Not Impressed so far

[LoneWolf]

...

The more you get to know your boat and the more you are willing to do yourself then the more money you save but also you will gain more confidence in your boat and your own skills to fix things as and when they occur.

 

We have found that the trick is to fix things as and when they break. That way you don't end up dismayed at the long list of things to do and end up doing nothing.

 

This is so true. You talk a lot of sense sometimes and express it in a nice clear uncomplicated way

 

 

It doesn't matter what 'old hansd' recommend because each time something goes wrong on the boat (and it will, oh it will), it will be something you couldn't have considered in a million years, would never have known about had it not gone wrong and will struggle to find a way to solve it that doesn't hurt your wallet and stretch your DIY skills at the same time.

 

 

 

To be fair to the workmen described here the 'heating specialist' probably assumed that basic tasks like flue cleaning etc had been seen to before a specialist was called at great expense.

 

The electrician was probably correct in assessing everything as working okay. Why on earth you would have someone come and do that while you weren't present, I'll never understand. He probably had no idea you would run the inverter while the batteries weren't charged fully enough to cope with whatever you were using them for.

 

Unfortunately a lot of boat work is guess work so if you don't have at least a vauge understanding of what could be wrong before caling a work person then you can expect to pay a premium while they faff around and try to diagnose the problem before they can attempt to fix it. I have learned this the hard way.

 

So is all of this. I carry a spare drive plate but i wont go into why ...

 

 

But chin up OP, you'll get the hang of it. It's mostly thinking what things do & following pipes & wires, that and a lot of reading on here will sort you out in no time. A basic boat maintenance book would be a good idea for an overview.

 

Have you changed your oil & oil filter yet? That is a good one to start with & not difficult. I learned from just reading lots on here. I did all my engine maintenance within easy reach if a boatyard just in case the first couple of times so theres a tip for you

 

And I can recommend Primrose Engineering, who operate in your area i believe, for future. you can tell them you're clueless without fear of getting ripped off

[LoneWolf]

Not all jobs on boats have to be expensive.

 

Our main bilge float switch packed up oddly at the same time the warning buzzer for the same broke. Result we didn't know it was broken and when we got a leak from the shower managed to get the cabin wet.

 

Total cost for the repair £10 for a new float switch, £2.50 for a new buzzer, nothing to unblock the shower sump filter and some elbow grease to clean the carpets.

 

Had we hired someone to do this lot it would have cost a small fortune. In the end it cost us £12.50 and a few hours work.

 

Engine servicing is another good way to save. For our particular engine we can get the genuine service bits for £150 and it takes about 3 hours to do the work. When we paid for a full service when we first bought the boat it cost us £450 and half of the stuff was not done. Same goes for the sterndrive servicing. We more than half the cost by doing it ourselves.

 

and i bet you check the float switch every now & then when you happen to be down that way as well, and keep a dry bilge so you can see when things start to drip - or is it more dramatic on your boat when things go wrong?

 

regular checking of inspection hatches and things helps.

 

 

 

...

Now where in the dear Lord's name in Warwickshire would he find someone like that?

 

I know!!

Edited February 1, 2013 by LoneWolf

[ditchcrawler]

If you tell us more about your inverter, size make etc. and what you have connected when you switch on. Also your batteries and how well charged they are at the time, then maybe some one here can offer advice for free

[Pykebird]

As as I can see, the other person hasn't had it that bad in a few months, we all learn by our mistakes. I did.

Within a few hours when I went to switch on the generator to watch some tv...No generator, even though it was included in sale.

A day late when I noticed a load of hot wate in the bilge, due to the fork that was siliconed into the hole in the calorifor working its way loose.

Then a man came to "service" the alde boier and condemed it.

I could go on but won't bore you anymore!.

The point is things go wrong on a boat and unlike a house cannot just be ignored. The way you deal with them determine whever you become a boater or not(By the way there was a fiver bet on me not lasting a week, nearly 10 years ago).

Most boaters will try and help or offer advice and recomend people who you can trust, don't give up and good luck.

[Lady Muck]

I designed and fitted out every inch of our 60' nb from a bare shell, a long steep learning curve which resulted in me knowing every nook and cranny. But even then after several years I sometimes forget what I did in places and occasionally, faced with say an electrical problem, I look at a mass of wiring as if someone else did it and have to sit and rethink all the details until it becomes familiar again, like an old long lost friend.

 

I designed a system of valves to divert between one water tank and another which also doubles as a ballast tank, but after teaching my missus all it's intricacies it's always her that operates them resulting in her having to remind me how it all works!

 

We bought our boat off the most careful boater ever. We were presented with a manual with a photographic record of the entire build from baseplate to the whole of the fitting out, plus a piece of paper with different coloured wires, labelled to say what bits they were used to connect. The guy sat in the British Library for several weekends and wrote an RCD from scratch. Doesn't half make things much easier when you are doing DIY and you need to know where the wiring is, before you drill a hole.

 

 

Complete set of spanners, screwdrivers and allan keys that fit every nut, bolt, and screw on the boat. Spare nuts & bolts. Spare wire, Bulbs, fuses, jubilee clips, spare off cut of hose (left over from fitout), some spare Hep2O fittings (left over from fitout), Jump leads (domestic to starter). Actually - thinking about this I really must get round to cleaning the junk out of the cupboard!

 

and a spare water pump, don't forget the spare water pump. On that note someone remind me that I haven't yet ordered a repair kit to fix the broken one that I just swapped over.

[Eeyore]

Unfortunately a lot of boat work is guess work so if you don't have at least a vauge understanding of what could be wrong before caling a work person then you can expect to pay a premium while they faff around and try to diagnose the problem before they can attempt to fix it. I have learned this the hard way.

Good point.

If you are paying someone to "faff about", make sure you get them to tell you what they found and what they are doing about it. Write it down, even if you don't understand it, the next person you callout may not need to learn the whole system at your expense before being able to effect a repair.

A good "engineer" or "specialist" should be able to explain things in terms that you understand, you are paying for their time; make the most of it.

[RLWP]

Did you have somebody in mind?

 

 

 

Now where in the dear Lord's name in Warwickshire would he find someone like that?

 

Strangely enough, not me. I have next to no experience of living with solid fuel fires on boats or inverters. I was thinking of someone in the same marina or mooring

 

Richard

[matty40s]

Strangely enough, not me. I have next to no experience of living with solid fuel fires on boats or inverters. I was thinking of someone in the same marina or mooring

 

Richard

I was working in sunny Warwickshire yesterday!!

[Tony Brooks]

What would 'old hands' recommend as a basic kit of spare parts to have stashed ready for the inevitable component failure. Items like fan belts, are obvious, but what else, for that 'Oh b*ll*cks' moment?

 

 

For your list and Trixi's books the OP could start by looking here. Sorry folk, most of you will know what is coming next my site

 

Feel free to print it all out if you wish - the list is at the end of the Maintenance notes.

 

I am just wondering if the OPs inverter is telling him the batteries are flat so OP what is the battery volatge first thing in the morning before you start up to at least one decimal place?

[blackrose]

Does everyone think you are loaded just because you own a boat ?

 

Not necessarily, but they will still take your money if you call them out because you can't do the job yourself.

 

Then they may or may not do a decent job.

Edited February 2, 2013 by blackrose

[Naughty Cal]

and i bet you check the float switch every now & then when you happen to be down that way as well, and keep a dry bilge so you can see when things start to drip - or is it more dramatic on your boat when things go wrong?

 

regular checking of inspection hatches and things helps.

 

 

 

 

 

I know!!

 

You got it. Dry clean bilge so it is easy to spot any leaks and where they are from. Clean engine so that any leaks are obvious and yes we check the bilge pump every time we are in the engine bay.

 

The bilge has saved our boat so it is worth checking. Our raw water pump seals failed whilst we were on the Ouse stemming the tide waiting to enter ocean lock. As our engine needs a lot of cooling water it made a bit if a mess down there and we took on a lot of water. That tested the bilge pump.

 

Unfortunately this isn't one of the spares we carry so we had to come home with the leaky pump!

 

A clean and tidy engine bay helps with diagnosing problems.

[Naughty Cal]

and i bet you check the float switch every now & then when you happen to be down that way as well, and keep a dry bilge so you can see when things start to drip - or is it more dramatic on your boat when things go wrong?

 

regular checking of inspection hatches and things helps.

 

 

 

 

 

I know!!

 

You got it. Dry clean bilge so it is easy to spot any leaks and where they are from. Clean engine so that any leaks are obvious and yes we check the bilge pump every time we are in the engine bay.

 

The bilge has saved our boat so it is worth checking. Our raw water pump seals failed whilst we were on the Ouse stemming the tide waiting to enter ocean lock. As our engine needs a lot of cooling water it made a bit if a mess down there and we took on a lot of water. That tested the bilge pump.

 

Unfortunately this isn't one of the spares we carry so we had to come home with the leaky pump!

 

A clean and tidy engine bay helps with diagnosing problems.

[Higgs]

A roll of self-amalgamating tape. Good for sealing around bare wiring. I find it useful for lots of things. It even made a good grip on the handle bar of my bike, to keep lights from slipping round through vibration.

 

A reasonable selection of cable ties, too. A collection of jubilee clips. Also, nip down to the car scrappers for a selection of hoses for around the engine. I've got a couple of pipes that curve and found the scrappers cheap and invaluable. Got a bundle for the next time.

Edited February 2, 2013 by Higgs

[kev4short]

Thanks for all the responses,

I am pretty good at DIY and did change the pump to the back boiler along with fixing the thetford cassette toilet so please dont think I am useless. I have refurbished two houses before buying a boat also.

I just dont really understand the electrics on my boat I guess. I could do with someone going through it and explaining it I guess.

Please do not think I was just having a moan as living on a boat is bliss and I cant see me wanting to go back into a house anytime soon.

 

Kevin

[kev4short]

I think I may have done the electrician an in justice then if its the diverter thats overloading and causing it to beep. The only things plugged in were the TV and electric pump for the heating though. I have four leisure batteries plus a starter and four solar panels giving 380 watts.

I think maybe its just me not understanding the system properly.

 

With regard to the heating though, cleaning of the top of a back boiler should have been something that the engineer should check or at least ask about surely ?

 

Have a great day

Kevin

[RLWP]

Hi Kev,

 

welcome to the forum

 

Your profile says Warwickshire, whereabouts are you moored? It sounds like you need to find someone local, experienced and friendly to come and help you

 

Richard

 

BUMP

 

Richard

[kev4short]

Hi Richard,

Moored just off the Grand Union at Napton and loving it so far.

 

 

BUMP

 

Richard

[RLWP]

Lots of friendly, knowledgeable boaters around Napton. Hopefully someone will drop by to help you learn about your boat

 

We are still learning about ours after a mere ten years

 

Richard

[kev4short]

Think thats what we need really and of course there would be a nice stew on offer and loads of tea !

 

Lots of friendly, knowledgeable boaters around Napton. Hopefully someone will drop by to help you learn about your boat

 

We are still learning about ours after a mere ten years

 

Richard