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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/11/17 in all areas

  1. Ive said this many times over the years and will say it again. The cheapest option long term is to trade the " Needy " wife in for a more robust model. My first wife wouldn't have lived on a boat so she had to go anyway. This model does all locks etc singlehanded and keeps her hair sensibly short so doesn't need a silly hair dryer, The initial financial hit of wife disposal can be significant but in the long term the benefits far outweigh initial costs and long term on the far less frequent costs involving battery changing.
    3 points
  2. I think you might be on to something there. Setting fire to a boy band has a certain appeal, I'd give good money to see that.
    3 points
  3. Modern horses? They're rubbish, nowt like a proper horse like they had back in the day. I blame modern carrots, they're rubbish, not like vintage carrots. It's rubbish modern farmers to blame, with their rubbish modern tractors, with rubbish modern engines. Even modern rubbish isnt like proper vintage rubbish, I blame soft toilet paper..., etc.
    2 points
  4. Additional required qualifications are an ability to deal with hordes of single sex young inebriated groups of “pirates”, and an equal ability to fob off members of the public complaining about their subsequent antisocial antics.
    1 point
  5. Um the market value is the what the market values something on the day you are trying to flog it. You can't be 20% under market value. That's the price yesterday when you should have flogged it. I know my economics degree is from 1979 but...
    1 point
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  7. My reservation is... It would need some careful calculation. The engine may be capable of generating the power, flat out at 1800 rpm. But you can't cruise at that speed, and living with an HA3 at 1800rpm for the duration of a washing cycle would drive you mad. I'll consult with a fellow Lister enthusiast who lives aboard with one Richard
    1 point
  8. I find it highly unlikely that there is absolutely no one in your area looking to buy a flat. There may be no one wanting to buy your flat at the price you are asking but that is a different matter. A property (or anything else for that matter) is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. That may not be the price at which the seller wants to sell it for.
    1 point
  9. This is one of the reasons I am looking at becoming a CCer, only just got rid of Mk1, so no money. This is the new Mk 2 we are talking about. I need someone to hold my hand in the long dark tunnels other than the ghosts, even if I do need new batteries every five minutes. Cheers, BR
    1 point
  10. If you've had no electrical capable connection twixt yourself and the shore, then you can't blame the liveaboards - 'leccywise. But you might have a 'case' if they're contributing to increased acidity (canals are relatively acid anyway) by tipping overboard what they shouldn't and ditto what you're all allowed to do anyway. I wonder what state your anodes are / were in? If shot then lack of that sort of galvanic protection might be the net cause of your disaster Horrified me a bit as well. I've - this year moved from a delightful island (but with rubbish access) with mega litres of freshwater rushing past, into a posh new marina extension with 'leccy everywhere. I haven't yet fitted a GI (still in its box - a lorra use...) Ignore these two lines What you need to do is to measure (with the mains switched off) the DC voltage between the shore side of your GI and the boat side There are only two terminals on the GI so difficult to get it wrong. Use CS's method below Wear rubber gloves. There's no magic, so not a problem to a man of your calibre. Have a look at Sterling's website where Charles senior has written an article on the subject. Edit: Go here - https://sterling-power.com/pages/instruction-manuals download the manual for Pro-Save A&C and follow the section for testing. He suggests disconnecting the mains and testing the diodes for a short circuit. Much safer that measuring the voltage (if any) between the two earth cables
    1 point
  11. Looks like good fun. If I was brave enough I might have a go.
    1 point
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  13. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  14. Alan De Enfield may be the only person who has had problems with duff surveys and happens to be reading this, but he is definitely not alone. Where the contents of a survey is concerned, peace of mind is notional: A warm fuzzy feeling that is sometimes not based on reality. The client of a surveyor should be able to rely on the fact that, should the survey be proved to be inadequate, some sort of fair financial recourse is likely to be forthcoming from the surveyors insurance company. Without this, the survey is a waste of time and money and any feeling of peace of mind an illusion. If you ever question a surveyor's fees, he or she will immediately blame the astromonical insurance charges that they have to bear. If you then buy a boat on the basis that the survey was a good one and subsequently need to spend thousands on sorting out issues that weren't reported, just try making a claim and see how much success you have. I suspect that surveyors pay large amounts to insurance companies, not to compensate clients to whom they have given poor advice, but in fact to engage their huge legal departments to do everything possible to wriggle out of their 'obligation' to make things right.
    1 point
  15. I cruised to Odiham and back this October and have been meaning to write a line or two to encourage others to visit the Basingstoke. This thread has galvanised me. It is really a beautiful canal, mainly due to the huge number of mature trees and the flashes. Much of the time it was like boating through a forest. We actually found all the locks in good condition and had no issues with water levels. What was noticeable was how delighted almost everyone we passed was to see boats travelling along the canal (we were sharing locks with another boat). Some locals said they had lived by the canal for years and never seen a boat moving! I don't see why the need to book locks should put people off visiting. It means you can be guaranteed passage with no worries of queues
    1 point
  16. I think it is sensible to carry spares to help you continue your journey as quicky possible. Mind you that 4 cylinder Beta JD3 engine mentioned in this thread was a bit over the top...
    1 point
  17. The Soar is also a wonderful river. Yesterday evening set off at sunset and enjoyed a full moon cruise up to Sileby....where we tied the ropes up just in time for a brilliant view of the Sileby Cricket Club firework display.
    1 point
  18. And don’t forget the hair shirt and daily whippings with nettles.
    1 point
  19. It has to be remembered that living off grid 24/7 and trying to recharge to 100% SoC is impossible unless batteries are isolated from any load, in other words don' use them just charge them! otherwise it takes more hours to charge than is available. The only option is to do a managed retreat to eventual death of batteries, much like life really!
    1 point
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  21. Slightly ironic to have a whinge-fest about how miserable anglers are. I can see from the perjorative descriptions used how even handed and open minded you all are. Rog (a happy boater and angler)
    1 point
  22. I boat and I fish. I am very rarely miserable. Have to say I find some of the above posters views to be rude. Ian.
    1 point
  23. To quote the old saying, "Give a man a fish, you can feed him for a day. Give him a fishing rod, and you can make him a miserable ******* for the rest of his life"
    1 point
  24. The problem with your question is that there are no definitive answers about the subject. It is even arguable that we do not yet fully understand how our lead acid batteries work. Then there is the large range of battery types and construction even before you consider the almost infinite ways boaters and others use their batteries. If you have a look at my website that I wrote as a free resource to try to help and advise actual and potential ordinary (as in non-expert) boaters you will see there is no definitive battery advice. Only examples of how to do the basic "calculations" so you stand some chance of understanding what you need to in order to minimise battery problems and get an optimum battery life. This is deliberate because there are no right or wrong answers to the question. It is also a very large question because to get the best from your batteries you MUST start with assessing your electrical requirements, from that battery bank size, and then sorting out the charging. This then feeds back to electrical demand until you develop a suitable balance. Even then a suitable balance is likely to be different for different people. Just be wary of commercial offerings like the above link, there is always the danger that any such text will make more of the company's products than those from other companies. The battery "guidelines" are simple enough: 1. Install at least 25% more battery capacity than you calculate you need (to allow for some loss of capacity caused by sulphation).. 2. Try to avoid discharging below about 50% of charge (to maximise cyclic life). 3. Recharge as fully as you can as soon as you have discharged the batteries (to minimise the rate of sulphation). 4. Install some form of battery monitoring. (so you can comply with 2 and 3 above). 5. Learn how to use the battery monitoring equipment and FULLY UNDERSTAND its weak spots. Yes you do have it right and if you look at the questions you will see fairly large scale unwillingness to answer questions (typical excuse - "I can't do a power audit) and then take advice. Personally I get by well enough with a voltmeter and decent ammeter to monitor my batteries. The voltmeter will tell me when 2 above comes into play BUT when and the conditions I read it under are important. That is usually first thing in the morning or last thing at night with no solar input and no other loads drawing power. 3 above is accomplished by having solar charging and running the engine every day when I have no shore powered charger. Others may use a generator. I then keep charging until the charging amps are around 1% to 2% of battery capacity so with a split charge system and 430Ah of battery capacity I try to charge until the current drops to about 10 amps with no significant electrical loads. PS - Alan's put back in 20% more than you have taken out is again only a guide. The figures I obtained on line suggest anything between 10% and 40% depending upon battery construction, temperature and condition and those tend to be unknown. This is avoided by the 1% to 2% of battery capacity charging current thing.
    1 point
  25. Quite possibly, or at least as much chance. With a Smartgauge unless you have read the manual from cover to cover, and understood it, in particular page 30, there is a strong possibility that the naive, non technical boater will start charging when the gauge reads 50%, or some other perceived "sensible SoC to start charging", and stop charging when the gauge reads 100%. The above policy is highly likely to result in sulphate batteries in fairly short order - the manual actually intimates this, on page 30. It is all very well the experienced here telling Mike that Smartgauge is fine, provided he doesn't rely on it for certain things, some of which sounds serious and some in humour. However, when someone comes to boating and batteries from a position of ignorance, both Mike and I want them to read that Smartgauge should not be relied upon like a fuel gauge. Your analogy with a car fuel gauge, whilst accurate, (I.e. When it reads "Full", it may not be 100% Full), is not helpful to those that I am talking about. If a car fuel tank is repeatedly filled to 90% full, because that is the point at which the gauge reads "Full", and refilled at some arbitrary point where the gauge reads 50% or 30%, or whatever, the capacity of the fuel tank is not affected. If the same is done with a battery bank it almost certainly destroys the batteries much quicker than is necessary, and much quicker than would be the case if the naive boater was aware of the shortcomings of their new "fuel gauge". They can gain this knowledge by reading and understanding page 30 of the manual, or hearing it here, or both.
    1 point
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  27. 1 point
  28. Is there still a 'live' stoppages map on the CRT website? You know. the one where you can zoom into the canal or along the route you're interested in and see the notices shown against the lock (or whatever) they apply to and click on the link for full details? I've always had trouble finding my way to the the thing, so it's probably just me, but I have tried - honest! I have the regional map pdfs and the tabular thing downloaded but, whilst the info is there if you know exactly where you're going, it's not a very efficient way to have a look at all the possible routes which remain open to you. I'm trying to see where I can go for my Nov-Dec cruise. Thanks.
    1 point
  29. Alternatively, do what Gibbo does himself, apparently. Buy cheapo batteries, change them every 18 months to two years and get on with your life. My Albions from MC are now nearly two years old, charge down to a tail current of 0.5% of nominal capacity after four hours running with a bog standard Beta 43 Iskra alternator and it's rare for me to see them below 85% on the SG when I start up again the next morning.
    1 point
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