extra for not wanting a well-deck at the bow! You seem to have access to some of the skills that I haven’t got so could probably get a decent quality sail-away and then spread your remaining budget across the major fittings. I can't think of any reason why your chippie wouldn't be able to do the woodwork. If you’re going to have 2 bedrooms then I’d suggest that you need to be looking at 57ft. Any longer, you’re into a more expensive license and may find it harder to find a mooring. There is a wealth of info on this forum covering most things. I’d set yourself up a few folders on your PC covering the shell, electrics, plumbing, heating, galley etc then start trawling. The basic requirements regarding standards etc can be found on the BSS website: http://www.boatsafetyscheme.com The British Marine Electronic Association (BMEA) Code of Practice for Electrical and Electronic Installations in Boats is available from: www.britishmarine.co.uk The Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) is a bit of trawl but some useful info here: http://www.rya.org.uk/KnowledgeBase/techni...eccraftdir.aspx Talk to builders and get a feel for what they can offer. It’s all about research – the more you do, the better informed you’ll become and it will help you decide what is achievable and at what cost. There are many differences from a narrowboat to a widebeam, not just the obvious. Look at build specs in detail particularly the hull and superstructure thickness of the steel, bulkheads, etc. I ended up with a short list of builders that I felt confident could deliver and were financially stable then went out for detailed quotes. Prices varied dramatically. My short list (in no particular order) was: Gem Marine Services www.gemmarineservices.co.uk Merseyside 0151 548 2587 Lambon Hull www.lambonhull.co.uk Worcestershire 01299 253111 JL Pinder & Son www.jlpinderandsons.co.uk Bromsgrove 01527 876438 Piper Boats. www.piperboats.com Stoke-On-Trent 01782 510610 RLL Boats www.rllboats.co.uk Bristol 01179 869860 RW Davies & Son Ltd www.rwdavis.co.uk Gloucester 01452 740233 Peter Nicholls www.steelboats.com Northants. 01788 891823 In the end I went with Gem Marine Services and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made - ever. They were very flexible in terms of what I wanted; built a quality, well-specified shell; delivered on time and on budget. Good luck in your search! Regards, Colin

I’ve had a look at the “Tonks” website – looks like excellent stuff. Many thanks for the suggestions and advice! Colin

Am about to construct the wheelhouse frame and windows which will all be from Iroko. Can anyone please recommend good quality products for finishing the bare wood? I have been told to oil it, wax it etc but this is all new to me so some guidance/product suggestions would be gratefully received. Thanks, Colin

John, Thanks – The system does circulate the fuel back to the tank and I’ve checked that the fuel return is OK. Also checked the breather and that was clear too. Tony, The pump is a sealed unit – really cheap and nasty! Although it seems OK, I’m going to replace it with a decent unit that can be serviced properly. Leo, I know what you mean about risking the warranty. I talked to Barrus and they suggested cleaning out the fuel system. I’ve been careful not to take anything to bits other than the water trap and all the fuel lines. Doomed1 “….. i use the emergency stop button now.” Not sure what you mean? Is there a way of doing away with the stop solenoid? Anyway, here’s the update. Been over to the barge this afternoon. Re-checked everything and decided to give it a go. Fired up 1st time and then died a few minutes later. Checked that fuel was at injection pump which it was so had a look at the stop solenoid wiring. It all seemed OK bot I made sure all the connections were good etc. Tried it again and she fired up AND kept on running!! So cast off and headed off. 3 hours later, got to the mooring without missing a beat! I’m still not exactly sure what the cause of the problem was but assume that it was either a bad connection in the wiring or maybe air in the fuel. I’m going to leave the newly routed fuel pipes in situ (pump after the water-trap/filter but before the filter) and see what happens. Will replace the pump and talk to Barrus about the solenoid as they didn’t mention this when I talked to them originally. Think I’ll get a few spares bought too just in case……… So, BIG thank you to all who came back with your suggestions and ideas. Regards, Colin

Hi Tony, The boat and the engine are new. It does have a stop solenoid so I will check this out...... Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions. Colin Not really, it can idle for a bit then cut out and when I thought I'd cured it, went for about 15mins under load before cutting out....... The pump seems to run OK although I guess it could have been damaged by the plastic swarf that I found on the inlet side when I first cleaned it out? Thanks, Colin

Could some kind person offer advice please! I have a new Barrus Shire 65hp engine (Yanmar 4TNV98) which has done about 4 hours + the run-in time. The engine starts on the button 1st time no problem but then cuts out after anything from 2 mins to 30mins. It will always re-start but then cuts out again. I've cleaned out the water trap, pump and all the fuel lines. The first time I did this, I found some plastic swarf in the pump inlet (there is a Vetus Plastic fuel tank fitted). The system is now clear but the engine still cuts out after again, anything from a few minutes to 30 minutes. This is driving me mad and I have to move the barge today - a 3 hour trip! One thing I did notice is that the fuel hose from the tank goes to the pump, then on to the water-trap/filter, then to the fuel filter, then to the injector pump. Seems odd to me because I would have expected the pump to be fitted in between the water-trap and the fuel filter ie. tank to water-trap to pump to fuel filter. The Barrus book (although lacking in any detail) indicates that the fuel line should go to the pump first and then to the water-trap but the Yanmar manual states that the fuel line should go to the water-trap then to the pump!!!!!????? Another thing......the water-trap is positioned on the side of the step-plate which is bolted at the end of the block at cylinder head level. This puts it about the same height as about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the tank. Shouldn't the water-trap be lower than the bottom of the tank?? My solution so far is to move the water-trap to a position lower than the tank. clean it all out again (although I didn't find anything/any muck in the system) and connect it up as per the Yanmar book: tank to water-trap to pump to filter to injector pump. BUT haven't run it yet as this seems to be 'wrong' in terms of the Barrus book. So, could anyone suggest anything with regard to the original problem and/or solutions?? Many thanks in advance! Colin

Update........ My BW license arrived in the post today....2 months on from the original application. I have two nice new plates with the index number on and the license docs to display......... erm, the license has been back dated to the beginning of January????? and there I was thinking that I'd got through the BW mire....ho hum. Back on the 'phone again on Tuesday.... Colin

BW's reason for not sending out the license was that I'd applied for one based on having a mooring, which as far as they were concerned, I didn't - even though I'd paid for it! I did think of raising a formal complaint especially because it took them the best part of two months to tell me. However, I decided to back off at the time because they'd given me some time ('til Easter) to sort something out. I was very lucky and have found an alternative but I've no idea what I would have done if I couldn't. The only options were to CC - not very practical with a very wide barge, go into a new marina @ £4k/year or lift it out and take it somewhere else. I'm now sorted and much wiser about the machinations of BW. My longer term plan is to get the barge finished and then ship it to France for a new life of sun, wine, much simpler rules and far better/cheaper living! So I'm looking forward to the day when BW, DVLA, HMRC and all the rest can get stuffed and I can really begin to enjoy life afloat on my dream barge! Cheers, Colin

Fantastic! Thanks Chris - owe you a beer for that! I've been playing around with this and got some very interesting results for the bank that I have. Interestingly enough, the figures provided by my battery supplier compared to the calculations using your formula are almost identical. Next thing Im going to do is look at the charging times required, for a given drain on the battery pack, by charging method - alternators via the Sterling controller or shore-power charger. This should keep my brain busy for a bit!! Thanks again, Colin

I have 40-odd light fittings on the barge - all of which are LED. A combo of MR16 and G4 type lamps (bulbs). A few things to bear in mind: A lot of LED lamps such as those sold for domestic downlighters are not suitable for fitting on a boat. They can be rated at 12 volts but your system may have higher voltages at times (when charging etc) so it's not unusual for LED lamps to fail unless you have a regulated supply. The better quality lamps have a voltage regulator built in so will handle it. There are various types of LED lamps. Some have a cluster of small 3 or 5mm LED's, some with SMD LED's (look like a little yellow square) and some of the MR16/MR11 type use 3 x Cree high-power LED's. The SMD type give superior performance to the 3/5mm ones and the Cree type (better again) are available with 3-7Watt outputs which give excellent light. LED's also come in a range of 'angles'. Some are pretty directional with a beam angle of 45' - suitable for a spot or reading light whilst others are available with angles of 120' - suitable for general downlights. They're all available in 'cool white' or 'warm white'. The warm white are very similar to the less severe colour you get from halogens and the cool white lights are better suited to areas you want 'crisper' illumination. I have 120' Cree 3Watt Warm White MR16's in the center of the roof and 90' SMD G4 1.8Watt warm white along each side of the roof (it's a wide boat!). I have cool white light over the galley and in the bathroom. All the lamps have a built in voltage regulator. I spent a long time finding the right source and have been delighted with the quality. As a distributor, I managed to get a good deal on them although the volume I buy is more than the requirement for a single boat! Having seen the damage/scorch marks and shrunken foam insulation caused by the heat halogens give off, I would never use them but LED's still need some breathing space. Contrary to popular belief, LED lamps or rather the voltage regulator fitted, do give off a bit of heat (that's why the MR16's usually have an aluminium outer heat-sink) but nothing like the heat from halogens. If you're going to use the MR16 type, allow a minimum of 60mm from the bottom of the bulb to the insulation and 10mm clearance around it. For that reason, most will probably be limited to the G4 type which sit inside the ususal capsule-type fitting. A good quality, voltage regulated 1.8Watt G4 SMD lamp will cost about £7.50 and use around 150mA. A good quality, voltage regulated 3Watt Cree MR16 lamp will cost around £12.00 and use about 400mA. Forget obtaining fittings from chandlers. They tend to be double the price of other suppliers. I got a load of fittings from www.toolstation.com. They're all cast rather than cheap pressed metal. I had enough roof space to get away with IP65 waterproof MR16 fittings for the bathroom (£3.58 each) and for the other MR16 type (£3.42 each). The G4 type were under £3.00 each but I think they've stopped selling them now and list some at £5.22 each. Colin Colin

I posted a thread several weeks ago about how long it took to get a license from BW. I'd not gone back to that thread deliberately because I was in the middle of "negotiations" with various BW people and didn't want to rock the boat...........This is my experience as a first-timer on the canals and a new barge owner.........and a warning to anybody who is about to get onto the water for the first time! New barge due to be ready for transport to the water at the beginning of February this year. New license application sent together with my card details, RCD declaration etc etc as required to BW at the end of January (by courier recorded delivery). 1st week of Feb, ring BW to check that all received and in action: None of my details/application are "on the system" - this apparently takes a week but it's OK to put the barge in the water. Launch the boat and head down to the mooring. Pay my new Landlord for 3 months mooring and feel very happy with my new adventure! 2nd week of Feb, ring BW to check that all received and in action: Details just put "on the system" but will be another week before any action due to 'checks' a few days later, ring BW to check progress: details sent to Leeds for processing. 3rd week of Feb, ring BW to check progress: details still at Leeds. Customer Service person will chase and come back to me..................nothing, no call back. 4th week of Feb, ring BW to check progress: details still at Leeds. Customer Service person will chase and come back to me..................nothing, no call back. a couple of day's later.......ring BW to check progress: details still at Leeds so ring Leeds office. Details gone to the (another) local office for 'confirmation of mooring' 1st week of March, ring BW to check progress: details at Leeds so ring Leeds office. Details not come back from local office so nothing they can do but will chase and come back to me.........they did come back but don't know why there is a delay. Advised to call back in a few days. 2nd week of March, ring BW Leeds to check progress: details not come back from local office so ring local office at Northwich...... ..........the bombshell............. The delay has been caused because my mooring is "not recognised as a long-term mooring". I cannot keep the boat there even if it is OK with my Landlord because "he may own the land but we own the canal" and BW will not issue my license until I find an alternative mooring. My initial happiness at finally finding the resources, fantastic builder, great mooring and new life are flattened in one stomp. Having spent nearly 2 years hunting for the mooring, I'm now faced with "either finding a new mooring or removing the boat from the canal". To be fair, the person at Northwich although firm about their stance was sympathetic and gave me until Easter to sort something out. I went over to the barge to remember why I'm doing this.....and stuck to it was a BW 'move it' notice......thanks. 3rd week of March, start walking the bank looking for anything......talking to anybody and everybody......possibility of a mooring a bit further up the canal...start praying and hoping but difficult to get hold of the chap who has the possible space. 4th week of March. Got hold of the chap and got hold of a mooring....rushed to speedy bank to get cash to secure it. Ring BW local office with the good news. Told I'd have to re-apply in writing because they can't change the details on my documents (mooring location). They will send out new docs but they will date the license from my original application (1st Feb) so at the 'old price'. By now the original cash that I'd set aside for the license had dwindled a bit (more expensive mooring) so I also asked to change from a lump sum to Direct Debit to spread the cost over the year. Told no problem, just complete the DD mandate. Today, BW take £600 from my bank account. Ring BW Customer Services. Told by an ignorant muppet that it's all been processed and I can't have my money back. I'd have to send in the changes to the application in writing (this is what I was told I had to do anyway or they wouldn't/couldn't process it). If I did that, they 'might' refund me and set up a DD. Made 7 telephone calls to BW Customer Services, the Leeds office, BW Head Office (who have an ansaphone message apologising because they can't accept any calls at the moment!!!!). Eventually managed to get hold a person who promised to look into it after I threatened to contact my Banks Fraud dept and report them, cancel the card payment and pay them a visit. A great chap from 'the 3rd floor' called me back and quickly. Not his job or department but took all the details, got me to email a DD mandate to him, then rang me back to tell me he has arranged the refund, sorted the paperwork and will get the license out to me tomorrow. and the moral of this tale..........Even if you BELIEVE you have found a mooring... Check with the LOCAL BW office (not Customer Services or regional offices) that they are OK with it AND get some sort of written confirmation before you (or your boat) take the plunge and part with any money. BW is like so many other so-called 'public bodies'. They forget that WE own the waterways they supposedly manage on our behalf. If you have to deal with them, be prepared to get heavy to get what you have a right to and forget trying to get anywhere with 'Customer Services'. Push hard and demand to talk to someone in management. I'm fortunate that my original Landlord was on my side although there was little he could do in the time available and the person at the BW local office gave me some time to sort it out. Like a previous thread mentioned, there are some decent people at BW who will try to help and will take ownership of a problem. Unfortunately, none of them are in "Customer Services". Colin

Thanks Chris, very kind of you! Cheers, Colin

Hi Chris, Re: "So, for a 100A discharge the real number is (110/20)1.3 x 20 / 1001.3 = 0.46 hours or 28 minutes" For some reason I can't get your calculation to work for me in a spread sheet?? Probably my cack-handed effort with formulas! Do you know of a spreadsheet anywhere that I could download that includes this calculation? Cheers, Colin

Mine came from the US - and they are manufactured there. Doubt anything so "industrial" is made here anymore

Excellent!!! Even if BW did introduce such a thing, I imagine it wouldn't take long to have them ditch it. Just post your card to other cc's and send it round the system

:DAs with all the “electrical” threads on here, very interesting! Thought I’d throw my setup into the ring, don my tin hat and await comments from those who obviously have much greater knowledge! 4 x 6v Deep-cycle traction batteries, 12v 566Ah (@20hr Rate). Low-Water warning indicator and auto watering system. Fan-assisted battery-box ventilation with fan over-run (keeps the fan on for a few minutes after the charging cycle has ended) Standard Barrus 65hp issue alternators, 50A start and 160A Leisure Sterling 210A Alternator to Battery controller/charger Sterling 240v 50A Battery Charger Sterling PSW 3000W Inverter Dual shore-power connection points (IP65 rated) with manual cross-over selector switch for port or starboard connection (it’s a wide boat). Sterling ProSwitch for auto shore-power/genny/inverter selection and contactor (switches off the 240v charger when inverter is on). All this lot (with the exception of the cross-over switch) have remote controls and monitoring. I’ll soon be adding a wind-genny to trickle a bit and next year maybe some solar panels to trickle a bit more…… Main kit includes the usual water pump, shower pump, 12v toilet, 240v fridge, small dishwasher, washing machine, 37” LCD TV, central heating pump, laptop, all LED lighting. Best investments to date were the Sterling DC link box that makes hooking it all up so easy, safe and neat. The clever fan over-run unit that I had manufactured to evacuate the gasses from the battery box and the battery auto-watering system! Colin

Given that the BW towpath detectives seem to find all and sundry in a very short space of time, I would have thought asking the local BW offices to get their parking attendants to keep an eye out for it might help produce a result? Colin

Fair enough! However, I'm all for an easy life and that's why I've gone for the monitoring and automated watering system. Yep, still have to keep an eye out for the low water warning light but then all that's required is a quick flick of the pump and they're topped up to precisely the correct level without getting my hands dirty! My batteries are under the wheelhouse floor and the last thing I want to do is lift the hatch and mess about opening up the box etc. I don't think £590 for a 566Ah bank of 'proper' deep-cycle batteries is expensive but maybe I'm missing something? Colin

Interesting…..It seems to me that there are myriad opinions when it comes to batteries and even more when it comes to charging them! In my (very humble) opinion, it really does depend on individual circumstances and application ie. A live-aboard will have a different requirement to a ‘leisure’ user; the equipment being used; the type of charging (engine, genset, wind, solar etc. etc.). So, what may be ideal for one individual may be wildly different to another. Batteries are a consumable – maybe a long-term one but a consumable never the less and as with any consumable, the cost/lifecycle is the calculation to start with. When I started looking into the whole power issue for my new barge, I had the benefit of being able to design-in a suitable space to take almost any size/quantity of batteries. This isn’t the case for many especially on a narrowboat where space and access is a major limiting factor. So compromise creeps in sometimes although I do believe where there’s a will there’s a way! My barge will be a live-aboard so this meant daily use for most of the year. Leisure type batteries would be a waste of time/money unless I wanted to change them regularly – which I don’t. So I talked to businesses using heavy plant such as access equipment, fork-trucks, road sweepers etc. These things are used daily and charged either every night or every 2 days or so. Without exception, the only things that will take this sort of ‘work’ are deep-cycle, lead-acid battery ‘packs’ usually made up from 2volt or 6volt cells. Yes, they require looking after (watering) and you need to vent them properly to get rid of the gas. I seriously considered 2volt cells to give me a 12volt 500Ah (@20hrs) ‘pack’ but the cost was around £680 and the cells were about 500m high! Cutting a long story short, I’ve opted for 4 x 6volt deep-cycle 283Ah batteries to give me 566Ah (12volts). I know that these batteries are used by some organisations in the US for heavy plant and have personal experience of them through work. The specs are very good and so is the curve – out-performing similar Trojan batteries. The ventilation is not a problem. I’ve commissioned the production of a simple fan controller that runs when the batteries are under charge and then runs on for a period after to evacuate the battery box – which is vented to outside. Watering is also a doddle. There is a warning light to show when the water level is below optimum and an automatic watering system to top them up. This also has the added benefit of flame arrester for each cell so some added safety. This setup occupies a space 600mm long x 370mm deep x 300mm high and weighs in at 141kgs. All fine and dandy for me but would it fit in a narrowboat? The cost is under £600 for the lot so if they last me 5 years, that’s £119.50/year. A cost that is fine by me and cheaper than shoving in leisure batteries that I might have to replace every year. I really can’t see the point of using something that hasn’t been designed for the job (truck starter batteries etc) even if they are “cheap”! Colin

Thanks to all of you who responded! I've got to the bottom of it and must say that the people I've been dealing with at BW in Northwich have been superb - very helpful and have eased my worry! I now have a shiney new index number!! Colin

Hi Paul, Having hunted high and low over the last few months on this part of the Shroppie (Dee Branch or old Chester canal), I'm afraid you're going to struggle. I know that none of the on-line moorings between Chester and Chas Harden's place at Tiverton have vacancies. The only thing I am aware of at the moment is one for a boat of around 50-55ft to the south west of Chester that's coming up in a few weeks. PM me if you want the details of that. Other than that, there's the new marina at Tattenhall. I understand that they will be able to take some boats in at Easter but it's pricey and they didn't like residential when I talked to them! I didn't look north of the city or as far up as Ellesmere Port so you may have some luck hunting up there. Regards, Colin