Concerning the Luck of a Gravy Boater

[The Gravy Boater]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

You will be lucky to live on solar in the winter months so it may pay you to keep it

I plan on constant cruising as much as I can in the winter (random viruses permitting) with lithium batteries that will charge quickly... but you are probably right.  I'll dump the thing on a relative in the summer months

[LadyG]

4 minutes ago, Slim said:

Lady G

I think you will find that mrsmelly's comment was addressed to me.

No doubt, but I love an interjection.

[The Gravy Boater]

2 minutes ago, Slim said:

Medium term an LPG generator might be a way to go. Short term petrol might be better. A gallon petrol can is lighter to cart down the towpath than a 25 -30 kg gas cylinder.

I see what you're saying.  The other issue is storing highly flamable petrol on a boat.  I guess it depends on how much you use it and from my point of view it would only be a backup.  I'm ultimately going for a pretty beefy battery setup so the boat will be gas-optional (just kept as a backup)... so I'll have two 13kg bottles not doing much most of the time.

[dmr]

2 minutes ago, The Gravy Boater said:

I see what you're saying.  The other issue is storing highly flamable petrol on a boat.  I guess it depends on how much you use it and from my point of view it would only be a backup.  I'm ultimately going for a pretty beefy battery setup so the boat will be gas-optional (just kept as a backup)... so I'll have two 13kg bottles not doing much most of the time.

Gas free boats are difficult to do and almost always require a large built in diesel generator to work well. Big battery banks are just a liability unless you have a way of charging them. Living off grid in winter and keeping the batteries charged is one of the more difficult aspects of liveaboard boating.

 

.................Dave

[TheBiscuits]

7 minutes ago, The Gravy Boater said:

I'm ultimately going for a pretty beefy battery setup so the boat will be gas-optional (just kept as a backup)

 

You were doing so well up to that point ...

 

Brace yourself.

[The Gravy Boater]

2 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

You were doing so well up to that point ...

 

Brace yourself.

Oh my gentle Jesus... what have I done.  Let me qualify that...

 

I'll have the option of using electric or gas hobs in the summer. 

[Richard10002]

21 minutes ago, LadyG said:

No doubt, but I love an interjection.

There are some here who would think an interjection inappropriate

[Slim]

I think the point Biscuit was making was that electrickity generation is a complex issue that many underestimate.

I'm no expert I'm not a liveaboard.

[Richard10002]

17 minutes ago, The Gravy Boater said:

I see what you're saying.  The other issue is storing highly flamable petrol on a boat.  I guess it depends on how much you use it and from my point of view it would only be a backup.  I'm ultimately going for a pretty beefy battery setup so the boat will be gas-optional (just kept as a backup)... so I'll have two 13kg bottles not doing much most of the time.

There is nothing in what you have said, or what has been discussed, that are good reasons not to go ahead with the purchase, get the hell out of the marina, and deal with things as time goes by - unless you don't really want to buy right now.

 

If the boat is your home, you can live on it and move it for any essential reasons. It seems that some yards are working, (and why wouldn't they?), and you could DIY quite a bit with stuff you buy online and get delivered, (even your solar system is a relatively straightforward purchase and fit).

 

For a variety of reasons, I bought my boat and had it blacked in 2011, but didn't lift it again until 2015, (4 years later). The hull was fine, so I did the same again and lifted it last year for its 4 yearly blacking. Fine again. So... dont worry too much about the blacking, it will be fine for a few months, or even a year in these extreme times.

[Slim]

Depends.?

Going to bed, That was a nice bottle of wine.?️ 

[The Gravy Boater]

13 minutes ago, dmr said:

Gas free boats are difficult to do and almost always require a large built in diesel generator to work well. Big battery banks are just a liability unless you have a way of charging them. Living off grid in winter and keeping the batteries charged is one of the more difficult aspects of liveaboard boating.

 

.................Dave

I can confirm that my experiments in narrowboat based cold fusion are still ongoing and are in no way a hazzard to the boating community. 

 

I do not want to be gas free... I do a lot of cooking and want the option of a gas hob, but with my planned electrical setup I should be able to use an electric hob to use up excess amp hours and save gas in the summer.

[TheBiscuits]

11 minutes ago, The Gravy Boater said:

Oh my gentle Jesus... what have I done.  Let me qualify that...

 

I'll have the option of using electric or gas hobs in the summer. 

 

Nah, it's too late.  The wrath of the "thou shalt not have a gas free boat" tribe shall descend upon you.

 

I reckon you can either with a diesel cooker (expensive, not ideal - look at Wallas for the grownup way of doing it) or the best way is with a silent marine generator built into your boat - Start at £10k and rapidly go up from there as an extra.  That's a lot of gas bottles at £30.

[dmr]

2 minutes ago, The Gravy Boater said:

I can confirm that my experiments in narrowboat based cold fusion are still ongoing and are in no way a hazzard to the boating community. 

 

I do not want to be gas free... I do a lot of cooking and want the option of a gas hob, but with my planned electrical setup I should be able to use an electric hob to use up excess amp hours and save gas in the summer.

Cold fusion is certainly the way forward and I have been working on this too, I used to work at Southampton University in the building next to the chemistry department where it was invented, and I did find a few bits and pieces in the skip, but still can't work out exactly how to put them back together.

 

..............Dave

[The Gravy Boater]

5 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

I reckon you can either with a diesel cooker (expensive, not ideal - look at Wallas for the grownup way of doing it) or the best way is with a silent marine generator built into your boat - Start at £10k and rapidly go up from there as an extra.  That's a lot of gas bottles at £30.

I had looked at diesel ranges and very nearly bought a boat with a diesel stove until I realised I was mostly interested in it for that feature and it was lacking elsewhere, for the price. Multifuel stoves are a pita for reasons we all know but at the end of the day, pyromania top trumps everything.

[The Gravy Boater]

6 minutes ago, dmr said:

Cold fusion is certainly the way forward and I have been working on this too, I used to work at Southampton University in the building next to the chemistry department where it was invented, and I did find a few bits and pieces in the skip, but still can't work out exactly how to put them back together.

 

..............Dave

My understanding is that Cold Fusion will work and we'll have world peace when you get more energy out of it than you put in... until then it's defective, like my ex.

[TheBiscuits]

5 minutes ago, The Gravy Boater said:

I had looked at diesel ranges and very nearly bought a boat with a diesel stove until I realised I was mostly interested in it for that feature and it was lacking elsewhere, for the price. Multifuel stoves are a pita for reasons we all know but at the end of the day, pyromania top trumps everything.

 

And now you are back on track.  Spend the summer burning twigs and small branches in a BBQ base to cook food on and you won't use much gas.  

 

Tends to be frowned upon in very dry moorland areas after a couple of months of drought though.

[The Gravy Boater]

27 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

There is nothing in what you have said, or what has been discussed, that are good reasons not to go ahead with the purchase, get the hell out of the marina, and deal with things as time goes by - unless you don't really want to buy right now.

 

If the boat is your home, you can live on it and move it for any essential reasons. It seems that some yards are working, (and why wouldn't they?), and you could DIY quite a bit with stuff you buy online and get delivered, (even your solar system is a relatively straightforward purchase and fit).

 

For a variety of reasons, I bought my boat and had it blacked in 2011, but didn't lift it again until 2015, (4 years later). The hull was fine, so I did the same again and lifted it last year for its 4 yearly blacking. Fine again. So... dont worry too much about the blacking, it will be fine for a few months, or even a year in these extreme times.

Thanks Richard that is reassuring.  I would like to be able to DIY my electrical installation and may do some of the physical install (the panels etc.) but I am not an electrician and know my limitations.  A few years from now I will probably laugh at how I paid an electrician to sort my setup but I'm not there yet and will learn as I go. 

 

For info I'm looking at using the fully tiltable solar brackets from Midsummer Energy featured in one of the Never Enough Cruising vids.  As a (sometimes) solo continuous cruiser i want to maximise the amount of solar I can get in the roof while being able to tilt it fully and still walk on the roof for lockage purposes.

[The Gravy Boater]

43 minutes ago, Slim said:

Depends.?

Going to bed, That was a nice bottle of wine.?️ 

It was my understanding that boaters only drank gin on account of being captain of your own vessel and part of the officer class.  My expectations have been subverted.

[The Gravy Boater]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Buy a boat first, I will sell you mine, warts and al.but only if you hand over £66K in used £10 notes in Tesco bags

Interesting edit... I preferred the £1 coins and had tipped my coin jars onto the desk to check.  I think before we can proceed you need to quantify the value of tesco carrier bags as my stock is high in this regard.

[LadyG]

6 hours ago, The Gravy Boater said:

Interesting edit... I preferred the £1 coins and had tipped my coin jars onto the desk to check.  I think before we can proceed you need to quantify the value of tesco carrier bags as my stock is high in this regard.

Yes, £1 coins are useful ballast in a boat, then I reaised I would need a fork lift truck to transport them.

Tesco bags for life are hard to find nowadays, as the were losing the income so it's 15p a time plastic horrors, you need a tonne of bags for coins but only a thouand for paper money.

[mrsmelly]

9 hours ago, Slim said:

Incompetent, yes. Girlie, no. I thought I put you on ignore but given that I read your comment I obviously didn't. Your balls are big but your brains are small. I can resort to on line insults but have never before found it necessary. 

The reason I put that was because you said you had me on ignore and it brought the correct response  People often say they have others on ignore but inreality they never do as forcing yourself to have a quick peek always wins the day.

9 hours ago, LadyG said:

• Are you suggesting I'm too glrlie? I resemble that accusation.

No not you Jo 

[Alastair]

Generating enough lecky to power a cooker is no small aim (if not running off shorepower).

 

You are planning on continuously cruising; have you put clothes washing and refrigeration into your calculations?

 

If you are at a static mooring, it is entirely practical to use a laundrette (or marina washing machine). Not so easy if you are cruising. 

 

Powering a washing machine is most likely going to require a genny of decent size. Other people can advise.

Having a fridge makes a massive difference to living aboard. Add the power requirements into your calculations.

[Tony Brooks]

I think Alistair's first sentence has it in a nutshell. providing enough battery capacity for any given use is the easy part providing you have the money and space. Its the recharging that is the problem and with electric cooking that I suspect would be impossible with solar on a narrow boat. At best it is unlikely to provide much more than half the panel's rated output in the UK in high summer and not much more to diddley squat in mid winter. That leaves you with just a generator or engine charging. As said a proper inbuilt marine generator is arguably the way to go for electric cooking plus all the other live-a-board electrical loads - even with lithium batteries.

[Tracy D'arth]

Don't fret about anodes, a few years ago they were not routinely fitted and boats didn't sink faster.

[ditchcrawler]

10 hours ago, The Gravy Boater said:

Thanks Richard that is reassuring.  I would like to be able to DIY my electrical installation and may do some of the physical install (the panels etc.) but I am not an electrician and know my limitations.  A few years from now I will probably laugh at how I paid an electrician to sort my setup but I'm not there yet and will learn as I go. 

 

From my understanding the control and charging of a lithium set up is a bet more complicated and demanding than a lead acid system which basically has little control other than voltage. So if you have no electrical knowledge you may be better off leaving it to someone who does. Also make sure any thing you buy will be suitable for your finished system