Stubaby

Phone call from CRT .... Booking for August 30th Cancelled. They said they were cancelling all August bookings. The system shows the next available slot as 5th September. Place your bets on that happening!

I would love to fit rigid pipes ... but the route from the tank to the skin fitting is a bit like a (hidden) three dimensional scalextric track! But it is a tank with pipes coming out of the top, so no worries there.

Just about to dive in and change the pump-out and breather hoses (deep joy!!) After 5 years they are fairly smelly. The YBW (Motor Boat) forum suggest that butyl rubber hoses are longer lasting than the white plastic stuff - so that is the plan. But, as the pump-out hose is reinforced - do I need to use any sealant to seal the pipe to the tank and skin fittings - as I can't imagine the jubilee clips squashing reinforced pipe very well? Thanks

Looking a bit more promising (for my Easter jaunt) ... 26/03/2015 @ 16:26 Following investigations today we have had to carry out emergency repairs in the area of Strines Road, bridge 19 The canal is open but with restriction and we will be carrying out work tomorrow Friday 27th March that will close the canal from time to time. Please wait at the site and follow instruction of staff on site. A further update will be posted tomorrow

Anyone planning (and maybe worrying about) installing a washing machine may find the following notes of use. This was the first time I switched the machine on. Boat electrics 70 amp 12v DC alternator. Engine running throughout wash programme 4 x 110 Ah batteries 2000 watt 12v to 240v AC pure sine wave inverter (Sunshine Solar) Washing Machine Candy Aquamatic 100f (compact) max 1000 spin, 1300 watt max Cold feed only, but water fed in via mixer valve at 30 degrees C. (I might throttle this back to 25 degrees, as the washing did seem a bit warm when I got it out) Notes My water (flow meter) reading before the start was 7550 litres 10:45 start, Filling and slow drum movement between 10 and 80 watts 10:56 Heating Cycle. (THIUS IS THE BIT THAT HURTS) 1162 watts with the element only on, and 1271 watts with element and drum movement 11:03 Heating went off after 7 minutes. Note that the 7 minutes to heat the water is consistent with theory, as if the element is 1100 watts, the raising 9.5 litres of water by 10 degrees C, should take just 6 minutes) Drum movement continues at 10-100 watts until .. 12:02 The draining and rinsing cycle begins. There are 3 cold water rinses with the machine taking in the fabric conditioner on the last rinse at 12:26, The power rarely exceeds 100 watts. 12:33 The final drain 12:37 The spinning cycle starts. Maximum power 200 – 300 watts Programme ends at 12:46 (2 hours) Water reading at end was 7592 litres. So water used was 42 litres. 9.5 litres for the wash and 11.5 litres for each of the 3 rinses. This is the hottest and longest programme I am likely to use. I measured the (settled) battery voltage before I started, and did intend to do the same a day later, but clearly the net result of this power usage is not going to be adverse, so in the end, I didn’t bother. So, all in all, not as scary as I originally feared.

So can anyone suggest a decent (Android) app for measuring speed? I did have on eon my old phone - but it was a bit variable. The average speed though (over a few minutes) seemed useful.

Aha! He has just a normal diesel engine, (oh, and a generator.)

We met the owner of the above boat yesterday, He was coming up the Marple flight. Yes there is an identical set of panels on the other side; the roof panels open up so they are double the roof area, and if you look closely you will see a massive panel behind his front pile of logs! My opening remark was "Do you have an electric motor?"

The internet is littered with online calculators that will take the witchcraft out of the voltage drop worries. Here are a few ... http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html http://www.solar-wind.co.uk/cable-sizing-DC-cables.html http://photovoltaic-software.com/DC_AC_drop_voltage_energy_losses_calculator.php

Thanks for that.The Jabsco is looking favourite at the moment, plus it is a good few hundred quid cheaper than the Vetus. The only downside (for me) is that the Jabsco needs a water supply flow rate of 11 litres/minute, which is a heck of a flow (more than my power shower delivers at home!

Has anyone replaced a dump through (Mansfield Traveler) toilet with a macerator type? Vetus do one (the WCP12 model) which looks OK, but I wondered if anyone had any smart idea on how to connect a 38mm waste pipe to a 4"? dump through hole. I'm hoping I can just make a steel plate to cover the dump through hole with a tank fitting to connect the Vetus waste pipe. Also Vetus say that it has a "water lock and non return valve in the discharge line". So am I correct in thinking that there is no smell when flushing with this type of loo and that is effectively a trap?

Thanks for the tip ... do you have any directions, or a road name, for the service station?

We used Ricky Tropman from Chesterfield. He did a survey and BSC all in one go. We were new to boating and he was very helpful in giving me lots of advice and tips about stuff I didn't know. Although we were in Loughborough at the time, he knew Furness Vale (where we are now) and I will use him next time, His details, pasted from my survey, are here ... MARINE ENGINEERING SERVICES Yacht and Small Craft Surveyors Proprietors: Ricky Tropman & William Rosie 4 Crow Hill, Palterton, Chesterfield, S44 6UP Tel: (01246) 240769 Mobile: 07887836754 E-Mail: rtropman@hotmail.co.uk

CV Marine manage the basin, and I don't think it's true that they discourage mooring there. I popped in to their office there last week, and the man was very keen on offering me a mooring for £10 a night, £50 a week, or £400 a quarter (for my 45' boat). Seemed fair to me. I think you can stay for a couple of days for free, just out of the end basin. Anyway, does anyone know what the people who do stay there do for diesel? The nearest marina selling diesel is at Thorne (28 locks away!!!). I don't fancy lugging it in jerry cans.