Mud weights

[doratheexplorer]

33 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

All sorts of solutions suggest themselves.

1. Have an officer on watch. Try and stay awake, you don't get relieved till 3am! Fall asleep and it's no grog for a fortnight.
2. Develop an app to use a phones GPS to alarm if the boat starts to drift. If your boat has a steel roof you'll have to cut a hole to pick up the GPS signals, which leads to:
3. A clever thing with a Raspberry Pi computer, with a GPS module, battery, all in a waterproof box on the roof, bluetooth connection to your phone by the bed to let you know if the boat drifts away.
4. A second small weight on a piece of string. The weight is dropped overboard along with the mudweight(s). The string is left slack and the boat end is connected to a switch. The boat drifts and the string comes tight, operating the switch, which works the boat horn and wakes you up.

That last one was actually sensible, which was never my intention with this reply. Would be easy to make.

Jen

Has Bizzard hacked your account?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

13 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Has Bizzard hacked your account?

I'm his apprentice. Learning from the master. A long way to go yet. ?

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

The boat drifts and the string comes tight, operating the switch, which works the boat horn and wakes you up.

 

Surely a more direct system would be better and failsafe, with no reliance on electrical gadgets.

 

String thru a mushroom, tie it off onto your toe, boat move, string pulls toe, you wake up.

[IanD]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

All sorts of solutions suggest themselves.

1. Have an officer on watch. Try and stay awake, you don't get relieved till 3am! Fall asleep and it's no grog for a fortnight.
2. Develop an app to use a phones GPS to alarm if the boat starts to drift. If your boat has a steel roof you'll have to cut a hole to pick up the GPS signals, which leads to:
3. A clever thing with a Raspberry Pi computer, with a GPS module, battery, all in a waterproof box on the roof, bluetooth connection to your phone by the bed to let you know if the boat drifts away.
4. A second small weight on a piece of string. The weight is dropped overboard along with the mudweight(s). The string is left slack and the boat end is connected to a switch. The boat drifts and the string comes tight, operating the switch, which works the boat horn and wakes you up.

That last one was actually sensible, which was never my intention with this reply. Would be easy to make.

Jen

5. Same as 4 but with the string tied round a testicle. Much simpler and lower technology, and one Jen might favour for obvious reasons ?

[doratheexplorer]

7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Surely a more direct system would be better and failsafe, with no reliance on electrical gadgets.

 

String thru a mushroom, tie it off onto your toe, boat move, string pulls toe, you wake up.

And if there's no testicle available?

 

A less painful solution would be to tie the string to a bell.

[doratheexplorer]

 

Found this:

https://www.techsilver.co.uk/product/satellite-gps-tracker/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5auGBhDEARIsAFyNm9G7AplkJ6TcFUvIYGOfPXKL5Ha8nJswur7vHCspkKCI01nUUHLjnRMaAq1iEALw_wcB&v=79cba1185463

 

It's meant for vulnerable people but it would do the same job for vulnerable boats.

 

Actually, this might give me peace of mind any time I'm moored on a river.

[Steilsteven]

15 hours ago, Alway Swilby said:

Where can I get one from? They sound like a good idea.

Get a cheap plastic bucket, fill it with concrete mix and set a piece of bent rod ( formed as an eye ) in the centre.

Once set the bucket will slide off easily and there you will have your mud weight.

 

Keith

[Alan de Enfield]

13 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

 

Found this:

https://www.techsilver.co.uk/product/satellite-gps-tracker/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5auGBhDEARIsAFyNm9G7AplkJ6TcFUvIYGOfPXKL5Ha8nJswur7vHCspkKCI01nUUHLjnRMaAq1iEALw_wcB&v=79cba1185463

 

It's meant for vulnerable people but it would do the same job for vulnerable boats.

 

Actually, this might give me peace of mind any time I'm moored on a river.

 

 

I know its not on the rivers - but.

 

I do not sleep well at anchor so I have various alarms for 'dragging anchor'.

I have one on my Garmin GPS watch

I have one on my Plotter and 

I have an app on my phone

 

There are a large number of 'Anchor Alarm' apps (see - I am getting getting very 'modern) that are FoC.

 

 

Anchor Watch Pro / Alarm – Apps on Google Play

[Jerra]

35 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Surely a more direct system would be better and failsafe, with no reliance on electrical gadgets.

 

String thru a mushroom, tie it off onto your toe, boat move, string pulls toe, you wake up.

No.   String through a pulley at the stern so as the boat moves you are dragged to the controls to rectify the matter.

[doratheexplorer]

4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

I know its not on the rivers - but.

 

I do not sleep well at anchor so I have various alarms for 'dragging anchor'.

I have one on my Garmin GPS watch

I have one on my Plotter and 

I have an app on my phone

 

There are a large number of 'Anchor Alarm' apps (see - I am getting getting very 'modern) that are FoC.

 

 

Anchor Watch Pro / Alarm – Apps on Google Play

This is excellent!  I've found something similar on the Apple App Store.

[Alan de Enfield]

12 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

This is excellent!  I've found something similar on the Apple App Store.

 

No1 Son has an Apple phone and IPad and uses them for the anchor alarm - don't know which app he has, or which you have found but they do work.

 

You can set the amount of 'drift' (which is basically to allow the boat to swing around the anchor as the tide chages) but don't set it too small otherwise as the satelite signals change it could show you boat moving when it is not.

 

This shows (on my walking GPS) how, over 14 hours, we swung at anchor, and actually travelled 2.36 miles The start position was roughly in the centre of the range of 'blobs' and as you can see we spent much more time on 'one side of the anchor' than we did on the other.

 

The blue dot was the location at the time of the photo.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 17, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[MrsM]

Nearly spat out my fruit and fibre reading this thread. Reminds me of the "Top Tips" page in Viz magazine. Anchor app sounds like a good idea though. ?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Surely a more direct system would be better and failsafe, with no reliance on electrical gadgets.

 

String thru a mushroom, tie it off onto your toe, boat move, string pulls toe, you wake up.

 

1 hour ago, IanD said:

5. Same as 4 but with the string tied round a testicle. Much simpler and lower technology, and one Jen might favour for obvious reasons ?

With either approach it is very important to untie the string before leaping out of bed to deal with the boat drifting. ?

[Jerra]

1 minute ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

 

With either approach it is very important to untie the string before leaping out of bed to deal with the boat drifting. ?

My system solves that problem.  You arrive at the controls with the string still attached.    

[Cheshire cat]

 

10 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

All sorts of solutions suggest themselves.

1. Have an officer on watch. Try and stay awake, you don't get relieved till 3am! Fall asleep and it's no grog for a fortnight.
2. Develop an app to use a phones GPS to alarm if the boat starts to drift. If your boat has a steel roof you'll have to cut a hole to pick up the GPS signals, which leads to:
3. A clever thing with a Raspberry Pi computer, with a GPS module, battery, all in a waterproof box on the roof, bluetooth connection to your phone by the bed to let you know if the boat drifts away.
4. A second small weight on a piece of string. The weight is dropped overboard along with the mudweight(s). The string is left slack and the boat end is connected to a switch. The boat drifts and the string comes tight, operating the switch, which works the boat horn and wakes you up.

That last one was actually sensible, which was never my intention with this reply. Would be easy to make.

Jen

Perhaps with No 4 you should attach it to your big toe. No sense in waking everyone up. ?

[Alan de Enfield]

15 minutes ago, Cheshire cat said:

 

Perhaps with No 4 you should attach it to your big toe. No sense in waking everyone up. ?

 

10 hours ago :