DaveP

I'm in a very similar position. I do double up to 1200w in winter, but also switch off my fridgefreezer - this cuts my daily consumption down to 40-50Ah, which the panels can generally keep up with even in Dec/Jan. But it is marginal, a couple of days of very poor weather will tip the balance (I'm still not totally trusting of letting my Lithiums get lower than 30%)....

According to the route planner (canalplan.org.uk) it's 78 hours to get from Whitchurch to Northampton (marinas) which isn't impossible in the next two weeks, but is very tight. I'd suggest relaxing your deadline or considering moving it by road....

That's because I emptied them into the long pound - they're prob only 100cm deep at the edge and less over on the off-side, but the channel is that deep (lots of transits and locking/filling over a couple of boat lengths distance forming a distinct scour channel)...

CRT are refilling the flight, now only about 30cm down....

Below Wilmcote locks (pound 50-51) water down around 60-80cm due to boater leaving paddles up on lock 51 last night. Also between middle and lower flights (pound 47-48) water down around 50cm. little pounds in lower flight now down 150cm.... Awoke with the boat on the serious lean. Have used the small pounds in the bottom flight to get boat off bottom and fridge back to its side of kitchen. CRT aware. Dave

Done the narrow a few times single-handed. Preferred stopping points; Start at the uni in Huddersfield - before looking out in the morning, check for graduation ceremonies to photobomb (poss stop near the golcar aquaduct if needed) Then Slaithwaite, beware of the extremely low bridge (Possibly stop in-between 31/32 if knackered) Up to Marsden. Through tunnel, Stop at Diggle, but there's not a lot going on here. Then down to Uppermill. Into Stalybridge, Look out for the burnt out buildings and goose poo I've then got onto the Peak Forest and just past the lift bridge No 1. It's a great canal, but can be hard work, both in terms of merely working the locks and the sheer number of them. But at least you generally don't have to worry about oncoming unseen traffic.

I concur with the other posters - start with what you've got and work from there; use the smart phone (or buy a second-hand one specifically for the task) as a hotspot. It'll need charging in situ, so make sure you've got usb cables that will reach a window or porthole to perch it in. 58ft boat - it is possible, depending on what's where, that a wifi signal won't reach from end-end, especially if the phone/router is at one end. If so, carefully consider where to put the phone... 1 each of laptop, tablet, phone and TV - yes, if you're going to consume video, you will need unlimited data. 3 (or smarty) are the best (only) providers of unlimited data (others, including Giffgaff claim unlimited, but seriously throttle throughput after a limit). There are some areas where you will not get a good signal; check the coverage map carefully, and take it with a pinch of salt; don't forget the canal is usually the lowest feature in the immediate vicinity and the transmissions will be masked by hedges and trees. Get an app (Network Cell Info Lite?) that will tell you where the tower you're using is; then you can position the phone to best advantage. You will not always get enough bandwidth to operate all your devices - consider getting Freeview and Freesat aerials for the TV, ensure that you've got onboard datastores for when the cloud is not available....

As CC'rs, no single provider is best at every place. However, I've not had many problems with 3 over the last decade or so (apart from their customer service and withdrawal of plans etc). You need to provide more information on what you want from your internet connection - what devices and quantities of data do you want(both upload and download), how vital is it to you, whereabouts are you proposing to cruise, how big is your boat, what power supplies do you have, what's your level of knowledge and competence with modems, routers, electricity?

At a glance I'd say that your rice cooker is woefully underpowered - I'd suggest 140W at least. It's an example of water heating which is best never done by electricity. Also missing are (possibly) radio/tv, speakers, 4G modem/router, lighting. Also, how are you heating the boat - anything other than a simple solid-fuel stove will use electricity to power internals.... I have about the same solar power (1250w) and consume about 1.2kWh/day - this setup suffices for about 10/12 months. If I turn my fridge/freezer off then winter is mostly possible (my consumption reduces to 700Wh/day) , as long as the sun makes an appearance occasionally - but I do have lifepo4's, so charging is not so much of a lifestyle choice.

Starlink might not be terribly useful - the power consumption of the units appears to be around 100w! https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/03/electricity-costs-of-starlinks-uk-leo-broadband-satellite-service.html - presumably you'd also need one of the, not yet released, vehicle ground stations to combat losing connection through rocking. And you will need a clear view of quite a lot of sky to pick up a satellite (not just the one line you need for the geostationary Freesat reception).

A partial answer to the blackspot issue is to have sims for different networks available; but this may be less effective than it sounds if the carriers are sharing masts. Local knowledge and attention to the coverage maps are essential. It is getting better though, I was able to do a zoom call in the blackspot that was Lower Heyford last year - but that was with a 4m mast. At boat level, reception (on 3) was still distinctly poor....

I sit corrected - but it is recomended over the '-1' certification.

I haven't been through it for a few years, but my memory of a 59' boat is quite a tight fit with buttons up, and the cill is well above the bottom water level. The middle lock I think tighter, but doable...

Check the BS marking of the CO alarm - there are two variants, only one of which satisfies the BSS. See https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/stay-safe-advice/carbon-monoxide-co/co-alarms-save-lives/

Similarly - RPi monitors the batteries to a database and sends sms on alerts (low charge, temp) and will also reply with status to a specific sms message from my phone.

Hours of geeky fun to be had!

The sticking point seems to be 'adequate volumes'. Ask of both what is being supplied, and what the supply requirements are. If there is no difference or CRT's suupliee volume is greater, then your answer is that ABP don't want to deal with you, if CRT's volume is smaller, then ask why the larger volume is not being supplied. Personally, I reckon they'll both refuse to answer the pointed question on the grounds of 'commercial confidentiality' or at a pinch 'national security'. Which means that neither of them actually want you as a customer.

No, but I might use my centreline.... Bad Maffi, you need a new spoolchuck to go with the new title....

I used an optical output from the pi to eliminate this problem. I used this one, only issue being having to cut the housing to get the connector out. https://www.tindie.com/products/beni_skate/tinytoslink-raspberry-pi-optical-audio/

There's also a boat for sale on the Hythe Bridge arm moorings (which are aso apparently transferrable). Having glanced over it whilst I was there last summer, I'd say that it was 50/50 boat/mooring price. I don't particularly like that location (too close to the lock and the commuters can get a bit much), but it does have electric and water on the plot....

Grimsbury Wharf? Dusty moors there now, in between runs, worth giving them a bell.

How long have you had the panels /how big are they? What roof estate do you have, are you single-handed? Are you a liveaboard, what's your average consumption, what other electricity generating equipment do you use? What controller have you got and what are you thinking of for the 2nd? If you've got the room, then I'd recycle the current panels, and get a pair of 300w domestic panels (either the 295w or 325w ones from Bimble), and (if you want a second controller) a 20A Epever one, or a 40A one. These can't cope (but won't be harmed) with the full rated output of the panels (assuming you're outputting 12v), but it would be extremely unusual for the panels to overload the controller up here in the UK even in the height of summer. 295w - https://www.bimblesolar.com/solar/large-panels/295w-perlite-54cell-small 325w - https://www.bimblesolar.com/solar/large-panels/ja-325w-halfcell 20A - https://www.bimblesolar.com/offgrid/mppt/XTRA2206N-XDB1-BUDGET-20a-mppt-solar-controller 40A - https://www.bimblesolar.com/offgrid/mppt/XTRA4210N-XDB1-BUDGET-40a-mppt-solar-controller MT50 Meter for the controllers - https://www.bimblesolar.com/offgrid/mppt/MT50-meter

Credit card, telephone.

It's wasteful. But whether or not you can afford the waste is up to you. How much power do the inverter and router take? How are you going to replace that energy (plus upwards of 20% depending on the batteries)? Would this drain in addition to your other usage come close to a tipping point where you're not able to replace the energy or recognise that you've reached that point?