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hnb2907

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About hnb2907

  • Birthday 04/05/1976

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  • Website URL
    http://www.hnb2907.co.uk

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  • Location
    Cheshire
  • Occupation
    Chartered Electronics Engineer
  • Boat Name
    Horus
  • Boat Location
    Congleton

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  1. I guess her Maj has been providing food and secure(!) lodgings for him then!?
  2. Hi all, Thought I should let you know to check your boat if you're moored in the Cheshire/North Staffs part of the network. Anyone know where our friend Mr Finch is at the moment? We had our boat broken into sometime during the last 2 weeks on the south end of the Maccy canal - and looks like at least another 1 on our off-side linear moorings. I'm guessing it's him due to the fact it took my parents at least an hour to realise that it had actually been broken into, because it was left so tidy! Just a few bottles of lager and a part bottle of Baileys gone. The food cupboard had been delved into and the cornflakes packet left out on the sink. Theres no other damage or missing items. There was a small amount of money in coins on a shelf, and a rechargeable tool left on the boat, all of which were untouched. Looks like whoever got in had first unzipped the cratch cover, couldn't force the front door padlock off, and then carefully zipped the cover closed and even refitted the pop-studs - don't think your average burglar would be that careful. The breakin was actually through the side doors that were, admittedly, rather poorly secured. At the end of the day it's a bit annoying, but at least no serious damage was done, and it's prompted me to make a better job of securing the side doors! We've informed the Police who surprisingly have been very interested, and our landlord. Maybe the coppers are already on the case of similar breakins around the Cheshire/North Staffs area??? Cheers, Chris.
  3. [snip] No, but seriously it did come as a bit of a shock when it happened... It turned out that no damage was done, and the engine had realigned perfectly just by fastening the bottom nuts (that sounds painful too!) C
  4. Exactly the same happened to me on my old boat, luckily the day before I went through the Harecastle - where it could have been worse. I'd noticed that it was running a bit lumpy and noisier than normal for a few hours, and when I enaged reverse all hell broke loose and decided it was time to investigate. Rang RCR at daft-o'clock in the evening and was advised as a short term measure, that if the top bolts were not loose and hadnot been moved, just to wind the bottom nuts back up. What appears to have happened was that the bottom nuts had never been tightened enough and had worked their way loose, subsequently the engine dropped at an angle. Having tightened up, everything lined "ok" - there was no noticable misalignment or friction of the shaft in the stern tube. Kept an eye on it for the next couple of days until it was properly checked out by someone better at mechanics than me. It was a learning experience and is now on my regular maintainance checklist... Cheers, Chris.
  5. ...except the stop lock at Hall Green, which has 2 top gates and single bottom one
  6. Hi folks, Over the past year I've been collecting a number of sheets of sound insulation as funds permit, to go around my engine bay. The sheets are non-adhesive, tried the self adhesive stuff before on my old boat, but it only lasted a couple of years before they fell off. Anyone got any comments on the best glue to use - I'll be sticking the sheets to the inside of the hull (which is gloss painted) and to plywood. I'm thinking of Evostick contact adhesive 584 or 528, but I'm not entirely sure what the difference is. Any recommendations, and can either be used on the insulation sheets, and does the glue "pass" the safety requirements in "the book"??? So many questions, sorry! Hopefully todays weather is the start of some decent boating for this year!? Cheers, ChrisC.
  7. Last sunday we were moored up at the bottom of the Bosley locks, watching the world go by, and the local day boat trying to turn around. That was funny enough in itself, but what happened later was the best bit. They moored up, and peace and still waters returned. There was another privately owned boat moored by us, with the most patient and well behaved dog I've ever met. While we were sat out eating lunch, the little Jack Russel sat at our feet quite happily. Normally we're not exactly a family dog-lovers, although I would have a Westie if I had time to look after one. Anyway, the story continues. The Jack Russell gets back on her boat, and shortly after the dayboat departs. As its going past us, their black Labrador decides it's time for an unscheduled swim. Much shouting and mad attempts to pull back to the side ensued. The funniest part of the whole incedent was watching the Jack Russell, who bounded off her boat, legged-it along to towpath, and started staring and barking at the black Lab as if to say "you really are a stupid sod!" The best 5 minutes entertainment I've had this year! (Especially when the lab shook the water off his coat, all over a prestinely dressed teenage girl, not looking to happy at the outcome!) ttbfn, ChrisC
  8. ...forgot to say our current boat is 46' - head, loose, forgetting. That would give you a bit more flexibility and living/storage space too!
  9. Firstly, as others have said, welcome to the waterways... I'm envious - one day I might just do the same, that's one of the reasons why I've got my NB, as I forsee a time when it will double as a mobile house for work reasons, and have the fun of moving it there between jobs. On a more lighthearted note, I definitely am envious - I do my fair share of travelling for work, usually at least once every 4 or 5 weeks, both in the UK and Europe. I usually get told at 3.30pm to get my flights/hotels booked for first light next morning from Manchester airport! Wish I got a weeks' notice!!! We (parents and myself, so 3 of us) used to have a 37' cruiser NB, which I think would have been fine for me in your circumstances. The only problem would have been needing another 3 or so foot to fit in the PC. So 40 sounds like about the minumum, but it depends on the layout. Having also a few years on a 57' shared ownership boat, this would have been too big for our needs. Inverters? I've got 2 - both pure sinewave, a 300w one for powering the telly (on the very rare occasions it gets used) and phone chargers and the slow cooker while were on the move. Also got a 1500w one for the very few occasions that I need to use something bigger, drill/vacuum. Don't forget to do your calcs for alternator size/battery capacity/daily usage, it adds up quicker than you think, especially if you're like us without 240vac at our moorings. Other tips - I'm still only a beginner, but where to start!? That's the great thing, there's plenty of folks who are happy to help, and we've also picked up our own ideas and ways of doing stuff. ttbfn, ChrisC.
  10. Hi Dan, Good thought to check! But, they use a ~12V peltier heat pump and fan, both of which are definitely DC. Even if you put DC in and it was expecting AC, it would be recitifed inside the dehumidifier anyway to drive the peltier/fan.... Cheers, Chris.
  11. I've got one, by all means chop the plug off and wire it so that you can use it on your boats 12V system. There's no exciting electronics in there that will get damaged, even if you could get 15V or so at it. Make sure you wire the plug the correct way around, otherwise the cold bit that condenses the water will get hot instead of cold Even though they do work, don't expect miracles - on the rare occasions I use ours, even after 5 hours it's only removed a table spoon full, when the relative humitidy is in the 90% region. Cheers, Chris.
  12. Hi, I had one of these on our previous boat, and the picture quality generally ranged from cronic to crap. About the only place we could ever get a good signal on all 4 channels was on Bosley aquaduct. Another tip - if you've got the booster/amplifier box with a knob that goes round and round for ages. Try turning it back a few turns from the highest setting. If you're somewhere where the signal is ropey, sometimes it amplifies too much of the crud and makes the picture worse or messes up the frame triggering. I used to turn it to about 1/2 way, then turn it up until the picture cleared and stopped before the picture then went worse as the noise got amplified too much. Everyone above has mentioned the other things to check - decent connections/cabling and impedance matching, no shorts or stray bits of the copper braiding loose in the plugs/sockets (if you've made your own)... Got to say, I wouldn't fit one when we did our new boat. I've got a sat dish, and it probably gets used 1 or 2 times a year. Conversing with the ducks is generally far more entertaining and enlightening than watching big brother or the doom/gloom of the 10pm news ;o) Each to their own though! Cheers, Chris.
  13. ...had exactly the same problem with our leaking from the diagraphm. it's been replaced with another (quieter) manufacturer, but can't remember what make off the top of my head. It had only been installed about 3 or 4months, so maybe it was what I'd call an "early life failure" in my trade... For some reason while we were moored up by Fezzy-park in Etruria on a saturday afternoon boating trip, I felt the urge to have a look at it. I'd only been in there a few hours before as the pump is in a storage hole under the front deck, and it was ok then. Strange how these things happen, no sign of water in the boat, just me having a feeling to go and check it. I did manage to get a replacement just before my local friendly boat builder went home and before we set off for the Caldon - where it would have been slightly less convenient! Cheers, Chris.
  14. Hi there, I've got a 3cyl beta 28 in our new 46' Piper boat, and that's more than capable on the Canals... It went like stink with very few revs on the deeper/wide Bridgewater, and it's also quite happy on the shallower Maccy. Compared to our previous boat needing lots of revs to achieve about 3mph, it seems far happier. Slightly off topic - The only gripe I have is that when the manufacturers (i.e. Beta) spray-paint the engine, why do they have to do it with all the wiring/piping in place? Obviously it's cheaper/easier to do the whole lot, but coming from a crowd of folk who restore classic cars to an exceptionally high standard, it looks bad now the painted flexible bits are cracking... Hope that helps a little? Cheers, ChrisC.
  15. Hi all, I don't mind what folks do with their doggy mess as long as it's not left there for me to tread it into my boat. Personally I'd prefer that it's not not on the towpath - or the other really annoying thing that seems to be happening - decorating trees and hedges with bags of it handing up. On our last 2+1/2 week cruise around the four counties, there were numerous trees adorned with bags of the stuff, and sometimes more than 1 'collection'. It was like some sort of new Christmas in the beginning of May!!! At least if it's in the canal (without the bag), surely that's ok - cows, sheep, ducks and other wildlife do it in there already, don't they? Musn't forget the fish... ;o) Cheers, ChrisC.
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