nb maggie

Hi All, I am looking for a set of 2.1 or 5.1 speakers that will run on 12v. I don't want to use an inverter and then a transformer as thats a pain. I have a 12v adaptor for my laptop but I also want to sue them with my iPOD etc. I thought I had found a set made by creative but lucklily I spotted that they run off 12vAC. So I want to find a set that run on 12v DC. When looking on the web at various computer speakers they all say that they have a mains adapter but none tell you the voltage that that run at. I have a pair of 12v stereo speakers but want a 2.1 or 5.1 set (i.e stereo speakers and a woofer).

The 12v wiring in NB Maggie is not as heavy duty as it could be, so I have voltage drop problems at the Front of the boat from the rear batteries. This only causes a minor problem with the CD/Radio which is very sensitive. So I plan to fit a smaller battery at the front directly by the radio connection. Would this suffice on its own just connected in parallel with the existing 12 circuit or (a) should I fit a diode so the front batery can be charged but not discharged; ( will the front battery tricke charge OK. My assumption is that a front remote battery just connected to the 12v circuit will be fine.

Due to water getting into an nearly inaccessible part of the bilge twice (first time due to rain ingress caused by a blocked deck drain and second time due to a water system leak) I need a small-ish 12v pump to get this water out. It needs to be self priming to suck the water up a length of hose pipe. I have so far used the shower drain pump which is ideal except that the one I have got is very sensitive to failing due to small particles getting in it, requiring a strip down and clean out. So I am looking for something like this but perhaps a bit more robust. I could use a shower pump with a filter attached but there must be something better. I tried a car windscreen washer pump but they are too small. Anyone got any ideas.

Just to let you know I have one of these engines too, had it a few years and now know my way around it quite well.

This is what the manual says - which for most of us ordinary people doesn't mean much "4.6.1 Drive Belt Tension When a new belt is correctly fitted and tensioned a force (F) of 31.0-33.5N (7.0-7.5lbf) is required to deflect it a distance (d) of 3.5mm (0.14in). On subsequent checking and adjustment a force (F) of 22.0-24.0N (5.0-5.4lbf) is required to deflect it a distance (d) of 3.5mm (0.14in).""

It seems on the Lister Petter Alpha/Canalstar/LPWS 3 engine on 'Maggie' that I have real trouble getting the fan belt to grip the alternator properly. Its one of those flat micro V (ribbed) types. It seems I have to get it too tight before it grips (you can tell its slipping because the tacho doesn't move from 500 rpm) and it will squeal when it revs hard. Also over tightening it makes it stretch and it needs re-doing every few days and then I go through fanbelts. I am using a Halfords belt at the moment (HB850e) so I will try a different make but any other tips on getting it to grip better?

I need some new stools for the back deck. Just 'bar' type stools would be great. Don't want to pay too much ( so not worried when they get nicked or fall in). Probably stainless steel, alu, or chrome framed ones with wood or plastic seats. To save me visiting every out of town DIY store does anyone know a good source of these? Thanks

Yeh, hope to see you too. We were at the festival and had a 'open boat' with tons of visitors Yes, I think it has been a pain for Maurice and Heather, and they seem really nice people. You need to watch out for the swimming bulls, they can be quite amusing. I've met the previous owners of Maggie and we have become quite freidly and invite them up for cruises and picnics etc now and again.

We are moored there and have been for the last 2 years. Work is currently going on to extend the moorings by putting in steel pylons in the muddy part of the bank. They wanted to develop the moorings by digging out a basin and putting in herring bone mooring and pontoons (for which they had planning consents I believe) but I understand that this is not now going to happen because BW wanted so much money for the engineering works that it did not stack up financially. I believe it would have taken over 10 years just to recoup the silly money BW wanted for just of for their bit of the project. Heather and Maurice the farmers who run the mooring as a side line (and lovely people) said they were going to put in electricity, water, car parking and a new driveway (so you could get to the moorings when the cows were in the yard to be milked without waiting 2 hours) but as yet this has not materialised. (They have started to put in the hard core for a new drive). So you still have to park in one muddy field and walk across another very muddy (and cow-y) field to get to the boat which is less than ideal in winter. I don’t know if any of the planned developments are now going to happen now that BW seems to have scuppered their bigger plans. Not only that, the moorings have gone up a lot in cost due to additional charges levied on the farm by BW. They were once cheap moorings but are now only about 20% cheaper than more established fully serviced moorings in Skipton (which are the dearest moorings on the L&L canal). There is a also a massive demand for mooring in the area, I heard the Snaygill boats just outside Skipton have closed their waiting list as it has over 150 names on it (We have been on it for over 3 years). So I hope that some developments happen at the Woodside/Jacksons farm, but given the demand for moorings and the position of BW I could understand if nothing else happened.

Are you going to be mooring at Woodside ?

You can also get round at Silsden boats, if most of the hire boats are out.

My view is that this looks a bit expensive. The spec if very similar to our boat "Maggie" and the the fitout and finish seem similar quality. They are also the same as regards kit fitted. However Maggie is only 42ft long, but is 5 years newer (1991). She only cost 27k (private sale though). If I look at that as pound per foot your boat should be about 34k. This price also seems only 10k less than a new boat with similar spec but its 20 years old. However, it could be that bigger boats cost more per ft as there may be more demand. It could also be the going price in the area of the country where you are buying or this is the going price through a broker.

I don't understand the objection to on-line either. Here on the L&L in Yorkshire real Marinas are few and far between (either Chorley or Near Bradford) so you would have to trek 50 to 70 miles to one even though I can reach the canal in about 25mins. Even so the nearest mooring I can find (bottom of a farmers field) is 40 mins away. Yet bizzarly one of BWs business cases for the investment in big marinas is that people are prepared to drive further to them - surely thats exactly what we don't want. We were actually in a marina for our first year - at Apperly Bridge - and it was great, easy car access, water, elec, security, boat shop, local shops now I walk across a muddy field and I don't save that much either. But the problem was it was a 1Hr 10 Min min drive (on a good day - bank holidays etc could be ages) and the route also went through 3 different urban area bottlenecks (rush hours, school run, speed cameras!). I actually have to drive round the country for my job so I am used to it, but regular trips to the boat were a real pain. I would favour a mix of on and off line for different users. Again here on the L&L I have noticed a lot of places where small on-line mooring could be quickly and cheaply created (both on the towpath and other side) for those that want them. I bet BW could even sell them with an upfront cost then x years 'free' mooring to cover the capital cost so there would be no capital outlay, and yet a basic concrete mooing with bollards etc would last years so they would easily make money from it. I am also sure that some small investors would invest in such small moorings (say 5-10 boats) if BW would engage with them, it would be better for all than a buy to let property. On the plus side when I was in a Marina I would reckon 80% of boats never left it, keeping the canal clear for cruisers, however I do think Marinas encourage a 2nd home mentality which may actually drive mooring costs up.

I have seen it reported that BW in an effort to improving mooring facilities is looking for private sector investors to invest in the building of marnias. They have produced an investment guide which you can get from here: http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/marinade...ment/index.html It makes interesting reading. The investment guide they have produced is based on marinas of between 250 and 350 boats with the emphasis on the bigger size. They want about 35 such marinas. Do people want such big Marinas ? It may however be more cost effective (Planning permission etc) to build mega marinas than 250 small ones for 50 boats? Also with a big marina the cost of boatyard facilities etc are proprtionally lower/more profitable. It is reckoned that an investment of £4M is needed per marina. The BW investment return is also based on pent-up demand for mooring. It is therefore in BWs interest to discourage small mooring schemes and restrict BW moorings ? What about farmers who see small on-line mooring as extra income being encouraged to diversify by govt? BW also seems to want to move way from online mooring.

Does anyone have a view if instrument panels should be on a covered box or not. Most of the engine manufacturers ones seem to be designed to be exposed to the elements, and I noticed that few sea going pleasure boats seem to have them covered. On a related matter does anyone know of a suitable supplier of boxes to mount a panel in that have a cover of lid. People like screwfix provide a whole range of suitable platic boxed, but I havent seen one that has a cover on it.

The hand rails on "Maggie" constantly have flaking paint. When I rubbed them down they are galvenised or look similar. Like scafolding, only a bit smaller. Perhpas they have an alloy coating of some sort. I reckon the boat builder (RS Narrowboats) got hold of some galvenised pipe and used it for the hand rails. So your roof may have some other similar history. I am told by paint experts that suitable undercoat can be obtained which will key in to the galvenised rails.

We were there on Maggie and had a great time as did over 20 freinds and relatives who visited us on the boat over the 3 days. It was a great event. The sunday evening illuminated cruise was the best yet. A big public thanks to all the organisers. I was also lucky enough for Ian of Pennine Cruisers to show me around "Eller" the Liverpool Short Boat has has just finished building, its fantastic. Much thanks also to "Electric Blue" who provided me with extra fuel when my generator ran out.

NB Maggie will soon needs a re-paint. Not much rust or other attention (just one 'scabby bit') where the old radio ariel was, she mainly needs painting because the finish has gone. What I am trying to work out is how much I should budget for if I was going to get a boat painter out to paint her. Magie is curently three colours (All green with red side panels, with the side panels surrounded with a gold stripe) and 43ft long. I don't want to waste someones time gettin them to come and look at the boat to find that its too expensive. But then again most amateur painted boats in fancier colour schemes don't look that good. (lines not that straight, some paint bleed between colours etc) So my other thought is to do it myself but to drop the colour scheme and just do for a single colour (Green) which would also be easy to maintain and then pop on a few transfers. I have also noted that since having the solid fuel fire fitted last year that the paint on the side below the chimey has lost its finish much worse than anywhere else I suspect due to rain picking up chemicals from the smoke/ash. Has any one else noticed this ? If this is common, it would put me off an expensive professional re-paint. Finally if I do it myself whcih paint - Marine paint, some other modern paint or just good old Dulux.

Overheard at this weekends Skipton Waterways festival when someone who will remain nameless was explaining the different boats features to a novice: ".. and that one is easy to manoeuvre because its fitted with bowel thrusters"

As regards balanced flues all new combi boilers will be balanced flue. Electric consumption is tyically 150W and you need 1.3 bar water pressure. Have a look at http://www.tradeplumbing.co.uk/product.asp...mid=22&catid=33 378 inc VAT plus 30 quid for the LPG conversion, which is I think about half the cost of an Alde and you would save on a calorifier as well! Must be a catch You would probably also need to use an accumulator to maintain constant pressure and a high pressure pump may not be a bad idea as a standard Jabsco pump works on a 1.0 - 1.7 range, while the high presure ones are about 1.5 - 2.8 dependimg on model.

Don't know how long the gas would last, with a combi it would depend on how much heating you use and how much hot water you use, but I understand (from research as I am about to fit one to my house) that a modern condensing combi is about 95% efficient. While a traditional boiler and storage tank is 70% efficient max. Given that a modern domestic combi costs considerably less than an Alde or similar this could be considered an option in theory. Down side is that they are bigger, but you don't need the calorifier. You also need 240v mains to run combi boliers for the flue fan, electronic controls etc. I don't know if there are any BSC issues about using a domestic bolier, but I would susupect that is its a good installation there should not be, in theory. If I can under building regs install a bolier in an airinfg cupboard off my bedroom, you should be able to install them on a boat safely. But again you would need to check BSC and maybee RCD regs. Nice idea though.

I would nominate the Lister Petter Alpha series. 1. Oil Change at 200 hrs 2. Major service at 2000 hrs, and to be honest when we did ours it didn't obviously need it. 3. Indirect diesel, but no plug sooting problems like the BMC 4. Well tested design 5. Hydraulic tapets 6. OHV with chain driven cam shaft. 7. Spin on oil filter 8. Paper dispsable or cleanable air filter 9. Easy to change glow plugs 10. Low tech and 18 yr old design so well de-bugged. These are industrial engines used in generators and pumps fairly low reving and low stressed and seem to go on forever. UK built so not cheap. Ours is 16 years old and has just had its first problems which were due to electrical connection issues as a result of boat builder design rather than engine problems. UK Mariniser for Inland Waterways is http://www.marineengine.co.uk/

The shop in the mailbox is "The Aga Shop" and is owned by Aga-Rayburn. Unfortunately only Rayburn make a Solid Fuel range. All the other Heat Storage cooker manufacturer only do Gas, Oil and LPG these days. There are many Solid Fuel ranges, but these aren't Heat Storage cookers, and in fact Rayburns are only semi heat storage.

I was just looking through tha AGA brochure and they claim they have fitted one in a NB. Now these things are both big and heavy. I could see one going in a wide beam but you must struggle to get one in a NB. At 1000 mm wide and about 800mm deep it would also take a lot of space. All I could think of is it could go in the front across the boat, with no opening front doors where some boats have beds. It would also eat calor gas. But you would save on balast. Then again I would love to see the NB where the owner could afford to spend 6.5k on a cooker.