Tom and Bex
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Posts posted by Tom and Bex
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Was planning to spend that weekend in Birmingham anyway, so have signed up. Should be interesting finding a mooring on Friday/Saturday night though!
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A big thanks to @Captain Pegg for organising this year's challenge, and thought communication before and during the event was excellent.
Had a great time, and really surprised to come 2nd! Thought we'd be much lower, as we seemed to be losing time on almost every section, so unable to complete route as planned. Congratulations to Rivets 5000, can't have been an easy 24hrs on that boat!
Thought the finish worked really well, and was good to have the option of approaching from 3 different directions. Would have loved to stay longer, but unfortunately had to be back for work early Tuesday. Have remembered to book next year off already though.
As to future finishing points, I really like the suggestion of Brownhills, and we've always said Walsall would make a good finish. We've been doing the challenge since 2013, and not finished at Walsall in that time. Withymoor and Hawne Basin have both put on a really good reception in the past, but what about a finish in Typhoo Basin one year? Wednesfield junction?
Finally, @Captain Pegg, any chance of seeing the answers to this year's questions?
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13 hours ago, Rob-M said:
We have just been told by Misbourne that Rushall Locks are closed as a gate has come off, they reversed back to Newton Junction from two locks up.
Wasn't us! Was fine and surprisingly easy coming up Rushall yesterday morning.
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Tatty Lucy struggling with weed and lack of depth on the Daw End - makes a change from rubbish and lack of depth on the Walsall I suppose! Still yet to see any other boat on the move!
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We seem to be making very slow progress up Perry Barr 😥 Not seen another boat yet! You can track our (slow!) progress here:
https://trackme.nebo.global/?link=ZBDDIB1J4NS2VQKZCYJ1G0XLW6
Something behind bottom gate cill lock 5 Perry Barr. Managed to shift it into lock enough to close bottom gates, but take care through that lock!
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Team Tatty Lucy fed and watered, and ready for an early night and early start!
Follow us on Twitter @NBtattyLucy for regular updates and photos!
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On 01/04/2023 at 19:22, MPR said:
This morning CRT together with IWA volunteers cleared most of the silt behind the top gates of Firepool Lock to enable boats to lock up on to the River Tone. Just need more boat movements to keep it that way.
There always used to be a BW tug moored just below firepool lock for this exact purpose. Can't remember ever seeing it actually used though, and probably not been there for years.
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16 minutes ago, TGweeder said:
Ymca pontoon has boats moored, facilities wise are what's available in the center itself so members access,
LOWER MAUNSEL has toilets ans elsan no shower,
Bathpool has toilets shower and elsan.
YMCA used to have separate boaters facilities - toilet, elsan, (and shower?) accessed via bw key. Shane if they've gone as were always well kept and clean.
Bathpool still being built when I used to boat there regularly!
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3 hours ago, TGweeder said:
There has been nothing but support for the boaters from crt and the local bridgwater town council, yes some difficult pills to swallow at times loosing the facilities at the docks for example (the county council again insisting they had to be closed) and life adjustments to make but everyone is still local to there families and job's.
Thank you for the update, and glad things are looking better than the original article implied!
I know the canal well having boated the full length many times, and interesting to hear the latest developments. I assume the boaters facilities are being reinstated at the docks during the redevelopment? Are there still facilities at the YMCA?
It's nice to see the occasional boat in unexpected places when I come back 'home' to visit the area - have to get our day boat out on the canal again!
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5 hours ago, magnetman said:
Seems to me it would be better managed by a local council rather than a tiny part of my CRT PBL going towards it. I could never get there unless I had a trailer boat.
My understanding is the ongoing maintenance was at least part funded by the councils as part of the restoration agreement. That agreement might now have ended though. I presume CRT also get income from the water transfer from Taunton to Bridgwater.
Having boated this canal many times, and seen it's improvement and restoration, I find this whole saga over Bridgwater docks very sad. There's not really any other use for it other than moorings, and as said, it's a bit of a dismal place anyway surrounded on all sides by residential flats.
@magpie patrick is correct, there's no alternative mooring, and not really anywhere suitable to create any. Bathpool moorings is only suitable for short boats, and Maunsel has very limited online moorings, and always full. Why should boaters who have made Bridgwater their home have to suffer because of a disagreement between CRT and the local councils? Bridgwater docks was a much nicer and safer feeling place with all the boat's there, than when it used to be empty with the access to the canal padlocked.
As to crane out, I'm struggling to think of anywhere other than Bridgwater docks, where the boat's are presumably now banned from. Huntworth near the Boat and Anchor pub? Bathpool? Would be very tight down the lane there with a widebeam though!
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On 20/02/2023 at 14:05, rusty69 said:
There are people on here with 4 year old lithium setups, but none that I know of have actually said they have killed them yet.
I am only a year into mine,so they need to last another few years to be as 'good' as the cheap LA batteries that I previously
Ours have effectively now done 5 winters of full time off grid liveaboard use (installed September 2018), and we've not killed them yet! During that time we've double our electric usage, (and now have 2 kids to use the extra power!).
No regrets at all from us. Best investment we've made (other than the boat!), and more than paid for themselves. We're now running engine for around 1-1.5 hours a day in winter, down from what felt like all day running a genny with our old LA, and the LA were still knackered after a year.
No constant monitoring or checking tail current to measure sure they get to 100% every few days, just charge when you like, and use what you like. Occasional glance at BMV to see how long to charge for around teatime is all the only monitoring we do.
Batteries get a 100% charge to synchronise the BMV every month when we go for pumpout, but seems to remain accurate to within 5% during that time.
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29 minutes ago, Redhawk106 said:
Yep only to floor level. Any tips on stopping the slippage? I have noticed old crumbs of poly going into the bilge during crane lifts etc. Maybe the boards won't be so bad though, but a tried and tested method would be welcome if anyone has some
Thanks for future explanation, especially on the mess and experience after welding (already knew about moisture). Will definitely steer away from the rockwool then.
Interesting on the spray foam from cans to fill gaps, aren't those mainly open cell ones? Any way to tell which are closed cell? I assume that's important if trying to fill gaps. Or should spray can foam be combined with the aluminum tape to seal gaps for moisture barrier.
You'll find the insulation boards will generally stay in place once wedged in. I stuck most of ours on with a PU sealant though such as Sikaflex or Puraflex 40.
As to the handheld spray foam I used, I think I assumed it was closed cell, but didn't really bother to look into it much. Its only gap filing after all.
Definitely ended up with a much much better insulated boat than our current boat which has polystyrene insulation🥶
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2 hours ago, Redhawk106 said:
What's your reason for rockwool being horrible stuff? Would like to know in order to make informed decisions. Many others have said it's great if not using spray foam including high heat resistance, so it's hard to know who to listen to without more details / understanding on reasons.
As others have mentioned, rock wool will hold moisture against the hull promoting more rapid rusting, will be difficult to keep in place, and tends to get wet and sag down over time. Added to which is it's just not a nice product to work with, very itchy and dusty. Definitely best avoided at all times in a boat, but definitely in a partly fitted one.
We used kingspan or celotex boards. We subsequent had some welding carried out on an area we'd previously insulated with no obvious problems (well the boat didn't go up in flames anyway!!!). When i mentioned sprayfoam, I was meaning the handheld cans (used with a gun) and using it to fill any gaps between the boards. This is much easier than accurately cutting the boards for a tight fit and manipulating them into position, there'll always be some gaps to fill!
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Don't use rock wool anywhere on the boat, horrible stuff!
Insulation boards similar to what you linked to is what we used on our last boat. Fill any awkward gaps with fire resistant expanding foam. We then used thin (5mm?) laminate floor foam insulation cut into strips to bridge any remaining exposed steel, all sealed to insulation boards with foil tape.
Use handheld gun with expanding foam canisters, instead of just the cans on their own. More controllable, and lasts longer.
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It can be a problem if you work nights, but others in the boat are up and around whilst you're trying to sleep!
I disagree that boats are generally noisy though. I find it much quieter on the boat than any house that I've slept in. The general noise on a boat, the gentle movement as boats pass, water lapping etc is very comforting and relaxing, the sudden noise of a water pump cutting in under the bed isn't!
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I used to welcome occasional volunteer help up lock flights. More recently though, I find myself planning my cruising to deliberately avoid times they might be there, and choosing routes I know rarely have them.
Last trip back from Birmingham, I wish I'd continued down Lapworth at midnight, rather than encounter volunteers "managing" the traffic the next morning.
My biggest issue isn't the help they provide through the locks, which at times can be welcome, it's the unnecessary delay they cause and the constant waiting around for boats to come up or down from several locks away because "it's difficult to pass in xxx pound". The last 4 times I've done Lapworth with volunteers on the flight, it's taken an hour or more longer (3 hours on one occasion!!!) than if I'd been single handed with no volunteers.
It's not as easy to just carry on and ignore their instructions when there's boats in front of you.
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50 minutes ago, IanD said:
Some people on this forum have suggested using (cheap) secondhand EV batteries on boats, and almost all these are NMC -- yes Peter I know yours aren't, but all the sites selling secondhand EV batteries are.
There's at least half a dozen of us on here, probably more that are using 2nd hand EV batteries, (and have been for nearly 5 years in my case). All of us are using LFP so wish you'd stop stating this as fact when it can provide a cheaper route for some people. Some are the Valence batteries that Peter and others are using, and some are Winston/Thundersky ones like ours.
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It's typical Isuzu paint. Water would probably be enough to do that!
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Cheapest place I found for marine exhaust (and other items) was www.southernmarineproducts.uk
Exhaust and mounting bracket i got from them was good quality and very well made.
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What length ducting are you using with it, and how many outlets?
Neither of ours (5kw) will run at full power with just 1 outlet for more than 10-20 mins without shutting down (can't remember error code). The heater with 2 outlets can run on full power for hours with both outlets open.
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7 minutes ago, LadyG said:
I understand some kinds are attractive to dogs, and can be fatal if ingested.
Not just dogs but all animals and all antifreeze to my knowledge. Also children at high risk - it tastes sweet hence it's attractiveness.
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28 minutes ago, MartynG said:
Be aware there is no common ground regarding colour as its just a dye.
This is widely said, but is there any evidence that commonly available aftermarket antifreeze is sold in anything other than blue for the "old" 2 year antifreeze, or red for the "newer" 10 year antifreeze? I appreciate some car manufactures may use different colours for their own branded antifreeze, but suggest it's highly unlikely this will be found in boats.
I also realise that the universal antifreeze that's the subject of this thread is a different colour again (yellow?). Other universal antifreeze is also available, but not seen it in blue or red, which seem to be reserved for the 2 types above. -
The exhaust temperatures certainly get very hot, but as Tony says, not sure about the total heat energy. You can get combined air/water heaters, so might be worth looking at one of those (or at least seeing how they do it). I'd be worried about over cooling the exhaust.
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1 hour ago, Loddon said:
Mine is 1993 and sprayfoamed
Where as ours is 2005 and polystyrene (ex-hire boat).
Fund Britain's Waterways. Birmingham Campaign Cruise. 12th - 13th August
in General Boating
Posted
We're not able to make this now, so hope those boats there create suitable chaos!