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Jammed Ole Run ?

Calling narrow boat "Tobias Sam" As of this morning - it looks like someone may have nicked your centre rope (but not the mooring pin) I did rap on the roof, see if anyone aboard but no answer. More details please PM me.

Hi! I figure that after so long asking advice and trying things out I should put something back in that is hopefully useful advice to anyone searching the site. So over the next few months ill try and write some posts about things I have learnt... Generators: 1) There is no such thing is a quiet generator - they are all somewhat irritating, though less irritating than wearing out your engine trying to charge batteries. 2) Diesel generators are very expensive and large but quieter and can be built into the boat. Patience and ebay should get you one for upwards of £500 second hand. 3) Ignore any ratings about how loud the generator you are buying is. It doesn't really help. Unless you are a sound expert it is almost impossible to imagine how loud something is before you buy it. For every 3db you add you double the sound intensity. But it doesn't sound like double to the human ear. Every 10db sounds double the volume. But that is still subjective. How do you quantify sound. Twice as loud means very little. Also the noise you are listening to is just as important.If I had the choice of music or a baby crying, even if the music was twice as loud I would still rather take the music. Even if it was music I didn't like. Equally would you rather listen to a lawnmower or a steam train if the train was twice as loud. To give a better example - for two years we owned a yamaha EF1000is. It runs at 47db. And is the quietest portable generator on the market that I know of. It was still loud, especially when revving up to charge batteries at 40 amps. We now have a Kipor IG2600 It is rated at 58-65 dB So that is starting off at 11db louder than the yamaha. So if for every 3db it is twice as loud then you could say it is 2x2x2(x2?) as loud. 8-16 times as loud sounds ridiculously loud. If you do it the other way and look at perceived loudness then 11db is just over twice as loud. It would have always put me off buying one. Or a honda. Or any other make. They are all louder than the yamaha. Yet the kipor sounds quieter than our yamaha ever did, and it doesn't rev up when charging the batteries. So just makes a low humming noise. Thats about it really. So doodlebugs advice for the day is 1) try and buy a diesel generator and 2) if you do have to buy a generator you can ignore the ratings and find someone who owns one and ask for a listen! Hope that helps someone. Doodlebug

On almost every boat I have been through there on.☺

I'd second that...either on the boat or shore bollard....an easy check to see where the fault might be is to use the RCD test button on the shore pillar and boat. Cheers Gareth

I think you should have knocked on the boat, bottle of Rosé in hand, and asked to join the party. After a while, ask to put on some of your own music then stick on your favourite Des O'Connor CD.

You're right, it's all about consideration, consideration, consideration.

Yes I can imagine I had to inform the buyer that no survey had been carried out and after he spoke to them one came 3 days later.

IT failure modes. In 40 years of working with transformers from 1kVA single phase up to 150kVA three phase. I have only ever seen one type of failure and that is due to overload where the transformer will go open circuit and not pass any power. So a fail safe if a bit inconvenient. As for Nicks scenario it doesn't have to be the same fault that takes out the GI that is the dangerous one. You could easily have a fault that trips a breaker that could take out a GI and weeks later have another one that gives you a shock as you step on the boat grabbing the handrail that has a scratch on it. There are many reports of people being killed in marinas in the USA whilst swimming due to electrocution and that's with fibreglass boats! Finally in my travels I regularly see voltages up to and beyond 5v on the earths in marinas its 3.6v here which is why I use an IT