FatBear

Genes are not understood, we barely know what they are. But they certainly do work and they are worth having. I once owned an aluminum boat. I thought it had plenty of zincs on it. The top developed a leak one year while I was out of the country for a couple of months. The bilge pump ran down the battery and the boat started to fill up with water. (It rains a LOT in Oregon in the winter.) The marina operator ran an extension cord into the boat and put his battery charger on my battery until I returned. Later, when I pulled the boat and had the crud blasted off we discovered serious pitting, requiring extensive repairs. Does galvanic corrosion happen? You bet it does! Will an isolator help? The theories make sense and with so many people saying so, and with the relatively low cost/benefit ratio if it does, I think I would rather have one than not. --Brian

I think those calculations were referring to the generator, implying that it doesn't really store as much into the batteries as you might think. But still, there is obfuscation and that suggests that someone is trying to paint a rosy picture.

Well isn't THAT embarrassing? I somehow ended up with two postings. Sorry! I'll see if I can figure out how to delete this one...

Has anybody tried one of these MaxPower fuel cells? Just curious how well they work and how they last. Quiet is good.

Hi, I've noticed that a lot of barges have DAF engines. Are they still made? What about other common engines? How about parts? I understand that these engines are very reliable, but they are bound to need work from time to time... Thanks.

I have plenty of 110V power tools, so I'd probably just ship over what I expect to use and buy the transformer. Thanks, Amicus, for telling me about those transformers. I've used small travel transformers, but I didn't know that anybody in Europe used 110V tools, so it never occurred to me that larger transformers would be available for power tools. Well, I tend to start off tidy, trending toward messy, then cleaning up when things become untenable. I suppose I'd have to be more diligent. What started me thinking about fitting out my own boat was this one. It is very small, making it a more manageable project for one or two people, and I don't think it would take many months of full time work. We'd just be making an open galley/saloon, one head and one cabin. It's hard to imagine that taking more than three months of full time work. (I would be working full time - probably six long days a week, because what else would I have to do?) But I'm not really hung up on that boat. Like I say, it really just got me thinking about fitting out a boat myself. And if we bought such a small boat, it would probably be an interrim step to a larger one. My wife is excited about touring the canals in France, but is nervous about starting off in a large barge when we don't know what we're doing. (Such confidence she exhibits. ) This would get us started, and if we felt cramped, we could move up to a larger one in a year or two. So I guess I also have to think about whether I want to put that much time into a boat, then sell it after a season. Probably not.

Hi Jim, Thanks. Would this book be useful in fitting out Dutch barges? What prompted my original question was a boat that someone had started fitting out, but quit after the exterior, engine, and insulation was complete, but not the interior. It was small (hence, inexpensive) and my wife is currenly leaning towards buying a small one at first, then trading up to a larger one "after we know what we're doing." The more I read, the more I suspect that we're going to have to do some refitting of whatever we buy, so I was thinking "why not just fit out the whole thing?" But I'm not naive, I know it's a lot of work, and since I'm from the other side of the world, I'm trying to judge just how much work it would be and what my resources would be. Obviously, being a native English speaker (albeit the American dialect of English) it would be easiest to pursue such a project in an English-speaking country. But I haven't ruled out doing it in Holland, either. I understand that they have the best chandlers for barges and most speak English. We'll eventually be cruising in France, but I my French is almost useless (I am working on it) and I understand that it's hard to get marine supplies in much of France, so I'm not really thinking about doing the work there. In the end, we may not do this at all. There's the problem of tools (I have lots, but they are 120V) and do I do the work inside the hull (making lots of sawdust and mess) or do I also rent a workshop or shed? And so on. If I had the boat hauled I suppose I could setup an outside work area next to it. I like that idea. I'd rather win the lottery and buy exactly what I want, but I'm too realistic to expect that - especially since I don't buy lottery tickets! Thanks again

I've been thinking about this (yes, a dangerous thing to do!) If you put the boat into reverse and your stern moves to the left you will have to counteract it by using the bow thruster to move the bow to the left, thereby leaving the boat pointed in the same direction. But this will also move the entire boat to the left. So what have you really gained? Do you just use the bowthruster to hold the boat straight until it has some way on in reverse and the rudder begins to take effect? On the surface, it would seem that a stern thruster would be more useful than a bow thruster in reverse. I saw an interesting, but only slightly related, thing the other day. In San Diego harbor there was a gigantic cruise ship (I mean REALLY gigantic.) It was tied up at a pier. I heard the horn and was surprised because I saw no tugs. Pretty soon it moved out from the pier, reversed and backed into the harbor, spun around in its own length, and took off. It had two bow thrusters (judging by the warning signs) and I couldn't see if it had any stern thrusters, but I'm betting there was at least one. Having once worked on a tug boat and having assisted much smaller vessels than this, I was very impressed. --Brian

We are from the US and we are wondering: what if we were to purchase an unfinished shell in England and finish it ourselves? Does it seem like a feasible thing to do? I am handy (I've built one house, parts of another, numerous smaller buildings, additions, remodels, etc.) If I were here at home, I'd have no qualms at all about doing it. But I know where to go for things and so on. I'm just interested in some feedback on what kind of problems I'd likely come across and what kind of help or services might be available. Is there a "best place" to do a fitout? In the US, if you're into plastic boats, southern California or Florida are the place to be; if you're into wooden boats, the Puget Sound area or the New England coast are where you should be doing your work because that's where the expertise and materials are for building wooden boats. So where would be the best area to do a fitout in England? Thanks,

I read that the majority of boat related drownings in the US involved a corpse with a high blood alcohol content and an open fly. I immediately installed a port-a-potty in my fishing boat!

Ever been kicked by a horse? (I have.)