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Showing content with the highest reputation on 27/07/17 in all areas

  1. Having cut my teeth on grp cruisers i have repaired several sonic and enfield outdrives over the years had one do exactly the same and that turned out to be a sheared gear selector shaft ... i made a replacement at a mates engineering shop ... the only other thing i can think it could be is a siezed dog clutch ... the shaft doesnt necessarily have to come out the water as they can be "wound up" ... the last one i repaired was on a nauticus 27 and i did that in the water at sawley just pulled it backwards up their slipway and paddled! I am just down the road at Willington and more than happy to give you an hour or two to take a look if you wish ... i also have a car with a towbar and can think of one or two people to call for a trailer should it be required. Rick
    10 points
  2. I don't know you so wouldn't presume to judge your attitudes on any matter. However communication in writing is notoriously liable to misinterpretation, I think your phrase about the lack of English speakers was, at best, a clumsy one, as is "our ethnic friends" in post 87 above. In passing I would add that I have moored in Reading (nothing happened) and in Windsor (my lines weren't cut). Frank
    3 points
  3. If this is a boat you are looking to buy, just walk quickly away - the damage behind the woodwork will be much worse than you can see on the 'face' of the woodwork. Boats are generally 'sloping' from front to back, and often from side to side meaning that a leak can run 'miles' from its origin before it hits an 'obstacle' and start to seep thru and rotting the wood. No matter how much you rub down and even try and use bleach on the wood, you can very rarely get rid of the 'watermarks' - it will be a case of cutting out all of the effected wood and rebuilding (relining). If you have already purchased the boat - (remember BOAT = Bring Out Another Thousand) then you will need a few 'BOATS' to sort it out. Edit : Walk away unless the seller is giving it away.
    2 points
  4. Yup 1.25kg would be a distinct advantage.
    2 points
  5. As still a member at moment I'd just like to reply, yes my user name was a typo. I'm not an inexperienced boater having brought a boat from Germany to Oxfordshire and have been boating on the Thames for the last 30 years. I know as a fact places to avoid, Reading a no no, Windsor you have to use anchor as mooring lines get cut, Pangbourne our boat was used as a bathing platform board by teenagers (nobody bothered other than telling me next day). I merely was sharing my experience of what happened to us but was jumped on by obvious apologists. Many thanks for the supporting comments they were appreciated. I found life on the canal system very enjoyable, friendly helpful people, and I'm considering retiring and buying a boat, I just hope I do not meet some of the people on here !!! Mart
    2 points
  6. He does, I am building an electric broads cruiser, the EBA have given me useful information and Yahoo has a very good site on this. I have used an Agni motor [original cedric lynch] and the gearbox is from Lynch with luck it will be under the floor so unlike the BMC its replacing it will occupy no living space. I should be able to put about 2 KW of solar on the roof and I will have a Kero powered whispergen for central heating/hot water and electric top up winter sun. I have decided on under floor heating with a Kero powered Rayburn royal for winter cooking and space heating. The electric motor I am using is 93% efficient. in comparison low reving modern [for boats thats a joke] diesels are very very inefficient lucky to be 15 -20% as they are nowhere near optimum power/torque at 1100 rpm! they are gross polluters as they have no CATS, EGRs or DPFs and are nearly always running in locks electric doesnt in fact if its sunny it will be charging from the solar. The problem is that people like what they have and when someone says they are going to take it away they invent thousands of reasons why its better than what is going to replace it! Just saying like
    2 points
  7. How do you work that out? Over half of the energy in gas and around two thirds of the energy in nuclear or coal used to produce electricity is lost as waste heat. Then you have the inefficiencies in the transmission, charging and storage circuitry plus the motor used to drive the prop. So maybe an overall efficiency of 25%. A low speed diesel engine is generally around 45% to 50% efficient. I think you need to research a bit into the subject.
    2 points
  8. and I use 50% because: a. I only want indicative figures for illustration. b. Its easier and I can do that in my head.
    2 points
  9. You might want to do a bit of research into this subject.
    2 points
  10. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  11. Did you know that to make 1te of plastic (lets assume it is Polyethylene or Polypropylene) you either start with ethane as a raw material or naptha. To make plastic from ethane you make about 1.5tes CO2 per tonne of plastic or for naptha you make about 3tes Co2 per tonne plastic. At the last count I think we were making circa 1.5 million tonnes of plastic in the UK (Grangemouth, Teeside) but not sure what is now made at Carrington. Therefore just to make plastic in the UK we are making circa 3 Million tonnes of CO2. CO2 from cars is not THE big Co2 emitter. Coal power stations emitt 3tes of CO2 per tonne of coal burnt (approx) - and similar from gas power stations. Millions and millions of tonnes of CO2. The French called it right 30 years ago and settled on a nueclear power strategy - far, far less emissions. KevMc is right, we should recycle existing plastics. Why therefore do we only recycle 5%? Some local authorities collect nearly 80% of plastic waste .......but it either goes to landfill or gets burnt or goes to Netherlands or china where it gets burnt. Stop burning coal and stop burning gas in power plants, industrial plants etc and we can all keep running our diesel engines.
    1 point
  12. Couldn't agree more, like reading a trump tweet
    1 point
  13. 1 point
  14. A unicorn is the answer. Unicorn answer is a the. Answer the unicorn. Coffee, drinked lots of it I did. **Edit: From my NEW MUG.
    1 point
  15. Thats my line!
    1 point
  16. Is the answer 'A Unicorn'?
    1 point
  17. They do Tim Tesla do 300 plus miles and then recharge to 80% in half an hour so while you are having a coffee in the services it done others have similar abilities. Three other makers are putting in charging points across the UK even as we speak so the end of Diesel and Petrol cars is already happening, welcome to the 21 century sure you will enjoy it
    1 point
  18. 1 point
  19. I reckon there is room for all. I certainly wouldn't want to deprive anyone of a crossing of the aqueduct. Perhaps the thing to do is restrict narrowboat movements for a certain time whilst the kayaks are out!
    1 point
  20. Definitely close, but close to whom ?
    1 point
  21. I'm afraid it will take me 10 million years to compute the question. I will get back to you. Please ensure you have switched on "Notify me of replies"
    1 point
  22. But what was the question?
    1 point
  23. I would say a combination of the Smartgauge you already have, and an AH counting gauge, preferably one that automatically calculates CEF. The SG will tell you the SoC during discharge (at night, or in very dark skies) but isn't particularly good during charge -either via alternator, shore power or solar. The combination allows you to work out the actual capacity provided from time to time you get to 100% on both devices, followed by a significant discharge (say, below 75% SoC). This allows you to tweak the capacity on the AH counter to the actual capacity. The AH counter is good for knowing when the batteries are fully charged (ie voltage up at absorption, current below 1% or whatever.
    1 point
  24. Probably not, but it could maybe push it up at an angle and squash the occupant?
    1 point
  25. Could be because they are proper pubs, with the emphasis on beer not food!
    1 point
  26. Our bilge looked like this when we first picked Freyja up from Aquaduct marina. Looking towards the stern, SWSBO wouldn't let me have an engine room, so I made an effort on the engine 'ole!
    1 point
  27. Just fitted a shower in my boat without a gas water heater. Why? ...... because I hate gas water heaters and gas fridges. Pilot lights scare the beejessus out of me. A throw back to the number of exploded boats I saw in the 60/70s. If I could dispose of my gas cooker I would, however, no pilot light and I can check the taps and switch off at the bottle as and when. So my 35ft steel nb with an air cooled engine and a 30 sq inch toilet area and gas not being an option (apart from the cooker) was the challenge. I found a caravan breakers and bought a fibreglass shower tray/vanity unit and sink with a spray and rail. I fitted the tray to the floor with the vanity unity in place. I then drilled a hole for the skin fitting that connects to the sink plug. I bought a small 12v pump from eBay (China) it took 4 days to come! The pump was fitted into a bracket so it sits in the lowest corner of the tray (I couldn't be bothered to fit a sump) A shower curtain across the front and another one to protect the three walls and channel any wayward water back into the shower tray. I fitted a length of copper piping from the galley to the bog, at the galley it has a funnel fitted and at the other end it lets into the shower tray. How does it operate? Two kettle loads of hot water and one saucepan are poured into the funnel along with a kettle of cold (trial and error needed there) Gravity transports it into the shower tray and about fills it. About 3-4 litres I guess. Clambering in I then turn the pump on and use the spray. There's sufficient volume to give a constant flow and enough pressure to get it everywhere. Sliding it onto its rail I can use two hands. When it comes to emptying it I then relocate the spray to its socket on the sink and it pumps out the tray and the water then goes out the plug through the skin fitting and over the side. It works well (so far), I quickly got fed up with the cold clammy shower curtain wrapping itself around me. So I put a magnetic, adhesive strip along the inside of the tray and stuck washers inside the hem of the curtain, that kept the bugger away. Costs ...... Ex caravan shower and vanity unit ........ 70.00 Pump ........ 5.00 Shower curtains (eBay) ........ 9.90 I also used bits of wood and switches/wiring etc I already had. If I'd had to buy it all I can't see it reaching £100. It's a bit of a Bloke invention and I can well imagine some ladies would be aghast, if only because the chem bog has to sit in the tray, and I quickly got fed up lifting it out so I now tend to sit on it when using the shower. Enjoy the mental image everyone.
    1 point
  28. I doubt that! In which case, if they put as much energy into honest work they would be wealthy yobs! George
    1 point
  29. I don't subscribe to the idea that you should change the engine starter for 24v - don't forget the instruments and some switchgear would need to be converted as well. Why? Most modern engines are supplied with a small 12v alternator that is not powerful enough to charge a reasonable sized battery bank. Therefore leave the engine side alone with its gear and fit a 24V alternator setup to deal with the domestics. I've found 24v kit at reasonable prices - ebay has been a good source. Indeed Sterling has been selling returned items and I picked up several items at quite silly / affordable prices recently. For me the killer was if you need to generate a reasonable amount of power from batteries, then 24 or even 48v is the way to go (that is if you can buy a 48v alternator
    1 point
  30. Straight away I noticed the weasel words "capable of generating 6Kw" in respect of the solar panels. Arguably correct at noon on the equator but in the UK it has been reported here many times that 50% of that figure is more likely in the UK during the peak summer months and for a lot of the year rather less, down to potentially only a few watts on dark cloudy days in winter. Add to that the added extra loads like the air con and probably several other mains devices most of us forgo on boats and I think its another "Polish Lady" type job. I did see a narrowboat up north with two masts with 3 solar panels hanging from each plus panels along the cabin side and on the roof. I think that one may have successfully crawled around the system in summer but the masts would have to be taken down when moving.
    1 point
  31. http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/65x13-Solar-powered-widebeam-house-boat-/362044595848?hash=item544b8a1e88%3Ag%3AckYAAOSwpmBZcfgT&_trkparms=pageci%3A50f2d9be-72b1-11e7-a965-74dbd1804f2c%7Cparentrq%3A83764ee815d0abc1e14c2fe5fff6fe2c%7Ciid%3A4 What about this one. I'm not a technical whizz but others here may be able to make sense of the description.
    1 point
  32. Yes, I did know that, it was purely my dyslexia coming out to play
    1 point
  33. Yes, that is a hatch in the bulkhead, I, initially, made a smaller hatch for the BMC so that I could access the alernator belts and change the rubber knuckle. For the bigger, shaped one for the Sabb, I made a weedhatch-style rubber seal around it, and anyway, it is above the height of the crankcases, so there would need to be an awful lot of water in the engine bilge before it reached hatch level. The Sabb was slightly too long to fit so I had to make the boat fit the engine! How I went about it here :- http://narrowboats-freyja-and-christina.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/making-boat-fit-engine.html It passed BSC, no problems.
    1 point
  34. The Greenline I posted a link to can on a sunny day be driven entirely on electric generated by the solar array on the roof at speeds of up to 4 knots. I also don't think it works with cars but can see a market for hybrid boats. There are an increasing number of hybrid hire boats on the Broads which seem to work well.
    1 point
  35. Some useful info here: http://www.eboat.org.uk/ Forum member Rishworth_Bridge has the electrically driven boat Ampere, might be worth contacting. Tim
    1 point
  36. A power station generating enough electricity to move a boat 20 miles produces a lot less pollution than running a diesel engine on the boat to mvoe it 20 miles.
    1 point
  37. I know you can't resist a pun but I think it's a bad habit.
    1 point
  38. There's an old Asimov story about someone travelling to the future to bring back knowledge of the technological advances in use then. Turned out to be the bow and arrow.
    1 point
  39. Ok - that would explain why you have rarely been affected by the river being 'closed'.
    1 point
  40. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  41. I totally refurbished a 27' dawncraft a few years ago including filling 108 holes in the hull (i counted them) where the rubbing strakes had been and the screws had rusted out... i used fibreglass to fill, a small detail sander and sanding blocks to key the hull then used Toplac to paint it and it came up like a new hull with a deep gloss white finish then used navy blue anti foul to just above the water line ... the topsides were covered in green moss and bought them back up to a good finish with scouring pads and the 20p a bottle cif type cream cleaner from the local supermarket ... did the canvas canopys with a scrubbing brush and washing powder and they too came out like new ... hope this helps Rick
    1 point
  42. Now that's a shame. I concur with MtB. FWIW, I've had a go at putting my own thoughts in order on the general topic of assessing risky moorings and offer them here: Nowhere is completely safe, of course, odd things have happened in even the most secluded spots, but there are undoubtedly safer and less safe places to tie up. In addition, a place that is ok for a quick shopping stop may not be good for leaving your precious craft unattended for a week. It’s important not to get hung up on these issues or boating will cease to be a pleasure – in addition, attitudes to risk vary from person to person and those who are of a robust mentality should not decry those of us of a more nervous disposition, nor should we who show wise caution in our choices of overnight mooring deride those for whom being untied is all part of the challenge of boating. Even in the riskiest locations, chances are that a night can be spent unmolested – there’s probably never more than a 5% chance of trouble in any but the dodgiest spots. In addition, these things go in bursts and the dangers of a location change from year to year, partly with shifting fashions amongst the local youth and partly as a result of campaigns to improve safety such as Canal Watch or just extra police or navigation authority attention. Danger signs to watch for are (in no particular order) Graffiti No other boats moored nearby Moored boats but with protective covers over the windows Litter, especially drinks cans or syringes Local knowledge that the location is on a walking route to and from the town centre or local pubs and clubs Large housing estates alongside the water or close by Finally, perception is everything. A bad experience in a spot may be enough to persuade you to avoid it in future. There is nothing worse than fretfully lying in bed in the small hours listening for suspicious sounds outside. (Ducks behind parapet)
    1 point
  43. This is very unfortunate. Until recently the idiots here were being kept under tight control but now it seems they are being given the benefit of the doubt again, and sneering personal attacks allowed to stand. This has resulted in a new poster being driven away, just as used to happen before. Is this rwally the way Dan really wants the forum run?
    1 point
  44. If that's what someone believes, then fine, they should challenge it. It is completely possible to challenge something without a personal attack, sneering and ultimately hounding a new poster from the forum.
    1 point
  45. Last time we stopped in Burton it was horrid. Cruising gently on a hot day towards Shobnall Fields, we were rudely yelled at , "MAATTTTYYYYYY" and forced to pull over and moor by a group of itinerant boaters. We said we could only stop for two hours and walked to the local Lidl for provisions. The nasty bunch of boaters then refused to let us leave, forced a BBQ on us and wouldn't even let us go to bed before nightfall, strumming awful versions of smoke on the water and Paranoid until the early hours. Added.a day to the Leicester ring and they wouldn't even give us paracetamol next morning. Cheers.
    1 point
  46. 1 point
  47. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  48. Seen on our recent trip to Lincoln, great names included: On Cloud Wine H2 Whoa
    1 point
  49. That must be a good bottle of wine you're quaffing there Mike.
    1 point
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