bitingmidge

A 12v charging adaptor is not too expensive! Try something like this for instance. No messy wiring, simple,..... where's the catch? Chęers, Peter

I have a similar problem, although it was the engine mount in my case so no hope of filing it down. I have wrapped the area prone to chafe in a piece of old fender held securely by a bunch of cable ties. It is a lot neater than it sounds - the fender plastic was cut to exactly the circumference of the water hose so it fits snuggly round it, and the cable ties are neatly lined up at about 35mm centres! good luck! Peter

Wynni, Hi from Australia (or at least from the USA en route to Australia). Actually I'll be in NZ for a couple of hours on Friday if you want to pop in to Auckland International! Try ASAP Supplies http://www.asap-supplies.com , they seem to have every other bit of hardware fitted to our Bounty still in stock! Where in France is the Boat? , Peter

HI, I apologise for the late posting (I'm a specialist at that!) I have "cheap" and effective - a 230v 2+ energy rated standard domestic bar fridge that cost something like 220€ running through a 500W full sinewave inverter. To err on the side of caution, a slightly larger inverter would be better for the fridge, but ours has performed faultlessly and silently for almost four years now. Of course we don't venture into seriously rough waterways, but for all the usual waves and wakes on rivers its' been terrific. , Peter

Hey John, how's the cutting and pasting going? I have a few old threads I was going to add to, but will wait to see what you can do! , Peter

Thanks for the welcome, I am still stooging around in France, cleaning up - err.. pulling the motor and drive out of the Boat, then cleaning up. Hopefully I'll get a chance to pop my head in more often in a month or so when normal transmission returns! , Peter

Hi all, I think the post that has been referred to elsewhere regarding hydraulics was a rather long thread, where a few of us had discussed our respective issues and fixes. I have a 82 Bounty 34 centre cockpit, ex hire, located in France. It has a Perkins 4.108 motor and a gear pump and vane hydraulic motor. My saga (and expansion of my knowledge on the subject) has continued unabated. Last year I think I posted a series of numbers that I had produced by comparing engine revs to driveshaft revs at various rpm points, and showed we had an effective reduction in gearing presumably through wear and a slight leak in the valve system. We replaced the valve unit over winter and had a noticeable improvement in performance - roughly a 100rpm less for any given speed. After LOTS of thought, I am about to replace the entire drive train with new, I am thinking about changing the geared pump for a far more efficient (and more expensive) vane pump as well if I can work out how to get the adaptor plate modified. The hydraulic train is incredibly inefficient, particularly when worn, and a more sensible person would just get another boat, but something keeps making me perservere to see if I can get hull speed out of the old dear one day! I will post updates after winter, when I have something to say! , Peter

I'll apologise up front if this post is out of order, but my tacho was (out of order) a couple of years ago, and it simply wasn't practical or for that matter economically feasible to wire in a traditional gauge to the alternator. I ended up buying a TinyTach for less than $100 US including shipping, and it's been a perfect solution for me. On another note, if economy is your aim, I have met some blokes in France who used a cheap cycle computer with the magnetic pickup mounted on the driveshaft, then calibrated to give a rough idea of engine revs. It only works when the boat is in gear of course! Cheerz, P

Hi All, and thanks Jonzo for keeping some of the old information alive! I am glad to be "back", still in France for a week or three having spent the last four months on the Canal de Vosges, and the Saone and Doubs Rivers respectivly. Currently in my home port of Lagarde in Moselle, continuing to sort some bits and pieces, and yes, the transmission is still the subject of some curiosity, so when the old data is accessible I'll add to it! For as long as I've been on the internet, I've been signing my posts "cheers" but if I do that here, a little animated emoticon pops up! , Peter