davidb

Thanks for the replies, at least it will be neaps when we return and we know what to expect. I am contemplating going to Keadby next via Trent End, but after our experience through those bridges, am having second thoughts. Especially if there is all that debris in the river. Will there still be debris on neaps, or is it not too bad? Either way, we shall go back into Selby canal on the way, what a pleasant canal and lovely stonework. cheers, David

Today we came out of the Selby canal and up the Ouse to Naburn. Talk about a white knuckle ride! We only went into the bushes twice having taken the advice of another boater " go straight out of the lock and just let the river turn you" well it didn't.... At Naburn we met a boater who is talking about selling his boat rather than face going back. Don't let me put you off, its lovely up here! cheers, David

Fall Ings lock is a bit heavy going, the the rest are great, you don't even need ropes going down. Have a look at Castleford Weir , about 15mins walk from the flood lock - awesome when the rivers are in flood I should think David

I would go for a fixed Icom, I have never heard a complaint about them yet, and they don't cost much more these days. They are as loud as you want esp with extension speakers. cheers, David

We have just enjoyed a fortnight in and around Leeds, no bother at all, but the best part of the canal is between Nelson and Rodley. Saltaire is great, get a walking guide from tourist info in the mill and look round the village with it - town planning at its best! We preferred the mooring nr office lock in leeds to any other, trains noisy but not disturbing. Everyone that we came across was very friendly and helpful. cheers, David

How do you do a photo sequence like that? very clever. good boat handling as well David

I had that same problem and a friend lent me an "accumulator set-up ". I am still using it. It is a plate which fits between the valve block and the gear case, made by a German firm. it has two gas filled pressure vessels on it. Seems to work OK for me, but I bet they cost a fortune. I bet there is another way of curing the problem. There is a picture from another site here, the black blobs on the back of the gearbox scew into the plate. David

- Went for a look at Winterburn, near Gargrave and took a few photos, it looks low to me, do they let it get completely empty before using Foulridge Res? David

- Well done, the Ribble is quite a challenge when you have to fight it both ways. If you get chance when he gets back, have a good look at Black Swan, its a real character boat ! It has a mooring near the sea lock. cheers, David -

- Thanks a lot for your offer, John, but I don't need to open it up, i already have fly leads coming out for reducing the field. " Put a microswitch on the throttle control to operate a relay to switch the resistors in and out of circuit." excellent idea, thanks, just my style of job, but I would prefer a voltage controlled relay to switch the resistors especialy if it could be solid state, But how to achieve voltage control? I don't mind using automotive relays, I have a shed full of those. D

- Thanks Sir, I didn't explain fully. When the battery is flat and the engine is at full revs, it can cope and deliver loads of charge in short time - ideal for bulk charging. This takes about 10 minutes, then we switch to tickover ( a pleasant sound to certain ears-_- ) It is the trickle charging at the end which is the problem, this often takes 2 hours of running a day, like it does for many boats without shore power. I suppose I could fit another smaller one, but that would still require manual switch - over. Cheers, David

- On our barge we have a 6 HP Lister CS stationary engine which drives a very big ( I think it is 180 A at 24v ) alternator like this: I like to run the engine at reduced revs which means that it is well underpowered to drive this alternator at its full output. in order to reduce the load on the engine, I have the alternator field current running through a variable (in parallel) bank of resistors. For 8 years or so this setup has been fine, but I would like to automate the switching of the resistors in and out to optimise the load on the engine. As it is at present, I have to keep reducing the field current as the domestic battery voltage increases ( V x I = W ) or the engine really starts to smoke when the battery is getting full. Any ideas for an uncomplicated DIY solution please? thanks, David

- I havn't heard how it is going on, I might be visiting the boat next week, but this is bad news :- "The use of external controllers on the single belt system (around all 4 pullies) is not generaly recommended for reasons of reiability." Both alternators are on 1 belt, and it doesn't last long as it is. They have just bought a stirling controller and were thinking of fitting it to the new alternator. I shall be looking into fitting a flat multiple V belt with a bigger crankshaft pulley now, I think. To be continued in a week I guess............ cheers, D

- It is looking like the additional relay has been surgically removed and thus the green wire was permanently connecting the 80A Alternator field to the domestic battery. Suelry that would create a constant drain on the battery when the engine was not running? Where would the additional relay be located on the original installation, please? There is a "loose " separately mounted relay for the stop solenoid on a bulkhead. David

Thanks a lot for all the replies, Chris has sent a photo of his wiring diag ( issue 11 ) and I have cropped a bit of it below, this is more complicated than I could have immagined. David - what colours are the cables in the other half of the white connector? Steve From the diagram , I suspect it is brown /yellow, I have asked Chis the question, he will reply shortly, possibly on here. The extra wires on the 80A alt say "negative field" - what do they mean by that? I would rather go back to basics with this lot, I think. cheers, David

- I am trying to help my son-in -law with an altyernator change on their narrowboat with a Barrus Shire 2202E engine. Their auxilliary alternator stopped charging, but I think the problem was elsewhere because the replacement unit he bought didn't work either. I am trying to diagnose it remotely, he has limited electrical knowledge ( and I am not a lot better! ) It looks to me like the wiring has been bodged modified and below is a picture of the alternator connector. He says the big ring terminal came off the big positive termina of the alternator. Would that be correct? I'm not happy with that. thanks, David

- Aquavacs are very good for this, If you havn't got one, you could convert a strong plastic container to make a water trap device, but you have to know when to stop or you will wreck your vacuum and possibly make a bigger mess than when you started. been there, done that cheers, David

- From the canoeing article, I found that after whittle , it was cut again twice by the motorway, so I went back to google earth and saw the earthworks, and today I went down through Brindle and took this photo, looking South towards the M61 and thanks, Pluto, I shall buy that book, David

Strewth, that was quick, thanks. no I hadn't seen it, but will study yr pdf and see what still remains, because it is quite a long time ago now that it was written originally. cheers, David

- Hi, I am just wondering if anyone has looked for remains of the southern Lancaster Canal in Bamber Bridge and at Walton Summit? I have had a walk from Johnsons' Hillock ( why is it called that? ) and seen the remains of the aqueduct over the river Lostock and the Whittle tunnels and the mill stones up there. It is hard to trace on google earth, but I bet someone has already done it on the ground. http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=29357&st=0&p=511646&hl=+bamber%20+bridge&fromsearch=1entry511646 and from another thread: "For a more canal-related trip, you could try following the old Lancaster Canal from Johnsons Hillock to Walton Summit and then along the trackbed of the tramway to Preston, or try to find the former colliery canal in the woods to the west of the canal near Haigh Hall. " what a good forum this is! cheers, David

Hi John, we are at wheelton, and the canal water is taking on the qualities of a duck pond, there is a proper pub and chippy nearby, though, and great scenerery. Also we are exploring the old Lancaster canal route to Bamber Bridge, very interesting, a lot more infrastucture there than I ever imagined there would be, its well hidden. cheers, D

Thanks Martin, that has saved us a trip to look for ourselves, doesn't look like we can move for some time yet. Your website is amazing! it must represent hours of work. cheers, David

Has anybody seen Foulridge reservoirs lately? A friend of ours said it looked "half full" last week but surely thats not correct? thanks, David

Yes, we really enjoyed it as well, The more people who use it, the better it gets. Get your weed hatch ready for action, though. Loads of stuff to see and do in Liverpool, the submarine exhibition in Birkenhead is fascinating as well. cheers, David

Thanks for that, will have to start saving up then. cheers, David