madcat

will follow up suggestions given, thanks for the replies. The grey coat was given to me to make a mop nearly 20 years ago but has done sterling service as a coat with a running repair programme, Tim who knows me of old will remember that Iam not known as a snappy dresser!. If I dont find a new coat the maybe I will opt for "restoration" of this almost historic artefact.

Does anyone know where I can buy a donkey jacket of the tartan lined variety to replace my old faithfull grey coat as I prefer this kind of coat to the modern options.

madcat hopes her husband will follow the guidelines and care for her properly!

A bit of creativity never hurts if you can knit one but dont be put off buying if you dont knit. Andy not everybody likes fleeces I really hate the feel of a lot of that sort of stuff and keep warm the old fashioned way in wooly jumper and donkey jacket complete with wooly hat if its really cold.I dont look like a childrens tv presenter though . One modern innovation I have signed up for is thermals to keep the winter cold at bay.

looks like the madcat is going to be knitting this winter as I like the look of these rainbow stripes.People who dont knit would probably find an interesting shop in most largish towns and could stock up on incense at the same time maybe. Worcester has at least 2 shops that sell unusual clothes, one in the tything and one in town in the cornmarket.

I use a hand operated semi rotary pump for any diesel transfer operations, simple and effective it is mounted on a piece of plywood .The idea was that iI could secure the plywood with a bit of rope to the back end rail on a working boat with suction and discharge hoses long enough to reach into my grand union style tanks[town class] Last 2 uses as follows, 1 emptying tanks into drums for tank cleaning, repair of 2 pinholes in a welded seam and sorting out small but annoying leaks in the pipework. 2 Removing a quantity of fuel from a friends boat into drums to allow for tank cleaning and maintainance.This last use saw 2 clamps being used to clamp the set up to a back door. I do not not keep this handy item on my boat, just bring it from home if needed,no accusations of going equipped to commit an offense and no easy pickings for thieves.Must admit that if the "bizzies" stopped me in my van with that pump and a quantity of drums in the back it could get interesting

not exactly electrics but yes the madcat is female

I bought a sterling and have been well pleased with the results with a Lucas A127 alternator{think its a 70 amp one} But I must confess to a little alternator envy when viewing my neighbours 140amp [cant remember the make] however Iam limited to using the origional pulley fitted to my HA2 which is probably sized to avoid overspeeding a dynamo so in fact the alternator is not being driven as fast as it needs to be to get full output.However by using a larger alternator than my initial 35 amp Lucas ACR I can get enough output at cruising speeds to keep the batteries charged.I carry a spare alternator ready to fit if needed as I have had a couple of failures, bearings not long after I got the boat and an interesting one where the alternator pulley came apart and half of it wizzed past my head, nasty lightweight pressed steel thingy.To use a high output alternator I would have to look to fitting a double pulley of appropriate size and some new and substantial mountings so for the time being this is as good as it gets. Oh the joys of old boats and old engines!

reading this with great interest, as it happens three people I know have had batteries explode but luckily no serious injuries caused.Causes of these accidents, 1 battery being boost charged. 2 fault on start circuit .3 battery being disconnected after charging.In the last incident the boaters sight was saved by his glasses allthough he still suffered acid burns to his face. So bearing in mind that a battery is a big energy store and knowing what it is capable of I follow the safety rules when dealing with them. Now with regard to Tims experiment, this is the sort of thing engineers get up to if you tickle their curiosity buds and the results are interesting and sometimes spectacular. Most survive the exersize as long as they follow the basic safety procedures, ie Do not do these things in your wifes kitchen or use any of her household items other wise you are dead meat [yes my husband is an engineer] I will now duck down behind my big northwich in order to avoid all the incoming fire as other forum members suffer a sense of humour failure {theres always one or two or......} Now sensible question for Geoff, where do the battery sensing alternators for use on tractors come from? Im somewhat interested in alternators and would just like to know as all modern stuff seems to be machine sensed these days.

I agree with Catweazel about this . As an additional thought this whole EU thing makes me feel like my country has been stolen by the modern equivalent of the roman empire but it doesnt make me dislike my fellow europeans just the blasted pen pushers who dream up all this stuff.I seem to think maybe Norway doesnt belong to the EU, if so can we have another invasion I will lend them my longboat !