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It Wasn't Meant To End Like This


Dr Bradley

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The pump was blocked with gunge. I have to presume this came from the fuel being stirred up in a choppy sea despite cleaning in March so

it was both.

 

The Severn would have been no drama if the engine hadn't conked out.

 

I did learn that my anchor works, even though I deployed it in very much deeper water than I had prepared for. I can also retrieve it which I had my doubts about as it is heavy.

Leaving Sharpness an hour before high tide (neaps) I could have reached Bristol and not paid for Portishead (if the engine had kept going). I think that going the other way you could anchor in the Avon to let the ebb pass and set off from there on the flow. But would need to stick close to the channel.

I practised using the VHF for the first time in 30 years - rarely used it on chartered yachts.

I was on the Caister on Sea Lifeboat today and it was interesting to see that they had an Ally Danforth Anchor on the boat

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The pump was blocked with gunge. I have to presume this came from the fuel being stirred up in a choppy sea despite cleaning in March

Where did you get your tank 'cleaned'? I was thinking about getting mine done before doing the same trip but the pilots fees and cleaning fees put me off. Anyone recommend the best place to get it done properly?

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Where did you get your tank 'cleaned'? I was thinking about getting mine done before doing the same trip but the pilots fees and cleaning fees put me off. Anyone recommend the best place to get it done properly?

I hear a bloke on the Oxford will do it for 26 quid.

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The pump was blocked with gunge. I have to presume this came from the fuel being stirred up in a choppy sea despite cleaning in March so

it was both.

 

 

Scary reading, well done for keeping a calm head.

 

You must now be the expert on anchors. So front or back, how bad was the swing?

 

The blocked fuel thing seems to catch a load of people - I was amazed that in one rehearsal for the QDJP 3 boats broke down with fuel problems. We have a drain pipe on our tank, surprisingly little dirt comes out from that. We then have an agglomerator and sedimentor as per Tony Brook's recommendations (click here). No science behind this but when I drain off my sedimentor I feel I get quite a bit of dirt coming out. The next in line Agglomerator is nearly always completely clear. Before I used Marine 16 I used to get a bit of water, now a rare event but I don't remember so much dirt? I am wondering if the additive drops dirt out and whether it is worth using something like Soltron (click here) as apparently it generates less deposits, more gets burnt.

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There's a great deal in favour of having duplex (changeover) fuel filters for boat engines, especially for those which occasionally venture onto lumpy water.

 

Duplex filters do seem on the whole to be inordinately expensive, I'm surprised that there doesn't seem to be a duplex version of the 296 filter on the market, maybe there's an opening for someone?

 

Tim

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Remember that in Germany the ADAC which is the same as the AA handle allot of the emergency medical and rescue helicopter services.

Glad you survived it and I hope a few lessons can be passed on for other people wishing to do the trip.

 

Well clearly not the same as the AA - because they handle a lot of the emergency medical and rescue helicopter services.

 

When the AA 'Fourth Emergency Service' advert was running I took a 999 call from them, asking for help with a motorist who was threatening one of their staff. Very tempted to offer their stock reply 'Within the hour'.

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There's a great deal in favour of having duplex (changeover) fuel filters for boat engines, especially for those which occasionally venture onto lumpy water.

 

Duplex filters do seem on the whole to be inordinately expensive, I'm surprised that there doesn't seem to be a duplex version of the 296 filter on the market, maybe there's an opening for someone?

 

Tim

 

I'd like a secondary/auxillary sediment trap/water separator & fuel filter on mine. But why do we need expensive duplex filters? What's wrong with just T-ing off the fuel line befote the sedment trap and adding a second set of filters on a bypass before T-ing back into the main line on the other side of the filters (with isolators on each side of the secondary filters of course)? It's probably half a day's work for a DIYer but shouldn't be too expensive.

Edited by blackrose
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Scary reading, well done for keeping a calm head.

 

You must now be the expert on anchors. So front or back, how bad was the swing?

 

 

Not scary as I never felt completely out of control = provided my anchor worked as I'd never used it before but it's heavy, has a good length of chain and a 120 warp. that should be OK up to about 40ft. I deployed at about 60 and expected it to drag until shallower water was reached but it didn't. Deployed from the front as I don't fancy the stern facing the current/waves/wind. The swing was very gentle on this occasion - would be worse in faster tide/wind.

 

I am aware that some recommend deploying from the stern on a river going downstream buy I wouldn't expect to get into trouble so close to danger (perhaps that's a bit optimistic). Another consideration is that my well deck is boarded over on sea passages and I have to travel down the gunwales to get to the anchor. If one was not confident of doing that, have the anchor at the back.

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I'd like a secondary/auxillary sediment trap/water separator & fuel filter on mine. But why do we need expensive duplex filters? What's wrong with just T-ing off the fuel line befote the sedment trap and adding a second set of filters on a bypass before T-ing back into the main line on the other side of the filters (with isolators on each side of the secondary filters of course)? It's probably half a day's work for a DIYer but shouldn't be too expensive.

 

To do it properly, so that filters can be changed 'in service', you need four valves (or two two-way valves). Perfectly do-able, but tends to be a bit cumbersome.

 

My point was really that I think there would be a market for a 296 style duplex filter at realistic price, but there doesn't seem to be one available.

 

Tim

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I signed up to do the Day Skipper theory course a few years ago, but due to life events never got around to taking the exam.

 

Having said that, navigating up the Severn estuary in thick fog without the aid of GPS is the kind of task you could expect to be set on a Yachtmaster practical course, when you'd be expected to have enough crew on the boat to handle the helm and keep a lookout while you concentrated on the navigation.

 

In normal circumstances on a yacht or powerboat equipped for coastal navigation you'd have a compass and a log (giving you direction and speed through the water), which would enable you to navigate by dead reckoning (using information on charts or other resources to plot tides, etc). Another option if you've got a depth sounder (or a lead line) is to follow a depth contour on the chart if there's one handy (again, using information on charts or in pilot books to work out the expected depth). Failing that, it's time to find a safe spot to anchor and wait for the fog to clear, or head in the safest possible direction (which may well be out into open water).

 

By far the easiest way to deal with the situation is to have a GPS on board, which is what the vast majority of coastal sailors do.

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I signed up to do the Day Skipper theory course a few years ago, but due to life events never got around to taking the exam.

 

Having said that, navigating up the Severn estuary in thick fog without the aid of GPS is the kind of task you could expect to be set on a Yachtmaster practical course, when you'd be expected to have enough crew on the boat to handle the helm and keep a lookout while you concentrated on the navigation.

 

In normal circumstances on a yacht or powerboat equipped for coastal navigation you'd have a compass and a log (giving you direction and speed through the water), which would enable you to navigate by dead reckoning (using information on charts or other resources to plot tides, etc). Another option if you've got a depth sounder (or a lead line) is to follow a depth contour on the chart if there's one handy (again, using information on charts or in pilot books to work out the expected depth). Failing that, it's time to find a safe spot to anchor and wait for the fog to clear, or head in the safest possible direction (which may well be out into open water).

 

By far the easiest way to deal with the situation is to have a GPS on board, which is what the vast majority of coastal sailors do.

Maybe the easiest but not the best. Better to have some knowledge of basic navigation, chart work and rudimentary seamanship, and only then to consider using GPS. However, for one off trips it might be more sensible to employ the services of someone who knows what they are about, that is a local pilot.

 

Howard

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To do it properly, so that filters can be changed 'in service', you need four valves (or two two-way valves). Perfectly do-able, but tends to be a bit cumbersome.

 

My point was really that I think there would be a market for a 296 style duplex filter at realistic price, but there doesn't seem to be one available.

 

Tim

 

2 x L-port valves would be my preference.

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I didn't have GPS or a plotter, and my compass was useless, but basic old fashioned pilotage was good enough. I would never rely on the electronic stuff, which is brilliant, but only whilst it's working. You need to know the proper way of navigating/piloting as well.

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I didn't have GPS or a plotter, and my compass was useless, but basic old fashioned pilotage was good enough. I would never rely on the electronic stuff, which is brilliant, but only whilst it's working. You need to know the proper way of navigating/piloting as well.

You can't navigate safely without a reliable compass, especially in poor visibility; what's the problem with it?

 

Howard

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You can't navigate safely without a reliable compass, especially in poor visibility; what's the problem with it?

 

Howard

Hand held compass (2) on a metal boat. With good visibility and all the leading lines to aim for a compass was not needed. Normally I agree it's essential. I'm really going to have to consider this problem when I do the Wash. Can hardly put together a deviation graph single handed on a narrowboat whilst on the canal. Any ideas?

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Us fellow CWDF peeps meeting at the moment had a discussion earlier where we disagreed over whether you had a pilot or not. I'm being incredibly lazy I know but did you?

 

My vote was that you didn't. Kiwidad thought you did. Can't remember what the rest of our contingent thought.

 

Go on - tell us :D

Edited by Ange
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Hand held compass (2) on a metal boat. With good visibility and all the leading lines to aim for a compass was not needed. Normally I agree it's essential. I'm really going to have to consider this problem when I do the Wash. Can hardly put together a deviation graph single handed on a narrowboat whilst on the canal. Any ideas?

 

Fluxgate compass?

 

I've never really understood them, though.

 

Tim

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Here are some articles on Wikipedia on gyrocompasses (NB not to be confused with gyroscopes, though the article does I think risk that confusion) and on fluxgate compasses.

 

The latter still need correction to take account of the impact of the boat's hull on the local magnetic field. Another website I found noted that fluxgate compasses are often hidden away below decks, and this can be fun if eg tins of food are stored nearby and roll about in bad weather. Also be careful where you put your boombox or any other device with loudspeakers. And note that the deviation chart needs to be redone after a lightning strike (see other recent threads)....

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It is for these eventualities that we donate to the RNLI £8 odd each month.

Fair play to you Phyllis, they are indeed a heroic bunch of people and deserve all of the support they get!

 

watch out, he's posted the chart upside down, could have caused a nasty accident.

No he's not!

 

It's an Australian chart, silly.

Edited by Doorman
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There's a great deal in favour of having duplex (changeover) fuel filters for boat engines, especially for those which occasionally venture onto lumpy water.

 

Duplex filters do seem on the whole to be inordinately expensive, I'm surprised that there doesn't seem to be a duplex version of the 296 filter on the market, maybe there's an opening for someone?

 

Tim

As well as having a duty and stand-by fuel pump too!

 

I am surprised that Dr Bradley's fuel pump became blocked with 'gunge' as ours is situated down line from the filters. In other words it draws the fuel from the tank via the filters, ensuring that any harmful ingredients are filtered out before reaching the pump.

 

Mike

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As well as having a duty and stand-by fuel pump too!

 

I am surprised that Dr Bradley's fuel pump became blocked with 'gunge' as ours is situated down line from the filters. In other words it draws the fuel from the tank via the filters, ensuring that any harmful ingredients are filtered out before reaching the pump.

 

Mike

I would have thought most are.

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Hand held compass (2) on a metal boat. With good visibility and all the leading lines to aim for a compass was not needed. Normally I agree it's essential. I'm really going to have to consider this problem when I do the Wash. Can hardly put together a deviation graph single handed on a narrowboat whilst on the canal. Any ideas?

You can do a simple swing in the dock prior to leaving, so that you can draw up a simple deviation curve. This can be done reasonably easily single handed as long as you have a decent large scale chart of the area. Just make sure the engine is running when you do it. You can also find deviations on some headings by using the alignment of the boat alongside a berth, bridges and other structures. You could also do a curve for each hand bearing compass or even just compare one with the other, swung compass.

 

A simple fluxgate hand bearing compass might be a useful purchase and can usually be corrected by slowly turning the vessel through 360 a couple of times, but to be prudent it would harm to do a simple curve for that too.

 

Howard

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I would have thought most are.

No, not all. I have helped other boaters out in the past with engine problems and noticed that the fuel pump has been installed with its intake straight from the tank. In fact, the installation manual with our Fischer-Panda genset illustrates this very same procedure.

 

That's Germans for you! :-)

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