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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/04/17 in all areas

  1. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  2. Two or three weeks off grid once in a while and the rest of the time on shore power, yet you knacker them in four years? Your batteries should be lasting ten years. You NEED a Smartgauge lol!
    2 points
  3. Its all very well all this " oh just bin it , its a lovely sunny day , have another beer , throw another shrimp on the barbie , boat off into the sunset blah blah blah " but i would ask how many of those making such comments live on thier boat off grid without shoreline connection ? The reason ask is because unless you do so or have done then its quite easy to overlook the importance of battery monitors . No doubt from time to time there will be the odd dodgy one & there can be debates as to which is best & which is easiest to interpret etc but to me such devices are an absolute boon . If i got a new boat tomorrow the first thing buy for it is solar equipment and a smartgauge . Im off grid and liveaboard . My batteries are important cos i dont have a nice shoreline to plug in . I need to be mindful of the state of my batteries so i can use them without damaging them . Batteries are a disposable item but that dont mean i ll be adhering to the principle of " sod it ... just abuse em and bin em " . What a very 21st century modern British mentallity . Shameful in my opinion . When my batteries give up then ill spend on new ones but of course but i will try to look after them as i rely on them to service my boat ... my home & because if i spend my hard earnt on something i like to try to look after it . If you liveaboard i suspect changing the batteries very regularly will become an expensive chore . Removing , transferring to car , buying , transferring to boat , refitting - why go thru that process more often than necessary ? All this " care " or " diligence " over ones batteries becomes more relevant in winter when solar input is less reliable and so trustworthy gauges are even more worthwhile . So for those on a shoreline who have a " boating season " - you carry on up the cut into the sunset - with your beer in one hand and your barbecue tongs in the other because if you don t live - on then you re ignorant of why someone would would want to try to understand the relative health of thier batteries .
    2 points
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  8. I think it depends on your take of such canals. I have been on both quite a lot and they are far more suited to pairs of narrowbeam boats rather than anything wider, just two 12 foot beam boats passing in many places is a nightmare due to width and depth etc and the small bridges. You only have to take a look at maximum boat dimensions on say the K and A and maximum dimensions on the A and C to see which are better suited. For instance if wanting to wind my seventy footer on the A and C I would have just put power on and booted it round in a u turn, try doing that on the K and A. And depth is minimum of 8 feet at the side but more int middle. If you fall in on the K and A you just stand up. Horses for course though and piddly boats like my present narrowboat like piddly canals such as the Oxford
    1 point
  9. I made our bed high up. it's good for storage. The trouble is if you go away from the boat for a while and sleep in a normal bed and return to the boat, it's a bit if a drop if you forget in the middle of the night.
    1 point
  10. Welcome Darren. Imo 1.Porta Potti /cassette . we have a Thetford 165 2.dunno,sorry, but suspect there are better things to spend your money on initially.
    1 point
  11. I've gone solar. The £29 job from Aldi. A day with it boosting my battery gives me free use of one 2w LED light for the evening. I've not used any other 12v appliance since I bought it, including the water pump, been getting kettles of water from the outside tap and not had a wash since Tuesday, missed the toilet because I wouldn't turn the light on too, I just wanted to see how much it charges my battery without anyheavy loads. I don't trust any article or gadget which includes the word SMART in its name.
    1 point
  12. Not easy to pick up but from "Painted Boats" Mr Smith "I was up this canal a thousand times before you was born, you damned monkeys... churning up the blasted canal banks..... motors, switch her off.......... Just get your gone, the company needs taking you in hand......... much mumbling............... Why don't they learn him better than driving me into the bank with his blasted motor engines."
    1 point
  13. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  14. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  15. Not a boat, but I painted a trailer with Gavlafoid many years ago (20ish) maybe 2-3 coats, It has been in and out of sea water and fresh water a few dozen times a year and left parked out in the rain all year. It still has almost no rust, only where it has been scraped, so my verdict is it does work.
    1 point
  16. 2-3 weeks cruising off shore power is using the boat leisurely. Your batteries hardly get used! Spend a few winters off shore power living full time aboard and then you'll see why we monitor and get better batteries. Battery lifetime isn't the pain, it's the time charging that is.
    1 point
  17. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  18. I'd say it was both of those reasons, along with a third. They'd like to introduce a second (more expensive) tier of charges for boats with no home mooring.
    1 point
  19. A bit like Smartgauges then...
    1 point
  20. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  21. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  22. I know none of you will believe this but my brother in law, Rod, was once struck by lightning.
    1 point
  23. I knew I had made the right decision when I bought my NASA BM2 plus it shows amps in and out which I need cos my midnight has a control panel in the cupboard
    1 point
  24. Thank you for your advice and permission about radio not bothering canal users. Having been away in the antipodes educating the colonials for the last 8 months I have of course missed the archers for a while. Fortunately whilst I have been away my mother has recorded all episodes on her new cassette player thingy. I am intending to present my radiogram and the aforementioned player to the local radio repair man on my return, to ascertain if they can be connected. With the help of our new inverter gizmo, I shall then proceed in the direction of braunston with the stereo sonic speakers on the cabin top catching up with my favorite show. The volume will have to be substantial as the lister had its silencer modified in the 1960s by a boatman with a mooring pin, and I am unable to get acme brand batteries for my hearing aids any more. I will be continuously cruising daily in the area please feel free to give me a wave. With my new propeller I shall certainly give you one.
    1 point
  25. You sound like a man who doesn't need a different boat but simply a butty to go with your lovely tug. A lovely family boat to tow along with benefits of exercising children and dogs and acres of space. Do the world a favour buy a butty. The familial complaints can easily be managed by dropping the cross straps and distancing yourself from disharmony with a nice long 90 ft long line....
    1 point
  26. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
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  28. I think the obvious answer should be "not very"
    1 point
  29. Scorchio weather won't help with the pong from the lav.
    1 point
  30. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  31. Proof enough that you wouldn't know an accurate sound if it hit you in the face.
    1 point
  32. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  33. You should be the one feeling guilty for slapping that poor dog. At least you owned up. We've had four rescue dogs, all of them have needed months, nay years, of patience care and attention, our second dog took six months to become properly house trained she started off a basket case but became the perfect companion. Sorry, here endeth the lesson. Boating is a love/hate thing anyone who claims they love every minute is an imbecile. Life is all about light and shade, summer and winter, highs and lows. Too many people expect to be happy all the time these days.
    1 point
  34. My boat, built in 2007 was treated with Zinga and then expoxy blacking up to the first rubbing strafe above the waterline. Never been retreated to date. At its survey when I bought it in 2014 there was zero corrosion, flaking or pitting. There was however a thick layer of freshwater mussels. She is due out of the water early next month for inspection, possibly reblacking. I will let the forum know what I find.
    1 point
  35. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  36. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  37. Can I suggest you get on The Clapton Omnibus and ask the first passenger you come across for their analysis of the etymology. Good luck with that.
    1 point
  38. When I was born I was black, when I grew up I was black, when I'm sick I'm black, when I go out in the sun I'm black, when I'm cold I'll be black, and when I die I'll be black. But you, when you where born you were pink, when you grew up you were white, when you're sick you're green, when you go out in the sun you turn red, when you're cold you turn blue, and when you die you'll turn purple. And you have the nerve to call me colored?
    1 point
  39. I must say that the worst music known to man would not pee me off as much as being inflicted with either the test match or the Archers .............yuk
    1 point
  40. Poles are for pushing off the bank or the bottom shouldnt really be used on another boat. Sooner or later someone is going to take the pole of him and push it where the sun dont shine.......................
    1 point
  41. Cliff Richard was variously known as Harry Webb, Harris Webb, Harris Tweed, and Debbie Harris before teaming up with ex newreader Anna Ford to form the famous duo Harris & Ford.
    1 point
  42. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  43. This place slays me ! People were banned because they didn't fit in here, yet now we have a mod (supposedly an intelligent person) using a clearly racist expression, supported in his use by other members, based on an OED definition which is 300years old at least. Rog
    1 point
  44. The Grand Union Canal Carrying Company would not have built a very large fleet of carrying boats 71' 6' long (+ rudder + fenders) if the Grand Union Canal locks weren't long enough to accommodate them!
    1 point
  45. I have a wide beam and stay up north cos the canals are designed for proper size boats no messing around wondering whether you can make it or not
    1 point
  46. Dont forget insulation. You,ll need lots if winter livaboard. Also i,d say put your stove more towards centre of the boat if you,ve got no central heating. Get your bed up high as possible to keep warmer, with pumpout tank and calorifier under plus storage. It also helps falling into bed pissed and getting out of bed when you,re over 60 ! Have fun.
    1 point
  47. Or you could use some of this Butter me up by Allan Jones, on Flickr
    1 point
  48. Although it was a couple of hours before the supposed 20.30 curfew you should allow for the fact that he may be over 250 years old and was there before the canal was built.
    1 point
  49. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  50. The black ones are a different thing. Have a look at Tradline's synthetic hemp ropes: http://www.tradline.co/MOORING-LINES-AND-LANYARDS.html Richard
    1 point
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